The Elves' Voyage

"What an impressive entrance."

Looking at Li Lin and Angela in front of her, Kalin casually bowed to them as a greeting.

"To be honest, our lookout was almost scared to death. Suddenly a fog rolled in, and when it cleared, a ship appeared right in front of us without a sound! This was even scarier than those ghost ships and the like. How did you manage that?"

"I don't know either."

Li Lin shrugged and glanced at the smug little guy beside him, whose nose was practically sticking out in pride. Angela, of course, wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

"Hmph, how could a brainless 'thing' like you possibly understand such exquisite art?"

"Fine, fine, I've always been a 'thing'."

If it were anyone else, Angela's words would definitely cause all sorts of problems. However, Kalin was quite nonchalant, after all, strictly speaking, she belonged to the category of "things" rather than "people." So she casually waved her hand, letting Angela's attack hit a soft cotton ball. This made the little one glare angrily, her eyes wide and her teeth clenched, but she couldn't say anything. Finally, she coldly snorted and stomped her foot to express her dissatisfaction. Although this action caused the entire ship to shake and brought many screams, it seemed that Angela had no intention of staging a tragedy on a luxury cruise ship here.

"But then again..."

Kalin was perhaps used to Angela's actions, or perhaps she simply didn't care. She glanced curiously behind them at the two "mummies" who were almost tortured to the point of being skin and bones.

What happened to those two young ladies?

It has to be said that this voyage was an absolute disaster for Mina and Fina. They are still half-dead, a state that is vividly reflected in their appearance. Their once beautiful faces are now haggard and skin and bones—considering this is true and not an exaggeration, it's clear how much suffering these two pitiful creatures, who would be mistaken for living people even if thrown outside, have endured. Although Li Lin asked them how they were feeling out of curiosity, the sisters seemed to be out of their minds, barely uttering any normal words other than "uh" and "ah".

What's wrong with them?

Li Lin also asked Angela, but the little one seemed very calm.

"It's okay, it's always like this the first time."

Since "that's how it is," then let's just ignore it.

The subtext in the little guy's words was also very clear.

"Alright, let's talk about the current situation."

Li Lin didn't give a clear answer to Kalin's question. He sat back down in his chair, gazing at the Weapon Spirit before him. In truth, he wasn't optimistic about Kalin's leadership abilities. Li Lin would have been more at ease with Nia or Angela. After all, the former was meticulous, and the latter excelled at high-pressure terror; therefore, Li Lin wouldn't worry about problems regardless of who led these elves. But Kalin was different. She had virtually no sense of responsibility. Even the fate of the Dark Elf he had protected for years as they descended underground was dismissed with a nonchalant "Oh, that's not so bad." What wouldn't she do? Even if the entire ship of elves died from septicemia and plague, she probably wouldn't even flinch.

"How is the situation?"

"It's alright, I guess."

Kalin shrugged listlessly, as if the end of the world couldn't possibly interest her.

"That Divine Chosen became the leader of the elves, and with her leading them, they were quite obedient. As for the sailors... I must say, those elves are really creative; it's so interesting."

"Oh?"

Because Kalin surprisingly praised someone, Li and Tu Shulin immediately became interested. Under his questioning, Kalin quickly told them everything that had happened. After Li Lin issued the "kill order," the sailors on these ships and the human traffickers who were originally meant to guard the elves all suffered greatly. Although the fat merchant had guessed that Li Lin didn't buy these elves to use as slaves when he boarded the ship, and had strictly warned his men not to cause trouble, the sailors and human traffickers were outside his jurisdiction. Those unfortunate creatures who had previously oppressed the elves immediately suffered the greatest calamity of their lives. Ever since Kalin knocked out the guards and told the Divine Chosen leading the elves that they were "free to move around," almost all of these humans were hung alive at the bow of the ship that night to bleed out, and then became a feast for the fish in the sea. Some of the priests who had been reinstated by the Elf Goddess even used divine magic to prolong the lives of those whose limbs had been bitten off by sharks, until their pitiful screams finally ceased due to some uncontrollable force.

Although Angela felt this revenge lacked creativity and innovation, and was devoid of daring exploration, the fact that the usually gentle elves had gone to such lengths was still a remarkable achievement. Meanwhile, Kalin stayed with the fat merchant and his companions to prevent them from becoming collateral damage. While the elves were well-behaved and, under Kalin's influence, dared not act for the time being, their previous aggression towards humans had clearly stirred a different emotion within them. A race oppressed for centuries had finally gained the right to rise up, and naturally, they wouldn't give up so easily.

Currently, most elves are extremely dissatisfied with aimlessly drifting at sea. In their view, since they have already left the human world, they should naturally return to Elf Island —their homeland. Only there will they truly feel safe, instead of wandering the seas for a purpose they themselves don't even understand. Many elves share this sentiment. At this time, Kalin should have taken on the responsibility assigned to her by Li Lin: calming these elves down and helping them rediscover who their true masters are, freeing them from their damned life of slavery, so that they would willingly work for her.

Unfortunately, Kalin, thinking that "even if the elves are very dissatisfied, it would be quite interesting to see what the blockheads would do after being provoked in this prison of the sea," had no intention of intervening. This directly led to the elves' desire to go home growing stronger—after all, although Kalin herself didn't consider herself an elf, her appearance was indeed that of an elf, and a perfect one at that. Therefore, in this respect, her silence was tacitly interpreted by the elves as her being an ally on their side, causing the situation to become increasingly chaotic.

Seeing that the elves, completely disoriented, were about to sail towards their homeland as they remembered it, the Elf Goddess finally reappeared. After all, these elves were originally her responsibility, so she had to appease her people and clearly demand that they follow Li Lin's arrangements and instructions. She then moored the ship in the designated spot, which could be considered her compensation to Li Lin. After all, her decision to disrupt his plans without consulting him had greatly displeased the Arcane Mage, so this was another form of remedy. Otherwise, perhaps when Li Lin arrived, he would only see the wreckage of the ship—although he might have preferred that scene.

"Anyway, once Her Majesty the Goddess appeared, these elves all obediently shut up, doing nothing but steering the ship and praying to the gods all day long... Hmm, perhaps Her Majesty the Goddess said something, but I don't think these forest monkeys would be so well-behaved."

You yourself are one of them.

Watching Kalin gulp down her tea without any manners, Li Lin frowned, but ultimately didn't say anything, instead letting out a sigh.

"So, is that Divine Chosen One still alive?"

"Of course, Her Majesty the Goddess said she'd leave these elves to her; I can't possibly manage them all anyway."

"Call her over."

After a moment of contemplation, Li Lin made his decision.

"Also, did you find anything else?"

"Of course, Your Excellency."

For some reason, Kalin revealed a very smug smile.

"I have indeed discovered something interesting, but you'll see it soon enough."

"Um?"

Li Lin was somewhat surprised, but just as he was about to ask a question, Kalin had already turned and walked out of the captain's cabin, leaving behind only half a sentence.

"Well then, Your Excellency, I wish you and Nia a speedy reconciliation!"

Then, the so-called "elf" who claimed not to be an elf simply vanished.

"Still the same inexplicable guy as always."

Angela sat on the chair next to her, kicking her legs in dissatisfaction.

"Master, why did you create such a person? What's so good about her?"

"Maybe that's the good thing."

Li Lin didn't say much, but gently tapped the Eternal Library on the table. Nia still didn't reply, clearly still strictly following Angela's instructions. Li Lin, completely unaware of this, found it strange. If it were an ordinary woman, Li Lin would have let her be. But Nia was different. Perhaps it was because this was the first time she had acted this way since her 'birth,' leaving even Li Lin somewhat helpless. It was like a father seeing his once obedient daughter enter her rebellious teenage years, utterly powerless.

Thinking of this, Li Lin looked at Angela suspiciously. The little girl was behaving very quietly at this moment, like a little lady. This was very abnormal. Based on Li Lin's understanding of Angela, although she had a good impression of Nia, she should have clearly stood by him on this issue and given Nia a criticism that was not too harsh but definitely not gentle either. After all, Angela always put Li Lin first, and her style was to say things like "What's the use of carrying a useless weapon?" rather than acting like a lady who doesn't look, hear, or speak of anything improper.

There must be a problem.

Just as Li Lin made up his mind to ask the little guy what had happened, there was a knock on the door. Then, without waiting for his response, Kalin pushed the door open and walked in, grabbing the elf beside her.

"Oh, sir, we're back."