The Northern Flower in Bloom

"Channels three through five have been cleared. How is the protective measure in place?"

Inside the library of Ringwraith City, a young girl with long chestnut hair was directing other mages. Their task was to categorize and organize the books. However, this was no simple task. The Ringwraith City library was far more than just a repository of "books." Its danger surpassed even that of some nations' armies. In fact, the mages qualified to manage the library were not the hopeless "job seekers" one might imagine, but rather elite warriors. They were required to use their extensive magical knowledge to categorize all the magical books, ensuring that the powers within them wouldn't clash and cause undesirable consequences. These mages also had to determine which floor a visitor was allowed to access to find the information they desired, preventing those driven mad or into greater danger by the books' Magic Power due to overconfidence and vanity.

Therefore, organizing books became a very dangerous task for the library.

The mages first had to categorize the spellbooks according to their level of danger and carefully set them aside. Then, they would replenish the bookshelves with protective spells that were about to dissipate to ensure that the spellbooks could still function. Of course, they also had to be careful that the spellbooks that had temporarily broken free of their restraints might suddenly activate and cause a disaster. This was not something that an ordinary librarian could do.

Right now, under the girl's direction, the mages are carrying out their work methodically. They are carefully using negative energy to condense the book, suppressing the active energy within. At the same time, they are clearing the passageway and beginning the moving operation.

This young girl was none other than Kelisi, one of the Arcane Mage candidates that Nia had once affirmed. After the battle with Li Lin, Nia recruited the twenty-odd mages who performed exceptionally well into the ranks of the Magic Scholars. Of course, these mages didn't yet understand what they were facing. Initially, no one knew what the "Magic Scholars" was. However, after a great deal of work, everyone finally understood that this so-called "Magic Scholars" was actually an academic discussion body composed of mages. They needed to evaluate spells here, create and invent new spells, and organize the current positions and levels of spells. During this process, these young mage apprentices also made a qualitative leap. From the fact that Kelisi was wearing a skirt that was already past her knees, it could be seen that she had become a mid-level mage. In less than a year, the girl had improved from a mage apprentice to such a level. Although her talent as Arcane Mage was indispensable, her hard work was equally essential.

Just as everyone was working diligently, the ground suddenly began to shake. Kelisi immediately ordered the mages to stop and cautiously scan their surroundings to avoid any potential accidents.

Just then, a low-level mage ran up to her.

"Miss Kelisi, Lady Nia orders you to proceed to the main tower immediately."

"Heading to the main tower?"

Hearing this, Kelisi was slightly taken aback, then nodded to the mage and looked at the others.

"I have to leave now. Be careful not to cause any accidents, especially when extracting energy from the Negative Energy Plane channels. Be sure to prevent it from spreading! From now on, Ailan will be in charge. Just follow her orders."

After calmly issuing the orders, Kelisi turned and left the Great Library.

Stepping out of the heavy, dark library doors, the warm sunlight bathed the girl, making her feel incredibly comfortable. Kelisi looked up and saw three pure white figures flying across the sky. In this short time, Ringwraith City had undergone tremendous changes, a fact Kelisi had already witnessed. The city used to be very quiet; even walking the streets, you wouldn't see many people. But now, it was different. The city was full of vitality. Even on the streets, you could see residents of many races—elves, hybrids, and even some orcs and Dark Elf. Here, under the might of the Magic Empire, they could actually coexist peacefully. This was truly unimaginable to Kelisi.

Moreover, for Kelisi, this city brought her immense peace of mind. Before the rise of the Magic Empire, Kelisi had never imagined living in a city like this. In the cities on land, humans always made up the majority, while half-humans like Kelisi were a minority. This meant they were frequently bullied and oppressed, and even when treated unfairly, no one would help these refugees. Therefore, no matter where she was, Kelisi never felt it was her desired home, not even in the City of a Thousand Towers. She couldn't do anything for it, nor could she gain anything through her own efforts. This was clearly not a good thing for the half-human girl.

But things are different now. In Ringwraith City, she can walk proudly down the street, using her power to do what she can for the city. And now, there are not only elves and orcs, but even angels! Perhaps, in the future, there will be dwarves and other races! This makes Kelisi very reassured. Of course, even though the Magic Empire does not advocate the idea of "all men are created equal," it does not deliberately divide people into classes based on race, which is exactly what makes Kelisi happiest.

Even so, there are still forbidden zones within the Ringwraith City.

Kelisi knew very well that the cemetery floating in the far west was a forbidden area for all residents of Ringwraith City. Besides being a symbol of burial for the dead, it was also the dwelling place of Dark Elf and undead. Although the Dark Elf were not as aggressive as before, they were still not very friendly towards other races. The research area managed by Miss Yi Aier was similarly off-limits to any non-research members; of course, besides the principle of military secrecy, the occasional energy bursts within also deterred most people.

And then there's the Scourge Legion...

Within Ringwraith City, only a small fraction of the population knew the current course of the war. Most others only knew that the Magic Empire had used the Scourge Legion to destroy the Five-Nation Alliance. Of course, such a vague description was unlikely to stir much emotion. After all, even if you heard on the news that an attack had killed or wounded over a hundred people, you wouldn't react much. They would only marvel at how powerful the Magic Empire's army was, and how fragile the arrogant Five-Nation Alliance was.

But when you see with your own eyes those corpses with their heads smashed open, their internal organs spilling out, their mouths agape as rats burrow into their heads in search of food, even just a few of them, it's enough to fill you with dread.

Kelisi and the others had mixed feelings. On one hand, they believed that the Five-Nation Alliance had brought this upon itself, while on the other hand, they were worried that the Magic Empire might go too far. However, when they discovered that even the angels, who represented goodness and justice, had become the Magic Empire's accomplices, Kelisi and the others' doubts gradually disappeared.

Reaching the main tower was an easy task. Ringwraith City was essentially a miniature Capital of the Magic Empire, with portals at the end of each street to transport residents to their desired destinations. Of course, just in case, the streets were also connected by beautifully decorated passageways and staircases, surrounded by lush greenery, and the perpetual spring made everything here vibrant and full of life. However, Kelisi clearly didn't have time for that. She stood on the teleportation array, and then, with a flash of light before her eyes, after a moment of dizziness, the scenery instantly changed, transforming into a towering tower.

The Dark Elf guards responsible for protecting the teleportation array immediately noticed Kelisi. They gripped their weapons warily, and after seeing Kelisi's uniform and the insignia she wore, they nodded in acknowledgment and then moved aside to clear the path leading to the tower.

As Kelisi walked step by step into the tower, she noticed that something seemed amiss today. Within Ringwraith City, the tower was always the quietest place. Although its designed capacity was enough to accommodate thousands of people to live and work there, in reality, only a few hundred people were currently qualified to come here. Therefore, even if all of these people worked in the tower, it would still maintain a solemn and quiet atmosphere.

But today, the place was unusually bustling. Kelisi was surprised to find that there were quite a few elves here, who rarely appeared in the past. Among them, she also saw some mages who were responsible for researching magical weapons. They were all gathered in twos and threes, seemingly waiting for something. Of course, a few mages who knew Kelisi greeted her, but even they didn't know what they wanted to do here.

Putting aside her doubts, Kelisi strode into the tower, then entered the teleportation array and activated the pointers on it.

The smooth stone slabs rose slowly under the power of magic, bringing the girl into the interior of the tower.

When Chris arrived at the location Nia had specified, Kelisi was surprised again, because she didn't see anyone there. Instead, she saw some strange things.

Those things look very strange.

At first glance, anyone would mistake it for a demon's weapon. While its purpose remains unclear, its ferocious shape and jet-black hue are undeniably terrifying. This colossal object stands silently within the storage space expanded by dimensional magic. However, upon closer inspection, an unusual beauty is revealed—not the allure of demons, but a combination of the elegance and refinement favored by elves. This only amplifies the bizarre feeling, like attaching beautiful wings to a shark—utterly grotesque.

"Lady Nia?"

Kelisi hesitated for a few steps before taking a look back, wondering if she had gone to the wrong place. But when she turned around, a pair of bright red eyes suddenly appeared before her!

"!!!"

The protective spell activated instantly, enveloping Kelisi's body. She gasped in surprise, covering her mouth and taking several steps back before regaining her footing.

"You're such a coward, you beast woman."

Angela stood triumphantly in front of her, looking at Kelisi, whose face was deathly pale.

"Miss Angela..."

After seeing the other party's true form clearly, Kelisi breathed a long sigh of relief. In fact, almost everyone in the magic academy knew Angela. Although she was clearly not a mage, she always liked to wander around the academy. At first, the students didn't take this little girl seriously, but after she taught a few fools who dared to provoke her a lesson, no one dared to say anything to this little girl anymore—especially after learning that she was Arcane Mage familiar and the ruler of the Scourge Legion.

This wasn't Kelisi's first meeting with Angela, but after several encounters, she had gained some understanding of the little girl's personality. Although the little girl seemed fierce and cruel, as long as you maintained sufficient respect and politeness in front of her and ignored things that didn't need to be understood, everything would be fine.

Why did you scare me... You almost scared me to death.

"Hmph, so you're just a fragile little kitten."

Angela raised an eyebrow smugly in response to Kelisi's reply.

"All you do is protect yourself all day, but you can't even protect your own fragile heart. Who knows, you might just scare yourself to death and mold in your proud tin can, you beast woman?"

Upon hearing this, Kelisi's expression hardened. She naturally understood Angela's warning. Admittedly, protective mages could use various means to protect their minds and bodies, but most of those were only under prepared conditions. When faced with these sudden "heretical" attacks, it was meaningless if one could not maintain a strong mind.

"Thank you for reminding me, Angela."

Kelisi knew that when she met Angela, she must not let her lead the conversation, or she would never be able to come back.

"Where is Lady Nia? I have received orders from Lady Nia..."

"Sister Nia will be here soon. You can wait here for a bit."

Angela had barely finished speaking when she suddenly disappeared. Just as Kelisi was momentarily stunned, Angela's voice suddenly came from behind her.

"You're still a virgin, beastman. How about offering your blood to me? I've tasted many types, but you're a hybrid like me for the first time..."

"This..."

Although she had mentally prepared herself, Kelisi was still startled by Angela. She quickly turned and retreated, but lost sight of Angela again. After all, Kelisi was only a mid-level mage, and she was no match for Angela. However, Kelisi understood that the little one just wanted to play with her, so she wasn't too worried.

Just then, footsteps came from the other side, so Kelisi quickly focused her attention and stared intently at the other side.

Then, a male voice rang out, immediately making Kelisi tense up.

"Your Majesty, if I hadn't suggested relocating the elves, were you planning to let that thing slumber in the mud for another thousand years? To be honest, I never imagined that you elves would steal, especially from our Magic Empire."

"That was not an order I gave, Your Arcane Mage."

A clear, pleasant, and comforting female voice rang out, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"I only learned of this from the Elf Goddess... My Arcane Mage, could we please stop discussing this matter? While I admit that stealing is wrong, isn't it a good thing that we've preserved such valuable property for your Magic Empire?"

"This sounds like something out of a story about the Eight-Nation Alliance looting artifacts and taking them back to museums... Never mind, it's not really your fault. I'll settle the score with Asalisi later."

"This... My Arcane Mage, could you please not treat our Elf Goddess like this...?"

As the voices spoke, two people came into Kelisi's view. One of them was Arcane Mage, still wearing his signature robes (after the uniform reform, only Li Lin's clothing remained unchanged, leading to some complaints in the academy about "only officials are allowed to set fires, while commoners are forbidden to light lamps"). Beside him floated a stunningly beautiful elven woman, but Kelisi only glanced at her before quickly lowering her head, because this elven woman, completely enveloped in a water sphere, was entirely naked, without any covering whatsoever.

"Um?"

At that moment, Li Lin clearly noticed Kelisi as well.

How did you get here?

"Respected Arcane Mage."

Kelisi placed her hand on her chest and gave Li Lin a solemn mage's salute before continuing to speak.

"I am..."

"She was sent by Sister Nia, right, Beast Girl?"

Angela, who had been missing since earlier, suddenly peeked out from behind Li Lin, staring at Kelisi with a strange smile, forcing Chris to swallow back what she was about to say.

"... That's right, Lady Angela, Lady Li Lin. I'm here on Lady Nia's orders. May I ask...?"

"Nia entrusted this matter to you?"

Li Lin frowned slightly, but Kelisi obviously didn't notice.

"Then you can wait here for now."

"Yes, Arcane Mage."

Although Kelisi still didn't know why she had been called here, she stood aside patiently as Li Lin had instructed.