Highland fortress, Azorean elf camp, early morning.

A thick sea of fog filled the surroundings of the highlands, and a frail Anson Zade sat cross-legged under the flagpole, staring blankly at the river of gems in the distance, the scene of the battle a few days ago flashing back to his mind over and over again as if it had just happened.

Dragons falling from the sky, burning rivers, struggling like ants on fire, wailing elven warriors, hundreds, thousands, hundreds......

Gritting his teeth, the elven boy's eyes closed tightly as he shivered in the cold wind.

It's all me... It's all because of me... That's why I'm going to end up like this... Otherwise, at least......

Slowly opening her eyes, the blindfolded elf girl reflected in her pupils was kneeling beside her, carefully looking after herself, as if she was worried about making a noise.

"Sister, you... How long has it been?!"

Anson Zade, who woke up, blurted out.

"It didn't take long, but I just saw you here, so I waited a minute. The blindfolded elf girl shook her head, and said softly in her immature voice, "Anson is... After a night's work, let's go back to the tent and sleep for a while. ”

Falsehood.

The soaking coat, the dripping hair, the water marks on the side... If you hadn't spent more than an hour in this thick fog, you wouldn't have become like this at all.

Sister-sama... I'm still not good at lying.

The elf boy couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's wrong?" asked Lori Zade, who heard the laughter.

"It's nothing, it's just that I suddenly remembered some happy things in the past, and I couldn't help but ......"

"Yes, yes, at this time, you have to think of something happy to get yourself out of trouble. The babbling elf girl nodded in agreement: "When I'm tired on weekdays, I can't help but think of the time I used to practice with Anson." ”

"Time flies, in the blink of an eye, the flowers are gorgeous is yesterday - memory, life, it is precisely because of this beginning and end that it is precious. ”

Looking at Lori Zade, who was trying to comfort her, there was a hint of gratitude in the elf boy's smile.

That's right, if it weren't for herself, my sister wouldn't have fallen to such a point, and with her strength, she could ......

"But!" said Lori Zadeh suddenly:

For Lori, if she can't meet the ending with Anson, then no matter how good the memories are, it seems that there will always be some regrets. ”

"Sister-sama......"

Resisting the urge to cry, a smile appeared on the elf boy's face: "That... Could this be where we end?"

"I don't know... The stupid Anson always seems to forget that people can't see it. The smiling blindfolded elf girl shook her head: "Highlands, plains, hills, rivers, sea of fog...... These colored pictures are the same for Lori. ”

"yes, I almost forgot. With a slightly pale, Anson Zade changed the subject: "So for my sister, what kind of scene is the most perfect ending?"

"The perfect ending ......"

The elf girl raised her head slightly, and the index finger of her right hand lightly touched the corner of her lips: "Spring is already in front of you, if it is in the signs, it won't be too long before the peach blossoms are in full bloom." ”

"Peach blossoms... Speaking of which, the peach blossoms in my hometown always bloom later than elsewhere. ”

"yes, yes. The elf girl couldn't help but nod.

Thinking of the scenery of his childhood hometown, the smiling Anson couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

For every elven warrior, they are fighting to save the life and death of the Azorean elves because their hometown was invaded and destroyed by monsters and evil gods from the void, and they resolutely embarked on this road destined to overflow with blood.

Unlike the "Imperials" who were almost slaves in the Dragon Kingdom era, the Azorean Elves possess more bloodlines from the Dragon Kingdom, which gives the Azorean Elves an innate qualification to contact the power of the Void.

But it's not a blessing, it's a curse.

This innate "talent" is like the five senses of the Azorean elves, even if they are unconscious, they can still use this power, and a large amount of the power of the void without controlling it will produce the remnants of the power of the void, attracting the existence from the void.

Vampires, ghouls, ogres... Even the body of the evil god, all the monsters that were mutated and distorted by the power of the void, were born in this way.

From ancient times to the present, the elven warriors who wield long knives and fight all kinds of monsters do not know that the source of the monsters they kill is none other than themselves.

The way of the samurai, born from spiritual practice, gave the Azorean elven warriors more extraordinary power than before, and only a few elven warriors were aware of it, and after the birth of this power, they faced monsters that were more powerful than before.

Everything, until the man arrived.

Harim Van Ashamai.

It was a blessed day for the wizards of the Azores, and a day that could never be mentioned, forever cursed, for the entire race of the Azorean elves.

The man who gave him wisdom and blood, brought magic.

Alchemy, spells, ancient runes...... For the first time, the Azorean elves knew just how powerful their innate power really was.

But they don't know how heavy the consequences of this great power are;

By the time they find out... It's too late, it's too late.

The homeland of the Azorean elves, the fertile land separated from the empire by the sea of mist has been completely eroded by the power of the void, and has become an abyssal hell infested with monsters.

And the source of this evil power - according to the Eagle King, is in the lands of the Sakran Empire.

The future of the Azorean elves can only be achieved by eradicating the empire and uprooting their faith, magic, and everything else that has to do with it.

Fight for life and death, fight for righteousness... Every Azorean elf who sets foot on the battlefield is like this.

Are you sure?

If His Majesty the Eagle King were standing here, Anson would really want to ask him this... Is it all true?

Even if they eradicate everything from the Imperials and the evil god of the Holy Cross they believe in, and inherit the legacy of the ancient dragon kingdom... The curse borne by the Azorean elves will not go away.

In doing so, at most, it is just to start a new reincarnation, and the Azorean elves, who have the way of magic and the way of the samurai, may only take a hundred years or two to turn this land into a monster ravaging defense, such a salvation... It cannot be called "the righteousness of saving life and death" at all.

Anson Zade, who has been studying the power of the void for many years, does not think that the Azorean elves, who were destined to bear a curse from the beginning, can end their fate through a war... It's better to say that because of this, it is called fate.

The Azorean elves, who inherited the legacy of the Dragon Kingdom, have only two paths to follow from beginning to end - either desperately resist the power of the Void and usher in destruction, or take the initiative to embrace the power of the Void and end up with the Dragon Kingdom.

So ...... exactly?

"Smack. ”

The blindfolded elf girl, who noticed Anson's mood swings, gently pressed her brother's arm and snuggled him against her shoulder.

"It doesn't matter, everything will pass, everything will be fine. Babbling, Lori Zade said softly: "On the day of prosperity and bloom, there is known to be a season of withering, and when the wind and snow disperse, it is another season of splendor." ”

Suppressing the worries in his heart, Anson, who was intoxicated by the elf girl's poetry, showed a natural smile on the corner of his mouth.

Until a burst of footsteps broke the rare calm.

"Lord Zad!"

An elven warrior knelt down on one knee in front of the two of them, and said respectfully: "From the direction of the siege position, a group of imperial messengers have arrived... Do you want to meet them?"

Taking a deep breath of the thick mist overflowing with water vapor, the elf boy's expression became indifferent again:

"Let them come. ”

The elven warrior bowed and turned to leave.

A quarter of an hour later, in the sea of fog, a group of figures with torches appeared outside the camp of the Azorean elves, and entered the barracks "accompanied" and surrounded by a group of elven warriors.

The leader is none other than Lusen.

Scanning the Azorean elven warriors around him, the gray-eyed boy couldn't even see the slightest hint of anger and fear in their expressions and eyes... Even any emotion.

It was as if he and the witchers and Byrne knights standing here were not their enemies, but a group of bystanders who had nothing to do with them.

No, they know they are their enemies, they just don't care anymore.

After more than ten days of death-to-death battles, repeated defeats, uninterrupted casualties, no hope for reinforcements to arrive, and helplessness with no ammunition and food... Not to mention a group of Azorean elves in a foreign land, even if it were replaced by the army of the Imperials, I am afraid it would have collapsed a long time ago.

Just a group of desperate walking dead waiting for their own death... Just as Lord Loren described.

Lusen couldn't help but think that if in the same situation, he was surrounded by enemies on all sides and ran out of ammunition and food, Lord Loren... Will he come to save himself?

But the thought only flashed through his mind... If it were Lord Loren, he would not have let himself fall into such a terrible situation.

But even if it's true, I should be willing, after all......

"Welcome, mortal enemies of the Azorean elves. ”

The elf boy who frowned slightly looked at Lu Sien in front of him, and said indifferently: "I don't know your intentions, is there anything we can help?"

"If it's an invitation to fight, please excuse me—we're here, you're right down the mountain, and if you want to kill us, please!"

Before the gray-eyed boy could speak, Anson snapped.

Raising her eyebrows, Lusen didn't have the idea of arguing with the elf boy, and turned her gaze to Lori Zade on the side.

"On the orders of Lord Loren Turin, I have come to fulfill a promise made to Lord Lori Zade. ”

"Promise?"

Without waiting for the other party to react, the expressionless Lusen stepped forward, pulled out a long knife from under the cloak, and threw it at the blindfolded elf girl standing beside Anson.

"Smack!"

Lori Zade, who raised her right hand, caught it steadily, and at the moment when her palm touched the hilt, she was slightly stunned: "This is ......"

"The famous sword of the Zade family, which has been passed down through the generations, was left to the Duke as a witness during the last confrontation between His Excellency and the Duke. The gray-eyed boy said in a deep voice:

"The Duke thinks that the time has come to fulfill the agreement between the two parties. ”

"Tomorrow at noon, if Lori and Anson Zade decide to fulfill this agreement, then they will trek down the mountain, and the Duke will raise the battle flag of the golden lion on a black background at the bottom of the mountain, and wait for the two of them to come. ”

"If you don't... Then before the evening the Empire will launch a final attack and completely capture the territory of the Empire that has been seized by you, when the dragon roars......"

"It's your death. ”

In the midst of the fog, the camp of the Azorean elves was dead silent.

No angry warriors, no angry quarrels, invectives, roars and brave men who can't wait to go to the battlefield... The barracks of elven warriors were densely packed, and it was as quiet as a tomb.

The news of the ultimatum, as if it had been agreed upon a long time ago, was not enough to make a fuss about them.

After waiting for a minute, Lusen didn't say anything more, and turned away with the knights and demon hunters with a slight bow, not bothering to look at the Zad siblings behind him.

To him, it was already two corpses.

"Wait a minute. ”

As the words sounded, several elven warriors blocked the way of Lusan and his party.

Glancing at Lori Zad beside her, the elven boy with an indifferent face turned his gaze and slowly walked towards Lusen:

"Please tell His Excellency Loren Turin, Duke of Byrne, that I and my sister, accept his invitation—tomorrow at noon, we will go to the agreed place, but ......"

Anson changed his words: "At that time, it will not only be the two of us who will fight him, but also all the elven warriors who will not obediently submit to your imperial people, will participate in this duel!"

"We will fight with Your Excellency until the last Azorean elven warrior falls—this duel will end when the samurai's blood is sprinkled all over the earth!"

The elven boy said in a deep voice, staring at Lusan with fixed eyes.

Looking back, Lu Sien met his gaze, and after a moment, nodded solemnly: "Understood, I will completely relay this sentence to Lord Loren." ”

As the words fell, the elf boy waved his hand and let Lu Sien and his party leave.

When he turned back, Lori Zade was already standing beside him, holding the long knife that had been passed down from generation to generation by the Zade family.

"Anson, you really ......"

"Ahh Yes, my sister. The elf boy nodded at him, his expression extremely calm: "This should be... That's the end for us. ”

"On the day of prosperity and bloom, it is known that there is a season of withering, and when the wind and snow disperse, it is another season of splendor... Tomorrow is the moment when we wither. ”

Sensing that the elf boy beside him was in a stable mood, Lori Zade stopped persuading him.

"If you can, I'd love to see the peach blossoms in my hometown again. ”

"There will be, there will be. Anson turned his head to look at the blindfolded elf girl, and said categorically:

"Wait until noon tomorrow, and the flowers will be dazzling!"

。 m.