Chapter 47: Seeds of Industrial Reform, the Darkness Underneath Elven Perfection (part 2)

Due to the need to inspect the supporting industries around the Oak Tree Mine, Yang Hao and his group, guided by Arthur, headed to a nearby village to rest.

The Elves here had been blacksmiths or fletchers for generations. Compared to the Sky Garden Fingal, this village had a relatively balanced gender ratio.

If you overlooked the fact that the remaining male Elves seemed to be quite young, while the female Elves appeared to be old maidens who had lived for hundreds of years.

Arthur seemed very familiar with this place and tried to lead them to a small restaurant to enjoy some local Elven delicacies. However, they were interrupted by a commotion in the village.

“Let go of me! Let me out! I want to avenge Fen! Don’t try to stop me… don’t stop me!”

At first, it was the shrill scream of an Elven woman. Yang Hao and Teresa frowned, and Narujia stepped back cautiously, secretly crafting a small golem behind her just in case.

Arthur, on the other hand, made a troubled facepalm gesture.

“Here we go again,” said the man in the mask with a wry smile. “It’s probably the village’s withered branch causing the commotion. If nothing goes wrong, the Elven guards will be here soon to clean up the mess.”

However, before the Elven guards could arrive, a stern-faced Elf woman broke through the crowd with an angry expression.

Arthur quickly pulled Yang Hao and Teresa behind him, then followed the furious Elven woman. As she turned to scold him, Arthur used an enchantment on his mask to cast a spell.

A flash of blue light. The Elf woman collapsed, unconscious, and Arthur caught her in his arms.

The other Elves hurried over, visibly relieved. They thanked Arthur profusely while nodding their heads, then carefully took the unconscious woman from his arms and carried her back to a house in the village.

“That Elf is called Nitas… Her name is quite long. She’s an elder, around 1,000 years old,” Arthur murmured quietly, signaling everyone to follow him.

“Her condition is a bit complicated and has become quite common in Elven society. Well, where should I start? How about we grab some food first?”

“More than your explanation, I’m curious about how proficient you are at knocking out Elves. It’s like you’re a seasoned abductor.”

“Naturally. Before I married Viya, I must have used this method to knock out countless lovely ladies. Looking back, it was dangerous. If I hadn’t made agreements with them, those lovesick Elves might have started a deadly game because of me. Sigh! Being handsome and capable can be a mistake. So, Your Majesty, could you please tell these two ladies to stop looking at me like I’m trash?”

Arthur gazed up at the sky, while Yang Hao watched his subordinate’s back, lost in thought.

‘It seems that the problems of outdated production and military methods in the Elven society were preceded by even deeper issues caused by their pursuit of perfection. This is not good news,’ Yang Hao thought, shaking his head. ‘It’s really not good news.’

***

They arrived at a restaurant in a village near the Oak Tree Mine, renowned throughout Caparia for its pre-demonic disaster era traditional cuisine.

Arthur generously booked the best private room. After everyone ordered their favorite dishes, he took off his mask.

“That elf, let’s call her Nitas. To me, she’s genuinely an old granny, and the main reason she became a withered branch is related to events that occurred around the demonic disaster a thousand years ago. I heard this from the village chief, and considering many old elves still hold grudges about those times, I believe it’s true. But before that, I need to explain an important trait about the elves. They are extremely… stubborn about feelings.”

“We know that,” Yang Hao nodded. “So, this is actually about some emotional mishap? And what does withered branch mean? Is it a term for people opposed to the elven kingdom? Earlier, I thought they were apprehending those with infectious diseases, not dealing with their own kin.”

“Not exactly.”

With this as an opening, Arthur sighed and began to explain to Yang Hao and the others how the most important aspect of feelings holds weight and influences the seemingly flawless social structure of the elves.

Elves, when they loved someone, would go to extreme lengths to keep that person by their side.

Likewise, when elves hated someone, they would use the most extreme measures to expel or kill them.

Elves rarely harbored feelings of dislike or hatred towards other elves. In other words, if an elf fell in love with another elf, they would become the most steadfast companions, inseparable by anyone.

But during the demonic disaster war centuries ago, to combat the calamity known as the demonic disaster that swept across the world and to fight invaders from another dimension, many elves left their homeland with the resolve to die. Many elves also watched their husbands’ departing backs with the steadfast belief that they might fall in foreign lands.

If the warriors who went to war had truly died at the hands of the demonic disaster, the term withered branch might not have emerged.

But the problem was…

They did not perish at the hands of the demonic disaster demons but were killed by human blades.

“According to uncertain records, it seems that an empire named Bayerzost was betrayed by its vassal state, which it protected, forcing it to sink underground and perish alongside the demonic disaster. During this time, many elves were also involved. If it were about living and dying with their allies, the elves would have no complaints. The key issue was that some of the elves who escaped were killed by the betrayers on their way back to their homeland. Maybe it was due to miscommunication leading to a wrong judgment, or maybe it was because the enemy held the Light Divine Power that only the Bayerzost Empire possessed. The elves were killed unprepared, stripped of all their equipment, and even their bodies were casually discarded in the forest to be devoured by wild beasts. When the withered branches set out to retrieve their husbands’ belongings from the battlefield, only to find their husbands’ bodies slain by humans on the way… At that moment, the elves transformed from ordinary beings into withered branches, individuals who appeared excessively crazed and obsessed even in the eyes of other elves.”

The waiter served the food. Amidst the clinking of bowls and plates, Arthur fell silent for a while. Only after the waiter left did he continue.

“Elves only love one person in their lifetime. They respect that person’s wishes but will go to any lengths to keep them. Your Majesty, imagine if it were you, nervously enduring the days with the fear that your lover might die at the hands of the enemy. Finally, when you muster the courage to collect her remains, you discover she was killed by those you were supposed to protect. How would you feel?”

Yang Hao paused, looking back at the quietly eating Teresa.

Yang Hao pondered for a moment, then answered without hesitation, “I would find the culprit and torture him in the most brutal way.”

“Exactly.”

Arthur snapped his fingers, using his knife and fork to pick up a piece of vegetable and place it in his mouth.

Crunch, crunch. The sound of the vegetable being bitten echoed crisply. Even while eating, Arthur didn’t stop his explanation.

“The withered branches discovered that their husbands were killed by betrayers. From an elven perspective, it is natural to seek revenge. But, Your Majesty, the lifespan of elves is extremely long, while the lifespan of humans, compared to theirs, is incredibly short. Some withered branches were lucky enough to find the dying culprits and exact their revenge. But what about those who only found their husbands’ bodies after a few hundred years? Who can they avenge then?”

Elves could live for a very long time. The oldest elf was said to be almost two thousand years old.

In this context, for elves, events that happened a few hundred years ago might translate to ten years ago in human terms.

Humans would go to great lengths to search for a child kidnapped twenty years ago, so how much more would an elf for their loved one?

The problem was, human lifespans were just too short.

For elves, the hatred might feel as fresh as yesterday, but for humans who have lived through hundreds of years, they would think that elves seeking justice for the crimes committed by their great-grandfathers was baseless and nothing but senseless murder.

Elves were a race that strictly adhered to their promises.

Without direct evidence, even if the withered branches crazily believed that the murderers of their husbands were followers of the God of Light, the Elven Kingdom could not break its promises before finding proof.

But even if they find proof, what then?

The original culprits had long since passed away, leaving behind descendants who saw themselves as innocent and undeserving of their forebears’ punishment. In some cases, the bloodline might not even exist anymore, with the title being inherited by a caretaker from an orphanage.

Yet, to the enraged withered branches, the searing pain and anger they felt hundreds of years ago remain fresh. They couldn’t forget the agony of discovering their husbands’ bodies, nor the fury of realizing they were betrayed.

Their love for their husbands had completely transformed into hatred for the betrayers, but the elves, who strictly adhered to their promises, couldn’t provide help without evidence.

It seemed this perfect race of elves was indeed outdated. They rigidly adhere to all promises and follow ancient traditions, causing the withered branches to twist in their grief and anger, becoming what Yang Hao and the others witnessed.

The withered branches still yearned for revenge. Since elves did not harm their own kind, they could only restrict their movements and have esteemed elders provide comfort and counsel.

However, those elders themselves couldn’t escape the emotional entanglements of their race, so how could they be expected to solve the inner turmoil of the withered branches?

“So, this is utterly hopeless,” Arthur said with a bitter yet relieved expression. “In my opinion, if elves didn’t adhere to promises or weren’t so stubborn about emotions, there wouldn’t be any withered branches. But elves are this stubbornly perfect race. Beneath the seemingly perfect society lies a hive-like array of holes. This is one of the core reasons why Fen hoped Your Majesty could oversee the reforms. If the elves don’t undergo social and cultural changes soon, their already sparse population will be on the brink of collapse due to the increasing number of withered branches. It’s manageable during peacetime, but in wartime, especially during the invasion by the Theocracy, the number of withered branches will inevitably increase. She hopes you can bring about reforms to help the elves face war, but even more, she hopes you can change the essence of the elves.”

Having said this, Arthur had finished his meal.

After realizing the outdated and flawed reality beneath the elves’ perfect exterior, Yang Hao could only contemplate in silence and acknowledge a significant issue.

Even from the elves’ perspective, this was not a problem that could be solved by a short-term reign.

The elves, in truth, wanted him to become their regent forever.

They ate their now tasteless delicacies in silence.

Yang Hao’s notebook was increasingly filled with crossed-out plans and ideas.

Eventually, he proposed a thought, “Better to channel than to block.”

The impending war with the Diocese was inevitable.

If it were possible to conscript the withered branches for military training while minimizing casualties, they could become resolute and fervent soldiers.

Since they believed that the predecessors of the God of Light Church had killed their husbands, they might as well be allowed to kill the Church’s adherents to vent their anger.

And this approach shouldn’t just apply to this war. The Elven Kingdom should declare war on the Diocese in the future as well.

However, it would be a strategy of declare but do not attack, providing domestic development time through a no front-line conflict stance while using the ongoing war status to pacify the withered branches. This could work out well.

Under the threat of war, the unity a race could muster was unparalleled.

Yang Hao’s brother-in-arms once united all the plains tribes against a common enemy, the barbarians.

So, this time, the Elven Kingdom could unite the marginalized withered branches under the banner of the Diocese as the enemy, which would naturally be very effective.

But this would force Yang Hao to address the elves’ emotional shortcomings.

They seemed far too stubborn. This was, in some ways, a good thing, but for others, it was definitely a problem.

The most typical example was Arthur in front of him.

“Are you really okay with so many elves looking at you?”

Facing Yang Hao’s concern, Arthur just shrugged. “It’s fine. After marrying Veya, I promised to meet with them regularly. It’s a promise I made to get them to stop fighting among themselves. In a way, as long as I keep dancing on this knife’s edge, Veya won’t have a problem.”

“And Veya still breaks your legs?”

“Well, Veya is the one who most wants to fight to the death with them, so to prevent any bloodshed, I have to sacrifice my legs. A man losing a leg is better than ten women fighting to the death in secret until only one is left. Sigh, Your Highness, being loved by one elf is fine, but being loved by a dozen is truly deadly.”

“Hard work, Arthur.”

“Thank you. But, Your Highness, I think you might have a harder time in the future than I do.”

Faced with his subordinate’s advice, Yang Hao couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.

He suddenly realized that not only Arthur but also himself seemed to be targeted by a certain high-ranking elf.

That elf gave him the position of Regent and seemed to subtly hint at co-ruling the Elven Kingdom with him…

‘Being loved by an elf, in a way, was not necessarily a good thing.’

He mused over this while finishing off the now-cold vegetables in his bowl.

And Sister Teresa, having finished her meal, just quietly watched him. Her eyes glimmered with a peculiar light.