Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1009 - 124 Lin Wei

Chapter 1009: Chapter 124 Lin Wei

"When powerful individuals are in the minority, it indeed happens as they say, since most people lack the strength to resist, and so some of the powerful succumb uncontrollably to their desires and commit various crimes, which is hard to avoid," Pannis explained. "But as the number of the powerful further increases, roughly exceeding half, the public order gradually improves, for those powerful ones begin to have concerns. Once everyone reaches the level of the powerful, to some extent, a strange balance is formed. Everyone is powerful, so everyone is back on the same level, and since all are prominent or even have status, no one wants to tarnish their name with stains; hence, the crime rate not only doesn’t escalate but is far lower than in ordinary cities."

"It’s a curious cycle, isn’t it," Flare replied with a smile to the girls after hearing Pannis’ explanation. "Among the Elves, everyone has sufficient ability to obtain from the forest the resources necessary to sustain life without being forced by survival to violate the law. Moreover, more importantly, our Elven nature is quite distinct, while we cherish freedom, we also prefer to live within order, pursuing orderly freedom, so the vast majority of Elves do not casually break the law, with only very few exceptions. As for the city guards you find puzzling, their main role is to deal with emergencies, such as if professionals of different races were to fight in the city; of course, it’s better if they remain hidden."

During this conversation, the company had walked along the elongated branches all the way to the outer edge of the Royal Palace complex. Upon closer observation, the girls noticed that these stationed guards were not much different from the guards of the previous envoy team; according to what Pannis had said, regardless of their position or strength, all forest guards wore the same uniform, making it impossible to discern their significance within the army by appearance.

The forest guards were the only military unit of the Elves, consistently maintained at a scale of one hundred thousand, all composed of Gold Rank rangers. They could be considered the most formidable army in the Yarran World. In the most recent war between the Elves and humans, known as The 214-Day War or the Slave War, the full contingent of one hundred thousand Gold Rank forest guards deployed, crossing the Beastmen Prairie without any Beastman tribe daring to interfere. It was then that humans of the Fourth Epoch first witnessed the terrifying might of the Elven forest guards. When the battle between the armies unfolded, human fortifications stood no chance against the Elves; a dense volley of arrows obscured the sky for three hours. During those hours, no human soldiers dared show their faces above the fortifications or arrow towers, nor dared stay in any open areas, for as long as the sky was not covered, as long as an Elf spotted them, an arrow would fly to claim their life. For the rangers, fortresses undefended by soldiers were no different than flat ground. In just three hours, the Sighing Barrier, which had held back the Beastmen onslaught for three hundred years, was easily breached. What followed were relentless break-throughs and ruthless slaughters: anyone wielding a weapon was the enemy; anyone in the way was a target to be eliminated. No fancy tactics could work against such overwhelming power; all thirteen human attempts to intercept and counter-attack ended in hopeless failure. Each attempt only deepened the fear humans had for the forest guards.

The strength of the forest guards was too formidable; often, tens of thousands of Gold Rank rangers would start releasing arrows before even making contact, and no military force could find a chance to approach under the relentless storm of arrows, being slaughtered from afar. Of course, there had been a couple of attempts to use ambush tactics to intercept forest guard units, hoping to engage the Elves in close combat and draw them into a difficult fight. The ambushes were successful, and troops managed to close in on the Elves, but the soldiers quickly discovered in horror that the rangers’ close combat skills were nothing like they had imagined. The pair of daggers hidden in the boots and the longsword on the waist were not merely decorative; when daggers and swords were brandished, their killing power was no less than that of close combat professionals. Close combat was far from a weak point for the forest guards; this was the conclusion drawn from the ambushes that cost tens of thousands of soldiers’ blood.

As the procession slowly approached, the city guards at each intersection, although silent, bowed in succession, presenting their respect to Her Majesty the Queen. These city guards, even though Elves with a love for freedom and a laid-back nature, were still military personnel and maintained the basic discipline.

Her Majesty the Queen did not converse with the guards, responding to their salutations with only a smile. At that moment, Flare’s smile was noble and dignified, resembling a deity who looks down upon all creation, or a queen facing her subjects. Of course, she was indeed the queen. The girls had known Flare for several months, but this was the first time they had seen her smile like this—a smile that matched the girls’ notion of what a queen should look like.

"The Royal Palace is just ahead." Having passed the last standing guard, Flare pointed ahead at the building and said, "Beyond that structure, we enter the range of the Royal Palace."

Next to the building Flare pointed out, the girls saw twelve young female Elves gathered, all of whom were dressed unlike any Elf they had seen before. The twelve female Elves wore similarly styled green robes, but these robes were fitted at the waist, better accentuating the wearers’ shapely figures. On their heads, they wore identical circlets made of leaves and vines, adding a touch of natural aura when perched on their heads. Besides that, no other adornments or clothing could be seen on them, not even shoes. Their delicate feet rested on coarse brown tree trunks, making their feet appear even more fair against the dark bark.

"Please wait a moment." Flare bowed slightly in apology and strode quickly towards the female Elves. She took a small package handed to her by one of them and vanished from sight. Thirty seconds later, the Queen reappeared before everyone, now dressed in a green robe of the same style as the other female Elves. The only difference being that she still wore the Sacred Item of the Elves, the Lifespring Ring, on her head.

"I’m finally home. Welcome, everyone, to the Goddess’s world," Flare expressed with a comfortable demeanor, reaching out her hand to the side, and another female Elf promptly handed her a wooden long-handled scepter. Supporting herself on the end of the scepter, the Queen turned and loudly said, "On behalf of Lord Yuktiraxil, I extend a welcome to each of you for your presence."