Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 991 - 106: The Three Forgotten People

Chapter 991: Chapter 106: The Three Forgotten People

Entering the Elven Royal Court, what one saw could be described more as a sparse woodland than a city; there were no buildings in sight, just an abundance of sturdy trees whose lush canopies merged to obscure the sky overhead. On sunny days, the sunlight would filter through the gaps between the leaves, creating patches of dappled shade on the ground.

A circular area was divided into four zones by two main stone roads, paved with blue slabs and only twenty meters wide—quite narrow for the main arteries of a large city. However, numerous side paths branched out on either side of these main roads, spreading to every corner of the circular area like tree roots or veins of a leaf. These side paths were all winding and nothing like the straight main roads; and with nearby trees looking very alike, an unfamiliar person could easily lose their way if they wandered without relying on the sun or tools, unable to discern any direction on their paths.

In this woodland dubbed a city, it was common to see lamps for illumination hanging from the lower branches of trees. Vivian glanced and immediately concluded that these were not the usual Crystal Energy lamps, but rather the magic lamps commonly used by magicians. The biggest differences lay in the methods and range of energy supply. Both types of lighting systems operated from a powering Array that provided the main energy, which was then transported to each lamp via energy conduits, one using Crystal Energy, the other using magic energy.

The range of coverage referred to the maximum number of lamps that the lighting system could support. With a system composed of Crystal Energy lamps, due to the upper limit of crystal capacity and the steep price increase with higher capacity crystals, the range of these systems was decidedly limited. Typically, a crystal worth 3,000 Tael could only power up to one hundred Crystal Energy lamps, and although each lamp could remain lit for eighty continuous hours, the number could not be increased further. However, the size of a city required vast amounts of bright illumination for city streets, implying that each recharge would consume a huge amount of crystals; financially, this expense surpassed the threshold of what a city manager could bear each month on street lighting alone. Thus, in regular cities, traditional oil lamps were usually used for nighttime street illumination, with Crystal Energy systems reserved only for specific key areas to enhance brightness. The magic energy systems, however, only required an Array tapping into a powerful Mana Node, achieving vast energy supply sufficient to support an almost unlimited number of lamps, although such nodes were not commonplace, making wide application difficult in most cities.

Of course, as the birthplace of the Forest School of mages, the Elven Royal Court did not face the awkward scenario of lacking mana nodes; the selection of its location had taken into account the abundance of mana nodes. Even with several magic towers built within the Royal Court, the remaining nodes could still meet all the public facilities in the city, including illumination.

After more than ten hours of flight, the time had approached evening. Huront’s fires dimmed while the Moonlight Triplets lingered on the edge of the horizon, ready to ascend the night’s stage. Below the tree canopy, darkness fell unusually early in the city, hence, at just dusk, many of the Crystal Energy lamps along the branches had turned on, casting the city in bright light.

"Is every area like this, or is it just where we are that maintains this brightness?" Catherine asked in surprise, "If the whole city is like this, how much energy must that consume? If you converted this energy to crystals, the gold spent in one year would probably equal the annual income of a small city, wouldn’t it?"

"Big sister, this is magic energy," Vivian said, covering her face and tugging at Catherine’s sleeve, "It can’t be converted to crystals."

"I know, I know," Catherine was startled awake from her own world by Vivian and gave an embarrassed smile to the others, still muttering, "I just feel it’s a bit of a pity, yes, such a pity."

"Oh, don’t feel sorry, the King’s Court underground has plenty of mana nodes, even if we draw from them extensively, the natural recovery rate of those mana nodes still exceeds our extraction rate," explained Antuin, the head of the Mage Guild who held a favorable view of Catherine because of Vivian, with patience, "Even if it supplies seven Magic Towers round the clock, the underground mana nodes still have excess energy, no, it should be said, eight Magic Towers."

"Yes, eight Magic Towers." Flare now acted like a perfect queen, walking along the city streets with her guests, handling every interaction appropriately. Although it was only simple conversation, she never let her guests feel neglected. Hearing the conversation between Catherine and Antuin, Her Majesty the Queen turned back with a smile and said, "Actually, the Royal Palace itself is the largest Magic Tower, and all public facilities in the city are powered by the Royal Palace."

"Will that not pose any risks?" Catherine asked, frowning, "If the magic energy facilities in the Royal Palace were destroyed by an enemy, the entire city would be paralyzed."

"That’s the Royal Palace, my enemies, that’s the core of the Elf race." Flare shook her head with a smile, the phrase ’my enemies’ making Catherine’s face turn completely red, unable to bear the gazes of others. The queen, evidently finding the knight girl’s reaction amusing, watched for a good while until Pannis coughed a few times before continuing, "There are always three or more bored Demigods retiring there year-round, along with strict defenses. If even that could be penetrated and sabotaged, then I’m afraid the path of the Elf race would be at its end."

"I feel, every time someone says things like this, it ends badly, although this truth seems to apply only within my own home." The sudden voice startled the few girls, and turning their heads, they saw the Winged Twins and the scorpion-tailed lion Dillie standing not far behind them, clearly a lion but with a human-like sorrowful expression, complaining discontentedly, "We agreed to let us fly on our own, then wait for us on the way, right? Is this your way of waiting for us?"

"Oh." Flare covered her mouth, her green eyes widened in surprise, showing for the first time an embarrassed and flustered expression, her gaze shifting as she said, "Ha, ha, you’ve arrived, welcome, welcome."