"How is the construction of the gateway faring?" Elandorr asked one of the officers in charge of the construction of the teleport gate that would connect to the Silvermoon Continent.
"If all goes well, we will be able to complete its construction within three months," the Elf, who looked like a man in his mid-fifties, replied. "Once the gateway becomes functional, we will be able to begin our conquest in full."
Elandorr nodded. "Elder, please make sure that no mishaps happen during that time."
"Of course. You can count on me. For the time being, focus on consolidating the local forces that we have gathered. They will become our cannon fodder when we march towards the neighboring kingdoms."
"Worry not, that was exactly my intention."
The Elder of the Rhys Clan, whom Elandorr also belonged to, nodded his head in satisfaction. He was quite happy with how Elandorr had led the Elven expedition and everyone's morale was at its highest.
The number of Human Slaves was also increasing. Due to the many years where Elves were captured and treated as slaves by the Humans, they had developed a deep-rooted hatred of the people whom they referred to as Barbarians.
Naturally, Elandorr allowed his subordinates to pick their favorites from among the lot and do whatever they pleased with them. Elandorr himself had six beautiful ladies whom he kept as his bed warmers.
All of them had collars on their necks, which put them completely at his mercy.
"I will take my leave, Commander," the Elder bowed respectfully.
"Go, Elder," Elandorr gave the old man a brief nod. "May the Goddesses of the Moons shine upon us all."
The old man placed his hand over his chest. "May the Goddesses of the Moons shine upon us all."
After the Elder left, Elandorr left his room and went to the highest vantage point of the castle of the Zelan Dynasty. The wind blew through his long blonde hair and his deep blue eyes stared towards the East.
According to the Spirit Beasts that served as scouts, the Kraetor Empire had taken hold of the Kingdom of Freesia. The distance between the Zelan Dynasty and the Kingdom of Freesia was far, but Elandorr knew that it was only a matter of time before he clashed with one of the most powerful armies in the Central Continent.
He then gazed towards the North, where the Anaesha Dynasty was located. Just like the Kingdom of Freesia, the Anaesha Dynasty was quite far from their location.
Finally, the Elven Commander shifted his attention to the West.
The closest Kingdom to their territory was the Hellan Kingdom. After a long meeting with the Elders of the different clans and his trusted officers, Elandorr decided to strike at the Hellan Kingdom first after they had successfully solidified their control over the Zelan Dynasty.
"Three months," Elandorr muttered. "In three months, our reinforcements will pass through the gates."
A smile appeared on the handsome Elf's face. He was looking forward to the appearance of their Clan's Guardian Beast in the Southern Continent.
'Soon, Father,' Elandorr thought. 'Soon, I will be able to realize your dream. Also… I will find that filthy Half-Breed and bring him back to the Silvermoon Continent in chains. With him as our captive, the Head of the Council and the Saintess will have no choice but to give in to our demands.'
Elandorr grinned. The thought of personally stepping on the head of the son of the Hero of the Elves, made him extremely happy. To his clan, the moment the Elves had to entrust their safety into the hands of a Human was the greatest shame of their lives.
They had long wanted to wash away this shame and they planned to use William as a hostage in order to make the Aenarion Family submit to their will.
-----
William made his way towards the First Peak of the Kyrintor Mountains as per his agreement with The Oracle, who came to meet him when he had arrived among the Northern Tribes.
He didn't know why he had to wait two days before meeting with the Demigod, Takam. However, since he was the guest in his domain, he had no choice but to obey the host's wishes.
This time around, he was told to travel alone.
William didn't find this request strange, because bringing people along wouldn't aid his purpose for coming.
After traveling for half a day, William finally arrived at a stairway that led to a snow-covered palace that was hidden deep within the Kyrintor Mountains.
Standing at the very top of the stairway was the one and only Oracle of the Northern Regions, Olivia.
"Welcome, Sir William." Olivia greeted. "The Master is waiting for you."
William nodded and allowed Olivia to lead the way. The two passed through the empty halls of the palace before they arrived at the gates of the throne room.
"This is as far as I go, Sir William," Olivia said with a smile. "May your meeting with his Excellency be fruitful."
After saying those words, Olivia left William behind. She still had things to do, which were also the wishes of the Demigod she served.
William took a few deep breaths to compose himself before he opened the gates. Just like last time, the throne room was covered in a thick white fog. The Half-Elf walked forward as the gates behind him closed silently.
A minute later, a clearing appeared within the fog, showing a three-meter tall goat that sat on a throne with an amused expression on his face.
"We meet again, Little Will," Takam said in a teasing manner. "It's quite unfortunate that you were sleeping when the sky fell. It was such a majestic sight that will probably not happen again in your lifetime. It's truly a shame that you didn't get to see it."
William scratched his head because he had no retort for the Demigod's teasing. He was in a comatose state when the Continental Spell activated, so he wasn't able to even see a glimpse of this once in a lifetime phenomenon.
"Don't worry." Takam chuckled. "Consider this as a small gift from me."
Takam snapped his fingers. Immediately, Takam and the throne room disappeared. William found himself standing on the hill of Lont where he used to watch the sunrise.
Suddenly, a loud, mocking, laughter was heard as a gigantic red skull appeared in the sky. William saw several pillars of light shoot towards the heavens. Moments later, specks of light gathered around the giant red skull.
Soon, the skull stopped laughing and opened its mouth to swallow the millions of souls of those that had died on the battlefield.
A minute later, a red beam of light shot towards the heavens from the red skull's forehead.
As if waiting for that exact moment, a golden beam of light came from the West and collided with the red ray that came from the red skull.
The two beams of different colors intertwined, forming a Purple Aurora Borealis.
William felt his hair stand on end as the Purple Sky descended towards the ground, bathing the land with its colors.
William covered his eyes as the Aurora descended upon him. Even though he knew that what he was seeing was not real, his body still unconsciously moved due to his instincts.
A few moments passed before William regained his senses. He was once again inside the throne room and in the presence of the Demigod that ruled the Kyrintor Mountains.
"I told you that we would meet again when the sky fell," Takam said with a serious expression. "Young man, the two of us have many things to discuss."
William turned towards Takam. "Your Excellency, you already know the reason why I came here," William said in a respectful manner. "Can you help me undo the curse that has plagued the continent?"
Takam propped the side of his face using the palm of his right hand as he looked at William with amusement.
"The curse is unimportant," Takam replied. "There's nothing you can do to lift the curse, but it is not omnipotent. At most, you will just need to wait two years before the curse loses its effect. By then, all of the people that have been turned into statues will once again regain their freedom."
William felt relieved and disappointed at the same time after hearing the Demigod's explanation. Relief because the curse had an expiration date, and disappointment because he would have to wait up to two years for that to happen.
While William was deep in thought, Takam casually waved his hand and a table filled with tea and snacks appeared beside the boy. The Half-Elf unconsciously sat on the chair and stared at the Demigod, waiting for him to continue.
After making sure that his guest was comfortable, Takam resumed their chat.
"Now, I don't know how you did it, but you got more than you bargained for." Takam chuckled. "Even now, I don't know if I should praise you for your boldness, or mock you for your stupidity. All I know is that you have, unknowingly, bitten off more than you can chew."
William looked at the Demigod with a frown because he didn't know what the Demigod was hinting at.
Seeing his confusion, Takam pointed at William's steaming teacup on the table. The Half-Elf nodded in understanding and started to drink the Leapton Tea that was prepared for him by the host of the Northern Regions.
"Little Will," Takam said with a teasing smile. "The reason the Undying Lands was hidden away, was not only because of the precious treasures and resources that could be found inside it.
"Over a thousand years ago, the first King of the Hellan Kingdom discovered that Domain. The history books all say that he was the one that made the Domain, but if you think about it carefully, no mortal could possibly own a Domain that large."
William, who was listening to Takam's explanation, wanted to say that he was a mortal in possession of his own Domain. However, he decided to keep mum and allow the Demigod to continue his explanation.
"It's funny how Humans can twist the history of the land as they write their own history, burying the true story behind an Ancient Relic that belonged to an Era where the Gods still played an active role in this world."
The Half-Elf munched on some biscuits while he listened. Perhaps it was due to him not having anyone to talk to aside from Olivia, his Oracle, but the King of Goats was quite a talkative Demigod.
He was very different from Vlad, who was too lazy to hold a conversation with anyone. Jekyll's father would just nod, grunt, and say "Mmm" most of the time when someone talked to him. It was as if he couldn't be bothered to even give a proper reply, which made William refrain from asking him questions.
"The Floating Island is not only a stronghold, it also serves as a prison," Takam continued. Imprisoned within it is an existence that is capable of bringing ruin to the Continent once it breaks out of the chains that bind it."
Takam once again chuckled as he eyed William in a mischievous manner. "Simply put, you have acquired a priceless domain with a notorious, man-slaughtering, Pseudo-Demigod as a freebie. Congratulations! When it breaks out of its prison, the first person it will kill will be you."
William almost spat out the tea that he just drank after hearing Takam's explanation.
This piece of information made William break out in cold sweat. He knew that he had acquired a priceless treasure. However, after hearing Takam's warning, he realized that it was not only a treasure trove, but also a problematic domain where a vengeful Dracolich had been locked up for thousands of years.
He wasn't given much time to dwell on it as Takam continued, "The next important thing you need to know is…."