Danicles Lake, Ivan did not linger in the shrine at the lake bottom.
Returning to the surface, a sense of urgency involuntarily grew within him; since the other party had intentionally reminded him once, the matter might not be as simple as the goddess verbally suggested. He should prepare in advance.
“Enhance my strength as much as possible, to respond to any changes without changing.”
“My lethargic period hasn’t passed yet, and I can’t rush my spiritual power, but as for the Knight’s Path—how could I advance a step further and comprehend a Domain Aura like the swamp ant?”
At that moment, something disrupted his thoughts.
Locke urgently communicated that many guests had arrived at the Lanque, hoping he could return as soon as possible.
Shortly thereafter, Ivan arrived in front of Mongna Ant Land Cottage and discovered there were two groups of newcomers, one being the sorcerers from Ancient Tree Spine and the other consisting of several members of an alien race.
The aliens had long ears and dark purple skin, all females, resembling the legendary elves.
These people seemed to have come together, led by a formidable elderly woman in luxurious garments, who, holding a staff, looked at him with a somewhat stern gaze.
“Boss, these are the people. They say that Janie is their Dark Night Elf Empire’s Holy Daughter and demand to take Janie back with them,” Locke quickly informed him upon his arrival.
Ivan nodded and turned his gaze towards the leading elderly woman.
“Human sorcerer, I am Kolebas, the High Priest of the Dark Night Elf lineage, here by the will of my lord to seek the ordained holy person. I hope you will not obstruct,” Kolebas said as she gestured to someone beside her.
Someone held a scroll and slowly unrolled it, revealing Janie’s portrait clearly on it.
“Guests are welcome; let’s discuss this on my airship.” Ivan had never heard of the Dark Night Elves, nor knew how Janie’s portrait ended up in their hands, making the situation difficult to gauge.
However, there indeed was a deeply formidable aura about the scroll, similar to the one he had just seen on Mavis.
“No need,” Kolebas refuted with a firm attitude, “As the person ordained by my lord, the Holy Daughter must return with us; there is nothing to discuss.”
“Return where?”
“Kemor Empire.”
“I’ve never heard of any Dark Night Elves, nor any Kemor Empire; how could I let Janie go with you, unless this is some kind of joke?”
Had Ivan not been wary of the aura on the scroll, along with his suspicions, he would not have bothered talking to these aliens.
In the meantime, he grimly looked towards the sorcerers from Ancient Tree Spine, who had led the aliens here, akin to becoming traitors to humanity, but what responded to him was a compensatory smile from Dean Lai Te.
“As long as the Holy Daughter agrees,” Kolebas sternly stated.
Hearing her words, a faint smile appeared on Ivan’s face.
Forming such an attitude without clear relations truly was unprecedented.
“I will listen to Sorcerer Ivan,” Janie emphasized.
“Holy Daughter, there’s no need to listen to a man; all men are scum, and this man also—”
The Head Guard Rosa beside Kolebas started advising when she saw the Holy Daughter’s expression turn ominously stern, as if she was about to take action that very second, and Rosa suddenly could not continue.
This also made Kolebas realize Janie’s resolute attitude.
Thinking that the Holy Daughter ordained by the Dark Night Elves was actually obeying a human man was truly dreadful news.
“Human sorcerer, how should I address you?” Kolebas, restraining the displeasure in her heart, asked proactively.
“Ivan Marichardon,” Ivan responded with a smile, “Great Priest, are we able to talk now?”
“No problem, but I need to talk to you alone,” Kolebas responded while putting forward a condition.
“Please,” Ivan gestured with his hand.
He leaped gracefully onto the deck, accompanied by strong winds.
Kolebas turned into a grey shadow and also made her way to the Lanque, glimpsing a noticeable presence of the swamp ant on the side which added a bit of seriousness to her expression.
“Please come inside.”
Ivan hinted to Janie, who was following him halfway onto the airship, not to continue, and led the Great Priest to the airship’s reception hall.
Kolebas followed him into the hall and without warning swung her staff towards Ivan.
“Insolent!”
The scene caught the eyes of Jenny, who was halting her steps from behind; she looked visibly upset and immediately lashed out with a Pan Iron Root towards Kolebas.
In an instant, the staff struck a suddenly appearing triple-layered tricolor shield, creating a loud boom.
Immediately after, the Pan Iron Root stabbed at Kolebas’s position, but Kolebas once again turned into a gray shadow, dodging the deadly strike behind her.
After one strike.
Jenny was about to take advantage of the situation and surge forward, but Ivan secretly stopped her.
The three of them stood separately, each with a different expression and thought. Jenny was full of anger, and Ivan’s face was so dark it almost dripped with water.
Now, the swamp ants also surrounded them, creating a three-on-one situation.
“Hmph! I just wanted to see what this human sorcerer is capable of. Daring to have the Holy Daughter obey your words, it seems you do have some abilities,” Kolebas said fearlessly, facing the encirclement.
“Aren’t you dark elves not a race from the surface?” Ivan asked coldly, having thought of this possibility when he saw the sorcerer from the Ancient Tree Spine.
At this moment, if the other party answered incorrectly, he wouldn’t mind ending them here.
Since he had started on the path of a sorcerer, he had not encountered anyone so arrogant, daring to attempt an ambush on someone else’s territory, utterly reckless.
“Yes, we come from the underworld,” Kolebas declared proudly.
“The entrances to the underworld are guarded by the Lava Lords, how can you prove that you can safely take Jenny back to the underworld?” Ivan thought secretly, as expected, continuing with a crucial question.
“My race naturally has a Secret Technique to avoid the Lava Lords, you wish I would tell you,” Kolebas replied, looking as if she had seen through his scheme, displaying a hint of disdain.
This old fellow really is cunning and impervious.
Ivan wasn’t angered and asked again:
“Fine, let’s not talk about the pathway issue. Tell me, if Jenny becomes your ‘Holy Daughter,’ how will you ensure her safety? Unless you clarify this for me, I am not letting her go with you.”
“The safety of the Holy Daughter? Human sorcerer, you think too much. What do you think a Holy Daughter is? She is person who is ordained by the Mother God to serve by her side, the successor to the next High Priest, above a myriad of people, even the Kemor Empress must pay her respect. How could our race possibly allow any danger to the Holy Daughter?”
Hearing Kolebas’s firm explanation, Ivan roughly understood the position of the Holy Daughter in the Dark Night Elf Empire, similar to the successor of a Pope.
If the situation is true, it’s akin to a big opportunity popping out from underground.
“Do you have any more questions? Hurry up, I’m still waiting to take the Holy Daughter back to report to the Mother God,” urged Kolebas.
“Last question, Jenny has never been to the underworld and she isn’t a member of your dark elf race, how did you select her to be the Holy Daughter?” Ivan pondered and asked.
“I’ve answered this question more than once before, but I’ll answer it again, the Holy Daughter is directly ordained by my lord, divine decree,” Kolebas stated earnestly.
This is where the problem and peril lie.
Ivan had no trouble deducing that Jenny was being targeted by the dark elf race’s Mother God, likely due to her identity prior to her rebirth. If their intentions were benign, that would be good, but if not, it would mean sending her to her death.
From Jenny using Pan Iron Root to replenish her source, it was clear there were risks involved in her going to the underworld.
“Jenny, what is your opinion?”
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“I won’t go.”
Without any hesitation, Jenny directly gave a negative answer.
“Holy Daughter! You are ordained by the Mother God; you can’t just refuse,” Kolebas hurriedly said as she realized this attitude of the Holy Daughter was troubling. “Holy Daughter, I am telling the truth, you must believe me.”
Jenny ignored her completely, her attitude exceptionally cold.
Seeing this, Kolebas’s heart skipped a beat, internally regretting her earlier action of teaching a lesson to the human males.
“Human sorcerer, I swear in the name of the ‘Mother of Earth Core’ and Mother God, every word I said just now is truthful, once there one will be honored with a position second only to none, and will surely inherit my position as High Priest, please persuade the Holy Daughter for me.”
The High Priest was truly desperate, not only swearing openly, but also letting go of other matters, seeking help from the human male she disfavored.
Hearing this, Ivan’s concerns eased a bit.
However, he was not in a hurry, after all, the truly urgent person was the old Priest, who needed to fulfill the divine calling, to return with the Holy Daughter.
Ignoring the Priest’s eager eyes, he leisurely sat in the main seat of the living room.
“You–seeing his demeanor, Kolebas was both anxious and angry, her face reddening a bit, but she held it back. “Let them leave first, and let’s talk in private, Sorcerer Marichadon.”