The elves outside the castle all stood off to the side in silence upon seeing Irina's arrival. Like the guests of the Krol Family, all of them simply thought that the princess wanted to discuss something with Schubert.
However, everyone was stunned at the sight of the staff that had appeared in Irina's hand, and they were all wondering if they had heard what she had just said wrong.
"Did Her Highness just say that she was going to kill Master Schubert?"
All of the guests' eyes widened with incredulity upon hearing that. Was Irina going to do something this shocking and inexplicable as soon as she came out of her three-year-long seclusion?
Schubert's expression also changed slightly, but he soon adopted a calm and composed smile again as he asked, "Your Highness, what crime have I committed? And what reason do you have to kill me? I am the official presiding over punishments in our elven race, and you have no right to attack me unless you're acting on the orders of the queen. You've been in seclusion for three years, so perhaps you've developed some sort of misunderstanding regarding me during that time. If you have some queries, you can get answers from Mistress Helena or Her Majesty. Please do not do anything rash and embarrass yourself in front of so many of our brethren."
"I don't need permission to kill anyone." Irina pointed her staff at Schubert, and said coldly, "Besides, you're only an official presiding over punishments, but you seem to think that this is your kingdom. All of our elven brethren were born as equals from the tree of life, so what gives your family the right to treat them in such an abhorrent manner? Just that crime alone is enough to warrant your execution."
The Krol Family members' expressions immediately changed drastically upon hearing that. Not only was the princess here to kill Schubert, her words implied that she was going to wipe out their entire family!
In contrast, all of the Krol Family servants' eyes lit up upon hearing that. All of them turned to look up at Irina as if they were looking at their savior. The princess was just as dazzling as ever, as if there were light radiating from her body.
"Did you hear that? Her Highness really is here to change everything!" The elf that had collapsed to the ground stood up as her voice trembled with excitement.
"Am I dreaming? Did Her Highness hear our prayers? Or perhaps the tree of life told her our stories?" The dancer who had spoken earlier also wore an elated expression.
"The hierarchy in the elven race has already been established, and it would be almost impossible to change this situation... Even Her Highness will most likely be unable to do so." The tall and slender elf was murmuring to herself in a quiet voice that only she could hear, but her eyes were also filled with hope as she looked up at Irina. Perhaps the princess could effect another miracle. After all, she was certainly no stranger to creating legends.
"I've done my duty by maintaining law and order within the elven race, so I deserve everything that I have today. Her Majesty bestowed all of this upon our Krol Family. Not only that, the Baibilly Family, the Brewster Family, the North Family... All of them were also rewarded by the queen, and are enjoying the benefits that the elven revolution has brought to them. At the same time, we're all working to make the elven race more powerful and prosperous. Your Highness, are you going to kill them as well and doom the entire elven race?" Schubert looked at Irina with a mocking smile, clearly not fearful of her in the slightest.
The hierarchy of the elven race had been established for several decades, and was already set in stone. No matter how powerful Irina was or how much influence she possessed, she was powerless to stop this trend. The entire elven race had been split among the major families, including the royal family. Was she going to kill everyone?
The guests and members of the Krol Family all heaved a collective sigh of relief upon hearing that. It was just as Schubert had said—this situation was now the norm for the elven race. The Krol was only one of the major families; there were also other major families as well as countless smaller aristocratic families that made up the elven hierarchy. Those who weren't powerful and weren't part of any of those families were reduced to lowly slaves.
This was already a mature social system, and killing a few people wouldn't change anything.
The elves had perhaps been free in the past, but after experiencing the joy that power could bring, it would be impossible to ask them to regress to their former state.
If Irina insisted on doing that, then she would be the one destroyed in the end as opposed to the major families.
Even as the elven princess, she did not have the power to reverse this trend.
The oppressed elves all hung their heads in a dejected manner. If even the princess couldn't save them, then they would most likely have to spend their entire lives as slaves without any light at the end of the tunnel.
They had once freely strolled in the Wind Forest, gathering dew, picking wild fruits, and taking naps on the trees when they were tired. However, those days of freedom had since ceased to exist. They were going to be forever seen as inferior beings and be insulted and oppressed.
"I'm not in a hurry to kill them, but you must die today." Irina looked at the pitiful elven servants, and her expression became even colder as she pointed her staff at Schubert. "Binding light!"
A semi-transparent golden ball of light erupted from the golden crystal ball on the tip of her staff. It then disappeared before instantly reappearing in front of Schubert, threatening to encapsulate him within.
"Your Highness, Mistress Helena and Her Majesty definitely won't allow you to do something like this. I advise you to stop what you're doing right away. You're only a princess, not the queen." Schubert's expression cooled as the smile disappeared from his face. He was also a great magic caster, and he didn't fear Irina in a battle. "Wood light shield!"
A green curved light shield appeared before him, protecting his body from oncoming attacks. The golden ball of light crashed into the green light shield before enshrouding Schubert, but it was prevented from being able to contract due to that green light shield.
Schubert didn't detect any threat from the ball of light around him, so he ignored it for now. At the same time, he began to chant, "All wood elves between heaven and earth, heed my call. Manifest yourselves before me, transform into dazzling stars, and destroy all of my enemies!"
As Schubert chanted his spell, a massive green vortex appeared in the air above the castle. Countless wood elements in the Wind Forest surged toward the vortex relentlessly, making its green color richer and deeper in the process. At the same time, the vortex began to rotate at a high speed, sweeping up gale-force winds. A series of shiny golden spots emerged within the vortex as if something were about to descend.
"It's Master Schubert's ultimate forbidden spell, the forest star storm!" someone exclaimed.
All of the other elves all stumbled back in a panicked retreat upon hearing that. Irina's sudden attack had caught everyone off guard, and Schubert was using his most powerful attack from the get-go. This was shaping up to be an epic duel.
"Holy light, heed my call. Cleanse this world of all impurities!" Irina raised her staff over her head with a holy expression. A pillar of holy light pierced through the green vortex and shone down upon her, draping a holy cloak of golden light over her body. Scintillating light erupted from her staff, upon which a burst of incandescent holy light crashed toward the vortex.