Chapter Twelve: The Power of the Elven Race

“You maniac, are you out of your mind?”

“A spy daring to show up in front of me? Let’s see if I don’t take you down!”

“White Tiger King, it’s me!”

“Who cares who you are? Trying to get close to me? I’m telling you, it’s useless!”

“Damn it, I…”

Put on the spot by his own clansmen, the White Tiger King finally seized a chance to divert everyone’s attention. Without a second thought, he leapt toward the ‘outsider’ who had spoken up, launching a ‘fierce’ attack.

Though he appeared imposing, even Zhou Tian—who possessed no great strength—could tell that the White Tiger King must know this person. The attack looked terrifying, but judging from the lack of destruction in the surroundings, it was clear that the White Tiger King wasn’t fighting seriously at all.

While the White Tiger King was putting on a show with his acquaintance, Zhou Tian, hiding behind the other white tigers, managed to catch a clear look at the figure fighting the White Tiger King.

“A… a unicorn!” The familiar figure made Zhou Tian blurt out the identity in shock.

His exclamation didn’t draw any attention from the other magical beasts. Every creature present was absorbed in the spectacle of the White Tiger King and the unicorn’s bout. Although most of them realized the White Tiger King wasn’t genuinely fighting, that didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for watching the drama unfold.

“Stop!” A distant elf came running, shouting out to halt the White Tiger King even before reaching the scene.

From Zhou Tian’s perspective, considering the White Tiger King’s strength and mood, not even intervention from the elves would likely stop him. Yet, to Zhou Tian’s surprise, as soon as the elf spoke, the White Tiger King immediately stopped. Not only that, but as the elf approached, a rare look of panic flashed across the White Tiger King’s face—like a mouse seeing a cat.

“What a beautiful elf.” Though all elves were known for their beauty, there were still degrees of attractiveness among them. There was no doubt that the female elf approaching from afar was a rare beauty, even among her own kind. Zhou Tian, well accustomed to images of beautiful women on the internet in his previous life, couldn’t help but inwardly admire her looks.

As Zhou Tian was marveling at the elf’s appearance, she suddenly spoke, delivering a line that was truly astonishing.

“Little White, you’re being naughty! How could you fight with Little Little White?”

“My name is not Little White!”

“Don’t call me that!”

The elf’s words had a devastating effect, startling the onlooking white tigers so much that they tumbled over each other. Even the White Tiger King and the unicorn, both riled up by her words, gave up on their quarrel to voice their protests.

Unfortunately, although the White Tiger King and the unicorn objected to the elf’s pet names and protested, the elf paid them no mind. With a perfunctory wave, she replied, “Alright, Little White and Little Little White, I won’t call you that anymore.”

“Damn it! I told you not to call me that! Didn’t you hear me?”

Faced with the female elf, the White Tiger King and the unicorn were utterly deflated. Perhaps realizing there was no way to make her change her ways, or simply not wanting to lose face in front of the others any further, they gave up. Incensed by her teasing, the unicorn and White Tiger King called for Zhou Tian and the rest of the white tigers and silently entered the elven encampment.

Whether the unicorn truly had pressing matters or just wanted the White Tiger King to draw attention away, as soon as they entered the camp, it made a quick farewell and bolted off in another direction.

Although this annoyed the White Tiger King, there was nothing he could do. With a resigned sigh, he led Zhou Tian and the others into the largest ancient tree at the heart of the elven camp.

To be honest, the white tigers took it in stride. Perhaps it wasn’t their first time dealing with the elves, as even the youngest among them showed no surprise at the camp’s layout. But Zhou Tian was left utterly dumbfounded the moment he saw the elven camp.

Armies on the march could hardly build houses at every stop, so most living beings set up tents when on campaign. The elves, however, were different. When they went to war, they traveled with a host of ancient, mobile trees.

It was only after a familiar white tiger explained that Zhou Tian realized these ancient trees were none other than the war trees he’d often built while gaming. Yet, in this world, the elves’ war trees far surpassed those in any game.

Though the elves weren’t numerous, what made them one of the continent’s great powers wasn’t just their innate talent for magic and archery or the abundance of experts in their ranks—their chief advantage was their many powerful allies.

Unicorns, white tigers, and other magical beasts aside, the elves’ treants alone were enough to be a nightmare for any foe.

Treants were a remarkable kind of lifeform. When an ancient tree surpassed a hundred years of age, the elves could implant a young spirit from their ancestral life-tree into it, and the spirit would merge with the tree, transforming it into a new treant.

There were two kinds of treants: wise trees and war trees. Wise trees had two abilities: the first was to store knowledge. Every wise tree contained vast amounts of information collected by the elves—knowledge and lore alike. Any elf could visit a wise tree and immediately gain access to a wealth of knowledge, greatly reducing their learning time and giving their civilization a stable means of passing down wisdom.

Furthermore, once a wise tree reached a certain age, it would awaken a formidable domain power. Within its domain, allied magic could be several times more potent, while enemy magic might not work at all.

War trees, though not as formidable as wise trees, were still impressive. Not only could they fight hand-to-hand with drakes, but each one contained a sizable pocket dimension. When the elven army marched out with a group of war trees, not only did they gain extra fighting strength, but they didn’t even need to worry about housing.

After hearing the white tiger’s explanation, Zhou Tian had to admit—the elves truly were nature’s favored children. They hardly needed to work hard for strength, and without being overwhelmingly powerful themselves, they still had a host of powerful allies to fight for them. If not for their poor reproductive capability, it would be hard to imagine just how mighty the elven race might become.

With a trace of emotion, Zhou Tian followed the White Tiger King into the heart of the war tree.