I Became My Elf King Character In A Game-Like World
Chapter 121: Cunning

Chapter 121: Cunning

"Your Majesty, about those Naga..."

Renjiro rose smoothly from the simple wooden bench.

He walked towards the open courtyard gate, gazing down the path the two fox folk had just taken, watching their retreating backs until they were swallowed by the trees.

"I recall reading something," Renjiro mused aloud, tapping a finger against his chin as if searching his memory. "In an old Elven scroll, wasn’t it? It suggested the Naga were once a branch of the Elven people. A very, very long time ago. The specifics escape me, though."

Elaria moved closer, gently placing a hand on his arm.

She let out a soft sigh first, a sound heavy with ancient sorrows. Then, her voice filled with a complex mix of sadness and gravity, she confirmed, "Your Majesty remembers correctly. The Naga are indeed a branch of the Elves. They were Elves, once upon a time. But the Naga are not like us, not anymore!"

Elaria began to slowly recount the old, painful history.

"In the days of the great Elven Empire, long before its fall, our people were many and varied. It wasn’t just us, the High Elves you might call the ’main line’. There were other distinct groups... Dark Elves, elusive Sea Elves, mystical Elemental Elves... many different branches sharing a common ancestry."

"The Naga," she stated clearly, "were once the Dark Elves!"

"They weren’t nurtured into being by the light of the Eternal Tree, as our ancestors were. They emerged from the deep, shadowy places beneath the earth, the dark Underworld. They never worshipped the Elven Goddess of Life. Instead, their faith was given to a different power a Dark Goddess of shadow and secrets!"

"Physically, the Dark Elves looked very similar to us," Elaria continued, painting a picture with her words. "Pointed ears, fine features... the resemblance was strong. Really, besides their naturally dusky skin tones and the different feel of the magic flowing within them, you could hardly tell them apart from any other Elf."

"The Elf King who ruled the Nature Elf Empire during that era... he was known far and wide for his incredibly open heart and broad mind. Even though the Dark Elves followed their Dark Goddess a figure many other Elves viewed as dangerous or even evil this King accepted them. He didn’t just tolerate them; he welcomed them into the Empire and even carved out fertile, blessed lands within the Empire’s borders for them to establish their own homes."

"But then..." Elaria’s voice grew heavier.

"...then came the terrible war. The war against the Demons pouring out of the Deep Abyss. During that long, bloody conflict, some of the Dark Elves... they were touched, tainted by the corrupting power of the Abyss itself. This power warped not only their minds but their very bodies. Their appearances began to change hideously, and their personalities twisted, becoming incredibly cruel and savage. Worse, they turned traitor, actually helping the abyssal demons attack the very Elven Empire that had sheltered them."

"The Elf King... his heart was broken, but his fury was immense!" Elaria stated, her own anger echoing the ancient king’s.

"He gave the order: Expel all Dark Elves from the lands of the Empire! Drive them out, send them back into the darkness of the Underworld from whence they came!"

"And as for those specific Dark Elves who had been physically corrupted by the Abyss, whose forms were twisted beyond recognition... The Empire cast them out completely.

They were banished to the remote, storm-tossed waters of the Howling Sea, utterly abandoned, left to survive or perish on their own."

"Those banished, corrupted Dark Elves," Elaria finished grimly, "They are the Naga we know today!"

As she spoke, Elaria raised the elegant magic staff she carried.

Shimmering threads of Elven magic flowed from it, gathering in the air before them. The light came together, solidifying into the clear, three-dimensional image of a strange, unsettling creature.

The being in the image had the sharply pointed ears and eerily beautiful face that marked Elven heritage, yet her beauty was chilling, laced with a palpable sense of malice and wrongness.

But the most startling, most unnatural thing was below the waist.

This creature possessed no legs. Instead, where legs should have been, a long, powerful snake’s tail extended, thick and muscular.

The tail coiled languidly in the magical projection, its surface densely covered in overlapping, iridescent scales countless tiny plates that seemed to gleam coldly, making one instinctively shiver.

"That horrifying power, drawn straight from the Abyss, twisted those unfortunate Dark Elves into... these monsters," Elaria explained, gesturing at the image.

"They completely rejected their Elven past, even their Elven name. They renamed themselves ’Naga’ an old word, roughly meaning ’Sea Banshee’ or ’Serpent Witch of the Waves’!"

Renjiro studied the magical image for a moment, his expression thoughtful. "Hmm. I don’t find them entirely ugly," he commented, voicing his genuine thought. Perhaps he saw the lingering echo of Elven grace beneath the monstrous form.

Elaria blinked, surprised by his reaction. But she quickly seemed to grasp his perspective, perhaps the potential he saw. Still, she gently shook her head, her earlier certainty returning.

"Your Majesty, the Naga have long since forgotten everything about being Elves. Their connection to us is broken, perhaps beyond repair. They would never willingly rejoin the Elven fold now. And honestly," she added sadly, "after the betrayal, after everything that happened back then... I think most Elves would find it incredibly difficult, maybe impossible, to ever truly accept them back."

Renjiro’s eyes narrowed slightly, a calculating look entering them. "Perhaps," he said slowly, "perhaps we should seek out these Naga ourselves. Make contact. See their nature with our own eyes. If they truly have fallen completely, if there is no trace of their Elven soul left... well, then my growing Elven army will have another task: to send their twisted spirits back to the depths of the Howling Sea, permanently this time!"

Elaria’s eyes widened slightly. "Your Majesty... are you planning to go to the Fox Tribe’s lands, then? To follow them?"

A small smile touched Renjiro’s lips. He casually slipped an arm around Elaria’s soft, slender waist, pulling her slightly closer. "I saw it quite clearly, my beautiful queen," he said, his voice dropping to a teasing whisper near her ear.

"I noticed you discreetly leave a little thread of tracking magic attached to that young fox girl, Milya."

"Your Majesty...!" Elaria’s cheeks flushed a delicate pink. She hadn’t thought her small, hidden action had been noticed amidst everything else.

But it was true. A part of her, the part steeped in Elven history and lore, felt a burning curiosity to see the legendary, fallen Naga with her own eyes.

So, she had indeed subtly woven a trace of tracking magic onto the girl, hoping to later pinpoint the location of the Fox Tribe’s hidden village.

Okay, here’s that section expanded and polished, keeping the simple style and NovelFire feel:

Elaria reported back to Renjiro, her expression serious. "Your Majesty, those cunning Foxfolk envoys... Elder Hosini and the young woman Mirya... I doubt they’ll be coming back as they promised."

Renjiro just smiled slightly, not looking surprised at all. "That’s pretty normal, isn’t it?" he said calmly. "After all, I didn’t just ask for a little tribute. I asked for all the gold their entire tribe possesses. When you think about it, in their eyes, maybe I look even greedier and more dangerous than that wolf tribe they were running from."

He paused for a moment, then added, "But honestly, it doesn’t really matter if they come back willingly or not." Renjiro glanced towards Elaria with a knowing look.

"Thanks to that little tracking magic you cleverly placed on them while they were here, we’ll know exactly where their hidden tribe is located very soon anyway."

Elaria nodded confidently. "Indeed, Your Majesty." She explained further, "The magical imprints used by our elf clan are incredibly subtle, almost invisible. Those two Foxfolk, their ranks were only intermediate at best, and their personal power is far, far weaker than mine. There was absolutely no way they could have possibly detected the presence of the tracking marks."

Following the faint magical trail left by those marks would lead them straight to Hosini’s tribe... and perhaps, Renjiro thought, closer to those mysterious Naga they seemed so afraid of.

Renjiro turned his attention fully to the task at hand, his tone becoming decisive. "Alright then. Relay my orders to the three army commanders Lorien, Selena, and Lirael. Tell them to mobilize immediately. I want one hundred Giant Golems for the front line, five hundred Claw Druids and five hundred Grove Spirits for support and disruption, plus a main force of five thousand Elf Archers and Elf Hunters combined. We move out at once. We’re heading straight for the Foxfolk tribe’s location."

"As you command, Your Majesty!" Elaria bowed quickly and hurried out of the courtyard, her steps light and urgent, ready to assemble the war party.

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