There's Something Wrong With You, My Lord!
Chapter 52: Who Is Stronger (5)

Chapter 52: Who Is Stronger (5)

Rolan threw his fire beads into the bonfire that the moon elf lord set up.

"Nice, display of skill." The moon elf lord complimented the sentinel. His eyes are literally glowing since he used Cosmic Sense to watch it from a different perspective and he had seen how skillful the control that Rolan exerted just to create those tiny orbs was.

Fine laces of his elemental powers are used to create each of those flame beads!

Not even he could do that at this point. Just how did Rolan manage to do it?

Luis remembered that just like the moon elf lord, ordinary moon elves also have their techniques that are passed on.

"Thank you for your kind compliments, my lord," Rolan responded to the moon elf lord’s compliment smoothly.

’Oh, this one is suave!’

Like a rich young master. Too bad that Luis is in the middle of a serious business or else he would be quick to have a little chit-chat with this one.

Crackle. Crackle.

The fire instantly burned the tinder. Just like how Olyn explained it, tinder grass is a highly flammable material that burns strongly.

The flame crept to the dried woods pretty quickly and it didn’t take long until it glowed bright red.

Seeing that the fire started to spread, Rolan once again demonstrated his expertise and he stirred up the flame.

The combination of Rolan’s fire control and tinder grass made the flame so strong that even the fresh wood started to burn shortly after it was licked by the flames.

Not too long, the smoke started to rise from the hole’s mouth. All of them stepped back to avoid the pungent smell from the burning wood and corpse of the massacred root crawlers.

"So much smoke?" Olyn exclaimed after seeing the thick white clouds emitting from the underground. They are now far from it but they can still smell the unpleasantness.

The smoke was so thick that it could even be compared to a clump of cotton.

"All of these came from the fresh wood that we burned. The moisture that was left in it became smoke after the wood that encloses it burned." Luis explained.

"My lord, you are brilliant!" Olyn complimented him for the nth time.

Luis gave a helpless smile. In what way was it brilliant? He only applied the don’ts in making a bonfire. It’s not like he used a genius-level life hack.

He only needs the smoke.

"Olyn, the cloth masks that I asked you to prepare."

Olyn rummaged through the satchel that he brought with him. "Here it is, my lord."

It was a simple face mask that is made from a common cloth. Luis asked Olyn to prepare it since he brought some cloth with him. He isn’t sure how this servant of his thinks but Olyn made his life convenient!

"Pass it to the others and make sure that you wear it properly. Like this." Luis pointed to the face mask on his face.

"’This will serve as your minimal protection against the smoke and dust." The moon elf lord explained, his voice a little muffled by the mask.

"Understood, my lord/moon elf lord!" All of them answered in chorus.

"Now where is my huma- I mean, moon elf bellow? Ilian it is your time to shine!" Luis approached the masked wind power moon elf.

And he escorted Ilian by pushing his back until they were near the hole where the smoke was coming from. They are immediately covered by the thick fumes coming from underground.

Luis doesn’t care about the smell and the stinging sensation in his eyes. Of course, Ilian has it worse since he is directly facing the hole.

"You remembered what I told you before we went here right?" He directly asked the chubby wind-power moon elf.

~

Before they went here. He talked with Ilian about his plan.

"Illian, aside from smoking out the root crawlers, I am also planning to experiment with something dangerous." Luis solemnly said to Xagrien’s BFF when they were discussing the plan.

"Moon elf lord, if it is dangerous to that extent, then I-, shouldn’t it be better if it was someone else? Someone who is not a one-star?" Ilian was rattled by this sudden declaration from the moon elf lord. He is just a weak chubby moon elf whose only redeeming qualities was his physical strength.

"But you can control the wind, right?" Luis raised a brow.

Illian tensely nodded.

"Then that is it," Luis concluded.

"At this moment, we don’t have any wind power sentinels. All of them are out doing their respective mission and it concerns the entire Amber Forest. I can only rely on you."

"But I-," Luis observed that Ilian was holding himself back from saying something so he paused for a minute.

"Would you mind if I look into your body?"

Looking unnerved, Ilian immediately hugged his fleshy body as if he was trying to protect it.

"You can not act so exaggeratedly. I will just be looking at your plate." Luis said, not knowing if he should be offended by such a strong reaction.

He is not a sex offender, you know!

Well... maybe he did harass Xagrien a little but that was it.

And on top of that, he has his own type of man!

Someone tall, dark, and muscled. Like...

"Whatever," Luis activated his Cosmic Sense and peered at the other’s plate and he was surprised at Ilian’s condition.

~

The two of them are almost engulfed by the smoke and Luis could hear the worried calls of Olyn. But this time, he gave his full focus on Ilian.

"I don’t mind if your plate is not that fully formed. I don’t care if the majority of your nature’s energy is leaking every minute or if you can only control a little wind at this moment. I am the moon elf lord and you are now my subordinate." He whispered from Ilian’s back. His voice was firm and serious, totally different from his usual self.

"This lord will help you contain all your leaking nature’s energy right now and I promise to help you stabilize your plate in the future." Ilian felt as if he was standing on needles as he heard these words. He knows that his weakness is a special case. Out of all the moon elves that he met, he is the only one who is this pathetic in using his powers.

Isn’t this the reason why he trained his body to become stronger and compensate for lack?

Ilian has always been longing for strength just like Xagrien’s. He is a fan of his best friend but he is also envious of Xagrien’s ability.

’I want to fight side by side with my friend.’

’I don’t want to be the one to be protected.’

Ilian wants to be someone that his friends can depend on.

The moon elf lord’s words ignited hope deep inside him but there is a part of him that remained skeptical.

Is it possible? Will there ever be hope for him?

Plates are something that they are born with, will it ever get better?

Those are the questions that he has to say but this time and probably for the first time, he stopped himself from talking.

Ilian savored every word of the moon elf lord and he made sure to imprint it in his mind.

"But in turn, I ask you to throw away your ideas that the wind should be strong to destroy. Remember that even a gentle breeze can kill a flame."

"This smoke is gas, and so is the wind. You don’t need to cause a tempest to send this smoke underground. All you need is to guide this smoke. Like a gentle breeze." Luis said it metaphorically and he finished it with fits of cough.

But to put it simply, what he meant was: quickly put away this damn smoke!

"I understand, my lord!" Ilian said as enlightenment hit him.

Ilian squeezed his eyes shut and he did his best to concentrate on mobilizing his wind power.

As a one-star moon elf, he can only control the wind around his surroundings. He can’t conjure even the slightest breeze but it is not a problem since his target was something else.

"I will help you now."

Luis quickly activated his Cosmic Sense and he tried to manipulate all the leaking nature’s energy from Ilian and he sent it back to him.

He didn’t arbitrarily mess with Ilian’s plate since it is too fragile.

It didn’t take long, Ilian’s body became outlined by a silvery light. He raised his two fleshy arms and as if he was a conductor to an opera, the smoke suddenly stopped from ascending.

It looks like a spire that is made up of clouds.

’Would you look at that? I didn’t expect that you would have this wow factor, Ilian!’ The mischievous moon elf lord smirked.

"Please move to the underground and suffocate all the living creatures down there," Ilian murmured with his wide face flushed and his back slowly drenched with sweat.

Right after that, the smoke slowly descended back to the pit.

"It’s working, keep it up, Ilian."

"I will be throwing the Golden Belladonna into the fire."

Ilian nodded. The smoke will become poisonous.

He is aware that they will all die once he fails to contain the fumes that will come out of their fruits and leaves.

Hence, he did his best to maintain his control over the smoke.

Luis did his best to use his powers to throw the poisonous fruits into the pit while maintaining his support for Ilian.

Mental overdraft later. Luis is sure of it.

"Chirp!" The little chick who disappeared suddenly popped up to chase after the Golden Belladonna.

Right! This is the little chick’s food!

Luis doesn’t have a choice but to speed it up and he carelessly threw it straight to the fire.

"Chirp!!!!!" It suddenly changed its target and it angrily landed on Luis’ head. It ruthlessly pecks his scalp.

’It hurts!’ Luis could only swallow his grievances as he continued to help Ilian.

It didn’t take long until the smoke became yellow indicating that the fumes that comes out from the fruit completely integrated with the smoke.

"It’s finally here, Ilian. Be its guide and let it flow to the tunnel. Remember, that you are the master of this poisonous gas. It is you who will kill those damned creatures underground."

Ilian doesn’t know the reason why but the moon elf lord’s words triggered something inside him and his closed eyes welled with tears.

"Uhm!" He nodded, not wanting the moon elf lord to see his embarrassing side.

Moments passed and the voice of the moon elf lord was heard. "Blow the horn now!"