Virdove.
That was the name of the capital of the elves.
As the capital of one of the four big races of this world, Virdove was an amazing city. In fact, just in terms of size and majesty, it was way better than the Arcadian Empire's capital.
That is normal, though. In the end, although the Arcadian Empire is the biggest human country, it's still one of several human countries. Meanwhile, the elves had only one country and only one capital.
Not just elves. Daemons and beastmen are also like that, with just one country governing their entire race.
Surprisingly, only humanity's power is divided into several countries.
That is not important now, though.
As soon as I arrived at Virdove, I took a deep breath. The clean and refreshing air of the elven forest filled my lungs, and the mana-filled environment invigorated my body.
It was already morning in the capital of the elves, so several elf ladies and men were already walking around the streets when I arrived. Surprisingly, though, none of them seemed to notice me.
Obviously, I had used a spell beforehand to remain unseen.
This should be enough to investigate most of the situation without a problem.
But when I was ready to start my investigation, I stopped abruptly.
Then, I narrowed my eyes and looked forward.
In front of me, a giant tree several thousands of meters tall extended beyond the clouds.
The image was stunning. Anyone who sees it for the first time would be too surprised to even blink.
Elves are one of the most common races across the universe, existing in more than one planet and dimension. And many versions of this race are related to Great Trees.
You can say that Elves and Great Trees share a symbiotic relationship.
However, it's rare to see a Great Tree this tall.
In fact, it should be called a World Tree instead.
But that was not what surprised me.
Even although it's rare to find a World Tree, it's not my first time seeing one. I have seen bigger ones even.
What surprised me was the existence of the tree itself.
This tree should not exist.
I, Claus Quintin, am the fourth prince of the Arcadian Empire, the biggest human country. And as a prince, I know a lot about other countries and races.
And I'm sure that this tree did not exist.
There are no records about it in the Arcadian Empire's archives.
I have not heard even rumors about this tree before.
Hell, a tree this tall should have attracted the attention of someone long ago. With its size, it should be visible from thousands of kilometers away.
Plus, the resources necessary to nurture something like this are enough to make half of the countries in this world poor. Someone should have noticed if the elves were doing this kind of project.
However, I did not know about it until now.
In fact, I only noticed it when I arrived at the capital of the elves, and even then, I needed a brief second to realize it was there.
The fact that the elves managed to create an illusion that fooled my sigh is stunning.
Closing my eyes, I extended my senses into the surroundings. I then activated [Akashic Sight] and tried to find what is happening.
And after I did that, I could not help but raise an eyebrow.
"An array, huh… Moreover, such a powerful and intricate array…"
Thousands of great trees spread all around the elven forest forming a giant array that covers a fourth of the entire continent.
And the purpose of this array is to strengthen and hide this tree.
Some of the functions of this array are marvelous even for me.
Anti-divination, illusion, memory steal, consciousness development…
I whistled in admiration. This array... Even I could not have created something much better.
Actually, there are some parts of this array I would like to study!
Now, the question here is, how did this array appear here?
And how did the elves manage to grow a World Tree?
It's obvious the elves here are unable to do something like this by themselves. Hell, just growing the World Tree should have transformed the elven forest into a wasteland.
In other words, someone gave them the information and resources necessary to grow it and build the array.
"To think I would find clues about him so quickly." I sighed to myself.
Is it good luck or bad luck?
Anyway, now that I know about this tree, there is no way I will let it be.
First, though, I want to acquire a bit more information.
Taking a step forward, I moved across space and appeared in front of the trunk of the giant tree. I then looked around me to see if I could find something interesting.
Quickly, my gaze was fixed on a young elf girl attending the tree.
The girl was holding a small bottle and using it to water the tree.
Normally, this should be a very normal and peaceful scene.
If the water she was using were not souls.
Hundreds of souls belonging to humans, daemons, beastmen, and even elves.
And she was not the only one doing that.
With a glance, I counted ten different people doing the same.
I guess I already know how they managed to grow the tree this tall, huh.
I shook my head with a sigh. Souls? Really?
I should have expected it. Nothing is better to feed a several-kilometers-tall tree that the souls of intelligent beings.
They are abundant, cheap, easy to get, and filled with nutrients. Where are you going to find something better?
Do you want to grow a titanic, powerful, and probably evil being? Easy, feed it a lot of souls.
Not like I care.
I'm more interested in learning about the purpose of this tree.
There is no way an Immortal will do something senseless. If he manipulated the elves to grow this tree, it must have a purpose.
Thus, I stepped across space once more
...
Two chapters coming tomorrow...
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