Chapter 287 - Hundred Transformation Art's Second Stage
Chapter 287 - Hundred Transformation Art's Second Stage
"Please leave, sir. I apologize for shooting that arrow at you, but you do not have the authorization to cultivate in our forest, nor are you welcomed here!" the female captain of the elves spoke.
"Authorization? Your forest?" Albion shook his head before glancing at the female elf seriously and said, "The World Tree belongs to your tribe, which I won't argue nor deny."
"However, the rest of the world belongs to me, which includes this rainforest and land you tread on. As such, I need no such thing as authorization to go where I want to go, nor do what I want to do. It is not up to you to decide whether I am welcomed here."
"How bold! Who do you think you—"
"Enough!"
Before the male elf could finish his aggressive questioning, the female elf silenced the male with pressure from her higher cultivation.
Shortly after, the female elf carefully asked Albion, "Are you the one they call the Federation Leader, sir?"
"The Federation Leader?" Albion chuckled with amusement before calmly stating, "The Federation Leader governs the planet, but he doesn't own.. This planet only has one true ruler in the dark, and that person is me."
"…"
The elven group was silent for a brief moment before their eyes widened in alarm and realization, causing them to retreat some distance and take aims at Albion with their elvish bows.
"The Dark Emperor!" they cried.
"Oh?"
Albion raised an eyebrow at the situation.
At the same time, Fenriri hopped in front of Albion and took a crouching position, gathering strength in her legs like a nocked arrow, ready to be fired.
However, she was suddenly caught by surprise when Albion picked her up by the collar like a kitten with its neck caught by its mother, causing her limbs to dangle in the air briefly before he placed her behind him.
"Back off, Riri. They are all in the Spirit Refinement Realm. If it is just a single opponent, I might let you play with them. However, fighting ten of them is too much for you."
Albion casually said before returning his attention to the elves.
"For you to take hostile stances against me upon learning my identity, I suppose it is safe to assume that the elven tribe has no interest in establishing friendly ties—No, the elves wish to become my enemy?"
Albion asked with narrowed eyes.
Rumble…!
The pressure from his gaze quickly made the elves feel weak in the knees as they began to perspire with cold sweats and tremble in fear as if death, itself, locked onto them.
Their danger senses rang like alarm bells.
"Lord Dark Emperor, it is not our wish to become your enemy, but we have our king's orders to be on guard against your appearance in our forest! We are just following orders! Please have mercy, Lord Dark Emperor!" a male elf quickly pleaded without lowing his bow.
Albion was immediately amused.
"Repeating your forest, huh? You really treat this place as your own. And you want mercy, yet you all continue to point your arrows at me? Strange way of pleading for your life, I must say."
Albion commented.
After saying that, the elven group was startled into lowering their bows before Albion casually asked, "And so? Why did your king order you to be on guard against my appearance?"
"We were told that if Lord Dark Emperor is unwilling to negotiate fair trades with our tribe, there was a high chance that Lord Dark Emperor will sneak into our—your forest and plunder all our spirit herbs."
The female elf quickly changed her words mid-sentence after witnessing Albion raised an eyebrow.
"I see…" Albion rubbed his chin thoughtfully before asking, "And Empress Una was the one who told you that?"
"Yes, Lord Dark Emperor—I think so!" the female elf replied.
"I see…" Albion pondered for a moment before reassuring the elves, "You don't have to worry about me plundering everything. I will only take what I need."
"Of course, even if I want to take everything, you won't be able to do anything except throw away lives in a futile attempt to stop me anyway. Well, that's that. You can all leave. I won't pursue you."
The elves were surprised for a moment before they cupped their fists and expressed their gratitude to Albion, "Thank you for sparing our lives, Lord Dark Emperor."
Shortly after, the elven group retreated deeper into the forest, making haste back to the World Tree to report to their king.
At the same time, Albion watched them disappeared with a pondering look.
"Are we just going to let them leave like that, Master?" Fenriri inquired before adding, "Although Fenriri is aware that Master has the power to solve every problem, wouldn't it still be inconvenient if they make the report to the king?"
"It doesn't matter," Albion patted Fenriri's head with a smile and asked, "Aren't you curious about the elven tribe residing by the World Tree? Let us pay them a visit and do some sightseeing."
"But seeing how hostile they were, they wouldn't let us enter their territory so freely," Fenriri mentioned with doubt.
"Of course, they already saw my appearance. Those elven scouts will surely report it. However, this will also make it easier for us to disguise ourselves and slip in as one of them," Albion stated.
Fenriri was confused by Albion's words.
However, her eyes steadily widened with amazement as she witnessed Albion's white hair turn golden-blonde, his ears grow sharp and pointy, and his eyes turn emerald-green.
Hundred Transformation Art, second stage!
After stepping into the Spirit Refinement Realm, the second stage of the Hundred Transformation Art became accessible to Albion.
Ding!
<[Basic-level Hundred Transformation Art]'s proficiency increased by a total of 272 points>
<[Basic-level Hundred Transformation Art]'s proficiency has reached the required threshold for upgrade >
<[Basic-level Hundred Transformation Art] ? [Intermediate-level Hundred Transformation Art]>
"Like this, there won't be any inconvenience," Albion grinned in his new elven appearance.
Fenriri failed to spot any resemblance in her master's appearance other than his clothes before she rubbed her eyes and continued to stare in awe.
It was as if her master had transformed into a completely different person.
Even his voice has become soothing and full of elegance as if every fiber of his being was the very definition of grace.