A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

107 – Betrayal

What is the most important thing in war? There may be many, but Chertu believed that information was the most crucial. And from that perspective, this infiltration operation was bound to succeed.

The Elves were unaware of the human coalition’s plans. They had never fought with weapons, nor had they faced off against shamans. And decisively, the infiltration unit was receiving real-time information about the location of all Elves in the Mother World Tree through the young World Tree.

“A civilian girl on the right.”

“I’ll use an enchantment to move her elsewhere.”

“A Wood Elf couple in front.”

“Cast a sleep spell.”

Shamans and magicians. Giants and elementalists. The thirty members of the infiltration team were executing the operation flawlessly. They were sprinting at maximum speed through the shortest route to the top of the sacred pond on the highest level of the Mother Tree, and along the way, any civilians who might spot them were either put to sleep or sent elsewhere.

Thus, within just three minutes from the start of the infiltration, they could reach from the roots to the top of the tree.

“Is it a relief team? What about the standoff with the humans…?”

As they entered the sacred pond, one of the High Elven warriors stood up and locked eyes with the infiltration team. He desperately tried to summon a spirit, but the reflexes and shooting speed of the Giants were faster.

An 8x70mm armor-piercing round was fired from the rifle held by a Giant. A hole appeared in the Elf’s head, and he fell lifelessly, never to rise again.

Naturally, the gunfire echoed, and upon hearing the sound, all the High Elven warriors in the vicinity began to rush in. However, the infiltration team remained unfazed.

“Magicians. Seal the entrance we came up from with a sealing spell.”

They were well aware that there was only one entrance leading to the sacred pond.

“Magicians target the warriors with bows. Elementalists provide aerial support fire. And we engage the warriors with swords.”

They had meticulously planned how to deal with the enemies and had practiced it over and over dozens of times. It was inconceivable that the Elves, who had no clue just moments ago, could stand a chance against them.

“Summon the spirits!”

The High Elves attempted to summon spirits. It was a natural thing to do, as spirit magic was the source of their strength. However, as they tried to summon using the pact, they hesitated for a moment.

“The, the summoning isn’t working!!”

They quickly realized the cause. Tamir Khan, floating in the sky, and the wandering spirit shamans of the Rimnakal Plain were the culprits, glaring down at them.

“Continue the counter-summons.”

The shamans of Tamir Khan had the seal of the pact faintly glowing on the back of their hands. With that power, they were constantly disrupting the High Elves’ spirit summoning.

Of course, no matter how strong the spirit shamans of Rimnakal Plain were, they couldn’t defeat the High Elf spirit shamans who had trained for hundreds of years with just decades of training. It was only a temporary hindrance. It wouldn’t be long before, due to the overwhelming difference in power, they would begin summoning spirits.

So.

Before that, they should be killed.

“Commence firing.”

The beastfolk raised their rifles. The Imperial Army’s semi-automatic rifles aimed at the bodies of the elves. Until then, the elves had only complained about the spirits not being summoned.

“Damn it! Brothers! Arm yourselves! We must fight with weapons!!”

Helplessly, they raised swords and bows, the symbols of warriors. Primitive weapons, but when combined with elven spirit magic, they wielded formidable power. Using spirits to transform arrows or wrapping spirits around swords to strike.

But now, with spirit summoning impossible.

The swords and bows were nothing but ancient weapons, vastly inferior to rifles.

“Kill!……”

As an elf approached with a sword, a bullet pierced through their body with a gunshot. Every shot hit vital areas like the heart, neck, or head. The beastfolk’s shooting was precise. There was no elf here to stop them, calmly shooting down the lined-up High Elf warriors.

“Swiftly! Fire your bows!!”

From a distance, other elves shot arrows from their bows after nocking them. But it was all in vain.

“[Distortion Field].”

“Huh?”

The shot arrows suddenly twisted off course in mid-air, flying off to random places. Wizards with staffs, embedded with high-purity magic stones and large mana batteries on their backs, turned the bows into useless tools before meticulously dealing with the archers.

“[Binding].”

Once bound.

“[Wind Cutter].”

They mercilessly severed throats.

If only there were spirits, they wouldn’t have died so helplessly.

However, relentlessly, the spirit shamans who forcibly counter-summoned the elves the High Elves were trying to summon using the power of the pact, left the elves helpless. They were slaughtered by guns and magic, unable to do anything.

“Hurry!!!”

When the infiltrators ruthlessly slaughtered the High Elf warriors guarding the sacred pond, the spellcasters blocking the entrance yelled. From the sealed entrance, the eerie sound of footsteps indicated that other High Elves outside were attempting to enter.

“Got it!”

Chertu rushed forward. Desperately, she approached the empty, vacant-eyed World Tree sitting in the middle of the sacred pond. A black gem was embedded near her heart. Chertu tightly grasped it.

“Suck!!”

And she exerted her strength.

The firmly embedded gem was easily pulled out. And with it.

“……..Thank you.”

Life returned to the eyes of the avatar of the World Tree. She looked at Loruma’s soul as if in disgust.

“Get rid of it. That.”

“Of course. But before that.”

Chertu made a quick gesture, prompting one of the wizards to rush over and pull out the image stone hidden in their bosom.

“It’s time to reveal the truth the High Elves have been hiding.”

As the young World Tree shared the perspective of her mother, the Mother Tree also shared the view of her young daughter. Therefore, she could immediately recognize what the image stone in front of her was.

She stood straight in front of the image stone.

“It’s opening!”

The sorcerers retreated in fear as the sealing spell at the entrance was broken. However, the High Elves still couldn’t come in. This was because the Mother Tree instantly summoned vines to block the entrance.

“I can’t have my broadcast interrupted.”

“Camera, turn on! Now… you may speak!!”

The image stone lit up. The Mother Tree gazed into the camera with a composed look.

And she spoke.

“These rotten leaves.”

Veins bulged on her head.

“Can’t you just stop this right now!!!!!!!!!!!”

With an enormous roar, the tree itself created an explosive vibration.

In the midst of the vibration that felt like an earthquake,

“It’s over.”

Cherthu and the Infiltration Leader were smiling.

“The power of the pact has been suspended!!”

“What? That’s impossible!!!”

The Elder gasped as he looked at his own hand. And he soon realized that the flame on his seal was extinguished. The pact wasn’t broken, but the provision of the pact from the World Tree’s side was unilaterally halted.

It was the worst timing.

“Contact the tribe warriors guarding the sacred pond!…”

At the moment the Elder was about to act urgently, something appeared from the human side in the midst of the confrontation.

Illusion magic.

And it was an illusion magic directly unfolded by a dragon. The illusion magic projected a rectangular screen in the air, and soon, the face of a woman appeared on that screen. Late at night. The bright rectangular screen that appeared in the air captivated the attention of all Elven warriors in an instant.

“Mother Tree!”

“Mother Tree!!”

Seeing the murmuring Elven warriors, the Elder’s expression turned pale.

“No!!! I said don’t look! We must stop this!!!!”

He shouted desperately, but before he and the High Elven Council could do anything, the Mother Tree’s roar echoed through the fantasy realm.

“These rotten leaves! Can’t you just stop this right now!!!!!”

When an incredibly vulgar curse, worse than blasphemy by Elven standards, came out of the Mother Tree herself, all the Elves froze. The screen was so huge that not only the Elven legion confronting the humans on the ground but also all Elven citizens living in the tree could see it.

“No!! Stop it!! Stop!!!”

The Elder raged, but it was something he couldn’t stop from the start. The Mother Tree on the screen continued speaking with an angry expression.

“Elder Yurgisil. You have betrayed me!! You implanted the soul of Loruma into my heart, manipulated me as you pleased, and even tried to incite a war between races which I absolutely did not want. There’s a limit to underestimating me!!!”

As the Mother Tree on the screen spoke, all the Elves turned to look at the High Elven Council.

“The soul of Loruma? Are you saying you had that?”

“Is that true?”

The gazes were uneasy. Even among the High Elves, not in high positions, all the stem tribe High Elves were looking at the Council with expressions of astonishment.

“Is that true?”

“It’s a lie! Can’t you see through it!! They’re showing fake images made by humans! Don’t be deceived! It’s all lies!……Oops!!”

The Elder stopped breathing. Was that all?

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Every elf with eyes was stunned, holding their breath.

Hovering in the air, the Gold Dragon, collaborating with Celeste, burst into laughter while casting a massive screen magic.

“The Wind Spirit King, Sylphidra!! hahahahaha! It’s been a millennium since it rained in the World Tree.”

A gigantic woman made of wind in the air aimed at the elves with a raised window. Simultaneously, the World Tree in the screen roared.

“I have summoned my ally. Is there anyone besides me in this fantasy realm capable of summoning Sylphidra!! Am I lying even after seeing the corruption of the High Elven Council? Speak, Yurgisil!!”

“I, I…….I……….”

The Elder could only stand still without saying a word.

It was the worst.

Leaving his headquarters unguarded was his fault, and the fact that the Mother Tree was secretly transmitting all information to the young World Tree was another mistake, but the biggest problem was…

The High Elves had made too many enemies.

“Mother Tree. Kneel!!”

At the appearance of Sylphid, all elves knelt in an instant, gazing at the screen with reverence.

“Mother Tree! What do you desire from us?”

An immediate answer followed the question.

“Lay down your weapons and cease the war. The humans rescued me. They saved me from the clutches of the wicked Elder and the High Elven Council. I was foolish. My failure to prevent the corruption of the High Elven Council is my mistake. So, I will rectify it now.”

The World Tree gazed sternly at the elders.

“Seize them. Capture them and hand them over to the humans. If you resist…”

The Wind Spirit King began to inflate his body dramatically.

The elves’ faces turned pale at this tremendous momentum.

“I will personally take the lives of my despicable, twisted offspring.”

In the unprecedented wrath of the Mother Tree, the elves finally turned away.

All the elves.

“Elder Yurgisil.”

“No. No!! I did it for everyone!! For the eternal prosperity of Elven society!!……”

“Discard your weapons and follow the will of the Mother Tree. Or else.”

In an instant, 50,000 allies turned into enemies.

The Elder and the Council, now unable to wield the power of the pact, had no chance of winning.

“We shall all fight together.”

The blades of the Elven warriors were pointed at the High Elven Council.