Chapter 290

289. The Key to the Endless Sky (5)

“I will allow disembarkation for up to ten unarmed personnel in two hours.”

The envoy, who had disembarked from the speedboat, stammered with a pale face, trying hard to maintain the characteristic arrogance of an elf. However, what he overlooked was that those welcoming him were also elves.

A race inherently arrogant, deeply rooted in the belief of their superiority. Leia’s elves were veterans who had witnessed the death of the Serpent King, or more accurately, the eternal kings who were akin to racial deities.

“Interesting.”

Before anger could erupt among them, Leia, sitting on the throne with her legs crossed, chuckled and spoke. She addressed the envoy, who stood stiffly below the audience hall, staring straight at her.

“What’s your name?”

“I am… I am Deirasil Oscalail.”

“You have committed two discourtesies. As a monarch of another nation, I have given you the opportunity to reflect on and correct your rudeness. You’ve resolved one, but the second remains unaddressed.”

Leia looked at the envoy with emotionless eyes. Among the elves, the title of monarch, or Serpent King, carried an immensely powerful meaning. The envoy’s face instantly turned pale.

He was an elf of the Jerolen royal family. This meant that the monarch he served was a divine being who had ruled his people since the Celestial War. Standing before such a Serpent King was inevitably burdensome for him.

“What… what is it?”

“Now it’s three discourtesies. Gwen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Give him a chance to resolve his rudeness.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!!”

A burly Wild Prince rushed out like lightning and struck the envoy’s shin, knocking him down. The envoy fell to the ground, bleeding from his nose, and looked up. In his dazed vision, he saw Leia’s face.

“Your first discourtesy was not stating your name in my audience hall. The second was failing to recognize who stands before you.”

“It’s the monarch’s presence! Kneel!”

Still on the ground, the envoy was forcibly pulled up by Gwen and made to kneel. A cold blade rested on his neck. The envoy trembled and looked up.

“Now that you’ve corrected two discourtesies, how much better does it look? I’ll give you a chance to reflect on your final discourtesy.”

“P-please… spare me.”

“And?”

“I… I apologize. Great King.”

“Good. I am magnanimous, so I can’t take your head for every single mistake. Tell your king this: two hours? Fine. I’ll come in two hours. Ten people? No, I’ll bring ten warships. And unarmed? That won’t do. We’ll dock with a salute. This is the message of the Great Serpent Queen, Leia Pin Guimeran. Deliver it to your king.”

Leia smiled with a hint of malice and nodded her head. Gwen forcibly lifted the still-dazed envoy, bowed deeply to Leia, and escorted him out of the audience hall.

The ministers and Wild Princes, who had maintained their composure until the envoy left, let out a collective sigh as the doors closed. One of them stepped forward, bowed deeply, and spoke.

“Your Majesty. I, Bialdail Pin Maxilas, humbly inquire.”

“Speak.”

“If Your Majesty intends war, sacrificing ten ships to the enemy would not be unwise.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Huh…? Your Majesty, are you not provoking that corrupt royal family to build a righteous cause to save their people…?”

“Too complicated. Didn’t I say to keep it simple? So, sacrificing ten of our ships to create a pretext to punish them, is that what you mean?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Leia shook her head at the minister’s words. She then spoke boldly.

“If I intended war, would I need a pretext? To condemn a war without a cause, only our two forces exist on this sea. If we have enough power, we simply crush them. Also, the crews of those ten ships are my people. How could I recklessly send them to their deaths?”

“Then…?”

“Isn’t it about pride? Do you lack pride? Was that fool’s attitude befitting of a monarch? We are a union of two races. Since the Great Exile, we are the only ones to unite two races into one. We are not just descendants of a royal family but of our entire race!”

At Leia’s words, the ministers bowed their heads. She stood up abruptly and walked among the lined-up ministers. The closer her footsteps came, the deeper the ministers and generals bowed.

“Stand tall!”

She lifted each bowing vassal and patted their shoulders, shouting.

“Stand tall! You are not just ministers of a single race but of our entire race! If you cannot be noble, then be arrogant! Lift your heads! That corrupt king killed our goddess for his own gain, but we revived her for ourselves! Our race’s era is not twilight but dawn!”

At Leia’s words, the ministers’ eyes burned with passion. Yes, after the Celestial War, there was a time when they were mere refugees wandering the seas, having lost the continent’s hegemony. They were a nomadic people barely holding together under a powerful monarch’s rule.

That era, where the spirit of the race gradually dissipated over time, was now over. For the first time in history, two races had become one, and now almost all elves in this world lived under one queen with a unified will.

It was not an era of decline but of revival. They had not missed a golden age; it simply hadn’t arrived yet. Leia strove to instill this ideology in her vassals.

Always arrogant and bold, yet humble and approachable. A monarch who reigns above her vassals but does not diminish their pride. The authority Leia built was not the absolute power of the eternal kings but a voluntary authority born from her vassals’ respect.

She grabbed the door handle of the audience hall, looked back, and…





He laughed.

“Aren’t you guys the ones who enjoy feasts with your Sovereign, using the same utensils at the same table? Since we’re on the same level, if you bow, I’ll have to bow too, and that just doesn’t sit right with me. Everyone, straighten your backs and walk with pride!”

“Yes!! Your Majesty!!”

“And prepare ten envoys. I will personally steer at the forefront!”

“Yes……? Your Majesty……?”

As Leia said this and swiftly left the audience chamber, the stunned ministers hurriedly rushed towards the entrance.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!! Wait, just a moment!! Please, reconsider!!”

“Your Majesty!! If you were going to do this, why did you provoke the envoys in the first place!!”

“Ah!! That guy was just so annoying!”

* * *

“That’s how it is. Get ready.”

Fernandez glanced at Leia, who was grumbling, and the stiff-faced ministers behind her. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

“So you threatened the envoys because you were annoyed?”

“Yep.”

“And you plan to provoke them with a cannon salute?”

“Exactly.”

“……Why do you like cannon salutes so much?”

“It’s the highest form of protocol during ceremonies. Where else would I back down?”

“I feel like kneeling…….”

Fernandez sighed as he spoke.

“Would it be alright if I opposed you?”

“……Are you planning not to accompany me?”

“What are you talking about? I have business with Jerolen. I just wish you wouldn’t go.”

“Haha! That’s funny! Listen to what he’s saying!”

Leia laughed cheerfully and looked at the ministers lined up behind her. The ministers didn’t join in her laughter and simply stared at her silently. Leia looked hurt.

“Guys?”

“The noble is right. Your Majesty, it would be better to reconsider your personal visit.”

“You guys are too informal. Such arrogance!”

“We are merely following the duty of a minister, as Your Majesty commanded.”

Leia hesitated and turned her head. Seeing this, Fernandez spoke to the ministers.

“The Serpent Queen is not wrong. The envoys from the Jerolen Royal Family were excessively rude, and you are not so weak as to yield to their demands. Having pride is not arrogance. However…….”

“Yes, Lord Sernerd. Your Majesty’s personal visit is too risky.”

“That’s right. The Serpent Queen is the most valuable treasure of your nation and the focal point of both peoples. She must never be lost so easily.”

“What should we do then?”

“It’s a bit of a shame. Why do we need to go first?”

Fernandez smirked and continued.

“Tell them to come to us.”

“……Huh?”

“Just send them back. Tell the King of Jerolen to come to us directly.”

“Are you planning to send envoys again?”

“No, that would be too humiliating. I’ll call them out with a more refined metaphor. It’s good that we have two hours to wait. I’ll prepare it myself.”

Fernandez nodded and left. Leia and the ministers stared blankly at his retreating back.

* * *

Exactly two hours later, as Leia and her retainers were beginning to wonder if they should go look for Fernandez—

*BOOOOOOM!!*

A sudden vibration shook the entire flagship. A ship the size of a fortress shaking was no different from an earthquake. The ministers, panicked, surrounded Leia to protect her from any potential falling debris.

“What is this……!”

“An enemy…… attack? Did the Jerolen Royal Family strike first? Hey! Why wasn’t there any warning from the observation deck!”

“No! It’s not an attack! This is…… this is…….”

The ministers remembered this sensation. They couldn’t forget it. That overwhelming presence they felt in Infermur, when everything changed—

“Atailatl……!!”

Leia gritted her teeth and looked towards one of the ship’s spires. From the isolated spire where Fernandez had been given a residence to conduct his research freely, an immense presence was emanating.

The presence of a dragon. The retainers of the Guimerin Royal Family remembered Infermur, and the retainers of the Malerun Royal Family remembered the moment their flagship was shattered.

“What a…… noisy guy……!!”

Leia swallowed hard and whispered. Perhaps it was because she carried the divinity of a goddess. The dragon’s presence burned more intensely than the one they had seen before. Yes. With this sensation, even Jerolen couldn’t ignore it. The flagship of the Elven Serpent King could only be harmed by the Curse of the Great Demon, the dwarven cannons, and the Dragon’s Breath!

“Fire the…… cannon salute!”

“Eh……? Your Majesty?”

“Fernandez is putting in the effort, so we should lend a hand! Fire the cannons! Make it a clearer warning. Jerolen won’t be able to leave without coming to us directly!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!!”

The ministers and generals scattered to their respective cannons on the ship. A ship the size of a fortress meant that even delivering orders to each cannon took time.

“He could’ve at least given us a heads-up! Such a stubborn guy!”

Leia grumbled, chewing on her teeth. The only reason she didn’t kneel immediately was her pride. Her legs were still trembling. A dragon carrying the divinity of two goddesses. The sensation of such a being fully revealing its presence…… was more awe-inspiring than terrifying.

* * *

And, beyond the horizon, on a remote island. Even from Jerolen’s flagship, that presence could be felt. For an elf, no matter the distance, it was a sensation that couldn’t be ignored.

“Melisildur……?”

“No. That’s…… astonishing. It’s Atailatl.”

“There are still more Atailatl left in this world……?”

“I didn’t know, Jerolen. I really didn’t. Who could it be? Who could still be alive? Why didn’t they tell me until now?”

“You are not forsaken.”

“Haha…… thank you.”

An elf wearing a magnificent golden crown adorned with feather engravings embraced the shoulders of a woman with fiery red hair and whispered. The woman smiled sadly and looked towards the horizon.

“Do you want to go?”

“Yes.”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll follow.”

“It could be a trap. They are the ones who killed our king.”

“Indeed, Lacrishir. You know it too, don’t you? Those who bear the name Serpent King are all deserving of death.”

“Does that include you?”

In response to the woman’s playful words, the elf kissed her forehead and whispered.

“Of course. I’m alive because I couldn’t die.”

“Let’s go. A trap made by those who should be dead is quite romantic for two lovers who couldn’t die.”

The presence of a goddess thought to be dead. And within it, the unmistakable presence of an extinct race. The wraiths who couldn’t die entering a trap made by those who should be dead. It has a certain poetic charm, doesn’t it?

Jerolen nodded and stepped back. The woman’s body was engulfed in flames. And—

A red dragon soared into the sky.