Upon discovering Irina's arrival, the elves outside the castle stood quietly to the side, just like the other guests, assuming that the princess simply had something to discuss with Hubert.
But now, looking at the pale gold and green gradient mage staff in Irina's hand, and remembering her earlier words, their faces showed shock and confusion, as if they had misheard.
"Your Highness the Princess said she was going to kill Lord Hubert?"
The guests who followed him out stared wide-eyed at Irina, who stood atop the tree, in disbelief. After three years of silence, the princess had reappeared, and was she about to do something so shocking?
Hubert's expression also changed, but he quickly regained his composure and looked at Irina with a smile, saying, "Your Highness the Princess, what crime have I committed? Why do you want to take my life? I am now the Chief Punisher of the Elven race. Without Her Majesty the Queen's decree of dismissal, you have no right to lay a hand on me. Princess, you haven't left your cave for three years. Perhaps you have some misunderstanding about me. We can go and talk things out with Lady Helena and Her Majesty the Queen. Let's not allow our people to ridicule us."
"If I want to kill someone, I never need anyone's permission." Irina pointed her mage staff at Hubert and said coldly, "Besides, you, the so-called Chief Punisher, probably think of yourself as a king, don't you? My people, the elven race, were born of the Tree of Life and are born equal. How dare you, the scum of the Kroll family, insult and order them around at will? For that reason alone, you deserve to die."
The expressions of the Kroll family members changed drastically. If the elven princess had come because of this, what should they do besides the patriarch?
Meanwhile, the eyes of the elves whom Kroll had treated as servants suddenly brightened. They all looked up at Irina as if they had seen a savior. Her Highness the Princess was as radiant as ever, but at this moment, it was as if light emanated from her.
"Listen to what Her Highness the Princess says! She really has come to change all of this!" In the castle hall, the elf who had been sitting on the ground stood up excitedly, hurried to the door, and said in a choked voice.
"Am I dreaming? Did Her Highness the Princess hears our prayers, or did the Tree of Life convey our pain to her?" The dancer who had spoken earlier was also visibly agitated.
"The hierarchy within the Elven race is already established, and eradicating or changing this situation is almost impossible... Her Highness the Princess, I'm afraid even she can't do it." the tall elf murmured softly, her voice barely audible to herself. But her gaze towards the doorway was filled with hope, perhaps Her Highness the Princess would grant a miracle, after all, everything about her was so legendary.
"I have done my duty, making the Elven race more orderly. Everything we enjoy now is well-deserved, a gift from Her Majesty the Queen to the Kroll family. And it's not just my Kroll family, the Bebili family, the Brewster family, the Nuo Si family… they also enjoy Her Majesty the Queen's gifts, enjoying everything brought about by the Elven hierarchy reform, while we have also made the Elven race more prosperous and powerful. Your Highness the Princess, do you also want to kill them all and destroy the entire Elven race?" Hubert looked at Irina, smiling mockingly, showing no fear whatsoever.
The hierarchical system within the Elven race has been in place for decades, reaching a considerable scale and becoming an unstoppable trend. He and his Kroll family are caught in this trend. No matter how powerful or prestigious Irina is, she cannot stop this trend. The entire Elven race has already been divided among several major families, including the royal family. Could she possibly kill them all?
The guests and the Kroll people breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and straightened their postures again. Just as Hubert said, this situation was the norm among the elves. The Kroll family was just one of the powerful families. Several other major families and countless smaller families together formed the various social strata of the elves, while those elves with low strength and no family to rely on became the lowest-ranking servants.
This is a mature social system, it can't be solved by killing one or two people.
The elves may have once been free, enjoying an unrestrained life, but after experiencing the thrill of power, it's impossible to restore them to their former state.
If Irina insists on doing this, it will not be the various families that are destroyed, but only her.
Even if she was an elven princess, it wouldn't work.
The oppressed elves lowered their heads in dejection. If even Her Highness the Princess couldn't change this situation, they feared they would have to endure oppression and enslavement for the rest of their lives, with no hope of ever rising above their circumstances.
Those days of carefree wandering in the forest of wind, collecting dew, picking wild fruits, and resting in the trees when tired, are gone. They will forever be inferior, subject to oppression and humiliation.
"I'm not in a hurry to kill them, but you must die today." Irina looked at the elves with their heads bowed, her face growing colder and colder. She pointed her mage staff at Hubert and said in an icy voice, "Light Binding!"
A pale golden, translucent sphere of light flew out from the golden crystal ball at the top of the mage staff, then disappeared, and in the blink of an eye appeared in front of Hubert, enveloping him.
"Your Highness the Princess, Lady Helena and Her Majesty the Queen will absolutely not tolerate your actions. I advise you to stop as soon as possible. You are only a princess now, not the Queen." Hubert also spoke coldly. As a great mage himself, he was quick to react, and a green magic wand appeared in his hand. He said in a deep voice, "Wooden Light Shield!"
A green, arc-shaped light shield appeared in front of him, completely obscuring his body from behind. The golden sphere collided with the green light shield, enveloping Hubert like a bubble, but it was blocked by the green light shield and did not shrink.
Hubert glanced at the light shield surrounding his body, sensing no threat, and decided to leave it alone for the time being. At the same time, he chanted, "Wood spirits of heaven and earth, heed my call, gather in front of me, transform into stars, and destroy all enemies!"
As Hubert chanted his spell, a massive green vortex appeared above the castle. Countless wood elements from the Wind Forest poured into the vortex, making the green even more intense and causing it to spin rapidly. A violent gust of wind arose, and shimmering gold streaks appeared and disappeared within the vortex, as if something was about to descend.
"It's Lord Hubert's ultimate forbidden spell, 'Dense Forest Starfall'!" someone exclaimed.
Upon hearing this, all the elves hurriedly retreated. Irina's sudden attack was completely unexpected by everyone, and Hubert also used his strongest move right away, which would probably lead to a great battle.
"Holy Light, heed my call and purify all filth!" Irina raised her mage staff above her head with a holy expression. A holy light pierced through the green vortex and fell on her, as if draping her in a holy golden veil. The mage staff emitted a dazzling light, and then burst forth with a beam of dazzling holy light, crashing into the center of the vortex.