DKIE CH55.1: Community

The arrow was on the string, the atmosphere tense enough to snap.

The first thing to break the silence was not an arrow, but a cold laugh.

“That’s right. It’s not us who will lose out anyway.” The High Priest looked at the Saintess. “Why do you feel so pained over the Life Elixir?”

He walked straight forward, about to pick up the bottle and drink it all.

Luka, sitting in his chair, suddenly lifted one knee. A ball of golden light floated under his foot—what was consistently called ‘Truth’.

This kick used nearly all of his strength. Due to the Elf King’s casual obstruction, the High Priest’s resistance was half a beat slow, and he was sent flying a dozen meters away on the spot.

The Quill Pen raised an eyebrow. That was quite a… satisfying kick.

The Holy Court got off easy.

Luka looked down at the priest still lying on the ground, his crossed leg swinging. “Did I say you could drink it?”

With her own man kicked away, the last bit of polite smile on the Saintess’s face vanished.

As the High Priest climbed up, his peripheral vision caught the impatient Elf King on the main seat, and he knew things were not looking good.

“In such a hurry. What is the priest worried about?”

The Elf King’s tone grew increasingly calm. The guards had entered the inner hall at some point, bows and arrows aimed.

Seeing no way out, the High Priest steeled himself. His fingers in his sleeves trembled slightly, and he suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly.

“What am I in a hurry for? You ask me what I’m in a hurry for?”

“If you hadn’t pushed me again and again, we could have all been at peace.” The High Priest’s face suddenly changed. He looked at the Elf King and said coldly, “You guessed right. There is a problem with this Life Elixir. It has been diluted. I embezzled a portion of it.”

After speaking, he looked at the Saintess and lowered his head. “I have failed the Holy Court.”

The Saintess’s face was serene. “You should be ashamed.”

A chill suddenly appeared. A snow-white figure appeared in front of the priest. The Saintess drew her sword with such speed that the guards subconsciously shot their arrows.

The arrows coming from all directions hung strangely suspended in mid-air. The High Priest also seemed to be frozen in time, unable to move.

With a “pfft” sound, he watched himself being pierced through the chest. Death came so quickly that he didn’t even have time to fully react.

“The Holy Court trusted you so much. I even asked His Excellency the Elf King to let you leave first, but you have disappointed us so much.”

The High Priest struggled to lift his eyelids, his fading consciousness following her gentle words.

That’s right. The Saintess had specifically suggested to the Elf King that he be allowed to go back first.

It was all his fault. The Saintess had done all she could.

“Everything… for the Holy Court.” This sentence flashed through his mind. The High Priest wanted to grip his scepter, but his head tilted, his five fingers went slack, and he breathed his last.

The Saintess calmly withdrew her sword.

Droplets of blood dripped from the tip of the sword to the ground. All the arrows also fell to the floor.

Luka let out a “whoa.” A visitor with ulterior motives could only die in a foreign land.

Today’s good show perfectly suited the theme of the cross: tragic, sacrificial, the path to death.

He wasn’t the only one quietly watching the performance.

The Elf King raised his hand to dismiss the guards. The Saintess had briefly altered the flow of time, and his gesture had been half a beat slow. He wasn’t annoyed at being unable to prevent the priest’s death. He had watched the grand drama with detached interest and even gave a light clap at the end.

“The Holy Court is indeed as the rumors say, clear in its rewards and punishments.”

The Saintess sighed lightly. “I also didn’t expect the priest to be so audacious.”

She shook her head. “Although the Life Elixir was diluted, its value remains. Consider it an apology. I will report this truthfully when I return, and the Holy Court will send other compensation.”

This fearlessness revealed one piece of information: she was certain that no problem would be detected with the Life Elixir.

The Saintess could even leave this half-full bottle behind without any scruples.

The Elf King’s gaze fell downwards.

Not a trace of panic could be seen on the Saintess’s face.

The human and demon races were almost tied for the largest race. No matter how formidable the dragon and elf races were, their small numbers still put them at a disadvantage. Diplomacy between major races was about checks and balances. Now, with no solid evidence and a High Priest dead, both sides had an explanation to give.

Luka had always been meticulous in his thoughts and knew what to say and when. At this moment, he did not press the Saintess to drink the Life Elixir and just remained seated quietly.

“Alright,” after a long pause, the Elf King said with deep meaning, “I will await the Holy Court’s compensation.”

He rarely referred to himself as ‘I’ in the royal sense.

The last person to anger him, the Beastman King, had been hunted down by the Elf King for thirty years. The score with the Holy Court would clearly not be settled so easily.

The Saintess also knew in her heart that the real trouble had just begun.

Not to mention that the relationship between the elven race and the Holy Court had dropped to a freezing point, it would likely become a major problem in the future.

She said no more pleasantries, nor did she look at anyone in the room, including Luka. She turned and left with her female attendant.

Only a cold corpse was left in the royal hall. In the air thick with the smell of blood, Luka stared in the direction the Saintess had left.

Having personally witnessed his birth mother’s cruelty was a bit too disheartening. The Elf King thought for a moment, preparing to say a few words to him.

Who would have known that just as Luka confirmed the person was truly gone, he made a beckoning gesture into the void, and another small, white thing jumped out from behind a decorative pillar.

The Elf King was startled.

Luka: “Did you record it all?”

The ferret, an old hand at this, passed over a recording stone with its paw.

It could easily sneak into the demon realm, let alone do a little secret filming.

After checking the contents and confirming there were no errors, Luka was very satisfied.

Not expecting him to have this backup plan, the Elf King chuckled. “This on-site recording is useful, yet not very useful.”

Simply using it to restore the truth, the Holy Court could find ten thousand angles to refute it.

Luka: “That’s because you’re opening it the wrong way.”

He didn’t elaborate on this issue; he had other plans for it. Luka couldn’t wait to first share the exciting news. “The communication software has been successfully developed!”

The scroll was unrolled, and a deformed magical framework was exposed without any protection.

The Elf King’s aesthetic sense was assaulted!

The ugly thing was reflected in his eyes. He had a terrible headache. “What is this?”

What a big lump.

The Quill Pen turned his head away, unwilling to admit he was one of the developers.

“Of course, it’s the foundation of the communication software.” A mother… a father doesn’t find their child ugly. Luka happily activated the inscriptions on the spot. The entire system immediately began to run smoothly. It seemed like a teetering iron tower in the middle, but until the very end, there were no signs of collapse.

For the first time, the Elf King witnessed the tenacity of life in a non-living entity.

“You…”

He was uncharacteristically at a loss for words, not knowing whether to call this magical system a miracle, or its inventor a divine prodigy.

Luka asked the most crucial question. “Can I upload it now?”

He was already eager to test the effects.

“Theoretically, there’s no problem, but the Tree of Wisdom might slap us in the face with a branch,” the Elf King’s tone was serious, not joking at all.

To imprint and coexist with such a deformed entity in its consciousness space for a long time was a provocation to the Tree of Wisdom.

Its pursuit of beauty had reached the extreme.

“…”

On the path to the underground river, the Quill Pen was also there. He hadn’t really wanted to come along, but Luka had said he didn’t want to be whipped by branches alone.

The Elf King’s tone was serious. “I will communicate with the Tree of Wisdom later. You two, do not make a sound.”

Luka solemnly agreed.

He just wanted the terminal to be released as soon as possible. He had no energy to invent another beautiful magical framework.

At the confluence of countless underground rivers, fluorescent dots shimmered. The Tree of Wisdom emanated an eternal aura of wisdom.

The Elf King walked over slowly, his forehead resting against the trunk. He didn’t communicate silently as usual, but was saying something in Elvish.

Luka was curious about how the Elf King was going to persuade the Tree of Wisdom, when he suddenly noticed the Quill Pen’s expression was a bit strange. “What’s wrong?”

The Quill Pen whispered, “He’s telling the Tree of Wisdom to close its eyes, that he has a surprise for it.”

Luka almost blurted out a “what the hell.”

Not long after the Elf King’s words fell, most of the leaves expectantly flipped in one direction, while others slowly closed, and the entire space dimmed considerably.

He immediately signaled for Luka to take out the scroll, attempting to sneak it past while the Tree of Wisdom had sealed off most of its divine sense.

“This is it.”

A branch with a few remaining normal leaves drooped down and scanned the magical framework on it like a barcode scanner. After a light scan, the branch paused.

The three present subconsciously held their breath.

In the next moment, all the leaves simultaneously returned to their original state. The surroundings were accompanied by small whirlwinds. The wind howled, and the small animals ran around in alarm. The branches directly rolled up all three of them.

Because the power was controllable and not very aggressive, Luka did not resist for the time being.

As his feet left the ground, the Quill Pen looked at Luka with a deep gaze. “Save the day.”

Isn’t he the best at saying things to turn the situation around?

Forced to be held high, Luka lost his balance and subconsciously sang, “With the lights off, it’s all the same…”

The magical system, a dim beauty.

The lyrics drifted. The branches stretched infinitely, and all three of them were mercilessly thrown out.

Getting up at the end of the dark river, the Quill Pen’s gaze was chilly. “Well sung.”

Luka took the opportunity to sit down by the river to rest. The air here was nice; the royal hall had been tainted by the priest’s blood.

After a moment, he looked at the Elf King, hesitant to speak. The Tree of Wisdom hadn’t ‘disowned its kin,’ and the scroll hadn’t been thrown out with them. Did that mean there was still a chance?

The Elf King said calmly, “The Tree of Wisdom can distinguish between what’s important and what’s not.”

Throwing them out was minor; the network construction was major.

Luka breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Now that the most difficult part, the communication software’s magical framework, had been broken through, and with basic communication functions available, they could release some terminals at any time and then successively launch other important software.

“Alright, then I’ll go back and start rumors—I mean, marketing—I mean… editing the video.”

“Editing the video?”

Amidst the puzzled gazes from those around him, Luka slowly nodded.

He had just spun 360 degrees N times in the air and was now dizzy. It wasn’t suitable to talk much. He said a few words casually and prepared to go back to work.

Seeing Luka waddling back like a penguin, the Elf King found it somewhat amusing. After waiting a little longer, he opened the terminal.

The Tree of Wisdom was highly efficient and had already replicated the entire magical pattern. Through the terminal, he could even feel the tree’s irritation.

The new icon was a little fish with a grinning mouth.

The Elf King found that Luka seemed to have an obsession with fish. The little game last time was also fish-themed.

The software’s name was as memorable as its icon: [Immortal Fish Farming Community].

“A strange name,” he shook his head.

…

Dedicated to being a 360-degree, no-blind-spot fish pond owner to absorb the nutrients of faith, Luka began to set up his magic as soon as he returned to the treehouse.

The Quill Pen: “It’s just the two of us. What’s the point of a sound barrier?”

His divine sense swept over; the Saintess was not nearby.

Luka: “I’m afraid of scaring you.”

As he spoke, he walked into the secluded space and began video editing. He took out the recording stone, a suona, and a temporarily made megaphone… as meticulously as if he were performing surgery.

The Quill Pen didn’t believe it. Just as he was about to go over and see what this so-called editing was, he suddenly saw Luka gather his breath, open his mouth wide, and roar at the recording stone like a lion.

Without hearing the sound, just seeing the image, the impact was even stronger.

The Quill Pen turned around in time and chose to stay away from this place.

Luka was busy almost until evening.

There was no editing software for him to use now. The process of cutting the scenes from the recording stone was exceptionally tedious. His originally smooth, long black hair was almost kneaded into a bird’s nest.

“Ahhhhh—” This part was a few tenths of a second too long, have to start over.

The Quill Pen and the ferret were surprisingly in unison. The ferret even kept its two paws very properly placed.

They sat quietly in one place, not provoking the crazed person.

When the moon was high, Luka, with his last bit of breath, imported and uploaded the file.

His mood finally stabilized. With the gentle evening breeze, he lay his head on the table and fell asleep.

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