Chapter 97: A Fate Beyond One's Control

Resistance was meaningless. Since he couldn't resist, he had no choice but to compromise. Guo Lang didn't want to stay inside this place forever, so he had to pin his hopes on the next host. This time, the host was a wood spirit—a being that had already gone extinct in Guo Lang's era, existing only in the records of libraries.

According to legend, they had been wiped out during this very Tide of Corruption. This stirred a flicker of unease in Guo Lang's heart. He vaguely felt that this host, too, might not escape fate's elimination—and as his shadow, he naturally couldn't escape either!

Just as he was thinking, the space suddenly brightened. Guo Lang once again rushed over impatiently, staring eagerly at the surface of the mirror. This time, the role was male, which disappointed Guo Lang somewhat—considerably fewer perks to enjoy.

Wood spirits belonged to the natural lineage, a school of logistical mages, specializing in healing, tranquility, calming, and blessing—somewhat like the human clergy. Moreover, wood spirits were closer to nature. Although their restorative arts weren't as immediately effective as those of human priests, they had the advantage of extremely minimal side effects and the ability to soothe the soul. In ancient elven society, these people held very high status. No matter which plane of existence, those who healed the wounded and rescued the dying were easily accorded respect!

Like the previous host, after getting up and washing, he would spend a long time by the mirror grooming himself. The elves were particularly enthusiastic about this, regardless of gender. It wasn't only the nobles—even common elves gave off an elegant impression. This was all because of their daily care and attention. One should know that such things never arise without cause; they are the sediment of habit, the charm of a race.

Although it was a male, Guo Lang had to admit that his appearance was as delicate as a girl's. The Whisperer family universally had seaweed-green hair, right down to the lashes bordering their brows. Combined with the brown pupils of the ancient elves' natural lineage, unlike the valiant and dashing martial bearing of the Windrunner family, their sort gave people a serene kind of beauty.

After nearly an hour of grooming, when every detail had been handled to perfection, he—as if afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder—turned around to examine himself once more. Guo Lang mentally complained: so his bloodline actually carried such a narcissistic gene? Why hadn't he inherited this habit himself?

After finishing, Yi Weiyin nodded in satisfaction, donned the Whisperer's outer robe, and stepped out of his life-tree pod. The moment he exited the door, Guo Lang was stunned by everything before his eyes.

What manner of magnificent landscape was this?

Grand, spectacular, and uniquely beautiful! Standing atop this towering World Tree, the entire city lay spread before his eyes. Guo Lang was almost instantly captivated!

This vast city, owing to its unique vegetation and magical environment, seemed locked in an eternal dawn. The whole city was shrouded in mist like purple sand, and since its trees and flora were predominantly purple-red rather than green, even the sunlight that occasionally leaked through the firmament appeared hazy and faintly purple. It looked exquisite beyond words—truly like a scene from a fairy tale!

Teldrassil! Even though he had never seen it before, Guo Lang was almost certain of the name of this place in that instant. In the records of the night elves, it was the greatest city of the elven race. Translated from the ancient elven tongue, it meant: Crown of the Earth!

Together with the World Tower of the ice clan and the Rainbow Phoenix Sky Ship built by the blood elves using pure arcane arts, it was hailed as one of the Three Miracle Cities by the highest planes!

At this moment, Guo Lang truly wished he could shatter the mirror before him and go savor the greatness of all this. But no matter how his heart struggled, he could only move like a puppet, following his host's actions. No matter how resplendent the outside world, it had nothing to do with him!

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Although he was conflicted, Guo Lang was fairly satisfied with this host's circumstances. According to the books, wood spirits in the ancient elven lineage mostly undertook logistical work and wouldn't easily go to the front lines. In the natural faction's main city, the safety factor was far higher than that silly girl running off to Ashenvale to wander around!

As Yi Weiyin walked through the streets, the commoners he passed would greet him with reverent bows and words of good day. The humble and gracious Whisperer family was very popular among the people, because no matter how high their status, they would always respond politely to others' greetings, with warm and gentle attitudes, very easy to get along with.

As they were walking, a small squad of Windrunner rangers approached from the opposite direction. Each wore exquisite leather armor, with athletic builds and handsome features. As a royal court unit, they were all of pure Windrunner blood!

"Good day, Whisperer!" The leading elf took the initiative to bow when he saw Yi Weiyin, and the rangers behind him all followed suit, pressing their hands to their chests in salute. A dozen rangers performing the elven rite looked like a single motion, flawlessly synchronized—quite a spectacle to behold.

"Good day, Windrunner lord!" Yi Weiyin also performed a very standard elven salute.

The two sides appeared quite harmonious, but Guo Lang could vaguely sense a hint of discord. He felt that the relationship between the two parties wasn't actually all that good. Regarding the later Great Schism, it seemed that some conflict had arisen between the night elves and the natural faction. Such conflicts shouldn't have formed overnight—which meant they were long-nursed grudges!

"Is the royal court's unit appearing here because that great one is about to set out on campaign?" Yi Weiyin asked with a smile.

"Ah..." The other responded with a blank expression, then fell silent. Clearly, he wasn't keen on elaborating on this topic. But any observant person could see the trace of mockery in the ranger leader's eyes when he looked at Yi Weiyin!

Guo Lang began to reason silently: wood spirits belonged to the natural faction, while the Windrunners were of the night elf lineage. If the two factions had nursed grudges from the very start, then they should already have split into two camps by now. Earlier, they had mentioned the matter of going on campaign—that should correspond to a major battle during this period of the Tide of Corruption. The Windrunners selected as royal court units were all meant to protect the high-ranking priests. For them to appear here could only mean that some powerful figure from the Windrunner family was about to set out on campaign, hence the mobilization of personnel.

Guo Lang secretly guessed the identity of the one who could mobilize elite troops of this caliber: Sylvanas Windrunner—the war goddess of the night elves, the most glorious genius of the Windrunner family. Even among a family as steeped in military achievement as the Windrunners, Sylvanas stood out as the most brilliant in their history. Since her debut, she had never lost a single battle she commanded, carving out nearly one-third of the ancient elves' total colonial territory across the starry planes of other dimensions. Among all elves, she was the symbol of the god of war, the undefeated totem of the elven race!

When he reached this conclusion, cold sweat ran down Guo Lang's back. He seemed to be in the midst of some enormous event in the making!

Yi Weiyin, meanwhile, knitted his brows tightly. Due to the Void's invasion on the front lines, the elven race was already stretched thin. But recently, a major incident had occurred: the orc blade master Grom Hellscream had suddenly appeared at the elven holy land, challenged the demigod that the elves venerated, and successfully slain him, shocking the entire elven race!

While everyone marveled at the strength of that greatest blade master, they also took it as a blatant provocation. Although the orc chieftain had already issued an apology, claiming it was a purely martial challenge, this sensitive situation made it hard for anyone to believe their words. And besides—you call that a challenge? You slaughtered our people without a sound, and a demigod no less, Cenarius himself! How could they possibly remain calm about that?

At the council, opinions were split into two factions. The royal lineage was engrossed in magic and seemed to have no interest in this meeting at all, so the debate was always between the natural sect and the Silver Moon sect.

The natural faction believed that this period called for stability, that they should accept the orc chieftain's explanation and concentrate their strength against the Void. The Silver Moon sect, on the other hand, held that the other side's provocation had gravely violated the dignity of the elven race and demanded immediate war!

The two sides had been locked in deadlock for three days already. But judging from today's scene, it seemed that that great one had pressed the council elders. Her status was indeed too special—even the royal side couldn't afford to lightly ignore her opinion. And now, it appeared she was about to personally take command?

Yi Weiyin's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and his gaze toward these rangers grew increasingly cold. This was precisely why he disliked the Silver Moon lineage—too aggressive, contrary to the natural sect's doctrine of balance!

In the shadows, Guo Lang's heart was filled with bitterness, for he knew that no matter how splendid the era, no matter how grand the events, none of it had anything to do with him. He was merely an observer—merely a shadow!