25

The Witcher: The last King of the elves

Chapter 25 – Spring

Thranduil stood before the fountain that granted vitality to the lake, turning all the water into a substance brimming with life.

To achieve this, he had to consume the greater part of the magic crystals he carried in his pockets.

The advanced magical spring could condense elven spring water of high purity. Its effect was more than ten times stronger than that of lower-level elven spring water.

As usual, Thranduil ordered the elves to draw the “refreshed” elven spring water from the magical spring, because a full magical spring would not condense additional elven spring water.

Once extracted, the elven spring water condensed in a short time, and hundreds of large wooden barrels were piled up in the plaza.

Each barrel was filled with elven spring water.

“With so much spiritual spring water, not to mention ten thousand spirits, even if the enemies were twice as many as last time, Thranduil was certain they could endure a long battle.

Days of war, a hard struggle, would no longer be a burden for the elves.

If the world were to discover that they held the cure to all diseases, no kingdom would remain idle.

“Remember to seal these barrels well to prevent the life force and natural magic contained in the elven spring water from dissipating.”

“Do not worry, Your Majesty. We will seal them carefully.” The tiny fairies worked joyfully at tasks that would help their race.

For them, this was work that promised a brighter future, one where humans would cease their persecution.

Then, Thranduil checked the construction information of the Magic Fountain.

“[…]

Magic Fountain

[Building Information]: A special territorial structure of the elven camp.

[Features]: Currently able to produce low-level elven spring water, its use is much more effective for elves baptized by the moon.

[Upgrade Requirement]: One hundred thousand magic crystals.

[Special Notes]: By upgrading the Magic Spring, you can obtain elven spring water of greater purity. When the building reaches its maximum level, you will be able to condense the Blessed Water of Eternal Life.

…]”

The overflow period had been extended, which was normal. After all, the scale of the Magic Spring had greatly expanded and could now contain more elven spring water.

“I understand that there are only four levels of territorial buildings...” Thranduil knew that with just one more upgrade, this structure would reach its maximum level.

But the upgrade requirement of one hundred thousand magic crystals was exceedingly difficult to achieve.

“And even if I had 100,000 energy crystals, I would first upgrade the Tree of Life to its maximum level...”

Although the Sacred Water of Life could revive the old tree and allow Thranduil to have two Trees of Life capable of giving birth to elves, its cost-benefit ratio was obviously not as good as improving the Tree of Life within his own territory.

Because once the Tree of Life had reached its maximum level, it could give birth to ten thousand elves each day.

Even if both Trees of Life were advanced, they could only give rise to a total of two thousand elves.

The profitability was naturally greater in enhancing the Tree of Life.

“Step by step.” Then, Thranduil went to the Ancient War Tree and spent the 7,000 remaining energy crystals on training elven soldiers, gaining more than one hundred elven archers and elven swordsmen.

At that moment, the number of elven troops under his command reached an intimidating scale. But it was not enough—he had to further increase his numbers before making a decisive move.

It was still early.

Thranduil left the territory and entered the ruins.

Now that his magic had been ascended, there were hardly any monsters in the ruins that could threaten his life.

At least not in the city center.
Even the undead king from the night before could have been sent to the underworld with a single roar of his fire dragon.

…

Thranduil walked down the street overgrown with weeds.

The edges of the roads were lined with the devastated ruins of buildings, some of which had completely collapsed.

On the way, he encountered no magical beasts or monsters, for that area had already been cleared by the elven army under his command.

After walking several thousand meters forward, Thranduil finally heard the sound of battle.

When he drew near, he discovered that it was a team of elves fighting.

The entire team was made up of nearly a hundred elves—swordsmen, archers, mages, and huntresses—four professions of elves.

Their formation was strict and orderly.

The elven swordsmen stood at the front. The elven archers and mages were stationed behind. The hunters, mounted on swift leopards, roamed the perimeter of the team, occasionally plunging into enemy lines to disrupt their formation.

Once most of the enemies surrounded the team’s rear, the elven huntresses would immediately withdraw and protect the elven archers and mages behind the line along with the elven swordsmen.

Thranduil observed for a long time but did not see a single enemy capable of breaking through this elven line.

“The elves trained by the system, which is only the inheritance of the World Tree, already possess rich combat experience.” Thranduil knew that though the inheritance was complete, there were still improvements to be made.

Of the four elven classes, only the elven swordsman could be considered a melee unit. He bore most of the enemy’s pressure. If his defense were breached, the elven archers and mages in the rear would be in peril.

“Of course, this problem can be solved. One way is to unlock the Ancient Tree and train Stone Giants and Forest Giants.”

Secondly, he could upgrade the Ancient War Tree and unlock new elven professions…

Thranduil watched for a while, then overlooked the battlefield and continued deeper into the ruins.

The enemy this team of elves was fighting was a massive group of swamp rats.

Hundreds, not a small scale. But they were not strong, generally low-level monsters. They posed no real threat to his elves, so naturally, he did not need to intervene.

He then walked a few hundred more meters through the ruins… when suddenly a shrill sound echoed above his head.

It was a dark-gray owl circling high in the sky.

Its screeching was a warning.

It was informing Thranduil that enemies had appeared nearby.

Sure enough, not long after, faint noises came from the ruins of a distant building.

Though they were more than two hundred meters away, they could not escape Thranduil’s perception—his attention to detail was ever sharp.

The sound came from far off.

Soon, a group of fat swamp rats appeared before Thranduil’s eyes.

There were about thirty of them, most at the second and third levels.

Naturally, Thranduil did not take such monsters seriously. He casually cast a fireball several meters in diameter and instantly killed the giant swamp rats.

Only three to five swamp rats managed to escape the scorching waves of fire and fled at once.

After collecting the energy crystals that had exploded, Thranduil continued pressing forward.

About an hour later, Thranduil successfully reached the area where the Outer City Lord’s Mansion once stood.

The original mansion of the city lord was no longer visible—only ruins remained.

The reason he knew the City Lord’s Mansion had been here was because Haldir had told him. A shocking war had once broken out at this site.

“Was it here that the undead were?” Thranduil noticed a bone temple upon the ruins of this building.

The temple was made from the bones of various creatures and was quite large.

“This palace of bones must have been built by the undead king.”

But Thranduil would not call him King. One who abandoned his army could not be considered a king.

To him, a king fought his own battles and won wars alongside his people.

“Even if they had stayed, they would have been exterminated.” Thranduil shook his head and, walking among the ruins, thought of searching for the relics of his race hidden within the rubble.