Death Notice Book 8: Chapter 10: The Little Sprite

Release Date: 2026-05-27 01:22:54

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«Volume 8 Chapter 9: The Elf Prince

Volume 8 Chapter 11: The Elf King’s Invitation »

Qin Lun and Iristin walked in the middle of the group, surrounded by elven knights in armor wearing fiery red cloaks. These armored knights were the direct troops of the Elf King, and their combat profession was the rare Tempus Temple Knight. Unlike ordinary elves, they not only believed in the pantheon of elven gods but also worshipped Tempus, the god of war and chivalry.

From the scattered words of the Elven Druid, Qin Lun now knew that this group of elven knights had not come to welcome him and Longer. Although the Elf King took the news of the elven merchant caravan being attacked seriously, it was not enough to warrant such a grand display.

Since it wasn’t for them, it must be for Iristin. Even though the Elven Druid was vague about it, Qin Lun understood that this female elf’s identity was probably not as simple as it seemed.

This was an unexpected boon. Even Qin Lun hadn’t imagined that the Elven Druid they coincidentally met in the wilds would turn out to be such a powerful connection.

Following the group, they climbed to the second level of the elven fortress. The originally wide and massive stone steps gradually transformed into normal bluestone spiral stairs, winding upward around the castle. On both sides of the corridor, numerous softly glowing night-light gems were installed, and large candle-lit chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

The main corridor of the castle connected to many branching paths. According to Iristin, most of these passages had aerial walkways linking them to the mage towers surrounding the main keep. However, apart from their respective elven mages, even the Elf King could not enter these mage towers freely; an invitation from the owner was required.

Of course, besides serving as research places for the elven mages, these mage towers also bore part of the elven fortress’s defense functions. Usually, mages took turns being responsible for vigilance and defense. As for the living quarters of the elven mages, they were not in the mage towers but in tree houses built within the various layers of the World Tree’s canopy.

Since the main body of the elven fortress was attached to the World Tree, the tree house area could be entered via some vine suspension bridges. The tree house area in the lower canopy was not as heavily guarded as the mage towers, while the upper canopy’s tree house area was not easy to access—it was the residential area for nobles and royal family members.

“Eee-ya, eee-ya!” Just as Qin Lun was looking around, a creature about half the size of a palm suddenly flew in through an open window of the castle. After flying into the castle, the little thing let out cheerful cries and headed straight from behind toward Qin Lun and Iristin.

Although Qin Lun couldn’t see what was happening behind his head, his sharp Perception had already issued a warning. Slightly surprised, he forcibly suppressed the urge to strike, turning his head to look at the Elven Druid.

A trace of pleasant surprise appeared on Iristin’s face. She didn’t adopt a defensive posture but simply turned her head to look back. The little thing landed smoothly on the female elf’s shoulder, gently rubbing its head against Iristin’s cheek, making soft, infant-like murmurs as if expressing its inner joy.

Qin Lun observed the little creature with curiosity. It was a small sprite with golden hair, about seven or eight centimeters tall. Its appearance closely resembled that of the elven race, dressed in clothing made from leaves—though it was more like small leaves woven into a chest wrap and a tiny apron.

This little sprite’s pointed ears were somewhat more delicate than those of a normal elf. On its forehead were two thin filaments resembling insect antennae, and it had two pairs of cicada-like wings resembling those of a dragonfly. The little thing had bare, smooth feet, and its eyes, relatively large compared to its face, were slightly protruding, appearing moist and extremely cute.

“Vera, stop that!” Perhaps the little sprite had tickled a sensitive spot, as Iristin let out a giggle and finally couldn’t help but grab the little thing off her shoulder. “Alright, we need to go see the Elf King. You go wait in my tree house first!”

The little sprite named Vera shook her pointed ears, pouted unhappily, and flew back out the window.

“Hehe, you rarely see little sprites like Vera, right?” The Elven Druid, seeing Qin Lun still staring wide-eyed out the window, immediately explained with a laugh. “Little sprites are very timid. Besides the Elven Royal Court, it’s rare to encounter them in the wild.”

“Yeah, I’d only heard about them before but never seen one with my own eyes!” Qin Lun smiled somewhat cautiously and tentatively asked a few questions about the little sprites.

Perhaps because the Elven Druid liked little sprites very much, this time she answered almost every question, giving Qin Lun a general understanding of these small beings. The elven race had two methods of birth: one was viviparity, and the other was transformation from a World Tree Fruit.

Elves born through the former method, having received ample nutrition from the mother and due to the inherently good constitution of the elven race, rarely died young. However, viviparous greater elves had no memory inheritance, and their juvenile period was relatively long.

Elves born through the latter method were generally combinations of elven souls and World Tree Fruits. They could retain some memory inheritance from past lives to varying degrees, and their juvenile period was relatively short. However, due to insufficient nutrition, they could easily die directly in the fruit form, and their constitution after birth would be relatively weaker.

If the greater elven soul combined with the World Tree Fruit was not quite intact, or if certain World Tree Fruits were influenced by the souls of forest creatures during their formation, then there was a certain probability they would transform into little sprites. Of course, a very small number of little sprites could also be born from ordinary plant fruits, but the chance was extremely small.

The intelligence of little sprites was roughly at the level of a human child. Apart from the elven race, other continental races generally did not regard them as intelligent beings. Wild little sprites were extremely rare; most lived in various elven settlements, where they were safe.

Little sprites had no reproductive ability. The birth of each little sprite meant that one or several high-rank greater elves had certainly died. The lifespan of a little sprite was generally only one-third that of a greater elf. They possessed almost no combat ability; their bodies were fragile, and even a crow could easily kill them.

However, in contrast, the vast majority of little sprites had good elemental affinity or some kind of auxiliary talent. Under the condition of a Soul Contract, they could significantly enhance the combat power of many elven combat professions.

Of course, most of these auxiliary abilities belonged to elemental magic, a smaller portion belonged to divine spells and aura skills, and only a very few belonged to physical martial techniques.

“Firal, look over there—that’s the nest of the little sprites!” Iristin pointed toward a certain corner of the World Tree as they passed by a window.

Qin Lun focused his gaze and saw, beneath the canopy of that part of the World Tree, many huge “bee nests” hanging upside down. In the soft candlelight from the nearby tree houses, he could also see numerous vague gray shadows flying around the “nests.”

“So that’s the nest of the little sprites!” Qin Lun curled his lip slightly. Actually, he had seen these things before, but the little sprites flew so fast that without careful attention, one might mistake them for bees or birds.

“We’re here!”

Amid the whispers between Qin Lun and Iristin along the way, this short journey finally reached its end. The Elven Prince Coris leading the way at the front stopped and smiled at the two.

Although Qin Lun and Iristin spoke very softly, the hearing of the elven race was very sharp. Both the elven knights beside them and Coris had heard them. However, since the content of their conversation was harmless, everyone pretended not to hear.

Qin Lun raised his head and looked around, only then realizing that they had unknowingly arrived at the top floor of the elven castle. The top floor was also the audience hall of the Elven Royal Court. But compared to a normal audience hall, this place seemed somewhat unique.

The audience hall on this floor couldn’t really be considered a normal great hall; it was more like a Byzantine-style corridor dome building. The circular space had no walls around it, only dozens of exquisite stone pillars supporting an arched dome, resembling a hollowed-out hemispherical structure.

Since this was already the top floor of the elven castle, situated at the waist of the World Tree, one could even see clusters of white clouds floating in the sky above the city. Outside the structure, the clouds, set against the sunset, looked like a mass of burning fire, making even a heartless Serial Killer like Qin Lun feel refreshed and find the scenery breathtakingly beautiful.

The top-floor audience hall had no furnishings like tables or chairs. At that moment, a richly dressed elf was standing in the center of the space with his back to the crowd. Upon arriving, the two groups of elven knights bowed toward that elf, then very consciously withdrew. Only Prince Coris remained with Iristin and Qin Lun.

Qin Lun curiously observed the richly dressed elf before him. He was very tall, wearing a light-yellow silk robe. His pale green hair fell past his shoulders. On his right hand, which was clasped behind his back, was a beautiful gold bracelet. On his head was a delicate crown. He should be the highest ruler of the Magic Cup Court—Elf King Testiel.

“Father!” Coris stepped forward and called softly.

“Oh, Coris!” The Elf King seemed to have been immersed in some kind of recollection; only upon hearing Coris’s call did he snap out of it and turn to face the group.

Elf King Testiel’s face somewhat resembled Coris’s, but he lacked the vibrant, heroic aura of the Elven Prince. Instead, he wore a gentle and steady smile, appearing dignified and magnanimous. However, everyone could still sense a strong kingly majesty about him.

“Iristin, you’re back!” The Elf King nodded at the Elven Druid with a smile.

“Yes, King Testiel!” Iristin bowed respectfully, but Qin Lun, standing beside her, could clearly sense that the female elf’s tone seemed to carry a certain tangled, unusual emotion.

“You must be Firal!” The Elf King’s gaze lingered on Iristin for a moment before finally turning to Qin Lun.

“Firal Moonlight, at your service, Your Majesty!” Qin Lun placed his right arm across his chest and knelt on one knee, performing an elven noble salute. He had learned quite a bit about elven etiquette from Moonlight Forest and Mafa, and now it all came in handy.

“Moonlight clan?” A barely noticeable flicker of surprise passed through the Elf King’s eyes, but it vanished instantly, replaced once more by a smile.

“No need for such formalities, rise. My apologies, my warrior. I know you must be very tired, but I cannot let you rest just yet. I have just heard about the attack on the Emma envoy group. Please describe it to me in detail.”

«Volume 8 Chapter 9: The Elf Prince

Index

Volume 8 Chapter 11: The Elf King’s Invitation »