**Chapter 438: Defeat**
—
A cheap provocation from Auril.
The queen barely managed to suppress the urge to frown.
*How dare you…!*
It had been entirely the queen’s will that Auril received the blessing of the World Tree.
After the war, many elves had died and their fighting strength had weakened.
In a situation where no one knew who might next set their sights on the Primordial Forest,
a strong warrior was needed.
That was why the queen had granted Auril—an ordinary elf—the privileges reserved only for High Elves.
So that, through Auril, the other elves might also regain their resolve.
“···Your greed is excessive, Auril.”
To bestow blessings and power, only for this to be the result.
And to have an ordinary elf—not even a High Elf—coveting the queen’s throne.
She had crossed the line, and then some.
“Did mingling with humans awaken such desires in you?”
“I’ve wondered since I was young. Why is this forest so stagnant?”
Auril shook her head.
Her swordsmanship was respectable, but her growth had its limits.
That was because the laurel tree—her mother tree—had not grown leaves.
It wasn’t simply that Auril herself grew slowly.
The blessings and materials needed to grow leaves were privileges enjoyed only by High Elves.
No matter how hard she tried, she could never reach them—discrimination was the reason.
“What’s the difference between elves and High Elves? Why must we be confined to this forest by force?”
On top of that, the World Tree was dying, and as the land’s vitality was exhausted, all trees and forests were losing their strength.
When a mother tree dies, the elf bound to it dies as well.
And yet the High Elves refused to relinquish their privileges.
Of course, there was a solution.
Move the mother trees to lands rich in vitality.
The problem was that even this was forbidden.
Because elves were to remain only within the Primordial Forest.
Closed-off, and wary of all outside beings.
But Auril had seen otherwise.
“What is it that you fear, Your Majesty?”
She had seen that different races could live together.
She had seen and felt it clearly in the labyrinth.
Above all, by staying with Randolph, Auril had grown.
Her mother tree, too, had regained its vitality.
Without receiving a blessing, without being moved to fertile land.
Just as the condition of the mother tree affects the elf, the state of the elf also affects the mother tree.
“···What do I fear?”
“In the outside world, I grew stronger. My mother tree bloomed as well. At first, countless desires frightened me—but I learned that a being without desire can never become strong.”
When she first met Randolph, he had terrified her.
She had never faced such a massive mass of desire before.
Yet in the short time she spent with him, Auril experienced explosive growth.
Had she remained in the forest, her life would have changed in no way at all.
“······The outside world is a pit of desire. Elves cannot survive there. Auril, what you experienced was only a tiny fragment.”
Still, the queen denied it.
She knew how filthy and base the desires of other beings could be.
To protect the elves and the forest from them, isolation was the only option.
With sorrowful eyes, the queen spoke.
“After the world’s destruction, I received a mission from the previous queen—to think only of this forest, the World Tree, and the elves, and to protect them. Now this place is a paradise for us, but it took countless trials and errors to reach this point.”
“That’s strange. You say that, yet aren’t you killing the forest, the World Tree, and the elves?”
“······You misunderstand. And when an elf truly qualified to be queen appears, I intend to pass on the throne without regret.”
“A qualified *High Elf*, you mean.”
That did not include ordinary elves.
Auril was certain.
So, once more steeling her resolve, she raised her sword.
“Before the World Tree, I will prove it myself, Your Majesty.”
“···To the very end.”
The queen sighed.
She realized she could neither retract her words nor crush Auril’s fierce determination.
Only one solution remained.
*Shing!*
The queen grasped her sword.
The Sword of the World Tree—a legendary armament permitted only to the queen.
*
*
Auril had already once led the elves.
She had even commanded the queen herself under her banner.
*I did entrust Auril with the position of commander in the World Tree Dungeon.*
Honestly, from that moment on, the queen had not sat well with me.
It was a strategy meant to disrupt the elves, but even so, Auril performed the role of commander far better than expected.
“······If I told anyone what I’m seeing right now, no one would believe me.”
Dietrich murmured blankly.
Who could witness the Elf Queen’s battle from this close?
And not just any battle—a *battle for the throne*.
One fighting to keep her position.
Another fighting to become the new queen.
“Do you feel a sense of kinship?”
“Yes. A little… I do.”
Dietrich, too, had usurped King Cernil’s throne.
Of course, he had not fully succeeded yet.
By now, he was probably wanted throughout the kingdom for stealing the holy sword.
Perhaps that was why Dietrich didn’t blink, focusing intently on the fight.
Praying—again and again—for Auril’s victory.
Believing her to be in the same situation as himself.
“Ah…!”
Dietrich gasped.
*Slash!*
Auril’s shoulder was cut open in a long gash.
As expected of the queen.
Even if she could not be compared to her prime, she was still the one who stood at the apex of elvenkind.
But Auril was no pushover either.
Quickly stepping back and shifting to a defensive stance, Auril silently searched for an opening.
The queen, not letting up, pressed her relentlessly.
*Clang! Clang! Clang-clang!*
With every clash of blades, storm-like winds surged forth.
Neither yielded an inch.
*She’s serious.*
Auril truly intended to become queen.
But—
“N-No!”
······It wasn’t enough.
Auril was strong, but the queen was stronger.
*Claaang!*
The sword fell to the ground, and Auril was left empty-handed.
The fallen blade’s edge had been crushed beyond repair.
In a knight’s duel, dropping one’s sword meant defeat.
“···Do you intend to continue?”
“Yes!”
But elven battles were different.
Especially for Auril—she intended to continue even if it meant her death.
The heat blazing in her eyes did not cool.
Her desire to become queen, her longing for change.
Yet if this continued, Auril would surely die.
“Wait.”
“······The duel isn’t over—”
“Isn’t this fight far too disadvantageous for Auril?”
“Why do you think that?”
In response to the queen’s question, I pointed at the sword she held.
“I’ve heard that every elven sword uses the mother tree as one of its materials. Is that correct?”
“And what of it?”
“Your sword is made from the World Tree. The trees of this forest are all children of the World Tree. Naturally, when they clash, Auril’s sword is the one that will break.”
“That’s nothing but the complaint of one inferior in skill.”
“Is it? Then you won’t mind if I give Auril my sword.”
“······If that is the only way you’ll accept it, then do as you wish.”
A thin smile bloomed on the queen’s lips.
She had regained her composure.
Confident that she would not lose to Auril.
Now then—what sword should I give her?
Endurance? Winter?
Those, only I can wield.
After a brief moment of thought, I snatched the holy sword from Dietrich.
“Lend me your sword.”
“Wha—?!”
And I hurled the holy sword straight toward Auril.
“Y-You mustn’t touch—!”
Dietrich cried out in shock, but the water had already been spilled.
Auril caught the Guardian Holy Sword.
At that instant—
*Huuuuung!*
The sword trembled violently.
Sword energy surged out in all directions as the blade shook.
Its form changed slightly as well.
Sharper. Keener.
*As expected—the Guardian Holy Sword was an elven blade.*
A key kept on the altar of the Primordial Forest.
But it wasn’t merely a key.
The Guardian Holy Sword was akin to the blade now held by the Elf Queen.
A sword once wielded by elves long before Destruction appeared.
It must have been forged from a World Tree that had long since perished.
“······You never fail to surprise me, Druid of the Golden Scale. Still, the result will not change.”
The smile vanished from the Elf Queen’s lips.
She had realized, to some extent, what kind of sword Auril now held.
But even so, the gap in pure skill had already been proven.
And so the duel resumed.
“Ah!”
“W-What?!”
“How can an elf push Her Majesty—?!”
All who watched were stunned.
······Auril’s swordplay had changed.
The presence with which she wielded the blade—the gap in skill—had visibly narrowed.
It was the queen who grew impatient.
Even crushing her outright would have been insufficient—yet now their skills were comparable.
That impatience led, ultimately, to defeat.
*Clang!*
A sword flew across the ground.
And before she knew it, Auril’s holy sword was pressed against her neck.
“Please acknowledge your defeat, Your Majesty.”
“······.”
“Did you not swear before the World Tree? You aren’t about to deny it now, are you?”
Auril spoke with disappointment in her eyes.
Still, the queen did not answer.
Her expression and gaze clearly showed she could not accept it.
But the outcome was decided.
The former queen was gone, and this forest would now be led by Auril.
“T-The sword… because of that sword…”
“Didn’t you say that was merely the complaint of one inferior in skill?”
That was right. The Elf Queen had claimed that the grade of a sword did not affect the outcome—that only the weak made such excuses.
“I… cannot… lose…”
The queen was stubborn.
Well, her death was imminent.
And she was about to relinquish the throne she had intended to hold forever—perhaps such a reaction was only natural.
I slowly scanned the surroundings.
The elves and the High Elves alike looked unable to believe what they had witnessed.
It seemed a proper conclusion was needed.
Thus, I spoke heavily.
“Kneel.”
*Boom!*
“······Ghk!”
“Argh…!!”
Elves and High Elves alike dropped to their knees simultaneously.
Forced down, they cried out in pain.
Even the Elf Queen could not resist my *word of command*.
Before long, every elf knelt before Auril.
I slowly walked to her side and looked down at the Elf Queen.
“Ah…”
Fear had filled the Elf Queen’s eyes as she looked at me.
They shook incessantly.
Her expression was as if she were staring at some grotesque monster.
She could not escape the terror of the irresistible command.
Slowly, I raised Auril’s arm and declared:
“Elves—welcome your new queen.”
Holy aura farm
Hyun is on his kingmaker arc