Chapter 38 - Elven Kingdom
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It had been almost eight hundred years since Lu Zhiyu left after creating the elves. The acceleration of time had also gradually decreased to about 4000 times that of normal. It had only been shy of two months on Earth, but in Maria’s World, dozens of human dynasties had risen and fallen. Even the first generation of a long-lived species like the elves were entering their final years.
It had been almost fifteen hundred years since the birth of the orcs and twelve hundred since the birth of the humans. Over a thousand years of development, because of the large amounts of trade, coupled with the birth of religion and Bloodline Knights, the division between classes, as well as the rich and the poor, became wider. The civilizations also gradually went from a primordial era of cities and tribes to an era of nations. Countries of different sizes started to appear on the Alen continent. Throughout the constant separation and merges, the territories of the humans and orcs gradually expanded.
The two races expanded outward from the center of the continent. There were traces of humans and orcs on every corner of the continent. The humans and the orcs also developed more technologies as they moved from the age of tribes to the age of kingdoms and cities. Finally, iron slowly replaced copper. The two races also increased their rate of excavating mines, developing their own steel refineries.
Iron swords and armor were now used as weapons. Metal hoes, shovels and picks were now used for farming. Various powerful armies also started to appear, conquering the wilderness. These nations commanded a large amount of slaves to help gather iron ores. The world had officially entered the Iron Era from the Bronze Era!
More and more farms dotted the land, the skills of farmers improving. Artists were also thriving. Metal coins were becoming popular and heavily distributed. Lu Zhiyu watched everything unfold on the Alen continent through the Scroll of the World and was amazed. Right now, the civilizations on Alen resembled Earth’s civilization at around 500 B.C.
Especially, the appearance of a large amount of Bloodline Knights, who had awakened the abilities in their genes, had created powerful families as well as religions. Their abilities were not limited to the abilities Lu Zhiyu had coded into their genes. Many abilities were also created due to the proliferation of sword techniques and the intermingling of their genes. A lot of powerful men and women even passed on their skills through their genes to their children.
What surprised Lu Zhiyu was that Bloodline Knights were even generated within the orc civilization. Over the thousand years, both races captured the other race to act as slaves. They fought with each other, and meanwhile the constant clashes and melding of cultures also produced decent number of mixed-bloods within the orc civilization, and allowed the creation of orc knights who could awakened their bloodline capabilities. In addition, some orcs also awakened the powers of ancient animals that dwelled within their genes. Since the orcs were generally stronger than the humans, the orc Bloodline Knights seemed to be even more powerful in battle!
Lu Zhiyu walked through the continent of Alen wearing a cloak, observing the transformations of the continent. The people were all wearing clothes, their clothing starting to develop various styles. In the different areas of the continent, people began developing different cultures, their cuisines also undergoing a transformation. There was the appearance of various artists, architects, sculptors, painters, musicians and even unique musical instruments. The orcs were behind in terms of cultural development. They were more adept in battle, material refinement as well as smithing technology.
Lu Zhiyu finally arrived at the edge of the ocean. Humans and orcs had settled near the ocean as well. They started to make simple boats and fish in the shallow parts of the sea, which was populated by the descendants of the fish Lu Zhiyu initially brought over. There were many different kinds of fish in the ocean now, including other creatures like coral, starfish and jellyfish. The only regret was that there were no large creatures in the ocean. The ocean was boundless, but without any large-sized creatures, Lu Zhiyu felt ocean did not live up to its name. How would it be called a fantasy world if there was no giant creatures or sea monsters?
Lu Zhiyu walked on the beach and watched the fishermen on the coast. “The humans and orcs are beginning to come into contact with the ocean. Perhaps in a few hundred, or a thousand years, they would start on their journey to conquer the sea!”
Lu Zhiyu looked at the ocean and creased his brows, “The ocean feels too boring. It would not be difficult or exciting to conquer!”
After finishing his observations on the transformation of Alen, Lu Zhiyu immediately went to Yala via a dimensional door. The once nameless rainforests now had its own name, the Forest of Life.
historical
Elf was the lucky species that Lu Zhiyu had given most of his attention to. Compared to humans and orcs, elves were blessed with more advantages. They were born with naturally long lives, beautiful appearances and exceptional intelligence. Lu Zhiyu even gave them the feature of heredity through genes, a trait unique to humans. From all perspectives, other than the fact that it was harder for the elves to have children, they were a perfect species.
Nearly a hundred thousand elves resided in the Forest of Life. All of the elves lived in this forest without a worry in the world. Their exceptional intelligence and peaceful environment allowed them to develop a culture which was different from that of humans and orcs. They created an elegant language. They created a harp unique to the elves. Music became popular throughout the kingdom of elves. They had master sculptors and master painters, and they could create intricate elven longswords and arrows. One could see that the elves were a race that worshiped and loved art from all aspects of their lives.
Lately, however, the elves harmonious environment started to change. Fear was spreading throughout the world of elves. This was because their divine tree was showing signs of withering. The divine tree that had birthed countless elves, the divine tree that carried the elves’ hope and faith, was entering its final years along with the first generations of elves. Ever since a few years ago, the Tree of Life had been unable to bear new elves. The elves were unable to stop, nor were they able to salvage this decline.
The elders had continued to investigate the reason for the withering of the Tree of Life, as well as a way to rescue it. They had tried many methods, continuously praying to the gods, but to no avail. Even though the tree still looked strong and healthy, but every single elf could feel that it was dying slowly. This led to countless agitated arguments between the elders. Losing the Tree of Life would be similar to every single elf losing a place that they could depend on spiritually.
The elves were originally divided into two parties. One party believed that the elves should forever stay in the forest and guard the Tree of Life, while the other party argued that they should expand and explore the outside world. Originally, the side that insisted on staying with the Tree of Life was more popular, but currently, the withering of the Tree of Life caused the clashes between two factions to intensify.
Lu Zhiyu walked into the forest. He spotted the elegant forms of several elves hiding among their treehouses with their bows and arrows, awaiting a prey. They coexisted with the forest, living within it, yet depended on each other. He walked past a large cluster of huts and through small villages before arriving at the capital city of the elven kingdom, Sylve. This was originally a valley, and had became a large forest. The elves had built their city around the holy lake and the Tree of Life.
The city was built into the cliff, half hidden by the lush forest. There were no walls to this city, and many buildings were carved straight out of the rock. The buildings and the trees were tangled together and formed a unique sight. Lu Zhiyu could see many bridges, fountains and spiral stairs. Behind the moat were unique towers and beautiful architectures, where lived lots of beautiful elves. They spent their days playing the harp, singing, and doing whatever their hearts desired. Their longevity and peaceful lives allowed them to have enough time to accomplish everything they wanted.