Chapter 116: Alliance or Extinction

Stepping down from the assault ship.

Passing between two ranks of heavily armored infantry forming a welcome guard.

Violet finally came face to face with Lin Yu, the fleet commander her daughter had described.

She studied him with open curiosity.

Sure enough, humans were just as Selena had said.

Aside from lacking golden hair, pointed ears, and a flat chest, they really weren’t much different from elves.

Of course, she was talking about basic biological features.

Elves were naturally slender, but even with Lin Yu’s tall frame as a man, he was built much sturdier.

That’s when Violet noticed someone else behind Lin Yu—someone who actually looked even more like the elves, especially in one regard…

Her prominent chest.

Violet hadn’t yet grasped the concept of ‘man’, so it never occurred to her that Lin Yu was male and the lieutenant beside him—a woman—was the designated host.

After all, some needs of the elven guests aboard the ship were better handled by women.

That’s why Lin Yu had brought along a female lieutenant just for this occasion.

After a round of quick introductions, Lin Yu led everyone to a prepared conference room.

“Lord Lin Yu, I want to know—what you told Selena, was it true?”

“That one’s easy!”

Lin Yu nodded and then brought up a virtual display.

On it played footage of Luna and Selena leading more than a thousand elven warriors back toward their home—a recording from a floating anti-gravity reconnaissance drone.

Lin Yu had specifically asked Violet to see this for herself, to confirm the authenticity of both the footage and the facts.

The perspective began to shift, the view pulling steadily farther back.

The entire landscape appeared before Violet and Aelia, clear and unbroken.

After several minutes of high-speed travel, the screen grew darker and the scenery below steadily barren.

A minute more and every plant had vanished, leaving nothing but wasteland.

At that point, the light faded out completely.

“Xuanming Domain!”

Seeing this, Violet’s expression turned grave and she spoke in a low voice.

The footage kept rushing forward, frame after frame.

It finally stopped after another five minutes or so.

Here, it wasn’t pitch-black, but it was close—dim enough that seeing anything clearly took effort.

The image zoomed in again.

Violet and Aelia saw a terrifying scene that made them shoot to their feet.

Thousands of Xuanming Drakes were awakening one after another, each pair of eyes turning red as they let out furious roars.

Never had they seen so many Xuanming Drakes in one place—not a single ancient one, but almost all in their prime.

Just the sight of it sent chills down their spines.

And to think, this place wasn’t far from Emeraldshade Forest. If those thousand drakes set out together, even with all their strength, the elves…

At least half their number would fall.

After all, even as one of the four great clans, Emeraldshade Forest had fewer than two thousand elven warriors.

Taking down one Xuanming Drake took more than ten warriors working together.

If it were ordinary elves, not even fighters, it could take dozens to handle just one.

Of course, Violet and Aelia hadn’t realized another problem yet, but…

Lin Yu brought it up the very next moment.

“Patriarch Violet, there are five Xuanming Drake nests near your territory, and what you’re seeing is just one of them. And…”

“According to our reconnaissance, there are a total of 5,879 adult Xuanming Drakes waking up in those five nests right now.”

“You can probably imagine what comes next, can’t you?”

Five nests, 5,879 adult Xuanming Drakes…

All waking from hibernation at the same time?

Could there be any question what would happen next—

With no food in Xuanming Domain, how could those 5,879 massive drakes be fed?

Starving dragons would inevitably surge toward Proxima II’s habitable zone, straight into the lands of the elves and all other living creatures.

A one-sided slaughter and unchecked hunting was about to begin.

It would happen soon!

Given the hatred the Xuanming Drakes had for elves, the consequences…

And just then, Lin Yu raised the stakes again.

“Everything I’ve just said only covers the nests near Emeraldshade Forest. In fact, Xuanming Domain has twenty-two such nests. All of their drakes are waking from hibernation right now.”

“By tomorrow at the latest, you’ll be facing nearly thirty thousand ravenous adult Xuanming Drakes—each one harboring a deep hatred for your people.”

Boom…

That number.

It hit like a thunderclap.

Instantly, the magnitude exploded in Violet and Aelia’s minds.

No matter how they turned it over, the elves…

Had no chance at victory—the sheer disparity was overwhelming.

But then, Violet remembered something Selena had said—Lin Yu…

Was the one who could help them.

Violet did her best to calm herself.

She sat down again, fixing Lin Yu with a long, searching look.

“You didn’t have me come all this way just to tell me the elves would be wiped out by tomorrow, did you?”

“That’s right. Thirty thousand Xuanming Drakes might spell disaster for the elves, but for us… it’s not really a problem.”

“So what do humans want?”

Violet cut right to the chase.

Different species don’t help each other without a reason.

Humans had to want something.

Now it was simply a matter of what humans sought, and whether the elves could afford it.

Violet didn’t bother wasting any time and just spoke her mind.

“Before I explain, let me introduce humans a bit more.”

“Maybe it’s not as you assumed—humans are actually divided into four main groups and twelve sub-races, around thirty billion in total. In my opinion, elves could be considered one branch of humanity—at least…”

“Looking at genetic similarities, that’s about right.”

“So you could say humans are helping you as if helping their own kind. We won’t ask for anything besides one thing—if you agree, my fleet will solve the Xuanming Drake crisis for your people right away.”

In a way, Lin Yu wasn’t wrong.

Genetically, calling elves a sub-race of humans wasn’t that far off.

Lin Yu left other issues unspoken.

There was no need to mention them.

“And what is it?”

“Join the Human Federation and become the thirteenth human sub-race. That’s all.”