Chapter 245: To See You (4)
Luis expected to encounter a few traveling moon elves on his way to follow Xagrien. What he didn’t expect was to find them along this obscure route. It was strange—why would a group of moon elves take such an unpopular path unless something dangerous had forced them to stray from the usual road to Amber Forest?
"O-Oh, M-Moon Goddess! It’s our Moon Elf Lord!" one of them gasped the moment Luis and his subordinates descended before them.
They met halfway since Luis had decided to approach the travelers first.
This band of moon elves was large—nearly two thousand of them, men and women, young and old. Despite their diversity, one thing tied them together: their bright violet irises.
Luis’s breath hitched. The Lightning Clan of Kaldini Mountain!
"Oh my god..." he muttered, shaken. These people are related to Xagrien! Am I about to meet my mate’s relatives today? What will Xagrien say once he learns his mother’s kin are here? Will he be happy?
His composure momentarily slipped—only for it to be swept away completely when the entire group of moon elves dropped to their knees before him.
"W-What are you doing? You’ve already traveled such a long way! If you kneel like this, you’ll hurt your knees!" Luis rushed forward and helped an elderly elf to his feet.
"M-My Lord," the elder stammered, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. "We are here to p-pay our respects. We... didn’t expect to meet you so soon! Please forgive our state. We would’ve tidied up and worn proper attire had we known!"
The others echoed his apologies, some openly sobbing.
It was an emotional reunion for the Lightning Clan. And Luis, whose emotions had been running high lately thanks to his pregnancy, couldn’t help shedding a single tear as well.
"You don’t need to beat yourselves up for being travel-worn," he said, pressing a fist over his heart. "I see your efforts and I treasure them deeply."
The crowd stared at him, awestruck.
How benevolent! They thought. To be seen and valued by their Lord—what greater honor!
"We are indebted to your grace, My Lord!" the moon elves of the Lightning Clan chorused.
Luis just waved his hand, amused at their enthusiasm.
Seeing their exhaustion, Luis decided to linger for a while. He instructed Olyn and the others to help the travelers settle and forage in the nearby forest.
While the younger elves worked, Luis sat upon a large, flat stone. The elders and the clan’s patriarchs formed a respectful circle around him as they began recounting tales of their journey. Luis listened closely, subtly trying to discern whether they had encountered any signs of the danger he feared: the blood dragon that had trespassed into their lands.
Who knew? They might have seen something crucial. Maybe they came here with a clue that will lead them to where their enemy is?
"Thanks to our years in Kaldini Mountain, traversing sloped terrain wasn’t difficult," one elder said. "Even for me, who is nearing my twilight years. Our journey was smooth—until we crossed Good Pine Plains, My Lord. That’s where we found something concerning."
Luis straightened, giving the man his full attention. "What is it?"
The elder froze, his heart hammering. My Lord! Please! Your attention is too much for me to handle!
Unbeknownst to Luis, the elder was suffering from the most common ailment among devoted followers—fanboying his idol.
In fact, Luis’s approachable manner only fueled the moon elves’ admiration for him.
In an instant, Luis unwittingly added another thousand fans to his growing fandom.
Sensing the elder’s struggle, a younger man stepped forward and bowed. "My Lord, allow me. I am Gael, patriarch of the Kaldini Lightning Clan. We discovered a mysterious carnage in the Haro Clan territory on Portgrass Plains. Several rogue moon elves had been slain—each in extraordinary circumstances."
"Huh?" Luis blinked, momentarily distracted.
Don’t misunderstand. He wasn’t swooning over this handsome stranger! Yes, in the past, he’d been weak to men with sculpted arms and chiseled abs. But those days were over the moment Xagrien came into his life!
He has already graduated from being a slut for handsome faces!
Just to be clear, his shock came from something else entirely. This man looked exactly like his mate. That is it!
Silver-blonde hair. Tanned skin. Violet eyes. If not for his slightly smaller build and more mature aura, Luis might’ve mistaken him for Xagrien.
Still, he said in his heart, my Xagrien’s definitely hotter. Xagrien’s muscles would make every porn star from his world feel insecure.
That is how great Xagrien is in his eyes!
"My Lord?" Gael called hesitantly, confused by the Moon Elf Lord’s expression. The elders around are also confused by the reaction of the moon elf lord.
Luis blinked back to awareness, cheeks flushing when he realized everyone was staring. "Ahem. Sorry, I spaced out. You just... look a lot like someone I know."
Gael perked up, curiosity shining. He was too eager to ask that he talked over the Moon Elf Lord. "May I ask who, My Lord?"
"He’s my mate," Luis added simply. Their voices overlapped, but it was clear to them what they said to each other.
A heavy silence followed.
Gael internally smacked his own forehead for speaking out of turn. Yet, part of his mind was already processing what he’d heard. If the Lord’s mate was someone from their clan... it couldn’t be his elder brother, could it? Both of them were bearers...
Luis sensed the awkward tension and waved it off. "Don’t worry about it. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence. Still, if you’d like, you can meet him later. He’s also from the Lightning Clan."
Whether Gael and Xagrien shared blood, Luis decided to let them find out by themselves. He had bigger concerns right now.
"Now then," Luis said, smoothly steering the topic back. "You mentioned the moon elves you found died under... extraordinary circumstances. Could you describe what you mean by that?"
Gael straightened his posture and spoke what he saw in a clear voice and with great detail.
As he rolled with the description of the state of the fallen moon elves, he and the elders noticed how Luis’s face changed from pondering to grave.
Their hearts thundered when they saw the grim expression of the Moon Elf Lord.
"I see. It must be too much for your people to see such a grotesque sight."
Gael and the elders just nodded in silence, trying to gauge the emotion of the Moon Elf Lord.
"You see," Luis decided to explain a little of their situation to the leaders of the Lightning Clan. With a danger of such magnitude looming around, it is only right for them to keep them in the loop.
He told them how a rogue moon elf crawled his way to Woodrill City and the atrocity he witnessed in the hands of the blood dragon. He spared them the details of the injuries and assault based on the victim’s account, but even with such limited information, the expressions of the moon elves of the lightning clan became shrouded with anger and indignation.
Like other clans that didn’t know about Luis’s compassion for rogue moon elves, the Lightning Clan from the Kaldini Mountain is on the fence about the existence of rogue moon elves. They experienced getting robbed by them, so the compassion between them was minimal.
However, even with such a broken relationship, it is not impossible to empathize with them as they share the same root.
Today, it was those rogue moon elves, but what about tomorrow? It could be their turn!
"Those dragons dare!" The elders exploded with anger.
"This is the reason why I sent quite many scouts to investigate the situation. We had to tread on the situation carefully, so I sent one of the people I personally trusted. My mate..." Luis said.
Gael and the elders of Lightning Clan were deep in their thoughts for a moment.
"My Lord, if it’s not too much to ask, is it fine if our clan send a group to assist your investigation? I don’t mean to brag, but if it’s scouting and tracking, our clan is the best in the entire moon elf race," Gael proposed. "We are quick to our feet because of the nature of our elemental powers, and aside from that, we mastered the secret art of sensing the living things around us?"
Luis was listening well until the last part. "Excuse me, the what?" He asked, gaping.
"Our ancestors discovered that with finer control over our lightning powers, we can sense the tiny lightning energy that comes from the inside of the head of living things. Now, the more skilled our warriors are, the more refined their senses become. I, for one, am capable of distinguishing whether the living thing I am sensing was a moon elf or animal, My Lord." Gael explained.
Now, Luis is thoroughly impressed. He didn’t know that was possible! If he could bring some of these capable moon elves with him, wouldn’t it be way easier to track their enemy? And while maintaining a safe distance, too?!
Luis took a sharp inhale. He could feel his excitement brewing in his anus, "Good. I am allowing you to pick warriors to help our scouts. You guys will be coming with me."