Death Notice-Book 3: Chapter 7: The Elfs Crisis

Death Notice-Book 3: Chapter 7: The Elfs Crisis

Mafa didn’t notice Qin Lun’s expression and pointed at the items as he introduced, “Lord Qin Lun, from the potion ingredients you gave us, we produced two boxes of healing ointment in total. As for the magical creature’s pair of eyes and heart core, our abilities are limited, so we could only make them into consumable magical items!”
Qin Lun reached out and touched the items on the tea table, then closed his eyes and immersed his consciousness into the Death Notice. Mafa and Adeline exchanged a glance but weren’t surprised; they knew Apostles had their own methods for identifying equipment and items.
“Moonlight Recovery Ointment (Low Grade): Blue Quality. This ointment incorporates Golden Silkworm Dust into its formula, allowing it to quickly heal various external injuries and bruises, and it also works well on some injuries that could cause disability. (Use effect not appraised; Death Notice cannot confirm specific data.)”
“Petrifying Magic Eye: Purple Quality. This item is influenced by the dark energy of the Gargoyle Core, activating the inherent ability of the giant lizard’s eye. It can unleash a fifth-level spell—Petrifying Ray. It is a consumable magical item, uses: 1/1.”
Purple Quality? Qin Lun raised an eyebrow; this was truly an unexpected surprise. According to the Shattered Starry Sky’s ranking system, a fifth-level spell should belong to the intermediate power level. Unfortunately, it was a consumable; the two Magic Eyes could only be used twice.
“How about it, are you satisfied?” Mafa looked at Qin Lun expectantly. The materials for the ointment were largely provided by Qin Lun, but the Petrifying Magic Eye had required some auxiliary materials from the Moria family.
Qin Lun didn’t speak immediately. His face was as calm as water. He glanced at Adeline beside Mafa, thought for a moment, then took out the Demon Mask that Beruses had given him from his chest.
“The demon responsible for reception gave me a mask!” Qin Lun said, weighing his words carefully. “And I’ve already agreed to wear this Demon Mask when moving about in the city!”
Mafa’s expression changed slightly as he looked at the mask in Qin Lun’s hand. Of course, he knew what this meant. However, the Elf soon returned to his usual composure, only giving a cold glance at Adeline beside him. The beautiful Elf woman looked somewhat ill at ease and hung her head in frustration.
Back in the Moonlight Forest, when Adeline received Qin Lun’s commission, her initial thought was to make the ointment and Magic Eye for Qin Lun and, following the principle of equivalent exchange, keep a portion of the materials for herself.
However, the Treant Fernand’s words had made her temporarily abandon this idea. Was an Apostle who had only stayed in the Moonlight Forest for two weeks and whose attributes leaned toward darkness still worth further investment?
Adeline’s hesitation meant she didn’t inform Qin Lun about the results of the item refinement on the day the Apostles left the Moonlight Forest. Instead, she wanted to wait until they reached Devil’s Horn, discuss it with Mafa, and then decide whether to give the refined items to the young man.
Because of this, Qin Lun thought he had already repaid Mafa’s favor with these materials, severing his ties with the Moonlight Forest. If not for this matter, even if he accepted the Demon Mask, he wouldn’t have asked Beruses for additional payment.
In that case, whether to wear the Demon Mask would have been Qin Lun’s free choice.
“Lord Qin Lun, must you wear this mask in Devil’s Horn?” A trace of unwillingness appeared on Mafa’s handsome face.
“Beruses paid an extra 25 City Points for this!” Qin Lun lowered his eyelids and said flatly.
“That old Cunning Demon is really willing…” Mafa let out a breath, his handsome face returning to calmness, even carrying a hint of relief.
At this point, Mafa had nothing more to say. However, from another perspective, this might not be a bad thing. That old Cunning Demon Beruses was known for his discernment. Even he recognized Qin Lun’s potential, proving that Mafa’s earlier investment wasn’t a mistake. Moreover, since Qin Lun took the initiative to explain all this to him, it meant the debt of favor between them still existed; the Elven Race would still have opportunities to gain this Apostle’s help in the future.
Seeing Mafa return to his usual composure, a smile also appeared on Qin Lun’s face as he put away the two items on the tea table.
“Lord Mafa, I heard from Beruses about the trouble the Elven Race is facing. Can you tell me in detail?” Qin Lun’s eyes flickered as he asked softly.
“Haha, of course. Every Formal Apostle has a super judgment ability regarding crises; perhaps your opinion can give us a new direction to consider!” Mafa said without any hesitation. “In fact, our Moonlit Elves’ situation in Devil’s Horn has reached an extremely bad state!”
As Mafa narrated, Qin Lun learned about the specific predicament the Moonlit Elves were currently in. The management council of Devil’s Horn was composed of five Sapient Races. The total number of the five managers remained constant, but races with poor management could be replaced by candidates.
Due to the last racial war, the Moonlit Elves had a deficit of nearly 50,000 City Points. Additionally, among the five managing races, they were the only one from the lawful good alignment. Thus, in this election for the city management council, they faced joint suppression.
Although the arrival of the Moonlight Forest temporarily suppressed the pressure from the other managing races, there was no improvement in terms of Apostle votes. Their support rate remained very low. If they couldn’t obtain enough votes in the coming weeks, they might truly be replaced by a candidate race.
“The deficit isn’t filled, and they’re already in a crisis—luck is gone! Devil’s Horn is located in the Scorching Plain—advantage of terrain is lost! The joint oppression from other managing races, the distrust from the city’s resident Apostles—harmony among people is nonexistent…” Qin Lun lightly tapped his fingers on the tea table, then suddenly opened his eyes and asked, “Lord Mafa, do you know which candidate race is set to replace the Moonlit Elves?”
“I don’t know. Unless it’s the recommending race, other races probably can’t see the specific information of the candidate race!” Mafa was slightly taken aback but quickly replied.
They don’t even know who their opponent is? Qin Lun shook his head with a bitter smile. These Moonlit Elves were too rigid, too rule-abiding; no wonder they had gotten into such trouble.
“Lord Mafa, can you give me a detailed introduction to the racial war that landed you in this deficit crisis?” Qin Lun sighed, hinting subtly.
“It was an internal conflict within our Moonlit Elves and the Night Elves… Could it be that you suspect…” Mafa, who had been speaking only halfway, was suddenly startled and stood up abruptly from his armchair.
“Even if it’s an internal dispute, making an enemy of a powerful group backed by an Apostle City is a very foolish thing, unless there’s greater profit tempting them!” Qin Lun said calmly, resting his chin on his hand.
“Of course, this is just a guess; you need to verify it yourselves. But one thing I can say for sure: the fact that the other four managing races of the Chaos alignment have united against the Moonlit Elves suggests that this candidate race probably also belongs to the Chaos alignment.”
“Night Elves belong to the chaotic neutral alignment!” Mafa murmured with an ugly expression. “No wonder they acted half-heartedly in the war, abandoning the contested mineral continent as soon as we hired a large number of Apostle teams!”
“Father, we should return immediately to inform the Elder council!” Adeline gave Qin Lun a strange look and reminded Mafa softly.
“Not urgent!” Mafa raised his hand to stop his daughter’s words, sat back down, and asked sincerely, “Lord Qin Lun, do you have any suggestions for the Moonlit Elves’ situation?”
Hearing Mafa’s words, Qin Lun finally blinked and showed a sly smile.
“The Moonlit Elves’ deficit in City Points is a fact. Devil’s Horn is on the Demon Clan’s territory, so luck and terrain aren’t on our side. But as for harmony among people… Lord Mafa, do you think that once this conspiracy spreads in the city, it might cause resentment among many Apostles?
Moreover, the manager council of Devil’s Horn already has four Chaos-aligned races. If even the last lawful-aligned race is squeezed out, wouldn’t that raise doubts among those High Apostle teams…”
Half an hour later, Mafa and Adeline walked out of Qin Lun’s Villa, both wearing deep concern on their faces.
If Qin Lun’s conjecture was correct, then the role of Moonlight Forest in the Scorching Plain would be minimal; instead, it might reduce the sympathy from the city’s Apostles. They needed to to the Elder council immediately, re-gather intelligence on the Night Elf race, and formulate corresponding countermeasures.
“Father, did you already see that Apostle…” Adeline bit her lip and asked doubtfully, “But Lord Fernand said he carries a very strong evil aura…”
“Apostles are completely different from us! Don’t be fooled by their mostly humanoid appearance; you can’t treat them as normal people. Even for long-lived races like us Elves, we might only encounter a handful of major choices and events in our lifetime. However, Apostles are different; every Otherworld Mission they undertake could be a major turning point, radiating unparalleled brilliance of life.
Some exceptionally talented Apostles, after surviving just over ten Otherworld Missions, possess wisdom and experience no less than the wisest Elf Elder of our race. Not to mention you, even I am like a baby who just learned to walk in front of them.”
Mafa gently rubbed Adeline’s head. “Also, there’s one more thing you must remember: what attributes or aura an Apostle has is none of our concern. Just as we have iron rules for dealing with Apostles, they too have iron rules for dealing with Sapient Races. Apostles who abandon these principles, no matter how high their combat abilities, won’t go far in the Shattered Starry Sky.”
“Apostles also have iron rules for dealing with Sapient Races?” Adeline widened her beautiful blue eyes in curiosity.
“Of course. Haven’t you noticed? In wars, Apostle teams rarely attack Sapient Races directly. They usually only fight against Apostle teams hired by the enemy and destroy defense facilities, but they don’t directly slaughter the local intelligent beings of the Shattered Starry Sky.” Mafa said with some bitterness.
“The shrewd Apostles understand well that they can’t do without the intelligent beings of the Shattered Starry Sky. Only when there is fertile soil can they always taste sweet fruits. Only equivalent exchange brings more business. Draining the pond to catch all the fish would only make all Sapient Races view them as enemies!”

Book 3: Chapter 7: The Elfs Crisis