Earlier that day—very early in the morning—Lila and Lali saw something.
It was a fight between a Dragon and a human.
The Dragon was a three-horned one; a Dragon Commander. As for the human, he was a considerably capable person.
Ultimately, the Dragon prevailed, and the human fled.
This clash was peculiar for multiple reasons, so Lila and Lali knew they had to report it to their leader.
For one; the Dragons were currently raving their land in the Eastern Continent.
As such, they were enemies of the Elves.
However, the reason they didn't come out to assist the human was because humans weren't too far off from Dragons in the eyes of Elves.
Besides, this particular human had the stench of evil shrouding him, making him even more repulsive to the Elves who watched.
The second peculiar thing about the clash was that the Dragon spared the human.
That contradicted the nature of the feral and merciless beasts that the Elves knew.
The third, and perhaps the most important thing about the entire conflict, was what the Dragon did after winning the battle.
It entered the mountains through an entrance, and it also proceeded out of it.
That seemed like an inconsequential detail, but if one considered the fact that the Elves had been stationed in the Eastern Land for about a week now—waiting for the Enchanted Items that they were promised—it made a lot of sense.
The two Elven Scouts had finally found the warehouse of the humans; I.e, the Kariblanc Group.
With the Dragon completely taking over it, and the Elves knowing where the Warehouse was now located, a perfect opportunity had presented itself.
The Elves could take what they wanted… all without paying a dime to the shady humans they had to make a deal with.
This, too, was the world's perfect act of justice.
********
"The humans at KariBlanc stopped contacting us for some time now. I still tried reaching them today, but all to no avail."
For Aurora, she could confidently say that she and her comrades weren't the ones at fault in this transaction.
It was the humans.
"We've honored our part. They're the ones who defaulted…"
As she said this, the two ladies in front of her nodded vehemently.
"As expected of the humans."
"So untrustworthy…"
Elves had a strong distaste towards the affinity of evil. They all despised it greatly.
Anything deemed unclean or unnatural was dubbed as evil, and for the Elven Culture, most of every other culture or race could be placed under that category.
"Sister Freya warned me about them, but I thought we could at least obtain a fair bargain if I seduced them with what they fancied most."
Elves weren't lacking in Resources or Minerals. Their land was rich and full of them.
From Mana Crystals to Adamantite, Orichalcum, and several other immensely valuable resources of the highest quality—far higher than what the humans currently possessed.
The problem was that they didn't have any refineries.
Elves weren't a technological species, so they had no way to properly purify their minerals or turn them into actual weapons or crafted items.
As a result, they had to rely on the humans.
'We couldn't try the Dwarves or Giants because they're more difficult to deal with."
Humans were very simple-minded, so they were the perfect pawns to use.
The Elves intended on selling their special resources to the humans in exchange for Items. Of course, the humans had to supply them with Items first before they got paid.
It would be of inferior quality, but Elves were desperate at this point.
Anything Grade 5 above was needed.
Thankfully, the KariBlanc Group delivered.
There were at least thousands of consumable Enchanted Items in stock, according to what they were told, and a couple hundred durable weapons.
'We can finally drive those monsters away from our territory and cut off ties with these humans…' Those were Aurora's thoughts when she entered into the agreement.
Unfortunately, the humans failed in keeping their promise.
And now… time was running out.
"We need to return home as soon as possible. Since they've delayed, then we are justified in our actions."
And so, the Elves decided to take matters into their own hands and seek out the Warehouse where the goods were being kept.
In their eyes, the deal was off.
If the humans could not even honor an agreement despite having benefits attached to them, then they weren't even capable of being tame animals akin to livestock.
They were nothing but wild beasts.
"The Dragon was a blessing. It took care of the humans for us, so now all we have to do is take care of the Dragon." Aurora smiled at her sisters.
According to Elven Culture, they were all brothers and sisters.
Those in higher positions had titles, yes, but in the end… everyone was in one big family.
It was a value that they shared; one that no other race possessed.
"A-about the Dragon… we saw no sign of it all day. Maybe it left already?"
"Yes. Maybe it's not returning."
Aurora furrowed her brows once she heard those words.
The Dragons she knew were very greedy and destructive.
They wouldn't just leave so much treasure behind.
"Well, this Dragon was indeed strange… sparing a human like that." She stroked her chin in consideration.
They still had to be careful, all things considered.
'We only brought a dozen of our brethren, so I would like us to be as vigilant as possible.'
It wasn't like a Dragon Commander was too much of an issue for her or anything, but she simply didn't want to take any chances for the sake of her younger ones.
"If we delay, it's possible that the humans could bring reinforcements and things could get messy. I suppose it's better to act quickly…" Aurora murmured.
She didn't want to fight humans—not because she believed them to be of value or anything, but because it would sully her hands.
A wild beast was still a living being.
They couldn't possibly perform perverse acts against nature in such a way.
Elves were naturally pacifists.
'The only reason we kill the Dragons is because the Oracle proclaimed them a scourge upon the world that should be eliminated.'
They were a threat to nature, and Elves were Nature's servants.
At least, according to them.
"We will act tomorrow. Tell the rest of our sisters to prepare for battle." Aurora finally made her decision.
"Battle? But I thought we concluded that the Dragon wasn't around any longer." Lali asked with innocence.
"Yeah. I thought so too." Lila added.
Both of them had child-like eyes on their faces, causing Aurora to smile and pat their heads.
"In life, sometimes the unexpected happens. We must prepare for such moments."
The two girls beamed at their elder's wisdom and bobbed their heads in pure agreement.
"Amazing!"
"So wise!"
Aurora merely giggled at the innocence of her younger sisters. This was how people were supposed to be.
… Uncorrupted by the evils of this world.
"The Dragon might show up again, the humans might come back with reinforcements, or a new threat could arise."
To protect themselves, the Elves had to be prepared.
"For the sake of our family, we must fight."