Chapter 754: Solid Promise

Lucien leaves Oya at the city gates to ’watch’ over the elven soldiers. Her mere presence, lying there where everyone can see her, is enough to deter anyone from causing trouble, fearing a slow and painful death.

The group finally enters the elven city, and Lucien is struck by the scene before him.

Despite the city’s beautiful architecture, with large houses and tall towers made of dark stones and wood illuminated by magical lights, the view Lucien and his girls encounter is far from pleasant.

The small stone streets are covered in mud and filth, while all the buildings seem to be in poor condition. But that’s not the worst of it.

The hardest thing to witness is the current state of the elves within the city. The people look much thinner than they should, unhealthy and weak.

Everyone appears hungry and ill, especially the children and women. There is no sign of food anywhere Lucien looks.

His and the girls’ expressions clearly reflect their thoughts, and Ludmila can’t help but feel it in her heart.

"Don’t look down on us," she says proudly. "We’ve been under siege for months, and my people have held on firmly."

Lucien looks at Svetlana, and the elf lowers her head in shame. Their army has been receiving supplies from the capital constantly, living well outside the city walls, while Ludmila’s people suffer.

He can’t help but sympathize with Ludmila’s people, but he still doesn’t know much about the Dark Elves’ war, and in the end, he doesn’t want to choose sides but rather save their entire race from the Secret Alliance’s invasion.

Lucien knows that punishing the green army would only hinder his plans, so he restrains such an urge and focuses on helping the people of this city.

Everyone is looking at him and his group with curious and frightened gazes, but one person catches his attention more than the others: a small black-haired elven girl who doesn’t seem to be more than eight years old.

Lucien approaches the girl and, while everyone else moves away in fear, she remains staring at him with a curious expression.

"Aren’t you afraid of me, child?" he asks in a neutral tone.

She shakes her head without saying a word, but her bright and curious eyes are drawn to his horns.

The little elf’s chapped lips tremble as if she wants to say something but hesitates.

Lucien kneels down, bringing his head to the same height as the girl’s, unconcerned with all the mud and dirt on the ground.

It’s evident she’s very interested in his horns, so Lucien points to them. "Do you want to touch them?"

The girl doesn’t respond with words but nods her head quickly like a chicken pecking at corn.

Lucien can’t help but smile at her excited expression, so he leans his head forward.

All the elves around are shocked by this scene, as it’s known that demons are very proud of their horns, and it’s rare for someone to be allowed to touch them, especially someone who is not close to them.

Despite her youth, the girl understands how rare Lucien’s gesture is, so she doesn’t hesitate and quickly touches his horns with her small, delicate hands.

"Ah!?" She exclaims and quickly pulls her hands back. "It’s warm?"

Lucien laughs and responds, "Usually, yes."

The girl realizes that the warmth of Lucien’s horns didn’t burn her hands; they are just warm enough to heat her cold hands.

Then she touches his horns again. "Incredible..."

Lucien allows the girl to touch his horns to her heart’s content, and when she’s finished, he smiles at her again.

"Now you can tell your parents that you touched a demon’s horns," he remarks.

Instead of an excited smile, however, the girl’s expression turns sad. "They died defending the city."

Lucien can’t help but feel saddened for the girl and all the other victims of the war.

He knows life is harsh and often worse in various places across the universe, but since he intends to help the people of all the Seven Stars, the suffering of the Dark Elves hits him harder.

Rather than trying to console the girl with kind words, Lucien thanks her. "All the people of this city owe you a debt for that, and I personally do as well, because thanks to your parents, they were able to hold out until I arrived."

The girl looks around and sees everyone casting grateful smiles at her. While it doesn’t lessen her longing for her parents, it does make her feel a bit better.

"Will you help us?" she asks Lucien.

Lucien smiles and pulls a large red apple from his storage ring before offering it to the girl. "I will take care of you all from now on."

This apple was grown in the Purple World, so it contains a small amount of Lucien’s demonic energy, making it literally a delicious treasure.

The girl accepts the apple and takes a big bite, letting out a cute sound. "Uhmm, it’s delicious!"

Lucien’s smile brightens even more as he strokes the little girl’s hair. "I can’t bring your parents back, but I will make this world a better place so that you can have your own children here safely one day."

The girl is too young to think about having children, so Lucien thinks of something else. "And you’ll be able to tell them that you touched a demon’s horns!"

The girl’s eyes light up with the idea, but then she makes a thoughtful expression. "What if they don’t believe me?"

Lucien is momentarily speechless, noting the girl’s sharpness. But he quickly finds a solution.

Shocking everyone around once again, Lucien summons his red katana, and its aura surprises even Cecilia, who starts to get an idea of how powerful he might be.

As everyone watches, Lucien doesn’t hesitate to press his katana against one of his horns, and his demonic energy glows intensely on the blade.

Then he carefully cut off the tip of his horn, a feat that is not easy and quite painful. However, his life mana aids him with the pain and will also heal his horn quickly.

Lucien removes the tip of his horn and also takes out a necklace from his storage ring, using the horn tip as a pendant and handing it to the little elf girl.

"Now you’ll always be able to prove to everyone how brave you are," he says as he places the necklace with the tip of his horn around the girl’s neck.

She touches the warm horn tip and smiles back at him, her eyes now gleaming with anticipation and happiness. "Thank you!"

Lucien’s act leaves some of the younger girls confused, but most of them understand its significance.

He has just made a promise not only to the girl but to all the Dark Elves around, a promise that involves not just their city but their entire race and world.

This promise, audacious and seemingly unreal, is solidified in the hearts of all those elves when they witness Lucien cutting off a piece of his own horn to give to the girl.

His action will spread across the whole Shadow Star within days, and the necklace of the little elf girl will stand as proof of his reliable promise, as solid as his horn.

Lust mentally praises Lucien for his incredible political maneuver, but his intention is genuinely to aid the Dark Elves, so he doesn’t stop with just that gesture.

Since witnessing the precarious situation of the elves within the city, Lucien contacted Kara mentally. Now, he opens a portal to the Purple World, allowing her to emerge with a large tray of food.

Not just Kara, but most of his wives also enter the Purple World and begin bringing food for the Dark Elves.

As the city has many hungry people, the girls have to distribute the food evenly, giving out small portions at a time.

Even a simple piece of fruit or bread from the Purple World heals and strengthens the bodies of those elves, imparting to them a small fraction of Lucien’s energy.

The somber and sad atmosphere of the city is quickly replaced by a festive and happy air. Lucien’s action of providing food literally breathes new life into a city that was nearly dead.

Ludmila is immensely shocked and grateful to Lucien, feeling a powerful sense of loyalty burgeoning in her heart, as it does in all the elves present.

Lucien’s wives expect nothing less from him, but the new members of the group are surprised to see such a kind side of him towards strangers.

This action particularly strikes Maya, who has always seen Lucien as a ruthless devil who only treats his family and servants well.

Indeed, Maya understands that Lucien already sees the Dark Elves as his people, and this gesture demonstrates his ambition as well. But the more time she spends near him, the more she realizes that the kindness in his heart can be as powerful as his determination.

Another person particularly struck by all this is Cecilia, who immediately starts looking at Lucien with new eyes.

She had been sure he would be a spoiled, selfish, and proud young man, but now she’s unsure what to think of him, except that he is very clever.

"What kind of devil have you become?" she wonders, gazing at him with eyes as bright and expectant as those of the little elf girl.

Lucien’s actions not only defy her initial perceptions but also evoke a sense of intrigue and perhaps even admiration.

The impact of Lucien’s gesture resonates profoundly, not just in the tangible relief it brings to the Dark Elves, but also in the way it shifts perceptions and forges new connections, setting the stage for deeper alliances and potentially changing the course of the conflict and the fate of the Dark Elves.

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