Chapter 328: The Great Crisis of the Elven Race
Kraft's words caused Serie to lose her composure instantly. Ignoring the droplet of tea at the corner of her mouth, she retorted immediately, "Impossible! Would offspring born with other races even count as elves? How could the Elven King make such an absurd request!"
Even for her own future child with Rhodes, Serie didn't plan to treat them as a standard elf. After all, she didn't want her child to have the thin emotions characteristic of her race.
She hadn't expected the Elven King to propose such a reckless idea, intending to accept non-elven races into the fold of the Elven Kingdom.
"Do not get so excited. It is just half-elves," Rhodes comforted her hurriedly.
"Half-elves?" Faced with this unfamiliar term, Serie was puzzled.
In this world, there had never been an example of two different intelligent races producing offspring, so terms like "half-elf" or "half-dwarf" naturally didn't exist.
"Half elf, half human. You can call them elves, or you can call them humans. Don't set the requirements so rigidly."
"Mmph... put that way, it is indeed acceptable." The elf lady scrunched up her small face, carefully considering Rhodes's words, and subconsciously felt there was some logic to it.
She hadn't thought of that layer just now.
Beside them, facing Serie's intense reaction, Kraft sighed deeply, a helpless expression appearing on his face.
"Serie, the facts are as stated. And the situation is far more severe than you imagine."
His gaze swept over Rhodes and Serie as he began to explain. "Since the Great Elven Forest was completely destroyed by demons a thousand years ago, the cultural and vital root of our elven race was severed directly. Since then, the number of newborn elves has decreased year by year."
"Isn't there still the Elven Kingdom?" Rhodes asked, puzzled.
In his view, he had at least preserved the elves' other major gathering place. They shouldn't have fallen to such a state.
"The kin in the Elven Kingdom, by nature, have an extremely thin desire to reproduce. Our long lives make us view many things lightly, including the continuation of our bloodline. Perhaps in thousands of years, not even a single elven couple will have the thought of conceiving offspring."
"That is strange! How did the Great Elven Forest reproduce elves then?"
"There were special secret medicines," Serie took the initiative to explain. "The elders of the Great Elven Forest would concoct secret medicines every so often that could drastically boost the elves' desire to have offspring."
"Sounds a bit like an aphrodisiac," Rhodes commented subconsciously.
But thinking about it, it made sense. For a race with thin emotions like elves, nothing was more effective than drugging them to promote reproduction.
"Unfortunately..."
Kraft took over the topic. "Unfortunately, the method for making the secret medicine has been completely lost. Therefore, over this millennium, the elven population has not only failed to grow but has decreased due to continuous conflicts with demons. As one falls and the other rises, the population of the entire race has dropped to a level... that makes the King feel uneasy."
"Therefore," Kraft looked at Rhodes with complicated eyes, "after long and careful consideration, His Majesty the Elven King finally made this decision."
"On one hand, gradually relaxing the restrictions on communication between the Elven Kingdom and other races. On the other hand, we must find a method to tangibly increase the population of our race."
He spread his hands helplessly. "Expecting our kin to reproduce in large numbers is a pipe dream. Thus, His Majesty could only look outward."
"He thought that if magic could allow elves to unite with other races and bear offspring with elven blood—even if only half—that would at least continue the elven bloodline and inject new vitality into the race."
"And to create such magic touching upon the origin of life... His Majesty thought about it and concluded that in the entire continent, only Lord Rhodes, who has created countless miracles, could possibly achieve it."
"Coincidentally, the news that you are still alive has spread across the continent, so His Majesty entrusted me to find you."
After listening to Kraft's explanation, although the skepticism on Serie's face hadn't completely dissipated, it had softened considerably.
The dwindling elven population... she had stayed in the Magic Association all this time and indeed hadn't paid much attention to the specific situation of the distant Elven Kingdom.
"Is everything you said true?" Serie wanted to confirm again. The request was simply too coincidental.
"I swear in the name of the Goddess I believe in. Everything I said just now is the truth, without a shred of falsehood."
Hearing Kraft swear in the Goddess's name, Serie had no further doubts.
She knew Kraft. This former elven warrior, after traveling with that Goddess, had become a monk with incredibly firm faith.
If he swore by the Goddess, his credibility was unquestionable.
"...Has it really reached this point?" Serie muttered to herself. Then, in an extremely small voice, she added, "Truly impeccable timing."
She couldn't help but glance at Rhodes beside her, thinking, This guy just decided to research this, and the Elven King sends someone to ask for it. What a coincidence.
Rhodes was also caught between laughter and tears.
Looking at Kraft's serious expression and Serie's strange face beside him, he felt rather helpless.
He had just made up his mind to research how to break the reproductive isolation between humans and elves—of course, mainly for himself and Serie.
He hadn't expected the Elven King to make the exact same request in the name of the entire race.
Did this count as... running into the muzzle?
However, Rhodes could understand the Elven King's helplessness and urgency.
After all, the elves of this world truly lacked that desire. He had experienced this firsthand.
Rhodes recalled that he had taken the Holy Sword Athos from the Elven Kingdom back then, and it had remained in his and Serie's hands ever since. He hadn't returned it, and now he couldn't even if he wanted to. He owed the elven race a favor.
Now that they were asking him for help, both emotionally and logically, it seemed inappropriate to refuse.
"I understand," Rhodes spoke, breaking the brief silence. "I will try my best to research and create a magic capable of allowing elves to reproduce with other races."
Naturally, he couldn't tell Kraft he had already started researching this magic. That was a matter between him and Serie; there was no need for outsiders to know.
"Thank you, Lord Rhodes!"
"Do not thank me yet," Rhodes interrupted Kraft. "I must remind you in advance. Magic involving the origin of life and the fusion of different racial bloodlines is complex beyond ordinary imagination."
"It requires a massive amount of experimentation. I cannot produce results in a short time. You must be prepared to wait for decades, or even centuries."
Hearing this, Kraft waved his hand and spoke in a relaxed tone. "No matter, no matter. Decades, centuries... for us elves, it is but the snap of a finger. After all, time is the thing we lack least."
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