Malanchi was in very poor condition, which worried Meng Tianya. One of his primary objectives in coming here was to find Malanchi and apprehend him. Bringing back a dead man wouldn't do at all.
Meng Tianya looked at the many elves present; there was no way to prolong life. What could be done?
Malanchi saw the look on Meng Tianya's face and naturally understood his thoughts. "Don't, don't bother. I know my own condition. I'm already running on empty. I just don't know if you'd be willing to listen to me tell a story."
Meng Tianya bit his lip and nodded silently.
"Dozens of years ago, I went north with my father to study the elven ecology of a volcano..."
...
Ma Fei, a renowned ecological scholar in Minglong Nation, had published papers in various well-known journals. Everyone in Minglong Nation considered him an unparalleled genius in elven research.
That winter, Ma Fei impulsively decided to observe the elven ecology of a dormant volcano in northern Minglong Nation. The twenty-something Malanchi accompanied his father.
They reached the foot of the dormant volcano and felt considerable heat from afar. Malanchi asked his father, puzzled, "Dad, isn't this a dormant volcano? Why is it still so hot?"
"A dormant volcano isn't an iceberg. What's strange about it being hot?"
The two found lodging at an inn at the foot of the mountain, and Ma Fei went up alone. Unexpectedly, he never returned...
Shortly after Ma Fei went up the mountain, the volcano erupted. Lava and dust shot towards the sky, leaving a deep psychological impact on Malanchi, who was watching from the ground. Although a Firebird arrived to quell the eruption shortly after, everyone on the mountain at the time, without exception, was...
Later, the Alliance officials confirmed the classification of the volcano as a dormant one.
"Do you know, if the Firebird hadn't arrived so late, perhaps the volcano would have been pacified right after it erupted. In that case, maybe..."
Meng Tianya very much wanted to say that he had investigated the volcanic eruption incident back then. Due to historical issues, the Alliance officials had never confirmed whether that unfortunate volcano was truly dead or sleeping. The term "dead volcano" had always been a popular belief. Ma Fei should have checked more carefully before going up. In Meng Tianya's opinion, it was fifty-fifty, but it was clear that Malanchi was nearing his end, so it was best not to provoke him.
"From then on, I was determined to keep all elves firmly under control. But later, I realized that if I could control Arceus, it would be a permanent solution, and such incidents wouldn't happen again..."
Meng Tianya listened to Malanchi's story. He felt that Malanchi's idea, purely from a feasibility standpoint, wasn't a major issue. Although controlling Arceus would be somewhat troublesome, once that step was overcome, everything else would fall into place.
"I know Arceus isn't easy to control, but I wasn't willing to give up. So, I climbed step by step. Finally, I reached the position of Alliance Chairman, and only then could I begin my plan..."
"A plan? It should be action. If he hadn't reached the position of Alliance Chairman, where would he have gotten so many resources to utilize?" Xia Huna's companion, Shen Yu, who was listening to Mu Zhishui tell the story, couldn't help but ask. Xia Huna turned to look at Mu Zhishui, "As expected of Rainbow Star Group, the top magnate of Spirit Demon Star, you know such things."
Mu Zhishui spread his hands. "People, once they gain some fame, are thoroughly investigated. Besides, the past of an Alliance Chairman can't be hidden."
The group continued walking along the road in a dark red world. Xia Huna answered Shen Yu's question. "To be honest, even after reaching the position of Alliance Chairman, I think the resources weren't quite enough. Although the Alliance Chairman can mobilize a considerable amount of resources, when it comes to resources, those who know, know. More than half of the resources in the entire Minglong Nation are held by the four great families."
"You mean?" Shen Yu found it hard to believe.
"You guessed right. The reason I could become this Alliance Chairman is that people from your four great families supported me behind the scenes."
Malanchi looked at Meng Tianya's expression. "What, is it hard to believe? I thought you should have been prepared."
Meng Tianya listened. "Yes, from the moment I entered from outside, I knew that people from our four great families must have been involved in this matter. I also knew that the people involved would have considerable influence."
As Meng Tianya spoke, he idly rubbed a large door fragment he had picked up from the ground. Even Lv Chang's elves couldn't withstand such a flimsy door, so how could it be used to guard the gate? If it were him and Xia Huna, let alone Xia Huna and himself, even that foolish donkey Lv Chang wouldn't use such a broken thing to guard his safety.
Using such a door, in Meng Tianya's opinion, could only be for two reasons: either there was a contingency plan, so they put up a show of a door to lure you in, or it was useless, so they decided to sell it. Based on Meng Tianya's observations since entering, it didn't seem like there was any ambush, so it could only be the second reason.
However, as the Alliance Chairman, if Meng Tianya had to choose who might have sold Malanchi out, it would only be the four great families.
Malanchi coughed out two mouthfuls of blood as he spoke. "My, my body was originally much better. The reason I'm like this is that my life force was extracted. You should all be careful."
Malanchi looked at the vortex behind him as he spoke. "All the truth is in there. You yourselves, be careful."
After saying this, Malanchi slumped onto his wheelchair. "A bird, about to die, its song is mournful; a person, about to die, their words are kind. This is for you."
With that, Malanchi closed his eyes and passed away. The Chairman of the Elf Alliance died on a deserted island, and at the end of his life, the only ones by his side were his elves and Meng Tianya, who was both an enemy and a subordinate.
Meng Tianya took two steps forward and stood beside Malanchi. He gently lifted Malanchi from the wheelchair and laid him on the ground. He then pulled a white cloth from somewhere and covered Malanchi's body. After that, he took the item Malanchi had intended to give him from his hand. It was a small, blood-red seal. Engraved at the bottom of the seal were a few characters: Minglong Elf Alliance Chairman's Seal.
The nine small characters signified the seal's status and also conveyed Malanchi's wish. If possible, the next Minglong Nation Elf Alliance Chairman should be Meng Tianya.
Meng Tianya sighed. Just then, he heard Lv Chang's voice from behind, "Hey Meng, did you kill Chairman Ma?"
Meng Tianya ignored him, but Lv Chang, with his sharp eyes, immediately spotted the seal in Meng Tianya's hand. He rushed forward, snatched the seal from Meng Tianya's hand, and ran out as if he had lost his mind. "I'm going to be Chairman, I'm going to be Chairman!"
Meng Tianya watched the brainless Lv Chang run off and understood his thoughts. "Heh, you really think an old seal decides everything?"
Meng Tianya turned and bowed to Malanchi, then stepped into the vortex. On the other side of the vortex, Xia Huna and the others were still walking and telling stories. Only Yu Tingyun, who had followed them, found it hard to accept. "So, so we are the..."
Meng Liuying hugged Yu Tingyun from behind. "Alright Tingyun, it's not your fault. You can try to persuade them later."
Although she said this, Meng Liuying knew that if it could be persuaded, these things wouldn't have happened.
Xia Huna, walking ahead, stopped and looked into the distance. "Come out. There's no point in hiding like this."
As soon as he finished speaking, four old men, with a combined age of five hundred, appeared before them. "Xia Huna, indeed, you are our greatest obstacle."
Xia Huna and his group looked, but they didn't recognize them. Xia Huna whispered to Mu Zhishui, "Who are these four old men?"
Mu Zhishui hesitated for a long time. Finally, Meng Liuying seemed to recall something. "Great... Great-grandfather?"
"This, this is your great-grandfather? Then, calculating, he should be over a hundred years old."
Meng Liuying nodded in disbelief. "If he were still alive, he would be one hundred and seventeen years old, but, but, he should have passed away decades ago!"
Xia Huna looked at the wrinkled old men before him, thinking that people who died decades ago should be mere dust in the grave. How did they appear?
Meng Liuying's great-grandfather laughed heartily. "That's right. We should all be dead, but according to a secret art passed down by our ancestors, we have extended our lifespans by several decades."
Secret art? Upon hearing this, Bai Susu's eyes flashed with inspiration. "Extracting the life force of humans and elves?"
"Oh, I didn't expect the younger generation nowadays to have such insight. You truly surprise me."
Bai Susu gripped her Poké Ball. "Chairman Malanchi's life force was indeed intercepted by you, wasn't it?"
Thinking of Malanchi's condition, everyone looked at the four old men. Unexpectedly, one of them sneered. "Heh, laughable. How much life force could Malanchi, who is only a few decades old, have left? Enough for the four of us to share? Extracting his life force naturally has other uses."
Xia Huna felt a chill run down his spine. Given Malanchi's lifespan, he likely had another ten to twenty years left. If divided among them, that would be five or six years each. If that wasn't enough, what kind of lifespan were they looking for?
"Stop thinking. What's the use of thinking? Just obediently hand over your lifespans."