I reincarnated as an elf .......and married the yandere villainess.-Chapter 30:Hunt

Atheline grumply kicked a small stick out of his way as he walked towards the group of dark elves.

They were a mixture of the nine envoys and almost twenty dark elf soldiers who had also come to escort them.

It was midmorning and the forest had already woken courtesy of the singing birds.

A day had passed since the arrival of the elves and his babysitting job was still in motion.

At the moment they were leaving for Whispering Wilds Forest. This was a forest, two days’ journey from the capital, an uninhabitable land filled with beasts of all kinds.

It was a renowned training and hunting ground for warriors and anyone seeking to enhance their strength, as well as a place of great wealth.

Despite all the positives, it had also claimed many lives in the process.

"Are you ready, we’ll be leaving in a few minutes," he said to one of the saintess guards standing beside her carriage.

"Yes, young lord everyone is prepared."

"Good, the portal will be activated soon," Atheline said and turned to leave.

The curtain was pushed open and the saintess called him.

"Lord Atheline?"

Atheline stopped mid-turn and looked at her in confusion.

"Do you need something, saintess?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Will we be able to hunt with the wood elves?" She asked curiously.

"No saintess, wood elves live in the southern mountains and do not like to interact with anybody as you know they prefer to be left alone and not engage in worldly matters," Atheline responded.

Her face fell after hearing his response.

’Doesn’t she know this? It’s basic knowledge’

Wood elves did not get along with High elves and preferred to stay neutral even during conflict. They rarely left their territory and Atheline wasn’t even sure they would be present at the wedding.

’I wondered what she wants from them?’

"Is there anything else you need?" He asked again.

She didn’t answer but looked behind him then frowned. Atheline turned only to see Caius standing behind the prince. He was also looking in their direction probably gazing at the saintess’ eyes.

Atheline was very good at ignoring things that didn’t involve him.

The prince met his eyes and waved him over.

"If you need anything during this journey feel free to find me."

The saintess seemed too gobsmacked to answer and Atheline wasn’t about to stand there like a fool. He had already finished his assignment.

Atheline bowed to the still confused saintess and turned to leave.

He walked back and stood next to the prince as they waited for the teleportation circle to be activated.

"Are they all ready?" The prince asked him.

Atheline nodded.

"Yes."

They were quiet for a moment before the prince jabbed him on his side. It took everything in him not to jump.

"And you, what horse will you be using?" The prince asked.

Atheline pointed at a white warhorse breed that could run for long and survive in battle.

"You know I’ll be using Cicly, she’s the best horse."

The prince chuckled.

"As if, Grinder is the best no matter how much you complain," he shot back.

Grinder was the black horse a few steps from Cicly. Both horses were raised by them since they were young and despite them trying to prove the other is the best, they always ended up tying in synchrony.

"Look, the portal is finished."

On a raised Dias outside the palace, the ground started to glow as words floated in the air in elven language. It sank back on the dias and the magic circle appeared.

"Let’s go," the prince said and climbed onto his horse.

Atheline did the same. Caius also did the same and they all stepped onto the dias with the additional high elven soldiers.

The light enveloped them and a few seconds later they were standing at the clearing of the Whispering forest.

Atheline’s breath left him in a slow exhale as his breath steadied. The shimmer of the teleportation circle dissolved around them the moment they touched the ground.

The dark elves’ teleportation circle lit up a few steps from them.

Atheline’s gaze went to the monstrosity in front of them. A forest that has been present for as long as anyone could remember.

Before them rose ancient trees twisted around each other, towering high up that Atheline had to bend his neck backwards to see the top stretching almost to the clouds.

Little to no light passed through the forest and the little that passed through the canopy just made it look scarier.

Most of the horses were too scared to even step forward.

One of the high elves’ nobles, one of the few who had volunteered to come, shifted on his horse and moved next to Atheline.

"..uh.. this is where we hunt?" He whispered but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Atheline rolled his eyes inwardly.

’Of course, they’re too sheltered to ever leave the capital’

He wasn’t the only brat who was probably trying to establish a ’connection ’ with the dark elves. Everyone knew they were wealthy and their gifts were too good for any of them not to be greedy after.

"It is," came a reply after the moment of silence.

Atheline turned to see that the saintess had gotten out of her carriage and was walking towards them. He alighted from the horse.

The saintess came to a stop beside Caius who was already on the ground.

’Well time to do my job’

Atheline walked on the sparse grass to the edge of the forest and touched one of the trees, the bark rough on his fingers.

He turned to look at the group. The dark elves had finished arriving and the portal had finally closed behind them.

He started his opening speech.

"As you already know, this is nothing but a friendly match. No one will be forced to enter the forest and tents will be erected for those who do not desire to go and wait for the hunters," his gaze swept to Elydrah, the groom, who was shivering at the back of the group.

He continued his speech calmly.

"The rules are simple. The one who has the highest number of hunts according to the grade of the beast they hunt will be rewarded as the winner regardless of the species. You are allowed to form a group but just know we can only have one winner."

He was quiet as he let what he said sink in.

"Whatever is inside the forest will hunt you back if you are not careful. Deaths are to be expected for those foolish enough to go too deep..." he paused, "Are there any questions?"

He asked. The hunt was more of a way to show off strength between the dark and high elves. A friendly match.

Atheline waited but no one responded. He turned to look at the prince who nodded to him.

Atheline nodded softly back.

"Since there is no question, let the hunt begin."

Then he turned around and stepped forward into the forest. The moment he entered the light behind him disappeared.

Let the hunt begin.