Proofreader: M_W Miss Fierce

It didn't take that long for the third game, called the 'Stairs to Heaven' to begin.

On the Mischievous Lion Guild's side, Cassandra, Elizabeth, and Angel were automatically assigned to participate in the third game 'Stairs to Heaven' as Leo would be participating in the fourth game and the fifth game himself.

Unlike the first game 'Hide and Seek' and the second game 'The Maze', the third game 'Stairs to Heaven' didn't require Cassandra's team and the others from both Orcborg and Selina's team to kill any members of the Naughty Elves organization. This was because according to Uncle Elfin they would be personally making a move in this game by using the challenges of the 'Stairs to Heaven'.

Leo, Orcborg, and Selina long already understood this arrangement and they didn't have any concerns. So after sending their respective teams to participate, they then quickly proceeded to the control room along with Bagley. They wanted to watch thoroughly as to how the Evergreen royal family would handle the members of the Naughty Elves organization, while at the same time they would also be required to provide some small assistance, such as pointing those members.

Apparently, the exact people who are assigned by the Evergreen royal family to make a move against the members of the Naughty Elves organization were those Mages that had been appearing in the first game 'Hide and Seek' and the second game 'The Maze'.

It wasn't really that strange since those people were clearly trained soldiers assigned by the Evergreen royal family in the Victory Arena for this kind of responsibility right from the very beginning of the Emerald Elven Battle Competition.

As a matter of fact, Leo and the others in the control room long already noticed this since there were not that many soldiers assigned in the Victory Arena, and even the majority of them were given the mission to look for members of the Naughty Elves organization in the spectator stands along with the other allies who didn't participate in the Emerald Elven Battle Competition. So who else would they be sending aside from those dozens of Mages before, right?

Given the current circumstances, there wasn't really that much for Leo to see nor to expect in the third game 'Stairs to Heaven'. Because of that, he can't help but wonder about what Charlotte and the others are doing right now.

.....

At this moment, Charlotte, Ethan, Elaine, Edward, and Chief Lago along with the rest of the Executives of the Mischievous Lion Guild were gathered together inside a secret chamber in the northern region of the Emerald City under the supervision of Elfin the Fifth and Elvis who's presence was still hidden from anyone else other than them.

In front of them, they could vaguely see the dense and vibrant forest of the Emerald Forest through a small one-way mirror located in an inconspicuous corner of the northern wall.

While looking in that direction, all of their faces were showing solemn expressions.

That is because the once peaceful and beautiful place in front of them is now covered by a strong and deadly atmosphere of bloodlust and killing intent, as an uncountable amount of Magical Beasts threatens to charge to the wall of the Emerald City.

Everyone long already expected such a thing to happen as Leo had informed them about the possibility of this taking place in the previous meeting. However, seeing it with their very own eyes is a completely different story compared to just thinking and imagining about it.

The feelings they felt initially were only superficial feelings of fear and shock, which, honestly, speaking, didn't really affect them that much. But now their inner system is trembling as they felt terrified and aghast while they stared at the actual situation happening right in the very front of them.

Fortunately, because of the powerful deterrence brought by the Emerald Tree located nearby the Emerald City, these Magical Beasts were feeling hesitant and fearful of approaching any closer to the wall. They could only stay under the dark cover of trees while patiently waiting for something.

This sight wasn't only found in the Emerald City, but also in the other cities of the Emerald Tree Kingdom as well, except for the four cities located right at the very center of the territory.

All the Noble Households had the majority of their soldiers already assigned around the city walls in preparation for the expected war to happen against these numerous Magical Beasts.

Observing the behavior of these Magical Beasts closely, one could easily perceive that they have all been affected by Savage Fox Potion, causing them to become savages like wild beasts.

The sheer amount of Savage Fox Potions needed to cause such a disaster to threaten everyone's lives was something that they really couldn't even begin to imagine. But one thing was for certain for all of them, though, the Savage Fox Potions were created from the laboratories of the Naughty Elves organization that are secretly hidden all over the Emerald Forest.

Back at the north wall of the Emerald City;

"It seems like the situation that we feared the most is now happening in front of our eyes," Charlotte remarked.

"I know that we have long already prepared for this, but I still want to ask, is our preparation really enough to fight this battle?" Ethan asked, before gulping down a mouthful of saliva. Even he, a powerful Galaxy-level Mage, is not confident to claim that he can survive fighting against the number of Magical Beasts in front of them.

Right beside Ethan, Elaine could only hold his hand tightly in hopes of feeling comforted by her husband.

"It should be, right?" Edward can't dare to imagine a situation where they don't have enough preparation.

"Regardless of the preparation we have arranged, with the number of Magical Beasts in front of us, there is no telling for certain if it would really be enough or not. The only thing we could do is hope that it would," Chief Lago smiled bitterly.

"Don't forget, our real opponents here are the members of the Naughty Elves organization. These Magical Beasts are less than nothing as long as the Emerald Tree stands proudly tall and continues to provide strong deterrence against all of them," Elfin the Fifth reminded everyone.

"But for how long?" Elvis asked while looking at Elfin the Fifth for answers.

"As long as we don't give up and continue fighting," Elfin the Fifth responded with a solemn tone in his voice. Walking towards the circular table behind them, he sat back on the chair at the center as he said, "Looking at them doesn't have any use. In the meantime, why don't we just continue preparing our forces for the war against the Naughty Elves organization?"

"Indeed," Charlotte nodded her head in agreement before walking back to her chair.

Seeing Charlotte returning to her chair, Ethan and the others also quickly followed after. It was very evident from their actions that Leo had ordered them to follow Charlotte.

On the top of the table, everyone could see dozens of pieces representing the different forces of the alliance assigned to the northern region of the Emerald City, which includes the Mischievous Lion Guild, Elfin, the Fifth's loyal soldiers, and a few more other Guilds.

"The Mischievous Lion Guild would be positioned at the right flank of our formation. Considering that the Smiling Lion Village is located over there as well, you should be able to provide timely assistance once we begin marching forward," Elfin the Fifth said as he moved the piece representing the Mischievous Lion Guild to the right side of the map, specifically near the entrance of the north wall. He continued, "I have heard from Elvis that Guild Leader Leo had constructed numerous underground bunkers under the Smiling Lion Village, so you shouldn't have to worry about any problems yet, at least aside from everything in the surface getting destroyed,"

"You don't have to worry about that. We have already discussed this problem with Guild Leader Leo previously, and we have concluded that it doesn't really matter if the Smiling Lion Village gets destroyed or not because we can always rebuild it back as long as the Mischievous Lion Guild exists. And besides, we wouldn't be staying that long in the Emerald Tree Kingdom after the Emerald Elven Battle Competition is over. Instead, we should put all of our attention in the upcoming battle," Charlotte said in assurance. It was very obvious that Elfin the Fifth wanted to confirm if the Smiling Lion Village wouldn't cause them any problem in their plans.

Ethan and the others also expressed their response that there is no problem at all with the Smiling Lion Village getting destroyed, since Leo had long already prepared himself for such a scenario to happen. After all, their territory is located at a considerable distance away from the Emerald City, hence being extremely vulnerable to the war that is going to happen.

However, deep down inside, they are clearly aware that Leo was only comforting himself and everyone else with his words. He had spent nearly a million gold coins to construct the Smiling Lion Village, and, most importantly, they hadn't even earned back what they had spent yet, even just half of that. And since it was already expected that their territory would be destroyed, hence, there is no longer any small chance for them to earn that sum of money again.

They could already somewhat imagine the pain that Leo had felt during that time when he mentioned the Smiling Lion Village would most probably get destroyed.

"Oh, since we don't have to worry about that, then let's get right to the main topic," Elfin the Fifth finally stopped beating around the bush.

With that being said, Charlotte and the others continued their discussion that had just been interrupted a while ago due to the sudden appearance of the numerous Magical Beasts.