As more and more information flowed in, a solemn atmosphere began to spread among the elves.
That's right, no one was optimistic about the upcoming battle.
As old rivals, the elves naturally thought of some tactics to counter the centaurs. After all, the difference in mobility between the two sides was too great. Even if they were all cavalry, there was still a gap between them and the centaurs.
The elves found the best way to counter them, which was to deploy a small number of troops in the forts to slow down the enemy's mobility and then encircle them with a large army.
However, to do this, they needed a very flexible command system. In the past, when the commander's mind was clear, they relied on the convenience of the communication magic circle. Other than the first time the Centaur Army entered the World Tree's hinterland, they would at most fight at the border of the Pyat Haimei Kingdom.
The so-called victory or defeat was just a matter of which side had more casualties. For example, the previous king had accidentally fallen into a trap because of the grief of his wife's death. In the end, he had lost his life. This could be considered the greatest loss the elves had suffered since the battle between the centaurs and the elves.
However, this record might be broken this time …
Because of the World Tree's strength and divinity, any invaders would be weakened by more than half before they even started fighting. In such a place, of course, no decent defenses would be built. It could also be said that this environment, which looked no different from other places, was filled with hidden dangers and was more advantageous for the defensive side. This was also the reason why the Divine Wood Guards did not need too many people to protect the World Tree.
However, as long as they encountered an enemy that could suppress the power of the World Tree, it would be like a helpless lamb meeting a big bad wolf.
Now that the outer defense system was not effective and the centaur army was able to enter, the elves only had two half-dead armies as bargaining chips. Moreover, whether they could use one of them or not was still a problem.
With such a force, they had to protect the defenseless World Tree, and their opponent was a strong army known for their mobility. According to the intelligence, the other side had around two thousand people, four times their size. This made the elves feel even more despair.
According to the elves' existing tactics, the World Tree would be the supporting point of their defense. The neighboring forces would begin to gather, and after reaching a certain size, they would surround the centaurs' retreat, trapping this group of bandits and exterminating them. After all, if a small force approached the Centaurs from behind, they would just be throwing their lives away.
In other words, it would take at least three days for them to gather reinforcements that could threaten the Centaurs.
Could he hold on for three days? Not many elves were confident, but no one said the word 'retreat' either. In this oppressive atmosphere, they spent the night preparing for a war that they had no chance of winning. They could only hope that they would be able to cause enough damage to the Centaurs before they were completely wiped out, so that the Centaurs would feel the pain and retreat.
According to the kingdom's intelligence minister, Pushkin, the Divine Wood Guards, including the three dead elders and two Extraordinaires, showed no signs of colluding with the centaurs. They were just forced to start a wrong civil war at the wrong time.
As for why he said they were "forced," it was because if Liana Titov had not exposed their true colors in public, forcing the Divine Wood Guards to have no room for negotiation, perhaps they would not have reached this stage.
Moreover, the death of the master assassin, Vasily Petrovich, was also a critical turning point.
In this regard, Fen curiously asked a certain someone why he did not continue to admit defeat and spare the other party's life as usual.
"The one who did it was an Extraordinaire, right?"
Fen nodded.
"If I didn't kill him, what are the chances that he would apologize later and then settle things peacefully?"
Fen was speechless. She knew it was impossible without thinking. People who could rely on their own efforts to transcend the natural order of life were all proud and arrogant people. Apologize? That did not exist. Stubbornly sticking to their own ideas was what these people were likely to do. Unless they met someone who was strong enough to suppress them to the ground today, it would be possible for this kind of person to calmly accept other people's ideas.
"In other words, if I didn't kill him, the elves on both sides would have a chance to sit down and negotiate. And the final result is very likely that under the insistence of that assassin, both sides would choose to give up on me, this chess piece. Then the enemy would change from two Extraordinaires and three Druid elders to the same five elven powerhouses and an additional six to seven hundred elven veterans who are used to military formations to attack from both sides. "
"Is there a need to be so pessimistic?"
"First think of the worst-case scenario, then think of a way to avoid the worst-case scenario. This is what I've always done. Because I don't believe in my own luck and bet that I don't have to work hard to encounter the luckiest situation. If I don't want to have a falling out with one side and deal with all the elves here at the same time, the best way is to not let both sides have a chance to sit down and talk and cooperate. Anyway, I'll do it to the end first. But the one on the other side is not what I want to go to this step. "
In the face of such an argument, the Lich just shrugged noncommittally. This kind of small character's way of thinking, this guy probably would not change in his lifetime.
"Then what's next? Watch the show? Or fight? "
"Is it possible for us to stay out of this?"
"It's quite difficult. If we really fight, swords have no eyes. If we see centaurs and say we're humans, they won't just jump over us and not attack us. "
"If you want to leave now, it's probably too late. It's fine if I run away alone, but I can't take it if I leave again with a pile of belongings. And from a moral point of view, I should more or less take some responsibility for them falling into this situation. Well, just a little. "
Even though it was because of his appearance that the king came to the World Tree and had the subsequent development. If not, the incarnation of the World Tree would be obliterated again without anyone noticing. But a certain someone was still very petty and fussed over the issue of more or less.
"Then, are we going to intervene?"
"It depends on the situation, they may not need our help."
"I feel that if we don't help, they're dead meat. Didn't you see that the whole camp is preparing for a funeral? "
The two chatted side by side as they walked toward the command tent that was operating at full speed. The guards at the door wanted to stop the two of them. Lin did not say much and walked past the guards in a flash, heading inside. Seeing this, Fen also followed.
The two mages suddenly disappeared before their eyes. The elven guards were dazed and at a loss for a moment. They hurriedly looked around, looking for the two figures. When they discovered that the two mages had entered the tent and wanted to chase them out, the young king, who had also discovered the two, reached out his hand to stop the guards' actions.
In the upcoming battle, they needed all the help they could get. Of the elves rescued from the god-slaying magic array, only 30 or so were still alive. And even if most of them used magic and medicine to save them, they still needed time to recuperate before they could return to their peak state. Even if they forced the elves who could still move to participate in the battle, there were only 14 of them. The rest were burdens.
The Divine Wood Guards who survived the betrayal were allowed to redeem themselves and take back their weapons and equipment. But what was infuriating was that a lot of the resurrection potions and various kinds of medicine stored in the World Tree had already been used up in the civil war of the Divine Wood Guards that no one else knew about.
It turned out that the tradition of erasing the consciousness of the World Tree was an act that had existed since the establishment of the kingdom in the past and was carried out every 100 years. And during these 100 years, the elves of the Divine Wood Guards would take the initiative to donate their blood regularly. Perhaps the voluntary donation of blood would not contain resentment, but it was enough to stimulate the ancient vengeful spirits that had been imprisoned in the magic array for a long time, allowing them to exert the ability to wear down the consciousness of the World Tree.
If nothing unexpected happened, the blood collected during these 100 years would be enough to destroy the consciousness of the World Tree that had just sprouted and was ignorant.
But the royal family who came to receive the blessing, the little princess Valeria, somehow made the consciousness of the World Tree materialize and appear in the form of a kitten in the eyes of a very small number of people. Most importantly, this incarnation of the World Tree actually had intelligence. Although it was not very tall, it was not easy to destroy.
In order to erase the consciousness of the World Tree again, the three elders decided to carry out the sacrifice and greatly activate the power of the god-slaying magic array.
But not all the members of the Divine Wood Guards agreed to this, especially the young elves who had not experienced these things and had just joined the guards. It was not only to erase the consciousness of the World Tree, but also because they had to hunt down living humans for the sacrifice.
Therefore, a civil war broke out within the Divine Wood Guards. The losers, who were the elves who opposed erasing the consciousness of the World Tree, were hung above the magic array and bled, becoming a source of fuel for the things they did not want to carry out.
Many precious secret medicines were also used in that civil war. Although the Druids who followed the army could do it for them, there was expected to be a great battle tomorrow. If all the Druids who knew the resurrection spell collapsed today, what would they do tomorrow?
It must be noted that on the battlefield, the number of spells that the Mages or Druids could use and the type of spells they could use were strictly controlled. Being able to maximize the potential of his subordinates was one of the criteria to judge whether a general was outstanding or not. Therefore, the Minister of War knew very well what he could do with the power in his hands.
Of course, being able to use and being able to squeeze to the limit were two different concepts. And all kinds of potions were used to increase the limit of a troop's magic usage. Therefore, there was still a gap between the combat power of a well-off troop and a poor one.
The main ingredient of the resurrection potion was the leaves of the World Tree, but it did not mean that the dead could be resurrected with just the leaves of the World Tree. A lot of supplementary materials and a complicated production process were still needed to produce the resurrection effect of the potion. If the corpse was somewhat incomplete, the preliminary repair was even more unavoidable.
It could be said that the two civil wars that should not have happened put the elves in a difficult situation to break out of. Right now, their attitude was very simple. They would rather die than live. None of the elves wanted to go back alive. They only wanted to take down one more enemy before they died. In order to win this war, every elf would have to kill at least five to six centaurs before they died.
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