Chapter 168: Chapter 163: The War Begins

Chenxi Calendar, Year 9361. Spring.

This should have been the season of renewal.

But this tranquility was shattered by news from the north.

Kresol Dragon City had dispatched its troops.

An immense army marched out from Dragon City, a massive force pushing southward, its spearhead aimed directly at the Silver Moon Forest.

As the news spread, the entire Eldron Plain was shaken.

The eyes of every power focused on this once-unremarkable forest.

This would be a war that would decide the future of the Eldron Plain.

...

South of the plain lay the Silver Moon Forest.

Compared to five years ago, the forest had visibly expanded its borders.

The once-barren wasteland was now covered by new woods. A sea of tender green canopies stretched out, incorporating a small portion of the rugged terrain of the Thousand Rock Hills and the cracked earth of the northern barrens into its territory.

Although the new trees had yet to grow to towering heights, they were already dense enough to merge seamlessly with the original forest, making it difficult to distinguish the old woods from the new.

At this moment, numerous temporary treehouses had been built on a gentle slope near the forest’s outer perimeter.

A large number of Elf Guards clad in Rune leather armor bustled between the treehouses, their steps hurried yet orderly.

Scale Rock Lizard bow cavalry gathered on the outskirts of the camp. The tamed Scale Rock Lizards lay on the ground, their thick tails impatiently slapping the dirt, a low grumble rumbling in their throats.

Their riders sat beside them, performing a final check on their bowstrings and quivers.

The air was thick with a tense and heavy atmosphere.

This was the camp the Silver Moon Clan had temporarily established for the war.

In the center of the camp, inside the treehouse serving as the command post, the Clan’s upper echelons had gathered. Their expressions were grim as they stared at the Water Curtain that took up nearly an entire wall.

It was displaying images transmitted by Mirror Shadow Sparrows, showing a bird’s-eye view of the plain in exquisite detail.

On the vast plain, a massive army was assembling in formation.

The iron-gray formations were like a man-made storm cloud, pressing down heavily on the verdant grasslands, stretching out as far as the eye could see.

It was the grand army from Kresol Dragon City.

At the very front were the numerous Vassal Legions.

Gray Scale-men, Stone-skinned Giant Demons, Iguana-men, Thorn-backed Serpent-men, Hyena-men, Bat-winged Demons... soldiers from dozens of Vassal Races were mixed together, spreading across the plain like a motley tide.

They had no uniform attire, and their weapons were a haphazard collection. Their formations were loose and chaotic, yet their sheer numbers were enough to create a suffocating sense of pressure.

A rough estimate put the strength of these Vassal Legions at over fifty thousand.

Behind the Vassal Legions was the Golem Legion.

Unlike the chaotic and noisy Vassal Legions in front, the Golem Legion was orderly and silent.

Over ten thousand Steel Golems stood in neat square formations, their iron-gray bodies glinting with a cold, hard light under the sun.

They were broad-shouldered and wide-bodied, with arms that hung past their knees. Their thick knuckles gripped heavy warhammers and great-axes, and a faint blue Magic Power glowed within their empty eye sockets.

Interspersed within the ranks of Steel Golems were a few, even larger Refined Gold Golems.

Their armor had a dark gold sheen, its surface covered in complex rune circuits. They too held heavy, giant weapons in their massive palms.

Even standing motionless, they radiated a heart-palpitating, oppressive aura.

Though they numbered only in the hundreds, each Refined Gold Golem possessed combat power approaching the upper Silver Tier. On a battlefield, they were walking meat grinders of steel.

And at the very rear of the army was the main force of this expedition—the Radiant Flame Legion.

This was Kresol Dragon City’s core military power, renowned throughout the Eldron Plain.

The entire legion was composed of the Dragon Race. Its weakest soldiers had the strength of the Black Iron Tier, and there was no shortage of Silver Tier elites.

Nearly ten thousand Dragon Race soldiers were all clad in standard-issue, dark red Scale Armor. The standard-issue Long Swords hanging at their waists and the Kite Shields on their backs all shimmered with a faint glimmer of Magic Power at their edges, clearly genuine Magic Equipment.

They were arrayed in square formations, presenting an image of grim order.

The treehouse remained quiet, the only sounds being the heavy breathing of the Elves and the faint echo of horns from the Water Curtain.

More than fifty thousand troops in the Vassal Legions.

An estimated ten thousand in the Golem Legion.

And nearly ten thousand more in the Radiant Flame Legion.

Although they had anticipated Kresol Dragon City’s formidable military strength, the sheer scale of the army before them now inevitably weighed heavily on the heart of every Elf present.

This was the foundation of the power that had dominated the Eldron Plain for thousands of years.

While the main forces of the garrisons and City Guard Armies in other towns were merely at the White Rank, with only officers reaching the Black Iron Tier, Kresol Dragon City possessed over twenty thousand regular troops at the Black Iron Tier.

Excluding the Silver Moon Clan, the combined Black Iron Tier forces of all other powers on the Eldron Plain likely didn’t add up to Kresol Dragon City’s.

"It looks like Kresol Dragon City has mobilized its entire force."

The Great Elder’s voice broke the silence.

His gaze moved from the Water Curtain and swept slowly across everyone present.

"What are your thoughts?"

After a moment of silence, Cedric was the first to speak, but his gaze fell on Eleanor, who stood beside the Great Elder.

After her successful Foundation Establishment, Eleanor’s aura was calmer and more restrained than before, yet it held an indescribable liveliness, as if she had become one with the surrounding forest.

"Eleanor, can you control the range of the Great Derivation Cyan Profound Array?"

Eleanor paused, slightly startled, then said, "With the Golden Seal, I can freely shrink the Array’s area of coverage, but I can’t expand it. That would go beyond the area covered by the array’s patterns."

"That’s enough." A sharp light flashed in Cedric’s eyes. He turned to the Great Elder. "Great Elder, I suggest we shrink the defensive perimeter of the Array and leave the newly expanded woodland on the outskirts open as a battlefield."

The expressions of the others shifted as they all fell into thought.

Cedric continued to explain, "We can’t just hide inside the Array. While it can block the enemy, we can’t attack them from inside either. If we let the Dragon City army besiege us freely, the Array’s energy will be consumed very quickly. Once it’s depleted, we’ll lose our greatest protection. It’s better to take the initiative than to sit here and be pummeled."

He pointed to the edge of the Water Curtain, where the newly expanded area of the Silver Moon Forest was shown. "Our Warriors are familiar with the forest terrain and have a natural advantage fighting in this environment. Plus, with the green vines to aid us in battle, we’ll be under much less pressure."

"With the Array at our backs, we can advance or retreat as we please. We fight when we can win, and fall back into the Array to recuperate when we can’t. With Muscle-Regrowth Potions and Qi-Restoration Potions, our injured Warriors will recover quickly. We can rotate them out for fresh troops, while the enemy can only take the hits without being able to pursue."

As Cedric spoke, looks of agreement appeared on the faces of the others.

It was indeed a good strategy.

In the forest, they had the terrain advantage, the aid of the green vines, the Five Camp Divine Soldiers and Oak Guards to act as their vanguard, and ample reserves of potions and Talismans.

Even if the enemy’s numbers were vast, they could chew them down bit by bit, gradually eroding their numerical superiority.

"I agree," Eleanor was the first to concur. "Shrinking the Array’s range has another benefit: it reduces energy consumption. The smaller the defensive perimeter, the less energy the Array needs to sustain itself, so it can last longer."

"Agreed."

"I also think it’s a good strategy."

"This is our territory. It’s only natural that we decide where the battlefield is."

A chorus of agreement rose up.

The Great Elder pondered for a moment. His gaze swept around, and seeing the eager, battle-ready expressions on everyone’s faces, he finally gave a slow nod.

"Then let’s do it."

He turned to Eleanor and said solemnly, "Eleanor, the Great Derivation Cyan Profound Array is in your hands. Besides Anton, you are the only one who can control this Array. Your burden in this battle will be heavy."

Eleanor’s expression turned serious, and she nodded gravely.

Just then, the image on the Water Curtain suddenly changed.

On the plain, the formations of the Dragon City army began to move forward slowly.

The Vassal Legions at the forefront were the first to march.

Tens of thousands of soldiers trampled over the newly green grass, surging toward the Silver Moon Forest like a gray torrent.

Horns blared one after another, mingling with hoarse war cries and the heavy thud of footsteps, shaking the very ground.

Watching this scene, the Great Elder’s gaze hardened.

He took a deep breath and slowly rose to his feet. A coldness appeared on his face, which, though young, was weathered by experience.

"One hundred and fifty years ago, Kresol Dragon City sent its army to attack the Silver Moon Forest."

His voice was not loud, but it reached the ears of every Elf present with clarity.

"In that battle, we suffered a crushing defeat and heavy losses. The previous Clan Leader died in battle, and we lost more than half of our clan’s elites."

"We were forced to submit to Kresol Dragon City, offering them vast amounts of Life Spring Water and Eternal Branches every year. We watched them use our treasures to gain wealth and power, while we were left without even the room to resist."

The atmosphere in the treehouse grew stagnant.

The faces of the Elves all turned heavy.

Among the Elves present, all but Romance and Eleanor had personally experienced that war.

They had personally felt the despair of that day.

The forest had cried out in a sea of fire, the blood of their kin had soaked the earth, and the faces of their dead loved ones still appeared in their dreams late at night.

After that battle, the Silver Moon Clan was severely weakened. They never recovered, finding it difficult to even fend off the incursions of the Molten Spike Tribe from the north.

That humiliation and hatred were seared like a brand into the blood of every Elf who had lived through that era, never truly fading.

Eleanor lowered her eyes as well, her fingers silently clenching her sleeves.

Her father, the previous Clan Leader of the Silver Moon Clan, had died in that war.

Killed by the Radiant Ash Dragon, Isaac.

She had been too young then, so young she couldn’t even remember her father’s face. All she remembered was the dark red Dragon Wings that blotted out the sky above the forest that day, and her mother’s silent tears at the funeral.

She had never forgotten this hatred.

"From then on, the Clan was on a downward path, growing weaker year by year."

"It wasn’t until Anton’s appearance that the Clan began to recover, growing stronger and larger until this very day."

"And today, Kresol Dragon City has come again."

"They think the outcome will be the same as it was back then. They think we will crumble just as we did one hundred and fifty years ago."

"They are wrong."

The Great Elder’s gaze swept slowly over the crowd as he spoke, enunciating each word:

"Today, we will answer to our ancestors who sacrificed themselves to protect this forest, and we will answer to ourselves."

"We will make Kresol Dragon City pay its blood debt in blood, and we will let the entire Eldron Plain know that the Silver Moon Forest is not a place just anyone can step into!"

The treehouse fell silent.

Then, one by one, the Elves stood up.

There were no grand declarations, no impassioned shouts. They simply demonstrated their resolve with their crisp, decisive actions.

The Great Elder looked around at them all and gave the order in a deep voice.

"Now, all units, prepare for battle!"

The war had begun.

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