Chapter 536 - The Elves' Battle Plan
Dozens of kilometers away from the fortress city, in a vast primitive forest, was the elves' base connected to the Forest of Eternity.
A massive green magical array flashed, and a swarm of elves headed by the Elven King arrived in the array. Many of those elves were in shambles. Their bodies were reconstructed and returned to their former state in a short amount of time. They did not appear to have been hurt, although they did appear to be a little frail.
"D*mn that King Landhar III."
"It wasn't easy for me to take over the southern fortress city in the Holy Dragon Kingdom. How long has it been?"
When the Elven King returned to the primeval forest, he angrily extended his right fist and violently knocked on a nearby tree. The peak platinum-tier strength swiftly shattered the thick ancient tree, and leaves flew everywhere.
"Don't get too worked up, King Jersey. After all, we have all safely evacuated, even the defeated Elder Langton. Furthermore, Your Majesty's poison must have begun to work! That poison is forbidden in our Elven Kingdom. If we do not keep it under control, the human ministers that accompanied King Landhar III may become infected. Even if we do not attack at that time, the Holy Dragon Kingdom will be in disarray."
An elderly man whispered gently behind the Elven King. That old man had a circular eyeglass on his right eye and a leaf and flower wreath on his head. He was missing a few teeth and spoke at a slow speed.
That old guy was one of the four elders that traveled to the Holy Dragon Kingdom with the Elven King to oppose the conflict. Pagani was the Elven race's third elder. He was not particularly powerful; he was merely at peak gold-tier, but he was well-known for his intelligence. It was his plan to poison the human cities' in order to force King Landhar III to yield.
Initially, he intended to utilize the poison to make humans a source of infection. He intended to infect city guards in neighboring cities and force them to unlock city gates. It was not a bad idea, though, to make that poison a threat to the King of the Holy Dragon Kingdom.
"Pagani, weren't you opposed to fighting before? Why did you come up with such a vicious plan this time?"
Another white-haired old woman with a cane alongside the Elven King spoke after Pagani. The elderly lady appeared to have lost all of her teeth. Her lips had sunken, and her voice had become hoarse.
"Aren't you also averse to fighting, Daphne? Didn't you bring the Elven Kingdom's most famous assassin here? I heard Beta from the assassination team murdered almost 200 humans in that conflict and was rewarded by His Majesty."
Pagani pushed his glasses upward and said it slowly.
Daphne's eyes sparked as she heard his comments, and she sneered bitterly, "Beta has a unique personality in the assassination team If His Majesty had not told him not to kill too many people, he might have slaughtered everyone in the city! Initially, I did not want to have such an immense struggle with the humans, but since I accompanied His Majesty on the trip, I must do everything in my power to prevent the Holy Dragon Kingdom's invasion."
"We, like some individuals, did not do enough and ruined far too much. They nearly killed all of us in the fortress city."
Daphne snorted coldly as she gazed at the heart of the elven army. It was an elderly elf who had collapsed. That elf was Landon, who had shown his strength in the fortress city but had been defeated by Watson in a single move. He was no longer in a coma, and he appeared irritated after hearing Daphne's statements.
"Daphne, what do you mean? Are you saying that we lost the battle because of me?"
"Isn't it? Would we have fled if you had not recklessly employed a secret druid spell in the fortified city and lost?"
"Do you believe I want to fail? I have exhausted all of my resources, but I still have not defeated the Holy Dragon Kingdom's army. Is it all my fault? Don't you see how the Holy Dragon Kingdom's people are besieged by the sea folk and the dragons? Not just me, but even His Majesty's projection has been halted. Is there anything I can do?"
Landon attempted to defend himself, attempting to shift the blame to the Elven King. Daphne, on the other hand, did not believe him and proceeded to taunt him, saying, "You have battled a 12 or 13-year-old young man, and he knocked you unconscious with one move. It is the most humiliating existence in elven history! Even though His Majesty was defeated, he was defeated by the Dragon King. Is he comparable to the Dragon King or a weak human? Landon, I think you should stop claiming that the elves are the strongest."
"Humph, even so, is not it immoral for you to rest all your fighting aspirations on me rather than fighting here? Let us not discuss those; instead, let us focus on Erland. He just stood there and watched as I attacked. Don't you believe you should reprimand him?"
Landon directed his finger at Erland, who had been frowning since the outset and had said nothing. Many elves followed him and scrutinized him.
"Elder Landon, I recall that I initially wished to stop you from fighting with the human army," Erland moaned, sensing the gazes from all sides. "The King of the Holy Dragon Kingdom dared to come here, so he is confident in his ability to annihilate us. Going against them in the first place was not a good decision."
"See, Landon, it's obvious that Erland had thought about it before saying such words. Compared to you, he is much wiser." Daphne snorted again.
Landon's face was flushed with rage, and his cheekbones twitched. "Why do you like to argue with me, Daphne? That battle's failure has nothing to do with anyone else. It is entirely my fault. I will confess it. Do you have anything further to say?"
"Stop arguing, everyone. The attack on the Holy Dragon Kingdom would not have gone as smoothly as planned. That is in line with my expectations! Even though the war was a colossal failure, it provided us with a clear picture of the Holy Dragon Kingdom's strength. That new type of weapon, totally encased in an iron shell and capable of transforming into a monster, will be our most formidable foe. At the same time, we know that the Holy Dragon Kingdom has aided the dragons. The next phase is to devise ways to sever the bond between them, and then to deal with those lethal weapons."
The Elven King looked around. The elven elders who were quarreling fell silent in the face of his dignified gaze.
Compared to the Holy Dragon Kingdom, the Elven Kingdom was already at a disadvantage in military power. Despite the Elven King's deployment of the power from the Spring of Life and the elven race chess piece, the scales of victory had not shifted significantly. They were still reliant on the dragons and the Winter Nation.
The dragons were not reliable anymore, but there was still the Winter Nation.
"I believe that the human ruler is not at the heart of that conflict, but rather the young man named Watson. The dragons refer to him as the Dragon Emperor, and he is surrounded by sea folk. Clearly, his standing among sea folks is not low! If we can capture him, we can enlist the assistance of those two races. That way, even if we do not have the support of the Winter Nation, we can still defeat the Holy Dragon Kingdom."
Pagani adjusted his glasses and spoke thoughtfully. Many of the elves there agreed with his statements. Watson's oddity was obvious to them. He was obviously young, but he was well-liked by people of both races. He also had command of the kingdom's new weapon. They did not know if he would make it or not.
They were talking about Watson's identity as the future successor of the Holy Dragon Kingdom; it was worth being captured and interrogated.
"Pagani, your idea is not a bad one. However, I must caution you that Watson is not as innocent as he appears on the surface. When I cast the Druid's Secret Skill, he can even flip me over." Landon laughed as he relived Watson's incredible power. Watson had flipped him over in the stronghold city. Then, Landon touched his arm unconsciously.
"I know. so we can't only use force to persuade Watson; we can use other methods." Pagani grinned, revealing his white teeth that reflected cold light. "For example, poisoning him, or capturing his family and friends to threaten him... there are many ways to do it."
"Then everything is settled. Our attention will change from conquering the Holy Dragon Kingdom to dealing with Watson. It is advisable to apprehend that young man while he is still alive. If it is not possible, we can utilize a corpse. "Everyone, consider what you want to do later."
The Elven King waved his hand, establishing the Elven Kingdom's future fighting strategy.. That, in his opinion, was just a short-term combat plan that would be quickly realized.