Strategic Maneuvers and Elven Apprehension

The Kael Kingdom, while not as vast as the Dragon Race’s territory at the continent’s heart, was by no means small; it stood as a major power. A journey from the central Royal City to its southernmost border typically took at least two days.

However, moving with a large army would considerably slow their pace. Consequently, the combined forces anticipated needing at least four days to reach the border battlefield.

Departing from the main gate of the Royal City, one would pass through three cities before finally reaching the border. These three cities, along with the Royal Palace and the border fortress, formed a direct line, effectively serving as the four defensive lines safeguarding the Royal City.

At present, both the border fortress and the first city had already fallen. The remaining border army and Lisa Kael’s defense squad were now holding the line at the second city.

Judging by the Dragon Race’s method of attack, they clearly had no intention of concealing their movements. Their sole objective was a direct breakthrough of the four defensive lines, aiming to storm the Royal City itself!

To minimize resistance, they had employed a strategy of veiled threats and partial cooperation. This coerced the Beast Race and Winged Race into mobilizing, thereby tying down the Human Race’s forces on their southwestern and southeastern borders.

This maneuver allowed the Dragon Race to commit massive amounts of energy and troops to the four immediate defensive lines, entirely unconcerned about their flanks.

With the Winged Race and Beast Race acting as a diversion, the Human Race’s already insufficient combat strength was further divided, significantly reducing the Dragon Race’s resistance. Moreover, the Dragon Race had committed almost their entire fighting force to this campaign.

Consequently, they had swiftly breached two defensive lines in a short span, pushing the battlefield deep into Human Race territory.

As for why it was ‘most’ of their forces, a portion remained stationed at the border shared with the Elf Race, the last of the five major races. After all, the Dragon Race could afford to deploy not a single soldier on their shared borders with the Beast and Winged Races.

This was due to the Dragon Race’s inherent arrogance, which led them to dismiss those two races entirely. However, while they could ignore the Beast Race and the Winged Race, they could neither ignore nor dare to ignore the Elf Race.

The Elf Race, though understated, was far from weak. Rarely participating in wars, they possessed an extremely mysterious and profound heritage that the other four races dared not overlook.

In the ongoing wars, which had persisted since time immemorial, the Elf Race had maintained an exceptionally low profile. Looking back a century, from that time until now, the Human Race had been almost perpetually embroiled in conflict, with periods of peace barely totaling a decade.

As the weakest of the five races, every other race except the Elves sought to carve a piece from their ‘fat meat’. This inevitably led to the other three races also being in a state of near-constant warfare. Of course, they fought amongst themselves, and their conflicts were incessant.

It was precisely this internal strife that allowed the Human Race to persist until today. In stark contrast to the other four races, who were constantly at war, the Elf Race’s interventions could be counted on one hand.

The most memorable instance for the other four races was when the Beast, Winged, and Dragon Races launched a massive, aggressive joint offensive. The Elf Race, with lightning speed, deployed three contingents. Each contingent intercepted one of the invading forces, utterly annihilating them without leaving a single survivor!

It was said that on that occasion, each Elf contingent comprised less than one-fifth the strength of any single invading force. Yet, with minimal losses themselves, they slaughtered every single warrior from the three races on the spot.

The warriors of the three races had no chance to escape!

Since then, the Winged Race and Beast Race had deployed significant defensive forces along their borders. However, they never again dared to send a single soldier against the Elf Race.

The Dragon Race, on the other hand, developed a profound apprehension towards the Elf Race. Although they later dispatched forces for numerous probing attacks, all were fruitless, resulting in considerable losses to their own combat strength.

After that, they too established their defenses and ceased to bother the Elves.

As for the Human Race, they had never had any contact with the Elf Race throughout this past century. Records surviving from earlier wars suggested some past interactions, though the specifics remained unknown, largely due to the sheer passage of time.

It was already remarkable that any information had persisted through the constant warfare. Many people lacked clear understanding even of events from half a century ago, let alone a full century. Much of what was known came from oral traditions passed down from parents to children.

Yet, in times of war, living past forty was considered a long life, and reaching fifty was exceedingly rare. Furthermore, most people were too consumed by war to record information for posterity.

This resulted in widespread ignorance of distant history, and little energy to explore it. After all, how could those constantly teetering on the brink of life and death find the inclination to delve into history?

But I digress. Returning to the main point, the Human Race harbored a subtle sense of gratitude towards the distant Elf Race, despite their almost non-existent direct interactions. After all, a powerful entity, largely unconcerned with human affairs, had inadvertently diverted a significant portion of their enemies’ forces.

Without the Elf Race’s presence, the Human Race might well have faced extinction.

This time, it was precisely out of apprehension for the Elf Race that the Dragon Race had not committed their entire military might to the Human Race’s battlefield. Even so, the Dragon Race’s combat strength remained formidable, having breached three of the Human Race’s defensive lines in a remarkably short time.

Yet, perhaps this very disparity offered the Human Race a chance at victory?

The Human Race had not been without previous clashes against the Dragon Race. Over the past century, they had engaged in dozens of battles. Each time, the Human Race had successfully repelled the Dragon Race’s offensives, and even launched counterattacks on occasion.

While it was true that the Dragon Race’s forces were often divided by their need to defend against the Beast and Winged Races during those encounters, a victory was still a victory.

This time, though hope seemed dim due to the combined offensive of three races, they had always endured before. This time, they surely could again!

****

Deep in the night, Lisa Kael lay on a thick tree branch, gazing at the luminous full moon in the sky. Her heart was filled with unwavering resolve.

On another nearby branch, Jiu Hui lay there, watching Lisa Kael, whose eyes, fixed on the sky, held an indelible trace of sorrow. Jiu Hui’s gaze dimmed slightly.

‘It seems I can’t help her at all,’ she thought. ‘I don’t even know how to begin offering comfort.’

Although she had been in this world for a considerable time now, she understood nothing of its true nature. Even the battlefields, so intimately familiar to the people of this world, she had never once set foot upon.

At this moment, Jiu Hui suddenly felt an eager anticipation for the impending battlefield.