Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

"how do you feel?"

Talos, who was maintaining his sword, heard the sound of the tent being opened. He asked without raising his head, his tone relaxed but with a hint of teasing.

"Not very good." Aris walked into the tent and his eyes fell on Talos, revealing a hint of mixed emotions. After a moment, he sighed and whispered, "Very strange..."

Talos smiled softly upon hearing this, and did not say anything else, but continued to wipe the sword in his hand with concentration. The blade reflected a cold light under the firelight, like a silent witness.

Ares glanced at the elves surrounding Talos. Although the elves' costumes were a bit strange, in his opinion, these elves were comparable to his shadow warriors, and some were even stronger. Their aura as sharp as a knife showed that they had been tempered in countless life and death situations, and each of them was a top fighter.

"Why are you here?" He asked curiously after a moment. This was the question that came to his mind when he saw this group of elves. He didn't have time before, but now he has time.

Sensing the coldness in Aris's gaze and tone, Ainil and Aslai in the tent, who were no longer the same as when they first met, raised their heads and looked back at him with vigilant and scrutinizing eyes, then lowered their heads and busied themselves with the things in their hands.

"Shouldn't we be here?" Talos finally put down his sword, raised his head and looked directly at Aris, his tone was calm, but with a hint of unquestionable power.

"No!" Aris's tone suddenly rose, with a hint of anger in his eyes, "You should stay in Elsing Alvin instead of appearing here!"

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the tent immediately became tense. The elves who were maintaining their weapons and armor stopped moving, and their eyes shot towards Aris like arrows. Their hostility towards Aris was obvious, but they endured it and did not make a sound.

"You are too paranoid, Shadow King of Nagarythe." Kalona said from the side, with undisguised sarcasm in her tone.

Aris turned to look at Karona with a sharp gaze. However, Karona met his gaze without fear, with an unsettling calmness in her eyes.

"Paranoia? Paranoia?" He repeated the word in a low voice, with disdain and anger in his tone. This was not the first time he had been evaluated like this. In his long life, many people had used this word to evaluate him, but now those people were dead, and he was still alive. Nagarythe stood tenaciously. "Maybe, but at least my paranoia was to protect Nagarythe and prevent Nagarythe from a fate worse than it is now."

"Guard? Aris, your so-called guarding is just pretending that everything is fine. Your paranoia is not protection, but building a high wall to isolate Nagarythe in your own illusion. The wave of chaos has swept the entire world, but you still naively think that as long as you stay on your own land, you can stay safe?" Kerillian sneered, folded her arms, her eyes full of mockery.

"At least we have our own warriors and our own homes. Unlike you, you leave your homes and run to the outside world to humiliate yourself!" Aris responded with a hint of anger in his tone.

"You think we have abandoned our homeland? No, we are paving the way for the future of the elves. You stand here, but you cannot see the broader picture. I have witnessed the decline of Laurenloren, and I have seen the rise of Laurenloren again. The tide of chaos will not stop, they will crush every piece of land, including Nagarythe, which you regard as a treasure. And we are trying to stop all this." Tolandil on the side stood up calmly and said in a chanting tone.

"Rely on a few stragglers? Rely on you? Rely on those of you who have left your homes? Rely on Duruchi? You have been bewitched by Dacus!" Aris sneered.

"Do you think we are the ones who have been bewitched? In fact, closing our eyes is the greatest folly. Daquus is a Duruch, but he is not. He sees farther than you. Every step he takes is to allow the elves to be reborn, so that their future will not be completely swallowed up by chaos." Tolandil's eyes changed, from gentle to cold.

"Ridiculous! Your foresight is nothing but self-deception! Empty illusion!" Aris laughed sarcastically, his tone full of disdain.

"So what? We went deep into the Chaos Realm and closed the rift that destroyed Lauren Loren. Leaving Elsin Alvin does not mean giving up our beliefs. Aris, don't you think it's ridiculous? Even the elves can't unite, but they want to resist the tide of Chaos?" Talos lowered his head and chuckled, then slowly raised his head and looked directly at Aris. His eyes were deep, as if he saw through everything.

"You speak so nobly, so why don't you return to our homeland, as the decree issued by Caradrell said, but come here! To participate in a war that has nothing to do with you?" Aris was speechless for a moment after hearing these words. He forced himself to maintain a cold expression, but could not hide the hesitation in his eyes.

"An unrelated war? Haven't you noticed yet? The power of Chaos is spreading, and no land can escape its poison. The power of Chaos has penetrated every land, whether it is Elsin Arwen or Ulthuan, neither can escape the spread of this catastrophe. Do you think you can always be at peace if you stay in seclusion? But the fact is, the Nagarythe you are guarding will sooner or later be completely swallowed up by this wave. And we choose to fight in order to save everything we cherish, including your proud home!" Talos' expression gradually became serious. He stood up, walked in front of Aris, and spoke in a heavy tone.

Ares clenched his fists, his eyes flickering with hesitation and struggle. He could feel that Talos' words carried a heavy truth.

"See, this is why." Talos took a deep breath. "Can't you feel it? The land beneath your feet, Ulthuan, Elsin Arwen, and the whole world are weakening and on the verge of collapse. And you are still clinging to the past, thinking that you can ignore it by closing your eyes. But the fact is that only by uniting and taking the initiative to fight can the future of the elves continue."

"So, you came here?" Aris looked around, his eyes swept past Isharion who was silently wiping the fang sword in the corner, stopped at the somewhat bewildered Tritons, and finally fixed on Gilead's face.

"Don't make things difficult for them." Gilead stood up and stood between Aris and the Tritons. There was a hint of fatigue and helplessness in his voice. "They just... came to take a look, at least that's the case now. But I'm different!" He looked directly at Aris, as if he was trying to explain something, and at the same time as if he was finding some kind of support for himself.

"Thank you for saving my ancestors." His voice was lower, his eyes flickered slightly, but his tone was always firm. "Without your actions, there would be no me now. But some things are not what you think. I was not held hostage, nor was I threatened. I could choose not to come, choose to live in Athel Loren, choose to escape, and enjoy a quiet forest and free scenery. Everything I do now, and where I am standing now, are my choice... and my brother's choice."

"Begging for mercy from Malekith? Was your family's inheritance broken during the time of Elsin Alvin? Have you forgotten what happened then?" Aris' tone was full of sarcasm.

"You've crossed the line!" Talos' voice suddenly turned cold, his expression became more serious than before, and his eyes stared at Aris like sharp blades.

"Isn't it?" Aris did not back down, took a step forward and confronted Talos head-on.

"We need a strong man who can lead us out of this difficult situation." Tolandil stepped forward to break the tense confrontation between the two. His tone was calm and resolute, "We need a strong man who can make changes. We followed his footsteps, leaving Laurent Loren, heading to Athel Loren, and then to the continent of Lustria, and finally came here."

"Dakeus?" Aris raised an eyebrow sarcastically.

"What else?" Talos asked with a sneer.

"Do you trust him so much?" Aris' tone was full of disdain, but at the same time, it also revealed a hint of curiosity that was hard to conceal. This was a question he had never understood.

"Of course!" In response to Aris's question, Ainil and Aslai answered almost in unison, their voices full of firmness and conviction.

"Your loyalty is too cheap."

"Then what is your so-called loyalty? Staying in a place with no way out, facing endless decline and division? Or guarding the so-called family glory, lingering on in the lost glory?" Gilead asked back.

"I fought beside him. I saw him take risks and risk his life to fight the Great Demon. I saw..." Talos's voice was low and awe-inspiring, and then he paused and shook his head. He didn't continue, thinking that would make the memories too real. Even now, he had difficulty fully comprehending those memories.

"What have you seen?" Aris narrowed his eyes, with a strong sense of inquiry in his tone.

"I have seen things you can't imagine." Talos repeated, his tone firm but with hidden meaning. He straightened his back and looked directly at Aris with burning eyes. "That's why we believe in Dacus, and that's why we are here. We chose Dacus because he brings hope, he has the ability and courage to try to change. He shows us that the elves don't need to live in the shadow of the past forever."

"So... one day, will you set foot on Ulthuan? To join Duruchi?" Aris was silent for a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly, with undisguised suspicion. His tone was low, suppressing some uncontrollable emotion.

"Yes, if I am correct, I should be commanding an army of nearly 20,000 or even larger troops to set foot on Ulthuan as a dread lord." Talos nodded, his expression calm, but with a hint of provocation.

Ares's eyes suddenly became sharp, and the expression on his face kept changing, from shock to anger, and then to a kind of cold restraint. His fingers clenched slightly, ready to draw his weapon at any time. He stared at Talos, measuring every move of the elf in front of him.

"What? You want to kill me now?" Talos took a step forward, and did not flinch at the gaze of Aris. Instead, he sneered. His voice was full of provocation, even with a hint of contempt. He stood straight, like a sword ready to be unsheathed at any time, without any fear.

Ares's breathing became rapid, and his fingers unconsciously touched the string of the Moon Bow. Anger and doubt surged in his heart, but he tried to control himself and did not let the impulse take over.

"Kill you?" He said coldly, his tone revealing a threat, but also implying a deep contradiction. "Maybe this is a relief for you, but this is not what we should do now." He slowly retracted his fingers, his eyes still fixed on Talos, as if he was examining Talos' soul.

"Very good." Talos laughed softly, his laughter was low, but there was a kind of mocking calmness. He took a step back, appearing calm, "Shadow King of Nagarythe, you have experienced the Great Sundering, you know that war is a complicated stage, everyone is looking for their own position. I sincerely wish you well, and hope that one day, you can find your answer. And my answer..." He paused, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and his eyes flashed with an elusive light. "It's already here."

"What plans does your strong man have? Or, how does he plan to end the internal strife that can never be reconciled? Or, will he die at the hands of an enemy stronger than him before solving these problems?" Aris' voice was low, and the fire burning in his eyes gradually went out, replaced by deep defensiveness and an unwillingness to admit confusion.

"He will find a way, and we will unwaveringly support him!" Gilead responded without hesitation, his eyes firm and his tone like steel, "You don't follow him, so you don't understand. He is not a simple ruler, he is a person who can change the rules."

"Rules? Rules are made of blood and steel, not empty promises and a group of blind followers." Aris's expression turned serious.

"Enough!" Eltharion, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up. His voice was low but powerful, breaking the stagnant atmosphere in the tent. He put the fang sword back into the scabbard, raised his head and looked at Aris with a cold gaze, "You are the King of Shadows, not a gossiper. If you really doubt Daquus, then at least take action instead of wasting time here. Also, have you ever thought about why you are here now? Why are you not being surrounded and chased?"

Aris did not answer Eltharion's question, but confronted Eltharion, trying to find a hint of hesitation in the other's eyes, but he only saw firm coldness and uncompromising determination.

After a moment, he said slowly, "Well, since you trust him so much, I will see how far he can take you."

"You'll see!"

There was an unshakable confidence in Gilead's tone, as if this was not only trust in Dacus, but also an invisible belief.

"We have our own path, and you have your own choice." Talos relaxed a little, but he still looked at Aris with defense and dissatisfaction. "Perhaps you should think carefully about the question raised by Eltharion."

"maybe."

Ares was silent for a moment, then snorted coldly and turned to leave the tent. His cloak was lifted in an arc at the door, and disappeared in the whistling cold wind. He closed his eyes, his face full of complicated pain. He knew he had failed. He was never good at speaking. He was not convinced, but angered. These elves from Elsin Arwen stood behind Dakwus with unshakable determination.

Maybe...some things are more complicated than he imagined, and this may be the reason why Lilith guided him here.

Standing at the edge of the camp, he let the cold wind mixed with snowflakes hit his face. His cloak fluttered in the wind, and he looked into the distance, his vision gradually blurred. He slowly closed his eyes, and the cold breath seemed to freeze his thoughts.

"Hope? Someone who changes the rules?"

He murmured, but his voice was quickly blown away by the wind. His brows were furrowed, and unspoken questions emerged in his mind. He could not deny that Daquus was different, but he also could not understand whether such power was enough to change the rules, and what price would such a change cost?
Inside the tent, the flames cast flickering shadows on the wall coverings.

"I can understand him." Kerillian quietly sat back in her seat. Her fingers gently stroked an arrow taken from the Yankee. The firelight reflected on her profile, which looked cold and calm. Her voice was filled with a hint of complex emotions.

"This is not like you, Kerillian." Gilead raised his eyebrows and looked up at Kerillian, his tone full of surprise.

"Each of us is struggling, whether in our hearts or on the battlefield. Aris just expressed his struggle more directly." Kerillian smiled lightly, but her eyes were more serious. She put the arrow back into the quiver and turned her eyes to the door of the tent. Her voice was low and slow, revealing a kind of insight into people's hearts. "He is the King of Shadows, but I see the uneasiness in his heart. His fear of the future is no different from ours, but he is more reluctant to admit it than most of us."

"Think about it from another perspective. He doesn't even realize why he is standing here." Tolandil said slowly after thinking for a moment. When he saw everyone looking at him, he sorted out his thoughts and smiled.

"Although I don't want to admit it, the law of the jungle is the way this world works. Only the strong are qualified to show mercy and kindness to the weak, to guide and assist them, to help them get out of the mud pits and swamps they have fallen into, to let them find a place to stay in this dark world, to let lonely souls gather together one by one... to illuminate the darkness and move forward together, so that civilization can continue, the tribe can prosper, and the elves can continue forever. Perhaps, this is why I, you, and the Shadow King are here."

There was no teasing, no applause, no sighing, only the silence in the tent and the occasional crackling of the firewood. The low hum of the wind and snow came from afar, as if responding to Kerillian's words.
-

"Remember that time?" Tyrandor looked at the forested Gorond from afar, with a hint of emotion in his voice. Unlike many of his juniors, he had been to Naggaroth and Gorond before, and there were many people who came with him at that time, such as Orion, Ariel, etc. Now, only Seionlan stood beside him among that group of people, and the others were either gone or stayed in Athel Loren.

"Of course, I'm not too old to remember the past." Sai Anlan snorted, with a hint of self-mockery in his tone. He lowered his head and looked at the halberd in his hand, as if recalling something.

"Back then... weren't there as many things as now?" Tarandor sighed.

"Maybe, do you still remember?" Seonlan's eyes flashed, he looked up at Tyrandor and asked back.

"Of course, I'm not too old to remember the past." Tyrandor raised his eyebrows and teased in the tone of Seonlan, with a bit of playfulness. After a moment, his smile disappeared and his expression became serious. "At that time, you firmly supported Orion and insisted on killing Morathi, but... Ariel..." The last words were swallowed by a sigh.

"Ariel resolved the initial crisis, but she has never been a qualified ruler! Never!" Seonlan's eyes suddenly became sharp, and his tone was mixed with anger and loss. "Many times, I can't figure out whether we chose Ariel or the gods chose Ariel. Her decision... How much painful price did we pay?"

"So, you chose not to fight at that time?" Tyrandor looked at Seonlan with a complicated look in his eyes. He did not respond immediately, but was silent for a moment before asking in a low voice.

"Isn't it the same for you, Tyrandor?" Seonlan raised his head and looked directly at Tyrandor, with both questioning and a hint of self-mockery in his eyes.

"Perhaps... we don't know what decision is right? We don't have the ability to abandon her. Perhaps, it is a shackle... or perhaps, it is a belief?" Tyrandor opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but in the end he said nothing. He shook his head and spoke slowly.

"Faith? Don't be ridiculous. Every decision Ariel makes is a step towards the abyss. She has her own goals, but she has never really considered the lives of us, her subjects. She has always cared about Athel Loren, not us. I agree with this. After all, Athel Loren is our home, and Athel Loren is more important than we think, but she has messed up my home."

"Do you hate her?" asked Tyrandor tentatively.

"Hate? I don't know how to describe it. I fought for her and dedicated myself to her will, but I know that every step she takes brings us closer to destruction. Yes, I used to hate her, but now... it's more of a feeling of exhaustion and boredom. After all, her era is over, isn't it?" Seonlan was silent for a moment, with a wry smile on his face.

"Perhaps... we are just chess pieces on the chessboard. One day, the chessboard will be overturned, right?" Tyrandor looked at Seonlan and did not speak for a long time. He knew that this kind of boredom did not come from individuals, but from the heaviness of the entire era. He raised his head, looked at the forest in the distance, and whispered.

Seonlan did not argue, but just sighed and continued to look at Gorond who was being attacked in the distance.

The sky was gloomy and low, the sun was blocked by heavy dark clouds, and only a little light shone through the gaps in the clouds onto the ground, as if coating this theater of destruction with cold light and shadow. The air was filled with the smell of burning, the strong smell of fire mixed with the fluctuations of magic, and every corner of the battlefield was filled with a sense of oppression.

The makeshift siege equipment began to operate, and the matching lizard equipment, which was barrels of grease mixed with fire lizard liquid, was thrown towards the magical dead vines. The flames drew a fiery arc in the air, and a burning wave erupted after landing, like the arrival of purgatory. The flames licked the vines, and each dead vine made a twisted whine under the high temperature. The black and purple light was torn by the flames, and thick smoke and burnt smells filled the air.

However, the dead vines were not powerless to fight back, and a trembling energy wave burst out from the top of the Tower of Prophecy. This wave was like a dark tide, washing over the entire vine bush and devouring some of the burning flames.

Those burned vines quickly withered and turned to ashes, but more new vines grew again. The thorns of the vines became sharper, and the tips flashed a dangerous cold light. They rolled and entwined flexibly, suppressing the flames on every inch of land they touched, and pounced on the flames like a whip of revenge, trying to devour it.

Annasara led the sorceresses and used magic to guide the flames more accurately. Blazing lights continued to appear and merged with the flames spewing from the instruments, turning into an even more violent torrent of flames.

The collision of spells made the scene between heaven and earth become distorted and terrifying.

The heat waves of the flames raised billowing smoke that rushed straight into the sky, interweaving with the black and purple mist released from the vines to form a terrifying cloud that covered the sky. Lightning flashed through the clouds continuously, and the lightning was not ordinary white light, but was stained with deep red and dark purple, as if the thunder itself was stained with the murderous intent of the battlefield. The thunder rolled, accompanied by the roar of magic, like the gods roaring in the clouds.

On the ground, flames and vines competed for every inch of space. The burnt vines turned to ashes, but stimulated by the energy wave, new vines continued to emerge from the ground, continuing to fight the flames with bloodthirsty aggression.

The entire battlefield was engulfed by a huge storm of light and shadow.

The orange-red of the flames intertwined with the black and purple of the vines, mixed with the crimson of lightning, and the world was torn in half. The soldiers on standby witnessed the horrific scene before their eyes, some with fear on their faces, and some with unwavering eyes. The flames kept pushing towards the core of the vines, and the energy waves released by the Tower of Prophecy pushed the flames back again and again, forming a confrontation that was difficult to determine the winner.

There is no victory or defeat on the battlefield, only destruction continues.

However, all this is an illusion.

Siege in the Middle Ages was very abstract. City walls were necessary, but sometimes it was hard to say whether they were useful or not. They were more abstract than Schrödinger's cat.

At the end of the world, Hesiota was attacked. During the attack, the city walls played a lot of roles. The defenders in the city used the city walls to buy time for the large army to turn around. Finally, Marshal Ku killed Vashna, the "Destroyer".

In this battle, the value and role of the city wall were fully demonstrated.

But on the other hand, what if Master Ma attacked a city defense system like Hexota? What if Master Ma raised his hands, opened his mouth, and used his signature skill "Exterminate Cities"?

The power displayed by Exterminate All Cities is not like in a certain game, where you can just destroy a few soldier cards at most. Exterminate All Cities, Exterminate All Cities, this is the literal meaning, no exaggeration, no embellishment.

Taraxlan also has walls, but it was breached twice by force; the walls of Naggarond have withstood the attacks of Valkia but were not taken; Lothern was besieged by Drukir but could not be conquered for a long time; Tyrandor besieged the dwarf fortress but failed to take it; Anlek of Nagarythe has been captured more than once.

And so on and so forth, hundreds of examples that don't include other worlds.

It can be said to be a beast fight, but it also can't be said to be one. It all depends on the opponent's specific lineup and fighting style, dragons, magic, various siege equipment and other things.

But the real killer move this time is not in the magic duel on the surface, but somewhere else.

During the years that Daxus spent in Naggarond, he either accompanied Malekith to talk nonsense, or did some work or did some social research. He did a lot of work, including asking the sorceresses to brainstorm and design various small inventions. The assault ship that is now in use and has good actual combat effects was launched at that time.

Of course, at that time, not only the assault ship project was launched, but there were also many other inventions. For example, a female sorceress engraved a magic circle, converted the dimensional stone into Deha, and made a Duruchi version of the Deha lightning cannon.

After Malekith praised and encouraged the sorceress, he sealed up the evil Deha Lightning Cannon and the related drawings. The main reason was that there were really not many dimensional stones in Naggaroth. Only Hag Graves's mines had this thing, but the quantity was very small. They could only wait for the green meteorite to fall from the sky, but meteorites usually fell in the old world, and there was no record of them falling in Naggaroth.

Therefore, it cannot be mass-produced and used for the time being.

But the situation is different now. After the black box that produces the arcane orb was brought back from Elsing Alvin by Aegirether, it has been operating hidden in the Tower of Destruction in Clarkarond.

Black boxes are good. As long as there is Deha energy, it can work and convert it into the actual Eight Winds energy, that is, the arcane balls. These balls can not only provide energy for the assault ship, but can also be used in various aspects, such as... For example...

Originally, Daxus was thinking of getting some heavy crossbows, such as a triple-bow crossbow that could fire multiple arrows at the same time, or a quadruple crossbow that could be used for both air defense and siege. After all, using the Reaper crossbow to knock down the city walls was a bit too funny, even though the elves relied on magic and dragons to attack the city.

In this respect, his ideas are somewhat outdated.

During Malekith's stay in Clar Karond, he and Anasara secretly prepared a surprise for Dakwus. The two legendary spellcasters upgraded and improved the original Deha Lightning Cannon, creating a new type of long-range firepower that truly fits the style of Duruchi - the Distortion Cannon.

Although it cannot tear apart reality to form a subspace rift or form a storm composed of subspace energy to suck enemy units in like the next door, the medieval elf version of the distortion cannon is equally useful. The good thing is that it is versatile and has strong applicability. It can be fired at both enemies and friends.

The twisted cannon fired at the friendly forces that had withdrawn from the front line to rest. Of course, before firing, the arcane ball had to be replaced with a ball containing the wind of Jilun. The sorceress then used the wind of Jilun to cast spells to relieve the soldiers' injuries and fatigue and speed up their recovery.

To air...

To the ground...

Versatility, long-range support and friendly force enhancement highlight its versatility and adaptability. The arcane orb used to launch ammunition can be replaced according to different situations.

Since there are advantages, there are disadvantages.

The core operation requires a skilled sorceress to control; it is difficult to maneuver and cannot be deployed as quickly as the Reaper Ballista, which can hit and run; even worse, the Distortion Cannon cannot perform curved firing...

But this does not mean that the distortion cannon cannot be used. Instead, its appearance marks an important turning point in Druch's war technology, demonstrating the perfect combination of magic and war machinery.

Maybe... with the upgrading of technology, aerial gunboats may appear?

Just as the two sisters were having a great time fighting, the canvas covering the twisted cannon was pulled open. (End of this chapter)