Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

Felgar, Ahail, Perion, and Caril had different expressions, but they all looked at Eltharion, Alagalon, Anurion, and Serion opposite them with the same solemnity.

At this moment, they were at sea, or more precisely, in the vast ocean northeast of the Drifting Islands. Of course, they were not soaking in the sea water, but in the command room of an Albatross-class ship.

The light in the cabin was dim, shining on every tense face like a cold veil.

The meeting started off normal, discussing fleet deployment and strategic intentions according to the established agenda.

until……

until……

Eltharion caught everyone off guard and revealed the existence of Druch.

Caryl's eyes fell on Eltharion, bitter and mixed with indescribable complex emotions. She watched him finish his words, then lowered his head to look at the sea chart, his expression normal, as if this was just an insignificant report, but her heart was like a storm, completely breaking at this moment.

She recalled the joke that Eltharion had said to her before the Ascension Ceremony of Alagalon: "Because I am a Duruchi spy, I just came from Naggaroth and I am not familiar with this place yet, beautiful lady, are you willing to help me?"

At the time she had thought it was just a bad joke, a dry flirtation. After all, how could Eltharion, the son of Morarion, be a Druki spy? How could it be possible?

But now, that joke reconstructed all her past doubts like a montage:
Eltharion's strange yet effective military organization, Finnubar's crazy fleet dispatching to fight a decisive battle with Druki in the waters near Anaheim, his father Anurion's increasingly lonely and gloomy temperament, and Imrik of the Kingdom of Caledor suddenly being pushed to the position of regent...

All the details that once seemed "wrong" were now connected into a clear and frightening logical line. All of this was premeditated and planned.

It turns out that it’s not the world that’s crazy—it’s just that they realized it too late.

Felgar, Ahail, and Perrine had similar expressions to hers, either burning with anger or extremely disappointed. They had long sensed that something was wrong, but they had never thought that the truth would be so straightforward and... cruel.

"Want a gunfight? Right here?"

Eltharion finally raised his head, a complex and bitter smile appeared on his angular face. His eyes slowly swept over the four people, first landing on his lieutenant Felgar, then Ahail and Perrine, the childhood brothers who fought side by side; finally, he looked at Caril, his lover, who was also the most silent at the moment, but also the one who made him most heartbroken.

"You didn't come back from Elsin Arwen, but from Naggaroth?!" Perrine's reaction was the most violent. He slammed the table, then pointed at Eltharion with trembling fingers and shouted angrily.

"Yes." Eltharion admitted it frankly without dodging, his tone as calm as if he was stating the weather.

"You! Ah!!!" Perriand could no longer suppress his anger. He let out a hoarse roar and rushed towards Isharion, wanting to tear apart this face he once trusted with his bare hands.

But at the moment when he was about to pounce, Ahail beside him hugged him tightly.

"Calm down, calm down!" Ahaier's voice was trembling and his face was as ugly as iron, but he forced himself to stay rational.

Perion struggled and roared, Ahail refused to let go, and Felgar stood aside, his fists clenched, veins bulging, trying to resist the urge to overturn the table. Caryl remained silent, there were no tears in her eyes, only the silence of the deep sea.

Silence, repression, anger, betrayal, sorrow, entangled like a storm.

And Eltharion still stood there, like a traitor put on trial, or like a prophet who already knew the ending. His eyes no longer dodged, but he did not make any excuses.

Because he knew that the truth was faster than a blade and could kill people without them even noticing.

"Why! Why! Speak, speak!"

After seeing Eltharion's expression, Ahail, who was holding Perion, could no longer suppress the rage that surged in his heart. His hands holding Perion trembled slightly, and at that moment, he almost wanted to let go and rush forward with Perion to tear this best friend whom he once trusted into pieces.

But Eltharion just looked at them quietly, his expression seemed frozen, he didn't refute, didn't make excuses, just shook his head slowly. He picked up the cigarette box from the table, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep breath.

The smoke swirled around his lips like a silent sigh.

"This is not a decision I make alone." He blew out a smoke ring, his tone calm and almost cold.

After he said this, he nodded to the people around him.

There were three familiar figures - Alagalon, Anurion, and Serion. They stood aside with heavy expressions, but did not speak to stop him.

He raised an eyebrow towards the door again.

The door was pushed open.

Adeanna walked in, with an upright posture, a stern face, and a suffocating calmness.

"They all know." Eltharion added softly, as if this sentence was the real hammer.

Ahail's eyes were like nails nailed to the "insiders", he wanted to find a denial, even a wavering look. But he didn't see it, they nodded silently and slowly, as if acknowledging an inevitable fate.

Ahaier's face turned pale from anger, and he seemed to have been drained of all his strength. He was stunned at first, then he uttered a weak dry laugh, and his fingers loosened.

Perrine was free from his restraints, but he did not rush forward. He sat on the ground like a lost soul, his eyes blank and unfocused. He said nothing, because at this moment, words were pale and powerless.

"Do you know why we are here?"

At this moment, Adianna's voice rang out in the room, piercing the silence like an ice cone.

"Isn't it a prophecy? Did Drucci tell us?"

Felga, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke, with a sense of absurdity in his tone, like a person who suddenly realized that he was dreaming and tried to wake up from reality with a joke.

"Yes," Adiana answered without hesitation.

The teasing look on Felgar's face suddenly disappeared, and his steely eyes widened in disbelief.

He - Felgar Ironspear, was born into a noble family in Northern Yvresse. The surname Ironspear may not seem impressive, but in the beginning...

Like Ahair and Pellion, he was extremely brave but had no tactical skills. In one timeline, he, like Morarion, died in Gollum's invasion.

By then, Ahail and Perion had already died in the invasion of Druki, and when Gollum invaded, the army of Yvresse was either defeated or mobilized. Relying on his family's influence in the complex political situation of Yvresse, he ascended to the position of military power in the chaos and was responsible for defending Tor Yvresse - unfortunately, it was a tragedy.

That selection was not a glorious victory, but a naked revelation of the social problems of Asur: a morbid love of political intrigue, deep-rooted racial arrogance, and a fatal contempt for short-lived races... The result was the fall of Tor Yvresse, and he himself died in the last wave of charge.

Now, he became Eltharion's lieutenant. The original plan was to let him lead an entire legion, but the reality was that his tactical qualities were far from enough to support a command position. He was a good soldier, but not a qualified general.

At this moment, he finally understood the tip of the iceberg of this situation.

Kelly and Ahail also stood there in a daze, while Perrine seemed to be awakened by these words. He raised his head and looked at Adianna with a blank face.

A heavy atmosphere was brewing in the room.

Seeing that Anurion remained silent and stood there motionless like a silent statue, the former commander of the Eagle Gate, Serion, finally stepped forward slowly. His steps were no longer as firm and powerful as when he was young, but each step carried a heavy weight, the gait of a veteran who had experienced many hardships, as if he was dragging the echo of an entire era behind him.

There was a barely perceptible fatigue on his face, but his eyes still retained the firmness and solemnity of a true warrior. He looked around at everyone and finally spoke.

"Kids, this is more complicated than you think."

His voice was low and steady, like an iron bell that had sunk to the bottom of the sea for many years and was suddenly startled, ringing memories and warnings. He knew that these young generals were standing at the intersection of fate, being drawn into a vortex that was more obscure and more deadly than the war itself. At this moment, what he had to do was not to give orders, but to pull them back from the abyss of emotions.

"Children, all this..." He said slowly, his tone without blame or pressure from a superior, only the grief and compassion of an old soldier for the younger generation, "The war was instigated by Duruchi. But behind this war, there are deeper undercurrents, and even we can only glimpse a small part of it."

His voice echoed like an ancient bell, reverberating in this depressing command room. Everyone could tell that this was no longer a simple war report, but a revelation of fate.

Adeanna took a deep breath and walked to Serion's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with the veteran who once led the Eagle Gate. Her eyes were like a sharp blade, sharp, clear, and uncompromising - it was a firm belief that remained unchanged after going through the storm.

"The reason why we compromised..." She spoke softly, but her words were as clear as the breaking of cold iron, "is because... we have no choice!"

After saying this, she looked at everyone, her tone no longer cold and hard, but turned to a kind of almost sad frankness. Then, she compiled what she knew into concise language and said it out.

The silence in the room gradually turned into a creepy feeling of oppression as she spoke.

"In this war... we will stand on the side of Duruchi? Are you like Basnar?" After a long time, Ahail finally recovered from the huge amount of information and locked his eyes on Istharion like swords.

His words were not questions, but more like a desperate request for verification.

Eltharion was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly, even with a hint of sarcasm. He shook his head, as if he was amused by this metaphor.

"Basnar..."

When he spoke the name, his tone was mixed with complex emotions. It was not only a name, but also a scar that the Kingdom of Ivresse could not touch.

In the Kingdom of Yvresse, this name is almost taboo.

He was originally a hero who had followed the first Phoenix King Aenarion and had made great achievements in battle. Later, when Bel-Shanar succeeded to the throne, he went to Elsin Arwen to develop a new colony and expand the territory of Asur.

However, his loyalty gradually wavered with the passage of time and the alternation of power, and he became increasingly dissatisfied with the policies and attitudes of Bel Shanaar. After Malekith returned to Ulthuan, he chose to stand on the side of Malekith, and during the fight at the Temple of Asuryan, he was the MVP among MVPs, but still not enough of an MVP.

Yelling is always related to certain circumstances and things...

Elodhill, Bel Shana's eldest son, was no exception. He jumped onto the table, kicked over the crystal wine glasses and silver plates, angrily accused Malekith of rebellion, and then pounced on Malekith. But Basnar stopped him, and they wrestled on the floor covered with gold carpets, with wine stains and blood mixed together, and the scene was chaotic.

Finally, Basnar pulled out a dagger from his arms and stabbed it directly into Elodhil's neck.

However, Basnar did not have a good ending. During the Great Sundering, he was killed by Morathi due to his poor performance in battle.

"The real situation is more complicated than you think." Eltharion took a deep breath, his voice as low as the morning bell, "A hundred times, a thousand times more complicated."

Seeing that Ahair was about to say something, he pointed at Ahair.

"We stand on the side of the Phoenix King."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air froze for a moment.

"The real Phoenix King! The Phoenix King who walked out of the holy fire without using the fire avoidance spell!"

Ahail was stunned.

This information was far beyond his comprehension. In the past, only Aenarion had walked into the Holy Fire without the protection of the spell and remained alive. The others... if there was a second being who walked out of the Holy Fire without using the Fire Avoidance Spell, this...

"Malekis?" Caryl asked tentatively, her tone full of doubt. "But he failed, didn't he?"

"Perhaps... not?" Eltharion responded in a complicated tone. Fragments of the past fifty years emerged in his eyes, and every detail reappeared in his mind. "I have been his lieutenant for fifty years. How can I say that?"

He paused for a moment, with a hint of sarcasm and sigh on the corner of his mouth.

"I don't want it to be him."

His tone seemed not only to state the facts, but also to be a confession, or a farewell to his own beliefs.

Who is that?" Felga asked anxiously.

This time, Eltharion did not rush to answer. He turned to look at Adeanna, and the two looked at each other for a moment, then spoke in unison, as if they had rehearsed it long ago.

"Darkius!"

In an instant, the whole room fell into deathly silence.

"How...how is this possible?" Ahaier's voice was filled with unprecedented confusion and puzzlement, "He is just..."

"Nothing is impossible! As long as the Holy Fire recognizes him, he is it!" Isharion interrupted Ahail, his tone contrary to his usual restraint, almost fierce.

"No matter who it is." And Adeanna was like a prophet at this moment, her eyes penetrating the wall and the morning mist, "It can't be Imrik. The real king should be decided by Asuryan."

"Now, the sky... will soon be dawn." Then she whispered, as if saying goodbye to everyone and to this long night.

The night was gradually fading away, the sky was turning pale, and in this sea area, many fleets were responding to each other from afar. (End of this chapter)