Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

Eldalia Goldman abruptly rose from her saddle, and in an instant, she had nocked an arrow and drawn her bow. The white-feathered arrow flew out of the bowstring like flowing water, turning into a pale streak of light that pierced the sky and shot towards the heavens.

The skill and fighting spirit of the Asur warriors were on full display in her at this moment!
However, all that answered her was the chilling sight of arrows bouncing off the armor plates, the piercing echo of metal colliding with the fletching as if mocking her powerlessness.

She let out a furious roar, a voice filled with resentment and humiliation, like a provoked lioness venting her anger in the wilderness. She could sense that the enemy hovering in the sky was toying with her, or more accurately, completely disregarding them, not even bothering to launch the most basic attack.

As the rightful owner of this territory, she immediately led the Elion raiders to scout the enemy situation upon discovering the ships. However, what greeted her was the silent, hovering aircraft above them, its presence as imposing as a god's, indifferently gliding over them towards Tal Usvi. It did not fly by rapidly, but rather advanced with an air of certainty, which was awe-inspiring.

Left with no other choice, the two hundred-man squads of Elion raiders had to turn around and pursue the enemy in the direction they had come from.

However, all of this was in vain.

Harlin Cold Eyes, piloting one of the raiding ships, walked to the side of the ship. She peeked out lightly yet warily, exuding a stealthy air. She glanced at the situation below, then withdrew almost instantly, the entire movement swift and decisive, taking less than a second.

As someone who came from the old era, as a warrior who had been through trials, she knew all too well how to properly face Asur wielding a bow and arrow. She didn't want to fall here and become the first high-ranking being to perish in this war.

As a high-ranking priestess of the order, she held a prestigious position and bore significant responsibilities, so she naturally had to be present for such a crucial operation.

This is not just a strategic deployment, but also a symbolic attendance.

In fact, she wasn't the only one; Kaia Van Maris also came, but she is currently still on the ship and has not yet shown herself. She is focused on monitoring the changes in the tides to provide the most accurate predictions and guidance for the army's landing operation.

Haglin shook her head at the guards who were looking at her, her movements calm and composed, as if she were reassuring them or giving a hint.

Then she revealed a cold smile, a smile as sharp as ice, as if it could cut through the wind.

Then, she opened her mouth and uttered a word to the guards, so softly it was almost a sound, only the shape of her lips. No one could hear it clearly, yet no one dared to question the command it carried.

Suddenly, she opened her arms wide.

As a veteran among veterans and a key member who participated in the raid on Moras, her control over the raiding ship has reached a level of perfection. She has pushed the efficiency between man and machine to the extreme, as if the ship is a part of her, an extension of her, and a manifestation of her will.

The next moment, the raiding ship, which was flying, suddenly stopped, as if it had been held down by an invisible hand and forcibly frozen in mid-air, even the air currents it had created came to an abrupt halt.

The sudden stop of the raiding ship caught the unprepared Emirates off guard, causing a flurry of stumbles and falls on the deck as armor plates collided, leaving them disheveled and bewildered. But in a very short time, they quickly regained their footing, secured their positions, and focused their attention on Haglin, watching her every move.

Even after the raiding ship came to a stop, she kept her arms raised, her posture as steady as a statue.

A moment later, a misty fog appeared, seemingly seeping slowly from the air, or like a shadowy figure appearing out of nowhere, silently appearing on the path of the raiders' pursuit.

As the raiders drew closer, they unleashed a barrage of arrows at the halted assault ship. Arrows rained down on the hull, causing the armor plates to clang and rattle – the sound of metal battling death, the confrontation between Asur and the ship.

In that very instant—the bewitching miasma finally appeared.

"magic!"

Eldalia fired three arrows in quick succession, each hitting its mark precisely in the same spot on the raiding ship, but to no avail.

The next moment, she suddenly realized the dramatic change in her surroundings. She looked at the poisonous miasma that had suddenly appeared before her—a distorted fog, thick and turbulent, its color a sickly pale green tinged with grayish-white, slowly approaching as if it were alive. Her eyes widened, her pupils contracted slightly, and she suddenly shouted against the wind.

"spread!"

However, it was too late.

The next moment, the warhorse, unable to adjust its direction in time, carried her directly into the poisonous miasma.

The poisonous fog rushed towards her, enveloping her like a toxic wall. She burst into violent coughing, the sound tearing through the air, followed by painful gasps. She felt her lungs being enveloped by some corrosive force, breathing becoming increasingly difficult, the air turning into poison, her strength rapidly draining away, as if her very essence had been drained.

Her reactions became sluggish, her movements were slowed and constrained, and her warhorse began to stagger, its legs trembling, struggling to maintain its last vestiges of consciousness.

Meanwhile, having finished her spell, Haglin returned to the ship's side, subtly revealing half her face, and coldly glanced at the scene below. When she saw that the poisonous miasma she had released had enveloped most of the raiders, she nodded in satisfaction, a hint of pleasure, like flowing black mercury, flashing in her eyes.

Then, as if awakened, the raiding ship hovering in the air roared to life, its hull trembling slightly before accelerating to catch up with the advancing column. The ship's hull left sharp marks in the air, like a long sword about to strike.

Forty raiding ships, arranged in groups of ten in a diagonal formation, or trapezoidal formation, were staggered and sharp like blades, heading straight for Tar Usvi. However, they did not fly directly towards their target, but instead shifted southwards from the city, beginning to slowly and rhythmically gain altitude.

Unfortunately, the raiding ships were climbing too slowly, a limitation of their structure and propulsion system. They needed to gradually increase their altitude, not ascend suddenly. More importantly, the eagle-claw crossbows on the city walls were far more powerful than the previously ineffective bows and arrows. Once inside their range and hit, the raiding ships would be shot down and torn apart.

In fact, with her spellcasting skills having increased dramatically, Haglin could easily and rudely manipulate energy to create strong winds or pressure, forcibly pushing the forty raiding ships into the air, as if an invisible giant hand were lifting the entire fleet up.

She can do it, even in just a few breaths.

But she didn't do that; in her view, it was unnecessary. As a beneficiary of the rules, she trusted the plan, upheld the rules, and, more importantly, trusted the manuals and pre-battle arrangements she had previously formulated. Following the plan step by step was the way Trucchi should be now.

She left the ship's side, walked to the other side, and peered out at Tal Usvi in ​​the distance.

This time, she didn't just glance at it and look away as before. Instead, she stared at the city, observing and pondering—it wasn't a large city, but it was extremely important to Duruci.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through the outline of the city and see the scenes from her memory.

The sight of Tal Usvi reminded her of the place where she once lived, the place that raised and shaped her, Krakarond.

Who could have imagined that Tal Usvi, in some places, would share such a similar silhouette and structure with Krakarond?
Krakarond is situated at the mouth of the Red Poison River, a murky, yellowish river with a pungent sulfurous smell. The water is undrinkable and perpetually shrouded in mist and the stench of death.

The same is true for Tal Usvi, located at the estuary where the Phoenix River and the Agarwood River converge. But unlike the Phoenix River, the water here is so clear and sparkling, reflecting the sunlight like a mirror. It is a kind of purity that she had never experienced in the old days of Krakarond.

Furthermore, unlike Krakarond, Tal Usvi did not have the Nagarius Bridge running north to south, occupying both banks and forming a natural line of defense and control.

Knowing history and geography, Haglin knew that during the Third War, Duruchi had stormed into the Inner Ring Kingdom and successfully captured the city. What she saw now was a city rebuilt after the war, a 'new city' that Asur had bought with blood and scorched earth.

The reason this city doesn't occupy both sides of the sea like Krakarond is because the land on the other side belongs to the Kingdom of Avalon.

Therefore, this city is so important in Trudeau's current strategic plan.

Upstream of the Phoenix River lies the Phoenix Gate, which hinders Duruci's advance into the inner ring. It is a fortress gate whose towers have long since reached deep into the clouds surrounding the ring mountain, and is one of the core components of the Asur inland defense system.

But that was a long time ago.

Now, Duruci's army has successfully bypassed Phoenix Gate and broken through from an unexpected direction, rendering this fortress gate, which had been rebuilt many times, useless in an instant, like a discarded chess piece, completely removed from the battle.

Just like how... San Dezi bypassed the Maginot Line, that most solid defense line became vulnerable in the face of strategy.

Alternatively, one could say that in June 1940, the Italian army did not choose to attack the French defenses in the Alps, thus avoiding a series of Italian farces. Instead, they bypassed the French lines, landed near Nice, captured Nice, and then outflanked the French defenses in the Alps, trapping them behind them.

Unfortunately, Haglin, who was born and raised in this world, does not have this concept.

But this did not stop her from sincerely praising the brilliant move in this operation.

Bypassing Phoenix Gate put the troops stationed there in a strategic predicament—the fortress still existed, the troops were still alive, but there was no battlefield, and no meaning to their presence.

Although she was a high priestess in the Stormweavers Order, this did not prevent her from making a clear strategic judgment: the Duruci Army had no reason not to defeat this Asur garrison that had broken away from the fortress in open battle. Away from the walls and having lost their terrain advantage, the Asur were like bees with their stingers removed, no longer threatening.

If Duruci had advanced a little faster, he could have trapped the Phoenix Gate garrison inside before Asur could fully react, then launched an attack using the Twisted Cannon, delivering a decisive blow and directly capturing the Phoenix Gate.

But Haglin doesn't think it's necessary to do so.

In her view, the other side of the Phoenix Gate connects to Nagarius of the Outer Ring Kingdom—the domain of the Shadow King. If the enigmatic Shadow King were willing to support the Inner Ring Kingdom, he would have plenty of ways to bypass the Phoenix Gate and launch a stealthy invasion.

Surely the Shadow King wouldn't lead his army to attack Phoenix Gate, which is controlled by Duruqi, right?
However, all of this was just a fleeting thought in Haglin's mind.

The real situation is often colder and more absurd than imagined.

In reality, the Phoenix Gate, as its name suggests, is a fortress reborn from the ashes. Throughout the countless eras since its completion, this fortress has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, becoming a permanent theater of Ausuan's war history.

The soldiers guarding the Phoenix Gate now all come from the Kingdom of Itien…

Therefore, Duruci didn't need to do anything to Phoenix Gate, not even supply it with food and equipment. Reliable intelligence indicated that the supplies stockpiled there were enough for the garrison to use for many years.

In the future, the Phoenix Gate will continue to play a role for a long time. At the very least, it can force the Shadow King to take a detour, marching through the crater and consuming his limited supplies, thus forcing Charis's reinforcements to take a long detour.

The upper reaches of the Agarwood River are another key location—there lies the fortress city of the Kingdom of Charis, Tar Gerd.

In other words, before the Asur could react, the landing Duruchi could have built a defensive line using the natural waterways of the Phoenix River and the Agarwood River, using the rivers as boundaries to block the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Charis and the Kingdom of Avalon. This would have prevented the armies of these two kingdoms from joining forces with the troops of the Kingdom of Elion, the Kingdom of Kaledo, and the Kingdom of Terenlock, thus creating a pincer movement against Duruchi on both tactical and operational levels and putting greater military pressure on him.

However, before she could even think about these issues, the raiding ship she was piloting, along with the raiding ship fleet that had been circling around Tal Usvi, had already climbed to the designated height. The fleet was arranged neatly like ghosts in the sky, and the height of the ships just exceeded the tallest spire in the city, overlooking the closed streets and sentry-filled walls of Tal Usvi in ​​the distance.

"Blow the horn, adjust the direction," Haglin decisively issued the order, his tone calm and resolute.

With her command, the sound of horns pierced the air, deep and long, like the wind blowing from the depths of an ancient and cold abyss, as if the Pale Queen was whispering in his ear, announcing the beginning of Tar Usvi's nightmare and foreshadowing the arrival of disaster.

As the horn sounded again, the Evil Guards on the raiding ship sprang into action. Their movements were swift, as if they had rehearsed countless times. They walked to the bags that were already secured to the deck, untied the ropes, and emptied the contents of bag after bag.

Suddenly, it was as if the sky above Tal Usvi had been blanketed in the first snow of winter. Countless leaflets rained down from the sky, fluttering and swirling like greyish-white feathers falling from the heavens. They were like snowflakes, yet they carried messages of fear and forgiveness, piercing the hearts of the city's inhabitants page by page, filling all who looked up with dread.

After circling once more, the raiding ships left without a second thought, as if they had completed some cruel ritual. They quickly formed ranks, cut through the sky, and headed towards the fleet along the route they had come from, leaving the city still immersed in this sudden nightmare.

Meanwhile, Eldalia, who had been lying on the ground, was awakened.

The moment her consciousness returned, she suddenly opened her eyes, and what came into view was the raiding ship hanging high in the sky, those dark, indifferent aircraft that looked like the incarnation of a pale queen.

Her body jolted, and she sat up abruptly, letting out a shrill and desperate cry—a howl mixed with fear, anger, and grief that almost tore her throat apart.

Beside her, her warhorse lay limp on the ground, its limbs twitching, clearly still recovering from the poisonous miasma. Further away, countless soldiers and horses lay scattered across the ground, as if a silent massacre had just occurred.

Fortunately, this time, Haglin's bewitching poison was not a deadly spell. It was more like a kind of oppression that seeped into the will and soul, causing the fallen soldiers and warhorses to fall into a coma, or forcibly draining all their strength, making it difficult even to open their eyes.

At this moment, the entire battlefield was deathly silent, as if even the air had been completely drained away.

After that piercing scream of venting her anger, Eldalia slowly stood up, her gaze sweeping over her surroundings. Facing the soldiers' confused, weak, and even terrified stares, she took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the wavering and anger in her heart. Her gaze became as firm as steel again, and her voice was deep yet full of commanding power.

"If you can still move, come with me."

After speaking, she bent down to pick up her spear, glanced back one last time at her warhorse companion lying on the ground, still convulsing, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes. Then, she walked to the horse that was still able to stand beside a soldier, nimbly mounted it, and sat as steady as a rock.

The remaining, still-active raiders gradually gathered together. They were reduced to three small groups, their numbers making them appear particularly desolate and tragic.

But this did not affect Eldalia's judgment and will.

She left one team behind to wake up and care for the still unconscious warriors and their mounts, while the other two teams followed her and quickly advanced in the previously planned direction.

However, the group had not gone far when they reached a high point, and everyone stopped in their tracks.

They had to stop because the view in the distance was breathtaking, even despairing.

On the horizon, the sea was densely packed with warships, a fleet like the Black Tide, slowly approaching like a tidal wave. On land, a massive army had firmly occupied the beachhead, their disciplined ranks and fierce fighting spirit evident, their battle flags fluttering, like an impending steel torrent. Eldalia glared at this army, and with her exceptional military acumen, she assessed their size in a matter of seconds—no less than five thousand! Moreover, they were well-organized, with both close and long-range forces, a clear deployment, and were supported by raiding ships circling overhead.

And what about her?
Only twenty people...

Twenty against five thousand!
In that instant, her face contorted, her entire features filled with rage and resentment. Her eyes widened, bloodshot, almost screaming with fury. Her breathing was rapid and labored, yet she forcefully suppressed the howl that was about to erupt, managing only to mutter a low curse, her voice hoarse as if a sharp blade were slicing through stone.

"Damn Finubal... damn traitor... I curse you! I curse you to a terrible death!"

After cursing through gritted teeth, she clenched her teeth hard, as if she were crushing her own hatred, and then gave a loud order.

"withdraw!"

After saying that, before the soldiers beside her could react, she decisively turned around, spurred her horse and galloped off towards Tal Usvi.

Soon, the area where the soldiers and warhorses had fallen could be vaguely seen ahead. At that moment, the second wave of raiders, which had just assembled, was approaching from afar, marching in formation in the same direction.

Compared to before, this time there were more people and the scale was larger. There were three complete hundred-man teams, with neat formations, steady steps, and an unstoppable force.

These five teams of 100 men each constitute, in fact, all of Tar Usvi's current standing and mobile combat forces.

Unfortunately, the city has a small population, totaling only about 8,000 people, most of whom are not warriors. In peacetime, Asur's system cannot support that many warriors.

Besides these standing hundred-man squads, the other forces in the city were either infantry or reserve soldiers not yet fully incorporated into the ranks. They still had the duty of defending the city, maintaining basic order, and requiring mobilization and organization. The only forces that could be immediately deployed to reinforce the front lines were these five units.

At this moment, the pioneer leading the three hundred-man squads did not stop. Instead, he spurred his horse and broke away from the main formation, using his superb horsemanship to traverse the chaotic terrain and reach Eldalia's side. His expression was solemn, and he clutched a piece of paper tightly in his hand, handing it to her with great urgency, as if it had just been pulled from a fire.

Eldalia reached out and grabbed it without hesitation, quickly glancing at it.

"Mechanical?" she murmured to herself, her brow furrowing slightly.

Above the paper was a drawing with bizarre lines and a strange shape. If she wasn't mistaken, it was some kind of mechanical device, a war machine she had never seen before, but whose structure and proportions conveyed a sense of threat.

At the other end of this machine was the outline of the city wall, but the section of the wall marked on the map... had vanished. It had been erased, blasted away, and swallowed up completely.

Between that section of city wall and machinery, there is also depicted an indistinct object that seems to be dancing and flying in the air, carrying a sense of psychedelia and oppression.

Her gaze slowly moved down, landing on the lines of text below the picture. Almost instantly, her eyes widened, a mixture of astonishment and anger flashing within them.

"Don't try to rely on the city walls for a long-term resistance and wait for reinforcements. The Twisting Cannon can instantly break down the city wall's defenses, unless you are prepared for street fighting and fighting to the last drop of blood?"

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the paper, her hand trembling slightly. For a moment, she almost couldn't contain her anger and humiliation, wanting to tear the provocative paper to shreds. But she ultimately suppressed the impulse, forcing herself to remain rational and continue focusing on the contents of the paper.

"Return to the Phoenix King's embrace."

"Don't put up a futile resistance!"

"As long as you don't resist, you won't be harmed, otherwise..."

The last sentence, the signature, made her almost hear the roar of her own blood.

"The eleventh Phoenix King - Malekith Malthanas".

At the very bottom of the paper, there is a clear half-length portrait.

In the portrait, the man is clad in dragon armor, the metal like scales, the shoulder armor, breastplate, and gauntlets interwoven to form a kingly physique. He stands tall and straight, his gaze cold and unwavering, as if he can pierce through the paper, transcend time, and strike directly at the viewer's soul. His finger points at the viewer, as if asking a question, as if interrogating them.

"Where did you get this?" She looked away, crumpled the paper into a ball, and stared intently at the pioneer, her voice low and calm like the sea before a storm.

“Those were dropped by those aircraft,” the Pioneer replied, a hint of awe and vigilance in his eyes. “Lots of them, scattered all over the city, and the soldiers are collecting them everywhere.”

Eldalia closed her eyes.

Once she calmed down, she pieced together all the fragments and finally understood.

Why didn't those aircraft use aerial suppression to attack before? Why was the magic just now neither lethal nor binding?

She finally understood Truc's true intentions.

“My lord, I can go to Tar Paratu to seek reinforcements.” Seeing Eldalia close her eyes in thought and remain silent for a long time, the Pioneer broke the silence and spoke urgently.

Geographically, the northern part of the Kingdom of Elion, near the inland sea, is a protrusion extending forward and jutting into the sea; it can also be described as a peninsula.

Extending straight into the inland sea from north to south, it is home to the important strategic city of Tal Palatour. Located on the edge of the inner bay on the western side of this peninsula, it is the most important port node in the northern part of the Kingdom of Elion, without exception. (Full map tomorrow)
Tar Usvi is located on the left side of the protrusion, that is, on the west side of the protrusion, at the junction of the peninsula and the mainland.

Starting from Tal Usvi, it only takes a day of fast horse riding to reach Tal Palatour.

Such a distance might not seem like much in peacetime, but at this moment, as war threatens to engulf the land, it appears so distant and so powerless.

"It's too late," Eldalia said softly, her voice devoid of emotion.

How long has it been since the sighting of the Truch fleet was discovered, until the reconnaissance was just completed?
She quickly timed it in her mind, only to find that it had only been an hour!

In just one hour, Truc had completed the landing of 5,000 troops!
This efficiency sent chills down her spine.

She absolutely did not believe that the ships she saw had arrived empty-handed. In the current situation of unimpeded occupation of the landing zone, the number of Truc's troops would only increase day by day, and would only become larger and larger.

Five thousand now? What about half a day from now?
It could be 20,000 or even 30,000 people, surging onto the peninsula like a tidal wave.

The landing site chosen by Duruci was less than eight kilometers from the walls of Tar Usvi.

In a plain, this distance is almost entirely visible at a glance.

The well-prepared Duruci soldiers would soon advance to the city walls and launch their first, and perhaps last, siege.

If all goes well and quickly, the first wave of troops will appear beneath the walls of Tal Usvi in ​​an hour.

How can the city she protects withstand this onslaught, which is like a flash flood?

Even if Duruci hadn't dragged the terrifying twisted cannons ashore, this first wave of troops, like a swarm of locusts, would have been enough to engulf the city before it was fully mobilized.

Before the citizens could be organized into an effective resistance, the overwhelming number of Durucci warriors would appear beneath the towers, climbing up under the cover of arrows and flames, splattering blood on the battlements.

Return to the city now and mobilize all available mobile forces to conduct rapid maneuvers around the city outskirts and grasslands, looking for an opportunity to attack Duruqi, who is besieging the city.
This is an option.

Perhaps we could look for an opportunity to sabotage their twist cannons? Or try to raid and burn the supplies that Duruchi hasn't fully settled yet?

But she didn't believe, she absolutely didn't believe, that Trucchi, who was clearly prepared, would give her such an opportunity.

What's more, there are those aircraft in the sky that she has yet to effectively counter, those raiding ships circling in the sky, overlooking everything, like death gods from another world.

She knew all too well that every move she made, every shift she took, would be under their watchful eyes. Her every action was like dancing under a bright light, utterly vulnerable.

Before her troops could organize their operations, before arrows were nocked and warhorses galloped, those aircraft would unleash a thunderous attack.

She didn't think they would use the same weakening magic attack again.

Next time, it will probably be complete destruction.

"We can do it!" The pioneer continued to fight and shout, his voice urgent as if grasping at the last straw in a vast ocean. "I'll set off now! I'll reach Tal Palatour by this afternoon! The day after tomorrow morning, no! Tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow afternoon! I will definitely lead reinforcements back!"

Eldalia slowly opened her eyes, her gaze falling on the Pioneer's face. Then she gave a chilling smile, a smile that was a mixture of sorrow and coldness.

For the first time, she felt so clearly that this pioneer she had once relied on was actually so...naive? Perhaps it was because he had never experienced the mockery of those aircraft, nor witnessed them toying with soldiers like toys.

She didn't believe those aircraft would just stand by and watch him leave, heading straight for the southwest. And even if he did manage to leave, she didn't believe, she simply didn't believe, that any reinforcements would arrive in a short time.

Trucchi will definitely do something.

More importantly, even if reinforcements do arrive... will Tal Usvi still exist? Will there still be a city wall and a banner to welcome their return?
With her excellent military skills, she had already discerned the overall situation from the slightest clues, and with her keen insight, she had foreseen Trucchi's strategic deployment and overall plan.

With the gates of Lorthorn wide open, Duruci, now inside the Inner Sea, will be like a wild beast, able to do whatever he pleases.

They can go wherever they want and fight however they want. This peninsula is no longer defensible. Even if it hasn't fallen yet, its end is already sealed.

The fall of Tar Usvi and Tar Palatour was only a matter of time, sooner or later. It was just a matter of today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. The difference was only in the timing, not in the outcome.

Duruci will certainly use the peninsula as their forward operating base to stockpile supplies, gather troops, and launch offensives. They will not waste this strategic location; they will definitely do something to Tar Palatul, they will definitely take action.

She sighed deeply, as if to release all the bitterness and sorrow that had been building up in her heart.

Then, she slowly took out the pendant hanging around her neck and gently but solemnly placed it in her palm to examine it carefully.

At the center of the pendant was a piece of clear glass, within which was sealed a small amount of shimmering dark green liquid. The liquid swayed slightly in the light and shadow, as if possessing some mysterious life force, so beautiful and so dazzling—she had named it: The Gift of the End.

It was a special gift she had prepared for herself, a farewell ceremony unknown to anyone. Just one drop, a single drop, and this potent poison would claim her life with each beat of her heart.

She slowly raised her head and gave the pioneers a bitter smile, pale and stubborn, as if she had long since disregarded life and death.

“Avoid Duruch’s aircraft, head northwest to Tal Amarais, and tell Isherian Windseeker the news. If possible, go to Tal Paratul and deliver the message.”

Her tone left no room for argument, as if she were resigning her fate.

Seeing the pioneer's puzzled expression, she paused, then continued,
"Take them with you."

After saying that, she let out a long sigh, this time with a heavy sense of resolve.

"If they are willing to come with you, willing to continue fighting."

She added in a low voice, as if afraid the wind would blow the words away, yet they were impossible to ignore.

The pioneer was stunned for a moment, then his expression suddenly changed, as if he had finally realized and understood her true meaning.

"My lord...you?" His voice trembled, his eyes filled with shock, regret, and a struggle to accept it.

Eldalia shook her head bitterly, but her eyes remained as firm as ever.

“Go, if you don’t leave now, you’ll really miss your chance, and I…” she said softly, as if comforting the other person, or as if convincing herself, “I will fulfill my responsibilities. Goodbye.”

Having said this, she looked no further at the pioneers, nor hesitated any longer. She dismounted and walked resolutely towards her companions. (End of Chapter)