The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 67, Section 64: The Political Game

"Your Majesty Elion, my teacher..."

Dragonvein Warlock Gret also knelt on one knee, his thoughts seemingly drifting back ten years—Erian and the battle mages had successfully driven out the orcs, erecting a towering stone monument before the southern river to tell them that this side of the river was human land.

"Please take command of this impending war yourself; we are all prepared to die."

"Humanity will prevail, Eldoron will prevail!"

El-Erian sighed softly, also moved by the tragic and heartbreaking atmosphere of blood and flesh forming a dam.

Then, the benevolent human emperor smiled again:

"Brave soldiers, your courage makes me proud."

"But now, it's not the time to say such things..."

“We have plenty of cards to play, and Eldoron is far from facing a life-or-death situation.”

The emperor's words left Grete and many other mages somewhat bewildered.

Didn't they all defeat and capture a legendary court mage of the Elven royal court?
Moreover, that elven mage was there to kill all human spellcasters!
Is there any way to reconcile the conflict between humans and elves?

"The Elven Royal Court and the Orcish Clan are different types of adversaries, and given their differences, we must respond in different ways."

"You may think that a full-scale war, enough to push humanity to the brink of destruction, is inevitable, but perhaps that is not the case."

"War is merely an extension of politics."

"In terms of foundation and combat power, Eldoron is indeed far inferior to the Elven Royal Court, and it does not have the protection of the true god."

"However, at the political table, we humans, we Eldorans, have quite a few cards in our hands."

The political table...

The crowd seemed to have heard a very new metaphor, but a concrete image immediately formed in their minds:
It's like the human kingdom and the elven kingdom are sitting on opposite sides of a card table, each holding a hand of cards, engaged in a fierce game of cards!

"What do our cards represent?"

Little Gret asked.

"For example, the Sun Elf court mage Alamir, whom we have captured, is one of those cards. And another example..."

Elrian looked at little Grete.

“Little Gret, I remember you always carry a recording crystal with you, right? You must have recorded the whole process of that elven mage threatening to kill all human spellcasters, destroy the school, and then being surrounded and defeated by human spellcasters.”

Grey nodded and took out a crystal that was sparkling clear and handed it to Elian.

"This is another good hand."

Elian accepted the crystal.

"Furthermore, the new era of Eldorlon boasts a large number of surface spellcasters who are born into poverty, are hardworking, have firm beliefs, and are pragmatic. It also has an amazing national cohesion, which is something the Elven Royal Court does not have. This is a good card to play."

"Within the Elven Royal Court, there are multiple elven races and 24 families. They operate under a system of alternating Sun and Moon Kings. The Sun and Moon Elves have completely opposite attitudes towards the outside world, and the one who teaches magic to humans is Seymour Moon Whisper, the Moon Elf Queen's younger brother. These are several cards in the deck..."

After saying that, Elian's lips curled up slightly:

"As long as we make good use of these cards, this conflict with the elves will not be a disaster, but will instead bring us huge benefits!"

Dragonvein Warlock Grete, Evocation Mage Gut, General Thor, and the other spellcasters were all momentarily bewildered by these words:

What do you mean?
Eldoron is clearly far weaker than the Elven Royal Court, so why does His Majesty the Emperor seem so confident of victory?

How can a conflict with the Elven Court turn into a good thing?

But after all these years, they've long since gotten used to doing whatever His Majesty El-Erian says, and that's always the right thing to do!

Looking at the slightly confused yet trusting expressions on everyone's faces, Elian smiled knowingly.

In these primordial years, both humans and elves had a very, very rudimentary understanding of politics and diplomacy.

Although Elian was not a politician in his previous life, his mastery of the original history, his extensive knowledge, and his understanding of the internal political structure of the Elven court gave him a great deal of room to maneuver.

For a learned mage, knowledge may be a more useful weapon than magic!
"In short, given a few years, I can turn the Elven Royal Court from a formidable enemy into a resource that benefits us!"

"Before that, I need to interrogate the Sun Elf mage Alamir, whom we have captured."

"I have an important question to ask him..."

…………

Floating City. Beneath the magnificent palace, in a dark dungeon.

"So, the king of the human kingdom is the most outstanding mage in this country. I really miscalculated..."

Wearing a magic-suppressing collar and bound by layers of chains, the once noble Sun Elf court mage Alamir was now covered in blood, his hair disheveled and in a mess, but his tone was still full of sharpness.

Looking at the expressionless Elian outside the prison, Alamir sneered again:

"King of Mankind, do you think you've won?"

"You have only defeated me, the most useless and most overrated of the 42 legendary mages of the Elven Court..."

The weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings?

El-Erian muttered a sarcastic remark to himself with a touch of humor.

"No, you're not the worst."

He interrupted the other person quietly.

In a fleeting look of surprise in Alamir's eyes, Elian continued:
"Should I list out the names of the other 41 legendary elven mages and then rank each of you according to my personal impression? There might be quite a bit of controversy."

Alamir bit her lip tightly with her upper teeth.

"Even if it means belittling themselves, are they trying to elevate the status of the elven race?"

Elian scoffed.

Upon realizing his lie had been exposed, Alamir, inside the prison cell, bulged his veins and almost burst into a tirade of profanities:

"Humans, you've kidnapped me? Do you think you can just walk away from this?"

"The Elven Royal Court has warriors with unparalleled swordsmanship and archery skills, priests representing the elven gods, and the most powerful, dozens of high elven mages who have mastered the supreme art of magic. Enough to destroy your kingdom a hundred times over!"

"Yes, I lost in a head-on confrontation."

"But direct confrontation is far from the entirety of my magical prowess."

"I am an elven high mage. The most incredible power of our elven magic lies in the high-level elven magical rituals that are jointly unleashed by multiple high mages!"

Addressing the expressionless Elian, Alamir's tone grew increasingly agitated:
"You inferior races without a god of faith could never imagine the incredible miracles that high-level elven magical rituals can accomplish!"

“When a group of high-ranking elven mages unite and set up a ritual, we can do it…”

“Tear the continent apart, banish the true god.” Elion continued calmly:
"However, the high-ranking elven mages who participate in the ceremony will have to pay a considerable price."

"The typical cost is death and the inability to be resurrected."

Alamir Kingpin was stunned.

Seemingly surprised, Elian continued what he was about to say.

He also added the costs he hadn't planned to mention.

It's important to know that the existence of high magic among elves is a secret. If Alamir hadn't been in dire straits and on the verge of emotional collapse, he would never have told such a thing to a stranger!

After a brief silence of a few seconds, Alamir quickly regained his composure and spoke in a critical and instructive tone:

"Human and elven high magic are not something that a race like yours, which doesn't even have gods, can casually comment on."

"This is evidence of the connection between the Elven race and the Elven gods."

"What you pathetic humans possess is nothing more than low-level magic without the intervention of the gods."

"But the thoughts and souls of us elves are forever connected with Avandor (the kingdom of the elves), and are with the elf gods."

"Elven high magic originates from our connection with the divine realm. It can directly mobilize a portion of the divine realm's power and is the ultimate miracle that surpasses the magic of weak mortals!"

"Humans without God, do you know what that means?"

Alamir's tone grew increasingly sharp.

"mean……"

Elian spoke softly, his thoughts seemingly drifting to the distant past:
"If one day, the gods of Sidrian (the elven pantheon) are destroyed, and Avandor (the elven kingdom) ceases to exist..."

"Your rituals, which you consider the pinnacle of magical art, can no longer be performed."

(End of this chapter)