The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 77, Section 74: The Undead Mini-Theater

"At the rank and file, our living, breathing soldiers are indeed at a disadvantage compared to the undead who are absolutely obedient and tireless. But our true advantage lies in magic, in our elven mages!"

"We will send some of our mages to engage in magical combat with human mages of the same level, following the rules of non-lethal magic duels, without direct confrontation, to demonstrate our absolute strength as a deterrent..."

"Once humans realize that we elven mages are far stronger than them, they will naturally become fearful and choose to surrender!"

Soon, the elven mages formed small teams and tentatively approached the human side.

Using their magically enhanced voices, they challenged the humans from across the river:
"I urge you to hand over our fellow Sun Elf, Alamir Goldpetal, as soon as possible!"

"At the same time, apologize and punish all spellcasters who attacked Alamir."

"This is the only way to quell the wrath of the Sun Elves!"

"We are only a small part of the Sun Elf family's military force; behind us is the powerful Sun Elf race!"

"If you're so capable, don't hide behind bunkers and fortifications. Send out spellcasters of equal skill from both sides for a magical battle!"

"We promise not to kill."

"In this way, you can witness the power of elven magic without losing a single life..."

……

In the floating city high in the sky.

Standing by the railing of the floating city, Elian looked down at the elven army pressing in, a smile playing on his lips:
"They've actually started issuing challenges."

"Is it because they saw that we have permanent defensive fortifications and an army of undead, and that they, as the attackers, are at a disadvantage, that they sought this method of confrontation?"

Elian knew very well that this elven army, composed of a large number of warriors and a small number of spellcasters, was far more powerful than the orc army that lacked magic back then.

Fortunately, Eldoron is no longer the Eldoron of yesteryear.

"That's right, Your Majesty."

Behind them, an elegantly dressed lady slowly walked over, and together they observed the scene of the two armies facing off below:

"The elven warriors, facing this menacing undead army, must be feeling quite desperate."

The speaker was none other than Ain!

Looking down at the elven legion arrayed in battle formation and the undead army maintaining its defensive posture with its perpetually strong defensive line, Ain sighed:
"Sigh, the Sun Elves, who have always looked down on other races, are now afraid to attack and only dare to challenge us."

"From the elves' perspective, it's easy to understand."

"From the perspective of an ordinary elven warrior, if you risk your life and all you get is to kill an enemy zombie or skeleton, that must be incredibly despairing."

"Thinking like that, I lost all fighting spirit."

—As the God of Knowledge who is absolutely neutral, Ain does not dislike the magical knowledge that creates the undead!

Upon hearing what Aion said, a rather comical scene immediately flashed into Elion's mind:

…………

A valiant elven warrior, witnessing the tragic deaths of many of his comrades, fought with all his might and finally felled an orc zombie, but he himself was also severely wounded and on the verge of death.

At this moment, the "Magic Mouth" spell, which the human mage had pre-placed on the fallen orc zombie, was triggered, uttering a series of audio messages:
"Yo yo yo yo, you actually killed my zombie, that's terrible."

"Much stronger than your brother yesterday. He fought tooth and nail to take down a skeleton like me."

"He traded his life for my orc corpse. Before he died, my skeleton stabbed him several times, and his intestines were spilling out. He was so pitiful."

"Ugh, I just can't do anything with you guys. You've taken up my time for a cup of tea to create another team of undead. Why are you adding more work for me again?"

"Oh, I almost forgot, I have some good news for you: there are only 1054 orc corpses left in the big pit in front of my house!"

"If you and your brothers keep trying and die with all your might, you can exhaust them all."

"So, in our next battle, we'll have to use the corpses of the weaker elves. Ugh, this is so tough..."

Faced with such a scenario, it would be difficult for the elven army not to collapse in morale.

…………

Click.

Elian smiled gently, ending the imaginary drama in his mind.

Although this is just imagination, it is not far removed from reality.

Under Elian's arrangement, the battle mages did indeed apply "magic mouth spells" to some zombies and skeletons. Their purpose was to use these spells to taunt and erode the enemy's morale during the actual battle.

Subduing the enemy without fighting!
Just then, below the floating city, the shouts of the elven spellcasters grew louder and louder:

"Is it so great to hide behind permanent fortifications and an army of undead?"

"If you're so capable, send out spellcasters of the same level for a team magic battle!"

"That way, it's immediately clear who is stronger and who is weaker."

Faced with the elves' repeated shouts, the humans remained unmoved, as if they hadn't heard them at all.

Neuropathy.

We have fortifications and a fearless army of undead cannon fodder, why should we give up our advantages and play a simulation game with you?

What era is this (10 years of Empire)? Still playing the game of queuing up and bombarding each other?

"To be honest, I think we can agree to the elves' request."

Hearing the increasingly loud shouts below, Elian smiled slightly:
"Both sides send out spellcaster teams of equal caliber and number to engage in a non-lethal magical confrontation."

"If we don't confront these sun elves head-on, they'll think we're afraid of them!"

This simulated confrontation seems like child's play.

But in El-Erian's view, there was a deeper meaning behind it:

What are wars about?
It's all about the exchange ratio!

Each player sends out spellcasters of appropriate skill levels to compete in magical combat and teamwork, without directly killing their opponents. The difference in strength will be immediately apparent.

This way, there's no need for a real war. Everyone can go back and compare their own combat strength and numbers, set it up on a war game, and deduce the outcome.

After all, war is a very costly affair, and it's best to avoid it if possible.

"Pass on my orders..."

El-Erian took out a crystal used for communication, his voice serious.

"We can agree to the elves' request: both sides will send spellcasters of equal skill to engage in a non-lethal magical confrontation!"

Elion's orders were quickly relayed to the human legions below.

Representatives from both the human and elf sides amplified their voices with magic and engaged in repeated wrangling across a distance of several hundred meters.

……

"Really? Humans have agreed to our request for a magical duel?"

When Lia heard the news, she was overjoyed.

She had previously worried that Eldoran would simply ignore the warnings and rely solely on their permanent fortifications and undead army to maintain a defensive posture.

That would be very difficult to handle!
"Very well, teach the humans a lesson they won't forget. Let them witness the magic of the elves!"

With both armies as witnesses, the wide open field between them became the arena for this duel.

"Use weakening and control spells as much as possible, and convert damaging spells into non-lethal attacks, avoiding direct attacks on vital points..."

"If the protective magic is broken, or if you are rendered incapacitated for more than 12 seconds by control magic, the battle is considered lost..."

These duel rules may seem a bit far-fetched, but they are actually the norm for "non-death magic duels".

Analogous to Elian's previous life, it was roughly equivalent to both sides on the border maintaining mutual restraint and fighting only with cold weapons.

Soon, the first wave of confrontation began.

Both sides sent out 12 low-level second-circle mages.

"Why is there such a rule? The elves have invaded our land, yet we can't kill them!"

"A battle mage shouted."

"What did you say? This is a real chance to beat up a sprite! Luckily, our team was chosen; others haven't had one yet!"

On the wide field, there were 12 elven mages on one side and 12 human mages on the other, both sides eyeing each other menacingly.

"Give those elves a good beating!"

(End of this chapter)