The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 83, Section 79: Winning is a basic necessity!

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Guiras was startled.

"It hurts so much, oh, ha... How can it hurt this much?"

Leah grinned, sweat beading on her forehead, as she trembled as she pulled her right hand out of her pocket.

Four of the five fingers on this hand are missing, leaving it a bloody, mangled mess that is a shocking sight.

Moreover, within this crimson hue, a hint of black was spreading, emitting a slight sizzling sound as it continued to corrode the flesh.

It's like some kind of curse.

"It really looks like it hurts a lot..."

Guiras Goldfleck now understood why Leah's expression and movements had looked so stiff before.

Moreover, their movements were hurried, as if they wanted to do something quickly.

So you said that while you were in pain?

Even with four fingers cut off, he still tries to remain calm and praises the King of Humanity for being evenly matched with him, right?

Her Highness is quite ruthless.

As fellow sun elves who value their reputation, Guirasser expressed her opinion on Lia's actions—

I completely understand!
Winning is a basic necessity!

"Giraser, absolutely... absolutely, absolutely do not tell anyone about the result of my... my fight with humans..."

"To be injured like this by a human mage, this is just too... too humiliating!"

Pale-faced Lia repeatedly gave instructions to the priest in front of her.

"Don't speak, Your Highness, I will heal you immediately."

Guiras Goldfleur immediately cast a divine spell, injecting pure white energy into Leah's wound.

Regeneration Technique!
However, this miraculous technique, which could have regenerated severed limbs, had no effect whatsoever.

"No, it's no use. That human mage has cast a curse. We need to dispel the curse first!"

They quickly began studying the black mass that was constantly eroding flesh, trying to decipher the curse and find a way to break it.

"It's a curse I've never seen before, a type of magic belonging to the necromancy school..."

"It was the same in the previous battle. That human king was clearly only at the initial legendary level, but the spells he used were very strange and bizarre, many of which I had never seen before..."

The two were legendary spellcasters after all, and even when faced with a curse they had never seen before, they completed the analysis in less than half a minute.

"It prevents wound healing, continues to erode flesh and blood, accelerates wound erosion, and amplifies pain to three times its original level..."

After analyzing the effective components of the curse, Leah's lips twitched incessantly.

No wonder it hurts so much!
She didn't consider herself a person without patience, but she had indeed been in so much pain that she almost cried.

This isn't about winning, it's about messing with people, isn't it?
Oh dear, how could humans be so wicked!

"Your Highness, please bear with me, I will help you dispel the curse."

Guirasser released a blazing golden light that shone on Leah's hands, dispelling the layers of black energy, and then cast the healing spell once again.

Leah's right hand, the four missing fingers have grown back.

After wiggling her four fingers, which were identical to the original, the Sun Elf princess finally felt relieved.

"I really don't understand what kind of evil magic this King of Humanity is developing!"

"No wonder they were able to create such a kingdom of the dead."

"I don't understand at all, what is this magic used for?"

Although Elian's curse looks terrifying, it doesn't seem to offer any real help in the battle.

If the situation is urgent and there is no time to analyze and remove the curse, you can simply cut off the entire corrupted right hand, then cast [Regeneration] to grow a new one, which is convenient and quick.

“Perhaps it’s just to torment the opponent,” Guiraser thought for a moment.

"Probably..." Leah had also recovered, and her face was no longer pale.

Neither Leah nor Guraser noticed another fact while they were focused on the harmful curse.

A tiny, harmless fragment of Elian's soul quietly flowed into Leah's body along with the blood...

……

"finished."

"We successfully imprinted the soul mark onto that sun elf's soul."

"Even while enduring extreme pain, this experienced legendary spellcaster failed to detect a hidden magical force quietly entering his body..."

Elian looked at the faintly shimmering light in the mirror and smiled.

The trace of his soul that he left behind would indeed not cause any harm to Leah herself. Otherwise, it would be easily detected.

But that doesn't mean it has no other uses!
"This soul imprint is like a small fragment of my soul. For the foreseeable future, I can use this hidden imprint to pinpoint Leah's location at all times."

“And, see things through her eyes!” Elian smeared the bright red blood onto the mirror.

The mirror shimmered, revealing the face of the elven priestess, Guirasser, shrouded in gloom and rain.

——【Visual Sharing】!
This is what Leah saw!
If you encounter a weaker, ordinary enemy, you can simply use the [Detect] spell from a distance.

But the opponent is another legendary spellcaster, who will certainly have various means of counter-prophecy and detection. Direct detection would be easily discovered, so this more covert method is the only option.

The reason for monitoring Leah is that, compared to the current conflict with the Elven Court, Elian's real concern is something else entirely—

As Alamir mentioned, Leah discovered a new species!

A creature that quietly altered the course of history, possibly originating from the end of the river of time.

“Once the Sun Elves withdraw their troops and Lia returns home, I’ll see what exactly that creature you discovered is.”

Is it really as I think?

……

On the surface, the human and elven armies remained locked in a standoff.

However, the once formidable Sun Elf army is now showing signs of weakness, and a sense of loss and depression permeates the air.

Just now, the final magical confrontation ended in a crushing defeat for the elves.

The elven mages returned to their troops, looking dejected, while the humans cheered enthusiastically behind them.

Above the human positions, Archmage Gutt, Dragon Vein Warlock Gret, and General Thor flew in the air, keeping the entire army in check and constantly on guard against the elven legion becoming enraged and launching an offensive.

Behind various defensive fortifications, the skeleton held a bow and arrow, always on guard.

Meanwhile, the human mages behind them had already taken advantage of the time that the two sides had just fought to set up more area magic and temporary magical traps, ready to fight at any moment.

Conversely, the Sun Elf alliance, having suffered defeats in over a dozen magical battles, had lost all their fighting spirit among its warriors and spellcasters…

"There's simply no way to fight it."

"Why is that? Why are human armies so strong?"

The sun elf warriors, dejected, looked up and saw Gut and his men in the sky, their imposing presence enveloped in flames and golden light, and felt an even deeper sense of despair.

Among humans are many high-level spellcasters. Faced with these opponents who may imprison and destroy their souls, once they die in battle, they will not even have the chance to return to the elven kingdom of Avandor!

……

Inside the temporary camp of the Sun Elf Legion.

"The situation is terrible!"

"From any perspective, we have no chance of winning!"

The two legendary spellcasters, Princess Lia Sunshine of the Sun Elf and Priestess Guirasser Goldfleur, both looked extremely grim.

Whether in terms of the quality of basic soldiers and battle mage units or top-tier combat power, the Sun Elf alliance was at a disadvantage. The defending side also had the advantage of terrain and morale.

The plan to rescue Alamir was a complete failure!
"What should we do now? Should we really just withdraw our troops and go back?"

Leah slammed her fist on the wooden table, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Inside the camp, the air fell into a deathly silence.

At this moment, the elven mage Serka, with her gentle and refined demeanor resembling a strategist, maintained her composure and carefully analyzed the situation:

"If we go back like this, we really won't be able to explain ourselves to our family, and we'll only become a laughingstock for the entire Sun Elf race. Unless..."

“Unless what?” Leah asked.

“Unless we can bring back any results to prove we’ve actually achieved something. It doesn’t have to be huge, just positive results,” said the elven mage Serka.

Results? Results...

Leah lowered her head, pondering the word.

Since everyone was a Sun Elf, they instantly understood what Serka meant.

They may indeed have lost.

But we need evidence to prove they didn't lose!
At this point, the objectives of the war have changed:

The goal has shifted from intimidating or defeating the opponent to achieving victories and bringing honor to everyone.

"But here's the problem: how do we achieve any results in this situation?"

Leah looked worried, completely baffled.

They have been utterly defeated and have no advantage in any aspect!

If they had achieved any results, they wouldn't be in such a sorry state now.
Suddenly, Serka. Glimmer laughed:

"I have a good idea."

Lia and Guirasser's eyes lit up as they both turned their gazes to the legendary mage before them, who was said to have driven out the eight great orc clans of the North and seemed to be a man of great wisdom.

"any solution?"

(End of this chapter)