Elven cultivators

Spring of the year 9361 in the Dawn Calendar.

This should be a time of renewal and rejuvenation.

But this tranquility was shattered by news from the north.

The army has been dispatched from Cresolon City.

Countless armies set off from Dragon City, advancing southward in a mighty force, their advance aimed directly at Silvermoon Forest.

The news spread, and the entire Eldron Plains was shaken.

All eyes were now on this once inconspicuous forest.

This will be a war that will determine the future of the Eldron Plains.

……

Southern part of the plains, Silver Moon Forest.

Compared to five years ago, the area of ​​this forest has visibly increased.

The once barren wasteland is now covered by newly grown trees, with tender green canopies stretching as far as the eye can see, incorporating a small portion of the rugged rocky hills and the parched land of the northern wilderness into its territory.

Although the newly grown trees have not yet grown into towering trees, they are already dense enough to blend into the original forest, making it difficult to distinguish between the old forest and the new soil.

At this moment, numerous temporary treehouses have been erected on a gentle slope near the outer perimeter of the forest.

A large number of elven guards clad in rune-patterned leather armor moved back and forth between the treehouses, their steps hurried yet orderly.

The Scaled Rock Lizard archers gathered outside the camp. The tamed Scaled Rock Lizards lay prone on the ground, their thick tails slapping the ground impatiently, and making low growling sounds from their throats.

Their riders sat to one side, giving the bowstrings and quiver a final check.

A tense and heavy atmosphere permeated the air.

This is the temporary camp set up by the Silvermoon Clan for this war.

In the center of the camp, in the treehouse that served as the command center, the clan's high-ranking members gathered together, their expressions solemn as they looked at the water curtain that almost covered the entire wall in front of them.

The video being played above was a view sent back from the sky by a mirror bird, presenting the scene on the plains in great detail to everyone.

On the vast plains, a massive army is assembling and forming ranks.

The iron-gray military formation, like an artificial dark cloud, pressed heavily on the lush green grass, stretching as far as the eye could see.

It was the army from Cresollong City.

At the forefront were numerous vassal legions.

Grayscale people, stone-skinned trolls, lizardmen, spiny snakemen, hyenas, bat-winged demons... soldiers from dozens of vassal races mingled together, spreading out on the plain like a multicolored tide.

They had no uniform attire, their weapons were a motley collection, and their formation was loose and chaotic, yet their sheer number was enough to create a suffocating sense of oppression.

Roughly estimated, these vassal legions have a strength of at least 50,000.

Behind the vassal legions was the golem legion.

Unlike the chaotic and noisy vassal legions ahead, the golem legions were disciplined and silent.

Tens of thousands of steel golems stood in neat square formations, their iron-gray bodies gleaming with a cold, hard luster in the sunlight.

They have broad shoulders and wide bodies, arms that reach past their knees, and thick knuckles that grip heavy warhammers and giant axes. Their empty eye sockets gleam with a ghostly blue magical light.

Interspersed among the array of steel golems were a few even larger adamantite golems.

Their armor had a dark golden sheen and was covered with intricate runes. They also held heavy, massive weapons in their large palms.

Even when still, it exudes a chilling, oppressive aura.

Although there are only a few hundred of them, each adamantine golem has a combat power level close to that of a high-ranking silver golem. On the front lines, they would be steel meat grinders.

At the very rear of the army was the main force of this expedition—the Radiant Flame Legion.

This is the core military force of Kreisoron City, and it enjoys a formidable reputation throughout the Eldron Plains.

The entire legion is composed entirely of dragonborn, with even the weakest soldiers possessing Iron-tier combat strength, and there are quite a few Silver-tier elites.

Nearly ten thousand dragonborn soldiers were all clad in dark red standard scale armor, with standard longswords hanging at their waists and kite shields on their backs, the edges of which shimmered with magical energy, clearly indicating that they were genuine magical equipment.

They were arranged in square formations, presenting a solemn order.

The treehouse remained quiet, save for the slightly heavy breathing of the elves and the faint echoing of horns coming from the water curtain.

A vassal army of over 50,000.

Judging by appearances, there are at least tens of thousands of golems in the army.

In addition, there is the Radiant Flame Legion with nearly 10,000 troops.

Although they had anticipated the formidable military strength of Krethor Dragon City, the sheer size of the army before them still weighed heavily on the hearts of every elf present.

This is the foundation of the strongest power that has ruled the Eldron Plains for thousands of years.

While the main forces of the garrison and city guards in other towns are only at the White rank, with only officers reaching the Black Iron rank, Kreisor Dragon City has more than 20,000 regular Black Iron rank troops.

Excluding the Silvermoon Clan, the combined Black Iron Rank forces of all factions across the Eldron Plains probably don't even equal the number in Kreisor Dragon City.

"It looks like the entire city of Kreisor has come out."

The Grand Elder's voice broke the silence.

His gaze shifted from the water curtain and slowly swept over the crowd.

"What are your thoughts?"

After a moment of silence, Cedric spoke first, but he looked at Eleanor, who was standing beside the Grand Elder.

After successfully establishing her foundation, Eleanor's aura became more calm and reserved than before, yet it possessed an indescribable dynamism, as if she had become one with the surrounding trees.

"Eleanor, can you control the coverage area of ​​the Great Evolution Azure Profound Array?"

Eleanor paused for a moment, then said, "With the golden seal in hand, I can freely shrink the coverage area of ​​the array, but I can't expand it, since it exceeds the coverage area of ​​the array patterns."

"That's enough." Cedric's eyes flashed, and he turned to the Grand Elder. "Grand Elder, I suggest we shrink the defensive range of the magic array and clear out that newly expanded woodland on the outer perimeter as a battlefield."

Everyone's expressions shifted, and they all showed thoughtful expressions.

Cedric continued to explain, "We can't stay cooped up inside the magic circle forever. Although the magic circle can block the enemy, it can't attack the enemy outside from the inside. If we let the Dragon City army launch a full-scale attack, the magic circle's energy will be consumed very quickly. Once it's exhausted, we'll lose our greatest asset. Rather than being passively attacked, we should take the initiative to strike."

He pointed to the edge of the water curtain, where the Silvermoon Forest had newly expanded. "Our warriors are familiar with the forest terrain, giving them a natural advantage in fighting in the forest environment. Moreover, with the help of the green vines, the pressure on us will be much less."

"At the same time, with the magic array behind us, we can attack or defend as we please. If we can win, we can fight; if we can't, we can retreat into the magic array to rest. With the muscle-regenerating and energy-restoring potions, the wounded warriors can quickly recover their fighting strength, and a new batch of people can continue to fight. The enemy can only passively take the beating and cannot pursue us."

As Cedric spoke, everyone's faces lit up with interest.

This is indeed a good strategy.

In the forest, they had the advantage of terrain, the help of green vines, the vanguard of five battalions of divine soldiers and oak guards, and an ample reserve of medicines and talismans.

No matter how many enemies they have, they can take them down little by little and gradually dismantle their numerical advantage.

"I agree." Eleanor immediately agreed: "Shrinking the array's range has another advantage, which is reducing energy consumption. The smaller the defensive range, the lower the energy consumption to maintain the array, and the longer it can last."

"Agreed."

"I also think this strategy is good."

"This is our territory, so naturally we should decide where the battlefield is."

A chorus of agreement rose and fell.

The elder pondered for a moment, glanced around, and seeing the eager expressions on everyone's faces, finally nodded slowly.

"Let's do it that way."

He turned to Eleanor and said solemnly, "Eleanor, the Great Evolution Azure Profound Array is now in your hands. You are the only person besides Anton who can control this array. You bear a heavy responsibility in this battle."

Eleanor's expression turned serious, and she nodded solemnly.

Just then, the image on the water screen suddenly changed.

On the plain, the Longcheng army began to slowly advance.

The vassal legions at the forefront set off first.

Tens of thousands of soldiers trampled the newly green grass, surging towards the Silvermoon Forest like a gray torrent.

The sound of bugles rose and fell, mixed with hoarse war cries and heavy footsteps, making the earth tremble slightly.

Seeing this, the Grand Elder's gaze sharpened.

He took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and a cold look appeared on his young but weathered face.

One hundred and fifty years ago, the city of Kresollong sent troops to attack Silvermoon Forest.

His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every elf present.

"In that battle, we suffered a crushing defeat and heavy losses. Our former chieftain was killed in action, and most of our elite troops were wiped out."

"We had no choice but to submit to the city of Crestor, paying them large amounts of the Fountain of Life and the Branch of Eternity every year, watching them exchange our treasures for wealth and power, with no room for resistance."

The atmosphere inside the treehouse became tense.

The elves' expressions all turned somber.

Of the elves present, apart from Roman and Eleanor, all were survivors of that war.

They experienced firsthand the despair of that day.

The forest howled in the sea of ​​fire, the blood of the tribesmen soaked the land, and the faces of the dead relatives still appear in my dreams at night.

It was after that battle that the Silvermoon Clan suffered a severe blow and never recovered, even struggling to defend against the invasion of the Molten Thorn Tribe from the north.

That humiliation and hatred are deeply etched into the blood of every elf who lived through that era, like a brand, and have never truly faded away.

Eleanor lowered her eyes, her fingers silently clenching her sleeves.

Her father, the previous patriarch of the Silvermoon Clan, was killed in that war.

He died at the hands of the Shining Dragon Isaac.

She was too young then to remember her father's face, only the dark red dragon wings that blotted out the sky above the forest that day, and her mother's silent tears at the funeral.

She never forgot this hatred.

"Since then, the clan has been on a downward spiral, growing weaker year by year."

"It was only with the arrival of Anton that the clan was able to recover and grow stronger, to this day."

"And today, Kreisor Dragon City has come again."

"They thought it would be the same result as it was 150 years ago; they thought we would be defeated like we were 150 years ago."

"They are wrong."

The Grand Elder's gaze slowly swept over the crowd, and he said, word by word:

"Today, we must give an explanation to all the ancestors who sacrificed their lives to protect this forest, and also give an explanation to ourselves."

"We will make the city of Kreisorlong pay for its blood debt with blood, and we will let the entire Eldron Plains know that Silvermoon Forest is not a place anyone can set foot in."

The treehouse was completely silent.

Then, one by one, the elves stood up.

There were no grand declarations, no passionate shouts. They simply demonstrated their resolve through decisive and swift action.

The Grand Elder surveyed the crowd and gave the order in a deep voice.

"Now, everyone prepare for battle!"

The war has begun.