What's wrong with building a steel torrent in a dungeon?

We have prepared this gift for you. We hope you can survive this winter and return to your homeland safely.

Your century-old neighbor, the troll. 】

The short letter was read quickly, but all the elven soldiers fell into deep silence.

Yes, they have no hatred towards the trolls who are thousands of miles away. Their enemies should not be the trolls.

Whoever causes their suffering should be their enemy.

Thinking of this, some soldiers turned their heads involuntarily and looked at the rear of the trench, where there was a row of shadowy tents.

January 2024, the fourth reward will be over 01 Meow Cookies.

Chapter 377: Winter Truce

The supplies sent by the other side were soon distributed, and the expeditionary soldiers squatted silently in the trenches, enjoying the hard-earned food.

Such strange things happened not only in Caron's position, but also in other trenches. This naturally could not be hidden from the expeditionary army's superiors. Although they did not understand why the enemy did this, they tacitly did not tell the headquarters in the rear about this matter.

Since you don't care about our lives, we naturally can't report everything to you. If we're not careful, you might put us on the spot and confiscate all the supplies we have worked so hard to get.

Just treat this incident as a small episode in winter.

After a while, the trolls occasionally sent supplies to the middle. When the elf soldiers saw this, they tacitly turned a blind eye. Then they waited for the trolls to leave before sending people to take it.

The two sides silently conveyed goodwill even though they were unable to meet or communicate with each other.

A few days later, a very important festival in the Elf Continent arrived.

Late winter festival.

This is the coldest day in the winter of the Elf Continent. After this day, the weather will slowly warm up.

Although the elves and trolls have been enemies for many years and their cultures are very different, they all regard this day as the most important end of the year and the most important day. After this day, it means a new year, a new beginning, and a new life.

Therefore, no matter how difficult the days or how poor the years are, they must cheer up and commemorate the arrival of this day.

Neither trolls nor elves are exceptions in this regard.

On this day, the heavy troops presented a great gift to the soldiers on the front line. Various kinds of fine wine and delicacies were delivered to the barracks, and soon the whole camp was filled with fragrance. The whole camp was brightly lit, and the elf soldiers sang and danced.

But such excitement was destined to be out of reach for the expeditionary forces in the trenches. After all, with the departure of the Southern Legion, they no longer had their own baggage train, and even the most basic supplies could not be guaranteed on weekdays, not to mention the extra gifts of the Late Winter Festival.

While the soldiers in the rear were feasting, their trenches were still as cold as ice cellars. Their food was still tasteless, and they could not even get a little bit of leftovers.

Perhaps because they had become numb from the days that passed, some soldiers even forgot the time and did not realize that the Winter Soldiers' Day had arrived until they saw the jubilation in the rear and then they came to their senses.

Then, a sense of sadness slowly emerged from the eyes of the expeditionary soldiers.

If it weren't for this damn war, they should be sitting by the warm fire, chatting with their families and eating a poor but warm dinner.

Thinking of this, some young soldiers started crying unconsciously, but more soldiers just curled up and were too lazy to even express their sadness.

Karon couldn't bear to see this miserable scene, so he said to his men, "Notify the kitchen and ask them to stew the dried meat given by the trolls and the wild vegetables we dug a few days ago, and make a soup for everyone to warm up! This will be a way for everyone to have a good winter festival."

"But..." The elf soldier hesitated, then said, "Won't it cause trouble if we light a fire at night?"

"What kind of trouble could there be?" Kallon said, "The trolls haven't attacked us for a long time. They even gave us supplies. Do you think they will attack us after seeing the fire?"

"Ahem! I'm not worried about the trolls." The elf soldier said, "I'm worried about the supervisory team behind us. You know, they are very strict with us, even more terrifying than guarding against thieves. If they find us making a fire, I'm afraid you, Karon, will be punished, and you may even lose your position as an officer."

"Come on, do you think I care about this so-called officer?" Caron patted him on the shoulder, then said, "Don't worry, those patrol soldiers are also celebrating today, they won't make things difficult for us. Even if they want to cause trouble, they have to consider the day."

"Okay... I'll go and notify them right away."

Soon, a wisp of smoke slowly rose from the elves' trenches.

The smoke was very light and disappeared quickly in the snow after a short while. But it was like a warm signal fire, which immediately triggered a chain reaction.

When the elves in other trenches discovered it, they followed suit. After all, no one wanted to spend the end of winter in the cold and hunger. Before long, the entire trench was filled with mist, and some trenches even lit fires to keep the soldiers warm.

In the light of the bright fire, a glimmer of hope finally appeared on the soldiers' faces. In the trenches, which were originally quieter than a grave, there was finally a hint of movement, and then it gradually became lively.

Just then, a sudden voice rang out.

All the elves immediately stopped what they were doing and listened attentively.

Because the sound did not come from them, but from the trench opposite.

"Hey! Hannes (a common name for elves), what delicious food are you making? It's so lively?" a troll said jokingly.

There was silence in the elves' trench, and no one dared to respond.

But soon, an elf answered in a hoarse voice.

The one who shouted was Caron, who jumped out of the trench first. He said, "We are stewing a thick and fragrant Zhongsen soup! Thank you for the jerky. How about you?"

"We are making pine soup and picked a lot of mushrooms that are only available in winter. They are so delicious! You elves must have never eaten this kind of game." The troll said, "How about it, are you interested in coming and trying it?"

"I really want to, but I don't dare! If I come over, I'm afraid you will shoot me to death." Caron said, "Why don't you come over?"

"I wouldn't dare either! Your muskets are pointed at me too." said the troll.

For a moment, both sides fell into silence.

After a long while, Caron said, "How about we all move to the middle?"

"Okay! Let's get to the middle."

At first, people on both sides thought it was just a joke, but Caron actually found a bowl in the corner, filled it with soup and prepared to go out.

"Hey! Caron, are you crazy?" His comrade immediately stopped him and said, "That's a troll."

"What's wrong with the trolls?" Caron said, "I feel that they are much more merciful than our comrades on the other side. At least without their supplies, we would never survive until the end of winter."

After hearing this, all the expeditionary soldiers were thoughtful, and Caron carefully stepped out of the trench.

On the other side, a troll also stepped out of the trench

For a moment, the soldiers on both sides held their breath and watched the two men quietly.

The distance between the two trenches was far, but in fact it was not that far. They soon bumped into each other.

This was the first time that Kalon had seen a troll up close.

Unlike the description, the trolls did not have bloodthirsty fangs, barbs all over their bodies, or cruel eyes. Apart from their slightly green skin and very tall stature, they looked like just an ordinary race from the main plane.

"Come! Try our larch soup."

"Come, try our Sosen Soup!"

The two exchanged their bowls and drank them all in one gulp.

Seeing this scene, the soldiers in the trenches on both sides burst into cheers instantly, as if the war had been won.

Chapter 378: A Brief Peace

To be fair, this already cooled soup was not very tasty, and elves were not used to eating mushrooms. But for some reason, after taking a sip of the cold soup, Caron felt warm all over.

Seeing that the two men were getting along peacefully, several brave soldiers left the trench and came to the middle.

After someone took the lead, more and more elven soldiers stepped out of the trenches, taking the few foods they had with them, and exchanged gifts with the enemy soldiers.

In addition to the trolls, people from Calradia, orcs, demons, dark elves, and even people from Inya came out of the enemy's trenches. For a time, the elves even felt that they were enemies with the whole world.

People of different races began to greet each other using different accents of the common language.

The elf soldiers were stunned at first, and then happily joined in.

The middle of the trench was originally a forbidden area for life and a no-man's land of death. Anyone who dared to step into it would be mercilessly slaughtered by muskets. However, in the coldest moments of winter, this place was filled with laughter and joy.

The soldiers sat cross-legged in the middle, talking and laughing, braving the biting cold wind and heavy snow at night.

This passionate communication lasted from darkness to day.

When the sun rose, the heavy snow stopped.

The ground, which was originally devastated and full of corpses and bomb craters, was now covered with a layer of pure white snow, burying all the killings and atrocities.

But fortunately, with the arrival of the Winter End Festival, all the killing finally had a chance to rest.

The foundation of trust established by the previous silent transportation of supplies quickly brought the soldiers on both sides closer together.

Some of them sat on the ground, listening to each other's stories, some took knives to help the soldiers on both sides cut their hair and shave their beards, and more soldiers quietly collected the bodies of the dead and took them back for a unified burial. The previous battle was so cruel and brutal that they didn't even have the chance to clean up the battlefield, and could only let the bodies of their comrades slowly rot.

Only those who have experienced war can understand how hard peace is to come by.

They fully enjoyed the brief truce and offered their best wishes to each other.

Soon, the communication between the two sides was not limited to language. Aurora City also brought some games invented by Fran, such as poker, Gobang, Three Kingdoms Kill, etc. Of course, the most popular sport was football. Soldiers from both sides were mixed together to form teams to fight against each other.

Both sides are composed of the lowest class of working people. They have no interest in poetry recitation and other activities advocated by the upper elves, nor do they have the ability to participate.

But football is different. Its rules symbolize unity and cooperation, but also have a little bit of confrontation in it. As ordinary people, they all fell in love with this way of playing.

Although the footballs they used were just a few grass balls tied together with weeds and ropes, it did not affect their fun of playing.

The same birth and the same situation made the two sides have a strong resonance. Some elves even exchanged gifts with the trolls and agreed that if peace was achieved and the relationship between the two sides was eased, they would definitely visit each other's hometown.

Although they all knew that this might just be a luxury.

Obviously, the blood feud between the elves and the trolls could not be resolved because of this little episode. When the day came to let go of the hatred, I am afraid they would be too old to walk.

In an inconspicuous corner, Caron and the first troll soldier who walked out of the trench were sitting on a rock, basking in the sun and chatting with each other.

"What will you do when the war is over?" asked the troll soldier.

"If I can go back alive," Caron said, "I want to leave the Elf Empire and go out for a walk! Especially to Biesong Harbor."

"I want to go to Biesong Port, too." The troll said, "I heard from a demon from Orila that Biesong Port is the most prosperous place in the entire main plane. Anything can be bought in Biesong Port. Even if it is not available, it can be produced within a few days. If possible, how about we go there together?"

"A troll and an elf traveling together." Caron grinned and said, "It sounds ridiculous, but it's so beautiful."

"yes!"

"What a pity." Kalon said, "The Elven Empire is managed very strictly. Ordinary people do not have the ability or qualifications to leave."

"Then come to our country quietly. Set out from Freeport! I tell you, Freeport has many giant-like ships. They are very fast. It only takes a few months to get to Bieson Port." The troll said earnestly: "Don't worry! We trolls are very reasonable! We will not be hostile to you indiscriminately just because you are an elf."

After hearing this, Caron let out a long sigh.

In contrast, the elves were much more narrow-minded, and would basically attack trolls with arrows whenever they saw them. In their daily education, they described trolls as bloodthirsty, stubborn and barbaric races, not much different from wild beasts in the wilderness.

"I really want to agree to you..." Caron smiled bitterly, and then said, "But my family is still here. If the gendarmerie knew that I was going to your country, I would probably be accused of treason, and then my whole family would pay the price for my actions."

"How could these nobles do this!" said the troll angrily.

"Are there nobles in the Troll Empire? What are they like?" Karon asked curiously.

"There used to be!" the troll said, "It sounds like they are similar to the nobles over there. They don't work, they don't produce, and every once in a while they send people to collect taxes and rob...sometimes they even steal their winter rations. They don't allow us to leave, because if too many people escape, there will be no one to work their fields and manors! In their eyes, we are part of their property."

"In the eyes of the elf nobles, we are also part of their property." Kalon said: "Then what happened later? How did they disappear?"

"This is all thanks to Lord Jinzaka!" the troll said, "He led us to overthrow all the nobles! You should know Lord Jinzaka."

"Of course I know." Caron said, "But his image here is not good. He is portrayed as an unforgivable devil."

"I understand." The troll said, "After all, to the nobles, he is a big devil, so of course they will do everything they can to discredit him. Lord Jinzaka killed all the nobles, and then he personally appointed capable trolls to manage the country."

As he spoke, the troll narrated Jinzaka's deeds vividly.

His story immediately attracted others to stop and listen. Not only the elves, but other races were also curious about the oldest sanctuary in the main plane. Before they knew it, Kalon and the troll were surrounded by soldiers.

Chapter 379: There Has Never Been Any Savior

The Elf Empire has a long and rich history and culture, and naturally also has a large number of legends.

However, the content of these stories is basically all about talented men and beautiful women, nobles and royal descendants. There is no story about common people at all. Even if there are, they are mostly about bandits blocking the road and cowardly and ungrateful villagers.

The good faces are all occupied by the upper-class elves, and the poor are only worthy of being villains, but bad guys.

However, the story told by the troll was completely different. They seemed to not shy away from Jinzaka's humble birth, telling how his childhood was ravaged and oppressed, how he later joined the resistance, how he fought a life-and-death struggle, and finally overthrew the nobles.

This is the story and legend of the common people.

Unlike the Elf Queen who always claimed that the Lord God had bestowed upon her and that the angels had blessed her, Jinzaka had never, even until now, glorified her own bloodline, made up any myths about her birth, or even brought out various myths to elevate herself.

Today, he still regards himself as the descendant of slaves, and uses his own efforts to warn his descendants and the current rulers of the Troll Empire to respect the people, otherwise a new Jinzaka will appear sooner or later to overthrow them.

"That's great!" After listening to the story, the elves all showed envious expressions.

Kalon also said enviously: "When will our Elven Empire also have a hero from the Holy Land to lead us to overthrow the rule of those nobles?"