Chapter 28: Peeping and the World Child
Moonlight Fortress, the smell of scorching and blood mingled together. The enemy's corpses had been dealt with, and the Wolf Cavalry took over Moonlight Fortress.
The fortress was lively. The War Tree Men and Ghostly Fiends who arrived later had just entered the city when a conflict broke out between one Tree Man and one Ghostly Fiend.
Amid the jeers of the Grey Orcs, the Tree Man and Ghostly Fiend were about to come to blows. The Grey Orcs formed a circle, shouting and hollering, while the new members, the Dire Wolves, cowered to the side.
"Enemy sighted!"
A Wolf Cavalryman standing on the city wall shouted. The city gate immediately opened. Yes, this was the style of the Wolf Cavalry Legion. Defending the city was out of the question; charging out to clash head-on with the enemy was their way.
Or rather, the Wolf Cavalry simply couldn't defend a fortress. They were all melee types, possessing great strengths but also clear weaknesses.
The Wolf Cavalry's only ranged option was using Elven bows and arrows. As for accuracy, it was best not to mention it. Whether the arrow flew out or the bow itself flew out depended entirely on luck.
In terms of practical value, the Wolf Cavalry would have been better off picking up large rocks and throwing them down from the walls. The Grey Orcs' talent for archery was likely in the negatives.
The force approaching Moonlight Fortress was indeed the enemy, but only a few thousand strong. They led huge beasts resembling rhinoceroses, pulling wooden carts laden with a large amount of grain.
The Wolf Cavalry inside the fortress charged out and surrounded the Elven unit of several thousand.
Faced with Wolf Cavalrymen covered in the stench of blood, these Elves were panicked. They were a logistics unit; when had they ever seen such ferocious Wolf Cavalry?
Not only were the Elves panicked, but the rhino-beasts pulling the carts also let out low growls, on the verge of losing control and fleeing.
After a quick inventory, 'Ancient Tree Fortress' had sent a total of 42,800 tons of grain and 21,500 tons of various dried meats.
Besides these, there was a wooden box, used to ransom the Elf Elder, Ruth.
A few minutes later, Su Xiao held the wooden box in his hand. The Wolf Cavalryman who delivered it respectfully stepped aside.
[Tip: You have received the Ancient Blessing.]
[Ancient Blessing]
Origin: Canglong Continent
Quality: Holy Spirit Rank
Type: Valuables (Rare)
Effect: A treasure of the Elven race, with no practical use, but of great symbolic significance.
Rating: 1000 points (Holy Spirit Rank item rating is 700~1000 points)
Selling Price: 1250 Soul Coins
...
Seeing the item's attributes, Su Xiao immediately thought that the Elf Queen had ordered this sent.
The item's value was high, but in the eyes of this world's natives, it couldn't enhance personal strength, avoiding the possibility of aiding the enemy. It was the perfect choice for ransoming a hostage. This was used to redeem the Elf Elder, Ruth.
"Release him."
Su Xiao put away the [Ancient Blessing]. When he needed Soul Coins, he would sell this to Reincarnation Paradise. Ultimately, his final goal was still to enhance his own strength; that was the most important thing.
Hearing Su Xiao's order, the Orc Hero, Wobor, walked down from the city wall. Before long, tens of thousands of Elven civilians filed out of the city gate, led by the Elf Elder, Ruth.
After walking out of the fortress, Ruth's eyes held disbelief. He had thought he was doomed.
"Ruth."
Su Xiao sat on the edge of the city wall, holding an apple in his hand. With a crisp crunch, he took a big bite. The juice was full, the taste sweet and sour.
"Do you... regret it? Are you going to kill me here?"
"Of course not. When you return, tell the Elf Queen that if she's interested, I can sell this fortress to her."
"?"
Ruth looked up, his expression dazed. He had lived for nearly three hundred years, and today he had truly seen it all.
"I will... convey this to the King."
"Old man, don't forget. If you send 90,000 units of grain before dawn, we'll return the fortress to you."
Baha spoke. To facilitate this deal, it had previously explained to Ruth how many Grang of grain equaled one unit.
"I will."
Ruth, already hypertensive with anger, quickly walked away. He feared that if he stayed any longer, the War Demon would draft a deed and sell 'Moonlight Fortress' separately from its title.
After being freed, Ruth did not go to 'Ancient Tree Fortress' but rushed to the Elven Forest.
...
Elven Forest, Ailanyel City.
At 9 PM, inside the lush great hall, the light emitted by various plants kept the hall from being dark.
Ruth quickly walked into the hall. He was travel-worn, not even having changed his bloodstained clothes.
"It's good that you're safe, Ruth."
The Elf Queen's expression was calm. The moment Ruth was freed, she had already learned of a certain message. It could be said that the Elf Queen had great composure.
"Queen, the War Demon's demand..."
"I refused."
The Elf Queen smiled, but her hand, hidden under the table, had unknowingly clenched. The War Demon was going too far!
"Your decision, I, Ruth, will support with my life."
"Really?"
The Elf Queen seemed tempted, looking at Ruth with a gaze full of... expectation?
"Yes."
Ruth knelt on one knee. Having just been defeated, he naturally had to say something pleasing. Though the Queen's tone was gentle, if she became displeased, he was dead, even as an Elf Elder.
"Since that's the case, Ruth, you will go and guard Ancient Tree Fortress."
"Huh?"
The elderly Ruth let out a 'huh,' showing how much the Elf Queen's words had shocked him.
"Ancient Tree Fortress now has 500,000 defenders. It's our Elven race's largest fortress. Reinforcements from Duoyin are no longer possible. We can only rely on ourselves to repel the War Demon. The Chaos Legion's defeat is inevitable, so the War Demon has gone mad. Now, among the Six Tribe Alliance, no one is unafraid of him. No one wants to perish together with a madman. He is... a moving calamity."
The Elf Queen sighed softly, her tone revealing helplessness.
"But..."
"No buts. You have fought the War Demon. Don't lose a second time, Ruth."
"As you command."
The Elf Elder, Ruth, lowered his head. After a few more words with the Elf Queen, he stood up and walked out of the hall.
As he walked, Ruth's heart began to struggle. He considered whether he should flee overnight or go to Ancient Tree Fortress.
...
Compared to the situation in the Elven Forest, Moonlight Fortress was much livelier.
In the day's battle, 30,000 Wolf Cavalrymen had died on their side. This number of casualties wasn't too high. Although the Elven warriors were suppressed, they weren't completely powerless. In the end, when the Elven warriors didn't rout—they couldn't escape—they chose to fight to the death.
Without the Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos, spewing dragon flames for aerial suppression, their side's casualties would have been much higher. The final few counterattacks by the Elven warriors were extremely fierce.
Before the War Lord title was promoted to Seven Stars, it was normal for their side to have tens of thousands of casualties in each battle, as it was a melee.
Su Xiao now commanded 510,000 Wolf Cavalrymen. Besides these 510,000, there were also 160,000 Wolf Cavalry reserves.
Su Xiao temporarily didn't plan to deploy these 160,000 reserve troops into battle. When attacking a fortress, having more soldiers wasn't always better. The fortress was only so big; even if breached, the number of Wolf Cavalrymen who could charge inside was limited.
Therefore, Su Xiao had these 160,000 Wolf Cavalry reserves temporarily serve as logistics, responsible for escorting grain to Blackmelt City. That area had to be stabilized.
The bright moon hung high. The 160,000 Wolf Cavalry reserves outside the fortress were deployed around the perimeter. A logistics unit departing from Blackmelt City had arrived at 'Moonlight Fortress' two hours ago.
A total of 75,420 tons of grain was to be sent back to Blackmelt City. This would not only prevent the civilians of Blackmelt City from starving but also supply other Grey Orc units stationed on their borders.
At 2 AM, the 160,000 Wolf Cavalry reserves set out, escorting the logistics unit back to Blackmelt City.
The fortress quieted down. Most of the Grey Orcs and Dire Wolves slept in the various buildings, leaving only patrol units on the streets.
Inside a two-story building, the room was simply but cleanly furnished. The Elves knew how to enjoy life, as evidenced by them bringing alcohol to war.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on a single bed, meditating. He hadn't fought much recently, but he felt his swordsmanship had improved, especially the self-developed sword techniques.
Finishing his daily meditation, Su Xiao opened his eyes. Tomorrow morning, he planned to attack 'Ancient Tree Fortress.' If he could breach that, the subsequent 'New Moon Fortress' would be a bonus. After breaking through these fortress barriers, he could consider invading the Elven Forest.
Su Xiao felt that occupying the Elven Forest would yield enough titles to raise the War Lord to Six Stars. Then, using [Dream Chaser], he could reach Seven Stars War Lord.
Only then would Su Xiao consider engaging the Duoyin Empire. Otherwise, with his current forces, he couldn't shake that behemoth.
Su Xiao wasn't worried about the Duoyin Empire attacking now. The enemy didn't know he could enhance [War Lord] through war. From Duoyin's perspective, the Chaos Legion was mutually grinding down with the Elves, so they would never intervene.
Understanding this, Su Xiao's subsequent plans became clearer. He checked the time; it wasn't even 3 AM yet. Having just meditated, he wasn't sleepy, so he took out the 'Deathmatch' personal terminal, planning to start his first monster deathmatch.
Just as Su Xiao took out the 'Deathmatch' terminal, before activating it, a very subtle fluctuation appeared. Someone was peeping at him.
Su Xiao shifted his gaze to the window. A few water droplets were sliding down the pane.
Blood energy radiated from Su Xiao as the center point. When it reached the water droplets, the blood energy formed thread-like strands and pierced into them.
Su Xiao narrowed his eyes. He felt something peculiar, as if the surrounding world was vaguely rejecting him.
Realizing this, Su Xiao confirmed one thing: the one who had just peeped at him was likely the World Child, or someone related to the World Child.
Dozens of kilometers away, inside a cave.
"Ah!"
A scream suddenly echoed. In the flickering firelight, a silver-haired girl held her head with both hands. Several water droplets floated before her, eroded by blood energy, turning from transparent to blood-red.
The silver-haired girl's pupils also rapidly turned blood-red. Su Xiao's blood energy was fine inside his own body—it was his aura—but invading the silver-haired girl's body was a different matter.
"Kill... everyone!!"
The silver-haired girl roared, completely losing her mind. Her long hair fluttered without wind, and blood-red patterns spread from her neck, climbing onto her face. She pulled a short knife from her calf and shifted her gaze.
Nearby, by a campfire, two men and one woman were cooking food. They all looked at the silver-haired girl with stunned expressions.