"I never thought the Black Magic Association would be so ruthless to their own people. It seems like this war has gradually turned sour." After listening to Biscuit Tang's account, Dao Lao shook his head with regret.
"In fact, ever since Anselin returned, it was destined for this war to turn sour. After all, the first thing she did upon her return was to massacre all the elders of the Black Magic Association and everyone inside the Black Stone Castle, turning them all into puppets for her own manipulation. From that moment on, the Black Magic Association became her dictatorship. The Dac elves, in fact, have long been under her high-pressure control era," Biscuit Tang said helplessly, spreading his hands.
"So, how many people have you told about the truth behind the Black Magic Association, besides the people here?" Han Yun asked.
"Other than the members of our organization, no outsiders know the truth about the Black Magic Association. After all, our organization is too weak. Once we're targeted by those zombie soldiers for spreading information about the Black Magic Association, we'll all be dead for sure!" Biscuit Tang replied.
"So, over the years, how many Dac elves have you actually saved?" Dao Lao continued the conversation.
"Not too many, to be honest. The killing power of those zombie soldiers is extremely strong, and it's difficult for the rookies on the battlefield to survive when they're entangled by them," Biscuit Tang replied regretfully.
"What about them? How did you save them?" Han Yun pointed to the Leit elves.
"Some of them were exiled to the border area and were lucky enough to be encountered by me without being killed by the patrolling Dac army. Some survived after being forcibly deployed to the frontline of the war," Biscuit Tang explained.
"At this point, Biscuit Tang couldn't help but sigh," Although we belong to opposing factions, we are all marginalized individuals within our respective factions, even victims of persecution. Therefore, similar tragic fates, the weariness of war, and the thirst for life have resonated with each other, bringing us together and forming such a special group that is detached from both the Leit and Dac elf tribes."
"So, you both hate the Dac elf tribe and the Leit elf tribe," Han Yun said.
Biscuit Tang hesitated for a moment before answering, "Well... not entirely! In fact, what we hate are the rulers of these two races—the White Magic Association and the Black Magic Association. It is they who have distorted the minds of the two elf races, intensified the contradictions between them, and ultimately triggered this ongoing war."
"If we have the opportunity to overthrow them, perhaps more lost souls can be awakened again. But considering our strength, achieving this is nothing short of a fantasy. Because, just talking about the Black Magic Association, the power Anselin brought to them after her return is too terrifying."
"As a survivor who felt Anselin's powerful aura from behind a closed door, I can only say that the power emanating from her was definitely more than just the power of dark magic. How should I put it? It was a kind of powerful, evil, and terrifying force that brought a sense of impending doom," Biscuit Tang continued.
"A feeling of impending doom? Interesting." Hearing this, Dao Lao couldn't help but sneer in his heart.
"What? Could it be that the power Biscuit Tang felt at that time is related to the Mold Spirit energy? Could it be that the power suddenly awakened by Anselin is the Mold Spirit energy?" Hearing Dao Lao's sneer, Han Yun quickly sent out a series of questions in the private chat channel.
"If Biscuit Tang's description isn't exaggerated, then the possibility is very high. Because, when the power of the Mold Spirit energy erupts, it does indeed make weaker creatures in the lower realms feel a sense of impending doom, or rather, a sense of moldy doom. Hmph! It seems that we are not mistaken in coming here." Dao Lao said.
"Oh, by the way! There's one more thing I forgot to mention!" Suddenly, as if remembering something, Biscuit Tang slapped his head several times and said, "When I was hiding in the warehouse, my ears were filled with the whispers of demons. But just as I felt endless fear and tried to prevent those demonic whispers from entering my mind, I seemed to hear Anselin speaking. You see, as a chef who worked in the Black Stone Castle for many years, I have seen Anselin more than once and even heard her speak more than once. So, I believe I didn't mishear."
Han Yun and Dao Lao had no objection to Biscuit Tang's explanation and gestured for him to continue.
"Just after she killed my father, before that terrifying aura left me, I seemed to hear Anselin say—bring more resurrected soldiers to the Leit elf tribe's territory to find Siewen. You must bring him back alive. Anyone who tries to obstruct your goal, anyone who has seen Siewen, whether Leit elf or Dac elf, must be eliminated."
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Upon hearing the name Siewen, Han Yun immediately said, "Siewen? So he actually ran to the Leit elf tribe!"
According to Aeliena's description, this Siewen was nominally Anselin's personal attendant, and during Anselin's first tenure as archbishop, his status was comparable to the chief steward by the emperor's side, almost ruling over everyone else. It was precisely because of Anselin's favoritism towards Siewen that she ensured his safety when she was forced to enter that information room for seclusion, even making sure he left the Black Stone Castle safely. So, thinking about it this way, it's not surprising that Anselin would order people to find Siewen's whereabouts as soon as she reappeared.
"But why did Anselin say she wants to kill everyone who has seen Siewen? Why would she do that? Does Siewen hide some secrets?" Han Yun first expressed his confusion. Then he recounted what he had heard from Aeliena about Siewen to Biscuit Tang. He also wanted to verify the information provided by Aeliena and find out the reason why Anselin killed everyone who had seen Siewen.
"Uh... cough, cough, cough! Speaking of Siewen—" At this moment, Palanor, who had been accompanying them, suddenly wanted to speak up. However, he stopped halfway and looked cautiously at Biscuit Tang, as if asking if he could share his information.
"What's wrong with Siewen? Do you know something?" Seeing Palanor's hesitant appearance, Dao Lao asked with puzzlement.
So, with Biscuit Tang's nod of approval, Palanor put down his guard and began to tell his story.
As mentioned earlier, Palanor was originally a scout from the Mist Town, and he was even the top scout in the Mist Town. According to Palanor's description, due to the existence of the Mist Forest, the natural conditions in that area were extremely good. It was not only one of the best places for planting Amande flowers and Egz herbs within the Leit elf territory but also produced some of the highest quality Amande flowers and Egz herbs.
Therefore, the Amande flowers and Egz herbs produced in the Mist Forest not only became one of the exclusive sources of supply for the Black Stone Castle but also, after the Dac elves launched a resource plundering war against the Leit elf tribe, the Mist Forest naturally became one of the key planting bases that the Dac elves wanted to seize.
The Dac elf army would occasionally launch attacks on the Mist Forest, attempting to break through the defense line of Mist Town and take over the entire Mist Forest. However, limited by the geographical location of the Mist Forest and the relatively long cycle to create a large-scale zombie army, the Dac elves could not afford to invest all their forces in attacking the Mist Forest at the expense of their advantage on other battlefields.
Moreover, even if the Dac elves had a zombie army, it was only under the condition of paying a heavy price that they could penetrate deep into the Leit elf tribe's territory to attack the Mist Forest. This made the Dac elves reluctant to recklessly attack the Mist Forest to preserve their strength.
But seeing a piece of fat right in front of them but not being able to eat it truly frustrated the Dac elves. Therefore, although various factors prevented the Dac elves from launching a large-scale attack on the Mist Forest, they were still unwilling to let go of the Mist Forest so easily.
As a result, the Dac elves chose to directly transport troops to the coast behind the Mist Forest through the only feasible route—by crossing the sea—and launched periodic raids on the Mist Forest from there. This not only constantly pressured the defense line of the Mist Forest but also effectively constrained the Leit elf tribe's rear forces, preventing them from rashly sending all their forces to the front line of the battlefield and allowing the Dac elves to maintain a certain advantage on the front line.
The Dac elves' ability to transport troops across the sea was due to their large flying beasts, which was an airborne transport capability that the Leit elves did not possess. They could only rely on giant eagles for sniper attacks.
However, due to the restrictions of various conditions, the Dac elves' only option was to drop troops into the Mist Forest from the cliffs outside the Mist Forest, and organize troops there to attack the Mist Forest from the front.
"But I have a question. Since the Mist Forest can obscure the vision of the Dac elves, why do they still want to occupy it? Don't they know that once they step into the forest, they will be trapped and die inside?" Han Yun asked.
"Of course, they know. But don't forget, they still have zombie soldiers. You see, those zombie soldiers are not considered real living beings. This means that while the Mist Forest's concealment may affect them, it doesn't last long. As a result, after the concealment wears off, the zombie soldiers can lead the Dac elves to move in the Mist Forest to ensure that they won't be trapped in the Mist Forest due to loss of direction," Palanor explained.
"Furthermore, there is the question of whether it is useful for the Dac elves to occupy the Mist Forest. In fact, in the Mist Town, there is a resonance pool that we Leit elves have stationed heavy troops to guard for generations. As long as the resonance pool recognizes it, it can make the Mist Forest recognize the ethnic group with the same bloodline. Unfortunately, the Dac elves also know how to gain the recognition of the resonance pool. Therefore, the Leit elf tribe can only send heavy troops to guard the Mist Town all year round to prevent the loss of control over the entire Mist Forest due to the resonance pool being lost," Palanor said.
"In that case, wouldn't the Dac elves be better off taking a gamble and directly airdropping more zombie soldiers into the Mist Forest, then waiting for them to adapt to the forest environment, and directly launching a large-scale attack on Mist Town once they have adapted, so they can take over the Mist Town and occupy the resonance pool?" Han Yun continued to ask, following the loopholes in Palanor's explanation.
Palanor responded, "Yes, they can indeed do that. However, the Mist Forest is vast, and the Dac elves do not know how many zombie soldiers they need to drop in to ensure that they adapt to the concealment of the Mist Forest before we can eliminate them all and reassemble them into a combat force to attack us."
"You see, the production cycle of zombie soldiers is not short. If they consume a large number of zombie soldiers in attacking the Mist Forest, it will inevitably lead to a shortage of zombie soldiers on the front line, greatly reducing their combat effectiveness on the front line."