Unfortunately, Archbishop Boris was not as knowledgeable and thoughtful a leader as Archbishop Anselin. Under his relatively radical leadership in recent years, the once-restrained impulsive temper of the Dark Elf tribe, nurtured by Anselin, was unleashed once again. As a result, the elves within the Dark Elf tribe's territory reverted to their bellicose nature.
As a group of bellicose individuals, the Dark Elf tribe naturally didn't bother to carefully consider the upcoming battle. Coupled with their previous advantages in battles against the Light Elf tribe, they saw no need to continue tolerating the Light Elves' arbitrary changes to trade rules.
Thus, under the leadership of Archbishop Boris, who had become more aggressive due to their previous victories, they announced a bold move: since the Light Elves always acted in bad faith, obstructed the Dark Elves from obtaining Amande flowers and Aegis herbs, and treated their requests for cooperation as nonsense, then they would reciprocate. If they didn’t act righteously, then they wouldn't bother seeking cooperation and would simply come to seize what they needed by force! This declaration triggered an imminent war between the two tribes.
As anticipated by the White Magic Association, although the individual strength of the Light Elves was slightly inferior to that of the Dark Elves, once both sides engaged in prolonged large-scale warfare, the Light Elves' overall military proficiency, the excellence of their weapons, and their financial support for the war effort all surpassed those of the Dark Elves.
Therefore, after weathering the first three onslaughts from the Dark Elf army, the Light Elves quickly defeated the more numerous but less well-trained Dark Elf troops, composed mainly of civilians who lacked formal military training and relied solely on individual combat prowess. Thus, the Light Elves easily reclaimed the vast territories previously occupied by the Dark Elves.
The Dark Elves could not accept their defeat at the hands of the Light Elves. Thus, seeing that large-scale collective warfare did not favor them, they once again divided their forces into countless small teams to continuously harass the Light Elf army and their territory, exploiting their advantage in small-scale combat. This put the Light Elf army in a difficult position once again. After all, small-scale battles would amplify the individual combat abilities of the Dark Elf soldiers, making them superior in these skirmishes.
In order to mitigate this problem as much as possible and ensure the advantageous position of their own army in battle, the Light Elves had to dispatch medium-sized or slightly larger expulsion legions to deal with them. While these expulsion legions successfully repelled the harassment from the small Dark Elf forces, their large numbers made them less mobile compared to the small Dark Elf squads. Consequently, the Light Elf army found themselves exhausted from the chase.
However, although the Dark Elf tribe managed to stabilize their situation after adjusting their tactics and could once again balance the situation on the battlefield with the Light Elf army, the Black Magic Association gradually realized the weakness of their own national strength. They also realized that if the war continued as it was, they might be defeated not by the Light Elves or the Dark Elves but by the complete collapse of their own economy.
What was even more disastrous was that due to the Light Elves cutting off the supply of Amande flowers and Aegis herbs, the Dark Elf tribe's reserves of raw materials for making Elven biscuits had fallen to a dangerous level. If the Dark Elves could no longer produce Elven biscuits, their soldiers on the front lines would be unable to replenish their Duma energy, rendering them unable to use black magic to enhance themselves and maintain their strongest combat state.
Once this situation arose, the strength of the Dark Elf tribe would inevitably decline significantly. By then, how would they confront the Light Elf army? Therefore, the Black Magic Association was now very anxious. They were racking their brains to figure out how to win this war as quickly as possible. Because, every day the war continued meant they were a little closer to failure.
"Bang!" Archbishop Boris slammed his fist fiercely on the stone table in the council chamber. "Damn those Light Elf bastards! I never expected them to be so difficult to deal with! It seems we must continue to increase the troops involved in harassment operations and further intensify the frequency and intensity of these attacks! I want the Light Elf army to be unable to keep up with the speed of our harassment, even if they grow three heads and six arms! We must remain firm in our convictions, and we must tear the Light Elf army apart through this method, then pick off their scattered forces one by one. As long as we stick to our strategy, victory will eventually be ours!"
"But, Your Eminence... Due to the Light Elves cutting off the supply of Amande flowers and Aegis herbs, our reserves of raw materials for making Elven biscuits are dangerously low. If our national strength declines severely, and if we continue to let the war drag on, we might—" Elder Patrick said anxiously.
"Bang!" Another loud noise resounded. The solid stone table had already been heavily dented by Archbishop Boris's powerful fist.
"Damn it! It's all because of that wretched Anselin! If it weren't for her invention of those damn Elven biscuits and her always kowtowing to the Light Elf tribe, allowing them to manipulate us at will, our Dark Elf tribe wouldn't have fallen into such a weak state! Hmph! Thinking back, it was too easy on her to just seal her away! We should have just killed her directly back then, to punish her for the evils she brought upon our Dark Elf tribe! Damn it! We were blind to let such an incompetent and cowardly woman serve as the Archbishop! We were truly blind back then!" Archbishop Boris cursed through gritted teeth.
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Elder Patrick, who had once staunchly supported Anselin's rise to the position of Archbishop, could only awkwardly scratch his nose and then offer a somewhat bitter and embarrassed smile, looking to the side. It was at this moment that Elder Patrick saw the doors of the council chamber being pushed open from the outside.
After the doors of the council chamber were pushed open, Elder Patrick saw a stranger clad in a dark purple robe gracefully entering from outside. At the same time, the stranger spoke with a voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar, indifferently saying, "Hmm-hmm-hmm. My dear Archbishop Boris, what could have happened to make you curse me so viciously? Your language is truly unbecoming of your position as Archbishop!"
"Who are you? Don't you know where this is? Get out of here immediately! Guards! Guards!" Archbishop Boris, seeing a stranger suddenly burst into the council chamber, immediately furrowed his brow and angrily shouted.
The stranger calmly stood in the middle of the council chamber and spoke with a clearer tone, "Ah! How long has it been since we last met? Have you forgotten me already, great Archbishop Boris?"
"This voice? Could it be... No, it can't be?" Elder Patrick seemed to recognize the owner of the voice and asked with a hint of surprise.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm, Elder Patrick, have you forgotten about me too? We were once colleagues who discovered black magic together," the stranger said with a slightly mocking tone as he removed the hat covering his face.
"Anselin! How is it you?! Weren't you sealed beneath the castle? How did you appear here?!" Archbishop Boris exclaimed in astonishment after seeing the stranger's face.
Indeed, the stranger was Anselin, the former Archbishop of the Dark Elf tribe.
Anselin still bore the two blood-red tear marks on her cheeks. In addition, her eyes had completely turned into a deep green color without distinction between iris and sclera. Her dark skin, purple to the point of black, appeared even darker against her silver-like long hair, giving her a more sinister appearance. Combined with the threads of dark energy emanating from the opening of her robe around her neck, her face looked chilling.
"How did you come out? Didn't you say you would seclude yourself and never step out of the laboratory again?! You deceitful hypocrite! Guards! Seize her! Guards? Guards!" Although Anselin's appearance seemed eerie, Archbishop Boris still suppressed his fear and anger as he roared. However, despite shouting for guards outside the door, none came to his aid.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm. There's no need to call for them. They won't come in. They, will never come in again," Anselin said with a cruel smile. At that moment, several elders closer to the door noticed that the two teams of guards stationed at the door were all lying on the ground, sprawled in disarray.
"What have you done?! This is the Black Magic Association, you cannot behave recklessly here!" Elder Patrick angrily accused upon seeing the scene.
At the same time, other elders present began to speak harshly to Anselin. Some elders, upon witnessing Anselin killing their guards, were even more infuriated and surrounded her, demanding a reasonable explanation for her actions. If not, they would immediately take action to subdue Anselin without mercy.
"Reckless? Huh! For you bunch of rule-breakers and schemers, what wouldn't you dare do? You have the nerve to accuse me of being reckless? Ridiculous, hahaha! Truly laughable!" Anselin sneered disdainfully at the elders surrounding her, laughing wickedly.
"Anselin, don't think just because you're slightly more powerful than us, you can behave recklessly here! As long as the elders present join forces, we can also take your treacherous life!" Seeing the elders surrounding Anselin, Archbishop Boris quickly suppressed his inexplicable fear and anger, gathering black energy in his hand as he warned sternly.
"Treacherous? Huh! If we're talking about treason, do I even have the qualifications to compare with all of you?" Anselin responded coldly.
Then, Anselin looked around at each elder and said with a devilish smile, "But, speaking of treason, I did have some new insights into the term during my seclusion. Hmm-hmm-hmm." Anselin chuckled wickedly.
"What insights?" Elder Patrick, with his fists visibly swollen several sizes due to the effect of black magic, asked cautiously.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm, my insight is—only dead men won't betray me," Anselin replied.
As soon as Anselin finished speaking, a strong surge of magic emanated from within her voluminous robe. At the same time, Anselin's once deep green eyes turned bright red, and blood-red energy began to flow incessantly along the two blood-red tear marks on her cheeks.
"Ah! No—!" Accompanied by cries of agony, the doors of the council chamber slowly closed. At this moment, not only outside the doors of the council chamber, but also throughout the entire Black Stone Castle, from the topmost floor to the entrance of the data room located on the fourth underground floor where Anselin was sealed, the bodies of Dark Elf corpses lay strewn about, and thick black blood flowed everywhere. The entire Black Stone Castle fell into a deathly silence due to Anselin's sudden appearance.
After one night passed, the Black Magic Association suddenly announced to the public that Archbishop Boris, due to personal reasons, could no longer continue to serve as Archbishop and officially abdicated. After careful deliberation by the elders of the Black Magic Association, it was unanimously agreed to invite Anselin to rejoin the council and reassume the position of Archbishop of the Black Magic Association.
The news caused a stir among the Dark Elf tribe. Rumors and gossip about Anselin's abdication had long been a popular topic at Dark Elf dinner tables. Therefore, Anselin's sudden return truly puzzled many, leaving them unable to understand the intentions behind the Black Magic Association's actions.
Many suspected that Anselin had instigated a coup, driving Archbishop Boris, who had taken over from her midway, out of office. However, suspicions aside, this was an internal matter of the Black Magic Association. Moreover, the statement made it clear that Anselin's reinstatement was a decision unanimously approved by all the elders of the Black Magic Association, including Archbishop Boris. Therefore, although many harbored doubts about the sudden turn of events, no one dared to raise any questions, and instead, they accepted the occurrence with resignation.
Anselin, accompanied by the elders, ascended once again to the platform at the top of the Black Stone Castle, where, in front of all the Dark Elves, another coronation ceremony was held for her as Archbishop. During the oath-taking ceremony, Archbishop Anselin solemnly pledged to lead the Dark Elf tribe to defeat the Light Elf tribe, reclaim what rightfully belonged to them, and ensure that the Dark Elf tribe would soon rise again.