Chapter 145 Militaily Reinforcement

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"Good morning, everyone," Alistar once again led the meeting. However, Ghander was also in the meeting room, appearing slightly annoyed at our sudden summons.

"Greetings, Lord Alistar. As you requested in your letter, I have come, and with me, I have brought thirty elven soldiers. Our capital and the mountain's defenses have decreased as a result. There were less than five soldiers at the mountain borders with this. I hope you understand my reluctance."

"So few!" I muttered. We lost over fifty just a few days ago, and the replacement is a mere thirty? Moreover, hundreds of elven knights are still injured in the infirmary, waiting to be healed by Edelweiss.

"Greetings, Lord Ghander. I apologize for summoning you so hastily. However, as you can see, we cannot afford to lose any more soldiers. That's why we appealed to you to expedite your assistance."

"I have seen the state of the infirmary. With this, there is no way we could assault the undead next week. What do you suggest, Lord Alistar?"

"If the worst comes to worst, we must abandon plan A and proceed with plan B instead."

"Hmm? What is plan B?" Lily asked.

"Plan B involves several tailfolk and elven cavalry sacrificing themselves as bait to lure the undead into human lands. Meanwhile, only Alistar, Edelweiss, you, and two other mages or knights will assault the undead."

"Huh? So few..."

"Edelweiss and the mages can handle the stakes while the others defend the area," Ghander answered.

"That plan..." Alistar said, his face gloomy.

"It's very risky. The corruption won't disappear immediately once we set up the stakes. We might have to wait several hours or over a day before it dissipates. Moreover, if the undead are truly feeding on the leyline leakage, they will surely know if even one of them is closed."

"There is more than one leakage?" Lily asked.

"Yes. We're not sure how many leakages there are—maybe two or three, maybe even five—but there is definitely more than one. We have prepared over thirty stakes. Each leakage would require at least three stakes, but it could require more depending on size. You will train with them next week," Ghander answered concisely, his head still nodding in a frown.

"Or, there might be just one huge leyline hole?" Alistar asked.

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"No, if there was only one hole, the effects would be different," Edelweiss said. "The mana readings from the leyline distortion don't make sense if only one hole exists."

"Okay, I trust your abilities. Will we really go with plan B?"

"We will wait one more week before deciding."

"Lord Lily, a tailfolk slave has arrived from the front gate. He asked us to deliver this letter and meet you," a soldier knocked on the meeting room door and announced his intention. Everyone's attention turned to Lily upon hearing that the letter was for her.

"A slave?" Edelweiss asked, frowning. Lily couldn't possibly enslave her own kin, and tailfolk slaves were forbidden from entering the warzone in the elven country. They needed to fight willingly, or the high magic might harm the elves.

"He is from the human country," the soldier answered.

"Lord Lily, what does this mean?" Alistar asked. However, apart from Edelweiss, Alistar, and Ghander, the other captains were annoyed that Lily had connections with humans. On the other hand, Lily could only tilt her head in confusion because she was surprised that a tailfolk from a different land came searching for her, moreover, from human lands where all tailfolk were slaves.

"An escaped prisoner, perhaps?" Lily asked me in her mind.

"Probably a messenger from Isaac. You promised him you would help him if he asked, remember?"

"Ahh! I see!" Lily exclaimed. Everyone glanced at her, their faces turning grim as Lily acknowledged her relations with humans.

"Lord Lily, you have relations with the human country?" Captain Streiss asked.

"Yes. I believe this letter is from Isaac, a lord from our rival fortress. When Lord Alistar asked me to investigate the surrounding human country, the lord was quite friendly, so I opened a channel for him to send a tailfolk messenger if he ever needed help. Of course, I didn't promise him anything," Lily answered, smiling. The officer turned away in shame.

"Oh yeah, we had a truce with them."

"Then what about Edenthal? Are we really going to let those acts of violence go unpunished?" one of the captains flared up, almost shouting. He restrained himself from slamming his hand on the table.

"Calm down. We must not let emotions dictate our judgment. Even Lord Lily can practice this elven teaching better than you. We are in no shape to combat humans right now," Alistar said. "So, what does the letter say, soldier?"

"Yes. The letter says that their fort was besieged. Although it survived, they are asking us for reinforcement if possible. If no soldiers or cavalry can flank them, they asked for supplies to last through the siege."

"What nonsense is that? We might as well talk to skeletons," the captains sneered at the ridiculous idea. But Alistar and Ghander frowned, contemplating something. They both groaned at the news.

"If the fortress falls, we are next..." they muttered while facepalming. They obviously didn't want to help the humans, but for the greater good, they might have to sacrifice more for them.

"Are we seriously going to help them?"

"But we cannot afford to lose those human settlements now, right?"

"We can use the sentries we placed along the border to hold off the undead assault! We don't need to help those humans!"

"You are right." Alistar looked exasperated, but Lily had something on her mind before she spoke.

"Lord Alistar, is the beacon difficult to produce? We can use the beacon to divert some undead to their main city," Lily suggested.

Everyone widened their eyes at her heartless suggestion. She was proposing that we divert the undead to the human capital. The captains sneered at the idea, seemingly supporting it. Some even outright praised Lily for her brilliance. However, Alistar and Ghander were not amused.

"Lord Lily, even if they are humans, you cannot needlessly kill civilians," Alistar warned. However, Lily already knew how to respond to them.