Ducks know plumbing, migratory birds know autumn.

The development and changes of the world have their own laws, but there are very few people who can grasp it from the ever-changing and tedious clues and sort it out with their own knowledge and experience.

However, among the uncountable human beings, there are always such people.

At least, that's the kind of person Aarens is.

- Aaron Mars, the only son of the Mars family, now Chinese New Year's Eve four years old, not only in the cultivation of war officers, but also in the field of military and political achievements, in the prime of life, he has become the head of the First Corps of the Second Army, has become the trusted right-hand man of "the man on the top of the mountains", enjoys great prestige among the young officers who are eager for war, and is a well-deserved star of tomorrow.

To have such a high evaluation, to be able to get to where he is today, of course, he relies not only on his outstanding family background, whether it is his rich talents, or his accurate judgment of the situation, it is convincing - otherwise, the Lion Grand Duke Leon would not rely on him so much - with that identity and status, the so-called aristocratic family, the so-called upper circle, is not worth mentioning at all, what he values is only his ability.

- Ability to grasp the situation.

What really made Leon take him as a confidant was his prediction of the situation on the mainland:

He believes that the continental situation that has been maintained for more than a thousand years and is generally peaceful will be broken in the next hundred years, and the contradictions between the two major god systems cannot be resolved...... Judging from the situation on the mainland, the atmosphere of saber rattling between the two major churches is obvious, and the speed and scale of armament expansion far exceed normal needs, there is no doubt that sooner or later, the war of the gods will start again...... And we, and our country of mountains, must seize the opportunity of this **** arrival, expand the border to be expanded, seize the rich fields and population of the southern region, so as to go further and become a real power standing in the forest of the continent.

And this coincides with the plan of the Grand Duke Lionheart.

It is thanks to the appreciation of that one that he has the identity and status he has today.

He wasn't an ungrateful man, and he didn't intend to be one, on the contrary, he was always looking for an opportunity to repay the other party - and this operation against the Elven Forest gave him the opportunity - he knew very well what the collusion between the man on the throne at the top of the mountain and the long-eared fellows meant to the Grand Duke Lionheart, who had the right to inherit the throne of the Three Kings, and if he could wipe out the elven envoys here, then ...... Not only can it give the church a satisfactory answer, but it can also make the Grand Duke of Leon truly stand on the top of the mountain.

For this, the elves must die.

With a restrained murderous intent in his chest, and his bright silver steel helmet straightened, Aarons Mars focused on the military map on the desk - unlike the frivolity he appeared, he actually took the enemy very seriously this time - in any case, the other party did see through their plans to a certain extent, and was an adversary to be reckoned with.

So...... What will they do?

Fingertips swipe lightly across the map and eventually settle on the slopes of the highlands.

- The elves are leaving here on this path.

For them, it may be possible to have a better view there, and it will be easier to spot possible ambushes......

And yet—

A narrow smile was drawn from the corners of his mouth under the helmet, and his eyes were bright and about to glow, which was the heartiness of murderous intent and joy when the hunter saw that his cunning prey had finally fallen into the trap - just as I wanted.

His demeanor and movements all show the joy in his heart.

Fighting, killing, feats......

This is what every true warrior desires, but under the shackles of the Holy Covenant made by the gods, there has not been a war of more than one scale on the continent for nearly 10,000 years, and such a peace may be dreamed of by ordinary people, but it is a pity...... This is undoubtedly a torture for warriors who thirst for blood and glory.

Thankfully, that's all about to change now.

The war against the Forest of the Elves will detonate the contradictions between the two churches, and the continent will once again be plunged into strife and chaos, when the kings will be divided, the iron and blood will dominate the fate of the world, and the smoke of the beacon will sweep across the land—to paraphrase the words of an unknown troubadour in the Psalm:

- This is the best of times, and the worst of times.

Of course...... Whether the times are good or bad, the first thing to do is to usher in this era!

Thinking of this, he put his armor ready, stepped out of the barracks, and looked around at the neat deployment of the array, his eyes were full of sorrow and joy, and there was no impassioned enthusiasm before the arrival of the great war, but he commanded in a deep voice:

"Let's go."

In response to him, there was a uniform sound of positive steps.

—————————————————————————————————————

"What did you find?"

When the figure of human activity on the high ground disappeared as far as the eye could see, Istamael looked around cautiously, and then asked in a low voice - as an individual he could trust the mage's judgment, but as the leader of the elven mission, he must know the mage's reasons for making the judgment, and no matter what, he was responsible for the safety of everyone.

"He's hostile to us." Monia had expected the Elven Swordsman's question, but she replied in a flat voice. She didn't — and didn't need much explanation — for the question, she was the accompanying mage of the mission, and the mage's existence in some way was itself a symbol of mystery.

"Is that so?" Istamamel only frowned slightly, but did not continue to ask. What made him frown was not the mage's unclear answer, but the reason for the other party's action - if it was really an enemy, then they should have turned their faces on the high ground as early as possible, even if they still maintained due vigilance at that time, but the dispersion of the members of the mission was an indisputable fact, and they had no reason to let go of every opportunity to break through.

"What are you thinking?" Monia asked—there weren't many elves visiting the human legions stationed on the highlands, probably just over a ten, and the only mage who was qualified to talk to Isdamel like that was the only one — Isis and Klaus, who lacked the ability to fight, stayed in the convoy, and even if the humans they met had bad intentions, they were left behind to protect them.

"Since you have torn your face, why don't you take this opportunity to attack us?" "From any point of view, this is an opportunity, and there are only two possibilities for the other side not to do it, one is that they have other plans, and the other is that they have scruples." ”

"Scruples?" It is easy to understand that the enemy is in the enemy's plan and this is not the best time to do so—at least there is a good spot for an attack not far in front of the convoy. But what does it mean to have scruples - now that they have almost turned their faces, what else is there to be afraid of?

"That's right," the elven swordsman explained, seeing the mage's confusion, "they may not be fully prepared to fight us at this moment; Or maybe they don't have enough power at hand to annihilate us, and they may even be eaten by us if they provoke us. ”

"I see." Although she understood, Monia's eyebrows couldn't help but lock - there was some truth in any of the several possibilities mentioned by Isdamel, but because of this, it was impossible to infer which one might be more realistic.

"Monia," the elven swordsman spoke again, this time in a voice that was unusually serious, "ask you again, can you be sure that they are really hostile to us, enough to be hostile to the enemy?" ”

After a brief pause, Monia finally nodded.

- That unbridled malice is by no means the hostility peculiar to humans against elves, but a deeper level of ...... Hunting desire.

"Very good...... "Isdamel's voice dragged on slightly, and he lowered his head, as if hesitating for something, but this hesitation did not take up much of his time, and after a while, he raised his head, looked over everyone, and then said with a smile, "Then let's go back the way we came!" ”

Turning back?

The mage was slightly stunned, and then came to his senses.

- Esta Mer, this is going to be a counter-general.

Whatever the reason, if the other party does not choose to act when they are hostile, it means that they do not want to completely tear their skin with them under such conditions. However, since the hostility of the other party is known and determined, what the enemy does not want to see is exactly what they need to do.

You don't need to know the specific reason, just grasp the flaw that the opponent inadvertently exposed, and then take corresponding decisions according to the enemy's intentions, whether from the perspective of decision-making power or adaptability...... This guy is amazing!

Although she was subtle and a little unwilling, Monia couldn't help but praise the elven swordsman's decisiveness in her heart.

At least in that regard, she is lacking.

I still need to make up for it......

The thought crossed the mage's mind, but he didn't stop long, and quickly followed the pace of the procession.

The country of mountains is a country of mountains and peaks, and there are relatively flat river valleys in the country, as well as undulating terrain, and they are now located on the highland terrain that is not marked on the map of the area, or more precisely, on a slope that does not hurry or slow when the highland terrain transitions to the relatively flat river valley.

From their position, about three or five hundred yards upward, there was the end of the slope, the high ground where the enemy's camp was located—and because of the view, even if the two sides were only a thousand yards apart, and even if each side had its own plan, neither could see the other, and neither could detect the other's movements.

On the high ground, only the mountain wind howls.