The "Battle of Honor" that shook the entire Ancient Wood Forest has come to an end, but for the elves of the Ancient Wood Forest, everything has just begun.

Hundreds of settlements, large and small, and thousands of elves, must migrate to the Great Tree Wall before the end of the summer, attack before the ogres entrenched there launch the late-summer offensive, and gain a foothold on the southern border before the cold winter falls, and start this unprecedented "Great Hunt".

According to Luca's projections, at least one-tenth of the settlements will be colonized by the onset of winter, laying the groundwork for subsequent migration settlements and establishing a "forward line of defense" for an offensive south.

It's bound to be tough... When winter comes, ogres are bound to launch a fierce attack on the elven settlement, and the War Dancers, who have lost the cover of the large tree walls, must protect the settlement while fighting enemies from all sides in the unsheltered forest.

A few... Many of the war dancers will fall in this initial assault, and there will be no more snow melting, and everything will burst into the spring.

Looking at the middle-aged elves with calm expressions, all the little wizard and Loren could do was to silently bless them, hoping that the war dancers of the Morning Star Forest would be able to survive this doomed and difficult winter.

Although Luca doesn't seem to care about any of this......

The Imperial Mission, which had completed its mission, was also "split in two", with Peter Fasa and his lieutenants going to the Imperial Capital on a diversion, while Loren and his party were heading to the Red Blood Castle non-stop.

As for why the Night's Watch informant was placed in the Mission, Loren suspects that Mentor Dalton may have arranged it on purpose - to take the opportunity to pull the Night's Watch nails out of the Knights.

But before that, they had to go to the Morning Star Forest together.

Arriving at the eastern settlement, Loren and his party immediately met Captain Aaron, who had come on the orders of Leven Fried.

It wasn't until after the departure that Aaron received the real order from the Eagle Hunt Fort in the rear - the Heavenly Dome Palace only issued an order to gather troops and prepare for accidents, but did not instruct to put troops into the line of Shenlin Fort.

This reply shocked the knight into a cold sweat, and what frightened him was not only the power of the Azorean elves, which had infiltrated Lothair, but the elves of the ancient wood forest, who really planned to invade Lothair!

There is only one way from Lothair to the Ancient Wood Forest, but the elven war dancers can attack Lothair from anywhere in the forest, which means that at the beginning of the war, half of Lothair will fall directly, and all towns and villages that are not protected by fortresses and castles will be swept away!

This is also an important reason why Levin has always tried to avoid a war between Lothair and the Oldwood Forest... In the face of war dancers who are very good in terms of mobility and individual combat power, Lothair really doesn't have many good countermeasures other than avoiding and not fighting.

Victory or defeat, Lothair will have a heavy loss, and it will not be avoidable.

But if the enemy is the Azorean elves who have crossed the ocean, then the situation will be completely different.

Although the elves have withdrawn from the vast forests in the north, if their army is similar to that of the Empire, then their line of attack will only be one line of deep forest forts... This means that Lothair is really going to start preparing for the fight.

“...... Now that the situation is understood, I will convey the details to Young Master Rowan and the Duke of Lothair. With a long sigh, the tired knight frowned.

"I didn't expect... Separated from the sea of mist, the Azorean elves can still reach out to the empire, to Lothair; What a guts!"

Gritting his teeth, Aaron's eyes flashed with anger: "Since they have come to visit, they need to be treated well, so that they can truly appreciate the enthusiasm of the Lothairians." ”

"Thankfully, though, their attempt to turn against the Grove has failed - at least not in the short term. The black-haired wizard smiled slightly:

"The Misty Moon Court has been burned to the ground by the elves, and even if the Azorean fleet can escape the surveillance of the Empire and land in the Ancient Wood Forest, it will not get any supplies... Even if he could attack Lothair across half of the forest, he would only be able to commit a few thousand troops at most. ”

"I have already discussed with the elves of the Morning Star Forest, as soon as they find out that the army of the Azorean elves is approaching, they will send a messenger to the deep forest fort, and I believe that the impregnable deep forest fort will definitely become a sad place for the Azorean eagle king!"

Curling the corners of his mouth, Loren looked into the eyes of the chief knight: "This prestige of the 'watcher' of the western gate of the empire can be regarded as a gift from me to Ruwen to be crowned Lord of Lothair. ”

The two of them looked at each other and smiled tacitly.

"I think if you can give this 'gift' to Master Lu Wen at the coronation ceremony, he will definitely be happier. The chief knight raised his head and looked at Loren meaningfully:

"I know it's a bit presumptuous to ask for a duke like this, and maybe it will bring accusations from the Heavenly Dome Palace and the Church, but ......"

"You are his friend, a friend who can trust each other's lives. ”

The knight's tone was heavy, with a strong sense of anticipation.

The black-haired wizard sighed to himself... Because he really didn't have time this time.

"Please tell Leuven that after his coronation, I will send an envoy and caravan to the Morning Star Forest to negotiate with the elves there. Loren looked at him seriously: "If the lord of Lothair at that time does not dislike it, there will be an envoy of my plenipotentiary in that mission, although I can negotiate with him." ”

“...... I understand. ”

The knight's expression was slightly gloomy, but there was not much surprise - it was better to say that this kind of thing would surprise him if he agreed to it:

"As long as it doesn't involve violating the laws of the Empire, and as long as we can get our hands on it, Lothair will provide all the conveniences for Byrne's missions and caravanserais. ”

"The southern and western gates of the empire will be guarded by two great and long-standing families working together to bring a lasting and stable peace to the empire!"

"Byrne and Lothair are destined to be the saviors of the empire in this inevitable catastrophe, and the three corners that support the Sakrand Empire together with West Sackland, where the imperial capital is located. Loren was equally impassioned:

"And Eagle Hunt Fort, Golovin and Red Blood Fort will be the core of the Triangle of Stability, and if the Triangle exists, the Empire will not be destroyed!"

The chief knight, bowing slightly, bowed to Loren, and then turned away with resolute steps.

Only Loren, still standing still, as if waiting for something.

Really... It wasn't until the knight chief walked away that the female elf, who had always been hiding behind, cautiously walked out, looking at Loren's somewhat playful gaze, and her face turned red with shame.

"What, what?!"

"Nothing. The black-haired wizard with a narrow face said a panacea: "After all, I have been chatting with the Knight Captain just now, and I haven't noticed the existence of a certain War Dancer, so I am a little curious. ”

"Curious?"

"yes, curious... How long have you been standing in the back?"

The female elf was stunned for a moment, then reacted, glared at him dissatisfied, and was about to raise the spear in her hand: "I have to teach you a lesson for Ain...... this big deception."

But almost at the same time, the smile on the black-haired wizard's face dissipated and became slightly bleak: "I'm sorry, Leah. ”

"It's not intentional, but a lie is a lie. Loren said in a low voice: "That's right, the goal of this 'Imperial Mission' mission from the beginning was not to target the Ancient Wood Forest, but to spy on and sabotage the Elven forces of the Azores. ”

"Because of us, you have to be completely separated from your distant blood relatives, and it is because of us that you have to leave your homeland and embark on the road of migration south. ”

"I will not deny my actions, especially to my friends. ”

Looking at the black-haired wizard who bowed her head and admitted her mistake, the female elf who froze on her face with anger was stunned for half a second, and then glanced over with a cold snort: "It doesn't matter, anyway, you, a big liar, have never told the truth in your mouth, and you have long been used to it." ”

"And it's not a migration, it's a 'great hunt', it's an event that hasn't been seen in 200 years, and I never dreamed of going! If it weren't for Luca forcing me to stay, you think I'd be willing to deal with you liars?!"

Looking at the female elf with round eyes like a demonstration, the black-haired wizard smiled the whole time, just staring at her with a silent smile, quite a bit of self-spitting.

Maybe it was because Loren didn't resist, maybe it was because the nervousness and shame had been exhausted, and he just looked at him fixedly.

It's a really subtle feeling... It's like going back to a few years ago, back to the winter when the two sides met, the same in the Morning Star Forest, the same about to leave, the same to face life and death.

It's just that at that time they had to fight side by side, but this time they parted ways, and it is likely that they will never see each other again.

"So... Are you really leaving?"

"Time is of the essence and must go back. Sighing regretfully, Loren nodded: "I'm the Duke of Byrne, and I'll stay any longer... It will displease some people. ”

"Some?" raised an eyebrow, and Leah looked calm:

"Are you talking about your emperor, or the woman in the Red Blood Castle?"

Poof——!

Loren almost squirted out in one gulp.

"That's... I don't know what Levin told you about this, but I have to explain it!" The black-haired wizard looked devastated: "Yes, I have a female relative in the Red Blood Castle, yes, I have a good relationship with her, but we definitely don't have ......"

"Don't worry, tease you... Ain told me all this. This time, the female elf looked at him with a sly face: "Charlotte is a good girl, if a guy like you can get it so easily, it is really the Holy Cross that has no eyes." ”

Loren really didn't know what to say.

Well, in addition... It is true that the Holy Cross does not have eyes......

Looking at the black-haired wizard who was speechless, the little smug female elf stopped pestering, turned around and took out a long knife from behind her back and handed it to Loren.

It was Middel's saber, the Shadow Sword.

"I've been thinking about it for a long time, this thing... It's better to leave it to you. Liya scratched her head and lifted the hilt of her knife as if she were clutching a spear: "Anyway, it's the trophy of your duel victory - the elves of the Ancient Wood Forest don't know how to use knives, so they may be of some use to you." ”

The black-haired wizard who bowed silently took the long knife with both hands.

The blade is clearly forged with Mithril, but it is as light as a feather, and the center of the heaviest back is also very light, but the forging marks on the blade are so dense that even people like Loren who don't know much about knives can feel how terrifying this blade has been tempered.

Mithril gives the blade toughness and strength, and the craftsmanship of the master swordsmith gives her a natural shape, as light as a feather, and as sharp as gold and iron.

The edge is like tracing the light, and the body is like a silver mirror.

To put it mildly, even the Turin family's ancestral Mithril greatsword "Dawn" is as rough and inferior as an unpolished sword embryo in front of this exquisite work of art.

"Folding Shadow Sword... I will definitely make good use of it, at least find a good master, and never let her go into obscurity. Taking a deep breath, "Click!" the black-haired wizard solemnly withdrew the knife into its scabbard.

It would be a pity to leave such a weapon with Byrne, neither he nor Lusen were good at using knives, and as for a certain Archduke with a scimitar, he already had an "iron horseman", and His Royal Highness, who was also in Boi, probably would not go into battle except to summon dragons.

I'd better leave it to Luwen... Coupled with the news that the chief knight conveyed, even if he couldn't attend his coronation, it's okay.

"By no means obscure......" Leah's eyes darkened, "That is... The empire and the kingdom of the Azores are already really going to ......"

"It's not something we decide, it's up to them to decide. Loren interrupted the female elf softly: "They first provoked the spearhead, destroyed the Empire's ocean-going fleet in the Misty Sea, and extended their tentacles into the interior of the Empire. ”

"We don't have any claims to the land of the Azores, and we don't want to have any conflicts with them, but if they want to come to the door, then the empire can't sit idly by - if there is war, we give them war, it's as simple as that!"

"Really?"

The female elf smiled a little stiffly: "You are talking now, and you are starting to become a little like Lu Wen... No, it should be that the tone of the two of you is becoming more and more like each other. ”

Loren looked at the female elf with a somewhat solemn expression.

"Listen to Leah, I'm just suggesting it - if the Azorean Kingdom does invade the empire from the Ancient Wood Forest, then you and everyone in the Morningstar Forest can leave the Deep Forest at any time, and any forest in Byrne will always have a place for you......"

"I don't need to!"

Leah decisively stopped the black-haired wizard who wanted to continue, and her expression suddenly became much more indifferent: "If the blood relatives of the Azores Kingdom really come, we have our own way of dealing with it, and we will never send people under the fence and grovel." ”

Loren twitched the corner of his mouth... He almost wanted to say, "I didn't expect you to 'send the word under the fence,'" but reason kept him silent.

"We are the children of the Ancient Wood Forest, and we are proud elves. The female elf looked solemn:

"To die, we stand and die. ”