Karuf cursed. However, after a brief vent, he immediately came to his senses. Swearing won't solve the problem.

"Any other new information?" he asked his men in front of him.

"The Shadow Warriors seem to have joined the fray, and this morning one of my squads engaged in an encounter with them, resulting in one dead and three wounded on our side, and unknown enemy losses. Master, I must say...... If I'm not mistaken......"

"I know," Karoff replied. "On the one hand, we were lucky enough to meet Prince Bellan. On the other hand, it was not so lucky, in the newly built city there was a prince named Ishrufat and his army...... Their forces are strong enough to crush and annihilate our detachment in one fell swoop. Then the prince of Ashruphat immediately came to reinforce Irebo...... Damn! I thought the new city wasn't that big!"

"Master, I have heard that there have been calls in Azul for greater trade with humans. The new city near Irebo must have been built because of this. It is not surprising that a prince was sent as a lord. The captain said cautiously. "And, master, your record of killing Prince Bellan is quite impressive. ”

But it wasn't enough than I expected. Karuf sneered inwardly.

"If Prince Ashruphat has already reached Iribo...... This means ......"

"That means the prince of Ashrufat will soon be leading his army out of the city to attack us!" Karuff snorted. "There were originally more than a thousand soldiers in the city of Ireber, and Prince Ashrufat would probably have been reinforced with the same number of troops, and possibly more...... Coupled with the fact that his subordinates are quite elite, and he even has a whole team of Hefu Sword Saints in service, he should feel that he has enough strength to have a decisive battle with me. It's a pity......" His voice was slightly self-deprecating. "I actually only have a thousand soldiers. ”

He paused, hesitated for a moment, and mentally compared the situation of the forces of the two sides. The number comparison is too unfavorable, the camp he built is not a fortified city after all, and it is difficult to resist the onslaught of the elven legion under the number comparison of one to two or even one to three.

He had not heard of this prince called Ashrufat. The Dark Elves and the Divine Martial Elves are of the same blood, and at the same time they have been fighting with each other long enough that both sides know the situation of the other party's generals (even if they don't know the details of the Dao, they also know a rough idea). From this point of view, it is very likely that the prince named Eshuruphat was a young prince, the son of some elven prince, and he was just coming of age. Because of his lineage and family background, he was able to come and be a lord in a remote area. I don't know what his father thought, so he actually went to the post with a very elite army, but now the blind cat accidentally ran into a dead mouse.

If it was a young, strong-blooded prince whose mind was full of fantasies of making achievements, then he would never be like a normal general, cautiously scouting before making a move. The Prince of Ashrufat would strike as quickly as he could, employing reckless action - unfortunately, he was right. Karov was only camouflaging a force of 3,000 men. If you deduct the outgoing squads and the detachments that have already been annihilated, his actual strength is less than a thousand.

Although the situation was unfavorable, Karouf had no intention of leaving there.

"If we retreat...... That Prince Ashrufat must be in pursuit, right?" he was ostensibly asking his scout captain, but in fact he was talking to himself.

"Of course he'll go after it...... How could he not pursue it? he would even lead the pursuit himself!" Karoff himself replied. "Will his cavalry be disconnected from the infantry in pursuit......? Since his father has prepared an elite army for him, he will definitely look for a suitable deputy for him. And this deputy will remind him in time to avoid such a mistake......"

"Master, we can set up an ambush ......," the scout captain suggested.

"We have three times as many stupid cousins as we are, and at least twice as many as we do. With this difference in numbers, an ambush is not very useful unless there is a perfect position. At best, they were caught off guard at first, but soon they came to their senses and organized a counterattack with superior forces. Once our army is sticky, I'm afraid it will be difficult to retreat. Karouf pondered. "An effective ambush can be a good way to stop the enemy's pursuit, but it is only a little bit of a stoppage...... Prince Ashrufat may well have personally led the vanguard, but he was guarded by a whole team of Swordmasters and was difficult to deal with...... If he pursued, he should have been with the cavalry...... I've got a way!"

......

"What, the enemy evacuated and left the camp behind?" Although Ashruphat had long judged that the dark elves were bluffing, he couldn't help but be taken aback when he heard the news.

"Yes, Your Highness the Prince. "It was a shadow warrior who brought him the news. "As you might expect, the number of dark elves is only about a thousand. As soon as they heard the news of our troops' movements, they immediately abandoned the camp and fled. ”

The other elven officers looked at him with a little more admiration in their eyes, but Ashrufat was not at all proud of his judgment. He instinctively sensed that the dark elf general was not simple. Such a clean and neat withdrawal, without any intention of disguising or confusing the enemy, without the slightest delay.

To use an analogy, that opponent is the kind of gambler who can leave the table when he has won enough. Being able to be fooled by nothing in the slightest and dictate one's actions with reason is one of the most difficult of all gamblers. They may not win a lot of money, but they will definitely not be defeated.

"We should pursue it immediately. "This time it was Valinor who proposed. The Marine Corps captain spoke eagerly. "Your Highness, if we let them go, it will be tantamount to ...... Leave a nail in the rear! They're going to harass ......."

"Truuzie's retreat in itself speaks of their weakness!" interrupted another officer. "We can't afford to let this opportunity go. ”

"Masters, they're all smart. In her mind, Carrie said suddenly.

"Clever?" Ashruphat was stunned by Carrie's words. "What's so smart?"

"Well, let's put it this way, you see how excited they are...... They are actually anxious to avenge Prince Bellan, but they are afraid that saying this will leave you with a knot, so they all find another reason. ”

Carrie...... Why do I feel that every time I listen to your explanation, I feel that nothing is simple in this world? Martial Elves and Dark Elves are mortal enemies, even if there is no matter of Prince Berlan, they should be full of hatred for the enemy, and they can't wait to destroy the enemy. There's nothing surprising about this gesture of asking for battle, is it?"

"Hee-hee, master, it's up to you to judge. Carrie said, and then she fell silent.

Ashrufat shook his head, he was getting more and more confused about Carrie. But he also had a vague sense that Carrie seemed to be trying to mislead him lately—perhaps trying to get him to understand the truth beneath the surface.

The action of shaking his head caused misunderstanding, and several of his subordinates around him all had the kind of expressions that were eager but did not know what to say for a while.

"Your Royal Highness, we must not let those Duruzes go! this only increases their arrogance and allows them to attack us more brazenly next time. An officer said firmly, his eyes fixed on him.

Of course, Ashrufat didn't want to go back like that, and in fact he couldn't go back just like that. He is well aware that this "prince" of his is not only fake, but also "temporary". He did not formally accept the position of lord from the King of the Phoenix and became the ruler of Iribo, but was temporarily elected as the ruler by the people of Iribo because of the critical situation. According to the custom of the elves, his dominion and command is not justified. Now he does not have enough prestige to reverse the common will of his subordinates, and if he forcibly retreats, then his rule and his command will fall immediately after returning. How did they support him as a prince in the first place, they could do it again when the time came, but the situation was the opposite.

"Of course we won't stop there!" replied Ashrufat. "In which way did the Duruss retreat?"

One of his subordinates quickly picked up the map, and the Shadow Warrior immediately pointed out the direction of the enemy's retreat on the stereoscopic projection of the map. With this handy tool, it takes almost no thought to know where the dark elves are retreating.

By this time, all of his subordinate officers had been summoned to his side. After all, there are not many elven troops at the moment, and it is not difficult to gather the officers to meet.

"Your Highness, it seems that our evil cousins are afraid of our pursuit, otherwise they would not have chosen to retreat along the path. One of the subordinates spoke. "They probably want to leave the territory of Iribo and go north. ”

"But the terrain near this road is more treacherous, and it is likely that our evil cousins will lay an ambush as they retreat. "It was the shadow warrior who spoke. Ashrufat noticed that most of his subordinates had a look of displeasure on their faces, but it was just inconvenient for him to have a seizure in the presence of this "prince". He remembered what Carrie had told him before, that although the Shadow Warriors were excellent warriors, they were not trusted by the Warrior Elves, and could even be said to be discriminated against. Previously, Prince Berlan preferred to spend time and money building a new city for them rather than take them to live in Ireber, probably because of the general attitude of his subjects, who trusted and accepted the Shadow Warriors, but could not but take into account the thoughts of his subjects.

And there don't seem to be many princes like Bellan who can trust the Shadow Warriors. Of course, "Prince Ashrufat" is also counted as one.

"There's a real possibility. Ashruphat deliberately pretended not to notice the change in his subordinates' expressions.

"As long as we chase fast enough, we don't have to worry about ambushes. One of his men said, and Ashruphat recognized him as the captain of the Knights of the Silver Helmet, the most prominent of his men. "An ambush or something, you have to prepare for it in time. We are only half a day's way from the Truzy, and if we can lead the cavalry to attack, we should be able to catch up with the enemy quickly. They didn't have time to use any tricks. ”

"What will we do if the enemy strikes back?" asked another officer

"Hold off the enemy, of course, but not engage them. All we need to do is hold back the enemy and wait for the main force to arrive. The knight in the silver helmet replied.

"Good!" Ashrufat's mind spun quickly, "Valinor!" he ordered loudly, "You are in charge of directing the army in my absence, and I will lead the Knights of the Silver Helmet to pursue the enemy!"