“...... I, Aracet, take note of this journey at sea. I will keep this private journal as the first chapter of this account......"

“...... The fleet encountered a storm on the afternoon of the tenth day...... The storm came very quickly. Prior to its arrival, the expeditionary fleet's fleet had been sailing peacefully for a week, riding a gentle southwesterly wind. Fast and steady, even the most experienced sailors admit good luck. In particular, we are not following the normal course, and Prince Ashrufat asked for a change of direction the next day. Although the prince doesn't seem to know much about the sea (he is as curious about the sea as I am), he stresses that he knows what he does. He said he knew a way to go – though even the most experienced captain didn't know what he was talking about. But in the end, the prince used his authority to force others to obey. ”

"I'm going to elaborate on the specifics of the storm. The first is to see some clouds rising in the distance—it is far away, and if you have experience on land, it is not worth caring about at all. But at sea it's different. I asked the captain and a few sailors, and they were strikingly unanimous in their answer: 'The clouds rose so fast that they didn't look like passers-by.' If they didn't predict calamity, it wouldn't be so dark. ’”

"The sailors were quick to take action, just in case. Soon, the crew began to loosen the mainsail, as did the other boats. It was a quick shot, because the fleet had just made this move when the wind caught up. A slightly slower boat began to tilt, but thankfully there was still time. At least the ship managed to rebalance in time. The wind grew stronger, and Prince Ashrufat ordered the fleet to tear off all sails—the top and tail sails. We aimed the stern of the boat at the head of the wind and ran downwind, flying bare-masted. ”

"At this time, there were already dark clouds between heaven and earth, and lightning and thunder roared. The sun was now completely out of sight, and it was as dark as midnight. The huge raindrops smashed on his face. Even the Great/Mages who seemed to be omnipotent seemed to be vulnerable and helpless. They tried their best to protect our ship, but it didn't seem to me to have much effect. His Royal Highness stood on the deck, commanding in the wind and rain. He let all those who did not know how to sail into the cabin so as not to get in the way. I must say that I welcome this order. And the sailors were very calm, and it seemed that these things that scared me were commonplace for them. With this in mind, my original doubts and fears were dispelled. Exhausted, I quickly fell asleep in my room, though the ship rocked like a dwarven steam engine. ”

"By the time I woke up, the sea was calm again. His Royal Highness the Prince is letting the Star Dragon set off to take stock of the fleet. The value of the dragon at sea was fully realized at this time, and the fleet was quickly reunited by the messengers flying in the sky. Fortunately, we didn't suffer any major losses in the storm – in fact, there were gains. One of our wicked cousin's transports was caught in the storm, and was sent to mingle with our fleet. ”

"Before the prince could give the order, six warships pressed down on the ship like a mountain of seas, and I saw the ships close together, and a group of Juggernauts were the first to jump over the side of the ship and start a broadside battle. The resistance of our evil cousins was weak, and we captured the ship without any casualties. By the time the prince and I got on that ship, the battle was completely over. It was clear that there was a plague on the ship, and those who had been killed by Truzi had already been tormented by the disease and were powerless to resist. As I entered the cabin, an indescribable stench filled the ship...... When I warned the prince of the danger of illness, he ordered all the soldiers to leave the ship, and only a few of his men searched the cabins. ”

"Inside the cabin, I saw a lot of nezumi corpses in the slave cell. As far as the situation is concerned, these nezumi were undoubtedly slaves captured by Truuzzi. But they are also undoubtedly the source of this plague. Worried about the disease, we just took a cursory look around to confirm what was going on here and left. Only Prince Ashrufat found a strange statue among the nezumi corpses. The statue was a bust of a mouse, but with strange and asymmetrical horns on its head. ”

"The prince asked us what this statue was. The final conclusion is that this should be the god of the nezumen. The captives were praying to them for the protection of their gods before they died. That's the end of the discussion, we don't really care about what's going on here anyway. The nezumi are an ugly and evil race full of mysteries to our Azul race, and all of our contact with this race (mostly with expedition teams) has ended in sword and fire, so we have no anxiety or pity for this matter. At least personally, I'm more than happy to see it happen. ”

Upon his return, the prince ordered the ship to be burned to prevent the spread of the plague. However, he kept the statue of the rat god. I believe this should be a manifestation of curiosity or a spirit of exploration. Of course, it was a trivial matter—it was so hard to find something to write about during this tedious voyage, and I had to jot down all the bits and pieces of innocence to keep in my diary. ”

“...... Either way, the tedious voyage was over. Land has already appeared ahead. Out of an abundance of caution, we took a day or two to anchor and sent scouts ashore. The scout's report confirmed that it was indeed Nagarus. His Royal Highness the Prince is on the right course, we are now on the coast of Nagarus, to the south of the territory of our wicked cousin. It's a wilderness, and it's a natural deep-water harbor where we can land safely...... The detachment brought news that the location indicated by the prince was the only nearby place where it could land. Whether it's to the north or south, either the water depth is problematic or the reef and turbulence form a natural obstacle. I don't know what the prince of Lu Dao knows about this route, and I know the natural wharf of Lu Road. Today, many captains were whispering behind their backs to discuss this matter, and they looked at the back of the prince, and their voices unconsciously added a little more awe. ”

"Leaving aside the tailwind and downstream of the voyage, the choice of this landing site alone allowed the expeditionary force to avoid the greatest danger. Our evil cousin had no idea we'd be here, so there weren't any defenses nearby. Even if they had a small number of scouts nearby and spotted us, they wouldn't have had time to notify the larger forces to stop us. ”

“...... It only took us half a day to complete the landing...... The prince convened a simple military council to discuss the next move. Because of the long journey, Garth proposed to rest for a few days to regain his strength before setting off. Kaye retorted, saying that it was all time to prepare for our evil cousins, and that the surprise attack was all that mattered right now. However, the prince accepted Garth's advice, for he pointed out that after such a journey, the horses were exhausted and unfit for a hasty march or for immediate battle. Without the help of war horses, the combat strength of our army will be greatly reduced. At the same time, the distance between our army and Ampulis is quite long, and a long-distance attack is not a good option. ”

“...... For me, my boring first chapter is finally over, and the war is about to begin. ”

——Excerpt from "The First Chapter of the Long March: Voyage to the Sea"

By this time the day is over, and the night has fallen. The heavens and the earth have been shrouded in the cloak of night.

Ampriglis, the southernmost town of the Dark Elves, has fallen into silence at this time. By the standards of the Dark Elves, Ampulglis is a small city. Located on the coast, the city was a port city that thrived as a transshipment for the slave trade. The so-called slave trade transit station was actually a place where the various captives were sorted and sent to different places. Recently, a number of family agents have come to Amplis to select slaves directly here, suggesting that it may develop into a large-scale slave market. Overall, the city is a vast slave camp where the Dark Elves rule the land with an iron fist of shackles, whips, swords, magic, and most importantly, the fear of death.

Tonight, however, things seem a little unusual. The ruler of Ampriglis, Lord Megrin, has received the latest information. In the past few days, he has lost contact with a patrol force that is conducting routine patrols (and looking for resources to be used) in the southern lands. Out of the prudence of a lord, he sent three more capable scouts. Now, one of the scouts has brought the news. In fact, although unexpected, the incident made sense - in the southern part of the White River, the army of the Azurs was discovered.

Lord Metlin had already known about the expeditionary force. Although it was already night at this time, this did not affect him to gather his generals as quickly as possible to analyze and judge the situation in front of him.

"This is the latest news from the sea, and our plan to intercept the enemy's fleet at sea has not been successful. So, there is no doubt that our stupid cousins have been lucky enough to evade our interception and land in our south. Lord Murglin looked at his men. "We have a small patrol unit going south that lost contact five days ago...... Well, now we can determine what they encountered. Prince Ashrufat's expeditionary force actually landed there. ”

"Prince Ashrufat's expeditionary force?" a dark elf officer looked at his companion with a puzzled expression. It looks like he's the ill-informed type,

"Yes, a prince who came out of nowhere, with a patchwork army, landed in a place south of us where birds don't on the enemy. Maybe that's good news for us......" one of his well-informed companions replied with a giggle.

"Do any of you know anything about this Prince Ashrufat?" asked Lord Megrin. By elven standards, Lord Maeglin is a tall, strong, and fierce-looking lord. In reality, though, he was one of the ordinary nobles who had no particularly famous track record or memorable deeds. If there's anything he's different, it's probably only in terms of interest. His greatest pleasure was to take the captives who dared to resist, roast them alive on the fire, and feed them to the wild beasts.

"This prince seems mysterious," replied the well-informed officer just now. "There are only a handful of rumors. It is said that he once traveled alone to the land of mankind...... However, I have heard that he is a good fighter, and he has killed Lord Karuf one-on-one on the battlefield. ”

"Karuf...... I've never heard of this name before?" Lord Megalin frowned, a vicious wrinkle on his forehead. Similar to humans, for the Dark Elves, knowing the relevant situation of the lords in various parts of the country (in fact, there is also the nobility of the Divine Warrior Elves) is the most basic knowledge of a noble.

"Your Excellency, he is a nobleman promoted by His Majesty the Witch King in battle. I remember before being an ordinary officer, but volunteering to carry out a dangerous operation and being promoted to nobility. According to information from our stupid cousin, the Lord of Karuf confronted Prince Ashrufat on the battlefield and was then killed by Prince Ashrufat in a one-on-one duel. His army and his actions were wiped out, and the Witch King lost his temper for a while. ”