"Why did I hear you say that, and at once I felt that everything became boring and sinister...... And there are a lot of truths in it...... This is also a kind of power trick? What did they find me for?"

"Yes," Carrie replied. "As for why I found you, I think it's very simple, because you're from a foreign country, you're unknown, and you're very good at fighting. The combination of these factors gives them an expectation that you 'could be a prince'. Although you have denied it yourself, Valinor understands your denial as 'refusing to tell the truth' because of the objective situation, note that this is not because he is suspicious by nature, but from an instinctive reaction that is beyond his control. Of course, I must say that in fact, you are the same in this regard. Remember before the decisive battle with Leto, in order to convince yourself and strengthen your resolve, you found the reason that 'Destiny' is not a reason. At that time, you must have believed this reason sincerely. Although, logically, your reason for this is unreasonable. Of course, after all, your guess succeeded. ”

Ashrufat actually wanted to refute it, but found that he could not find a reason to refute it.

"But master, it's all theory! Maybe there really is some 'destiny' in the underworld, and it is possible that you say that you have sensed it. Carrie abruptly changed the subject, grinning. "Without saying that, this is a wonderful opportunity. ”

"What chance?"

"A chance to be a prince. If you now admit that you are a prince, no one will ever do a detailed study of your origins. You will immediately become the ruler of Ereber, and all the elves will, at least temporarily, be at your disposal. We're going to get more information and get to know the details of that portal...... Of course, it's not a problem to get a ship that does your bidding. ”

"But in hindsight, they'll find out where I came from. Even if they don't pursue it, there is still a phoenix king on top...... In this case, I can't be sure that the fake will turn out to be true. If things are revealed at that time, I am afraid that it will not be able to end...... It's a pity that it's not like getting a ship now to declare it done......"

"That's ......" Carrie's voice seemed to be a little teasing. "But it doesn't look like you're supposed to be talking at all, master. I always thought you were bold. There are always pros and cons to everything, and the choice is up to you. ”

Shagoni looked at Ashruphat in front of him. In fact, the body shape characteristics of Ashrufat are very obvious. It was for this reason that the soldiers found him easily. In normal logic, such a unique elf should not be a prince - if he was a prince, he would have been known for a long time. But from another point of view, Ashruphat thought that his own blood was very noble, and that he could show such an arrogant gesture to a group of strange elven nobles.

With so many pairs of eyes looking at him, Ashrufat couldn't answer for a moment. What was he hesitating about? If he wasn't a prince, then he wouldn't admit it. Because this is an act of great crime, and once it is exposed, it must be severely punished. No foolish elf would make such a mistake - impersonation is never possible. It only takes one visit to the Emerald Queen to confirm, and there is no chance that the impostor will be spared.

In fact, Shagoni didn't think Valinor's words were very credible just now, but now Ashrufat's hesitation made him feel an unconscious ecstasy. It is likely that this visitor, Eshurufat, was really a prince.

Ashrufat nodded.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Shagoni settled down, and then with great humility asked Eshurufat for his identity and the origin of his lineage.

Ashruphat did not answer immediately, but walked to the other side. He came to the center of the rostrum in this small square and faced all those present.

"The people of Iribel. Ashrufat's voice was loud and calm, which showed that he was mentally prepared for such a thing. "My name is Ashrufat, and as I have just confessed, I am indeed a prince. But for some reason, I don't want to say where my blood comes from. At this moment, our land is in the midst of war, and our enemies have come to the city. Because of the natural glory bestowed upon me by my inherited bloodline, on the eve of this war, in this time of crisis, I am willing to temporarily take up the mission of defending Ireber, and lead you to repel our enemies...... Our evil cousins are entrenched in our land, they are trying to destroy us, but we will defeat them and win!

His words were simple and powerful, and most of the elves cheered as he finished speaking, but Ashruphat noticed that a very small number of elves did not move, but only showed a thoughtful expression.

......

"The hosts, do you see it, they are all impressed by your demeanor and temperament. ”

"I refuse to tell me where my blood comes from, and they actually admit that I am a prince?" said Ashrufat himself, a little frightened. As long as one of the elves insisted on him explaining his bloodline just now, then he would probably be exposed on the spot.

"Well, let's put it this way. In fact, every human being, consciously or unconsciously, strives to believe what he wishes to believe, and the same is true for elves. Although the elves are a conservative race, they are not fools either. Now they need a prince. The fools among them will believe your words, and the wise among them will never choose to debunk you at this time...... Even if they actually know you're lying. Besides, your performance just now is very good, which also strengthens your persuasiveness somewhat. ”

"Doing well?"

"Hehe, master, your demeanor and temperament, as well as the confidence and composure shown in the speech, are the key, as for the content or something, it is not the point at this moment. Don't underestimate yourself, temperament can be cultivated, and you now have the demeanor of a superior person. ”

"What was my temperament in the beginning?" asked Ashrufat. He was referring to the time when he first came out of the desert.

"Plain mercenaries, a bit of privacy so it seems secretive. Carrie replied unceremoniously. "But now, you have the demeanor of a superior person. This, combined with the fact that they are in desperate need of a leader, makes you an elven prince. ”

......

The day is fleeting.

After this simple election, Ashrufat thus became a prince, and Iribo was now (at least theoretically) temporarily under his rule. He learned as quickly as he could about the general situation of the city from the officials, and summoned officers of all ranks for a military meeting.

Ashrufat was well aware of his delicate position at the moment, so he did not make any personnel changes, and all officers or administrative officers remained in their positions. In other words, the entire system of rule established by Prince Bellan was inherited by him in its entirety. Nothing has changed except that the highest-end Prince Berlan has become Prince Aerufat.

The information reported by officers at all levels is far more detailed and accurate than the rumors outside. Since the sudden appearance of the Dark Elves' army and the establishment of a camp outside the city, Ereber's defenders have been able to build up their defenses as quickly as possible, gathering people from nearby villages to take refuge in the city. These measures undoubtedly helped, as the latest information showed that the Dark Elves seemed to be running low on supplies, so they were constantly sending detachments to loot and gather food. The civilians had already been evacuated, but some of the food that had not been well hidden had been discovered by the Dark Elves' detachment.

The village that Ashrufat encountered on his way into the city was probably not only devoid of inhabitants, but had also taken away or hid all the food, so that the dark elves had nothing to find before setting fire to it.

In addition to gathering food everywhere, the Dark Elves are also actively gathering materials, and they look like they are ready to build siege equipment. The scouts ahead reported that although the dark elves had collected materials, they had not yet built any siege weapons. This anomaly, combined with their efforts to gather supplies, seemed to indicate that they were waiting for reinforcements.

On the table in the conference room, there is a special map made by the elves. It's magically crafted, and it's a must-have for the lords of the elves. This map clearly illustrates the talent of the Divine Warrior Elves in art and magic, it is the same as the map of human beings on the surface, at most a little more detailed, but as long as a simple magic operation, the things on the map will "emerge" a three-dimensional illusion of the specific terrain, which is a real display of the world world on a map.

This thing is the result of the elven arch/mage using some kind of magic, and it only works on the elven native, but it is very precise and intuitive, and there is no need to worry about distortion at all. In short, no matter who you are, as long as you look at the sub-map, you can have the most intuitive and detailed understanding of the surrounding terrain.

"Can't figure out how the hell the dark elves came out?" Ashruphat asked an elven officer. The latter had been in charge of scouting, and had been trying to figure out where the Dark Elves had come from.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness the Prince. We tried, but we couldn't figure it out...... They seem to have come out of nowhere. There is no sign of landing on the surrounding coast, but as far as is known, there is no activity of the Dark Elves in Esdenros, which is adjacent to Erebor, and the situation elsewhere is not very clear......"

From the map, you can clearly see what makes Erebo unique. As Ashrufat had previously known, the city itself served a twofold purpose, the first as a naval base, and the second as a center of trade with the human realm. However, the real key lies in the former, which is only a subsidiary function. The elves are not very keen on the human trade, and they have (or think they have) everything they need. In the eyes of the elves, humans are a low-level, savage creature. As some books have written, a human man may have fallen in love with an elven girl at first sight, but no matter how hard he tried to court, the elven girl would not have a crush on him—just as humans could not have any special thoughts about monkeys. This is also the main reason why few elves go to Turan to trade as merchants.

So, as a port city, the main means of communication between Iriber and the other elven realms was sea traffic, and the elves relied on their great seamanship. There are many benefits to sea traffic, but there is also a very obvious disadvantage – slower speeds. On land, Ireb has a decent road system, but it's a remote area with little accessibility. The camp of the Dark Elves occupies the key point of land communication, blocking the outside reinforcements.

If the Phoenix King or other nearby Elven Princes tried to reinforce Iriber, the best option would be to come by boat, which meant it would take quite some time. In other words, at least for a short time, Ashrufat will be on his own.

On the one hand, they recklessly gathered supplies and materials everywhere, and put on a posture of being ready to attack the city at any time...... But there were no siege weapons...... "Ashruphat pondered. He keenly felt that there was something wrong with it, and it shouldn't be like this under normal circumstances.