"By the way, also, master, although this is a newly built town, there should be a library, a library, and other places to store books in the city, right? If we can, we must collect relevant materials immediately...... We can't go into the realm of elves in such ignorance, and the risk of us being exposed is too great. ”

But Carrie's proposal was completely redundant. Because when they went into the city to rest, Ashrufat was placed in the library—or at least a room with many books. Not only him, but Valinor and other soldiers and the wounded who needed medical attention were here.

After all, it was a small city with a population of less than 1,000 people, and there were not many empty houses in the city to accommodate these soldiers. The resting place of Ashrufat was probably a place of public meeting—a clubhouse or something. The corners here are also used to put books, materials, documents, etc.

All night, Ashruphat secretly read the elven books. Of course, it is said to be reading, but it is not in the eyes of a third party. To the other elves, he was at most just holding a book and turning the pages at a very fast pace—something he often did when he was upset. This reading speed is beyond the limits for both humans and elves, but Carrie is an exception.

"I see, no wonder they built a small town here. Carrie said in her head. "These shadow warriors don't seem to be popular, so they can't just move to the larger cities, but need to build a new city to house them...... Ah, here's a map of the neighborhood...... This is important......"

I don't know when Lu Dao started, Carrie has a habit of nagging while reading. Ashrufat could only endure this.

The collection of books here is not small in absolute terms, probably hundreds or even thousands. It includes some technical techniques, histories, legends, classics, manifestos, personal biographies and the like, and even some documents such as ledgers and orders from superiors. This amount of books would have taken years to read, but for Carrie, who flipped through books faster than running water, it only took one night to read everything.

"I'm done, master. As Ashrufat put down the last book, Carrie sighed in her mind. "Well, master, it must be said that the differences between human beings and elves in terms of opinions, customs, systems, etc., are really too great. ”

"I've known this for a long time. Ashrufat replied in his mind.

"We have to change our plans. Carrie said suddenly, "We may not be able to get the ships we need in this city." ”

"Oh?"

"From what I know now, the inhabitants of this city are from the northern interior...... Well, it's not the kind that is good at sailing. The time spent here is also too short, only a few years. There is no way to train enough good sailors in such a short period of time. Even if they had a boat, they wouldn't meet our requirements. It was not built as a new trading port, but simply as a town for refugees. ”

"......Refugees? These elves from the north ......"

"Well, it's not the normal situation where the original urban population has reached its limit, so they emigrate, but they come as war refugees. Carrie said. "In a long tug-of-war with the Dark Elves, I lost my home and became a refugee because of the loss of the situation. ”

"The elves in this city don't have two thousand, right? The normal way to deal with this number of refugees should be to accept them into an existing city, rather than to build a new city at great expense! I really don't understand the idea of these elves......

"Well, it's because they're shadow warriors. Carrie said.

"What about the Shadow Warriors?" Ashrufat asked in a strange rhetorical voice.

"That's right, master. The Shadow Warriors are identical in bloodline to the Dark Elves...... It should be said that at the time of the civil war for the throne, the elves were divided into two factions and fought each other. One side is the Divine Warrior Elf, and the other side is the Dark Elf. The Shadow Warriors, on the other hand, were those who were supposed to belong to the camp of the Dark Elves, but chose to follow the Phoenix King at the least. ”

"Ah......h

"So, the shadow warriors are rightfully under suspicion. Many elves believe that the Shadow Warriors must be inextricably linked to the Dark Elves. It is this suspicion and discrimination that prevents them from being directly relocated to other cities, but from building a new city for them to live in. ”

"Ah......" Ashruphat sighed inwardly. Now he understood, and he knew what the original cruising action of the "Moonstrings" was to turn around the headland and return, rather than simply rest in the town for a day and then return. Originally, he thought that this was just some kind of prejudice and habit of the elves, but he didn't know that there was such a reason behind the way.

"However, in fact, the Shadow Warriors still have a lot of value in the eyes of the higher-ups. They have been fighting the Dark Elves in a guerrilla manner, so they are masters of ambushes and guerrilla warfare, and are valuable scouts on the battlefield. Probably because of this, after losing their homeland, they were able to exchange for such a small city. But master, I think it's a little weird...... I just looked at the map in the collection...... No matter how you look at it, this place should be far from the front line, and there is no reason for the dark elves to come and attack only such a small city. ”

"I think so too. Ashruphat recalled Valinor's actions. From the few words of the conversation between the two sides, he got the impression that "although the war is approaching, it has not yet really affected here".

The size of the army of the dark elves who fought yesterday was about three hundred...... Where did they come from? Could it be that the situation has changed very dramatically?

Hey, this trip is far more complicated than expected. Ashrufat's original idea (i.e., Carrie's original plan) was simple - to find a way to reach the elven city on some human ship. Then use money, goods, or something to buy the services of an elven captain. As soon as he got on the boat, his plan was basically completed.

After meeting Cosbodi, the first variable in his calculations was that his size was very different from that of elves. In order to cover this, he also specially put on a cloak to hide his figure. However, the most recent facts proved that the plan did not change quickly.

Ashrufat smiled bitterly, and then suddenly noticed that someone had walked into his room (there was no door because it was a public place). The man who came in was none other than Valinor, the captain of the Marine Corps.

Ashrufat looked out the window. At this time, the genius was just shining, and it seemed that although the elves had a long lifespan, they were a race that cherished time quite a lot.

"Is it time for us to go?" asked Ashrufat.

"The wounded are in good condition. Valinor looked at Ashruphat and said. "I think we can go at any time. He looked at the bunk on the floor of the room (because there was no bed in this room). It was evident that Ashrufat had not used the floor bunk last night.

Ashruphat understood what Valinor meant. He let go of the wind of magic. In fact, embracing the wind of magic is not a comfortable feeling, it is like stepping barefoot in the cold and greasy stinky grease, although it is not said to make people vomit immediately, but they can't help but feel nauseous.

The soldiers who were about to depart were eating breakfast in twos and threes. They ate a kind of bread that Ashrufat had never eaten, and it was pleasant but lacklustre. Of course, this was expected - the elves were famous for their music and art, not for their food. Despite his strong sense of taste, Ashrufat could barely recognize the small amount of flour in the cake.

Excluding Ashrufat and Dinethor, this army had more than sixty soldiers, as there were twenty or so Shadow Warriors who had volunteered to join today's operation, including the Swift Wind they had seen yesterday. Originally, there should have been more soldiers, but Valinor decided that some defenders had to be left in the city.

"What's the plan?" Ashrufat asked Valinor.

"Last night, there were already shadow warriors who set off as scouts. All we have to do is follow the markers he left behind to find the camp of our evil cousins. Valinor replied. "We didn't chase very far yesterday, and the scouts should be able to keep up with them. ”

Valinor's judgment was completely correct. It wasn't long after they set off that the Shadow Warriors found the mark left by the scout. Eshurufat, along with Valinor, looked at the symbol with interest. It was a simple symbol, but the Shadow Warrior read a lot of information out of it.

"The enemy has regrouped, and they seem to have a new commander. However, no reinforcements were received. So they must have nominated one on the fly. Swiftwind said to the two of them. However, when Ishrufat felt a little strange, Swiftwind was supposed to report the situation to Valinor (because he was the captain), but it was Ishrufat who was facing in the direction. Of course, because the two of them were standing side by side at this time, Ashrufat couldn't be sure of his judgment.

"Why do you think they have a new commander?" Ashrufat asked subconsciously.

"They held a small ritual nearby and sacrificed several wounded who could not continue to move. Swiftwind replied.

Swiftwind's words were quickly proven, and they soon found the altar, which was actually a makeshift pile of stones. Of course, at this moment the stone was already stained red with the blood of the victim. In the middle of the pile of stones, a marker soaked in blood and made of wood was erected. This mark looks like a palm.

"Master, that's the emblem of the god of the bloody hand. Carrie said secretly in her mind. "It's the killing god of the elves. ”

There were five victims, all of whom were wounded by arrows in their legs and feet, and who had difficulty moving. Their throats were horribly slit by the altar, and the emblem and the altar were stained red with their blood.

"Swift Wind, what's wrong with you?" Ashruphat noticed the change in Swift Wind's face.

"Nothing...... I just remembered...... Many of my comrades-in-arms and loved ones ...... All executed in this way by our evil cousins...... Normally, they sacrificed their captives, and only in this particular case did they sacrifice their companions. If we had been defeated yesterday, then this altar would have been built in the middle of the town, and the sacrifice would have been for us and our loved ones......" Swift Wind's face was full of hatred, and his eyes were like a flame.

"We must not allow our evil cousins to come back!" replied Valinor, in no uncertain terms. He waved his hand, and the whole army moved on. Because they could encounter enemies at any moment, the Shadow Warriors scattered and automatically took on the role of outpost and cover on both sides. And the fighters of the Marine Corps continued along the road, each fighter holding his weapon tightly and ready to go into battle at any moment.

After walking for a long time, there was a small commotion in front of the back. A shadow warrior was brought before Valinor. He was the scout who had been tasked with tracking the enemy's movements.

"Their camp was ahead, in the hollow of the mountain. The scout reported.