"I thought it was Lord Karuf...... Hum. Lord Murglin snorted, expressing his disdain. There is a reason for his actions. They are also nobles of the dark elves, but they are also superior to each other. Lord Metlin was a hereditary nobleman who inherited his family's legacy, and thus ruled the city known as Ampllis, as well as a large family army and a sizable fleet. He was no match for a nobleman like Karuf who had been improvised on the battlefield, even if the Witch King took him very seriously and entrusted him with the important task of guarding the south. "There's nothing to brag about killing that kind of guy. ”

"But our stupid cousins boasted and praised it. ”

"Anyway, this Prince Essrufat has indeed brought an army to us, what are we going to do with this?"

None of the subordinates spoke. They knew that Lord Murglin was ostensibly asking for advice, but in fact he had already made a decision. Such words are merely a sign of mere ceremonial humility. If any fellow thinks he is smart enough to give advice to Lord Murgelin, he quickly regrets that he was born with a tongue for something.

"I think," Lord Megalin paused and continued. "Our Prince Ashruphat has given us a good opportunity. His expeditionary force numbered only about 10,000...... In terms of troops, Ampriglis had plenty of military strength to deal with him. And we already occupy good terrain conditions. We can't hold the city and wait for him to attack. ”

It wasn't an outrageous decision, so his men agreed.

Lord Megrin's contemptuous attitude towards the expeditionary force was not unfounded. The Azul had no idea what they were up against—even though the Witch King had led his army on an expedition through the portal, the remaining forces in the land of the Dark Elves were still strong. As early as the time when the Yasur plotters were planning an expedition to open a second front, the Witch King had already received the news and made preparations. Nagalus now has at least three legions, deployed along the coastline, ready to meet the landing Yasur Expeditionary Force head-on.

The troops under Lord Megrin were one such force. The Witch King specifically told him and his army not to join the war, but to stay on the mainland to defend against the expeditionary force of Azur. Lord Megrin's army, both in quantity and quality, rivaled the expeditionary force of Prince Essrubat, and in addition to that, he had a fortified city to defend. Advance can be attacked, retreat can be defended.

The Witch King's orders were clear, ideally to hold the expeditionary force at sea and make it impossible for them to land, but if conditions permitted, it would be good to let them land and annihilate them. The next strategy is to defend your city and form a hard walnut that can't be swallowed and shaken off.

Of course, the matter of staying at home to defend the city will not be considered by Lord Maeglin for the time being. The only question at the moment is where exactly the expeditionary force should be encountered.

"The scouts have sent information that Prince Ashrufat is still south of the White River. Let's take this river as the end of Prince Ashrufat's expedition. ”

The White River is a large river south of Ampriglis, and it almost doesn't look like a natural creation, as it flows through the mountains until it bursts out of the canyon at its peak, forming a small alluvial plain by the sea. The Dark Elves named the river "White River" because of the rapidity of the river, and except for a short section of the estuary, the rushing water crashed against the rocks, forming white foam everywhere, and it looked like it was white from a distance.

"Prince Ashrufat should be making his way along the coastline. Lord Megalin said confidently.

In fact, the location of the scout's news was not from the coast, but Prince Ashrufat was definitely coming towards the coast. It's a matter of course. There are many advantages to marching along the coast, the first of which is that the prince can keep in touch with his own fleet, can be resupplied steadily, and at least has a way to retreat if the situation is unfavorable. The second is that you can avoid the complex terrain of the mountains ahead. You know, a long stretch of mountains that even the dark elves don't know about the end of the road that stretches south of Ampriglis.

Even if Prince Ashrufat wanted to cross the river in a different place based on the tactical idea of "surprise", he would not be able to do it. For these Yasurs could not have been familiar with the terrain south of the White River—they had undoubtedly lost their course and landed in this area by accident. To be honest, even Lord Megrin himself didn't know much about the situation on the south bank of the White River. The Dark Elves naturally consider the White River (and the mountains it flows through) to be the southern tip of the country. Although Lord Megrin often sent small detachments across the White River to search south, it was more of an expedition than a patrol.

"We will meet Prince Ashrufat at the mouth of the White River, on the coast. Lord Maeglin glanced around at the group of subordinates in front of him, all of whom looked approving.

"Your Excellency, our stupid cousins have come into contact with our scouts. It is likely that they will then rush to the White River by a rapid march. There must have been some ships with a shallow waterline in their fleet, or at least a lot of dinghys. These ships can enter the mouth of the White River by sea...... Using these boats, they crossed the river easily. ”

"That's right. "Lord Murglin is not averse to this addition. In fact, what the higher-ups are really disgusted with is the "contrarian" type of opposition, but they are more open to such additions in detail. "So we have to move faster. ”

......

"Your Royal Highness, I heard that you love the battlefield more than you love women?" Aracet suddenly asked as Ashrufat flipped through the map. Ashruphat smiled and did not answer. He knew that there was no malice in saying this. This time of coexistence allowed him to learn more about this elven nobleman named Aracet. He was a true scholar, very knowledgeable and well-informed, but on the other hand he was a young man, full of curiosity, especially interested in lace journalism.

The map in his hand was provided by Aracet. Arose clearly did not consider himself a "spectator", he made careful preparations, at least he carried a map. Map of the whole of Nagarus. These maps come from ancient records of the elves, or captures from the battlefield. Although in Iribo's time, Ashruphat had a magic map like a gorgeous thing, but it seems that the elves will need this kind of normal map once they leave the country. Simple, intuitive, and free from outside distractions.

They are now taking a break on the side of the road. Ashrufat was trying to pretend to be looking at the map, but he was actually collating the "bird's-eye view" provided by Carrie with the map from the hands of the ancient elves. It must be said that the ancient elven explorers drew quite well, although they did not depict every detail like Carrie, but at least they drew all the points.

"What do you think so?" asked Ashrufat.

"They say you never let any woman sleep in Irebo when you were there. Allasset replied. Upon hearing this, Kaye, who was standing on the side, let out a cold snort.

"Because ......" Ashruphat didn't know how to answer this for a moment, so he simply lowered his head and continued to look at the map. But now Kaye has saved him from the siege.

"This is Ampriglis, as long as we can cross the river. Kaye said. "Our evil cousins are hoarding heavy troops here. If the news obtained from the Phoenix King is reliable, then our evil cousins will never be less numerous here than we are. But maybe the number of warships is not as large as ours. Then again, if you know the route, why don't you just land in the area of this estuary?"

"You can't land here. Ashrufat replied. "On the surface, it looks like a river estuary, and the current is gentle, but in fact there are a lot of reefs below, and the underwater conditions are complicated, and the water is shallow in some places. It's easy for our ships to run aground or run aground here. Again"

"Your Royal Highness, how do you know the Dao?" Ashruphat replied casually, but Aracet on the side immediately became interested.

Of course, Ashrufat couldn't say that Carrie had told him, so he could only let out an embarrassed "um" and try to hide it.

"If the map is correct, we have two roads ahead. Kaye ignored Aracyet's curiosity. "You can go all the way along the coast. The good thing is that the road is easy to walk, at most it is just a beach, and the current is not fast, so you should be able to cross the river easily...... But nine times out of ten, our evil cousins will be waiting for us here. Of course, even if we fail, we can still leave by boat. If we go this way, try to go into the mountains...... This map is at least a thousand years old, from before our Civil War and beyond, and no one can be sure if the terrain has changed. Again, how the army survives the turbulent river is a big question. ”

Ashruphat pondered and did not answer.

"If you weigh the two sides, I suggest we take the coastal route. Kaye replied.

"...... here," Ashruphat gestured to a location on the map. "I think this place is dangerous. ”

"I know this place. Kaye replied. "Our wicked cousins call this Sea Cliff. The terrain is very treacherous, with the sea on one side and the mountains on the other, with only a small flat area in between. This is simply a natural ambush point, if an army encounters an ambush here...... That's a disaster. I don't doubt that our evil cousins will take advantage of this, but it's not too late to wait until we cross the river to think about it. ”

Ashruphat could sense Kaye's attitude, a serious gesture of rebellion, as if the elf named Kaye was trying to provoke him. However, Carrie warns that this is likely a disguise to make him lose his guard.

There were four lieutenants in Ashrufat, and Valinor was in command of the fleet and was not present. Swiftwind was in charge of the scouts, and he was also there, Garth was in command of the rear army, and Kaye was the only one with him. Although he didn't ask Kaye about the past, he also had a vague sense that his previous shackles didn't seem to be a show. It looks like there are "freaks" everywhere.

"You're right, our evil cousins won't let go of this opportunity. Ashrufat replied. He stood up and rolled up the map in his hand. The elves made things are really of good quality, and the map from a thousand years ago feels like it was just a few months ago. "They will definitely choose to use this river as a natural danger to stop our army. Even if we defeat them and make it across the river, we will not be able to pursue them freely because the terrain around the sea cliffs is too dangerous. The Truzzies can retreat to their cities and patiently organize their defenses, but it will be difficult for us to break through them. Kaye, I have a small question. ”

"What's the problem?"

"How do you know that this place is called Sea Cliff?"

"I just know the way. Kaye's gaze suddenly became vicious, "It's the same as the inexplicable route you know about the road." ”

"Do you know who the lord of Ann Phriglis is?" asked Ashrufat.

"It's Lord Maeglin, a very experienced veteran. "This time it was Aarasett who spoke. "Battle-hardened, ferocious and brutal, but not a remarkable record. ”

"Lord Megrin......" Aerufar nodded. "It's time for us to go. ”