Urin held out his hand to the house. His eyes were full of anger, because of the distance, the building looked small at this time, and the small one could be pinched with one hand. Urin wished he could pinch the building with his hands and crush it with everything in it.

"I know what you're thinking, my son. But don't worry, the good days of these witches won't be long. How is your statistics progressing? Have you confirmed the news ahead?"

"Yes, lord. Urin replied. "The message has been confirmed. I've received similar reports from at least six places that Prince Ashrufat had killed Lord Megrin at the Battle of Sea Cliffs, besieging his army and losing little of his own. His current military strength is indeed above ours. He smiled sarcastically as he mentioned Lord Megrin's name.

"Very well, then we can at least be sure that there is some credibility to his intent on attacking Dosonian. Hurd replied.

"But that information came from the Witch King...... Lord, this information should be trustworthy......"

"Don't trust anything. Hurd patted his son's arm hard. The black metal armor made a crisp sound under his palm. "Be skeptical of any news, both good and bad. You are my most wonderful child, my heir. You should think a lot, watch out for the sword in front of you, and be careful with the dagger in your back. My child, I never doubt your ability to hold a sword, but there are some things you need to learn. For example, right now, some enemies need you to knock them down with your own hands, and some enemies need you to borrow other people's hands to fight them. What about statistics?"

"We have about forty hydras ready for war. There are many winged lions, but too few have been trained...... The opposite is true for the Chillbeasts...... On the contrary, the cold beast knights are insufficient. ”

Unlike warhorses, the Chillbeast comes at a price to ride such a dangerous beast. Because no matter how much training this carnivorous beast has, it is easy to get wild and attack the knights on its own body. In order to be able to drive away this dangerous beast, a knight of the Dark Elves must apply a special medicine to his legs to keep his body smell in line with that of the Chillbeast, so that he can drive the Chillbeast well and not suffer a backlash. This drug is poisonous, and long-term use will slowly erode the skin of the Cold Beast Knight's body, causing it to harden and lose sensation. A Chill Beast Knight's physical mobility will be much diminished, and his legs will no longer be able to run as nimbly as they once were.

In comparison, the conditions required to ride a war horse are much simpler. Not to mention an elf, even an ordinary farmer among humans only needs a few days to master the tricks of horseback riding. At most, a skilled knight has the sequelae of looping legs, which does not affect his own actions.

"Very well, we were right to delay the delivery of war beasts to the front line. Hurd replied satisfied. "Now, even if we had a head-on fight with that Prince Ashrufat, we wouldn't be at a disadvantage ...... at least."

"Lord, in the midst of your great plan...... I'm worried about something else. Our animal trainers may leak ...... Many of them were devout followers of the God of the Bloody Hand, and saw the witches as spiritual mentors. The Witch King's attitude is also worth pondering...... He longed for the glory of vengeance, and at this moment, he would never allow ......"

Hurd chuckled. "When they win, maybe they're mentors. But when they were all dead, things were completely different. As long as we can win, the Witch King will never spit out half a word of opposition. ”

"And then there's our Prince Ishrufat. He doesn't necessarily ......"

"Brilliant vision, my son. Hurd looked at Urin approvingly. "Prince Ashrufat is indeed the biggest variable. Although our stupid cousins are weak and incompetent, this prince is dangerous. He chose the south, landing outside the area under our control...... On the surface, it seems to be an accident, but in fact, Lord Macrolin has already been calculated. He must have had an ancient map in his hand, which gave him a good idea of his surroundings and a location where he could cross the river...... Lord Megrin, on the other hand, waits wishfully for him to cross the river at the mouth of the sea...... In this way, the most reluctant hit Lord Murglin by surprise. From this point of view, he had been prepared for this operation. We must not ignore it. ”

"Lord, why are you...... Know that our reinforcements are already on the way......"

"We have a lot of war beasts and beast tamers, but we don't have enough infantry and we don't have a lot of warlocks. Holding a city is a wise choice against a strong enemy for most armies, but not for us. Besides, there are too many beasts in our city that have not yet been domesticated, if the prince makes a bold raid on the corral...... It may directly lead to an irreparable rout...... In other words, defending a city is not a good choice in any case...... The only viable strategy we had was to get out of town...... The question, of course, is what we do after we get out. ”

"We will stay away from Prince Ashrufat. Hurd waved his hand and clenched his fist into the night sky. "The city will fall into his hands, the untamed beasts will be slaughtered by him, and the city will be burned. But that's about it. Our prince will be satisfied with this achievement...... The witches will be completely eliminated in this offensive and defensive battle...... There are no more pesky guys...... Rebuilding the city is an acceptable price compared to this gain...... Then ......"

A cruel smile condensed into the corners of his mouth. "This is the end of Prince Ashrufat's expedition!"

......

After daybreak, the sky was still overcast.

The Dosonian is made of black volcanic rock walls enclosing a wide, circular mountain range. A huge castle was built on the top of the leveled hill, and at the end of the hill there was a watchtower fifty feet above the top of the mountain. At the foot of the hill is the rest of the city, with residential quarters, slave quarters, barracks, and most importantly, animal training grounds. Outside the city were deep trenches for defense, an earthen embankment with a slope, and various obstacles. On the whole, the perimeter is arranged in an oval shape according to the topography. There are two gates open on the wall, each of which is an urn city, and the figure of patrol sentries can be seen moving along the wall. Beyond the defenses of the city walls was a gray, deserted, seemingly lifeless land. Winter in Nagalos seems to have come early, and the chill of the wind is forcing the few remaining shrubs to survive in this barren land. Elsewhere only mud and withered and rotting stems remained.

Half natural and half artificial, it can be destroyed, but it is impossible to destroy, no wonder Lord Hurd would leave it unattended. Ashrufat looked at the city and thought to himself. Even if it were burned by fire, the Dark Elves could rebuild it in a very short time.

"Prince, the Star Dragon has returned. "Allasset came running from behind on horseback. "Your sentinels see everything from the sky, and as you might expect, the city's defenses are weak. If we attack, we can definitely take this place. ”

I made a mistake...... I should have climbed on the dragon's back myself. Ashrufat told himself in his heart.

"The soldiers are waiting for your order to attack. Aracet said.

"No, we don't attack. Ashrufat replied. "Hurd has left the city with his main force, and we must catch up. As for the city...... Let's ignore it for now. ”

Aracet was stunned, almost thinking he had misheard. "Prince, we are not here to ......"

"The key is the animal trainer. Ashrufat replied. "Instead of this place called Dosonian. As long as there are animal tamers, the Duruszy only need to change places to continue to supply their armies with war beasts. Now that the trainers are gone, it doesn't matter at all. They are so short of troops that they will never dare to come out and stop us...... Just let the star dragon harass them a bit...... March, keep going, don't stop. ”

"Prince. "Garth caught up from the rear. "Your plan may not work. He pointed to the city in the distance, "They don't look like they're going to meet it." Our evil cousins are not stupid, they will not leave the safety of the city and come out into the wild to attack us. ”

"I didn't say that we were going to draw the enemy out. Ashrufat replied. He looked at the Great/Mage around him, where had they just been discussing? Oh, by the way, a conceptual question about magic. How can you manipulate the winds of magic in an elegant and subtle way, using whatever energy you draw without waste?

"But Prince, you said our goal was ...... Dosonian. Garth remained respectful and polite, but there was a flash of anger in his eyes.

"It's changed. Ashrufat replied. Great, as they appear to be, Garth and Kaye are on opposite sides, and there is no exchange of intelligence between them. Otherwise, Garth should have known that his target was Hurd, not Dosonian. It's the same with Aracet.

At least that illustrates the fact that the three generals they get from the Emerald Queen are not the type of people who quarrel on the surface and are united behind the scenes. They do have certain contradictions.

The Queen has a "watchman" in place, and there are three candidates, namely Kaye, Garth and Aracet. At least it can now be proven that only one of the three is a "watcher", and the other two may have no knowledge of the secret dealings between the Emerald Queen and him.

"Your Royal Highness, please forgive me for being rude. Garth suppressed his anger. "But if the plan of action changes, you should inform the soldiers in advance. ”

"It was my mistake. Ashrufat replied. He wanted to turn his head once more and discuss the academic aspects of magic with the Arch/Mage around him, but Garth spoke up again.

"If the goal changes, what will it become?"

"Hurd. We catch up with him and destroy his army, especially his animal tamers. Ashrufat replied. "Go and inform the dragon princes, and let them be on guard to prevent the defenders of the city from pursuing them. ”

"But Prince, I have to tell you...... If the news of the shadow warriors was correct, it had been at least three days since Hurd's forces left. Do we have time to pursue?"

"Just in time. Ashrufat replied. If the queen really wants to set up a "watchman", then he will definitely choose the best and most reliable subordinate. Because wars don't stop because of internal power struggles. Perhaps he should have removed Aracet from the list of suspicions, for the elven nobleman so far did not seem to be very good at military affairs, except for his apparent knowledge. "Do you understand?"

"Prince," Garth thought for a moment and nodded. "Do you mean the food side of the war beasts?"

"That's right. Almost all of Truuzzi's domesticated beasts were carnivorous. If it is not enough to march in the city, if you march at high intensity in the wilderness, those war beasts must eat at least once every four or five days. Otherwise, they will lose their combat effectiveness due to weakness, and even riots/riots will occur. And the fresh meat will not be kept for too long. Ashrufat said. "Heard would either have to carry a large amount of 'mobile meat' with his army, or he would have to hunt on a large scale to get enough supplies. Either way, his marching speed will be low. We'll be able to catch up with them in ten days!"