Chapter 1011 – 1011. Yggdrasil (7)
“… “I came on time.”
“…”
At my words, not only the party members but also the elves following behind became quiet as if they were wary.
The distance between the elf army and us was long.
A long distance where you can exchange attacks rather than a conversation with a greeting.
We began to notice the elf army advancing towards us.
“There are a lot.”
The estimated number of elf troops is around 2,000.
Compared to our side, which had less than 50 people, it was an enormous force.
Even about 40 people on our side are elf prisoners.
In fact, our total strength was 8 people.
But the other person will also know it well.
The fact that I shot down an ultra-long-range magic bullet and even annihilated the Pegasus cavalry.
‘I won’t shell out carelessly.’
The elves can use ultra-long-range artillery fire, but we can also respond with superconductor arrows.
In addition, more accurate information about the bombardment was obtained through the captured elves.
‘They said that the artillerymen would be divided every time they were used…’
The mana used in bombardment was beyond imagination and could not be used carelessly.
It was a unique case where they focused their bombardment on me like last time.
He said that in most cases, shelling is used for the purpose of damaging important buildings.
[Still, be careful. Everything will have recovered.]
As Han Han-na said, the bombardiers would have recovered all their mana and stamina.
I said as I took out the bow from my inventory.
“Everyone is nervous.”
The party members who heard me nodded with stern expressions.
It was about the time when we were getting closer to the elf army.
‘… Huh?’
The entire elf army of about 2,000 people stopped.
Then, several elves in the lead began to approach us.
Looking at that, I laughed to myself.
‘You’re willing to come and sacrifice your head?’
***
Jeopuk, Jeopuk, Jeopuk.
A tense movement.
Amid the tension that tightened my heart, I heard a girl’s calm voice.
“Commander in Chief, do you really think you can talk to them?”
“…”
A man called the commander-in-chief.
His name is Thalyndra Wintira.
He was currently the commander-in-chief leading the war against Umbra.
When he got no answer, he heard the voice of the girl next to him again.
“Commander-in-Chief, I’m asking if we can talk to them…” .”
“Erdin, be quiet.”
The Commander-in-Chief turned his head and looked at the woman who turned around with an annoyed look on her face.
Blue hair that touches the floor, a high nose, sharp eyes, ears stretched out to both sides, and pure white silk robes that are not suitable for a battlefield.
And…
“If you lack experience at a young age, so that you can quietly watch and learn from the side.”
There was a girl who looked a little too small for an adult.
Her name is Erdin.
“What does age matter on the battlefield? Position is important. As the leader of an artillery unit, I think I asked a reasonable question.”
He was currently serving as the leader of the magic bombardment unit, which was responsible for the main firepower in the war.
Unlike the commander-in-chief’s annoyed expression, Erdin’s expression did not show any emotion.
The commander-in-chief walked forward again and grumbled to himself.
“How can you be less than 100 years old?” .”
Arbos elves hold a coming-of-age ceremony when they turn 100 years old.
In other words, she would not be recognized as an adult until she was 100 years old.
Erdin’s current age is 99.
Although she had stepped onto the threshold of adulthood, she was not yet an adult.
However, Erdin, such a young elf, spoke back to the commander-in-chief with her blunt expression.
“Does age matter in war?”
“Ha…”
A vein appeared on Talindra’s forehead.
Talindra looked like a man in his 20s, but he was over 400 years old this year.
She entered the royal palace before Princess Stella was born, and was so capable that she took on the role of Commander-in-Chief at the same time that Princess Stella ascended the throne.
Even Thalyndra was a noble of the Wintira family.
An elf who is noble, over 400 years old, and even holds the position of commander-in-chief.
But the girl walking next to her was a commoner, she was not even 100 years old, and her rank was even lower than her.
Nevertheless, the reason Erdin was able to serve as the commander of the artillery corps and even talk back was simple.
“I was definitely chosen by Her Highness the Princess. Please respect it.”
“…”
It was because she had outstanding skills to the point where she was chosen by Stella.
He is smart enough to be the leader of an artillery corps at a young age and has a vast amount of mana.
However, there was no expression on Erdin’s face, which led to rumors that she had lost her emotions at the expense of her skills.
‘Whoa… Okay. What use is age on the battlefield? ‘Skill is important.’
Talindra didn’t just hate Erdin.
She acknowledged her skills.
And at the same time, she liked her attitude as an elf.
“I wonder if they are at a level where they can talk to us.”
“…”
“It’s funny that just because you can communicate with bugs in the first place, you can have a conversation along the same lines…”
Contempt of other races.
‘Okay… That’s what she likes.’
Although she had the tendencies of most elves, Erdin had particularly strong tendencies.
This may be because she learned everything through records.
“You think it’s funny? A guy who doesn’t even smile…”
“It’s just a metaphor. If you really need an explanation of the metaphor…”
“Ha… It’s done.”
However, the problem was that she often got to know each other and caused friction due to her personality.
But despite the friction, she had one more reason not to hate Erdin.
‘Recently arrived human…’
A human suddenly brought by Princess Stella.
It wasn’t enough that she suddenly brought a human with her, so she even entrusted the human guard to him.
Unpleasant as if a bug had been brought into the house.
Because it was Stella’s decision, no one could say anything, but they could not hide their disgust.
But that didn’t last long either.
One by one, the female elves began to be fascinated by the human man.
Among them, the only one who did not fall was Erdin.
The human man brought by Stella approached Erdin as if he was interested.
But Erdin always spoke to human men.
(I am not a bug lover, so please stay away.)
(What… What…)
(Oh, if you didn’t understand my explanation, let me explain. To elves, humans are like bugs…)
Afterward, Erdin kept his distance from humans and continued to preach the relationship between humans and bugs.
It was a moment when Talindra, who normally could not laugh, was able to vent her stress with laughter for the first time in a long time.
‘Okay… Rather, he is a hard-hearted guy.’
Talindra smiled through her clothes and spoke to Erdin.
“It doesn’t matter whether the words make sense or not. We have to bring the riders somehow.”
Humans coming up from below and Pegasus riders being pulled by the humans.
The Pegasus cavalry was one of the best units supporting the Arbos army.
They were even treated as far more talented than the artillery units responsible for the main firepower.
As for what level it is…
“Even if we throw away the captured Pegasus, we must somehow save its riders.”
The Pegasus riders were considered more important than Pegasus.
“I don’t understand. Most of the Pegasus have already abandoned their owners and returned. “Isn’t it enough to just elect a new jockey?”
“…”
“Could it be that the majority of the cavalry are nobles?”
At Erdin’s words, the soldiers who accompanied him for security also began to notice.
Ironically, the majority of the cavalry were nobles.
Although it was not a noble family or an estate like Wintira or Luxsolis, it was mostly made up of nobles.
In comparison, most of the soldiers were composed of commoners.
On the surface, the situation may seem like it favors the nobles.
However, Talindra did not show an unpleasant expression, but rather smiled.
“I’m young, and my thoughts are short.”
“… “I can’t answer?”
“Why do you think the majority of the Pegasus cavalry are nobles?”
“It’s a question…”
Erdin began to think deeply about Talindra’s question.
Erdin was smart, but it was limited to magic.
Because I was focused on magic my entire life, I was ignorant of the entanglements of the world.
Erdin gave the answer he thought of.
“Because Pegasus is the exclusive possession of nobles.”
Most elves rarely have the chance to see Pegasus in person in their lifetime.
It was the same for Erdin as well.
The only time Erdin saw Pegasus with his own eyes was when he participated in a war.
This shows how rare Pegasus was.
“Then what are the conditions for riding Pegasus?”
“… Is there such a thing?”
Most commoners knew nothing about Pegasus.
I just thought it was a ridiculously expensive horse flying around.
And it was the same for Erdin.
“We must receive Pegasus’ approval. However, that period can be as short as one year or as long as 70 years.”
For reference, 70 years was the record set by GuildOn.
A man who trained the royal family’s Pegasus with patience.
‘Who would have known that the man who held the position of captain of the guard would fall in one day?’
But a man who lost everything with just one mistake.
Talindra’s body trembled as she remembered the fallen guild.
It was because she thought that she might be like that too.
As Talindra shook off her goosebumps, Erdin next to her nodded as if he understood.
“When I heard those words… I understand why they want to save the Pegasus riders. It’s because of efficiency.”
In terms of pure value, the value of Pegasus was much higher than that of the Pegasus rider.
However, she could not ignore the time and cost required to create Pegasus’ rider.
Losing all the talent that cost so much time and money?
As the commander-in-chief, he must take great responsibility.
‘I can no longer avoid making mistakes, but…’
And to end it with just her missteps, Talindra came up with a plan.
An invasion plan focused on recapturing the Pegasus riders.
But ironically, the riders who were determined to save them…
And the reason the commander-in-chief approached the enemy directly was to minimize her mistakes.
This was because she thought that if she did not resolve this situation properly, she would easily follow in Guildon’s footsteps.
Erdin muttered to herself whether she knew Talindra’s heart or not.
“Still… “I wonder if I can communicate with humans.”
“…”
He was being dragged by the hand of the person who shot down the artillery barrage and even killed the cavalry.
As we slowly got closer to such a dangerous group, Talindra answered with a stern expression.
“Bringing in prisoners like that means they want something from there too.”
Even though I didn’t like having the initiative taken away.
So Talindra and Erdin finished their conversation and looked straight ahead.
Erdin carefully lifted his staff and muttered quietly so that only Talindra could hear.
“I will prepare to fire magic bullets in case of emergency. No matter how good my archery skills are, at this distance I am confident I can hit it before I take out my bow.”
“Before I take out the bow… ?”
Only then was Talindra able to see the image of the man riding on Pegasus.
‘What? Didn’t she say earlier that she was taking out her bow?’
A human man who, even when seen from afar, took out his bow and prepared to intercept.
However, as he approached like this, he suddenly put away his weapon and was leisurely looking at them while riding the Pegasus.
And other humans also came into view.
Except for one man, all of them were so beautiful that even the elves were seduced.
However, such appearances did not catch the eye of old Talyndra.
‘What… ? Spare? No… Something… Something is strange…’
It looked a little different from the leisure of the strong.
Like…
‘No, it’s not leisure!’
It was the gaze of a hunter looking at an animal caught in a trap.
And as soon as I felt something strange, I saw the elves being dragged behind the humans.
A proud elf even if taken prisoner.
Those elves…
‘Something is strange!’
It stood like a wooden doll.
There wasn’t even a single trace of capture on their bodies.
Everyone voluntarily lined up like an army and followed behind the humans.
While talking with Erdin, I was finally able to read the important atmosphere.
Talindra muttered as she took a step back.
“Eh, Erdin…”
“Yes? I can’t believe I’m going to use magic bullets right now…”
“Run!”
“!?”
Talindra tried to push Erdin away.
But their movement stopped there.
“Radish… What… !”
The two people were frozen like petrification with their bodies overlapping.
“What… Body… !”
Even Erdin, who usually kept an expressionless face, trembled with an embarrassed expression.
Talindra and Erdin were able to immediately realize the identity of the sensation they were currently feeling.
“Wow, I didn’t know you would come on your own.”
The fact that this dominance comes from a man sitting on a Pegasus and looking at him calmly…
