Chapter 168 – The Outcast
Before we get into the full story, we explained how we came to this point.
Before Elven Wood’s declaration of war and information to prepare for it, and how she came to her hiding place.
After hearing the whole story, she clapped her hands as if she remembered it belatedly, and looked at Dorothea, who was sitting next to me.
“You’ve changed a lot from when I saw you before. So, someone did it at first.”
When I heard that, I tilted her head.
“How was it in the old days?”
“I felt like I was much sharper than I am now. It was almost like a beast.”
“I-I’m sorry for being so ferocious.”
Widely!
Upon hearing Glinda’s evaluation, Dorothea replied curtly and put down the beaker she was holding.
“You’re saying that you’ve improved a lot now. Why are you being so picky?”
As I said that, I stroked her Dorothea’s head, and she threw her hand away in annoyance.
“Oh, don’t touch her hair. It’s hard to set it up again.”
While the two of us were bickering, Gabriel, who was next to us, asked a question.
“But why do you live alone in a remote place like this? It looks like you have a story behind it.”
Then, taking the question, Glinda answered with a wry smile.
“I have nowhere to go back to.”
“Nowhere to go back?”
“It was banished from the Elven Woods for being too strong and disturbing the harmony of nature.”
As she said that, she looked at us with her calm eyes.
How strong was he, that he was banished even from the famous elven society?
I asked her if she liked her.
“If you don’t mind, is there a hierarchy?”
Then Glinda munched her lips and answered.
“Originally, it’s the 8th tier.”
I spat the tea I was drinking into the beaker.
… Isn’t that almost the continent’s strongest class?
***
8 tier.
It is a hierarchy that belongs to the highest rank even in a hierarchy with a total of 10 levels.
And as I reached the 7th level, I came to have physical abilities that were out of line, and I understood that the hierarchy in magic is the process of getting closer to God by raising one’s own status.
In other words, once you reach the 8th rank, it is safe to say that you have become a demi-god.
“But you’re saying that you’re originally in the 8th rank, are you saying that’s not the case now?”
Glinda answered my question with a nod of her head.
“After being banished from my hometown, I lowered the hierarchy myself. Too strong power can be poisonous not only to the owner, but also to the people around him.”
“Is that possible?”
It was unheard of for anyone to be able to arbitrarily drop a hierarchy once ascended.
“It’s difficult, but not impossible. And hardly anyone has ever tried it.”
“…Okay.”
First of all, it is possible to be a better person than me, so why not argue more?
Instead, I decided to ask something else.
“By the way, how long have you been away from Elvenwood? If you haven’t been recently, you might not have the information we’re looking for.”
Then Glinda shook her head in denial.
“It’s been quite a while since I was expelled, but there won’t be much difference between the information then and now. Elves live for 1000 years at the longest or 500 years at the shortest, so there are fewer changes in policies and organizational charts than short-lived species. At most It has to be to the extent that Archon has changed.”
“Arcon?”
“He is the archon of the Elven Woods, elected once every 100 years. Only the most talented and honorable elves can be elected to the position of archon. Up to three consecutive terms are possible, but usually the members of the most influential families take turns.”
… Is it roughly like a president?
Certainly, I felt that the society of elves was very different from human society.
We used to sit on the throne with bloodlines not too long ago.
Said Glinda, pushing up her glasses with her fingers.
“Currently, the population of the entire Elven Wood, including young children, will not exceed 100,000. Apparently, the rapid development of civilization has polarized the social structure and the number of newborns has decreased significantly as more elves avoid marriage. Elves have a longer lifespan than other races, so even if you don’t feel it right now, after a few thousand years, the size will definitely decrease.”
“That’s right.”
“And among them, there will be about 3,000 people who can fight. Basically, the army of elves is more like a vigilante, but there is a mandatory service period of 30 years. So, when elves of the appropriate age enlist, equites (knights) They teach combat skills for 30 years. And after 30 years of service, there is a 70-year reserve army period, and if you work for the country for a total of 100 years, you will receive a national defense pension after that.”
Maybe it’s because it’s the standards of the elves, but the unit is no joke.
30 years in the military and 70 years in the reserve army.
If it were me, I would bite my tongue and kill myself.
“This is the basic information I know, do you have any more questions?”
“Well, what is the average combat power of Equites?”
“I can only say that it is very different. It depends on the individual’s aptitude, but in the case of Equites, only elves with talent in combat are selected and accumulated combat experience for hundreds of years. .”
“In other words, it’s a small elite.”
“So to speak. Although the number is a bit high for a small elite.”
I wonder if I just asked
If I didn’t know, I would have fought ignorantly, but now that I know, I feel even more helpless.
Until the full-scale battle begins, we have no choice but to gather our strength as much as possible.
It was because the future in which our forces would be torn apart if they collided with halfway numbers was obvious.
‘If quality doesn’t work, I’ll have to push for quantity.’
When I go back, I will ask the Demon King if he can mobilize Orcs and Goblins.
After that, we continued our conversation.
Basically, it was a Seon dialogue method in which she would answer a question when I asked, but she tried to explain as much as possible unless it was information she did not know.
I am grateful, but in fact, from her point of view, our visit itself would have been like a lightning strike in the dry sky, so I asked why she cooperated so well.
Then Glinda smiled and replied.
“Because I am not a saintly gentleman. It is my personal vengeance against those who banished me.”
“…”
This girl, it looks like she can’t catch insects properly, but there was a bit more poisonous than I thought.
Well, according to Dorothea’s testimony, she said that if there was something she didn’t like, she would lash out without hesitation.
It seems that you shouldn’t judge a person’s personality just by looking at his appearance.
***
“I’m grateful for today’s work. It’s helped me a lot.”
“I’m glad you did. If you have any more questions later, come and ask.”
We came out of Glinda’s house late at night.
Since the society of the elves was shrouded in a veil, there were a lot of things I was personally curious about.
Glinda said that she would treat her to dinner, but she couldn’t bear to eat and go, so she said she would come next time.
On the way back to the Demon King.
Camilla asked from Gabriel’s back.
“Patrasch-nim, do you think there is a chance of winning the war against the elves?”
This is an unexpected question.
Because when I and Glinda talked, Camilla kept her mouth shut.
I usually don’t talk a lot, but today I was almost like a shadow, so I couldn’t figure out the reason for suddenly asking such a question.
But, what.
“I think it’s half and half. It’s true that the strength of the Elves is stronger than expected, but that doesn’t mean our strength is weak either. If we succeed in forming an alliance with the Dwarves, the odds of winning will increase.”
There is no need to panic before fighting.
If the enemy’s power is strong, you need to prepare more thoroughly.
I stared straight ahead, revisiting the information I had heard about elves from Glinda today.
The demonic castle is slowly starting to appear.
And a huge tree farther away than that, the world tree.
The fight with the elves also slowly entered the countdown.
***
Nidavellir.
It was a huge kingdom that occupied the eastern part of the western continent.
Dwarves are the main members of the kingdom, and commerce and industry are extremely developed, making it a country where capitalism is more prevalent than anywhere else.
And Motsognir, the king of Nidavellir, has ruled over the dwarves for a long time of a thousand years.
And this generation’s Motsognir, Deberg, remembered the blue dragon he had recently visited and gnashed his teeth.
‘A bitch like a dog, how did I collect these jewels?’
Greedy dragons have been exploiting the dwarves for a very long time, and they were like fierce enemies.
However, there was no way that the dwarves could deal with a walking natural disaster like existence, and every time the dragon came, they had no choice but to take the treasure powerlessly.
‘It was a time of persecution and humiliation… But now that’s over.’
Deberg looked lovingly at the massive weapon in front of him.
A decisive battle weapon created only to slay dragons.
As soon as Dberg saw this big, ugly guy, he named it ‘Dragon Slayer’.
It was by chance that I found this guy’s blueprint.
A safe that is believed to contain an undisclosed design of Nakamura, a dwarf called a rare genius in the past, was put up for auction, and he, who was an avid fan of Nakamura from the beginning, immediately bought the safe.
It was probably one of the best things in his life.
‘Gabriel, next time I’ll make a hole in that huge body.’
Dberg smiled sinisterly and stroked the dragon slayer’s body.
