Chapter 176: The Dark Elf’s God

Chapter 176: The Dark Elf’s God

Although he believed that Cain would understand the situation, one could never be too careful.

However, facing such an enthusiastic Cain, he didn’t want to dampen his spirits.

Just as Arthur was hesitating and weighing the pros and cons, Airael suddenly spoke up, “I want to go as well. Even though my powers aren’t very strong, not as strong as that Mork guy, I can still contribute.”

Arthur and Cain both turned their gazes towards Airael.

They were both surprised.

After the shock wore off, Arthur became quite angry, “Ailia!”

He was scolding Airael for her recklessness, especially regarding such a dangerous matter.

“Arthur, I know you’re worried about my safety, but with Cain and I working together, escaping from Mork shouldn’t be an issue; that’s much safer than going alone,” Airael insisted.

Arthur glanced at Cain and then back at Airael.

For a moment, he too felt the urge to go with them.

Though he was the highest commander of the army, this army wouldn’t completely fall apart without him.

However, its efficiency would undoubtedly drop significantly, making it hard to deal with unexpected situations.

After all, this was a makeshift army.

Without a unified leader, while everyone could handle their individual squads, they could easily act on their own and lack coordination.

As Arthur struggled with his indecision, Airael looked at him and said, “Mils Fortress will be fine with just Cain and me. You should stay here. After all, we can’t do without you here.”

Cain didn’t say anything.

He had no idea how to interject.

Though he was part of the discussion, it felt like a private matter between those two.

How was he supposed to butt in?

“Alright, but you both must be careful. Your safety comes first. If Mils Fortress can’t be protected, we’ll just retake it later,” Arthur relented.

“Mm!”

“Understood!”

Airael and Cain replied in unison.

Immediately, Arthur meticulously selected an elite team from the army for them.

The team wasn’t large, consisting of only fifty members, plus the leading Cain and Ailia, making it fifty-two in total.

However, every single one of those fifty-two was above fourth tier in strength.

Moreover, despite their small size, they were well-rounded.

The fifty included scouts, archers, warriors, berserkers, knights, mages, and all kinds of troops.

To increase their speed, Arthur also arranged for horses for them.

Once the team was gathered, Cain and Airael wasted no time and swiftly headed towards Mils Fortress.

The situation was urgent, and they couldn’t afford to rest. They only paused when their mounts were utterly exhausted.

By a small river, the relieved horses munched on well-prepared fodder offered to them.

Cain and Airael didn’t need to tend to the horses; they found a large tree and sat down beneath it.

After a while of silence, neither of them spoke.

Finally, Airael broke the silence.

“Cain, how likely do you think Axi’s prediction is?”

“About five out of ten, I guess.”

Cain’s answer was uncertain.

“Five out of ten! That’s already high. Where do you think the five points mainly come from?”

“Probably from wealth! I’ve heard these Dark Elves are infamous pirates at sea, living off plunder. Even if they send an elite team to take Mils Fortress, they won’t be able to hold it. They can only take away the wealth humans have accumulated there and cause destruction.”

Airael nodded in agreement.

She didn’t comment on the correctness of Cain’s thoughts, just listened.

Airael had her own set of beliefs.

She thought it would be a combination of both.

Even if Mils Fortress only fell temporarily, the impact would be huge.

After all, many human warriors from the northern Orc lands called Mils Fortress home.

After a brief rest, the group set out again.

Meanwhile, Arthur had sent a messenger ahead to Mils Fortress.

In the messenger’s view, though the atmosphere at Mils Fortress was tense, thankfully, it wasn’t dangerously chaotic—it all seemed quite harmonious.

After completing the security checks at the city gate, the messenger headed straight for his destination.

He needed to relay Arthur’s warning to the fortress’s commander.

Just after the messenger entered through the south gate, a group of several hundred gathered in the woods outside the north gate.

These hundreds all wore large cloaks, obscuring their features.

However, their figures appeared quite tall beneath the cloaks.

Clearly, sneaking around and acting mysterious indicated they were not friendly visitors.

“Is this Mils Fortress?”

A mysterious figure stood on a large tree branch, quietly whispering to himself as he gazed at the majestic castle before him.

The words spoken were neither in the human tongue nor in Orcish.

If Airael were there, she would certainly understand.

It was the language of the Elves.

Clearly, they were Elves.

More accurately, they were Dark Elves.

“General, our forces have assembled. When do we attack those humans?”

A Dark Elf spoke to the figure in the tree, exuding confidence about attacking Mils Fortress.

They had only a few hundred men, but the human garrison inside wasn’t very large either.

Moreover, the quality of those human soldiers couldn’t compare to theirs.

It couldn’t be said they were weak, but they were nearing that level.

“Are you all so eager?”

The general atop the tree smiled down at those below.

“In that case, let us storm this human castle and offer their lives as sacrifices to our great god.”

Upon hearing the general’s words, the eyes of the Dark Elf soldiers lit up with a bloodthirsty glow.

Slaughter—this was the god that some Dark Elves currently believed in.

It was also a spiritual anchor found during their long, violent wandering lives.

Thus, when they heard such words, the Dark Elf soldiers immediately fell into a frenzy.

However, their general still maintained his reason.

“Follow the original plan.”

With the general’s command, the soldiers’ frenzied spirits subsided somewhat, but they were still filled with fighting spirit.

Meanwhile, the humans remained completely unaware.

Some human soldiers, even while on duty, began to slack off, oblivious to the impending danger outside.