Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree-Chapter 970 - 679: Retreating Troops
When Sofia rode the unicorn into Augus City, it was already nearing evening.
The army set off in the morning and entered the city by evening, taking up most of the day.
The half-elf girl stared blankly at Folzer Fortress still smoldering in the afterglow of the setting sun, and at the citizens along the streets who had opened their doors, curiously observing the Elf Army. For a moment, she felt as if she were dreaming...
"Really... really captured in less than a day..."
She murmured incredulously.
As a former noble of the Empire, she knew all too well the renown of Folzer Fortress.
In the era of imperial decline, when various city-states in the Ares Region declared independence, the entire northern part of the Empire was also embroiled in war.
It was then that the Empire’s revival leader, Clovis the Great, won a critical battle at Folzer Fortress, turning defense into offense, ultimately regaining the allegiance of the northern lords and strengthening central authority.
The fortress’s unyielding reputation stemmed from that time.
Although recently Folzer Fortress fell in less than a month under siege by the Red Maple Kingdom’s army, considering that the defenders were merely the old, weak, sick, and disabled, while the attackers included mighty Transcendents, it was not surprising...
However, now, the defenders were not just the old, weak, sick, and disabled!
The girl was quite curious about how the players managed it, as even the fortress on the hill seemed to have suffered massive damage.
And when she raised her doubts to Li Mu accompanying her, he no longer kept her guessing but explained the sequence of the attack in full detail.
After hearing about the players’ combat process, the half-elf girl’s face was filled with astonishment and shock.
Aerial assault, like warriors descending from heaven...
She looked up at the large airship in the sky, murmuring:
"Is it really its achievement...?"
An aerial force.
This kind of unit is not the first in the Segis World.
In fact, many imperial territories have their own Griffin or Flying Dragon units.
Of course, dragons are rare, mostly two-legged flying dragons with dragon blood.
However, the imperial air units are mostly used for reconnaissance and are hard to form a threat.
This time, like the elves initiating attacks from the sky, starting with carpet bombing followed by the deployment of thousands of Transcendents in one move... was unprecedented.
At this moment, Sofia realized, with the emergence of Elf Airships, the warfare mode on the Segis Continent was about to be rewritten.
The elves are truly creative; you can never predict what they know or can create...
"However, the reason we could capture it so quickly is also because there was no divine arts protection barrier in the city. If there had been, it wouldn’t have been this easy."
Looking at the half-elf girl’s complex gaze, Li Mu, accompanying her, said with a chuckle.
Sofia:...
"If there were a protection barrier... what would you have done?"
She asked.
"Of course, fly to a height it cannot retaliate from, bomb it until it cannot maintain itself. That thing drains a lot to maintain; I doubt it can stay on indefinitely."
Li Mu said earnestly.
Sofia:...
The two walked and talked, entering the captured Folzer Fortress accompanied by the Elf Army.
The surrendered Red Maple Kingdom soldiers had been disarmed by the players and were squatting down obediently outside.
Sofia glanced at these soldiers, whose expressions still carried some confusion, their eyes full of fear, and she slightly frowned.
She paused, then used the Divine Arts "Eye of Faith," discovering that most soldiers emitted a faint red light.
It symbolized heretics with shallow belief, and even among the shallow believers, they were the most fragile, at most thinking of praying occasionally when idle.
"Most were forcibly converted...?"
The girl mused to herself.
She pondered a bit more, chanting a few incantations, and with divine power used an enhanced version of Magic "Mass Detect Evil."
With the glow of magic, halos appeared above the soldiers’ heads...
Some were deep black, some murky white, but most were dark gray or deep gray.
These were the halos representing alignments, the deeper the color, the more leaning towards evil.
Interestingly, the deeper-colored ones mostly aligned with those whose faith was recently red.
The firmer the belief in the Evil God, the greater the corruption, as always.
At this idea, Sofia contemplated:
"The black halos are those who have devoted body and soul to the Evil God, souls long corrupted. Gray ones can still be saved, while the whitish ones... are probably just ordinary conscripted folks."
Saying so, she looked at Li Mu:
"Li Mu, I intend to recruit those whose alignment hasn’t completely shifted, guiding them back to the right belief. What do you think?"
"This task is your commission, of course, it’s all up to you!"
Li Mu said earnestly.
"I heard your guild is quite adept at spreading faith?"
Sofia continued to ask.
"Ahem... You’d have to ask Demacia about that, he’s the expert."
Li Mu replied with a strange expression.
"Demacia?"
Sofia was surprised.
Just as the girl was astonished by Li Mu’s answer, a somewhat cheeky, slightly proud voice sounded behind them:
"Yes, that’s me!"
It was Demacia.
Sofia:...
Looking at the red-haired warrior who had somehow slipped in, the girl’s gaze was filled with doubt, scrutiny, and... vigilance.
