Chapter 230: Chapter 197: Precisely Calculated Military Force
Although they had their suspicions, they had never been confirmed, so their guesses remained just that—guesses.
"The Magic Crystal Ore. We’re here for the Magic Crystal Ore."
Heather spoke without the slightest hesitation.
As a self-serving Zor Elf, betrayal was a stress-free affair for her, as easy as eating or drinking.
As long as she could survive, she would unhesitatingly offer up not just information, but even her own body.
Of course, there was another reason she was so quick to sell out her companions.
"Because the Magic Crystal Ore is the key to whether we can return to the surface."
At this point, Heather fell silent. This was clearly the limit of what she could reveal.
Levi didn’t take her word for it alone. He looked over at the other three Zor Elves, who nodded in agreement.
"Then it all connects," the Lord said, tapping the table. "For some reason, only a small number of you Zor can come to the surface. Your mission to return to the surface is to find Magic Crystal Ore, which will allow all you Zor to come back... No, that’s not quite right..."
Levi continued, watching the Zor Elves’ expressions. "...To be precise, it’s about opening a channel. The Magic Crystal Ore determines whether you can open a channel back to the surface! You just happened to hear news of Magic Crystal Ore here, so you immediately rushed over with your people to seize it, correct?"
"Lord, your wisdom is nearly as great as your insurmountable strength," Heather said with a nod.
She couldn’t voluntarily speak information containing certain words, but she could confirm what others said without any issue.
This war involved no profound strategy. It was, quite simply, a raid.
"You’re honest. Honesty is a valuable trait." Levi drew his longsword, and before Heather could react, the blade flashed, severing the hemp ropes binding her hands and feet.
The blade grazing her skin sent a cold sweat down Heather’s back. She was about to open her mouth and curse him, but she caught herself before things could take an irreversible turn, keenly aware of her precarious situation. She swallowed the words back down.
But now, her gaze toward the Lord held a hint of reproach.
"Levi?" Fulina looked over.
To release a Caster like that was definitely not something a competent leader would do.
"If they don’t want to become like the ones crushed by the Giant Stones today, they’d better not try any Casting in front of me."
But Levi just waved it off.
’After so many encounters with these Priests,’ Levi mused, ’I’ve realized these Casters are nothing like the Mages from my imagination, who can instantly cast Forbidden Curses.’
’Casting a single spell has a wind-up so long I could kill them hundreds of times over. The more powerful the magic, the longer the casting time.’
’I’m not the same clueless punk I was before, completely ignorant about magic. Once you see past the mystique, these Casters aren’t all that special.’
’Once I get close, they’re no harder to kill than Goblins or Kobolds.’
"As long as you know what you’re doing," Fulina said with a nod, not pressing the issue.
The Lord of High Cliff Castle’s strength was plain for all to see. There was indeed no need to worry about a few Zor Priests trying to pull off any Magic in front of him.
"Right," Levi said. The night was growing late, and he was feeling tired. He planned to ask one last question before going to sleep.
"Among the Zor Elves who came this time, besides the four of you and the ones who died, are there any other Casters?"
’Even though I wiped out their whole Casting Corps during the day, I can’t rule out the possibility that they have other Casters who weren’t on the field.’
"Hmm... there is one male Priest named Leon," Heather said after a moment of thought.
To be honest, they looked down on this male Priest named Leon. If Levi hadn’t asked specifically, they wouldn’t have even remembered him.
"Then why didn’t he attack the city wall with you?"
"He volunteered to stay behind and guard Shadow Forest with some men," Heather said, as if it were obvious.
"Guard Shadow Forest?" Levi realized something was wrong.
’No wonder I didn’t run into anyone guarding Shadow Forest when I passed through. This Zor Priest, Leon, must know a concealment spell like Masha’s, and he’s hidden himself and the troops he’s leading.’
’But why not try to stop me?’
"Damn it! His real target is Fujero’s group behind me!" Levi’s face fell, his expression instantly darkening. He slammed his hand on the table and looked at Heather. "Why didn’t you say so earlier?!"
Heather blinked, looking innocent. "You passed through Shadow Forest safe and sound to get here. We just assumed you’d already dealt with them."
"Damn it all. No wonder I haven’t seen any campfires or cooking smoke from the outskirts of Shadow Forest," Levi said, his face grim.
If Fujero was blocked, it meant that Si Kai, at the very front, would have to face the Wilderness Alliance Army’s attack alone.
And the Centaurs under his command, including the Panda Warriors, numbered only about eleven hundred at most.
The Elf Race had nearly failed to defend the city with over a thousand soldiers; how could Si Kai hope to succeed with only a thousand men in a field battle?
Earlier, the heavy, swirling snow had obscured his vision. Even with a telescope, Levi couldn’t see what was happening behind the Wilderness Alliance Army. He had assumed Si Kai had held his ground.
He had also assumed Fujero had arrived with the main army as reinforcements, creating the planned pincer attack.
Now, it seemed that whole assumption was in question.
Perhaps reality was different from his fears. Maybe Fujero had quickly dealt with the male Zor Priest ambushing them and successfully joined up with Si Kai.
But they couldn’t risk it. If Si Kai’s small force was wiped out first by the Wilderness Alliance Army, it would trigger a disastrous chain reaction.
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