Volume 2 Spread Wings Chapter 174: The Secret of the Sky Eagle Archer and God
Early in the morning, Levi led his troops to prepare for the arrival of the high elf army. Since Reiner had specifically reminded him through magic communication before, he must seize this opportunity.
He even wanted to ask the guild members to come along, but after careful consideration, he gave up the idea. If all the guild members went, they might just recruit the entire high elf army. He didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble to Reiner because of this, which would be tantamount to pitting him against the other party.
And to be honest, he and most people in the guild are not yet close to this extent.
So in the end he only told a few people, including the Sun Knight, the Lightforged, and the thief Qian Thief who had recently joined the guild and could be considered his friend.
After getting this information, they all expressed their gratitude to Levi, and at the same time they were very smart and said that they would not follow Levi, but stay at a later place and pretend to meet by chance.
As for the ordinary members of the guild, they were arranged in several nearby villages. Although they were not as good as them, they still had considerable advantages over others.
And now even the natives couldn't find any fault with it, so everyone was happy for a while.
Soon, as time passed, a small fleet appeared in sight. Even though he couldn't see their specific equipment and faces at first glance, but as soon as he saw the shape of the warships, Levi could almost be sure that the people coming must be high elves.
Because different races and factions are still quite recognizable in many aspects.
For example, the Sigmar Empire is basically the flag of each country plus the symbol of the god they believe in;
The Knight Kingdom is basically a variety of noble emblems, as well as knights, Pegasus, and even the symbols of the Lady of the Lake and the Holy Grail they believe in;
The Undead are basically all kinds of skulls that look very eerie and scary, the Greenskins are rough and primitive, and the Tomb Kings mostly use the ancient Egyptian style, such as pyramids, deserts, scorpions, etc.
Wood elves are basically flowers, trees or animals, while the Zhendan Celestial Empire mostly features dragon decorations, after all, they worship the Zhendan dragon gods.
Dark elves tend to be able to express their iron-blooded and cold-blooded symbols very intuitively;
Even without the giant dragon flags with a white background flying in the flames, most people can be almost completely certain that these warships, which are luxurious, elegant, and even somewhat exaggerated in style, can only come from the high elves.
As the distance got closer, Levi was able to completely confirm the other party's identity. He was indeed a high elf, but a trace of doubt gradually arose in his heart.
Not to mention the huge war eagle statue erected on the bow and the protective magic that is clearly glowing on the entire surface of the ship, why do the appearance of these warships look so smooth, not like they are pieced together, but rather like a huge whole?
At this time, Donna beside him said with some emotion: "I heard that all the warships of the high elves are carved from a whole giant tree. I didn't believe it at first, but after seeing it in person today, I feel that the rumor is not false."
Her sigh also solved some of Levi's doubts. Since even Donna said so, it was probably true.
However, there are hundreds of elves on each ship, and there are some crossbow-like war weapons at the bow and stern, occupying a considerable area. So how big are these giant trees originally?
It is a magical world, and everything is possible!
Soon the warship slowed down, and then the high elves landed one after another. Levi also took the initiative to greet a guy dressed as a commander.
Compared with other high elves, he, holding a sword and shield, is more gorgeously dressed, especially on the cheeks of the helmet, there is a pair of extra armor like phoenix wings. It is obvious that his decorative significance is greater than his practical significance, and people will definitely not ignore his existence.
" Sergeant Levi Goethe, greetings to the Commander."
At this time, Levi felt that it would be more convenient for him to use a military position.
As expected, the commander's expression improved noticeably: "Oh, are you the Levi that Lord Reiner mentioned? Not bad at all."
After a slight compliment, the commander told him bluntly that because of the needs of the war, no military merit was required. As long as the camp was lawful neutral or lawful good and there was enough money, all the regular troops of the high elves that now appeared before him could be recruited freely.
Levi immediately expressed his gratitude and took the other party's list.
Then he discovered that compared to the options he had previously been able to recruit using military merit points, the types of troops before him were undoubtedly much fewer, less than ten in total.
Tier 2 includes Spearman, Spearman (Shield), Ranger, Archer, Archer (Light Armor);
The third tier is the Lothern Sea Guard, which comes in two versions: shield-bearing and non-shield-bearing. Both are armed with spears and bows and arrows and can be used at both long and short range.
As well as the Silver Guards that Levi had seen before at the Lightforged. They were a more powerful version of the spearmen. In addition to a certain degree of enhanced attributes, the most important thing was that their shields and armor were enchanted, which increased a certain degree of magic resistance. This would definitely have additional special effects when they were fighting against the demon army next time.
Of course, as a price to pay, since they are considered a rare type of soldier, their recruitment price and maintenance costs are higher.
Finally, there is another rare type of soldier, the Sky Eagle Archer, of which there are only thirty vacancies in total.
Compared to ordinary archers, they have two very practical special skills, mobile shooting and anti-infantry.
These two skills are not ordinary skills. It is already very good for ordinary soldiers to have one of them, but these guys have two at once, which even made Levi doubt whether he was seeing things when he saw them for the first time.
But then he was overjoyed, because these guys had completely crushed all the half-elves in the team!
In comparison, even though their recruitment cost is as high as 1.2 gold, and their maintenance cost is more than twice as expensive as half-elves, Levi thinks it is still worth the money.
In addition, there are no war beasts, no cavalry or chariots, and no air force on the list, but the total number that can be recruited is not small, as many as one thousand people.
However, although it seems like a lot, you have to know that there are hundreds of High Elves' chosen heroes nearby. If they are really divided equally, each person can only get a few places. Those who come late will not only have no choice, but may also return empty-handed.
This time, Levi really owed Reiner a favor. Of course, the Sun Knights undoubtedly owed Levi a favor as well.
Without any hesitation, he directly and readily took charge of all 30 Sky Eagle Archers. Then, after hesitating for a moment between the Lothern Ocean Guards and the Silver Guards, he chose to recruit 20 Silver Guards.
The former can certainly attack at long range or close range, but they are not particularly good in both aspects. They are even slightly inferior to the tier 2 archers in terms of archery. Similarly, their defense is far inferior to the Silver Guards.
If they were subordinates of the wealthy natives, their existence would indeed be a headache for all enemies, but for the God-chosen heroes with limited funds, they only looked fancy, but in fact their performance in most cases was inevitably unsatisfactory, mainly because of their high cost, resulting in low cost-effectiveness.
Fortunately, Donna just learned the art of military command from the Sun Knight yesterday, otherwise her leadership might not be enough.
Although Levi owed some money after recruiting so many new subordinates, he believed that with their strong strength, they would be able to pay it back in no time.
Perhaps the commander felt Levi's frankness, or perhaps Reiner's name played a certain role in it, he actually took the initiative to tell Levi not to be too anxious.
Because this batch of reinforcements is only the first batch, there will be a second batch tomorrow, also with a thousand people, and as long as we hold on, the number of reinforcements will be even greater.
Levi felt a little surprised. The demon army had clearly captured their own black castle, and the high elves were busy taking back lost territory. How come there were still so many surplus troops?
After chatting for a few more sentences on the topic, he came to know that in addition to the three large islands occupied by the Dark Elves, Lizardmen and Amazons respectively in the southern seas, there were also many small islands. The High Elves had previously deployed many outposts on them to guard against the invasion of the Dark Elves, and the Dark Elves would also frequently attack these outposts.
But now that the two sides have ceased fighting, these garrisons are of no particular use for the time being. In addition, due to the emergence of the abyss rift, the demon army directly threatens the hinterland of this colony. In order to protect many villages, the acting lord decided to temporarily withdraw part of the forces.
However, since each village is seriously lacking in half-elves with command potential, and the towns are unable to send them, this burden will fall on the shoulders of many God-chosen heroes.
That is why you can recruit these types of soldiers at will without any military merit points, and high elves from other kingdoms will come to support you in the future, and there will be more troops available for recruitment.
Although this place is very far away from the High Elves' native island of Ulthuan, after taking a boat across the three large islands in the south and bypassing a piece of land occupied by various tribes such as Lizardmen and Skaven, continuing to move westward, there are colonies belonging to other kingdoms of the High Elves, such as Dawn Fortress, Twilight Fortress, etc., occupying more land and islands.
Of course, due to the long distance, the large number of sea beasts and pirates along the way, and even many bad weather conditions such as strong winds and waves, those reinforcements will obviously not arrive too quickly and will take some time.
But what is even more inspiring is that a legendary wizard, Teclis, the Supreme Guardian of the White Tower of Hoth, is fighting against the dark elves in the coastal areas of the continent of Lustria, thousands of miles away.
At present, the acting lord has sent him a distress signal, and the other party has agreed. Once he wins, he will rush to reinforce at full speed.
For a legendary mage, this distance is not within reach, but it is not far at all either.
However, the Dark Elves there were not just any soldiers, but were commanded by a Dark Elf hero of the same legendary level - Loxia the Fallen Heart. Even with Teclis's powerful strength, it would probably take about half a month to completely defeat the enemy.
Levi secretly noted the time.
Although the demon army is huge in number, up to now, except for those abyss demons, no real powerful gods have appeared. There is news that the Black Castle was captured so quickly because it encountered their overwhelming superior forces and was attacked by air.
It seems that this legendary wizard of the high elves is most likely a turning point arranged by the system.
Looking at the commander's face full of reverence, there was no doubt that the legendary wizard named Teclis had an extremely huge influence in his heart, and it seemed that even the abyss rifts in the sky were no longer a problem.
But he had never heard any information about the other party before, and even heard the name for the first time.
So he asked tentatively: "If Teclis can come, everything will change?"
The commander nodded without hesitation: "Without a doubt, almost all high elves believe that he is the strongest wizard among mortals!"
"But why have I never heard of it before..."
The commander's face suddenly showed embarrassment, and after hesitating for a long time, Levi roughly figured out that the Dragon Prince was too arrogant by nature, so even though he was one of the few legendary heroes among the high elves, he was not particularly popular on the island of Oshuan.
At least he is far inferior to this Teclis, and Teclis's twin brother, another legend, the guardian of Ulthuan, known as Tyrion the Dragon of Cosqui.
It was precisely because of this that the Dragon Prince traveled thousands of miles overseas, trying to expand the territory on his own and prove himself to the high elves of the other nine kingdoms.
Judging from the results, the Dragon Prince was indeed successful. He developed several towns and dozens of villages in the surrounding areas. In addition to defeating the legendary hero of the dark elves in the south, he also had the energy to fight against the surrounding evil alien races such as the greenskins and ratmen. Although he couldn't win every battle, he was almost unbeaten.
At the same time, in this hard struggle, his character was tempered and improved to a great extent.
Combined with the two, his fellow tribesmen from the other nine kingdoms gradually changed their attitude towards him, and thus they also sent some troops. This is one of the reasons why the types of colonial troops are so rich and colorful.
For the High Elves, no matter which kingdom conquered the colony, other kingdoms had the responsibility and obligation to jointly defend it, because the High Elves were a whole, and these colonies also represented the glory of the gods.
It's just that due to envy and jealousy, as well as conflicts accumulated over the years, Prince Long still hates those two legends whose names begin with the word "Thai". Because of this, their names have basically not been circulated in the colony.
Even if the Dragon Prince had not returned to his homeland to recuperate due to serious injuries, and the colony had not been invaded by the demon army, even if the acting lord, who was also a wizard, highly respected Tigris, it would have been almost impossible for him to come.
Levi couldn't help but sigh, but then he realized another question: "The Acting Lord seems to be absolutely sure of the truce with the dark elves?"
As we all know, there are basically few good people in the evil camp. This is not only reflected in their attitude towards their own or other races, but also in the fact that most of them are not trustworthy. So it is no wonder that Levi would have such doubts.
Now the acting lord actually has such confidence in the armistice agreement between the two sides that she even dares to withdraw all the troops in the front-line outposts. Isn't she afraid that the dark elves will tear up the treaty and occupy all the outposts in one go?
Just think about it, those outposts may occupy a small area and their fortifications may be very simple, but once they are really captured by the enemy, it will cost several times the price to take them back.
Upon hearing this question, the commander immediately smiled, a smile full of confidence: "Yes, Your Excellency is absolutely sure."
"We have never been on the same level since Malekith failed in the Trial of Asuryan and was severely burned. He then foolishly decided to abandon the gods and fled Ulthuan with his rebels, calling himself the Witch King of the Dark Elves."
"Because we high elves have dozens of gods behind us, but the dark elves have no gods behind them. They are even more pitiful than the drow elves back then."
"Even though thousands of years have passed, the situation has not changed. Only some gods that are hostile to the high elves, such as the Queen of the Deep Pit Demon Web and some green-skinned orc gods, are secretly supporting it."
The Queen of the Deep Pit Demon Web is the goddess of the drow elves - the Spider Queen Lolth. Even among the many evil gods, she is one of the most evil and vicious.
She was originally the patron saint of elves and also the wife of the current high elf king - Corellon. However, she later betrayed and joined forces with many evil gods to besiege the elven gods. Although she failed, she did not die and she still had several younger brothers under her.
At the same time, unlike most gods, her lair is located on the 66th floor of the Abyss.
Theoretically, the Abyss is the territory of demons, but after betraying the elves, she openly occupied one of the layers. Not only did she occupy it very steadily, she even continued to advance into other nearby layers, beating the surrounding demons into a state of panic. This was enough to illustrate her powerful strength.
As for the fact that the green-skinned orc gods secretly support the dark elves, it is completely understandable.
It's not just because the greenskins have a deep hatred for elves, dwarves, humans and other races that represent civilization and order, but also because after the most powerful elven god Asuryan disappeared for many years, the gods of the greenskin orcs once tried to take advantage of him.
Then they were beaten up by the elven gods led by Corellon, and even the left eye of the current orc god Geshunu (also known as Geumsh) was blinded.
So from then on, the two sides had a grudge against each other. Even though they knew they could not win, the greenskin gods led by Gruumsh would still try their best to cause trouble.
And it is foreseeable that unless one of the two dies, this matter will never end. After all, it was the god's body that was injured. Under the influence of powerful divine power, it is almost impossible for that eye to be truly restored.
And even if it could be restored, it was obvious that both sides would never pretend that the incident had never happened.
Ordinary greenskins might generously let this kind of thing go, but as gods, both their self-esteem and their ability to hold grudges far exceed those of ordinary creatures.
After this exchange, Levi felt that he had really gained a lot of knowledge, but at the same time, more doubts arose in his heart.
If one looks at it superficially, it is clearly entirely possible for the gods of the High Elves to completely destroy all resistance from the Dark Elves. However, for thousands of years, they have allowed both sides to engage in a bloody fight, which inevitably led him to have more speculations.
In some ways, isn’t the existence of these dark elves just like Donna and others in the Sparta village before, all grinding stones?
It's just that the Spartans were weaker, so they were directly defeated, which allowed Donna to win the championship. The High Elves were not only able to defeat the Dark Elves, but also had enough energy to vigorously develop colonies throughout the world.
Moreover, the Dark Elves showed no signs of weakening. Not only did they occupy a large territory in the northwest of the world, but their black arks that were like moving islands made almost all races tremble in fear, because they often robbed people along with their money and took them back to their lair as slaves.
From this perspective, the gods of the high elves are probably also playing a big game.
It seems that after the drow elves and dark elves betrayed the elves one after another, causing great damage to the vitality of the elves, the elven gods have learned their lesson.
Even thinking further, those guys who stayed in the many forests, formed alliances with powerful creatures such as tree people, unicorns, green dragons, and changed their names to wood elves, can the elven gods really do nothing to them?
Until now, they still believe in the same gods as the high elves!
Sighing like this, Levi also saw that the Sun Knight and others, according to the previous plan, pretended to meet by chance and happened to meet this high elf army.
The commander smiled, and it was obvious that he quickly understood something, but he did not refuse and handed the list to the other party very straightforwardly.
This is not only because of Reiner or Levi, but also because he does not reject this behavior. Otherwise, if every God-chosen hero comes to recruit three or two soldiers and then turns around and leaves, then his entire day would probably be wasted on this!
