Not an hour had passed since the midday call to retreat. Under the command of Elf Corps Commander Feiyana, the Elf Corps moved out once more.

The defenders on the walls of the Neutral Elf City had just gotten a chance to catch their breath at noon. Seeing the enemy mobilize again, they immediately fell into despair!

Defending against the opposing Elf Corps this morning had been a monumental task. All the Elf Elders in the city had been forced to take action, holding nothing back and even using all their trump cards. Only then had they barely managed to block the enemy’s assault. As a result, they had spent the entire morning on the defensive. The opposing Elf Corps had suffered only a few serious injuries, and while there were a fair number of minor injuries, not a single one of their elves had died.

Meanwhile, in their own city, more than half the residential district was destroyed. Despite dispatching so many Elf Mages, all they had managed to protect was the granary, preventing the fires from burning it to the ground. That was the only piece of good news.

But after the morning’s battle, the Elf Elders could no longer intervene, and the Elf Mages of the Defense Army on the walls had completely exhausted their Magic Power. How much Magic Power could they possibly recover in a single hour? Even after using all their Magic Crystals, they had only recovered fifty percent of it.

Now the battle was resuming, yet they still had no idea where the opposing elves came from or why they were being attacked. Their only guess was that they were somehow in the way of the Moon Elves to the north. As for the idea that this was a joint army formed by the small Elf Tribes to the south, the thought had barely crossed their minds before being dismissed. It was utterly impossible!

Why hadn’t they been willing to join the Moon Elves to the north? Because the Moon Elves demanded subservience. And why hadn’t they been willing to join the elven powers of the south? Because the elves south of the Moonlight Forest were mostly small and medium-sized Elf Tribes, their Power far too scattered.

Yet, from the moment they discovered the opposing Elf Corps this morning to seeing them obey commands and launch wave after wave of attacks, it was clear this was something far beyond what could be achieved by a dozen small Elf Tribes gathering their able-bodied youths! Now, the elves of the Neutral Elf City could only pin their hopes on time itself, praying that the day would end quickly!

The great battle began anew.

Behind Elf Corps Commander Feiyana, the Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons resumed their attack, just as they had in the morning. Elf Warriors from the Elf Corps formed the front line, their Iron Shields held high. This time, however, the Elf Mage Corps, led by Elf Mage Captain Joy Pala, took center stage.

Standing atop the walls of the Neutral Elf City, Elf Defense Army Commander Rethof watched as they moved out in perfect formation from the enemy’s rear: an Elf Mage Corps of two phalanxes, totaling nearly a thousand strong. A sense of dread washed over him!

This morning, there were only four hundred Elf Mages. How has their number more than doubled this afternoon? And then some? Can we even survive this?!

Even Rethof, the commander of the Elf Guard Army, felt a sliver of despair—and a sliver of fantasy—rise in his heart.

It’s hopeless. Maybe we should just surrender!

But he was still standing on the walls of the Elf Neutral City. Without an order from the Elf Elders in the rear, anyone who dared to surrender would be branded a traitor. Elf Defense Army Commander Rethof didn’t dare. The Elf Soldiers and Elf Mages beside him dared even less.

They had no choice but to fight.

When the Elf Corps had advanced the front line to within four hundred meters, they entered the range of the Elf Archers on the city walls. The Elf Archers atop the Neutral Elf City drew their bows and began to fire. At that very moment, the enemy Elf Mages exchanged glances, confirming that they were within range to cast a Forbidden Curse Spell.

While the front rank of one hundred Elf Mages worked together to raise a semicircular Magic Shield protecting the casters behind them, Elf Mage Captain Joy Pala raised the Crimson Staff—the Middle-Grade Semi-Divine Artifact bestowed upon her by the great God of Nature.

The two phalanxes in the rear—one of Natural Elves, and one of Flame Elves with a small contingent of Sun Elves—began their Combined Spellcasting, their voices rising in a magical chant. The Magic Power in the air for a thousand meters around them instantly began to roil!

Elf Mage Captain Joy Pala held the Crimson Staff aloft, and the massive Magma Gemstone set in it erupted with a blinding red light. The Flame Elves and the few Sun Elves performing the Combined Spellcasting with her immediately felt the Magic Power cost of the Forbidden Curse Spell decrease by thirty percent. Meanwhile, the other phalanx of Natural Elves cast their own Magic. Although they lacked an Elf Mage Captain to lead them, as the first batch of Elf Mages to appear in the Zhang Yi Divine Realm, the Natural Elves were naturally the most powerful.

The two Mage phalanxes cast different Forbidden Curse Spells, their chants creating a strange resonance. The sound carried across to the ears of the Guard Army elves in the Neutral City, and the Magic Power condensing in the air became almost tangible! Even if they ignored the sound, the Elf Defense Army on the walls knew exactly what the enemy’s Elf Mage Corps was doing just by watching the spectacle.

The enemy Elf Mage Corps was trying to use its numerical superiority and Combined Spellcasting to unleash a Forbidden Curse Spell—something only a Legendary Mage Above Ninth Level should be able to cast! Even if the power of the spell they cast couldn’t compare to one from a true Legendary Mage, it was still far beyond what their Neutral Elf City could withstand.

"Quick, stop them! Make those enemy Elf Mages stop!" an Elf Elder shouted.

The midday break had barely begun when they heard the opposing Elf Corps was attacking again. The Elf Elders of the Neutral Elf City had ascended the walls one by one, determined to live or die with their home. This act had certainly boosted the morale of the Elf Guard Army. And after a chaotic morning, the other seven thousand members of their ten-thousand-strong Elf Guard Army, the semi-professional Defense Army reservists, had also arrived. They had thought their superior numbers would surely be enough to repel the enemy’s afternoon assault.

Then, under the cover of night, they could secretly send a plea for reinforcements to the small Elf Tribes in the south. After all, they were unanimous in their belief that this Elf Corps must have been sent by the Moon Elves; the small southern tribes simply lacked such strength. As for why the Moon Elves would send an army to attack them, they were completely baffled. But as they say, the weak have no say in diplomacy.

Once the plea for help was sent, they believed that as long as the southern Elf Tribes understood they shared a common threat, they would surely come to their aid. And after they were saved? Of course, the elves of the Neutral City had no intention of actually turning against the Moon Elves. Getting a little compensation would be good enough.

Years ago, the Elf Elders within the Neutral Elf City had maintained numerous ties with the small Elf Tribes south of the Moonlight Forest. Unfortunately, under pressure from the Moon Elves, the Neutral Elf City’s elders had gradually started to favor them. Any elders who favored the southern tribes were suppressed and driven out. The only reason the remaining Elf Elders hadn’t completely sided with the Moon Elves was their desire to use their neutral status to play both sides against each other and reap more resources.

But now, it seemed they had completely messed everything up. In their minds, the Moon Elves must have been displeased with this arrangement and sent an army to punish them.

However, if Elf Corps Commander Feiyana ever learned of their thoughts, she would certainly burst out laughing.