Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Tree and Iron
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For a moment, Via doubted her own ears, but she hadn't misheard. He had clearly insulted all elves. Her eyes glared sharply at Judah, but he continued speaking with a mocking curl of his lips, utterly unfazed.
"No matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem like I misunderstood."
"...You. You should watch your words."
"Watch my words? Why? Did I say something wrong? Ah. Were you not just dull or stupid, but both dull and stupid? Via. Do you even realize that elves haven't changed at all from a hundred years ago to now?"
Even amid the killing intent filling the room from Via, Judah didn't lose his composure. His body felt heavy under her pressure, but he was a Spirit Sword owner himself. He could withstand this much aura. He looked at her with a sinister smile.
"Someone once said elves are wise. I wonder which idiot came up with that nonsense."
It was just a simple provocation that she would normally brush off, but right now, Via struggled to suppress her anger. An overwhelming rage poured out of her in massive waves of killing intent. She had to forcibly hold back the urge to draw her sword and cut Judah down on the spot.
"Cut it out. I might get really angry."
"That's funny. Via, instead of getting mad at my words, you should reflect and hurry up with countermeasures. Can't you see the reality right now? A massive army of 210,000 is marching in. To enslave you and sell you off."
"I know!"
She shouted. Judah winced at the ear-piercing high pitch.
"Then tell me how you're going to stop them."
"Why should I tell you how we're going to respond? Just because I said I trust you? Don't get the wrong idea. It just means I trust you a little more than other elves. It's not complete trust!"
Judah nodded as if it were obvious.
"That makes sense. I'm human, and you're an elf. But didn't you just say you were going to use me?"
"!"
"You're thinking of telling me nothing, just pointing out a spot on the map and saying, 'Go there and block the incoming humans'—something like that? Using the promise as a chain to make us humans self-destruct?"
"...That's not it."
"Then that's a relief. I won't die after being used. So let me ask again. How exactly do you plan to use me? You showed me this map because you want to use me, right? Tell me what you're thinking and how you'll respond."
Via glared at Judah for a long while before taking a deep breath. The killing intent emanating from her body slowly subsided.
She let out several heavy sighs before finally opening her mouth.
"Before that. You're so annoying, so can you let me hit you once?"
"No thanks."
"......"
Via gritted her teeth, muttering "hold it in, hold it in," before finally starting her explanation.
The elves' forces numbered 30,000. Fortunately, besides this current fortress where Judah was, there were two more fortresses, one each to the east and west, each with an additional 5,000 troops. That made a total elven force of 45,000.
However, 10,000 of them were needed to defend the elven capital with the World Tree and the Queen, so the actual available forces were 35,000.
When Judah asked if they planned to gather all the troops together, Via shook her head. They would leave the troops at each fortress as is and divide the remaining 20,000 into ten units of 2,000 each to conduct guerrilla warfare.
Not a bad plan.
Elves had incredible mobility in the forest, and with their exceptional archery, repeatedly sniping enemies from afar could inflict significant damage. But in the scenario, they had moved like this and ultimately lost.
"Is there really a need to split into so many small groups? Even dividing into four units of 5,000 each...?"
"No. I wish we could, but we have to protect as many villages as possible."
"That's too greedy. Haven't you forgotten it's winter? With all the leaves gone, concealment is nearly impossible, and the enemy has the Langritsa Magic Tower's combat clans joining them. If you're unlucky, the guerrilla units could get captured instead. Sure, with ten units, losing one entirely would limit the damage, but overall, it's still a huge loss."
"......"
"You know humans didn't invade in this midwinter for no reason, right? The power gap is already massive, and you're splitting into groups of 2,000?"
Via knew that too. But the Queen and all the elves hoped to defend the entire forest. Giving up anywhere was a difficult choice.
"No choice."
Judah sighed. He had boldly promised to protect the forest and the elves, but that required some favorable conditions. If they did it this way, there was no hope. After sitting in silence with her for a while, Judah closed his eyes and pondered. After about five minutes of silence, he opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Via."
"?"
"Honestly, tell me what you think. Do you really believe you can protect the elves that way? Really? I think differently. This approach gains nothing. It's just meaningless resistance."
As Via bristled to retort, Judah held up his palm toward her.
"I'm not done yet, so hear me out first. Get mad after."
"......"
"If the elves think they can stop them just because they have you, the Sword Saint among the Spirit Sword owners, they're making a huge mistake. Humans prepared a lot to conquer this forest. They brought in two skilled combat clans from the Langritsa Magic Tower to block Lusen Ardahan, and to counter you, the Sword Saint, they brought in the Spear Star, whose skills are praised by many. In conclusion, this is it."
Judah let out a small breath before continuing.
"While you're tied up fighting the Spear Star, the fortress will fall, and the elves will be captured and sold off. Lusen Ardahan will stay near the World Tree from the start, so unless they get overly greedy and push all the way there, defeat is inevitable. How's that? Pretty grim, right? Even in the worst case, there's no way out. You know it too. This ending is waiting."
Via, who had listened silently, took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. The grinding sound suggested she was clenching her teeth. Her fists trembled as she suppressed her anger. Seeing the killing intent surge back, Judah wondered if he'd gone too far, but it was too late. She glared at him with wide eyes.
"Then... then what do you want me to do? Since elves are fated to lose to humans, should I just give up everything and submit? Not resist and surrender to beg for mercy? Ha—don't make me laugh."
"......"
"If things go as you say, we'll lose. No hope. But we have to do it anyway. No choice, right? I've lived hundreds of years to protect the elves, and that hasn't changed. That's why I'm here. The Spear Star? If he blocks me, I'll kill him first. Langritsa Magic Tower's combat clans? What does it matter? Human or monster, anyone targeting elves has to get past me first!"
"You're right. So don't cling to villages or fortresses—evacuate all the elves to where the World Tree is. If buildings collapse, rebuild them. If the forest burns, plant new trees. You can't protect everything. Protecting the elves comes first, doesn't it? Why be so stubborn when you know all this?"
"...!"
Stubborn?
Via's mouth fell open at Judah's last words, her face struck with shock. She tried to argue it wasn't stubbornness, but no words came. Her mind went blank, white as a sheet. Her heart raced.
'He's right.'
It wasn't stubbornness—no, it was blind obsession. He had pointed out the practical issues and said it was impossible, but as a guardian, she was trapped in the compulsion to protect every elf and village, forcing the impossible as if it were possible. How foolish.
"Ah...?"
Why had it taken her so long to realize?
Via couldn't lift her head in shame at her own foolishness. Her tensed shoulders slumped.
The thought that her obsession up until now might not have been protecting the elves but leading them to ruin brought tears to her eyes.
"You're right. It was blind obsession. We can't protect everything, so why did I try so hard? I knew it was impossible, yet I believed it could be done."
Judah stayed silent. It wasn't a question expecting an answer, so Via bit her lip and continued.
"As a guardian, I must protect the elves. Protect the forest. Protect this land—that urgency became poison instead."
"...Maybe. But no need to blame yourself now. You woke up before it was too late, so it's not too late to regret."
"Ha...!"
She let out a hollow laugh. She never imagined hearing this from a human, let alone turning back from a lifelong regret thanks to one. She didn't want to admit it, but thanks to Judah beside her, she could retract her near-fatal wrong turn. She wiped the tears from her eyes, stood, and sincerely thanked him.
"Thank you. For setting me straight when I was blindly obsessed like I was possessed. And sorry. For all the rudeness I've shown until now. I owe you a huge debt."
Judah gave a lukewarm reaction to her demeanor.
"I'll accept the apology, but you look awkward doing it."
"Is it that obvious? I never thought I'd have to apologize to a human."
"Whatever. Sit back down. Time's short—we need to decide quickly."
At Judah's words, Via nodded and sat, looking at the map.
"As you said, we'll abandon the villages. The Queen and elders will condemn me, but it's better than the elves being captured. They've been my guardians for centuries, so they won't overstep on something like this. Yeah. If we repel the invaders and drive them out, even if the forest burns and villages are destroyed, we can rebuild. It'll take time, but we can start over. Like healing wounds."
"Abandoning just the villages isn't enough."
"Pardon?"
"Abandon the fortresses too. Not just this one—all the eastern and western ones."
Via looked at Judah with a face full of questions. She needed an explanation.
"First, confirm this: the eastern and western fortresses are built on flat ground like this Brick Fortress, right?"
"Yes."
Then there's no need to hesitate. Fortresses too hard to hold should be used only as much as possible and then ditched.
"Then we'll abandon them. Including Brick Fortress, evacuate everyone except combat-capable personnel from the eastern and western fortresses to the World Tree by dawn this morning."
"Why?"
"This fortress is small. The walls aren't exceptionally high, and the surrounding terrain isn't rugged. With the enemy numbers several times ours, how do you defend it? It won't hold long before falling."
"But... holding a fortress could pin down the enemy and inflict heavy casualties, right?"
"That only works if this fortress is at the only path to the World Tree. With open terrain everywhere you step, why would they bother coming through here?"
"...Ah."
"And that's only feasible when enemy and ally numbers are even. With such a massive gap now, it's impossible. Even if 50,000 surround the three fortresses, 60,000 remain. What if they head straight for the World Tree?"
If even one fortress falls in between, those troops would join the advance on the World Tree or reinforce capturing others. One falling makes the others a matter of time.
"Better to abandon here and go to your capital where the World Tree is—no, you don't call it a capital?"
"You're talking about Loengrim?"
Judah nodded at Via's words.