Fifteen, Prelude

  Dark clouds have dispersed, and purple glows illuminate the river surface. Ripples undulate, flashing waves of golden light. Only the suddenly widened riverbed and the gentle breeze mixed with fresh water vapor make people believe that the torrential rain and flood of the previous days were not an illusion.

  Under the azure sky, several ships that had been through hardships and dangers took in almost all their sails and slowly sailed downstream with the current. The dark green river water hit the hull, splashing waves into a white foam and falling back again. Looking at the calm river in front of them, the exhausted elves rubbed their eyes full of bloodshot, wondering if they had hallucinations and auditory illusions. When they were sure it was not an illusion, they didn't even have the strength to cheer, one by one lying down on the deck and passageway, not wanting to move at all.

  Idriel stood at the bow of the ship, gazing out at what was left of his army. After a string of defeats, his credibility in the military had hit rock bottom, and most of the officers and soldiers didn't take kindly to his orders anymore.

  Shortly after the sinking of the "Crown", another mutiny broke out among the Elves, with about 3,000 soldiers abandoning the perilous water route, taking some pastors and grain away from Fog Town, planning to cross over the big mountain in the east, via Stone Fortress back to North Pole Port. Idriel was helpless against this.

  After several more days, the rain gradually subsided and the Tauriel River finally calmed down. However, most of the naval personnel refused to follow Idriel's command again, and sailed away on their own accord. Including those who had died from illness or deserted during this time, when Idriel left Fogtown, there were less than 2000 soldiers by his side, a desolate scene unlike any before.

  But an even more dismal scene was about to unfold - due to the departure of a large number of naval personnel, Idriel lacked experienced sailors, and the sturdier ships had already been taken away by the previous batches. This army, which had already shrunk severely, continued to shrink in the subsequent voyage, with a series of events such as running aground, capsizing, sinking, and colliding occurring continuously. Soldiers died from illness, drowning, and desertion without end. Idriel was already numb to this, only shrinking into his own room, listening to the continuous thunder and huge waves shaking the ship's hull.

  Now that the sky has finally cleared up, Idriel seems to have recovered a bit and started caring about the situation of his subordinates, calling in relevant personnel to ask about the situation.

  "It's still no good, we haven't left the demon-restricted area yet!" The elf priest gritted his teeth and tried many times, but couldn't cast any divine spells.

  "How much longer do we have to stay in this damned demon-restricted area?" Gilbert covered his lower body, his face pale. He had also started showing symptoms recently, and his lower body was red and swollen, so he was extremely concerned about it.

  "Shut up, if we can get out of that damned Fog Town, we can naturally leave this even more damned Devil's Forbidden Zone too. Just be patient and wait, there are countless people with worse conditions than you!"

  Gilbert turned gloomily to go back to his cabin. Suddenly, a shot rang out from afar, and a bullet grazed his shoulder. Gilbert let out a miserable cry, clutching at the wound as he fell onto the deck. A terrified shout came from the crow's nest.

  "The guerrilla team, Nisere's guerrilla team is here!"

  "These pig-headed politicians, what absurd ideas they come up with!" Dwarf Bamboozle rode on his beloved boar "Lightning", chattering incessantly to his wild boar knights. "Don't they see what season it is? They actually want us to withdraw to our old home! With such heavy rain, that muddy road will become a swamp! In the end, we'll still have to go hungry and get soaked, taking the riverside highway back to Glorious City. The one who gave this order is even dumber than my Lightning, they should be drowned in a wine barrel!"

  The leader of the "Pig-headed Politicians", newly appointed Chairman of New Enoch, Mr. Ludwig, rubbed his hands together with an embarrassed expression, not knowing what to say. The members of the Giant Bear Corps all looked at him with unfriendly faces. Charlotte stood aside with a sullen face, without any intention of helping Ludwig out.

  "Gentlemen, you've been traveling for days and must be exhausted. We've prepared hot water and food, why don't we go into the city to rest first?" Seeing his superior at a loss for words, one of the officials quickly came forward to mediate.

  "Oh, now there's food? How pitiful you sounded when the supplies were cut off without warning. It was as if the people of Glory City were on the verge of starving to death." Charlotte asked coldly, "Are you treating us, who have come from afar to provide aid, like monkeys?"

  "Waaaahhhhhh..." The heavily shedding Druid, suffering from the rain and poor food quality, let out a loud howl, thumping his chest. Little Grena immediately gave an accurate translation: "Last week, Chairman Ludwig sold a large piece of land in the Blue Castle area to the Wogin Temple at a very 'favorable' price, thus getting money and grain."

  The militia of New Enoch State, who had been too afraid to say anything before, suddenly exploded.

  "Is it true? That's the most fertile land in the entire state!"

  "This is selling out the interests of our state!"

  "What about our pastures there? President Ludwig, give us a reasonable explanation!"

  Ludwig was sweating profusely, several members of parliament shouting desperately "Please rest assured that the parliament will definitely come up with a reasonable compensation plan", but unfortunately no one paid attention to them, even the citizens followed and booed, the city gate area was in chaos. Charlotte didn't care either, leading her troops directly to the military camp inside the city.

  As soon as he arrived at the barracks, a familiar pink figure appeared before Charlotte's eyes. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things wrong.

  "Feili, how did you come?"

  Fili, who was being dragged by a large group of children in pink robes asking for candy, looked up and saw the familiar figure, couldn't help but reveal a wry smile, "I'm not coming, what are you guys eating?"

  "So, the Wogin Temple wants you to transport this much grain as a form of compensation? Charlotte gazed at the distant granary and couldn't help but click her tongue. "How did you end up getting involved with these scammers? They can even squeeze oil out of stones."

  "It's not like you haven't given me a dividend in two months!" Phil glared at Charlotte with a hint of anger, his face slightly red. Charlotte looked at him and was actually moved, "I've recently taken a liking to a girl, I wanted to give her a piece of jewelry, but I'm short on cash, so I had no choice but to borrow money from the Wogin Temple to buy materials! Who knew they'd charge 120% interest? Who can afford that?"

  Charlotte looked at Phil incredulously for a moment, "Are you sure you're a girl? You should be looking for boys! Ah!"

  "Bastard!" Fili stomped heavily on Charlotte's heel, and it was only then that Charlotte noticed that Fili was wearing high heels today. "I'm not talking to you anymore!" Fili huffed and puffed as she ran away with quick little steps. The Bam and other soldiers standing nearby burst out laughing at the sight.

  "Squad leader, Miss Taylor is going to get away, aren't you going to hurry and chase after her?"

  "Yes, yes, if we don't chase after her, someone else might snatch her away! A beautiful and powerful female magician is many people's dream, after all!"

  Chase this demon? Charlotte almost vomited, but since she hadn't eaten anything all day, nothing came out. Rubbing her feet and gritting her teeth, she said, "Before dinner, everyone runs ten laps around the campsite, and the last hundred people are not allowed to eat!"

  The soldiers who were just laughing immediately put on a mournful face, only the bald Druid stared at Charlotte with a ferocious gaze, rubbing his paws, and Charlotte quickly added, "All officers are exempt!"

  Looking at the triumphant Druid and his gloomy subordinates, Charlotte sighed and headed towards the cafeteria. Suddenly, something unexpected happened.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! One, two, three red fireworks suddenly burst in the air, and the city was instantly thrown into chaos.

  "Enemy raid alert! The Elf Army is here!"