Elf Rescue

As the priests and mages in the rear of the human army were slaughtered, the defense and attack buffs they provided to the human soldiers engaged in close combat with the Elves vanished.

With the deaths of the Adamu and Adama brothers, the magic golems moved erratically before being smashed by Noas.

At this rate, the humans would be caught between the Elves and the Trolls and die.

Ruby blew the retreat signal horn she had at her side.

Buuuuuuung!!

The human soldiers, who had been fighting excitedly believing they would win, turned around in bewilderment and screamed in horror.

“Trolls!”

“At this rate, the rear will all die! We have to go back quickly!”

The human soldiers fighting the Elves ran back in response to the retreat signal.

The Elves, who were almost being pushed back, were bewildered before identifying the Trolls and shouting.

“The Trolls are killing the humans!”

“We’re alive! But what do we do now!”

Lirei also hesitated in the ambiguous situation.

The Trolls attacked the rear of the human army, saving the Elves from a near-defeat.

Lirei didn’t know if it was okay for the Elves to chase after the retreating humans and attack.

Could they trust the Trolls, who were a dark race?

I smashed the retreating humans with my hammer and ordered the Elves.

“What are you doing! Not chasing the humans!”

Lirei retorted.

“Aren’t there Trolls over there!”

“Did the Trolls attack us? Not yet! Until they attack us, they’re not enemies! Are monsters unconditionally enemies?! Are the humans, who are a light race, friends then?! Attack quickly!”

Just then, a woman who seemed to be the chieftain from the Troll side shouted.

“I am Gilta, the Troll chieftain! The Trolls only kill humans with grudges!”

I smirked and urged the Elves.

“See that! The Trolls aren’t fighting the Elves either! Chase the humans!”

The surviving Elf soldiers steeled themselves, shouted, and chased after the human soldiers, swinging their weapons.

“Kill the humans!”

“This is revenge for our friends!”

I also ran forward to catch Ruby, shouting.

“Sylphid! Fly me to the human commander!”

The Sylphid attached to my back and blew a strong wind, sending my body flying towards Ruby at high speed.

Shuuuuuung

Fortunately, commander Ruby was able to survive because the melee warriors arrived just in time to stop the Trolls.

However, the human army had already lost most of its rear troops, and the melee warriors had to face the Trolls with exhausted bodies.

The spears and stones thrown by the Troll spearmen and slingers fell directly on the human warriors, and the human warriors collapsed in pools of blood everywhere.

While the human melee warriors and Trolls clashed, the totem emitted a yellow aura of ‘Warrior’s Enhancement’ instead of black mist around it.

The eyes of the Trolls who touched the yellow aura became bloodshot, and they entered a berserk state where their physical abilities and violence were enhanced.

As Zenku crazily swung his club with bloodshot eyes, humans were sent flying one by one in pools of blood.

Pueok Euaak! Shuuuung Pueok Kuaek! Shuuuung

Ruby was about to summon an ice shield when she saw the Elf commander flying towards her at high speed.

Three soldiers next to her were caught in Fairy illusion magic and grabbed Ruby tightly.

Ruby panicked, twisting her body and screaming.

“Kyaaaa! Let go of me! Priest!”

Unfortunately, the Trolls had killed most of the priests in the rear, so there weren’t many left.

While a priest in the distance was running to restore the minds of the three soldiers, I hit Ruby’s head with my hammer, scattering brain fluid everywhere.

Peojijijik

With the death of the high-ranking mage commander, the morale of the human soldiers plummeted.

The human soldiers screamed and ran in all directions.

“Euaaaa! Ruby-nim is dead! Run away!”

The Elves and Trolls killed only humans, ignoring each other.

I also swung my hammer like crazy, massacring the humans.

Before I knew it, the only races alive around me were Elves and Trolls.

Lirei and the other Elves gathered around me, and the Trolls also gathered in one place.

The Troll chieftain Gilta pretended not to know me and shouted.

“The Trolls are going to the western forest! Let’s not interfere with each other!”

“Do as you please! The Elves will not fight the Trolls!”

Soon, young and old Trolls came from the northeast, and thousands of Trolls walked west.

The Elves just watched the scene.

Lirei said to me.

“It’s really strange that we’re fighting humans, who are the same light race, and receiving help from monsters.”

“They’re not monsters, they’re a dark race. They also have their own ego and culture. Light and darkness aren’t important. To survive, you have to be able to join hands with anyone and become an enemy.”

“I see.”

After the Trolls disappeared from sight, I and the Elf executives checked the surviving Elves.

There were 1925 Elf soldiers left, and several civilians had also died, leaving 1882.

It was quite a painful loss, and many Elves became depressed.

I gathered the Elves and gave a speech to boost their morale.

“Many of our comrades died in this war! I am also very sad! But we did not become slaves to the humans! We prevented the young Elves over there from becoming sex toys for the treacherous humans! The Trolls helped us, but we still won the war! The living must enjoy freedom and live! Let’s live!”

The Elves felt something welling up in their chests at the thought that they had still protected their freedom in the harsh reality, and sobbed from all directions.

“Keueueueuk. Heueueueuk. Heukheuk.”

Lirei said to me with tears in her eyes.

“Commander-nim is right. We have won our freedom ourselves. We must continue to live.”

I led the Elf army and acquired the wagons filled with weapons, food, tents, and other war supplies that the human army had abandoned.

The Elf Resistance rested for a day at the garrison and moved southeast, crossing the mountains to go to Marquis Iosap’s territory.

While crossing the mountains, Lirei asked me.

“Commander-nim. Isn’t there a village left behind by the Trolls in this mountain? How about living there?”

“It’s impossible. We inflicted great damage on the human army. If we stay still, the politics of the Hamel Empire will move in the direction of destroying us, and the Empire will eventually find us and destroy us. If we want to live, we have to make allies.”

“It’s really difficult.”

“You probably want to live quietly among Elves like in the days of the Elf Kingdom. But in these turbulent times, if we are isolated without allies, we will die.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

The Elf Resistance struggled to cross the mountains and finally arrived at the border of Marquis Iosap’s territory.

Lirei said to me with a moved expression.

“We finally made it.”

“Yes. Now we’ve taken the first step towards freedom. Now is the beginning.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we stay still, it’s just a repeat of Elf slavery. To make allies, we have to do politics.”

“I understand.”

---

Marquis Naos confirmed that the Elves had crossed the river and was returning to his territory when he received a report on the results of the war.

Marquis Naos’s army was ambushed by Trolls while fighting the Elves and lost the war. The knights that the Marquis cherished, Ruby and the Adama brothers, had died, and only about 1000 soldiers and 2 knights had returned alive.

Also, most of the expensive and precious mages and priests had died, and only archers and melee soldiers had survived.

Marquis Naos cursed in anger.

“Eua! Shit!”

When he thought about why the Trolls had suddenly appeared, it wasn’t that he couldn’t guess.

Recently, the Marquis had captured many mountain Trolls to send as Hero summoning sacrifices to the Elia Holy Kingdom.

According to the report, the entire Troll village was heading west, so it seemed like they were migrating to the western forest.

But it just so happened that they attacked his army’s rear in an important situation.

Marquis Naos’s eyes were bloodshot with anger, and he swore.

“I will definitely capture all the Elf rioters and sell them to the dirtiest brothels!”

Marquis Naos sent a petition to the Hamel Empire’s royal family in the capital, Biran, stating that the entire Empire should step up to suppress the Elf rioters because they were massacring humans.

Marquis Naos also sent a letter to Marquis Iosap offering gold and silver treasures if he captured the Elf rioters and handed them over.

And if the royal petition and the proposal sent to Marquis Iosap were rejected, he decided to lead his army himself.

---

As I entered Marquis Iosap’s territory, I recalled the information I knew.

Marquis Iosap’s territory has 100,000 Demon slaves and 400,000 humans. Among the humans, there are 28,000 soldiers and 58 knights.

Marquis Iosap is a 58-year-old man with a son, Keo (37 years old, heir to the Marquisate), a daughter, Palma (28 years old, Dark Magic teacher at Hamel High School), and Serena (19 years old, member of the Hero’s party, neural replacement Tentacle).

Marquis Iosap is the president of the Anti-Racism Association, which opposes discrimination against Dark Humans, but he is currently preoccupied with social gatherings and association work, so the heir Keo is in charge of the actual territory management.

Most of the nobles’ children around Marquis Iosap’s territory are alumni of the Gale Kingdom, who are Dark Humans, so the people in this area are very friendly to Dark Humans.

Representative Dark Human nobles’ children include Sina, Constantina, and Despina of the Hamel High School Dark Magic Club.

Marquis Iosap’s territory was originally a city that developed as a trade intermediary between the Bohark Forest and the Gale Kingdom, but now trade has been cut off, reducing its source of funds and causing economic difficulties.

In order to overcome this situation, Marquis Iosap’s territory is trying various measures such as developing the mountains in the west, planting specialty products, and attracting companies.

Most of the northern part of the Hamel Empire joined the Light Human Association, which excludes Dark Humans, and many Dark Humans and their families who were expelled from there have migrated to Marquis Iosap’s territory and its surroundings.

Marquis Iosap’s territory and its surroundings prohibit Elf slaves and conduct Elf rescue campaigns, so many Elf refugees have come here.

However, Elves who are ignorant of human society have become impoverished and are becoming targets of crime, begging, and committing petty crimes, causing various social problems.

---

I ordered the Elf soldiers to walk with their shoulders straight so that they would not be looked down upon.

A group of 3807 dirty but dignified Elves followed me and Nisa into Marquis Iosap’s territory.

Keo, riding a horse in front, led a group of cavalrymen.

A cavalryman shouted.

“Who are you!”

I boldly shouted.

“I am Kyle, the commander of the Elf Resistance! We are liberating Elf slaves from the west and are on our way to pledge allegiance to Marquis Iosap-nim!”

Keo stepped forward and said.

“I am Keo, the son of Marquis Iosap-nim. I am leading the Marquisate on behalf of my father.”

I bowed politely and greeted him.

“Hello. We would like to entrust ourselves to Marquis Iosap-nim. You will not regret accepting us.”

Keo chuckled and said.

“I know everything you did in the west. Whether I will regret it or not, I will find out later. Follow me for now.”

As we followed Keo, we saw a huge castle surrounding the Marquis’s city.

Keo said to us.

“You are not safe yet. I will only allow your commander and a few executives to enter the castle.”

I answered politely.

“I understand. I will only go in with me and the Elf executives.”

When I tried to go in with only Lirei and 5 other Elf executives, the other Elves expressed concern.

I scolded the Elves.

“What kind of rudeness is this to the person we will be entrusting ourselves to in the future! The Marquis-nim is a trustworthy person!”

Keo looked at me anew and said.

“Hoo~ You are different from the other Elves. Good mindset.”

I left the Elf Resistance to my wife Nisa and entered the castle.

We were led to the reception room of Marquis Iosap’s mansion.

We left our weapons and entered the reception room, where Marquis Iosap was sitting on the sofa in the center and 58 knights were standing around him.

Marquis Iosap said to us.

“I know what you did in the west, so I have prepared for it. Sit down first.”

Because I had firmly instructed them, I and the Elves, including Lirei, sat on the long sofa in front of the Marquis without complaint.

I bowed slightly and introduced myself.

“Hello. I am Kyle, the commander of the Elf Resistance. I would like to entrust myself to the Marquis-nim.”

Marquis Iosap asked with a strange face.

“I was supposed to receive 100 gold coins per person if I captured you right now and sent you to Marquis Naos. Especially the commander, they said they would give me 5000 gold. So why should I accept you?”

I said with a friendly smile.

“I’m not just asking you to accept us. Would you like to hear the story of how we got here first?”

“Try it.”

I introduced myself to Marquis Iosap as an Elf hero from a thousand years ago, with the Fairy Queen as my wife, who had rescued 5,000 Elf soldiers and entered the Hamel Empire.

Marquis Iosap said with a slightly moved expression.

“Hmm. Impressive.”

“I won’t talk about what happened after coming to the Hamel Empire because you probably know. I will explain the benefits of accepting us. We will cultivate herbs and give them to the Marquis-nim.”

Marquis Iosap asked with a questioning face.

“We are also trying to cultivate herbs. What’s so special about the Elves?”

“We have a number of plant mages. Plant magic is an area that humans have not yet learned. Plant mages make herb cultivation easy. Also, we lived in the forest and learned about various herbs. Even if we used Spirits, that knowledge does not disappear. We can cultivate much more diverse herbs faster and in greater quantities than humans.”

“Huum.”

I continued to explain.

“I heard that the Marquis-nim is currently in a difficult economic situation because trade has been cut off. The herbs that used to come from the Bohark Forest have been cut off, so herbs must be scarce nationwide. If the Elves cultivate herbs, the Marquis-nim can secure rare herbs.”

Marquis Iosap looked like he was contemplating, so I added.

“Aren’t the impoverished Elves currently causing social problems in the Marquisate and the surrounding nobles’ territories? I will gather them and make them herb cultivation workers. What do you think?”

Marquis Iosap smiled and laughed heartily.

“Euhahahaha! I’ve seen many Elves so far, but you’re the first Elf I’ve seen who knows so much about human society!”

“It’s the wisdom of a thousand years.”

“What is your purpose?”

“We want to revive the Elf Kingdom.”

Marquis Iosap made a solemn face and proposed to me.

“I will accept you if you accept the conditions. First, you will exclusively supply all the herbs you cultivate to me. I will pay you a reasonable price.”

“Yes.”

“Until you revive the Elf Kingdom, you will become my knight and serve my family for at least 20 years.”

Lirei was about to stand up at the absurd proposal.

“Wait a minute!”

At that moment, I sent Lirei a stern look and scolded her.

“What kind of rudeness is this to the Marquis-nim! Sit down!”