Chapter 134: Chapter 133: 5,000 vs 10,000, The Advantage Is Mine

In other words,

the Elf Alliance under Zhang Yi’s command could now muster an Elf Corps of up to five thousand troops!

This was no small number.

It was a sevenfold increase over the total number of troops in the Elf Corps he previously commanded!

The final exam was to last for four and a half years in this Small Magic Plane, and two and a half of those years had already passed. With his rear secure, it was time for Zhang Yi to make his move!

Stuck, the Elf Scout whom Zhang Yi had handpicked earlier,

had now been transferred under Zhang Yi’s direct command and appointed as the director of the intelligence bureau.

Stuck had proven to be a diligent and responsible director.

He not only surpassed Zhang Yi’s expectations by recruiting a group of Dark Elves as spies,

but had also thoroughly scouted out the area surrounding the Main City where the Moon Elves were based!

The Moon Elves only occupied the Elf Main City,

but in reality, four other Elf Cities surrounding the Main City were also under their control.

Two of these cities were east of the Elf Main City, and two were to the south.

The Elf Main City was located in the northeastern part of the Moonlight Forest.

The two Elf Cities to the east had been established before the Elf God was grievously wounded.

They served both to defend against Beastman invasions and as relay points for supplying resources to the Elf Corps stationed on the border.

The two Elf Cities to the south, however, were built later.

They were established after the Moon Elves rebelled and seized power.

Initially, their purpose was to prevent attacks from the Elves to the south who opposed the Moon God.

Later, their function changed.

They became tools for controlling the southern Elves and served as waystations for collecting the autumn harvest tax.

South of the five cities controlled by the Moon Elves,

and north of the three cities controlled by the Elf Alliance,

lay a Neutral Elf City.

Although it was called a Neutral City,

it was like how someone on the left sees a person in the middle as being on the right, 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

and someone on the right sees that same person as being on the left.

The Elves of the small southern Elf Tribes believed the Elves in the Neutral City were actually aiding a tyrant by helping the Moon Elves.

They vowed that when they were finally strong enough to counterattack the Moon Elves, they would first eliminate the Elves of the Neutral City!

Meanwhile, the Moon Elves to the north also felt that the Elves in the Neutral City were obstructing them.

Once they had finished conquering all the southern Elf Tribes by controlling their resources,

they planned to deal with the Elves in this Neutral City!

The Elves on both sides saw the Elves of the Neutral City as no good,

and both wanted to take them out first after securing their own rears.

So, were the Elves in this Neutral City strong?

In the eyes of the native Elves of this Small Magic Plane,

"They are very strong!"

According to the intelligence gathered by Stuck, the director of the intelligence bureau,

the Neutral City had a full ten thousand Elf Soldiers.

Even the Elf Main City usually only had five thousand Elves garrisoned.

But after Zhang Yi reviewed the detailed intelligence on this Neutral City,

he came to a different conclusion:

’Five thousand versus ten thousand, the advantage is mine!’

As mentioned before,

the Elves in this Small Magic Plane were all farmer-soldiers, cultivating their lands while also fighting wars.

They sowed in the spring, harvested in the fall, trained in the summer, and defended in the winter.

It was somewhat similar to the *tuntian* system from Zhang Yi’s previous life.

However, Zhang Yi’s approach to the Elf Corps of the Elf Alliance and the Elf Corps of his own Clan was different.

He trained them all equally,

with Elf Legion Commander Feiyana directing all training under a unified command.

They used specialized methods for training an Elf Clan that Zhang Yi had obtained from his grandfather.

These methods could unleash the Elves’ potential to the greatest possible extent!

The Elf training regimen provided by Zhang Yi’s grandfather

was far superior to the crude training methods developed by these native Elves!

Therefore, when comparing the forces on both sides,

Zhang Yi believed,

’Five thousand versus ten thousand, the advantage is mine!’

Zhang Yi decided that before the autumn harvest,

he would first conquer this Neutral Elf City. It would serve as a training exercise, a way to test the Moon Elves’ reaction,

and a bridgehead to cut off the Moon Elves from leeching off the small Elf Tribes in the southern Moonlight Forest.

Once Zhang Yi accomplished this,

he could not only stop providing aid in the form of goods to the small Elf Tribes,

but he could also let these small Elf Tribes, who had long been oppressed by the Moon Elves, experience the wonderful feeling of freedom.

He would show them that by resisting the Moon Elves, they could immediately reap benefits for themselves!

...

A few days later, on the day of *Liqiu*, the Beginning of Autumn in the Small Magic Plane,

the five thousand troops of the Elf Corps under Zhang Yi’s command assembled in formation.

Looking at the Elf Corps, a mix of veterans serving as Noncommissioned Officers and new recruits as soldiers,

filling the open ground outside Moon City,

a sense of pride swelled uncontrollably in Zhang Yi’s heart!

Since the Elf God had not yet perished,

today’s address would be given by Legion Commander Feiyana, speaking on behalf of the great God of Nature.

Legion Commander Feiyana stood on the walls of Moon City, naturally understanding what was planned for the day.

The Legion Commander was now the leader of five corps.

As she looked down at the corps she drilled day and night, she felt the gaze of the great God of Nature beside her, as well as the gazes of the various Elf Elders and Elf Leaders who had been absorbed from the Elf Mage Academy.

A mixture of nervousness and pride intertwined in her heart.

Feiyana’s fingers unconsciously fiddled with the Jade Sword at her waist, its hilt glinting in the sunlight.

She took a deep breath, and her voice, carried by Wind Magic via an Amplification Technique cast by an Elf Mage, boomed across all of Moon City:

"Elves of the Elf Alliance! I trust you all know who I am. I am Legion Commander Feiyana!"

"Sixteen years ago, the vile Moon Elves betrayed the great Elf God! They renounced their faith in him and drove the other Elves out of the Elf Main City!"

"Twelve years ago, the vile Moon Elves launched a great massacre, slaughtering two large Elf Tribes just to satisfy their own selfish desires!"

"Ten years ago, they went even further, forcing other Elves to change their faith and worship the Pseudo-God they themselves follow—the Moon God!"

"Tell me, can we allow this?"

Legion Commander Feiyana demanded loudly.

"No!"

The Elves from the five corps below roared back in unison.

"Now, these vile Moon Elves have become even more relentless!

They not only force the smaller Elf Tribes to pay an autumn harvest tax, but they also forcibly conscript soldiers from tribes that cannot meet the tax quota!

They send those Elves to the border with the Beastmen to serve as cannon fodder!"

"You must understand, those Elves who are forcibly conscripted are sons to their fathers, fathers to their sons, and husbands to their wives! They are the pillars of their families!"

"Tell me, can we forgive the Moon Elves for such cruel atrocities?"

Legion Commander Feiyana shouted again.

"No!"

This time, the shout from the Elves of the Elf Corps below was even louder,

their voices laced with fury and an empathetic rage!