On the wasteland in front of the mine, a scene of utter brutality unfolded.

Screams and wails echoed incessantly, the pungent smell of blood lingering in the air, refusing to dissipate.

"Hmm!"

Serena gripped the Knight's Sword with both hands, pulling it fiercely from the chest of the pale-skinned Elf in front of her. As the blade was withdrawn, a torrent of blood gushed from the wound.

The Dark Moon Elf she was fighting stared at her with wide eyes, bloodshot and gradually losing focus, yet still fixated on her.

"Dark Moon...will eventually...win freedom!" he murmured before collapsing forward onto the ground.

After pulling out her sword, Serena paid no heed to the fallen corpse, holding the sword in front of her in a combat stance, surveying her surroundings with caution.

By then, however, no enemies were left standing around her.

The Vassal Army of the Dark Moon Elves had been utterly slaughtered. Humans and Beastmen lay sprawled across the ground, their mingled blood forming a vast crimson lake that nearly engulfed the entire battlefield.

She saw her Captain — the Centurion, wielding a Cross Sword that shimmered with a radiant glow, chasing ahead.

The ones he pursued were a few injured Dark Moon Elves.

Serena felt the entire battlefield was plunged into an eerie silence, apart from the groans and screams of the wounded, there was no other sound.

She couldn't hear what those few Dark Moon Elves were saying, only saw them collapse to the ground one by one, some with faces full of rage, some pleading desperately, and others looking bewildered and numb.

The Centurion gave chase, his Cross Sword swinging.

A flash of brilliant blue light, and one by one, the vibrant lives of the Elves were snuffed out.

Serena dazedly turned her gaze elsewhere, where the sound of screams echoed.

Not far away, a fallen Dark Moon Elf staggered to his feet, still clutching the blade in his hand.

Opposite him, a Radiant Elf, equally covered in wounds, roared in fury, cursing and swinging his sword at his enemy.

Both sides expended the last of their energy in a desperate struggle, and finally, the Dark Moon Elf fell to the ground.

Subsequently, the Radiant Elf also staggered and collapsed, unable to support himself any longer.

"The enemies are still resisting, hold your swords tight, give them the punishment they deserve!" The Centurion's voice rang in Serena's ears.

"Kill!"

Once more, Serena's eyes were filled with the color of blood.

She shouted loudly, tightening her grip on her blade, and charged towards the still-resisting Dark Moon Elves.

The blade slashed mercilessly, thrusting and slicing.

As she fought bravely, a figure suddenly rushed in from the side, knocking her to the ground, pinning her down.

Faced with this sudden attack, Serena instinctively prepared to unleash magic to blast the assailant away.

"Serena! Snap out of it! It's me!" the person pinning her down shouted urgently.

The Magic Power Serena had gathered dissipated instantly.

"What are you doing!" Serena couldn't help but scream.

This is a battleground of life and death, such behavior is practically trying to get a comrade killed, infuriating Serena.

"Open your eyes, don't just look down, look... around you!"

Hearing her friend's weak voice, Serena turned dazedly to look around.

There were no more Dark Moon Elves on the battlefield.

Out of the more than five hundred members of the Thorn Society, only thirty remain, standing about in confusion.

Some crazed comrades still clutched their weapons, dealing blows to the uncertain fate of the Dark Moon Elves on the ground.

Such a scene in the Elven civil war had long surpassed what could be described as "madness."

The bloody hue in Serena's eyes faded instantly, and she came to her senses.

It was as if all the sounds flowed back into her ears in the once silent space.

Screams, roars, wails, curses...

"What is going on?" Serena murmured confusedly to herself.

At that moment, she suddenly felt something amiss and quickly looked at the friend pinning her down.

It was a corpse, still warm, but long since devoid of breath.

Serena's eyes went blank, her mind a void, incapable of thought.

...

"Mad! You're all mad! How could you do such things? Why do it!!!"

Bathing in the City of Life, one of the primary cities of the Radiant Elves. Here among the Elves was a precious child tree of the Tree of Life.

In one of the city's courtyards echoed the angry roar of an Elf, now devoid of its usual grace, replaced by infinite fury.

A high-ranking Elf clad in Knight Armor, a Treasure Sword hanging at his side, was venting his wrath uncontrollably.

In his long lifespan spanning centuries, he had never felt such anger, nor had he ever shouted himself hoarse as he was now.

The people around were petrified with fear.

They had never seen the general lose control like this.

And the one being furiously glared at and scolded, yet still unhealed and defiant, was the Centurion.

"Answer me! Speak!"

The general gave the Centurion no chance to speak, pointing instead to the thirty or so Elves standing behind him.

Each of these Elves bore wounds, with several on the verge of breaking down, while most appeared bewildered.

"Over five hundred brothers! And you brought back just this handful? Is that what you made of your kindred? Cannon fodder?" General Albert asked angrily, seeking an answer he couldn't begin to fathom.

"I simply had you intimidate them, tell those gray-skinned ones that if they continued such actions, we would certainly retaliate. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Not have you launch a retaliatory strike then and there! Not instgate a war there!

You killed all the Elves in the mine! You lunatic!"

In that mine were originally 431 Dark Moon Elves, but in this madman's hands, not a single one was left alive, utterly slaughtered without even a prisoner.

Madness, sheer madness!

Apart from the word "mad," General Albert could think of no other word to describe the present situation.

"Shut up, I don't want to hear another word from you, take him away!"

Seeing the Centurion trying to defend himself, General Albert had no intention of letting him speak, immediately commanding an arrest.

He left it to the professionals to handle, for he was utterly exhausted.

The Centurion was tightly bound by Elf Mage magic, suspended in the air, and dragged away.

General Albert stepped back a few paces, collapsing heavily onto the chair behind him, his face pale as a ghost.

This was supposed to be a simple intimidation mission, but inexplicably led to heavy casualties among nearly a thousand Elves.

Whether Dark Moon Elves or Radiant Elves, in most Elves' hearts, despite the recent split between the two groups, they were ultimately all one Elf race.

Furthermore, the earlier incident involving the death of three Radiant Elves was itself full of suspicions, although word had spread, the upper echelon Elves continued to seek clues in secret.

This time, however, the situation was entirely different.

Four hundred Dark Moon Elves were slaughtered, leaving not a single survivor, sure to drive the entire Dark Moon Elf clan to madness.

For centuries, the Elven race had never suffered such a grievous wound.

The ones slaughtering Elves were Elves themselves!

And it was none other than the already divisive Radiant Elves.

Being an Elf general, Albert understood the current situation far too well.

Such news could never be concealed; every Elf had accumulated vast networks over centuries.

Hatred would spread recklessly through these networks.

What was originally just a split might now evolve into an actual war.

He dared not even imagine what might happen next.

Looking at the visibly abnormal young Elves, Albert wanted to say something but ultimately closed his mouth in silence, helplessly sighing and waving them off.

Serena, amidst the crowd, turned to leave with a look of bewilderment.