Chapter 1998: Time Limits, Casualties

Outside the secret place.

On the southern plains of Adofeier Fortress, the mutual-destruction-style resistance of the Siluwende spellcasters continues; although the battle is brutal, it must be said that this has brought great obstacles to the Eaerlann advance.

Inside the command camp, the Eaerlann commander in charge of this war, Adalier, is currently furrowing his brow; he knows deeply that Eaerlann must achieve a swift victory in this war, otherwise there is a high probability of being dragged into a quagmire of war from which it is difficult to escape.

Just at this moment, the adjutant came to report, "Commander, news has come from Taiweimansa; the various nations have no unusual movements for the time being, but the time left for us is already running out. The Crown King and the Council of Elders demand that we must capture Adofeier Fortress before tomorrow night."

"Before tomorrow night?"

Hearing such a hasty deadline, Adalier turned his head abruptly to stare straight into the adjutant's eyes and asked expressionlessly, "Do you think we can do it?"

"I think this time is indeed a bit tight, but if we use that, it might not be impossible—"

But before the adjutant could finish speaking, he was rudely interrupted by Adalier, "You also know it's impossible, so why boast to those above?"

"I—"

The adjutant's face turned pale instantly; as the adjutant to the commander of this Northern Expedition, it was naturally impossible for him to have no background at all. On the contrary, he possessed a profound background that many Elves could not reach.

It goes without saying that he was a member of an Upper Family; there was not a single person who could mix by the commander's side who was not a member of an Upper Family, but his true identity was the Crown King's own nephew.

In a way, he could be considered an eye placed by the Crown King beside Commander Adalier, but at this moment, the adjutant noticed the commander's expressionless gaze and could not help but recall what his uncle, the Crown King, had said to him before departure—

Adalier is a trustworthy elder; listen more, learn more, and act on your own initiative less!

But how many young Elves could ignore the merit of a war of national extinction! Even if he was not the main subject of the meritorious service, as long as he participated, he would inevitably share in the merit and glory of victory.

Under such circumstances, being slightly eager for quick success was actually not a major fault, but the adjutant's mistake was being in the wrong position.

If he were just a rank-and-file soldier, then no matter how radical his ideas were, it would be difficult to have much impact on the war itself.

But being in a position like an adjutant, which transmits information up and down, and possessing many special backgrounds, a slight mistake would surely have far-reaching consequences.

As a close minister to the Crown King, Adalier naturally had his own channels of information in Taiweimansa. At first, he was somewhat incredulous when he received the news, and his heart was still willing to trust the flexible junior.

But hearing the adjutant come to report now, the anger in his heart was imaginable; if the other party were not the Crown King's nephew, he would have loved to tear him apart on the spot.

"Stay in the camp recently and do not walk around at will. If the subsequent war goes smoothly, I will treat this as if it never happened. If the war does not go well, you had better consider what way you want to die!"

After Adalier finished speaking coldly, he ignored the other party. Although there was some discrepancy between the rear's understanding of the front-line situation and reality, an order was an order, and he could only choose to accept it.

As for afterwards, no matter the outcome of the war, the political life of this temporary adjutant could be said to have ended.

Before long, Adalier's true adjutant, the current command camp's messenger, arrived. After entering the command room, he first glanced unobtrusively at the currently dejected gilded adjutant, then bowed respectfully to the commander.

"Commander, did you summon me?"

"Wendeisi, you are here."

Seeing the arrival of his trusted former adjutant, Adalier's expression softened slightly, "How is the current casualty situation of the Warriors?"

This question was actually tracked by a dedicated recorder; the messenger could know or not know these things, as it did not affect his own duties.

But Wendeisi clearly did not consider himself an ordinary messenger; hearing the commander's inquiry, he answered almost without hesitation:

"On the main line of advance, our casualties are minimal, with only a few Mages suffering mental collapse due to excessive spellcasting. However, on other offensive fronts, casualties are quite severe. Currently, it is estimated that over a thousand brave Warriors have taken a step ahead to the A Fanduo Homeland, and the number of wounded has already exceeded ten thousand. Most of them can fully recover after the war, but a small portion will be left with lifelong disabilities."

If this casualty figure were compared to the Seven Fortresses War of over a thousand years ago, it might not even compare to a fraction, but one must know that Eaerlann has been "supervising" Siluwende for over a millennium.

For Siluwende, which has long been in a state of suppression and castration, to still be able to cause such casualties to the Eaerlann Army—if it were the Siluwende of its prime, how high would the casualties be!

As the current Eaerlann commander, Adalier found it truly difficult to imagine how Eaerlann defeated Siluwende over a thousand years ago.

Even now, he felt extremely shocked by Siluwende's will to resist and even its ability to resist. Before setting out, he had thought this would be an exceptionally easy "takeover" journey.

And this was actually the perception of many Eaerlann Elves. At first, it was indeed like that, but as the front line advanced, the resistance will of the Siluwende side became stronger and stronger.

Even in those areas that had already been successfully taken over by Eaerlann, news of resistance organization activities kept emerging.

Just now, Adalier learned that because of a gilded junior, Taiweimansa had issued an order that he considered very dangerous, which caused a thought that he could never shake off to arise deep in his heart—

Is Eaerlann really unable to conquer Siluwende?

"How is the morale of the Warriors?" Adalier asked again.

"The Warriors in the conventional troops are very stable because they cannot reach the front-line situation of the war. Although there are casualties, the previous progress is also real and true."

Where there are conventional troops, there are naturally unconventional troops. This usually refers to the spellcaster troops, but Eaerlann does not have established spellcaster units; every war requires temporary conscription.

Especially for high-level Mages, "conscription" might be slightly insufficient; "invitation" would be more appropriate.

Therefore, the composition of spellcaster units is often complex, and their thoughts are all different. If the battle is going smoothly, there is no problem, but once there is the slightest setback, it is inevitable that their will to fight will waver.

Although Wendeisi did not answer explicitly, he let Adalier understand the general situation—the morale of the spellcaster troops is likely not very stable at the moment!

"These rebellious subjects!"

Of course, Adalier could only curse this in his heart. If he were to say such things publicly, even though he himself was a high-level Mage, it would be inevitable for him to be excluded from the core of power.