Chapter 455: Elf Reinforcements

The army under his command advanced steadily toward Eight Peaks, and Sinuoli sat in his own command tent, consolidating the reports sent back by the vanguard and the scouts further ahead. What was the situation inside Eight Peaks? How many enemies were there, and were there any new reinforcements? He had to analyze and judge all of this himself.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

While he was busy, one of the several encrypted transmitters in his safe began to ring. The disturbed Dwarf King grumbled to himself, guessing who might be contacting him as he opened the safe.

"Teclis? Wanting to meet now, what does he want? He didn't stir up trouble somewhere again, did he?"

After decoding the incoming message, Sinuoli frowned tightly, but considering his plans after reclaiming Eight Peaks and Teclis's key position, he still made a quick reply.

"Long time no see, Lord Teclis. You, oh? You seem to be on the verge of a breakthrough? Congratulations! At over three hundred years old, that counts as a peerless genius even among you sharp... no, among Elves!"

Finding an excuse to slip out of the main camp, Sinuoli took a winding path to a desolate mountain to meet the Archmage. Wisps of extraordinary power radiated from him, which was clearly a sign that he had not yet fully mastered the Authority.

"Heh, if someone else said that, I would take it as a compliment, but you are the only exception. During the Great Holy War, I fought side by side with your father's and grandfather's generations; my magic had already reached the peak of mortality back then."

Leaning on Lilisi's Moon Staff while looking Sinuoli up and down, Teclis's thoughts seemed to drift back to that bloody battle resisting the Everchosen. As one of the few people currently aware of the weakening of the Great Vortex, he bore immense pressure.

"Sigh, I have struggled and searched for over a hundred years, only just barely standing before the door. And that is considered lucky; my brother, who reached the mortal peak even earlier than I did, still has no clue about the Authority."

"Prince Tyrion is different from the two of us; without the support of gods behind him, relying purely on himself truly requires paying a greater price."

"Heh, if I count as having divine support, I fear you are treated like one of Their male favorites!"

Teclis gave a dry laugh. Two meetings—one at Gaoyuanbao and one at the Xuri Zhi Ta on the way to Zhendan—gave him a relatively clear and definite understanding of the speed at which Sinuoli's strength was increasing.

A guy who had just reached the mortal peak and hadn't even solidified his foundation, yet after a trip to Zhendan, he had mastered the Authority and ascended to Demigod status? Teclis could not help but speculate what kind of fortuitous encounter Sinuoli had obtained in that ancient East.

"Heh, you didn't come to find me at this time just to show off your progress in strength, did you? Let's get the ugly talk out of the way first: if anyone sees us meeting, I really will have to greet you with the Storm Hammer!"

This time it was Sinuoli's turn to laugh awkwardly. It had to be said that Teclis's sixth sense was truly very sharp; he did indeed want to be a male favorite, just not of a god, but of a Demigod true Dragon.

"The great battle is imminent. Although your troops are strong and your horses sturdy, the Skaven and Greenskins relying on Eight Peaks are not there to be slaughtered by you at will. I think you might be open to some additional reinforcements."

"Additional reinforcements? You? That would truly be an honor for me and the entire Qunshan."

Sinuoli raised an eyebrow, his attitude improving immediately. Teclis was skilled in large-scale war magic and was an expert at slaughtering weak cannon fodder; no Dwarf who had participated in the Great Holy War would deny this.

"Me? I am flattered by your regard, but counting your fellow disciples, there are already more than five Doom Anvils in the camp, aren't there? Standing with you lot, I'd be lucky if I could summon a fireball with my fire-gathering technique."

The Doom Anvil was a key treasure for countering Elf mage groups during the War of the Beard; a single one could significantly constrain the Winds of Magic on the battlefield. With so many gathered together, even a Demigod spellcaster would find it hard to bear. Calling it "half the work for twice the result" was giving face to Teclis's "Arcane Conductor" talent.

"Then what do you mean? Is Prince Tyrion coming?"

"No, not him either. Have you heard of Eltharion, the Prince of the Kingdom of Yvresse and Warden of Ta'er-Yiruisi?"

"The jailer? You can command him? Isn't it said that even the Phoenix King Finubar cannot command him?"

Sinuoli certainly knew Eltharion—not because he had been turned to ash by Aierhan, but the feat of leading a team to attack Naggaroth and successfully withdrawing was enough for him to have a seat at the war council of the Phoenix Court.

"Ever since the calamity brought by Gulu, he hasn't even been willing to see me, his old friend who studied with him in Saphery. However, there is one who can command him: the guardian deity of the Kingdom of Yvresse, the Lady of the Mists, Ladelili."

"Another Lily? Why do I have a bad premonition?" Sinuoli muttered to himself while stroking his beard, as Teclis continued on his own.

"She is the protector of all hidden or lost things, and the patron saint of travelers in the wilderness. Her presence is most felt in the mists of Yvresse, and the people there also devoutly believe in Her."

"So what? Is She very close to the one on the head of your staff? But even if I agreed, he couldn't make it in time, could he? My vanguard is almost at the foot of Eight Peaks."

"You are right; the Lady of the Mists and the Lady of Dreams are close allies. As for the time issue, Eltharion and his army are currently in the Badlands. After completely purging the Greenskins from Ulthuan, he believes it is time to set about wiping this filthy race from the entire world."

"Interesting. What do They want to obtain? And how many men does Eltharion have? Don't just bring a small squad and make me waste my breath convincing my clansmen to accept them."

Although the more hands the better, Sinuoli did not rush to accept. In his original plan, he hoped to persuade Lilisi to issue a divine oracle to make the reclamation of Eight Peaks a war of Knightly Vow, in order to obtain more power from Bretonnia.

But considering that during the governance process after reclaiming the Southlands, he had indulged his subordinates in taking sides and suppressing the worship of the Lady of the Lake, which was effectively a strike against Her, plus the fact that Dieter IV had stepped down and relations with the Empire had been restored, this time Bretonnia would only be approached through secular relations.

He already owed Her a three-point favor just for the fact that Lilisi had not interfered in this. Now, with the fighting about to start, She had actually sent Teclis to offer help; was She really that kind-hearted?

"My old friend has brought an expeditionary force of nearly two thousand men; the Mistwalkers of the Kingdom of Yvresse are the most tenacious mixed infantry. And as far as I know, you like air forces, but your current aerial power is relatively weak. The Griffons of Yvresse are the most ferocious and tall in all of Ulthuan, and Eltharion has brought the most elite Ta'er-Yiruisi Knightly Orders."

"Interesting, interesting. Then what do I need to pay?"

"What They seek is truly very little: just one treasure from the treasury of Eight Peaks, the Silver Dragon Horn of Caledor. You have the right to dispose of the spoils of war; obtaining it will be but a small effort for you."