Chapter 288: The Eccentric Elf

On the surface, it remained calm, but the undercurrents hidden at the bottom of the pool began to surge again. Perhaps the siege of undercurrents had stopped for over a year, but George’s assassination attempt indeed caused these undercurrents to intensify.

And the newly joined team of Adventurers was more like pouring a basin of boiling hot oil into the icy lake water. The water vapor formed by the heat, after expanding thousands of times in volume, made the changes hidden at the bottom of the water nearly cause the surface to churn.

“Sigh! In terms of action, the team of Adventurers led by Jinluoke is still a bit too rough. Fortunately, not many people know that they have now been taken under my name. With proper guidance, I can just muddy the waters.” Standing by the window of the reception room in the City Hall, George looked out at the city he ruled and sighed somewhat helplessly.

George’s previous arrangement could be said to be somewhat ill-considered, although he specifically reminded Jinluoke to be careful in his actions. But these Adventurers were not specially trained secret agents. Let alone leaving no clues, in fact, in less than three days, rumors spread in the taverns of Bolerum that a team of Vampire hunters had come to the Territory.

Fortunately, they were not really fools; at least they did not reveal their true purpose in front of others. Plus, although the number of Vampire hunters was not large, they were occasionally seen in the Western Continent. So for a while, it was just talk in taverns and among Adventurers.

After rolling up a document in his hand, George lightly bit his upper lip with his lower teeth, the corners of his mouth inadvertently raised slightly, and he let out a light breath from his nose: “Fortunately, judging from the news obtained now, the previous actions of the Dark Elves in the Underground also brought a lot of Vampire support. In a few days, this news should spread widely. If they are smart, they should be able to use this as their own cover!”

Although George was somewhat dissatisfied with the performance of those few Adventurers, it was still within his expectations. But for the others, the anger in George’s heart was constantly burning.

The appearance of those Vampires was closely accompanied by the Dark Elf attack more than twenty days ago. But for such a long time afterwards, George did not receive any news related to it.

If it weren’t for this attack, and George writing to Knight Ahuatan in the Broken Halberd Fortress. Knight Ahuatan would not have reminded others to pay attention to this threat, and it would have been impossible to get such news from the Elf who survived the initial underground attack.

George’s heart showed quite a bit of indignation: ‘Sure enough, if they are not of my race, their hearts must be different! Those Elves verbally said they came to support, but actually it seemed like they held back on everything. One can imagine that they definitely hope to use us Humans’ lives to consume the effective strength of those Dark Elves! The people who came are less of a support team, and I’m afraid more of a battlefield observation group!’

Of course, acting requires the full set. Those Elves also had to fight on the front line against the Dark Elves most of the time. In fact, to get first-hand information, those Elves also had to go to the front line. After all, whether battle reports are intuitive and fair is always open to question.

Even if there was no false reporting of merits on the front line, the articles released to the public definitely had to meet the needs of propaganda warfare. To boost morale and stabilize the people’s hearts, appropriate exaggeration was necessary externally—just like a certain great victory at a certain pass. Moreover, anyone has subjective emotions, and even the continuation of front-line battle reports is difficult to exclude this factor.

However, when it came to the front line, whether to risk their lives or not was not up to those Elves. Not to mention that swords and arrows have no eyes on the battlefield, it was already very, very rare for both sides to be able to exchange a round with each other. Usually, it was a situation where moves determined life and death, not to mention that in the eyes of those Black Skins from the Underground, the hatred value of Elves was much higher than that of Humans.

Whether it was Elves or Dark Elves, they were both relatively slender and agile. On the battlefield, when strengths were equal, it was easy to fall into a stalemate. Of course, for the Elves who often fought with fewer people, this situation was relatively common in previous battles. If the battle scene was changed to a dense jungle, then they could often fight back and forth for quite a few rounds.

After all, as a race with a small population, they also needed to consider how to preserve themselves during battle. This behavior could be said to be branded in the minds of those Elves since childhood. But here it was very different; after all, the density of the crowd on the battlefield was simply not comparable.

In just two or three rounds, either friendly forces would join in a pincer attack, or the enemy on the opposite side would surround them like making dumplings. So in this race against time, if one could not fight quickly, it was equivalent to handing one’s life into the hands of others. But did they have comrades here trustworthy enough to entrust their backs to?

Judging by the number of Elves dispatched, facing so many enemy troops, I’m afraid they couldn’t rely on a small number of people to form a group to protect themselves! Originally, a single Elf was already attractive enough for hatred, and then gathering a small pile of troops. Wasn’t this clearly the rhythm for people to throw Fireball or Chain Lightning here?

So it was no wonder that those Elves were so desperate on the battlefield. Psychologically, for them, this was less of a contest between two forces; it was better to say that they as individuals were facing enemies a hundred times their number. From the last letter George received, those few Knights had a quite good impression of these Elves who fought bravely.

“I’m afraid those Elves want to play a proxy war! But with the current strength of the Elves, if they want to lay out the whole Western Continent, aren’t they afraid of playing themselves to death?” George, who had returned to his office, unrolled the power distribution map of the Western Continent and said disdainfully.

The so-called proxy war refers to a war conducted by major powers through third-country agents to maintain their own interests and avoid direct conflict.

Usually, major powers provide military, economic, and political assistance to small countries, and small countries fight other countries with their help. Nearby there are Syria and Libya, further away there are North and South Vietnam, North and South Korea. Even the Hexagram Country counts.

However, although the current Elves had rich ancestors, so far they could also be described as a starved camel being bigger than a horse—at the very least, if they used the power of their whole clan, no Kingdom on the Western Continent could confront them head-on. This didn’t even count the powerful Deity standing behind them. However, for the layout of the entire Continent, such power seemed like a drop in the bucket.

“It looks like the appearance of those Dark Elves gave the Elves an opportunity! After all, this is our own home, and we will never allow those Black Skins to rage here. Since the flames of war will inevitably burn, then one cannot blame interested parties for manipulating things at this time.” George, pointing constantly at the power map, suddenly seemed to think of something, “Wait! Wait! This wouldn’t be similar to that damn Continental Balance Policy from before I transmigrated, would it!”

The Continental Balance Policy first appeared in the Niu Niu Country before George transmigrated. It first established the Vienna System; restricting France, maintaining the European balance.

Usually, people think that because Niu Niu was located on the British Isles, isolated from the Europa Continent, after World War I it lost the powerful strength and influence of the Empire on which the sun never sets that once dominated the five continents and four seas, so it adjusted its foreign policy.

It hoped that these countries on the Europa Continent would be in a relatively balanced state with each other. Several major powers coexisted and their strengths were not much different. In this way, Britain could maintain its status and exert influence on Europa. Because once a certain country had an absolute advantage over other countries, it would not only master the influence and interests of the Europa Continent, but also be in a strong position against Niu Niu.

In fact, this situation had already started after the Industrial Revolution. Usually, Niu Niu would alternately apply means such as alliance, isolation, blockade, and interference to continental countries diplomatically. The key was to leave the strong and combine with the weak, support the weak and suppress the strong, trying to cause the strength of major powers to be comparable, checking and balancing each other. At the same time, opposing and preventing one country or several countries from uniting to dominate the continent, and finally Niu Niu manipulated the political scales.

This strategy of focusing on Europe and letting go of the world effectively maintained Niu Niu’s hegemony and maximum interests in Europe and even the world for a long time. And the environment the Elves were in now was so similar to that Niu Niu of that time.

The Western European island nation Niu Niu before the transmigration took advantage of the golden opportunity after the opening of new shipping routes, established the capitalist system earlier, gradually established maritime hegemony and colonial hegemony, and took the lead in starting and completing the Industrial Revolution. It was the guarantee of national power that was the basis for it to be able to combine vertically and horizontally in diplomacy. As the saying goes, weak countries have no diplomacy! Look at the Tianchao, which was called the Sleeping Lion at that time, and you can clearly understand—even if you became a victorious country, you could not enjoy the corresponding treatment.

The Isle of Eternal Gathering of the Elves was also isolated overseas, possessing the most powerful navy in the entire Western Continent. And with the power of Magic being powerful, in this regard it could be compared to the technological advantage period formed by the first completion of the Industrial Revolution before the transmigration. Coupled with the centripetal force formed by common faith, if the method was proper, it was really possible to become the lever to pry the continental balance.

Thinking about it, George was suddenly startled by himself: ‘It seems I have discovered something incredible! But now there is no way to determine the truth of my thought! If there is a chance to go to the Bokabu Temple in the future, I must study the historical materials of the Western Continent for the past few hundred years properly. See if there are shadows of those Elves behind the major events of the past dynasties.’

George, who seemed to have figured it out, rolled up the large Parchment Scroll map in front of him and put it back in its original place. At the same time, he muttered to himself: “If that is really the case. Then it makes sense that the Elves did not send support personnel after the Kingdom of Lucia encountered a large-scale attack by Dark Elves this time. After all, his strength and ambition have already been revealed to us surrounding countries. Now he is an object restricted by the Elf Kingdom!”

Some things were destined to be unstoppable by George’s ability, at least for now. So why not make use of the parts that might be beneficial to oneself in this! Just like the Iron and Blood Bismarck before the transmigration.

George, who had an idea, touched his chin and said: “In that case, if a war really starts then. I wonder if our Duchy of Nohan can get support from the Elves! Just like that Seven Years’ War before the transmigration. If my previous conjecture is confirmed, then I must remind Father to make efforts in this aspect next.”

Just as George was lost in thought, a knock on the door came from outside the office.

George, who immediately changed his expression, asked: “Is there something wrong?”

The voice of Ives Barnett came from outside the door: “Lord! Didn’t you plan to go and inspect the training of the Youth Militia Team today?”

“Have the carriage wait downstairs! I’ll be right there.” George pinched his brow, ‘Sigh! There have been so many things during this time, I didn’t even notice it was already this time.’

The training of the Militia group was no small matter in the Bolerum Territory! Those young lads followed the instructors to learn simple but basic military combat methods. It was usually a way of using weapons that was simple and pure to the extreme, with the whole set of movements practiced back and forth repeatedly.

Of course, idioms like practice makes perfect and a hundred tempering were prepared for these combat skills. As long as the user could really understand the true essence of them, it could be said that the simpler and more direct the moves, the more amazing power they could exert.

In fact, just in this regard, the skills taught in the Bolerum Territory were already enough to make many Adventurers outside drool. After all, compared to many Adventurers who were only taught the most basic weapon usage skills, even the simplest routine was something they craved but hard to get.

In fact, in addition to being the ability to kill enemies on the battlefield, those seemingly simple move changes had considerable intricacies. Every muscle pulled by each move and the part where force was applied could not have the slightest error.

In this regard, the strict instructors each held a wooden stick as thick as a jujube in their hands. Whoever had a problem would get a knock first, and then one-on-one correction of the movement. According to them, this kind of physical education had significant effects.

However, at this time, the gap between people became obvious. Some Militia members were able to practice decently after just a few times, but most needed to be corrected repeatedly dozens or even hundreds of times. If the number of retired instructors in the Territory was not relatively sufficient, it would really be impossible to conduct such training!

However, the most terrible thing about these orthodox military combat methods was that such repetitive movements would stimulate the bodies of these practitioners, activating the potential of their muscles. At the same time, it thickened muscle fibers and increased their elasticity and toughness, which could very effectively lay a good foundation for future becoming fierce.

This martial art, passed down through generations after a hundred tempering, was just like the orthodox martial arts in martial arts novels. Perhaps the progress was slow, perhaps the power was not great, perhaps it was simple and boring. But it was true pure martial arts. After paying enough sweat, it would surely return you a certain reward. This change was like the laws of nature that have been running for thousands of years. Although slow, although inconspicuous at first glance, it was unstoppable and irreversible.

It was mentioned before that the food during the Militia training period was the sole responsibility of this Lord. Now he had completed the inspection work of the drill ground and was inspecting the soldiers’ food for today in the kitchen.

If one really compared it with the past, the biggest change here was the use of oatmeal porridge similar to that in hospitals as the thick soup for this time. However, the taste of this oatmeal porridge was heavier than that in hospitals, and most importantly, the grease was not removed.

Besides the fact that the bodies of the Militia members did not need this aspect of restriction to save effort. The most important thing was that they needed this aspect of supplement. A large amount of sweating must have enough salt supplement, and fat was also the best energy carrier. These were things that they had to keep up with under the condition of all-weather training.

Chopped fresh fish meat was made into meat patties together with onion and mashed potatoes, which was easy to digest and could also supplement the most basic protein. At the same time, Black Bread slices cut to the thickness of a finger were enough, and a thin layer of Cheese was spread on them. Such material conditions ensured that these Militia members would not hurt their foundation due to not keeping up with nutrition during the training process.

The saying “Poor study literature, rich study martial arts” was really very reasonable. Legend has it that in the world before the transmigration: children of wealthy families practiced martial arts, and since childhood they had more body nutrition supplements, as well as the use of medicinal materials and massage and other external forces that could effectively assist cultivation. As for the poor, if they forced themselves to practice martial arts when even three meals a day were a problem, the greatest possibility was to practice themselves to death.

Even if vegetarian food was enough, as long as there was a lack of animal protein supply, eight or nine times out of ten, they would have the ability to eventually leave a root of disease. This was also an important reason why fierce generals could pass on their families throughout the ages. Not only the inheritance of experience and martial arts, but more importantly, the sufficient material guarantee.

However, the Militia members in front of them could be said to be incredibly lucky. You know, the ingredient cost of this Militia training alone was close to 5 Gold Coins a day. This was not something that every Lord was willing to bear, nor was it something that just any Lord could bear.

The teenagers who knew this was a shortcut for them to change their destiny worked very hard every time at this time. Of course, in addition to correcting the distortion of movements that appeared during their self-practice, this kind of training was most importantly to train their discipline, obedience, and cooperation with each other.

At the same time, in the non-training time, the situation of these young people working hard in private was also displayed in front of George, this Acting Lord, at this time. After all, the most important thing in the way of martial arts was “concentration and hard cultivation”, so except for the few people who guarded one side and passed on martial arts. Few masters appeared in most wealthy families precisely because those guys could not stand the hardship, and could not stand the boredom and loneliness of practicing in winter and summer.

Of course, the training intensity of these Militia students in normal times might not be as good as during the training camp due to various reasons. But they could not give up completely for a moment, only the real persisters could obtain the harvest that made themselves happy.

And while the instructors and students were showing their own results here, George was also trying to find a few good seedlings in the Territory!