Book 8: Chapter 26: Sacrifice

Release Date: 2026-06-04 17:23:05

A+A-Light Off<!--

«Volume 8 Chapter 25: Suggestion

Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »

“High Priest, surely you don’t agree with Firal’s suggestion?” Adeline asked with a pale face. “Even if we suffer losses at the Naga Lake crossing, the tribe can understand. But abandoning the defensive formation means actively giving up some of our people. It’s something everyone will find hard to accept.”

“We could tell them that if we cannot rescue them in time and they surrender, we can send merchant caravans later to buy back those people.” Menon’s voice was hoarse and his words unclear, as if squeezed out between tightly clenched teeth.

“Both you and I know what happens to our people captured by humans. Compared to that, they would rather die in battle.” Adeline shook her head sadly. “The casualties would be terrible. Even if everyone understands, this kind of sacrifice…”

“The rogue gangs will also suffer heavy losses. Since scattered rogue groups were getting rewards, they wouldn’t stay united anymore. And they would need to assign people to guard the prisoners, while watching out for rogue groups who got nothing turning on them.” The more Menon spoke, the sharper his gaze became and the firmer his tone. His old body straightened like a spear, radiating an intimidating aura.

“If just one internal conflict happens, the rogue organizations couldn’t cooperate sincerely next time. Heavy casualties would shake their determination, making later migration groups safer. Our sacrifice now is worthwhile.”

“Teacher Menon, please don’t do this!” Adeline’s heart grew heavier as she pleaded desperately.

High Priest Menon looked at the Elf Mage before him and sighed, shaking his head. “Adeline, do you know why I never supported the royal descendants in our tribe competing with the Greenleaf Clan for the Elf King throne?”

Elder Adeline was slightly stunned and shook her head in confusion. The Elf Mage was the current leader of the tribal Council of Elders, while High Priest Menon was the former leader and also Adeline’s teacher. When Adeline was younger, she had tried to persuade Menon to resist the Magic Cup Court and not yield in everything, but Menon always refused.

Menon was very old. He was the last survivor of his generation of Elves, almost a full generation older than all the elders in the Moon Elf tribes. In the eyes of other elders, Menon was a kind and gentle teacher, but his nature was too mild, and he appeared too weak in face of the Magic Cup Court’s oppression.

Perhaps recognizing this reason, Menon eventually stepped back and handed the position of tribal Council of Elders leader to Adeline. However, the old man remained the spiritual leader in the hearts of all Moon Elves. If he insisted on his course, Adeline couldn’t stop him. Besides, of the two migrating Elf tribes, the Moon Shadow Tribe was Menon’s own tribe.

“Do you also think I’m too weak, too afraid to oppose the Magic Cup Court?” Menon gave a self-mocking smile, sighed, and said softly, “It’s not that I don’t want to reclaim the Elf King throne from the Magic Cup Court, but there is no descendant among the tribe’s royal line who could become the Elf King.”

Menon took a deep breath, looked at Adeline, and said quietly, “I’ve always been jealous of the Green Elves. Why do they always have countless young people capable of bearing the throne, while among you, not a single one with the bearing of a monarch has emerged—not even an Elf Queen!”

Adeline’s face turned pale, and she retorted softly with dissatisfaction, “If sacrificing our own people actively counts as the bearing of a monarch, then I’d rather not be any Elf Queen!”

“As long as such sacrifice is worthwhile, a monarch must do it, not act willfully. Just like how King Testiel, for the sake of fifteen thousand Green Elves, had to choose to abandon five thousand Moon Elf subjects.” Menon’s tone gradually turned cold. “Adeline, whether you’re willing or not, the Moon Shadow Tribe will abandon defense tomorrow, spread out in a long snake formation. The Rangers and cavalry will also disperse evenly.”

Adeline didn’t speak again until High Priest Menon left the tent. She knew she had no choice. If the Moon Shadow Tribe didn’t cooperate, they wouldn’t have enough guards and couldn’t maintain the defensive formation. If suddenly attacked, they’d be less flexible than in a long snake formation.

After a long time, a sigh came from the tent. Adeline understood in her heart that Menon’s choice was correct; she just couldn’t accept it herself.

Whether it was Qin Lun’s suggestion or High Priest Menon’s insistence, they both advocated sacrificing the small self for the greater self. Just like how Easterners enjoyed watching a certain movie called “Assembly.” Meanwhile, Adeline advocated no abandonment, no compromise, hoping the greater self would care for every small self, just like how Westerners enjoyed watching a certain movie called “Saving Private Ryan.”

Neither way of thinking was actually wrong. But given the Moon Elves’ current life-and-death situation, clearly Qin Lun and Menon’s decision was the correct one. Just as Menon had said, whether Adeline was willing or not, she could only choose to accept.

…

The endless rice stalks on both sides of the road swayed like waves in the breeze, making people feel refreshed and cheerful!

This type of rice, called “Golden Wheat,” ripened twice a year. Except for the first month after new seedlings were planted, even the leaves were golden yellow the rest of the time, making this plain look like a sea of golden wheat waves. This was also the origin of the name Golden Plain.

The Golden Wheat ears were full and plump, with very high yield per acre, almost double that of ordinary rice. Because of this, the Golden Plain was not only the breadbasket of the Qiongdus Kingdom but also had spare capacity to supply the Kingdom of Saispaits, exchanging for other necessary living supplies.

This rice had only one drawback: its requirements for water and climate were very strict. The Faerûn continent was vast, but only a few areas had the conditions to grow it. The Golden Plain located between the Alan River and Naga River was one of them.

After leaving the forest, the Moon Elf migration group had changed from their original defensive formation into a long snake formation. The two leaders, Adeline and Menon, ultimately adopted his suggestion. Over a thousand Elves, regardless of gender or age, were spread out along a two-kilometer strip-shaped area. The procession twisted and turned like a fat long snake, gradually moving westward.

Qin Lun occasionally looked up to observe both sides of the group, with red-black targets and silver clocks alternately appearing in his pupils.

The hidden watchers concealed within the golden wheat waves had been increasing over the past two days. That undisguised greedy gaze was felt not only by Qin Lun but by almost every Elf in the group. These children of the forest had better vision and Perception than the scouts sent by the rogue gangs.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have given that suggestion to the two old folks!”

Enduring the disgusting gazes directed at him, Qin Lun felt a little regretful. If he were still in Handan Prison, any prisoner roommate who looked at him like that would usually become a Skeletal Angel by that evening, for the coroner’s appreciation the next day.

“Never mind, important matters come first. Joey’s hobby can wait!” Qin Lun muttered to himself, then took the oak longbow off his back. He drew a Fine Iron Long Arrow from the quiver and nocked it. With a flash of black light, a scream came from the distance in the wheat field.

Following Qin Lun’s smooth, flowing Piercing Arrow, Iristin beside him leaped up, transforming into a giant hawk that soared into the sky, turning into a small black dot in the blink of an eye. Then the Elven Druid swooped down from mid-air, grabbed a flailing watcher from the wheat waves, and savagely threw him down from the sky, splattering him into pulp.

After clearing the surrounding watchers, Iristin flew back to the group. Deliberately or not, she gave a powerful flap of her wings right above Qin Lun’s head before landing. The strong gust of wind made the young man’s face sting with pain, leaving him feeling helpless.

Ever since the Elven Druid learned that the two elders had adopted Qin Lun’s suggestion, she hadn’t given him a friendly look and hadn’t spoken to him for several days.

“Iristin, do you want to know why we haven’t been attacked by human rogue gangs these past few days?” Qin Lun suddenly asked the Elven Druid beside him with a smile.

Iristin gave him a dirty look, turned her head away and ignored him. But after a while, she turned her face back, wrinkling her nose and snorting coldly. It seemed to say, “Go on, I’m listening!”

Qin Lun sighed and slowly explained, “From the forest edge to the crossing at the southern end of Naga Lake, it will take us about seven or eight days. Because the group has disbanded the defensive formation, most tribespeople feel insecure. They have to keep moving while staying alert for possible attacks at any time, so their stamina will deplete quickly.”

“Most human rogue gangs and dark mercenaries have rich adventure experience. They’re waiting for us to become exhausted, while also testing the group’s weak points through constant surveillance. So they won’t strike in the first few days of the journey. But the next few days probably won’t be so easy.”

After Qin Lun finished speaking, another awkward silence fell between them. Just as he thought Iristin would remain silent like previous days, a barely audible whisper from the Elven Druid reached his ears.

“Will our sacrifice now really make things easier for the tribespeople migrating later?”

A flash crossed Qin Lun’s eyes. When he turned his head, he only saw the back of Iristin’s head, as if the words just spoken were just the young man’s auditory hallucination.

However, he didn’t mind, murmuring to himself, “No pain, no gain. The sacrifice of the Moonfall and Moonshadow tribes is very important for all Qundar Moon Elves.”

“Of course, it’s the same for me and the Fortress Team!” Qin Lun looked up at the Lost Novices not far away, silently adding in his heart.

Qin Lun had his own considerations when giving this suggestion to Adeline and Menon. Although he and the Fortress Team had taken on the “Moon Elf Migration” Side Mission, they would only cover this migration at most. Whether the next two groups of Moon Elves lived or died had no effect on them.

If the Moonfall and Moonshadow tribes suffered heavy casualties, it would affect their mission contribution rating and reduce the final mission rewards, making it somewhat counterproductive.

After Qin Lun gave this suggestion to Adeline and Menon, Nicole questioned it in the Team Channel. But this Second Order Divine Caster of “Fortress” was quickly persuaded by him.

Qin Lun’s reasoning was simple: he was using part of this mission’s reward in exchange for an opportunity to weaken the Lost Novices.

Under current circumstances, if this group of Moon Elves still maintained their original defensive formation, the Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission would remain at the group’s core. Not only would they have two layers of protection from Elven Rangers and Elf cavalry, but they would also be surrounded by Elf Mages and High Rank Druids.

Even if there were human dark organizations or high-level Assassins hired by other Elven Courts, they would have a hard time succeeding. If the Lost Novices didn’t suffer any losses, how could Prince Milleras possibly hire other mercenary groups?

Once they reached Ank Forest, would the Fortress Team just watch this major storyline slip right through their fingers?

But now it was different. Without the inner and outer layers of Elven Rangers and Elf cavalry, the Elf Mages and Druids were also spread evenly throughout the long snake formation. The Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission and Lost Novices would have to face possible high-level Assassins alone.

Given the nature of this storyline route, it was impossible for the Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission to remain completely safe from Qiongda’er Forest to Ank Forest. Their mission danger was far above the Major difficulty level.

Qin Lun absolutely didn’t believe that violent woman Kelly could completely protect the entire Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission. Once the Lost Novices lost personnel and Prince Milleras felt threatened, the Fortress Team, being close at hand, would get their chance to participate.

This was Qin Lun’s real purpose in giving the Moon Elves this suggestion!

«Volume 8 Chapter 25: Suggestion

Index

Volume 2 Chapter 31: Combat Model »