CHAPTER 675

【 HOLY WAR! THIS IS HOLY WAR! 】

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Players are inherently very efficient once they set their minds onto something.

In truth, any ordinary person can display remarkable drive once they have a clear goal and enough motivation. Human potential tends to rise sharply whenever direction and purpose align, and even the most unremarkable individual can achieve impressive results under the right conditions.

Alas, most people drift through life without adequate self discipline or follow through. Daily routines blur altogether, and without a sense of urgency or structure, intentions fade. As a result, many tasks in reality often end up being delayed, pushed aside, or eventually abandoned once they lose their initial motivation.

This is the greatest difference between an ordinary people and exceptional individuals.

This is the greatest difference between ordinary people and exceptional individuals.

However, due to the gamification of Elven Kingdom and the system setting quests-like goals for the players and rewarding them with incentives that provide abundant motivation, even someone who is extremely lazy in real life will unconsciously become more efficient in the game.

Layer after layer, this creates an impressive degree of highly collective drive.

Back on Earth, assembling an army of one hundred thousand in a medieval setting, and preparing all necessary supplies, would be near impossible without at least ten days or half a month of preparation. In most cases, it would be perfectly normal for the process to stretch into a full month or even several months, given the logistics involved and the limitations of pre-industrial societies.

Yet under the game system’s guidance, the players actually managed to prepare one month’s worth of supplies for a one hundred thousand strong army in less than three days.

To put it bluntly, it’s a matter of efficiency.

All throughout Greyhaven, piles of military supplies could be seen filling the streets and storage yards, with all sorts of equipment laid out in organized rows, such as standard issue spare weapons and armor, arrows for archer players, and mass-produced mana ore bombs.

There were also many types of dried provisions made from processed crops, a variety of fruits preserved through natural magic, and even carts filled with ale and fruit wine. The sheer quantity created the sense that the entire city had shifted into a full state of wartime preparation.

Moreover, these were only the public strategic supplies prepared by various guilds. If one included the personal items carried by non-affiliated soloist players, the total amount of resources gathered for the campaign would be even greater.

After five years of development, the Elven Faction had finally accumulated immense production capacity. Now that everything was operating at full speed toward a single goal, the results were astonishing.

The phrase, “An army’s mobilization depends on how well it is fed,” was demonstrated perfectly by the players.

However, for this campaign, the system did not provide a specific date of departure. The moment the number of registered participants reached one hundred thousand, the questline officially commenced.

After discussion within the Player War Department, and after considering the wishes of the quest issuer, Sophia, the final departure date for the elven army was set for one week in-game time.

When converted to Earth time, this amounted to roughly two days.

This schedule was purposely chosen to give players enough time to prepare, organize their roles, and adjust their real world commitments.

After several previous large scale campaigns, everyone by now had learned that these widescale war scenarios demanded a significant time investment. Players needed to coordinate carefully, adjusting their play schedules and arranging each legion according to when members were able to come online. This helped prevent situations where a major battle began while many participants were unavailable.

Such problems arose in the past.

For example, if an encounter battle happened during a weekday daytime, the number of active participants would drop sharply, thus weakening the entire frontline.

For this reason, earlier large scale war campaigns were usually timed to coincide with weekends in real world time, when the majority of players could participate without interruption.

Fortunately, it was currently the summer vacation period on Earth, which was especially convenient for the majority of players, most of whom were university students. This group generally had the most free time during this season, thereby allowing them to participate in long campaigns without worrying about classes or academic schedules. As a result, summer vacation became the perfect window for large scale events like this one.

Overall, while supplies were still being prepared, those players whose strength could still be improve began rushing to dungeons at full speed, hoping to raise their level as much as possible before the war campaign officially began. Ȓаℕ𝐎₿ƐS

Of course, that’s a story for later.

In short, this questline had effectively mobilized the entire playerbase.

The official forum were flooded with threads related to the upcoming war as players busily bought supplies in bulk, recruited members for their legions, outlined detailed strategies, and shared intelligence about the current state of the Human Faction. Discussions ranged from logistics and troop deployment to analyses of enemy strengths, creating a constant hum of planning and coordination across the community.

Everyone was so busy that the day designated by the Player War Department for the army’s mobilization seemed to have arrived in no time.

༺⟐༻

Elven Forest, Greyhaven docks.

A merchant ship flying a banner inscribed with the words ‘Lily of the Valley’ in human script slowly approached the pier and lowered its gangplank.

The white sails were neatly folded away, sailors leapt ashore with practiced precision, and thick ropes were secured to moor the vessel firmly.

Not long after, several poorly dressed civilians stepped onto the deck, breathing in the fresh air while staring curiously and enviously at the elven city.

They were refugees from Maple Leaf Territory, making their way toward the northern reaches of the Empire.

Accompanied by a few sailors, a well dressed merchant disembarked. He surveyed the pier, and when he spotted an elf stationed at the harbor administration post, his eyes brightened instantly.

He hurried over with surprising agility for his size and said with eager flattery, “Honored sir, I am Erich, leader of the Silver Lily Trade Group. I wish to replenish our supplies here in Greyhaven.”

The elf cast a brief glance at him.

“Silver Lily Trade Group? You guys are transporting refugees again?”

“Yes, indeed. With war spreading everywhere, business has become extremely difficult. This is practically the only work we can manage at the moment.”

Erich wiped his sweat and sighed.

The elf nodded slightly.

“You know the usual rules, right?”

“Yes, I understand,” Erich said, nodding repeatedly. He reached into his coat and retrieved a piece of parchment.

“Here. These are our latest observations from Maple Leaf Territory. As it is, the entire region has grown increasingly chaotic and unstable. Rumors say the Borderlord has begun forcefully converting the faith of the populace through violence. Oh, I suppose he should now be addressed as His Majesty, King Otto of Red Maple Kingdom.”

The elf accepted the parchment and carefully read through the intelligence report. After a thorough glance, he discreetly took a screenshot and quietly sent it to the guild’s chat group.

Satisfied, he nodded slightly.

“Okay. Everything looks to be in order,” he said.

He then handed a slip to the merchant.

“Give this slip along with the payment for the goods to the guards stationed at the pier entrance. Someone will deliver the supplies to you shortly.”

“Thank you, sir,” Erich replied with a bright smile.

As he carefully tucked the slip away, his eyes inadvertently drifted over the heavily guarded pier and the noticeably larger number of elven mercenaries in the vicinity. The sight piqued his curiosity, and he could not resist asking,

“Sir, has something happened here in Greyhaven? It seems like there are far more mercenaries than usual.”

But the elf only gave him a knowing smile.

“…You will know soon enough.”

“What… soon?”

Erich froze for a moment.

He looked again at the elf, but the other party clearly had no intention of elaborating, and so he decided not to press further, lest the elf grow annoyed at him.

Still, as he looked around Greyhaven City, his curiosity only intensified further.

“Could it be that the Imperial Nobles have hired elven mercenaries again?”

He muttered to himself.

After handing the slip and payment to the elven guards, several more elves soon arrived, pushing carts piled high with supplies. The efficiency and precision of the delivery caught Erich off guard.

Furthermore, he also noticed, with some surprise, that the speed of their delivery today seemed unusually fast.

“That fast? Were these supplies already prepared in advance?”

He frowned, puzzling over the situation. His eyes swept over the heavily guarded pier, then lingered on the unusually large number of elven mercenaries stationed around the city. A thought flashed through his mind as he recalled certain recent rumors circulating within his trade contacts.

Word had it that the Elves had been quietly purchasing large quantities of warhorses, weapons, and other resources through the underground black market.

Combined with their systematic collection of intelligence reports from every merchant regarding Maple Leaf Territory, it painted a clear picture:

The Elves were definitely preparing for something significant!

Could it be a military campaign?

Was their target Maple Leaf Territory?

Erich’s expression shifted slightly.

He had heard that the Empire recently extended an olive branch and sought cooperation with the Elves. However, the latter had apparently rejected it.

The official claim from the Empire was that the Elves had been rude to their delegation and refused to cooperate. Yet Erich, who was well connected and familiar with the murky workings of politics, suspected there was more to the story than meets the eye.

He glanced at the ships lined along the shore, then shook his head.

No…

It should not be that simple.

The Vymur River, the largest river in the world and it ran between the Elven Forest and Maple Leaf Territory.

So if a large scale operation were truly brewing within the Elven Forest, the elves should have prepared more transport vessels in advance. Sure, the number of ships currently docked at the harbor was somewhat higher than usual, but it was hardly enough to indicate any massive mobilization.

Even so, despite dismissing his own speculation, Erich carefully recorded everything he observed here in Greyhaven. Once he returned to the northern region of the Empire, he planned to sell the information for profit.

After all, profiting from both sides and reselling intel was standard practice for any black market merchants like him.

But just as he quietly jotted notes in the small notebook he always carried, a deafening shouts suddenly rose from the direction of Greyhaven.

It sounded like tens of thousands of voices roaring in unison.

The sound was so overwhelming that even the pier beneath his feet trembled slightly, as if the ground itself were reacting to the collective power of the noise.

Erich’s expression changed immediately as he quickly turned toward the city. Although he had no idea what was happening, he faintly caught familiar elven words like—Goddess and Glory—shouted amidst the chaos.

A moment later, accompanied by exclamations and astonished cries from the people around him, Erich suddenly felt the sky darken.

“B-By the gods, what is that?!”

“A m-monster! Is that a flying monster?!”

Following the fearful cries, Erich instinctively looked upward and from within the city, a massive, oval-shaped object floated into their view.

It hovered several hundred meters above the ground. Its enormous body was colored black and white, while adorned with a black dragon emblem and a scepter symbol engraved on its side.

Judging from its appearance, Erich realized it was some sort of flying ship.

Well, he had never heard of a fully functional flying ship in the first place, but that colossal object in the sky sure looked exactly like those described in those make-believe stories.

Yet when confronted with such an immense and impossible sight, he instinctively widened his eyes in shock and whispered, “Dear heavens… what is that?”

It had no wings and emitted no magical glow yet it still flew through the sky with ease.

This defied all reason, leaving Erich both stunned and utterly bewildered.

And the flying ship was only the beginning.

After it passed overhead, Erich heard the deafening cries of dragons and the piercing screeches of griffins echoing through the air.

He looked once more toward the horizon and saw countless figures trailing behind the enormous flying ship.

They formed an aerial army composed entirely of magical beasts.

Giant eagles, majestic griffins, and immense dragons filled the sky in a formidable display of power.

By his rough estimate, there were likely thousands of them, and each beast carried at least one elven rider on their backs. Together they followed in disciplined formation behind the flying ship, their sheer presence blotting out the sunlight above.

Arranged in a carefully dispersed formation, the aerial army moved steadily and purposefully toward Maple Leaf Territory.

Erich stared blankly at the scene before him, feeling utterly overwhelmed by the scale and intensity of what he saw.

A sailor nudged him gently, snapping him out of his daze.

“Master Erich, look! Look at the city!”

The sailor pointed toward Greyhaven.

Erich shivered and followed the gesture with his eyes. The streets were filled with fully armed elves, moving in precise formation.

Most wore standardized armor, polished and gleaming under the sunlight. Some rode fine, well-bred horses, while others commanded magical beasts of every variety. At the center of it all stood a radiant and breathtakingly beautiful statue of the Goddess of Life, and the grand procession advanced steadily toward the river shoreline.

The sight of that seemingly endless army made Erich’s heart pound relentlessly.

At this point, if he still could not understand what the elves were preparing for, all his years of experience as a black market merchant would have been wasted.

“M-Maple Leaf… The Elves are launching a military campaign at Maple Leaf Territory!”

His expression shifted with a mix of excitement and apprehension.

But soon, a new thought clouded his mind.

The aerial elven army could be explained as they could easily travel long distance through the air.

But what were those land-based elven army planning to do at the shoreline?

Erich scanned the area again, yet he still could not spot any additional transport vessels.

His puzzlement, however, did not last long.

Amidst the massive elven army, a half-elven girl dressed in priestly robes stepped forward toward the riverbank.

Her appearance struck him as somewhat familiar and Erich could have sworn he had seen that girl somewhere before, though he could not immediately place where.

That is, until a sailor beside him gasped in shock, jolting his memory.

“That’s Miss Sophia! Master Erich, isn’t that Sophia von Wells? The Pearl of Zelouan!”

Sophia…?

At the sound of her name, Erich’s mind finally clicked.

Then another wave of disbelief washed over him.

So she truly is hiding here in the Elven Forest.

What could she possibly be planning?

Erich stared, utterly astonished, at the half-elven girl standing at the center of the elven army.

Then he saw her suddenly kneel, placing both hands over her chest while clasping a scepter-shaped pendant, and close her eyes in prayer.

A brilliant, radiant light gathered around her, swirling into countless floating golden motes that illuminated the surrounding landscape.

Under Erich’s stunned gaze, the ground began to tremble as the soil at the riverbank split open, and countless green vines erupted from the earth, one after another.

The vines grew with astonishing speed, thickening, branching and stretching ever upward. They extended across the air, before reaching toward the opposite bank of the Vymur River.

In mere moments, a massive bridge composed entirely of living vines spanned across the river, stretching from shore to shore.

Erich stared at it, mouth agape, completely stunned by the surreal sight.

“A miracle… this is a miracle! That girl, Sophia has become the Goddess of Life’s Godwarden!”

He whipped his head toward the elven army advancing along the newly formed vine bridge. Only then did he finally understand why the elves hadn’t prepared any transport ships at all.

When they could easily grow a living bridge just like that, why would they need ships in the first place?

A divine miracle from the Goddess of Life had been brought about by a former imperial noble—and not just any noble at that, but someone high-ranking enough to be an Elector with rightful claims over Maple Leaf Territory itself…

Furthermore, the elven army had brought along with them the holy statue of their Patron Deity…

In this moment, Erich, who had experienced much in life and was savvy enough to read the political undercurrents, pieced it all together and reached a conclusion.

“A holy war… The elves are declaring a holy war on Maple Leaf Territory!”

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