Light in the Dark Night

"But only you can change all of this!" Roland pleaded earnestly.

"We've already suffered heavy losses. Three thousand years of recovery have only just given us the ability to defend ourselves. I'm afraid I don't have the capacity to join the war..." Eowyn was resolute in her refusal to participate.

"Your Highness Eowyn, the Star Dragons are not invincible. The Barrier Dragons always have their weaknesses. Attacks that are too powerful cannot be withstood by the Star Barrier," Roland said, spreading his hands in frustration. If persuasion failed, he'd have to resort to force.

"As far as I know, Sauron has gained the allegiance of a Demon Wyvern, and his subordinates include the Hell Siege Ram Gelongde. Do you think this barrier can stop them? I admit you are a qualified lord, and you don't want your people to be engulfed in war, but you have no other choice either. Sauron will target you sooner or later, unless you believe you can withstand Sauron's forces alone." Roland had to drop this bombshell.

Seeing Eowyn fall silent, he struck while the iron was hot: "When it comes down to it, and only you remain, you will face the Orcs' might alone! Singri will be destroyed by fire! Your people will wail and cry in the flames! Is this what you want to see?"

"Insolence!" Peter Gro slammed his hand on the table and stood up. He felt his king was being insulted by Roland's aggressive stance and stood up.

"What? Am I wrong, Dragon Knight?" Roland asked calmly.

"You!" Peter Gro was immediately speechless.

"Forget it! Reno, let's go. I hope King Eowyn can withstand those Orcs alone after we've all been annihilated." Roland stood up, gave a slight bow, called Reno, and prepared to turn and leave.

"Wait! Tell me your plan." Eowyn's clear, cold voice came from behind Roland.

Upon hearing this, a smile curved Roland's lips as he turned away. He slowly turned his head back. "I'm sorry, we have no other plan besides fighting, unless you think we have the ability to force our way into Fortress of Gundabad or Dol Guldur."

"Has the situation really become this dire?" In Eowyn's opinion, the kingdoms outside should at least be able to muster an army of nearly 20,000 men.

"The fact is, Erebor, Woodland Realm, Lagrange Kingdom, River Valley City, Luoshengnier City, and Iron Hills combined can only muster an army of about 8,000 men, and that's with all our soldiers," Roland shrugged, looking helplessly at the stunned Star Elves.

"Our chances of winning are slim..." Peter Gro suddenly spoke.

"Yes, but if we do nothing, there will be no chance at all!" Roland walked up to him and stared into his eyes.

"You are right!" Eowyn rubbed his tired eyes, affirming Roland's words. He hadn't expected the kingdoms outside to have become so weak after three thousand years.

"May I be so bold as to ask how many elven soldiers the Singri Kingdom has now..." Roland asked with a strange expression, as if he had thought of something.

Eowyn waved to Peter Gro, signaling that they could tell them. Peter Gro hesitantly replied, "About three thousand elven soldiers..."

"..." Roland's eye twitched. For a hidden power, they were quite pathetic. In the game, they had tens of thousands of elven soldiers, but in reality, they were so meager.

"However, our army is composed of Tier 3 professionals!" Peter Gro said proudly, mentioning this point.

"Holy crap!" Roland's eyes widened in disbelief. An army composed of three thousand Tier 3 professionals... that was practically an Orc harvesting machine!

"What kind of professionals are they?" Roland asked eagerly.

"One thousand Intermediate Rangers, one thousand Sharpshooters, and one thousand Elite Swordsmen!" Eowyn listed them all.

"Damn it! Not a single proper front-liner!" Roland thought to himself. The archers were undoubtedly ranged damage dealers. Elf Rangers were also primarily ranged attackers with weak melee capabilities (relatively). And these elven swordsmen were just a joke!

What do you imagine a swordsman to be? A front-line tank profession like the heavy armored swordsmen of Dothraki, but the elves' swordsmen, with their fragile bodies, at least had some front-line effectiveness. But the swordsmen of the Star Elves were truly outrageous! They weren't wielding swords! They were wielding Moon Blades!

Do you know what a Moon Blade is? It's a giant blade shaped like a crescent moon, with the handle in the center! The key point is that this thing is thrown to hit people! Simply put, it's a large boomerang... How much defensive power can you expect from them?

"As expected! The front line ultimately relies on humans and dwarves..." Roland slapped his forehead, utterly speechless.

There was a reason the Star Elves operated this way. With their small population, they couldn't afford the attrition of frontal positional warfare, so their troop choices naturally leaned towards ranged and mid-range units suitable for guerrilla and kiting tactics.

However, Roland still wanted to meekly ask the Star Elves if it was truly polite to call those who threw giant boomerangs "swordsmen."

"So... you can't fight alone?" Roland looked at Eowyn and Peter Gro with a strange expression. This wave of mid-to-long-range troops could unleash terrifying attacks on the Orcs instantly, but once they got close and tangled up... that would be a different story. And as it happened, the Orcs were numerous.

"Uh, actually, we can send out Dragon Knights!" Eowyn said, blushing.

"I understand..." Roland sighed to the heavens.

He had thought the Woodland Elves' ratio of melee to ranged units was already exaggerated, but he hadn't expected the Star Elves to be even more extreme.

"We need to leave enough personnel to protect the barrier, so even if we participate, we can only deploy 2,000 people!" Eowyn said after a moment of silence. After all, the war hadn't reached them yet, and they still had to guard the crystal.

"Understood." Roland nodded. He knew Singri's deepest secret: a Star Well! Like other elves who worshipped the Moon Goddess and the Nature Goddess, the Star Elves originally believed in the Nature Goddess. At that time, the Star Well was still the Sun Well. This source of magic bestowed strength and longevity upon the elves. Elves who lost their magic wells would gradually perish. When the Singri elves converted to worshipping the Star Goddess, the original Sun Well was blessed and transformed into the Star Well, thus giving birth to the world's first and only Star Well.

"When will they arrive?" Eowyn's calm exterior hid a deep ferocity. This was clearly unlike his indifferent demeanor before, indicating he harbored intense hatred for Sauron and his minions.

"Probably next spring! They won't let us peacefully sow and harvest," Roland said faintly.

"Hmm..." Eowyn fell into thought.

"Peter! Gather all the archers and rangers! Bring ample supplies! We will head to Long Lake and await the arrival of those scum!" A cold glint flashed in Eowyn's eyes. He refused to miss an opportunity to fight and decided to lead his people to await the Orcs' arrival in advance. His scimitar was already eager to drink the blood of the Orcs.

"Tell the people that after I leave, I will seal off all of Singri. If I am not seen after the seal is broken... then I will have returned to the embrace of the stars!" Eowyn smiled and stood up from his throne. He pushed open the great hall doors and took out a blood-stained horn from his embrace.

"Father, I am about to walk your path again..." Eowyn's eyes glistened with tears.

"Since the night has fallen, let us be the only light in the darkness!"

The sound of the horn echoed through every corner of Singri.

Second update, requesting recommendation tickets. Welcome to join the book friend group 620680901.