"Although Landen and I have heard a little about your clans' circumstances, there are many specific details we need you to provide him with honestly: the races and numbers of your opponents, the terrain around your clans, and the outcomes of your battles. That way, he can allocate troops according to the urgency of the situation and the number of your enemies."
Although Duke Stuart had slipped a hefty dose of self-interest into his speech, his reasoning was quite clear. Yavenni's Royal Elf-descendant Knight Order was a joint fighting force of the royal family and the Gallop Family. The magic archers responsible for offense were all idle elf knights from the royal family, while Landen and Halcala funded the Guardian Trees responsible for holding the line, the magic beasts responsible for scouting, and the Legends responsible for support.
The most fundamental purpose of sending such a highly mobile, high-rank force of elf-descendants out on missions was to hone their tactical skills, not to get involved in the specific affairs of various clans. It was very much a matter of using real battles as training.
So every mission had to be both effective and safe: the elves needed to be able to make a difference, but they also couldn't be thrown away against an opponent that was too powerful.
"Your Highness, Your Majesty Landen, you can rest assured about that. The enemies we usually face are only two or three High-level Magic Beasts, or high-rank underground Devourers. To them, our Knight Order is like an army descending from the heavens!"
The elves' eager agreement made Landen feel that something was off. It was just like a few months ago in Breyak, before the first decisive battle between the Sea Beastmen and the Merfolk. Back then, they had never seen the Merfolk