Do You Know About Using Bandits to Bolster Your Own Importance?

Regarding the settings for the protagonist and the skills in this book, I have planned them as follows: the protagonist possesses innate knowledge, and drawing from certain game mechanics, his abilities are quite versatile in melee combat, incorporating skills from Warriors, Rogues, and Paladins. The key is to base these on actual combat; game skills that are impractical will not be included, and names will use in-game terminology as much as possible, with some added personal interpretation. Other characters will generally possess skills native to their professions—reasonable wish-fulfillment, no over-the-top nonsense. The plot will follow history, perhaps with minor adjustments to the sequence. Thank you all for your support.

The battle ended right after the Earth Princess unleashed her ultimate move; having spent her trump card, she was left with no strength to continue fighting. Azar desperately wanted to go over and finish her off, but considering his subsequent plans, he held back. The battlefield was a scene of utter devastation, littered with corpses; neither side had gained the upper hand, and both were exhausted. The Quillboar scattered and fled, not even sparing a glance for the bodies of their fallen comrades.

"Daphne, organize our people and burn the corpses of the fallen. Then, go meet with the Quillboar and inform them of the follow-up plan. If they don't agree, we go to war!" After saying this, Azar walked away without looking back. He had killed many people before, but this was his first time experiencing such a gruesome battlefield. Looking at the severed limbs and mangled bodies covering the ground, Azar nearly vomited. Not bad, he supposed; this could be considered his transformation from a raw recruit to a veteran.

Having finished his business, he left with his reputation intact. With the battle concluded, Azar began preparing for the next phase of his plan, sitting alone in the commander's tent to ponder. Both the Quillboar and the Centaur were crippled, and they needed time to consolidate their internal factions and lick their wounds. Azar's goal was to keep them in constant friction, slowly bleeding them out; he would strike whoever dared to raise their head, as maintaining this balance was most beneficial to him. The longer they fought and the more miserable they became, the less chance there was for peace. The Night Elf only needed to dispatch a force to guard the entrance to Feralas and utilize supply stations along the way to fully control the entire Desolace. Honestly, the resources of Desolace held no interest for him; it was destined to be a neglected backwater, and he didn't intend to waste much energy on it. What he cared about was Feralas! It was a vital transportation hub for north-south travel, with a pleasant climate and abundant resources—a perfect place to establish a base camp. Even the Great Sundering hadn't impacted it much, and in the future, it wouldn't face the Horde or the Ahn'Qiraj Bug-man directly. Just look at how comfortably the creatures of Dire Maul lived. As for the fighting, he was conflicted; with his current troop strength, sweeping the west wouldn't be a problem, as there weren't many civilized intelligent beings left. But what benefit would that bring him? Or, if he followed the inertia of history, the Night Elf would still face the same fate. His own life would have no meaning, failing to reach the level a transmigrator should. Azar, what should you do? Think carefully: what do you want? A powerful fighting force that is under your control and completely obedient; a populace deeply influenced by you that will follow your orders during great upheavals, or at the very least, not become your enemy; you also need a territory to spread new ideas—very well, start by building a school. This territory must be at a distance from the central government to ensure political independence and centralized power, much like Wu Sangui, who chose Yunnan, far from the Emperor. The Qing Dynasty thought they were exiling him, but he was overjoyed; a round trip took half a year, which was practically handing him a kingdom to rule as a local tyrant. Yes! Learn from Wu Sangui. Wasn't the greatest skill of that traitor to raise bandits to ensure his own importance? This strategy is excellent; that's it. Build a brand-new Eldre'Thalas, a city of his own, the City of Hope for the Elf.

"Daphne, I want to hear your thoughts on our army's next steps." As the troops began their march toward the crossroads of Feralas, Muru was left behind to complete the follow-up plans. Throughout the march, Azar's boredom reignited his desire to educate and nurture.

"Now that the coalition organized by the Troll has been dismantled, the next step is a direct confrontation with them. I wonder how many of our kin have survived." At this, a flash of sadness crossed Daphne's eyes. She then added firmly, "Some must be holding out. Both the Quillboar and the Centaur said they fought bravely, and the Troll did not intend to wipe them out. As long as we don't appear, they won't die; they still have a chance."

"You are thinking too simply. In truth, time is running out for both us and them."

"Why?"

"The withdrawal of the Quillboar was the first signal. They already know of our existence, but the Quillboar's mission was merely to harass and raid transport units; they were not the main force in the encirclement, so their movements wouldn't raise suspicion. However, the retreat of the Centaur has significant implications. They will certainly investigate the reasons for their troops' withdrawal and delve deeper into our information, such as our troop numbers and combat prowess. Half of the Centaur forces have yet to withdraw; when they leave and where they go—these are all things we must consider."

"In other words, we may have to face the second wave of Centaur reinforcements, then attack the weak points of the Troll encirclement to make contact with our kin. Once we have linked up, the initiative—whether to fight or not, and how to fight—will be in our hands."

"Correct, that is a very sharp analysis. Go issue the order: spread the scouts out to a radius of 50 miles." Azar issued the command decisively.

A battlefield can actually be understood as a casino—it is about constantly gauging your opponent and, of course, relying on luck. Naturally, before the fighting starts, both sides must learn as much as possible about their opponent, which is where the role of intelligence becomes apparent. Generally, when strength is equal, the side that calculates and strikes the unsuspecting is more likely to win. If neither side has intelligence, then whether one's brain is sharp and one's IQ is online becomes crucial. Clearly, the Elf were more civilized, which is why, under Azar's wise command, they defeated the Quillboar and the Centaur. As for the Troll, honestly, he didn't care much about them; what he cared about was how to use the upcoming war to train his troops and forge a reliable force.

At this moment, his opponent was also studying him.

"By the Loa, we have paid a huge price, and we were on the verge of success! These damned Quillboar and Centaur, they really are born scum! Brainless beasts!" Inside the tent, a hairy Troll roared madly. The guards stood to the side, eyes fixed forward, as if everything happening before them had nothing to do with them. With a bang, he smashed another wine cup. The Troll sitting in the main seat seemed unable to take it anymore, or perhaps he was simply annoyed by the commotion, and stopped him: "Enough, Vol'ken. Stop your meaningless venting. We should be thinking about how to defeat the Elf reinforcements, not wasting energy here!" He emphasized the latter part of his sentence.

"Fine, Eugene, I have no ideas. You know I always follow your orders." If Azar were here, he would surely give him a thumbs up: "Kid, don't let your rough appearance fool you; your ability to cater to your leader and butter him up is truly masterful."

"Actually, no plan is needed. Even Zhakun has fallen in battle, and Zarzan has no one else of note left; otherwise, they wouldn't have made such a pathetic mass migration before. Pass my order: encircle them from three sides! Leave no survivors!"

"Haha, I like that! We should have done this long ago!"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, I'm going to issue the order."