Wargame

This was indeed a suitable place to make camp: abundant water, fresh air, hard, clean sewer bricks. Everyone set up their tents on the spot. Through this battle, Liadrin had come to fully understand just how powerful Uther was. The power of the Holy Light surged within him without cease; even in the most perilous moments, the Holy Light had never abandoned him.

Thinking back on her own performance in battle, Lister could not help shaking his head helplessly. Much of the time, she was unable to control her emotions, and that was dangerous. Without control over one's emotions, one could not steadily guide arcane energy. Many powerful mages had died under such circumstances, Liadrin included. The more dangerous things became, the more one had to learn to control one's emotions and maintain a steady, sound state of mind.

"In truth, you've already done very well." Krasus walked over. "Do you know? You've only studied the arcane for seven months, yet you've already become a qualified mage. If you were assessed, I'd say you possess at least the strength of a second-circle mage. Even among humans, only a handful of once-in-an-age geniuses like Kel'Thuzad could compare with you."

"It is not worth mentioning beside the difficulties we will face," Lister said slowly. He felt nothing but boundless exhaustion. That brief relaxation had loosened every inch of his muscles, including his taut nerves. "Honored consort of the Red Dragon Queen."

Krasus shrugged and sat down beside Lister. "Serving the queen is much easier than this. She likes glittering jewels and pleasing words. Females of every race are more or less the same. Perhaps one day, you will face this as well."

"Enough of such dispiriting talk. Do you want to learn my lantern spell?" Krasus condensed a tiny fireball in his hand again. "It is quite a practical spell."

Lister raised an eyebrow. "No mage is unwilling to learn a new spell."

Uther and the others had already skewered the poor giant crocodile on iron rods and begun roasting it. Everyone sat in a circle, sharing fresh roasted crocodile meat and beer. Just like the elves and humans during the troll war, their experiences of life and death had told every one of them that they were a single whole.

Many things were like this. The spell was not difficult; in truth, it was an improved version of Lister's Spiral Missile. Replace the arcane energy with fire elements, compress them, then stabilize them...

Wait. Lister suddenly sank into deep thought. Compressing and stabilizing flames...

Nuclear...

Nuclear fusion...

No way?

"It's very similar to your Spiral Missile." Krasus had no idea what terrifying spell Lister was contemplating. He thought Lister was considering the connection between the two. "Personally, I suspect you drew inspiration from ice spells—gathering magical power while maintaining a certain pattern of movement. The Blue Dragonflight would appreciate you. Your explorations in the arcane are filled with genius-like ideas, just like theirs."

Lister nodded slightly. A tiny fireball gathered in her hand, then she added an exquisite shell of ice around it. Warm, gentle orange light radiated from within, reaching every dark corner. "Teacher Krasus, I haven't neglected my art lessons either."

Krasus laughed and bumped his forehead against Lister's. "You truly are a little genius."

Korthira was a high elf general. Unlike the Windrunner family, he was a general tasked with guarding a temple. Only the Moon Crystal could open Quel'Thalas's magical barrier, and that Moon Crystal had been divided into three pieces, placed respectively in the temples of Anowien, Sun, and Moon. As the guardian of Anowien Temple, Korthira was also a powerful military commander.

After Krasus finished teaching Lister magic, Korthira began explaining high elf military theory to her: how to deploy troops and form battle lines, how to properly arrange military operations, reconnaissance, counter-reconnaissance, flanking and dividing, annihilation, organizing mages and warriors for frontal combat, and so on. These were the rights and duties exclusive to the upper nobility. Nobles of any kingdom had to learn such knowledge.

Korthira himself was a master tactician. After becoming a death knight, he had commanded several large-scale operations, performing brilliantly in the annihilation of Hearthglen and the siege of Scarlet Monastery. His most representative feat, however, was assisting Marduk and Ghoul King Horgus in slaughtering Darrowshire. He had foreseen the Silver Hand's reinforcements. Marduk fought head-on to draw those reinforcements in, while Horgus besieged the stronghold to ambush the reinforcements, annihilating nearly all the Silver Hand's field forces across the Eastern Plaguelands. In the end, Marduk successfully massacred all of Darrowshire. If those two were butchers on the front lines, then Korthira was the black hand behind the curtain—a strategic master as renowned as Thassarian.

Thassarian specialized in rapidly changing strategy during frontal engagements, making him more of a tactician, while Korthira was a commander with an eye over the entire battlefield. It could be said that if he had served the Lich King wholeheartedly, Arthas's massacres would have been even more terrifying.

With Korthira's guidance, Lister quickly got the hang of tactical command lessons. Korthira discovered that Lister possessed an extraordinary talent in this area, something that greatly surprised him. Even Prince Kael'thas had not displayed particularly high aptitude in this regard. One only had to look at how Kael'thas had made the blood elves line up and march to their deaths beneath Magtheridon's Fel Cannons to know that the elven prince could practically be described as lacking common sense when it came to tactics. Lister, meanwhile, quickly came up with the idea of using chocobo cavalry for high-speed penetrations, encirclements, and annihilation, leaving him deeply astonished.

Their discussions of tactics even drew in the others. Everyone debated the matter with growing intensity: how cavalry should be dealt with, the differing uses of heavy and light infantry, how to respond when the enemy launched a raid against the commander, how the Dragonhawk Legion should coordinate with ground forces in defense and counterattacks. As Lister spoke, she condensed ice blocks in various shapes to represent different units, with the number of pieces representing troop strength. The two sides began arranging and simulating battles on the ground.

The result of this fervent discussion was the invention of an entirely new game: wargame. Countless warriors would begin their military education with these tiny pieces.