Magic

Harrot was severely injured; the Centaur chief had nearly disemboweled him with an axe. Although he claimed to be fine, Marcus still asked the Elves for help.

That cheerful and handsome Elf, who had a good relationship with Harrot and knew a bit of simple healing Magic, came over to treat Harrot's wounds.

The Elf recited a few incantations, then his hands glowed green as he placed them on Harrot's injured area.

The handsome Elf's healing Magic must have been quite low-level. Although the wound barely healed, Harrot's HP on the System panel only recovered by 5 points.

Harrot didn't mind. He had the System, so any injury would heal after a day or two of sleep. At worst, he'd lose a bit of maximum HP.

However, the Elf looked at Harrot with a very surprised expression and didn't leave immediately after the treatment.

Instead, he asked with a strange look, "Are both your parents human?"

Harrot recalled. In the original owner's memory, both parents were indeed human, so he gave an affirmative answer.

Unexpectedly, the Elf asked hesitantly, "Have you ever felt different since you were little? For example, being very agile, having very keen senses, or vaguely being able to feel the Magic in the air?"

Harrot couldn't figure out what the Elf was trying to say, but he answered truthfully, "No, I'm just stronger. Everything else is pretty normal."

The Elf muttered, "That's not right. Why is it strength... Did I make a mistake?"

The Elf suddenly stood up and walked out of the tent, turning back to instruct, "Wait for me. I'll go get someone. She's more familiar with this kind of thing."

Harrot was puzzled. Not long after, the handsome Elf returned to the tent with a female Elf.

This female Elf's appearance was vastly different from a normal Elf. While her face was that of a golden-haired beauty, her body was completely different.

Elves, though strikingly beautiful, were typically tall and slender with little curve. Males lacked explosive muscles, and females didn't have voluptuous figures.

But this female Elf was different. Her arms and thighs clearly had bulging muscles, and more importantly, her figure was very full, even larger than Sihrulu's!

Harrot was momentarily stunned by her impressive physique. However, being a soon-to-be father, he quickly regained his composure and asked, "Who is she? Why did you bring her?"

Before the handsome Elf could speak, the female Elf answered directly, "My name is Tiona, and I'm a half-Orc, half-Elf!"

Harrot understood why this female Elf had such an outstanding physique. Orcs were known for their strong physiques, and this hybrid must have inherited the best traits from both parents.

Tiona didn't say much. She approached Harrot, gripped his head with both hands, brought her forehead to his, and closed her eyes, sensing something.

Harrot looked at the handsome Elf beside him, feeling a bit lost. Should he push this "female hooligan" away?

The handsome Elf awkwardly said, "Tiona is a bit strange, but she's not a bad person. She's testing your soul strength! Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

Harrot was startled, thinking his System secret was about to be exposed. But then the female Elf suddenly opened her eyes and said, "No mistake, definitely a half-Elf!"

The handsome Elf excitedly said, "I knew it! His soul strength is something no human could possess!"

Tiona explained to a confused Harrot, "The biggest difference between Elves and other races is their soul. The soul strength of Dwarves, Orcs, and all other races is roughly the same. Only Elves have three times the soul strength of normal races!"

"Your soul is twice as strong as an average human's, at my level. You are definitely a half-Elf."

Harrot pondered for a moment, guessing this was due to him merging with the original Harrot's soul. He was certain the original owner had no Elven bloodline.

After all, before his transmigration, the original Harrot's agility was only 4 points. Forget Elves, the average human level was 6 points!

Harrot had originally intended to gloss over this matter. After all, these two Elves weren't important figures. However, the next sentence instantly excited Harrot.

"Elves can use Magic precisely because of their extraordinary soul strength."

Can I use Magic too? Harrot thought. He had once nearly been instantly killed by a Hyena Magical Beast's Magic, so he clearly understood the immense power of Magic.

Even now, if he had to fight that Hyena Magical Beast again, he couldn't guarantee a sure win. It would depend on how many times the Magical Beast could cast Magic.

"Can I learn Magic?" Harrot asked nervously, very afraid of being rejected.

As for Elven bloodline, Harrot didn't care. He wasn't a Noble by bloodline anyway, so whether his bloodline was pure or not didn't matter. In The Bald Man's eyes, he was already a half-Orc, so being a half-Elf wouldn't hurt.

The handsome Elf tactfully said, "Generally speaking, with your soul strength, which is twice that of an average person, you can perceive subtle Magic, but..."

The handsome Elf stammered, and Tiona interjected, "It's very hard for us half-breeds to learn Magic! I only learned one useless Magic spell in 8 years in the Elf Forest!"

The handsome Elf awkwardly said, "It's not useless Magic! Raise Sand is a basic Magic spell, and you spent those 8 years practicing martial arts and adventuring. You weren't serious about learning at all!"

"While it's indeed difficult for half-Elves to learn intermediate Magic, basic Magic is also very good! For example, Small Fireball can start fires, and Small Waterball can provide clean water, etc. Basic Magic is very practical too!"

The handsome Elf tried to comfort a disappointed Harrot.

However, Harrot wasn't disappointed for long. Being able to learn Magic at all was good enough; it was an unexpected bonus, and he shouldn't be too demanding.

While fully learning and mastering Magic was a very long and difficult process, understanding the general process of learning Magic was quite quick.

The handsome Elf had Harrot sit cross-legged, close his eyes, and try to feel the surrounding Magic with his heart, attempting to communicate with it.

Harrot closed his eyes and, after a solid 10 minutes of deep thought, felt absolutely nothing.

Feel with my heart? Where is my heart? My actual heart or my brain? How do I communicate?

Couldn't you give me more hints? Harrot thought, feeling conflicted.

Tiona yawned, patted Harrot's shoulder, and said, "Don't bother trying. The first time I felt Magic was near the Tree of Life, where the Magic concentration is over ten times that of the outside world. Our half-breed souls aren't strong enough, so it's very difficult to sense Magic for the first time without external help. You should go to the Elf Forest sometime to learn Magic!"

The handsome Elf also helplessly comforted Harrot, telling him that if he wanted to go to the Elf Forest, he would be willing to be his guide. Once there, Harrot could also ask his parents for help in teaching Harrot to master Magic.

Harrot could only temporarily give up on learning Magic. The Elf Forest could wait; pioneering was more important now. Besides, Tiona said that with his soul strength, twice that of an average person, he wouldn't be able to learn powerful Magic anyway.

From the dashed hopes of becoming a Sun Priest to the dashed hopes of becoming a Mage, it seemed he was still destined to be a struggling warrior.

After the handsome Elf left, Tiona dragged Harrot into conversation until late into the night. In her view, both she and Harrot were half-breeds, so she was very friendly and kind to Harrot and had a lot she wanted to confide.

Tiona, with her Orc blood, was very open in her speech and actions. Her incredibly good figure, combined with occasional physical contact, left Harrot feeling parched and his heart itching with desire.

Although Harrot dreamed of having eight wives and had fantasized about marrying an Elven beauty, he knew the time and place.

The Centaurs might attack tomorrow or the day after, and Sihrulu was pregnant with his child. In such circumstances, it would be truly beastly to use their shared Elven heritage to pursue Tiona.

Harrot successfully overcame his desires, chatting only about Elven and human customs and interesting anecdotes with Tiona before they both retired for the night.

"Oh, are your injuries all right now? Cleon is still laid up recovering!"

The next day, Marcus came to visit Harrot. Seeing that his injuries had mostly healed, Marcus marveled at the power of Magic. He hadn't witnessed Harrot's recovery ability before and assumed it was all due to Magic.

Harrot didn't correct Marcus. His powerful recovery ability was still a secret, known only to The Bald Man, and The Bald Man's character meant he wouldn't betray that secret.

Though Marcus and he had a good relationship, this matter involved the System. If Marcus were to press for an explanation, Harrot wouldn't know how to explain it, so it was better to keep it hidden.

Marquis Prague sent someone to invite Marcus to the war room to discuss military matters. Harrot followed along; as the chief Knight, he was permitted to enter the war room with Marcus.

Soon, over twenty Nobles, a few Dwarves, and Archmage Iltiran gathered in the war room.

Marquis Prague saw that most people had arrived and began, "Our Scouts have detected movements of a Centaur army about a hundred miles from here. They've probably decided it's time to act!"

"Marcus, your suggestion was excellent. The Centaurs truly have been provoked!"

"Prepare for battle! Those Centaurs might attack as early as this morning!"

The Nobles discussed amongst themselves, tense and excited. The moment had finally arrived: a direct confrontation with the Centaur army!

If they won this battle, it would be considered their initial victory in pioneering. Next would be expelling the Centaurs and relocating civilians to establish settlements and a new kingdom.

If they lost this battle, it would mean the pioneering effort had utterly failed. Even if humanity could gather more forces to pioneer again, they would no longer be in a leading position; at most, they'd just get scraps.

This battle must be won, not lost! This was everyone's inner thought.

"The Scouts are still gathering intelligence. The exact size of the Centaur army is unknown, but regardless, we have more numbers!"

Marquis Prague delivered a pre-battle pep talk. Indeed, the Pioneering Alliance had a total of 80,000 troops, while the Thunder Tribe numbered only 10,000.

The Centaurs' civilization was very backward, lacking a mature national system or social structure. It would be difficult for them to gather all their strength, so their numbers shouldn't be too large.

The Nobles responsible for commanding soldiers had already dispatched Knights to assemble their troops. They remained in the war room to learn about the subsequent battle plan.

Soon, new intelligence arrived: the Centaurs had begun advancing towards their camp and would arrive by noon at the latest, with a total force of around 30,000!

The Nobles' expressions grew solemn. This number was significantly higher than they had estimated. They had originally thought that provoking the Centaurs into an early battle would limit their numbers to under 20,000.

Grand Duke Lance spoke on behalf of Marquis Prague to encourage everyone. Marquis Prague had nearly led everyone to their deaths during the last morale boost when they faced the Thunder Tribe's ambush, so he was now a bit hesitant to continue inspiring them.

"Don't lose heart. While the Centaur army's individual strength is formidable, they are merely a disorganized mob forcibly brought together.

They have neither tactical systems nor military training. Once their leaders are defeated, they'll be nothing but a rabble!"

Grand Duke Lance's words uplifted everyone. He and Marquis Prague, two legendary powerhouses, would attack the Centaur leaders. They were sure to defeat their opponents, not to mention Archmage Iltiran was also present.

The battle plan was not complicated. Humans, facing an army of all-cavalry Centaurs, had no chance of launching a proactive attack. They had to rely on favorable terrain for defensive counterattacks.