Shanghai Pirate King could hardly make any major decisions anymore, let alone persuade the players to stop resurrecting with demon flesh and gaining mutated abilities.
Afterward, Shanghai Pirate King called a meeting and passed the elves' warning on to the player captains and gang leaders, but none of them took it seriously.
"Oh, give me a break. Where was this so-called mage support when we were getting our asses kicked?"
Someone voiced that complaint.
"I checked out the cliff too. That path won't let large forces or heavy equipment through, but small, lightly equipped units can still use it. If the elves wanted to, their mages could've come that way.
And what happened?
When we were getting hammered in the woods, buried under artillery fire, and dying all over the hills, we didn't see a single long-eared bastard!
Now that we've found our own way to level up, they come running over to scare us?
Isn't this just the usual bullshit stray-cat rescue routine? They do nothing until the cat's about to die or someone else offers to adopt it, then some woman shows up claiming it's her cat. It's all a fucking con!"
The comparison drew a chorus of approving jeers and cheers throughout the tent.
Faced with the players' resistance, the elves' warning passed like a gust of wind, forgotten as soon as it was gone.
Soon, the elves led by Lothlin withdrew, leaving only Eliunor behind.
Even so, Eliunor grew quiet and reserved. He stopped commenting on the players' affairs or offering Shanghai Pirate King advice. Clearly, what he had witnessed had left him deeply troubled too.
Shanghai Pirate King could only watch as things passed the point of no return and the players' reputation with the elven faction slowly declined.
In the end, he gave up