Potential allies

Because merchants are always cautious, the caravan's journey was significantly slower, but not to an unbearable degree. Li Lin used this time to discuss the action plan with Nia and Angela. Destroying the Five-Nation Alliance required more than just military support. Even if Li Lin retrieved the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys, it was far from possible to completely annihilate these five nations with a mere wave of his hand. Moreover, Li Lin wasn't the kind of madman seeking to exterminate humanity; he simply wanted revenge and to select enough allies to help him achieve victory. Now, with the Eternal Library by his side, Li Lin had essentially recovered most of his strength. Combined with his status, winning over allies shouldn't be a problem. Of course, his targets were naturally the races and nations oppressed by the Five-Nation Alliance, and if necessary, Li Lin could even build his own army.

Nia's travels over the past millennium have yielded many clues worth investigating. At least for now, the elves and dwarves have clearly expressed their willingness to form an alliance. Although the Goddess of Secrets has also joined the alliance, considering the nature of this goddess, the possibility of them actively engaging in battle is virtually zero. As for the dragons, barring any unforeseen circumstances, relying on the alliance between Arcane Mage and dragons from a thousand years ago, seeking their assistance should not be difficult. If necessary, Li Lin could even venture into the Nine Hells Abyss to seek the help of the demons; their passion for killing and death should make them the best allies. As for the Elemental Plane, as long as Li Lin can open the sealed elemental passage and reach an agreement with the lords again, obtaining their assistance should not be difficult either.

However, this is only the military.

Even if these forces could defeat the enemy, it didn't mean they could conquer this land. Demons disliked the air of the Prime Material Plane; in fact, they preferred to seek greater power and status in Hell. Elves only loved forests, leaping between trees and streams. Dwarves, who had always lived deep in the mountains and were extremely fond of minerals, would never live on the plains. And dragons had no interest in ruling nations except for treasure. So, even if they ultimately won, Li Lin would still be facing a mess. Therefore, he needed more than just an army; he needed a group of people who could assist him in ruling this once-ruled land, new subjects, new subordinates... Those nations oppressed by the five kingdoms were naturally his first choice. Thus, on the carriage, Li Lin and Nia discussed which nations had the potential to become their allies.

And the redistribution of power.

As for the followers of the gods, Li Lin didn't truly care about them. Aside from the racial gods who would stand firmly with Li Lin for the survival of their protected races, the other gods were untrustworthy. They existed according to the rules; even if they acquiesced to Li Lin's actions for self-preservation, it didn't mean they would become Li Lin loyal friends. Take the God of Betrayal, for example. If he wanted, he could easily make his followers betray their original nations and join Li Lin's side. But who knew if this was preparation for another betrayal? After all, such an act was precisely the source of that god's power.

Therefore, Li Lin was very cautious in choosing his allies among the gods. During the meeting in the Capital of Magic, he made his choice because those gods were generally neutral and unlikely to betray him. Although gods associated with murder and death could achieve even better results, Li Lin wasn't sure if they would one day turn against their own subordinates to promote their own ideology.

However, the race that Nia was describing was something that left Li Lin somewhat confused.

"Dark Elf? What are those?"

He asked, puzzled.

"Those were a species that emerged after the fall of the Magic Empire. At that time, humans launched an unprecedentedly devastating attack on the elves. The elves, however, maintained their original conservative ways... Under these circumstances, some radical elves considered the suffering inflicted upon them by the Elf Goddess to be torture. Therefore, they chose to leave their elven homeland, abandoning their faith in the Elf Goddess and instead worshipping an evil deity. As a result, they were punished by the Elf Goddess, whose skin was turned a deep, dark black. These Black Elf, after leaving their elven homeland, wandered the continent, eventually entering the underworld, where they chose to live."

"Therefore, they must deeply resent the Five-Nation Alliance."

Li Lin naturally grasped the core of Nia's words.

"That's right. Black Elf despise humans the most. After entering the underworld, they completely sold their souls to darkness. If we could gain their support, it would definitely enhance our combat strength. I've been to the Black Elf settlements; you can't imagine. They possess the agility of elves, but also a cruelty they lack. Not only do they have excellent archery skills like their surface relatives, but they also have incredibly strong close-combat abilities... However..."

At this point, Nia hesitated for a moment, then, for some reason, looked at Angela.

"Black Elf are different from elves; they strictly adhere to the rule of female superiority and male inferiority. In their eyes, men are nothing more than a group of useful or useless things."

"So, they won't obey my orders anymore?"

"It's difficult. Unless one possesses power and wisdom beyond their comprehension, they won't submit so easily. Moreover, that evil god is the mortal enemy of the Elf Goddess; she only bestows her divine magic upon female Black Elf, which is why the Black Elf can follow this rule."

"If we kill that damn feminist, will those black monkeys obey their master's orders?"

"That's theoretically true."

Nia nodded slightly in response to Angela's question.

"In fact, I don't believe that Black Elf are an incorrigible evil race; they simply follow the teachings of an evil god."

"Then why don't we just go and take down that boring god?"

Angela clearly didn't respect the gods. She grabbed Li Lin's sleeve, her eager gaze emanating from his bright red eyes and the picture book.

"God of Slaughter..."

Looking at Angela's eager gaze, Li Lin shook his head helplessly.

"With my current strength, I can barely handle Lesser God and Demigod, but Quasi-God would be quite difficult. Furthermore, Arcane Mage will not kill gods; that's our principle. After all, gods are a different race from us. Although they may be hostile to each other due to their rules and positions, they are still gods. If Arcane Mage were to kill a god—even an evil god—they would worry that such a fate might befall them. Moreover..."

At this point, Li Lin nudged Angela's little head.

"When you kill a god, some of that god's characteristics will inevitably affect the killer. I don't want to become a transvestite or something like that."

"So what should we do?"

Upon hearing that Li Lin might become a transvestite, Angela immediately lost her enthusiasm, but she was still unwilling to let go of the obvious killing before her eyes; after all, death always brought her pleasure.

"Are you really going to give up like this, Master?"

"If the Black Elf are truly that powerful, then it would be a real shame not to use them..."

Li Lin frowned, deep in thought. He hadn't encountered such a problem in a long time, and besides, Li Lin wasn't familiar with that new god. Judging from Nia's tone, the god probably didn't exist originally, but rather was a new god formed from the dark and cruel desires of the elves. He wasn't confident about dealing with such a god; what kind of problems might arise? A god that appeared after the fall of a Magic Empire might not know the relationship between gods and Arcane Mage, nor understand the ancient covenant. Therefore, Li Lin didn't intend to take the risk. However, Nia's description was very appealing. Li Lin understood that the elves' peaceful nature could be an obstacle in war; they would at most focus on reclaiming their own territory, not on invasion. Li Lin, on the other hand, needed subordinates who were aggressive yet possessed obedience and leadership abilities. Black Elf, with their strict hierarchy and clear class distinctions, were excellent candidates, except perhaps for their potential cruelty towards humans.

"Let's see how things go first."

Ultimately, Li Lin made his decision.

"I still need to speak with the Elf Goddess before a final conclusion can be reached. As for what happens next..."

As he spoke, Li Lin looked out the window. In his magical vision, he could clearly see a mercenary in leather armor holding a longsword, walking along the side of the caravan. He kept glancing left and right, vigilantly surveying his surroundings. Although he didn't know what this guy wanted to do, Li Lin didn't intend to keep such an unstable element in his team.

"It's about time our Mr. Mouse was identified."

It's time to rest again.

The young mercenary quietly slipped away from everyone's sight and entered the depths of the forest. Only after confirming that no one was following him could he finally relax and breathe a sigh of relief.

It's about time we left this caravan.

He said to himself.

Although choosing this seemingly harmless caravan to escape capture was a good idea at the time, it now seemed that things weren't so simple. The young mercenary believed he had done everything perfectly, but he still felt uneasy, as if he were doing something extremely dangerous, like deliberately walking into a dragon's lair and standing right next to its jaws.

Upon reaching the next stop, be sure to separate from this caravan.

The young mercenary made a decision in his heart, but at that moment, his body suddenly stiffened and became motionless, as if he were imprisoned by some external force.

This discovery immediately put the young mercenary on edge. Could it be that even this hadn't been enough to escape their clutches?

Just as the young mercenary was feeling uneasy, Li Lin walked out from the side.

"Hello."

He smiled, nodded to the young mercenary, then stood in front of him, gazing at the seemingly ordinary face.