40

The Witcher: The last King of the elves

Chapter 40 - War Approaches

"Your Majesty, all the elves have returned to their territory!" An elf approached the wall to report to Thranduil, who kept his gaze fixed on the distance.

At the same time, the elven army in the territory quickly gathered.

Thranduil nodded and said: "Distribute the water from the Source of Life to the elves. There may be a long battle tonight, so make sure all elves have what they need."

In their territory now, everything was lacking—except the elves’ Water of Life. More than half of the high-quality water from the Source of Life stored last time still remained.

As for the hundreds of barrels of low- and mid-grade Source of Life water, they were untouched. In addition, in recent days, the high-grade water had condensed almost by half.

That is to say, they would never run short of that unimaginably pure water.

That is why, if he didn’t spend it on his own people, who else could drink it?

"As you command, Your Majesty!" The elf relayed the orders to Haldir so he could act quickly.

…

Tonight, the night arrived noticeably earlier than usual. It was only about the time when the sun began to set, but the entire sky had suddenly darkened.

The blood moon high in the sky looked like the devil’s eye, dominating the entire land and gazing down at those it considered prey.

The strange smell in the air grew stronger and stronger.

Finally, after an unknown span of time… a roar echoed in the distant darkness.

Roaaarrr!

That roar was like a fuse igniting fire upon the ruins. Roars and growls of all kinds spread, as if countless monsters were lurking in the darkness.

"Your Majesty, all the hawks are in the sky watching over the territory."

"Now, all the ruins in the center of the city are under our surveillance." An elven huntress came to inform Thranduil of the progress of the orders.

"Good, have them maintain close watch and communicate with the Treants."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The elf quickly withdrew.

…

About half an hour passed.
The roar in the darkness grew louder and louder, like a roar of agony.

Then the ground began to tremble.

The sound of collapsing buildings could be heard from every direction.

Thranduil looked up and saw pairs of blood-red eyes appearing one after another in the distant darkness. Reflecting the light of the blood moon, they looked particularly eerie and terrifying.

"Your Majesty, the first wave is approaching!"

"Numbers?" Haldir did not panic.

"Countless monsters, estimated at over 300,000 in this first wave! The great majority of them are giant swamp rats." Laila, as commander of the clerics, reported in greater detail—numbers even more precise than the hunters.

Thranduil, standing beside Haldir, said calmly while gazing toward the forest: "As expected. Have the Treants hold their attack until they are ordered."

The monsters that dwelled on the surface within the ruins of the city center had been almost entirely wiped out, with only a few managing to escape. The giant swamp rats that had appeared during this period had all come from the underground caves.

Thranduil also planned to unearth the nest of those large black rats. But the problem was that he did not have the right kind of soldiers for the task. Therefore, they could only act passively.

He had slain as many swamp rats as possible. In fact, after these days of relentless hunting, his elven army had already dealt a heavy blow to the rat infestation. Otherwise, today even more swamp rats would have appeared—more than double the number.

Without hesitation, Haldir said: "Have everyone prepare for battle, standard combat formation."

"All elves are to take position on the wall, especially the archers and elven mages. As soon as the rats cross the trap line, strike immediately!"

"And summon all the tree warriors of your elven priests to the front of the swordsmen. Those in the forest, have them strike from the rear once the battle has begun."

"As for the rest, you are free to join the fight when you see fit."

"As you command, Supreme Commander!" Laila rushed off as soon as Haldir gave the details.

Thranduil said nothing. He would not have named Haldir supreme commander of his army if he did not trust his qualities as a leader.

Soon, an army of eight thousand elves filled the entire wall, forming a massive circular defensive line to protect the territory behind it.

During the process, the elven clerics also waved their magic wands. They summoned additional Treant warriors.

There was a total of 800 Treants, summoned at the last moment and dispersed outside the wall.

"Will that be enough?"

"They will buy us more time to prepare. I hope that will be enough," said Thranduil, watching the Treants roar with anger.

It was true they would die; after all, their equipment was unremarkable.

Most bore wooden spiked clubs, and a few carried heavy hammers. Without exception, all these weapons were made of wood, drawn from the Treant’s own body. In other words, they were part of them.

But even though made of wood, they were by no means fragile, for they contained a great amount of elemental magic that only the Treants could easily wield.

Most importantly, even if the weapon was damaged, the tree warrior could repair it in little time.

…

Thranduil stood on the wall, gazing down at the Treant warriors below.

Much height, but that would not be enough due to the lack of magical defenses.

Boom!

The ground shook violently.

Soon, countless giant swamp rats appeared within Lin Yi’s vision, rushing from all directions like a black torrent.

Their eyes were bloodshot, and they roared continuously.

They had no fear whatsoever of the formations Haldir had established.

They also completely ignored the enormous Treants at the front. Under the influence of the power of the abyss, they had fallen into madness.

In the minds of the beasts, only one thought remained.

"Kill."