CHAPTER 515: CHAPTER 367 CHANGES IN THE BATTLE SITUATION_2

Excitement made Karol’s breathing slightly hurried. She raised her glass of red wine to invite Yan Xing, "Let us toast to this revolution."

Yan Xing raised his glass to meet Karol’s. "Cheers."

After deciding to carry out a thorough purge and revolution in the Kingdom of Silvermane, Yan Xing looked again at the documents on the table, and his mood improved considerably.

Approved! Approved! In a few months, you lot will have to spit out every bit you’ve eaten.

After returning to the Royal Palace, Karol immediately issued the grain procurement decree: To cope with the potential food crisis brought by the war, the Kingdom of Silvermane would procure grains from the Eternal Domain to replenish the national granary, guaranteeing a year’s supply for the citizens.

The decree, once issued, immediately shook the noble class of the kingdom.

The country’s purchase of so much grain from the Eternal Domain at once means it will not procure domestically next year. Isn’t this driving the farmers to bankruptcy?

Before this public opinion could rise, the Royal Palace promptly issued a second decree: To minimize the loss to the farmers, the kingdom would purchase grain from them at a price slightly lower than the market rate. To ensure the compensation could be distributed to every farmer, the kingdom would entrust the Eternal Grain Bank with the disbursement of these funds.

Meanwhile, Queen Karol also privately appeased the nobles. She explained that the state was in difficulty, having borrowed a lot of money from the Eternal Domain for the war, and thus could not buy grain from them at last year’s prices. She hoped the nobles could endure this and make certain contributions to the kingdom’s victory. The following year, the kingdom would certainly return to the previous grain procurement model.

The nobles felt they suffered significant losses but couldn’t voice too much objection. It was a fact that everyone owed money to the Eternal Domain. It was also a fact that the kingdom owed even more for the war. They could only consider it a year of bad luck.

But if a portion of the compensation paid to the farmers could be collected, the loss wouldn’t be so large after all.

The issue did not escalate, primarily because no one thought Queen Karol would choose this time to strike at the old noble class nationwide. Such an act would be akin to digging her own grave.

The agricultural reform of the Kingdom of Silvermane advanced smoothly. To pacify the nobles, Yan Xing was willing to spend money, which made the formation and operation of the war contracting companies proceed very smoothly. The War Machine of the Kingdom of Silvermane ran efficiently. Facing the aggressive attack from the Gryphon Heart Empire, the soldiers of the kingdom’s army were high in spirits.

But, just when Yan Xing thought everything was fine, the very thing he least wanted to see ultimately happened in the north.

When Erelado led the Elf army to attack the Barbaric Orcs, the battle went exceptionally smoothly. The Elf main force easily crossed the border mountains, established a secure foothold on the Southern Foothills, and set up three camps, effectively turning the border mountains into their rear support. The cold of winter significantly weakened the Orc army’s combat power. However, the Elves, arriving on the southern side of the mountains from the north, were delighted to discover... it was surprisingly comfortable there.

However, Erelado consistently adhered to the strategic guidelines set by Yan Xing: defend their position based on the border mountains and do not initiate overly deep incursions into Barbaric Orc territory. The early stages of the war proceeded as expected. The Barbaric Orcs organized multiple counterattacks, but none shook the defensive line established by the Elves. Yan Xing was assured by Erelado fighting in this manner. However, entangled by various issues within the Kingdom of Silvermane, he involuntarily lessened his attention to the Snowland border.

However, consecutive victories made the Snow Elves arrogant. The Orcs had lax discipline, outdated weapons, and their morale seemed non-existent. Especially as winter grew colder, many Orcs exposed in the wild froze stiff, becoming stationary targets. The climate, weapons, and morale were all advantages on the Elves’ side.

Before them lay the vast Barbaric Plains, where the Elves believed they could launch a massive offensive to annihilate the effective Orc forces. Even if the target of the attack was not the capital of the Barbaric Plains, it could be Highland City. From the base of the Wildwind Highlands, they could sever the connection between Highland City and the Barbaric Plains. Without support from the Barbaric Plains, Highland City could not sustain an army of over 100,000.

When Erelado saw the battle plan from his subordinates, he was almost instantly swayed. He had once proposed to Yan Xing that the Eternal Domain cooperate in attacking Highland City, but his request had been declined.

If I could lead the Snowland warriors to seal off Highland City from behind, the Orc and human coalition forces inside would have no choice but to seek a decisive battle rather than starve. As long as the troops inside Highland City make a move, regardless of the direction, the Eternal Domain will inevitably act. Although this would anger Yan Xing, it would allow for the annihilation of all the Orc elite forces inside Highland City, leaving the Barbaric Plains at Snowland’s mercy. As for contravening Yan Xing’s strategy... Snowland is an important member of the Thunder Coalition and very important to the Eternal Domain. My actions wouldn’t cause too much damage to the alliance, but they could establish an unparalleled achievement for Snowland. The Elves could leave the bitter cold of Snowland and migrate to the warmer, more habitable Barbaric Plains.

Thus, Erelado did not report his battle plan to Yan Xing. Instead, he secretly prepared, ensuring the Eternal Domain’s liaison officers did not notice.

On the day of the attack, Snowland launched an offensive against the Orcs from three major camps they had built in the Southern Foothills, at the base of the border mountain range. Two of the main forces aimed directly at the capital of the Barbaric Plains, posturing as if to eradicate the Barbaric Orc nation in one fell swoop, thereby forcing the Orcs to concentrate their forces toward the capital. The other main force moved south to block Highland City’s rear escape route.

As long as the defending army inside Highland City moves, the purpose of this war will be achieved.

When the battle began, the Elven offensive was indeed devastating, like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. Under the overwhelming charge of the tank clusters, the Orcs had no ability to fight back and were relentlessly pursued by the Elves, leaving innumerable bodies and supplies in their wake.

However, the Elves still miscalculated the vastness of the Barbaric Plains and lacked experience in executing such deep strategic penetrations. During the pursuit of the retreating Orcs, their troops became increasingly stretched out and dispersed, exactly as Yan Xing had previously warned Erelado. Logistics could not keep up, forcing the attacking Elven forces to halt and wait for supply convoys.

Only then did Yan Xing learn of Snowland’s unilateral full-scale offensive against the Orcs, though he was still unaware of Erelado’s specific attack plan. He immediately set aside his work in Dawnspirit City, flew urgently to the Eternal Domain, and convened his generals for a military meeting. They gathered to discuss how to respond to the developing war situation. Attacking Highland City to link up with Snowland’s main forces at the border and protect their ally’s flank became an unavoidable task for the Eternal Domain.

However, before the Eternal Domain could respond, the situation in Snowland took a sudden, drastic turn for the worse.

On the Barbaric Orc battlefront, Cloud Tower dispatched numerous Mages to directly engage in the war, while the Orcs unleashed their true, hidden main force, attacking the dispersed Elves from all directions.

In Snowland, a faction of Royal Elves initiated a coup, plunging the Royal Court into chaos. Moreover, numerous subterranean races emerged from the Underground City to the surface, pillaging Elven cities and villages like bandits. These subterranean races were not large in number, but they were highly elite. Equipped with Alchemical Weapons from Cloud Tower and dressed in thick cotton clothes, they were completely undeterred by the winter cold.

Most of Snowland’s army was on the border battlefield, while the rest were concentrated in Frostleaf City and the Royal Court. Other areas had virtually no regular troops. Moreover, their weapons were merely old-fashioned cold weapons.

Only then did Yan Xing realize this was a long-planned strategy to crush the Snow Elves. In the border wars, the Orcs had deliberately feigned weakness and taken losses to lure the Elves into attacking. Their aim was to use the vastness of the terrain to negate the Elves’ weapon advantage and expose their numerical inferiority.

Now Yan Xing faced only two choices. The first was to attack Highland City and relieve the struggling Elven main force caught in the trap. The second was to mobilize forces into Snowland, quell the rebellion at the Royal Court, and eradicate the marauders from the Underground City, thereby stabilizing this important ally.