Elven Legacy

Chapter 184: Massive Horde Arrives!

"Ugh, I'm bored; how long has it been?" Asked Marley dryly as she lay on the ground while looking at the sky through the canopy of trees.

"Have some patience, Marley; It's only been twenty-six hours. Expect to wait a minimum of a few days before their Highnesses arrive." Replied Idonea calmly while sitting in front of a tree; she glanced at Marley before closing her eyes to meditate as her sword lay atop her lap.

"Tch, loser." Muttered Marley softly as she ignored Idonea before looking at Sarah, who was intently training with her sword, though she was really just wantonly swinging her sword.

"Sarah, want to play Realm Animus against me?" Asked Marley as she sat up and summoned a relatively sizeable wooden board along with hundreds of black and white pieces.

"Hmm? What did you say, Marley?" Replied Sarah, whose body glistened with sweat under the sunlight as she stopped swinging her sword and glanced at Marley.

"I was bored, and I wondered if you wanted to play Realm Animus against me to pass the time, though it's fine if you wish to continue training." Asked Marley with a smile as she set the wooden board on the ground while placing the hundreds of black pieces on her side of the board; the white pieces were on the opposite side.

"Sure, I don't mind; I was just about to finish anyways; I was mainly training just to pass the time." Said Sarah with an eager nod as she stored her sword inside her dimension ring while approaching Marley before sitting down in front of the white pieces.

"You know how to play this game, right, Sarah?" Asked Marley while arranging her black pieces into the configuration she preferred.

"Yep, Birger taught me how to play a few years ago; I've even managed to beat him a few times, so I'm quite confident in my abilities." Remarked Sarah with a prideful smirk while also rearranging her white pieces into a specific configuration, though her mention of Birger caused Marley to frown.

"Since you're so confident in yourself, I'll graciously allow you to make the first move, Sarah." Said Marley with a slightly arrogant expression as she gave a slight bow, causing Sarah to chuckle.

"Hehe, well then, I'll gladly accept your offer, Marley; it would be rude of me to refuse your generosity." Stated Sarah with a faint grin as she injected her Qi into the wooden board, causing one of her smaller groups, consisting of twenty-four pieces, to move forward quite a distance.

"You're sending the cavalry out that far ahead? That's bold of you, Sarah; you should know they're rather weak to archer fire." Remarked Marley with a smirk as she eyed the twenty white pieces that resembled an Elf riding a Unicorn, though she didn't underestimate Sarah.

Pondering what to do to counteract Sarah's pieces, as I said, I could bring forward my archers, but if the archers allow even one cavalry unit to slip through and enter their ranks, there will be many casualties.

'Hmm, let's play it safe for the first few moves; I'd like to see more of Sarah's play style.' Thought Marley as she looked at her white pieces before focusing on a group of Elven warriors with massive shields and long spears.

Injecting Qi into the fifty shield pieces, they seemingly came to life as they started marching forward before stopping a decent distance away from the rest of my pieces and getting into a defensive formation in preparation for the cavalry's advancement.

"You know, if I continue advancing my cavalry pieces, while I'm sure they'll get defeated, most of your shieldmen will also get killed." Mentioned Sarah while overlooking the board as the cavalry and shieldmen pieces started down each other.

"True, but the cavalry is a powerful unit; sacrificing fifty shieldmen to get rid of them is worth it, in my opinion." Replied Marley while nodding her head as she waited for Sarah to make a move.