Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: Dark Elf Arc

Chapter 83

Caspian stood at the border of the Sacred Forest, feeling a little sour as he stared at the fortress that stood in their path. His original desire had been to circumvent this place entirely. However, that was not feasible in the least with an army of their size.

At the thought of the army with them, Caspian turned his head to stare at the numerous elves littering the forest. They were everywhere. On the ground. In the trees. Standing by the carts being pulled by horses. Most of the elves had blonde or light brown hair and blue or green eyes. They seemed to be standard features of the elves. Only a few like Valen possessed fiery red hair. Elincia's silvery blonde was also quite unique.

"Is there no way to avoid this?" asked Caspian, even though he already knew the answer.

"Haven't we already been over this?" asked Maddison with a roll of her eyes. "We can't traverse this plain out the open. If we do that, their forces can surround and decimate us whenever they wish. Just imagine what would happen if 20,000 Knights suddenly swarm around us. We managed to fight them off in Fas Sheras, but that was inside of a city. They have the advantage on an open plain like this."

"I know..." Caspian sighed. "I was just hoping someone had a better idea. We aren't here to fight with the humans. If at all possible, I'd like to avoid a battle that will end both sides losing their lives."

"I'm with Caspian on this," Elincia said. "I don't want to see anyone getting hurt."

"Then what do you suggest?" asked Valen.

Elincia furrowed her brow for just a moment before her eyes cleared up. A smile soon touched upon her face.

"Hold on. Let me ask Snotra for help," she said.

"Snotra?"

Caspian perked up only a little when Elincia's voice echoed inside of his mind.

"Yes, Contractor?" another voice, one filled with infinite wisdom, said.

"Can you tell me how large the group inside of that fortress is? If possible, please tell me in terms of humans, Knights, and whether or not there are any dark elves."

"Hmm... it looks like there are 5,000 humans, 10,000 of those Knights, and two dark elves."

"Thank you."

After the conversation was over, Elincia came back to reality and informed Valen and Maddison about what Snotra told her. While Valen looked impressed that she could use spirits this way, the grave look he wore at being told the numbers inside of the fortress spoke of how displeased he was. Maddison didn't look much better.

"It is going to be extremely hard to slip past them without initiating hostilities," Valen finally said.

Caspian glanced once more at Imperium Prae, the fortress standing several kilometers from the Sacred Forest's borders. It was a massive structure made of stone with a rampart surrounding it and several powerful battlements. Even from this distance, he could spot the ballistae situated on the wall.

"If we were dealing with just human enemies, I could use Spiritual Evocation to put them to sleep," Maddison said as she ran a hand through her pink hair. "The problem is those Knights. They are not affected by magic like that since they aren't even living creatures."

As he thought about the problem, Caspian remembered how they had first snuck into the Sacred Forest with the help of a squadron of Peacekeepers. He locked onto that thought. Once it took root in his mind, he turned to the others.

"I have a plan," he said, causing Elincia, Maddison, and Valen to face him. "Elincia and I will sneak into the fortress under the cover of darkness, find the Peacekeepers who helped us sneak past everyone, and gather more information that could potentially help us make it past this fortress without bloodshed."