Green Monster Epic

Returning to the Thorns Fortress, one could still feel the lingering smoke and bloody scent.

After completely taking control of the fortress, Albad and the others first needed to repair the damaged city defenses, as this place would become the most important transit station and front-line defense in the Northern Territory.

"…Our army suffered over 250,000 casualties this time, including 137,556 soldiers killed in action, 10,521 soldiers missing, and another 3,098 soldiers with limb disabilities, requiring high-level divine magic—Limb Regeneration—to recover. They will be unable to fight in the short term."

"The collected corpses from the Elven side, together with the local residents, totaled 99,760, with an additional 22,707 prisoners."

"The materials remaining in the city include 5,246 warhorses, 118 griffins, and 11,395 various pack animals…"

With Allen's return, Albad convened a summary meeting in the inner fortress, reporting the costs paid and spoils gained in this war to Allen.

Also attending were the chiefs and leaders from various tribes of the Thorns Ring. At this time, they had shed the worries and depression they had when they sent troops, their faces filled with satisfaction with reality and visions for the future. One could no longer see their fear of the powerful Elven Kingdom.

For tens of thousands of years, the Elven Kingdom had been continuously expanding southward, annexing a large amount of territory originally belonging to the Mansa Wilderness. Today, several southern provinces of the Elven Kingdom once belonged to the wilderness. However, after occupying these lands, the Elven Kingdom did not actually manage and develop them well.

Because the Elven Kingdom's homeland was already vast, and the Elven population had always been the biggest obstacle restricting their racial development. The Elven families and tribes, who were proud and believed in their long heritage, were unwilling to abandon their original family businesses and territories to come to this wild and remote area recognized by the entire kingdom!

Without population migration, the defense construction of the border area would naturally not be too strong. Apart from a few populated cities located on the trade route connecting the kingdom and the wilderness, the Thorns Fortress was already the most important and solid city defense of the Elven Kingdom on the southern border.

After all, in the eyes of the Elves, the uncivilized hillbillies of the Mansa Wilderness simply did not dare to invade the kingdom's territory, and this was a consensus reached by the entire kingdom.

This meant that as long as the Northern Alliance army captured the Thorns Fortress, the gates of the southern provinces of the Elven Kingdom would be opened to them, until they reached the boundary mountain range formed by the overlapping of the Mansa Wilderness and the Talun Continent in the past.

The reason why the Hothian Drow Federation's army had been inactive was actually because they were waiting for the Northern Territory's army to help them gnaw down the hard bone of the Thorns Fortress. Otherwise, with the current number of troops in the Hothian Federation, although it was not impossible to take the Thorns Fortress, the losses of this war were not something they were willing to bear.

"…The focus of our army's next attack is Tolgan Province, which is more than 800 miles away, with the primary goal of occupying the passage connecting the Great Tiankeng in the central part of Tolgan Province to the underground world."

Albad waved her slender hand, and a huge map projection appeared on the large sandbox in the center of the conference room, pointing to a location near the border of the Dwarf Kingdom and said, "As long as we occupy this place, our allies—the Dark Elves—will be able to join us through the passage."

"Also, the Gray Dwarf army, according to the reports from their secret envoys, is now less than 10 days away from us."

Since the Gray Dwarves and Dark Elves wanted to occupy the territory of the southern provinces of the Elven Kingdom, Albad and the others would not let them take advantage of it, hiding behind the mountains of corpses and seas of blood of the Northern Alliance soldiers.

"Well, tell the Gray Dwarf's secret envoy that if they don't speed up their advance, then don't blame our Northern Territory for seizing more territory!!"

"Have there been any problems with the soldiers after this great battle?"

Allen continued to ask about the issues he was concerned about.

"No problems at all!"

The dozen or so legion commanders who were able to participate in this meeting exchanged glances with each other, and then answered in unison.

Albad also added: "Except for the five legions that were cut down due to heavy losses, and the soldiers in those legions showing some dissatisfaction and worry, everything else is normal in the other legions."

"After this brutal actual combat, the combat effectiveness of the soldiers in each legion has been improved. The combat power that can be exerted next will definitely not be weaker than when the army was first formed."

In the early stages of this siege, Albad had painstakingly allowed the newly formed legions to take turns on the battlefield to feel the atmosphere of actual combat. Although the soldiers in each legion inevitably suffered some losses, they were all within the range he deliberately controlled, except for the thirty or so legions that mainly attacked the city in the later stages.

The Northern Territory simply cannot afford such a large-scale army at ordinary times, and there are not many opportunities for war in the Northern Territory. Therefore, in addition to cultivating middle and lower-level officer teams, the rest can only rely on the tempering and replacement of the actual battlefield.

This is a very cruel reality, but it is also a habit that the various races in the Northern Territory are accustomed to. Not only will they not have any resistance because of this, but they will quickly grow up due to self-protection.

"Then how are your preparations for subsequent resources? When are you going to transport them here?"

Allen turned his head to the tribal leaders who had come: "The Drow army should have already set off north. The biggest hidden danger we were worried about no longer exists. The soldiers on the front line are waiting for new warriors to replenish their losses!"

"Your Excellency, please rest assured, I have already ordered my tribe's logistics team to set off when I came, and they will arrive at the fortress in no more than half a month."

Nathaniel, the ogre chieftain of the Heart of the Wilderness, spoke first, saying decisively.

"The follow-up teams from our two tribes have also been dispatched."

The lizardman Serena and Bernie, the two like-minded lizardman leaders, were only one step slower than the ogre chieftain.

Since playing a trick on the Church of Nature, their two tribes had completely sided with Allen and the Oak Temple camp. Although they were not as close to the Green Field as Snow Mii and Raven's Claw, they were also firm followers of the Green Field.

"We…"

The remaining tribal leaders also expressed their views one after another, fearing that if they were negligent at this time, they would suffer losses in the distribution of spoils next.

It should be known that the Mansa Wilderness is now promoting a reform plan. The future territorial scale of each tribe in the alliance is closely related to their development speed. However, the Northern Territory is temporarily independent of this rule, just because Allen, the mainstay, has won opportunities for everyone in the alliance, and also because the occupied land is not considered part of the wilderness.

Allen promised the tribal leaders that they could each choose a piece of land no less than the current territory of each tribe as their enclave after occupying the Elven land in the future. If any tribe wants to migrate to the occupied area as a whole, they will also receive additional land equal to their original territory as a base for development. At the same time, the Thorns Ring organization will also provide as much support as possible in the early stages.

This can be regarded as the candy that Allen gave to everyone in order to motivate the tribes to send troops north and to develop and manage these lands in the future.