Because the Forest Elves weren't very cooperative until now, and they kept talking about leaving soon, Michael thought about several ways to expand his market and range of businesses. That was also why he included the possibility of working together with other Lords, such as Frederik Kolbenheim and Jacqueline Orlando.
The Barbaric Couple might not be the nicest, and they were quite annoying, but their territories were connected to the mountains and the ocean. By making use of their territory, It was possible to connect their markets and expand their businesses, and wealth.
The time he spent in the Dekalos-Class spaceship showed Michael quite clearly that he could improve a lot, and that it was easier to survive in the Origin Expanse by working with other Lords, even if it was just for the sake of business.
Being a Lord in the Origin Expanse was not that simple. Many lost their territories even among the freshmen who had been accepted into the Saphirelake Military Academy.
In fact, it was quite common for Lords to lose their territory and rights as a Lord. Less than 1% of all Lords were able to protect their territories for more than three months.
Why was that the case?
Many Lords and Native Kingdoms, and the Empire would attack recently constructed territories for various reasons. Lords attacked other Lords to plunder their resources, most of the time. These resources included the Summoning Cores, which were extremely valuable. In fact, they were the most valuable assets in most territories and the primary reason for attacks in most cases.
Meanwhile, Natives wanted to destroy Lords because they were bound to turn into big problems if they were given enough time to grow. On the other hand, the natives mostly accepted Adventurers since they weren't as dangerous.
Precisely, most Adventurers were helpful to the native forces. They could be used in exchange of benefits such as wealth and resources.
That was why Michael couldn't allow himself to relax and lower his guard about the safety of his territory.
Michael recalled one of his brother's quotes about the Origin Expanse's dangers, and that peace was just the calm before the storm, most of the time.
– When you lower your guard and you feel the least in danger, your opponents will appear, far stronger than you can fathom, and much higher in number than you can handle! –
Thinking about his brother brought a wistful smile on Michael's lips. He would have messaged Danny, but the messenger app didn't work properly in spaceships. There was merely a system that connected the crystal watches on the spaceships. That was also why he could message Alice but could not send messages to his brother.
It was quite annoying.
Unfortunately, being annoyed that he couldn't message his brother, or thinking about the calm before the storm, were not the most important right now.
No, the most important thing was to figure out how to take care of the Forest Elves, and what to do with them. They would stay longer in his territory, in accordance with their Elders' order, which meant that certain things had to change.
Even that was not everything the Forest Elves had been instructed. Apparently, the Forest Elves told their Elders in the tribe a lot about Michael and his actions, and they agreed with his decisions. The Elders must have lectured Lilica and the others because they grew more cooperative in today's meeting and daily conquest of the lizard cave than before.
It had been quite a while since Michael participated in a fight with his small army, along with the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team. Overall, he was satisfied with the result.
A group of six Horned Gray Wolves had been scavenging around the lizard cavern's entrance when Blaire and her trackers found them.
The archers and all other long-range units got into position high up in the canopy bridges, the Mages began to cast their spells, and the melee fighters moved through the thicket.
Liopham exerted his Soultrait to the fullest, manifesting a large Spirit Totem to lure the small pack of Horned Gray Wolves towards them.
Meanwhile, Michael, Tiara, and the Elves got into position, easily to be seen next to the Heavy Armored Elephant.
Tiara coordinated the melee fighters while Michael and the Forest Elves manifested their Woodwoven Bows.
The Forest Elves retrieved a Piecker each, nocked them on the bowstrings, and channeled energy inside them. Afterward, they waited for Michael's command.
The Horned Gray Wolves jumped out of the thicket; their eyes bloody red due to the influence of the Spirit Totem. They howled loudly and released their horrifying pressure as Tier-2 Monsters.
Each of the six Horned Gray Wolves was at the 2nd Tier. Two of them were smaller than the rest, and they seemed unable to exert the full prowess of a Tier-2 Monster. But that did not allow them to fall at ease. The opposing force was not something Michael's army nor the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team was willing to face under normal circumstances either.
The EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team eyed Michael from the corner of their eyes, and their expression turned into one filled with worry, but Michael remained calm as they pounced closer to them.
"The small one in the center is mine. Shoot the rest," Michael ordered barely loud enough for the Forest Elves to hear.
The next moment Michael's eyes began to shimmer golden, the Siltang Bow was shrouded in white light, and a thick arrow condensed on the bowstring that he pulled back smoothly.
He aimed just for a moment and released the arrow the next.
Michael knew that the arrow wouldn't land a killing blow. His combat prowess was high, and he could deal with Mid, maybe even Late Tier-1 Monsters by combining the strongest arrow of the Siltang Bow with Lesser Enhancement and his precise aim with Eagle Eyes. However, killing an agile Tier-2 Monster with a single arrow was a bit too much to ask for.
Fortunately, Michael never intended to deal a killing blow.
He had used Lesser Enhancement on his Soultrait Spirit Whip to expand his attack range and lethality by 20%. The Horned Gray Wolf he targeted barely entered the Spirit Whip's attack range when Michael released the energy arrow.
He struck the Horned Gray Wolf with the enhanced Spirit Whip, which was strong enough to break through its mental defense, even if it was just barely.
The Horned Gray Wolf struggled for a moment before it regained its senses. It moved aside the next moment to evade the energy arrow.
But what the Horned Gray Wolf didn't expect to happen was that the energy arrow would burst apart.
The Monster was not hurt but it was startled and moved aside, just to jump in the way of the second energy arrow, which Michael had precisely planted in the path of the Horned Gray Wolf.
It was struck in the eye and yelped in pain.
By then, the Heavy Armored Elephant, Tiara, and the other melee fighters arrived in front of the injured Horned Gray Wolf.
It had just recently advanced to the 2nd Tier and was now faced with its biggest crisis.
Meanwhile, the five remaining Horned Gray Wolves didn't have it easier, at all. A barrage of arrows poured down on them the moment Michael's energy arrow whizzed through the air.
The Forest Elves had yet to shoot and were impatiently waiting for Michael's signal.
However, that signal didn't reach them until the wet soil beneath the agile Horned Gray Wolves gave way. Their paws disappeared deep in the ground the moment Michael's signal rang out.
Five Pieckers shot through the air like missiles, piercing the sides of the Horned Gray Wolves, just as Michael had instructed.
A single Piecker was not enough to kill Tier-2 Monsters. However, Michael didn't want to waste five of them nor was he okay with the high energy consumption just to kill a single Tier-2 Monster.
Hence, he ordered the Forest Elves to inflict a large wound on the sides of the monsters, which created enough unprotected space for hundreds of arrows to impact.
The Pieckers were released – one for each Monster –, tearing apart the Horned Gray Wolves' side. Now that the highly endurable wolf fur had been removed and the raw flash beneath exposed, the projectiles with weaker force, such as arrows, crossbow bolts and elemental attacks were released at those spots where they inflicted severe wounds.
Then, once the Horned Gray Wolves grew weaker, the melee fighters shot forward with their sharp blades to join the battle, helping the rest of the group to restrict the Horned Gray Wolves while ensuring that no one would die – or get unnecessarily injured.
Of course, the Forest Elves didn't stop attacking after they used the Pieckers. Their fight had just started as well.
They began to assess the battlefield and retrieve ordinary tempered arrows, which they smoothly knocked. After that, the Forest Elves began to bombard their opponents' vital sports, and the deep wounds they had inflicted on the flesh of their opponents first.
Their arrows impacted hard, causing the Tier-2 Monsters to struggle after a few attacks reached them. However, there was nothing the Horned Gray Wolves could do about it.
Close to 200 projectiles poured down from the treetops, and the close combat units emerged from the thicket around them. They were attacked from all sides, and the Forest Elves restricted their movements even further.
At last, the barrages of projectiles ceased. The close combat units moved closer to the battlefield – after avoiding the Horned Gray Wolves for so long. The Forest Elves joined Michael's charge. They retrieved daggers and helped Michael and the others to finish off their opponents by slowly wearing them down.
All it took was 20 minutes to take down six Tier-2 Monsters, and they didn't face a single casualty.
Michael's Spirit Whip and the Forest Elves' Pieckers might have been the MVPs, but every single participant of the battle deserved some credit for his or her contribution.
If even a single one of them had made a big blunder, the entire plan could have gone south.
Finally, after seeing the six monster corpses, and the bright smiles on everyone's faces, the Forest Elves couldn't help but start smiling as well.
They joined the cheers of their comrades without even realizing that their minds had subconsciously begun to consider Michael and his people as one of their own.
At last, they became part of the territory.
