Lord of Caldera

An imperial scholar in the early days once said:

"The arrogance of the elves living beyond the western forests knows no bounds. They believe they are superior to humans in every way, viewing humanity as an inferior species."

Upon hearing this, any human would feel indignation. "How dare they act like that—who are they to think so highly of themselves?" And many would question just how much better the elves could really be. But there is more to this proverb:

"The tragic thing is that we cannot deny their words. While humanity may someday surpass the elves, today is not that day."

The elves, a race long past their prime, saw their population gradually decline as they fell into a slow, inevitable decline. And yet, humanity had not surpassed them. Physically robust and agile, the elves retained ancient magic lost to humanity and continued to practice techniques for creating enchanted artifacts that had long disappeared from human knowledge.

As a result, anyone with even a bit of knowledge about elves avoided fighting them at all costs.

"How can we possibly win against creatures faster than us, armed with magic artifacts and spells? If you don't have at least ten times their numbers, don't even think about it."

Ten times. And that was if one calculated the odds conservatively; to ensure victory, the general opinion among mercenaries was that twenty times their numbers were needed. Yet, before their eyes, something was happening that defied this long-standing common sense.

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"Aagh!"

An elven warrior was knocked backward, barely managing to block a spear thrust. Three other elves quickly filled the gap, charging as one with fluid, razor-sharp precision. But the outcome was the same.

Wham!

"Ugh!"

"Argh!"

The spear moved before the elves could even strike, sending all three flying through the air. They rolled across the ground, trying to rise again, but winced in pain, staggering as they felt the bruising in their bones.

"You'd better stop," Toby said with a grin. "After all that blocking, your bones are probably on the verge of snapping."

"...!"

The elven warrior gritted his teeth, unable to understand Toby's words but clearly irked by his relaxed attitude. Tapping his shoulder with his spear, Toby watched as Rey approached him.

"Sir Toby."

"Ah, you're done already?"

"If you'd taken things more seriously, you would have been done as well."

The female elf's eyes widened as she glanced around. The warriors who had attacked Rey were all lying on the ground, defeated and writhing in pain. Her eyes filled with fury at the sight of her comrades lying in the dust.

"Se-Deran!"

With a sudden burst of speed, runes on the greaves around her calves lit up as she charged at Toby, moving far faster than before. Her twin blades flashed like lightning, and even the knights couldn't hold back their cries.

"Careful, that's…!"

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"Gah!"

"...!?"

But their worries were unfounded; Toby swatted her aside like a fly. The elven leader dropped unconscious, and Toby nudged her aside with his spear.

"Well, I guess it's time to wrap this up."

"Baroi…!" one of the elven warriors started to shout, but Toby didn't bother to listen. He swung his spear a few more times, and the remaining elves collapsed, unconscious.

Satisfied that all the elves had been subdued alive, Sylas bowed to the count.

"Your Excellency."

"Y-yes?"

"We've subdued them all."

The count swallowed, watching Sylas speak as if it were nothing. The elves—who, according to common knowledge, required ten times their number to defeat—had been subdued alive. Elven warriors were strong enough that even ten human knights attacking together would likely die before killing one.

But here, ten elves charged, and they were subdued alive?

The count swallowed dryly, feeling a mixture of awe and disbelief. And to think, Sylas, who commanded these formidable knights, had come here as his ally. Could this be a divine sign? Perhaps the goddess was guiding them, calling on humanity to overthrow the vile elves and claim their era.

As a follower of the goddess, I must heed this call…

A dangerous ambition flashed in the count's eyes.

The feast ended in the worst possible way, yet thankfully, the casualties were surprisingly minimal. About thirty knights had perished blocking the elves' path, but the fact that the count and the heirs of the other families survived was nothing short of miraculous.

"I apologize for endangering everyone due to my lack of foresight," the count said the next morning, bowing his head as he gathered Sylas and the heirs of the other families. Leon and the others were taken aback.

The assault itself might have been the host's responsibility, but who would dare tell the count as much? The count lifted his head again after a brief pause.

"To think they would attempt to assassinate me… With this, we've crossed a line we can't return from."

"Hmm…" The heirs groaned in agreement, haunted by memories of the twenty elven warriors who had so easily overwhelmed them the night before. And now, to think of facing the entire elven forces? Not just a skirmish, but full-scale warfare?

There's no way we can win this.

We came to offer support, not to risk our lives in a hopeless war.

As they hesitated, Walter finally spoke up.

"Your Excellency, what was the reason for this war in the first place? Skirmishes with the elves aren't unheard of, but I've never seen them attempt an assassination before."

In other words, he was asking, "What did you do to provoke them this far?" Usually, they wouldn't push for an answer, but now that they might have to risk their lives, they couldn't avoid the question.

The count scowled, clenching his teeth.

"It all started when my knights, out on a hunt, were subjected to 'human hunting' by the elves."

"Human hunting? Do you mean…?"

"Exactly as it sounds. Apparently, they did it for fun. They justified it by saying that hunting 'inferior beings' was no different from hunting animals. Does that make any sense?" the count roared, slamming his hand on the table. The heirs of the other families bit their lips in anger. Human hunting? They knew elves looked down on humanity, but this was beyond outrageous.

"Then… what happened to the knights?" one of the heirs asked, cautiously.

"Some were injured, but fortunately, I and others were nearby, so we managed to capture them," the count explained.

"You didn't kill them?"

"Of course, I wanted to kill them," the count admitted, his voice laced with resentment. "But as much as I was angry, their skills were too valuable to waste in a fit of rage. So, I offered them a deal. I'd spare their lives if they taught me the art of crafting magical artifacts."

"Ah!" The young nobles nodded in understanding. So, the source of all those enchanted artifacts was the elves after all.