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However, as the leader of the mage corps, Marshal Hailian felt somewhat uneasy. After all, the magical civilization of the elves had existed for far too long. Even in an era when the mermaids and mermen had not yet developed a language, elven mages had already perfected various spell systems. Unlike humans or orcs, the elves, despite their internal conflicts, always conducted them with restraint, rarely resulting in significant loss of magical achievements. Therefore, no one could truly say how many magical secrets the elven kingdom possessed. In contrast, the magical civilization of the mermaids and mermen was much more rudimentary, and due to their isolationist policies, they were even less advanced than humans. After all, much of human magic was directly inherited from the elves. In other words, in this magical war, the mermaids and mermen could not predict the enemy's tactics, while the elves were almost certain to grasp the movements of the mermaids and mermen.

However, the war had already reached this point, and there was no turning back for anyone. Thus, Hailian quickly cleared his thoughts and began to strategize against the high elves.

Meanwhile, the commander of the elven mages was also preparing for the impending battle.

The so-called "floating golden tree islands" were massive aquatic fortresses developed by the elves for naval warfare. At their core was a golden tree imbued with immense power. This colossal golden plant, said to originate from a branch of the World Tree, could absorb and convert any form of energy, allowing it to survive on water after certain modifications. The elves then attached various functional magical plants to it, ultimately creating a multi-layered maritime fortress over a kilometer in diameter. With the golden tree at its core, these tree islands were impervious to most magical attacks. They provided a stable casting space and living supplies for tens of thousands of elven mages. Additionally, they generated vast amounts of pure magical energy for the mages and powerful magical beasts residing on them. Their defensive capabilities were sufficient to withstand attacks from tens of thousands of mages for a day or two. Thus, aside from their lack of speed, these tree islands were nearly flawless magical warships.

The elven kingdom took this war extremely seriously, deploying three out of their five golden tree islands, each accompanied by twenty thousand elven mages, eight sky platforms, four golden tree sentinels, and one phoenix. The sky platforms were inverted pyramid-shaped magical structures with a square platform on top and an anti-gravity tip at the bottom, capable of hovering up to a kilometer in the air. They served as combat fortresses for elven mages to dominate the skies and launch magical strikes from above, complementing the floating golden tree islands with formidable power.

However, compared to the meticulous military deployment, the tactical planning of the elven commanders seemed much more casual.

The commanders of the three tree islands were now sitting together...

Rolling dice.

Yes, rolling dice.

Six six-sided dice were passed among the three, each roll producing a number.

Then, they determined the winner, and then... divided money? No, they decided on the tactical plan.

"Great, this time it's definitely my Plan 124."

"No, it's my Plan 77."

"Don't even think about it. I rolled a sixteen this time, plus the previous rolls, and the final calculation points to Plan 91."

It couldn't be helped. The history of the elves was too long, and their people had too much time to spare. Although few elves were devoted to strategic studies, the related literature was vast. In the current situation, there were thousands of battle plans developed by elven strategists over the generations to deal with underwater combat against aquatic mage corps. Even after accounting for the current realities, the final number of refined plans submitted to the commanders totaled two hundred. The sheer volume and complexity of the plans naturally overwhelmed the commanders. To make matters worse, according to elven military tradition, the commander and two deputy commanders of a unit had equal say in tactical planning before a battle. In other words, it was a democratic vote, with the minority yielding to the majority. However, high elves were notoriously stubborn and argumentative, often leading to intense debates as each of the three decision-makers insisted on their chosen plan. These battle plans, meticulously crafted by elven predecessors over centuries, were all flawless, making the debates endless. Even after months, a conclusion might still be elusive. Therefore, when the situation was urgent, the elves would resort to the oldest and fairest method: rolling dice to determine the final battle plan.

"Since the plan is decided, we must act swiftly," the elf who had won the dice roll immediately stored the other plans in the cabinet, keeping only the chosen one open.

"Good, we'll return to the tree islands now. Maintain communication during the dispersal," the other two elves nodded in agreement. Although there had been disagreements during the selection process, for the elves, such disputes were merely amicable debates. Once the plan was decided, they would execute it without hesitation.

Soon, the three tree islands set off in three different directions. The third tree island, "Moonlight Blade," was the first to enter the combat zone, though it was not the area where the mermaids and mermen were gathering but rather a region hundreds of kilometers away with dense ocean currents.

The ninety-first battle plan for large-scale, single-type magical combat in tropical shallow waters, codenamed "Chimera's Song," officially began.

After the golden tree island came to a halt, the eight sky platforms ascended, quickly positioning themselves over several square kilometers of ocean. Once in position, the elven mages promptly drew their staffs and various magical materials, chanting incantations into the air. Soon, colorful magical energies rose from all directions, intertwining and converging in the sky to form a massive magical matrix covering dozens of square kilometers. At the center of this matrix, the golden tree island emitted a radiant light. The remaining ten thousand elven mages on the island, led by several hundred ancient elves, began chanting an extremely complex incantation. This incantation, akin to a grand chorus, required the ten thousand mages to split into over a hundred sections, each contributing to a harmonious melody that produced an astonishingly powerful magical force, far exceeding any ordinary tenth-level spell by thousands, if not tens of thousands, of times. This was the pinnacle of elven magic—the Super Combined Magic.