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The meaning behind those two sentences could only be understood by those who knew the secret.

On the other hand, Orc King Samantha, although not previously aware of the elves' movements, had already largely pacified the northwest. Upon receiving the news, she immediately mobilized her forces to launch a fierce attack on the Holy Temple's forces. As the supreme commander of the entire Orc Alliance, Samantha was a master strategist with a comprehensive view of the battlefield. This basic tactic of pincer attacks, designed to prevent the enemy from coordinating their forces, did not require prior consultation; she could determine the best course of action based on gains and losses.

With the Orc King on the move, the various orc lords couldn't afford to sit idle. Thus, the previously somewhat stable battle lines were once again mobilized. The bear tribe, yak tribe, eagle tribe, and wolf tribe all sent out their forces. Some coordinated with the Orc King to attack the Holy Temple, while others targeted the Mercenary Empire. Chen Xuanfeng, on his part, focused on dealing with the Eastern Expeditionary Army. The overarching goal was to wear down human forces by engaging them on multiple fronts.

After years of intense warfare, the Holy Temple's influence had significantly diminished. They now controlled less than twenty percent of the western continent's land and a population of around twenty million. Facing continuous war, they faced severe supply shortages, with the majority of their military provisions dependent on southern support. With the southern regions now in turmoil, support for the Holy Temple had drastically decreased. As a result, the Holy Temple was forced to prematurely initiate a long-planned strategy.

Only much later did the Orc Alliance and the elven nation realize the magnitude of the windfall they had stumbled upon.

The entire human world was caught off guard. In fact, if the elves had not acted, within a month, the human front would have launched a counterattack. Humans had been meticulously crafting a strategy known as the "Patriotic Warriors," secretly using a method passed down from the Holy Temple, combined with centuries of accumulated magical beast cores from several empires, to create over 150,000 Sword Heroes. Originally, they planned to wait another month to complete the final adjustments for tens of thousands of core-enhanced Sword Heroes and allow those already enhanced to familiarize themselves with their new powers before launching a surprise attack on the Orc Alliance's occupied territories. After all, even the weakest human Sword Hero could match an orc's Golden Warrior. With over 200,000 human Sword Heroes, their numbers would nearly match the entire elite force of the orcs. Coupled with the vast number of ordinary human soldiers, this unexpected surge of power would have allowed the Holy Temple to reclaim most of the western continent's territory.

However, the sudden elven offensive brought this plan to an extremely awkward position. The 150,000 core-enhanced Sword Heroes were not something the Holy Temple alone could produce. Among them, 60,000 came from the wealthy southern continent, 40,000 from the eastern continent, and only 50,000 from the combined forces of the Mercenary Empire and the Holy Temple. If these three forces had united, they would have been unstoppable. But with the entire human world engaged in a two-front war, problems arose.

Facing the imminent destruction of their homeland, southern merchants and nobles naturally refused to deploy such a massive force abroad. Instead, they deployed all of it to resist the elven army. These core-enhanced Sword Heroes, originally selected from the south, naturally obeyed and abandoned any plans for an expedition.

The Yellow Dragon Empire, holding 40,000 core-enhanced Sword Heroes, was caught in a dilemma. With both the southern and western continents engulfed in war, requests for aid poured in from all sides. Everyone wanted this powerful force to join their camp, but supporting one side would inevitably alienate the other. Logically, the Holy Temple on the western continent was in more dire straits, but the two major eastern empires had already sent significant forces to support them. In terms of fairness, they should also support the south. However, splitting the 40,000 core-enhanced Sword Heroes evenly would weaken both sides, providing no effective help to either.

The Holy Temple's original "Patriotic Warriors" plan had carefully calculated that 200,000 core-enhanced Sword Heroes were necessary to challenge the orcs' battlefield advantage. With the elves disrupting their plans, only 50,000 troops were available, doubling the urgency. Although they temporarily held off the Orc King's offensive, they lost the ability to counterattack.

The elves and orcs gained even more advantages.

Much later, when the elven queen reflected on the war, she remarked with some relief, "It was truly the blessing of the Nature Goddess that gave us the chance for victory. At that time, among all the core-enhanced humans, only the 50,000 troops from the western continent were seasoned veterans. They could immediately wield the power of Sword Heroes with ease. The warriors selected from the other two continents were chosen primarily based on status and loyalty, and when they first gained their powers, they could only unleash half their potential. According to the Holy Temple's original plan, all the Sword Heroes were to be reorganized, with one veteran leading three new recruits. It wouldn't have taken long for all the core-enhanced Sword Heroes to fully adapt to the battlefield. If we had delayed our attack on the humans by just two more months, this terrifying army would have first crushed the orc main force, then returned to the south in battle-hardened condition to fiercely assault our forces. At that point, the elves, facing humans head-on for the first time, would have faced certain annihilation.

"Fortunately, we acted early. In their panic, the humans opted for the most disastrous course of action. The 50,000 core-enhanced Sword Heroes, though elite, faced orc warriors with superior combat experience and numbers. They were gradually worn down in a series of brutal battles. Meanwhile, the 70,000 enhanced warriors from the south, inexperienced in battle, encountered our million-strong Elemental Soul Armor. Humans, facing another race's swarm tactics for the first time, naturally made mistakes and quickly fell into our trap, losing their main force. By the time the two major eastern empires finally grasped the situation, it was too late for any countermeasures."

As the elven queen described, the overall shift in the war was due to the human world's fragmented state, with numerous small nations causing delays in response. While each calculated their own interests, they easily missed the opportunity to unite and crush the enemy one by one. On the western continent, the Holy Temple's 50,000 core-enhanced Sword Heroes, organized into the "Holy Crystal Knights," initially shocked Samantha and even managed to defeat a 30,000-strong elite orc force, killing two orc Sword Emperors. However, in subsequent battles, this force was repeatedly besieged by over 100,000 combined troops from the lion, bear, and yak tribes. They were quickly reduced to just over 20,000, severely weakened, and forced to retreat to the rear of the Holy Temple's forces.