The Elf Guard Army on the city walls was watching as if it were a joke, but little did they know, they were about to become the joke themselves. While these pieces of Magic Equipment couldn’t help the Elf Corps scale the walls, they could drastically reduce elven casualties by eliminating the Guard Army stationed on top.

Zhang Yi had been in this Small Magic Plane for over two years now. In that time, he had come to understand the elves of the Moonlight Forest. Their long lifespans provided them with a foundation for enjoying life, but it also robbed them of their proactive, enterprising spirit. "Hidebound by tradition" was the most apt description for the elves of the Moonlight Forest.

When Zhang Yi saw how the elves here conducted sieges, he found it surprisingly similar to the ancient times of his previous life. Other than the addition of magic, there was almost no difference. In fact, because of magic, even things like siege ladders had been replaced. The Elf Corps would charge to the base of the city walls, and then, the Elf Mages in the rear would use Vine Spells to construct paths leading up to the top.

It wasn’t that this method was bad, but how could Magic be so inconvenient?

In the courses taught at his school, Zhang Yi had studied the Magical Civilization in depth. It was the perfect fusion of magic and technology! A civilization that could use Magic Crystals as a highly efficient, clean energy source, replacing fossil fuels to power vehicles and even entire fleets. It could transmit Magic Power through Rune Arrays to form a "Magic Energy Supply Network" enveloping an entire city. They could carve corresponding Magic Runes onto machinery, giving damaged components the ability to Self-Repair—a preliminary step toward perpetual motion machines. They had achieved the perfect combination of Artificial Intelligence Big Data and Prophetic Magic, greatly increasing the accuracy of predictions. Their Healing Spells, combined with stem cell technology, allowed even ordinary elves the chance to regrow severed limbs. High Tier Elf Mages could even upload their souls into data, forming an alternative kind of "Necromancer"!

...

Of course, even if their technology hadn’t reached that level, innovating in the field of magic itself would have been acceptable. But for the elves of the Moonlight Forest, even the spells they mastered were mostly inherited through their bloodlines. No newly created spells had appeared for a very long time. This was what truly disappointed Zhang Yi.

...

Just as the elves in the Neutral City were still feeling confused, Rethof, the Elf Guard Army Commander standing on the city wall, felt that something was amiss. Anyone who could reach his position had to have some wisdom, after all. Although he still didn’t know who had organized this Elf Corps that had suddenly appeared from the south of the Moonlight Forest, or what they were doing now, there was definitely a reason for the enemy’s unusual actions.

Rethof watched as the Elf Warriors under Elf Corps Commander Feiyana’s command gradually finished assembling the equipment.

He had considered sending out a wave of elves to stop what the enemy was doing, but he was afraid it was a trap to lure them out of the city. What if the enemy had set an ambush for him? How humiliating would it be if he fell for it? Moreover, an entire troop of the Elf Corps would be sacrificed for nothing.

He had also considered using bows and arrows, but the distance was too great. The opposing Elf Commander must have thought of this, which was why they were assembling this equipment a full thousand meters away. He had truly never seen such a device before. He had even summoned an Elf Craftsman to the city wall, but even the craftsman couldn’t figure out its purpose. There was nothing to be done. He could only wait quietly for the enemy’s next move.

"This feeling of leaving your fate in the enemy’s hands is terrible!" Guard Army Commander Rethof lamented.

While Rethof, the Guard Army Commander of the Neutral Elf City, was at least aware of the situation, many elves inside the city had been abruptly awoken by the Guard Army’s movements. When they learned that an Elf Corps several thousand strong had arrived and surrounded their city while they slept, panic immediately erupted. Through word of mouth, the Elf Corps of several thousand soon became nearly ten thousand. In their retellings, the army of nearly ten thousand then became tens of thousands. As the numbers grew, so did the panic that erupted within the city.

Of course, the rise of these rumors was also related to the spies that Director of Intelligence Stuck had planted in the city. Since it was still four in the morning and the sun had not yet risen, the city walls had been taken over by the Elf Guard Army, and ordinary elves could not see the situation outside. Under these circumstances, noise and panic intertwined throughout the entire city. Even the Elf Elders were woken up one by one by the commotion.

Meanwhile, Elf Corps Commander Feiyana looked at the assembled equipment, a sense of satisfaction rising in her heart involuntarily. In the beginning, when the great God of Nature had summoned her back to the Divine Realm to teach her a new method of warfare, she had been dismissive. It wasn’t until she recalled the shock she’d felt from the Combined Spellcasting used by Mage Corps Commander Joy Pala that she re-examined her own beliefs. When she saw the great God of Nature, he showed her the new weapons jointly created by the Elf Mages and Dwarf Blacksmiths. When she witnessed the power of the Magic Giant Crossbow with her own eyes, she finally understood. How insignificant she was, and how much about this world she still didn’t know.

Compared to the Fighting Qi that enveloped her body—a power that could increase a weapon’s durability and sharpness—magic could call down meteors from the heavens!

And now, the great God of Nature had shown her once again that even without casting spells, ordinary weapons inscribed with Magic Runes could possess such immense attack power. In that instant, Elf Corps Commander Feiyana’s pride vanished. It also made her commit wholeheartedly to deploying these new weapons.

But demonstrations and real battles are two different things. Today was the first time these weapons, created under the guidance of the great God of Nature, would be tested in actual combat. Elf Corps Commander Feiyana couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement.

"Reporting, Elf Corps Commander Feiyana! The Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons are all prepared. The standard Stone Bombs, special Smoke Bombs, and Incendiary Bombs are also ready!" a soldier announced. "Awaiting your orders!"

Elf Corps Commander Feiyana looked at the opposing city and saw that they had not raised a Magic Protection Shield. She knew this meant that either the enemy had too few Elf Mages, or they lacked the technology to create a Defense Magic Array capable of covering the entire city.

A while ago, when Feiyana had returned to the Divine Realm to receive the great God of Nature’s teachings, she had heard about new research being conducted there. They were developing a Magic Array that could envelop an entire city, supplying its defenses by converting Magic Crystals into Magic Power.

"Since the enemy is unprepared, begin with the Incendiary Bombs and Smoke Bombs. Set the range for the Incendiary Bombs to maximum and fire them directly into the dense housing areas inside the city! That will cause the maximum amount of chaos! Follow up with the Smoke Bombs, and save the Stone Bombs for last!"