As a few hundred-meter sprint is not something hard for even first-level adventurers, the enemy rush quickly shortened the distance between the two armies. Sadly, while this indeed made it impossible to use too powerful magic due to the risk of friendly fire, at this distance, the most deadly weapon of Elves could be freely utilized.
With a single command from Lunara, countless arrows flew into the air. In the blink of an eye, they found their targets, pricing hearths and heads of the enemy with astounding accuracy. Each Elf is trained in using a bow, and to say they excel at it would be an understatement.
In perfect circumstances, an Elven archer can strike a moving target with pinpoint accuracy from over two kilometers, but that distance would decrease depending on circumstances, so the average range of an Elven volley is approximately half a kilometer. Most of our formations and tactics fully facilitate that fact, trying to force the enemy into that distance and keep them there.
Firstly, on the front of our army are stationed what adventures would call tanks. Paladins, Death Knights, Void blades, and such stood at the first line, reading their shields and blades to form a phalanx.
Step behind, Druids, Priests, and some mages acted as support for the frontline. Their task was to not only assist the people in front of them but also stave off the enemy by weakening and harassing them.
Finally, behind them is the core of the army. Row after row of archers, interspaced by small divisions tasked with defending the center from any attack that slipped past the front.
The remaining magic divisions are placed behind archers. If casting powerful spells is impossible, their only task is to cover the whole Elven army with a magic barrier that will prevent range attacks from hitting them.
Of course, a real battlefield is different from paper theories, so this is only an idea of how the Elven army should fight. The actual details are left to the commanders, but on this battlefield, there was no issue to play by the book.
From the air, I marveled at how well Lunara coordinated the many different parts of the army formations, steadily pushing forward without taking any unnecessary risks. As we had an overwhelming advantage over the enemy, there was no need to rush. With every passing minute, the opponents lost more people and fell deeper into the encirclement Lunara was implementing, forcing Ares to make a decision. Stay and be surrounded, or run and lose the capital.
Before he could make any decision, screams erupted from his rear. Under the lead of Valeera, the best divisions of Rouges and Assassins slipped past the battlefield and entered Ares camp from the rear. With a quick decapitating strike, most commanders under his command fell, creating disorder that quickly spread to the frontline. Accomplishing their job, Valeera and her people fell back, entering the capital to meet up with forces already inside.
Until now, the capital defense was commanded by Athena and her familia, and even our forces sent to assist were left for them to command. But as the battle was entering the next stage, Kor'vas retook command of Ilidari divisions and prepared to mount a counterattack. Planning to push enemies from the vicinity of the walls to prevent any desperate tries to enter the city.
The battle situation now turned entirely against Ares, so he quickly took command and ordered his army to fall back and regroup. Abandoning the siege and fortifying his camp before deciding on the next step. From what I can see, he will order a full retreat, attacking the weak point of the Elven army to stage a breakthrough through the encirclement.
Right now, while Lunara is the overall commander, the army is divided into three parts, each under the control of the Windrunner sisters. The center is in the hands of the eldest sister, Alleria. The right is headed by the middle sister, Sylvanas. Lastly, the left is controlled by the youngest sister, Vereesa.
The only groups not included in the commands of the sisters are both backline and frontline mages, who are controlled by Thalyssra and Andaris, respectively. The reason why mages had their own command structure is the added difficulty of managing magical energy and timing of the spells.
The division of the task allows the army to respond quickly to the changing situation while continuing to work together at the same time. All Sentinel Generals are respected by all the soldiers, and in addition to Lunara being my 'granddaughter,' the order and morale in the army are always sky-high. So, adding everything together, the Elven army acted as one whole. From top to bottom, everyone knew and did their duties.
The battle continued, and by the time two hours since the beginning passed, Ares' camp was almost surrounded. Knowing that it was his last chance to leave without costly sacrifice, Ares' forces started moving toward the gap between the Elven army and the city.
What the war god didn't account for was the Sabercat Huntresses that appeared from behind a hill. The first cavalry army commanded by Shandris appeared at the perfect moment, pouncing on the surprised enemies.
Seeing that he had walked into a trap, Ares ordered his soldiers to rush toward the gap on the opposite side, but the second cavalry army also started to show up. Now that the encirclement was completed, Ares returned to his camp, fortifying it further to prepare for the upcoming attacks.
This practically marked the finish of the battle. Lunara prepared to form camp while continuing the encirclement that now effectively turned into a siege of Ares' camp. As the risk of gods attacking now, after more than half of Ares' army is dead, was much lower, I left the task of keeping an eye on the gods to Demon Hunters while I busied myself with other things.
-"What happened with being unable to help me directly to not implicate the Hold?"-Asked smiling Athena after I appeared on the capital wall.
~"To be honest, I'm not helping you. Artemis informed me, the Spirit Emperor, that Wood Elves that are now the subject of my empire are being held as slaves in the capital. Our attack on the Rakia Kingdom is to free all enslaved Elves and regain what was stolen from them."
-"That's some nice moral high ground and casus belli. No one should be able to use this against you."
~"That's the plan. That slightly limits what we can do, but as the capital is in your hands now, and let's say there is a force that declares itself as ruler of this city, we theoretically could work with them as the official government of Rakia in opposition to Ares and his cronies."
-"Hmm... Let's say that this had happened. What will you do with such a government?"
~"We would demand reparations. After all, the damage caused to Wood Elves is not something that can just go away. As for what form would the said reparation be, we would demand ownership out of certain cities on the border for the duration of a hundred years."
-"On what terms?"
~"The cities will set up the council that will represent Humans in the city, and it will work together with representatives set by us as mayor. We will receive half of the tax from the cities until the full sum is repaid. We will invest in setting up some industries, but those will belong to us in perpetuity or until sold."
-"Interesting. Are there any more requirements?"
~"Yes, we demand giving up any war criminals, for all wars that were waged against Wood Elves, and trial for any slave owners that possessed captured Elves."
-"I see Loki thought you well."-Athena looked at me with a spark in her eyes.-"I'll speak with leaders of the rebellion and my children. Please excuse me."
~"Last thing, we can provide food and some other basic necessities for a minimal price. If the payment is impossible at the moment, we can add the cost to the debt together with the reparations."
-"I'll pass that to them."-Athena spoke while leaving the wall.
-"Why do I feel that you held a much different conversation than I heard?"-Artemis asked me as she approached me.
~"What do you think we spoke about?"
-"You talked about why you attacked Rakia and what you wish to receive from your war."
~"And that is true. Just there is little more hidden there."
-"Mind explaining?"-Artemis sat on the battlement.
~"I want Athena to take Ares's place and form a new Rakia government."
-"Then why did you make demands?"
~"Because I can't wage war to dethrone Ares, I can at most retake what was taken from Elves for my casus belli to stand. Political intrigue is a swamp, but I can't give my opponents any pretext to act."
-"Then asking for such form of reparation must have some meaning."
~"Yes. Athena now doesn't have many people capable of governing, and the economy of Rakia is stagnant at best. By taking over some border cities, I can temporarily reduce the number of positions she needs to fill, allowing her to take Rakia over step by step."
-"I see. Then the matter of industries is to prop up the stagnant economy while also taking a chunk of the new market for yourself."
~"Exactly. Additionally, promising to give some of the power to Human councils in said cities and providing what food they need at the moment is the proverbial carrot for them to follow my intentions. As for the stick, the army outside and inside fills that roll perfectly."
-"You became a fine emperor."-Artemis giggled after understanding everything that happened during that short conversation with Athena.
~"Sigh."~I shook my head at that.~"I still don't like doing such things. Here, at least, the scheme is beneficial to both sides. Only our enemies suffer. But planning to manipulate my allies leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
-"Athena must have seen through your plans, and by going along with you in the talk, she acquiesced to them."-Artemis cheered me up.-"What will you do now?"
~"Look for 'rat dens'."
-"Then let's go together."
~"Sure."
Artemis took my extended hand, and the two of us started to wander around the city, attracting the eyes of all passers-by.
As everything in Rakin will need a few days to progress, other more pressing matters took priority for now. The first such matter was the issue of terraforming Terra.
Ruan Mei is in charge of organizing the terraforming, and she consulted Aranyani, Kal'tsit, and a new face from Terra, Shu, elder sister to Dusk, Nian, and younger sibling to Lian. Kal'tsit was familiar with her due to her previous travels, and when Ruan Mei asked her to fully catalogize elements of Terra's ecosystem, she turned to Shu for assistance.
Shu, at first, didn't want to get involved with Hold, but after Ling spoke with her, she agreed to help Kal'tsit. As for joining Hold, she decided to meet me first and then decide based on her opinion of me. So today will be that meeting. The date of the terraforming approaches, so we need to finish all the preparations.
-"Yue."-Ruan Mei was the first to speak after I entered her laboratory.
~"I hope I'm not late."
-"Like you can be late. Aren't you in full control of time in Hold?"-Kal'tsit sneered at my pleasantries.
-"Don't clip his wings, Kal'tsit. What if he stops acting like a normal person and turns into a boring god?"-Aranyani smiled at me in greeting.
~"It's our first meeting to allow me to introduce myself. I'm Yue, Aeon of Ordination. Spirit of the world you are currently in, as well as Emperor of Hold and Spirit Empire."
-"It's an honor, Your Majesty. I'm Shu, Sixth of Sui. Agricultural Tianshi instructor of the Yanese Tianshi Bureaus. I heard about you from my sisters, and I can understand why they are head over heels for you."-The white dragon girl smiled gently.
~"Sigh, back then, there was the issue of my draconic spirit, so our relationship quickly turned into what it's now under its influence."
-"That's what I'm surprised about. Why don't I feel said draconic aura?"
~"Because I'm hiding it. Not allowing it to manifest, to be exact. The avatar I use is based on my looks, but it's a perfect representation."
-"Then you don't look like that?"
~"Well..."
-"Ehem, he is in a similar situation to me. I'm the avatar of the Irminsul, so I'm a tree. This doesn't make my current form not me, but at the same time, I could have taken an entirely different look if I wanted to. Spirits and spiritual beings can take what image they want, but after creating an identity, they can't change it easily."
~"What I meant by not manifesting some of my features is that my 'self' comes from a few distinct identities. My current appearance is closest to what I think of myself. It originates from my past as an Emanator of Finality. My draconic features are connected to the Path of Permanence, and for a few reasons, I prefer to hide them."
-"I apologize for my ignorance."-Shu bowed to us.
~"Don't worry about it."
-"Ok, now that the introductions are out of the way, let's get to work. We completed the simulation of what the ecosystem should look like. Now, you need to help us plan how to achieve it in the most efficient way."
~"I looked at the data in the Akasha System and formulated a basic plan of action. I can turn the wastelands of Terra into primordial virgin lands. After that, I can take control of nature, but you'll have to deal with the details of introducing species in the correct order and controlling their spread."~I created a pile of documents along with data from simulations for them to look through.
-"Accelerated environment forming... How far can you control nature?"-Ruan Mei asked after glancing over the documents.
~"I can turn the whole planet into a hivemind with me as the center, but only plants and the planet itself will be part of it. Animals are out of my control, let alone people."
-"So, you can turn planet and flora into exactly what we made in simulations while we need to deal with animals. As for people, we had already evacuated all but major moving cities from Terra."-Kal'tsit commented from behind the papers she was reading.
~"The cities can be enveloped in protective barriers and temporarily sealed for the duration of the terraforming."~I suggested to make our work easier.
-"This is a good idea."-Aranyani agreed instantly.-"I'll contact Ling Sheng'er to help us with formations."
~"Ling Sheng'er?"~I quickly looked for her in Hold.~"I don't feel her in Hold."
-"I met her when I visited Meng in the Sect. She talked with me about joining Hold, but I could only promise to mention her to you."
~"That girl is talented in formations and Soul techniques, so why not? She will easily fit here."
-"Then I'll bring her to help later."
-"With this out of the way, let's focus on the biggest issue. The time."-Ruan Mei brought us back to the main subject.