In other parts of the forbidden territory, three individuals were busy doing their work.
Eldrin cut down the last remaining elf of the small squad they had intercepted.
Elira and Lunaria helped him by growing some creepers nearby to cover the corpses making it seem as if the verdant elves had a hand in killing these elves.
The group was by now used to this sort of thing as they had been doing this pretty often. So the execution was smooth and flawless, almost to perfection.
If left by themselves, they would soon be done with this squad and move on to the next squad, the same as they had been doing for the past several days.
The trick was to always place the blame on different factions so that not even a single faction was left out of the rumble. Only then chaos will reign supreme and they can fish in muddy waters.
The group used their usual tricks and tactics to achieve this and were almost done with the staging when… all of a sudden, a volley of sizzling arrows rained down on the group.
"Eldrin, you traitorous bastard! Stop where you are!" A commanding voice shouted.
Prince Aranthor trembled in anger as he watched the elf scurry around like a rat, trying to escape from his grasp. But this time, there would be no lenience!
Karaka Boom! Karaka Boom!
The lightning whip in his hand landed harshly on the three beings. All three, Eldrin, Elira, and Lunaria suffered grievous injuries as the elven prince without mercy whipped them to a near-death state.
"Your Highness." Immediately, someone next to the prince whispered to him quietly.
"Hmph. Yes. Yes. I remember." Aranthor answered with a grumble.
He already knew that he could not kill the three maddening creatures in front of him no matter what. But when he thought about what had happened and how it had happened, it made his blood boil with embarrassment and humiliation. He simply couldn't let it go.
Karaka Boom! Karaka Boom!
He sent out another couple of attacks, leaving the three just short of death in an extremely miserable state.
"Someone come forward and heal them. Throw them into the cages!" He clapped his hands and whipped the forest ground a few more times to vent his anger.
The air crackled with electricity as Prince Aranthor's wrath unfolded in the forbidden territory. Still simmering with anger, he took a step back, allowing his guards to close in.
He remembered the counsel given to him – he couldn't kill them, not yet. Their lives were crucial to retrieve everything that their Empire had lost. At this point, these three were far more precious to him than any blessing that the guardian could potentially give out.
A couple of seconds later some other elves came forward to do the needful. Eldrin, Elira, and Lunaria, battered and bruised, lay helplessly on the ground.
The elves healed the three just enough to mend them a little but not so much that they would harbor any hopes of escaping. They then cuffed the three prisoners and left them tied to the war steeds.
Aranthor, his face twisted in a grimace of fury and loathing, surveyed the scene with cold eyes. It was unfortunate that he couldn't get his hands on that bitch who fooled him in the first place but soon she too will fall into his grasp.
And when he was done with them, these four would suffer a consequence that was far worse than death by his hands. Rage seethed within him as he gritted his teeth and thought about everything he had suffered in these past few months.
He clenched his fists and shook off the thoughts, snapping back to reality. "Let's move!" He ordered angrily. The group immediately started moving forward. The war steeds of the Stormshroud Empire buzzed with power as they charged forward into the forbidden forests.
However, unbeknownst to anyone in the group, a small smile appeared on one of the prisoner's faces.
Eldrin silently sat on one of the three war steeds, fully chained and shackled. But his eyes were casually observing the surroundings as if he had no care in the world. He might as well be a tourist in this setup.
Eldrin's body ached from top to bottom and numerous grievous injuries lined his body.
The soul weapon 'Lightning Thorn' was as infamous in person as it was in the rumors. This weapon was one of the main artifacts the Empire possessed. Though he did not foresee this useless prince getting a hold of this weapon, everything else had gone according to his plan.
For now, he had achieved what he wanted.
No matter how powerful Eldrin was, this forest around him was no longer the same as it had been before. Vicious and powerful beasts were not the only ones he had to look out for anymore.
The forest was now teeming with elves.
Elves from all of the eight empires in their world were now pouring into this forbidden territory. The barrier around the territory was loosened and there was nothing holding these elves back.
Sure, it was possible for Eldrin to survive for a few more days relying on his wit and instincts but he did not want to push it under any circumstance.
This was because Eldrin knew himself very well. He knew his strong points and he knew his weak points. In all the years he had tried to paint himself as a useless wastrel, he had to unfortunately limit his combat experience.
And now this had come back to bite his ass as his biggest weakness.
While he was confident about defeating this asshole who had thrashed him and many other assholes in the younger generation, he was not confident about dealing with entire armies.
The small squads were nothing when compared to the really powerful armies that were going to infiltrate these forests. Not to mention the powerful Generals who were going to descend onto this battlefield.
Since he knew his shortcomings, it was only proper of him to plan accordingly. So what if he was not strong enough? These fools who had imprisoned him were definitely strong enough to do that in his stead.