The riflemen had to stay in the trees, even if the Redemption Army rained arrows on them, they had to endure it.
Endure until the moment when the priest advances, endure until the moment when the Skitarii appear on the battlefield—
And when that moment comes, the riflemen will, under the order of the commander, fire a volley at the priest, trying to kill the enemy commander directly, and at the same time kill the enemy's reserve troops and military police.
If nothing unexpected happens, after the priest dies, the gunshot will serve as a signal for the golems and demon swordsmen buried underground to take action.
Golems will launch sudden attacks from underground. They are slow-moving entities that ordinary soldiers cannot defeat.
The demon's swordsmen and axemen can make up for the Golem's slow-moving peacocks. Although the elven conscripts on standby in the rear are not as powerful as the regular army and rangers, they can provide medium and short-range long-range support and can hit whatever they point to.
When the priests died, their magic spells failed, and they were suddenly attacked from above, below, in front, and on both sides, even the most resolute legion would retreat, and those who did not retreat would be caught off guard and annihilated...
At that time, the Redemption Army would be directly defeated, and those soldiers who fled to the rear of the parish would become the source of information about the defeat in the front, further undermining the morale of the parish, and at the same time becoming a bandit problem that caused headaches for the parish.
…
If only everything could go this smoothly. The elf commander thought with sweat dripping down his face, the more complicated the plan, the more likely it is that it will fail completely due to unexpected events on the battlefield.
In order to avoid the complete failure of this main plan, the Elf Commander actually prepared several other plans...
But those are just backups, they can only protect themselves at most, but cannot achieve the set goals.
"Commander! The signal from the Hippogriff Rangers! They are coming!"
While the commander was thinking, a rifleman standing by in a tree pointed to the sun shining on them in the east and shouted loudly, "Damn it, damn it, we are still against the sun, against the sun!"
Couldn't the Redemption Army choose to launch the attack in the afternoon? ! The Elf Commander covered his eyes with his hands, climbed up the tree swiftly, and standing high up, he saw the mighty army in the distance.
As the intelligence said, an army of about 80,000 people is approaching the Monster Forest.
The most elite among them were the four legion phalanxes at the front, their armor gleaming in the sunlight.
Although it is not known whether those were just a few pieces of armor for bluffing or if everyone was really wearing armor, it is certain that these four legions are definitely much more elite than the four dusty infantry phalanxes behind them.
Furthermore, the subsequent vibrational changes of the Redemption Army confirmed the Elf Commander's guess—
The four elite legions were seen standing still to rest about 1,200 meters away from the Monster Forest, while the four dusty cannon fodder phalanxes at the back stepped forward in an unsightly chaotic formation and entered the range of the elven longbowmen.
Further away, the elf commander saw the sedan chair that should be used exclusively by priests, and the cavalry standing by.
(No, the distance is too far, we need to get closer.) He muttered in his heart, turned around and waved to the ranger captain who was waiting below:
"Free fire! Retreat immediately after five rounds!"
"Free fire! Five rounds!"
"Free Fire!"
The elf commander's orders were effectively conveyed.
The rangers, regular troops, and some young archers with long-range precision shooting ability who were on standby below pulled the simple and practical elven longbows in their hands.
All the elves were chanting something, perhaps for their loved ones, perhaps for glory, or perhaps simply to avenge their husbands who died hundreds of years ago.
Whoosh—
Even if the elves do not communicate verbally, they will at some point have something in common with the group and then directly "fire" at each other.
A black rain of arrows suddenly rose from the edge of the Monster Forest, and the arrows produced in the Oak Factory flew towards the vanguard of the Redemption Army with a cold glow.
But the Redemption Army had obviously done enough homework on the original tactics of the elves. Many people shouted and raised their stacked shields after discovering the rain of arrows. Those inferior shields were born in large numbers, not to mention that they also had the benefits of divine magic!
The fastest arrow suddenly stopped in mid-air, and after an explosion of golden light visible to the naked eye, it lightly hit the wooden shield.
The ranged magic of the Church of Light, group shield!
Although its individual strength is not as high as that of a single shield, it can cover all units in a certain area.
It may be because cannon fodder is not worth giving too many resources, the group shield applied to the cannon fodder phalanx is obviously very fragile.
But even so, the group shield still significantly buys the cannon fodder an extra second or two of survival opportunity.
“Boom boom boom—”
The first few arrows were blocked, but the arrows from the back that were not blocked at all were much more powerful.
Under the burst of the elven longbow, these arrows easily penetrated one layer of wooden shields, two layers of wooden shields at the farthest distance, and finally penetrated the bodies of many people, but that was all.
The Redemption Army's cannon fodders advanced against the corpses of their allies that had been riddled with corpses. It was as if the guys with shields on their shoulders that they were holding in their hands were not their fellow believers, but convenient cover that had come from nowhere.
"A bunch of inhumane things!" The elf commander could only curse upon seeing this.
Because this round of volleys may have killed only a few hundred people. "Keep shooting, keep shooting! Then retreat immediately! Lure them into our encirclement! Hurry!"
The elf was anxiously preparing for the second round of volleys.
But for the soldiers of the Redemption Army, their morale was not affected by this.
On the one hand, it was because the dry food they ate early this morning was mixed with a lot of addictive drugs, on the other hand, it was because their brains reacted slowly after eating humans for a long time, on the other hand, it was because it was not them who died and they had an extra human shield in their hands, and the most important aspect was the enhancement magic cast by the priest on them.
"Great God of Light! God of Light! Let us ascend to heaven!"
The magic twisted their minds, making them like wild beasts screaming for war. Angels from heaven danced in their eyes, and the monster forest in front of them became a sickly pig-headed demon.
As long as the devil is killed, even those who have committed the most irreparable crimes can be forgiven and go to heaven.
Those who are lucky enough to survive can also obtain wealth and glory, because plundering monsters and elves is allowed by the Lord.
They were fearless under the strong stimulation, and they pushed forward under the rain of arrows to a place less than 600 meters away from the Monster Forest. This was already the fourth volley of fire from the elves.
The fifth volley was approaching, the cannon fodders shouted the slogan of the God of Light, and the elite troops behind them also began to advance.
But in the eyes of the Elf Commander, the man carrying the sedan and the group of knights still showed no signs of moving.
Isn't this too cautious?! The commander gritted his teeth, and at this moment, he noticed that a second sun seemed to appear faintly in the sky...
Could it be…
His face changed drastically, and he turned around and roared to the people below: "Everyone turn around, archers retreat immediately! Go! Run now!"
That was a type of light magic used for nighttime lighting. Before the commander could explain anything, he saw a strong golden light bursting out from the tree in front of him. His own shadow stood out in the golden light, and he even felt the heat behind him because of the light!
Is this the power of a priest with many followers?! A magic spell used for night lighting can have the power to burn the skin?!
The commander swallowed hard. Fortunately, no elves were hit except the young soldiers.
They turned their heads and casually threw arrows to complete the fifth volley, then carried the wounded whose eyes were temporarily blinded by the strong light and fled.
They will be on standby at the rear. The trap area is 600 meters from the edge of the Elf Forest to the rear.
A large number of Golems were buried shallowly in the ground, and the howitzer Golems in the rear, which had already made trajectory corrections, were also ready to follow orders and fire at any time.
Everything is waiting for the moment when the Redemption Army enters the forest, everything is waiting for the moment when the riflemen kill the priests and the crusaders with the signal of gunfire!
But until then…
There is still one more hurdle to overcome.
The elf commander released magic, putting himself in a state of invisibility and magic barrier at the same time.
In the distance, the priest used divine magic to command the cannon fodder in front who were once again hit by a volley of fire:
"Forward! Advance at all costs! Those who have javelins and bows and arrows should immediately launch them into the Monster Forest until our vanguard and elite troops enter the forest!"
In the formation of the four legions that the priest had high hopes for, four groups of archers ran out of the ranks and fired three rounds of projectiles before the cannon fodder legion broke into the monster forest.
Of these three rounds of projectiles, only a few hit the forest, but many arrows hit the back of the cannon fodder's head.
The priest was a little embarrassed for a moment. After asking the archers to move forward for a distance, he was finally satisfied to see the scene of rain of arrows shooting into the depths of the forest without stopping.
The cannon fodder army was waiting patiently at the edge of the forest, while the elite troops were still on their way forward.
Once they meet, they will go directly into the Monster Forest and start a full-scale attack in the forest—
By then, the scarce forces of the elves and demons will be completely surrounded by me, and I will accomplish the great task of resolving the Elf Kingdom earlier than Bishop Stephen!
The pastor felt itchy as he thought that a scarf of glory and wealth was about to be draped over his shoulders.
But then again…
"It's not safe yet... but my magic is almost beyond the distance."
He frowned and muttered. As the army advanced, the number of believers around him became fewer and fewer, and the strength of his magic became weaker and weaker.
The "illumination technique" that could originally burn the skin directly can now only emit a stronger golden light.
He had to move forward, otherwise it would not be a small matter that the intensity of his illumination magic would decrease further, but a big matter that after leaving the range of his own magic, the cannon fodders who lost the benefits of his magic would fall into chaos.
Divine magic cannot directly eliminate the fear and pressure in people's hearts. What it can do is just to "cover" them with courage and glory.
Once the magic is lifted, the previously accumulated negative emotions will burst out in an instant.
At that time, if the cannon fodder army directly fled, it would be a small matter. But if they directly lost their minds on the spot and became "madmen" who could not distinguish between friend and foe, it would be a fatal matter.
The pastor cannot let this kind of thing affect his future.
But for some reason... I was clearly out of the range of the elven longbows... Those elven longbowmen should have been defeated and were fleeing deep into the forest...
Why do I still have a bad feeling in my heart
The priest fell into deep thought, while the captain of the crusade beside him said that if they didn't move forward, the soldiers in the front would soon be out of the range of the divine magic.
"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer. Anyway, my range of influence is estimated to be more than a hundred meters deep inside... Wait a little longer. I always have a bad feeling. Do you think that the elves can only shoot longbows this far?"
"Yes."
"Okay, wait a little longer."
The priest muttered, ordered the bearers of the sedan chair to carry him forward a few steps and then stopped.
He was testing whether an arrow would go straight to his head. To this end, he had reduced the output of area-of-effect magic and held a single-person magic barrier in his hand to save his life at any time.
He waited for two minutes but saw no arrows. Even though the legion's archers had already shot all their arrows at the Monster Forest, the elves did not launch any dangerous attacks on him.
Then what about the ominous premonition in my heart
The priest pondered, while the elven commander, who had nearly ordered the riflemen to fire, shouted in relief.
The enemy priest was still outside the accurate range of the rifle, and he was stuck in that position, and as expected, he had powerful magic in his hands to protect himself - fortunately, I didn't give the order to open fire.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but the sight of the Redemption Army soldiers pouring into the forest below still made this experienced commander feel tingling.
These guys were more like demons than humans. Their eyes radiated a green light more terrifying than the most terrifying beasts. They were obviously in a state of hallucination, and they didn't even regard the corpses of their companions on their shoulders as human shields as their former teammates, which left a very deep impression on the elf commander.
He shook his head and turned to check the condition of the riflemen - a few unlucky guys had their barriers pierced by arrows, but fortunately the arrows did not cause damage to vital parts. As long as the wounds were stopped from bleeding in time, survival would not be a problem.
The commander secretly watched the wounded elves bandaging their wounds with cloth with the help of their companions. Below them were the surging Redemption Army soldiers, while the priest in the distance still had no intention of moving forward.
The Elf Commander was already wondering if he had been exposed. If things continued like this, the Redemption Army soldiers at the front would soon pass through the ambush circle and discover the ambushers hiding deep in the rear.
If they cannot kill the priest and bring these lunatics with the highest morale to the bottom of collapse, then even with the help of golems, the coalition of elves and demons will suffer huge losses.
If the priest is determined not to move forward, the commander can also try to attack the Redemption Army below to create chaos and confuse the priest's judgment.
But if he did that, he would never have the chance to accomplish the original important goal of killing the priests and the crusaders.
To fight or not to fight
At this moment, the Elf Commander was making a difficult choice between the "most important goal" and the "most conservative result". In the distance, the priest was finally unable to sit still.
If this continues, the soldiers at the front will be out of his protection. His inexplicable foreboding premonition might be a "warning" that he has done too many bad things.
At worst, I can offer a virgin to the God of Light to atone for my sins when I return. With this thought in mind, the priest ordered the bearers to move forward.
However, he still ensured at least two layers of single-target divine magic barriers for himself, and then concentrated the rest of his divine power on range-enhancing divine magic.
He needed the soldiers to advance tirelessly with the highest morale, he needed the warriors of the Redemption Army to gain glory and wealth for himself, he needed many things - and those things could not dirty the hands of the priest.
Let you become the sinners who commit murder for my money—the priest's body swayed slowly along with the sedan chair, and the knights of the Crusader Army beside him followed him with a serious expression.
He was no longer afraid of that inexplicable premonition.
And his proud and confident look as he moved forward finally gave the elf commander an opportunity!
The fat guy sitting in the sedan finally fucking moved forward!
He raised his head, raised his hands high, and then pulled them down suddenly.
Then all the elf riflemen raised their guns according to his instructions. They pulled the bolts with the slightest movement and pushed the bullets into the chambers. They used their extraordinary strength and the most sophisticated sights to aim at the swaying figure on the sedan chair. At this moment, the Redemption Army cannon fodder that had entered the depths of the forest had already penetrated 300 meters.
The soldier, who was far away from the range of the priest's magic, felt a little tired. He sat down on a large rock shallowly buried in the ground, panting.
Because he was too far away from the priest's grace, the illusion of heaven disappeared from his eyes, and was replaced by a forest that seemed inexplicably quiet, the trembling of his own pounding heart, and the taste of blood on his hands.
He wants to rest for a while.
The priest's advance injected divine power into his body.