Chapter 227: The Influence of the Elves (Part 1)

After half a month of training, under the orders of Lord Donald, the Dalaran Holy Shield Infantry Corps was set to hold a public drill in front of all the people today. Invitations were also sent in advance to the nobles of the North County, inviting them to watch the demonstration.

A force of three hundred private soldiers might not seem very strong to nobles above the baron rank. However, out of respect for Donald, a powerful mage-lord whose fame had spread throughout the kingdom and even across the continent, almost all those who received the invitations showed up. Many nobles from other regions and the capital even came uninvited.

Dalaran made every effort to accommodate all the guests. Augusta was currently busy with trade matters with Port Leyton, so Catherine temporarily took care of the territorial business affairs. Therefore, Donald assigned Jesse and Catherine, both of noble status, to handle the reception of the visiting nobles. After all, there were many women among the guests, and it was much more convenient to have a female countess handle the reception.

Donald currently owned two baronies and one knightly domain. Although the knightly domain had been granted to someone else, it was still nominally a vassal of the Merlin family, so his private army size could be included as well.

An ordinary knight could train up to a hundred private soldiers, while a baron could have three times that number. Including auxiliary troops obtained through unfair means, a barony could easily field over a thousand soldiers.

After all, a typical baron’s lands usually included at least one town or several villages, each with thousands of inhabitants, making it possible to gather around a thousand potential soldiers.

So even without cheating, he had seven hundred private soldiers at his disposal. With only three hundred so far, it was no wonder some nobles looked down on him. But Donald knew that his three hundred soldiers were not comparable to the thousand soldiers of other nobles.

Including Donald himself, there were only three hereditary nobles above the baron rank in the North County. The other two were Viscount Macbeth and Baron Redmaple. The North County had the fewest nobles, aside from the chaotic area of the Six Southern Towns.

Even the Marquisate of Ansel, which was entirely loyal to one noble family, had numerous vassal domains in the central regions.

Ultimately, this was because the North County was the last region to be developed by the Celts and had the thinnest population.

After hundreds of years of development, the Northlands are no longer as uninhabitable as they once were. Over the years, the population of the Celts has risen steadily—from over 200,000 decades ago to more than 300,000 today, according to official kingdom statistics. In reality, there are many more people not included in these figures, bringing the total population to over 450,000—the highest ever recorded in the Northlands.

Northshire, the largest of the Celtic regions, has a population of less than 50,000, most of whom live in undeveloped wilderness and forests.

However, the emergence of Donald in Northshire has made this once neglected remote area famous throughout the vast kingdom. Everywhere people go, they hear discussions about Dalaran and its lord.

Donald’s purpose in holding these public drills was to enhance the reputation of the Holy Shield Infantry Corps and dispel the perception that the lower ranks of Dalaran lacked military strength.

When the Holy Shield Infantry Corps was established, Donald did not show favoritism; he also arranged employment for all the elves from the Druid tribes, fulfilling his earlier promise.

As people in his domain frequently entered and left the Moonlight Forest these days, curious adventurers flocked to investigate. Donald believed that the truth could not be hidden forever, and the existence of the elves would eventually be revealed. Instead of ordering a cover-up, he let the adventurers themselves disclose their presence.

After all, he himself had high elven bloodline and had even met the elven goddess of moonlight and darkness. He assumed the elven royal court and the Forest Elf Queen, the two major existing elven factions, would not object.

Except for a few young elves, all the elves in the Druid tribes succeeded in completing their transformations at the sacred sites.

To Donald’s surprise, aside from a few who became archers or female hunters, most of these elves acquired professions in the natural domains of Claw Druids, Raptor Druids, and Tree Goblins. Among them, Claw Druids were the most numerous—along with the Wild Druids who already possessed transformation skills, there were over thirty of them. In addition to transforming into bears, many also gained the ability to transform into animals like wolves. Moreover, the Druids’ unique healing skill allowed these beasts of the battlefield to possess healing abilities as well.

The eighteen elf raptor druids are the best scouts and masters of battlefield control. Whether by transforming into storm crows, using their Elffire to weaken enemies’ defenses, or summoning small hurricanes, aside from their crow transformations, raptor druids can actually be classified among the Storm Druids, one of the three major factions of ancient druids representing natural fury.

The dozen or so elf women who took up the profession of tree elves make up the majority; they were originally nature mages and now also possess skills such as archery. Donald felt that tree elves, as a race, were not suitable for these professions, so he named them Wood Speakers—those who guard the forest environment and are adept at communicating with natural plants, a name that suits them perfectly.

Thus, Dalaran’s first elf military forces were officially established: the Druidic Order and the Rangers’ Camp. The Druidic Order is divided into three groups: Feral Druids, Nature Druids, and Storm Druids. The Rangers’ Camp includes elf archers and elf hunters, as well as Wood Speakers and Griffon Riders. There is also one mountain giant outside these groups.

Donald couldn’t help but marvel at the elves’ innate superiority over ordinary humans—this elf tribe, numbering less than a hundred, had all become professionals except for the young! Unfortunately, their weakness lies in their small numbers. But Donald couldn’t create a large population of elves out of thin air; it’s easier to explain the appearance of a few humans, as Dalaran is already well-known. However, if a group larger than elves appeared out of nowhere, not to mention others, even the elves within the druid tribe would surely doubt it.

He would wait for a later time to summon chimeras as well and hand them over to the elves for taming. By then, they would become the third aerial deterrent force in the realm, alongside dragons and griffins.

On the day the Holy Shield Infantry Corps began public drills, the atmosphere in Twilight Town was extremely enthusiastic. The residents of Dalaran were proud and happy to have a systematic and powerful military force in their realm, and they were excited by the news of potential elf armies.

Although most people had never seen elves in person, over the past ten days, through the accounts of adventurers, the news that there was an elf tribe in the Dalaran Forest had spread throughout the entire Northshire. However, since Lord Donald had not given an official confirmation, most people in distant areas considered it a rumor, with few believing it.

The military drills took place on an open area in front of the barracks north of Twilight Town. William had already arranged temporary stands and other facilities.

At this time, many nobles who had come were sitting in the stands waiting, while a large crowd of commoners had gathered around—far exceeding the number of Donald’s official residents. Most of them were ordinary people from the nearby areas who had come to see the spectacle, along with adventurers from various places. When Donald, the lord of Dalaran, appeared there with confident strides, the commoners bowed in respect, especially the local residents who felt deep awe and admiration for him. The nobles in the stands also stood up to greet him, and after Donald and the others responded, they took their seats at the central spot in the stands. To his left and right were Baron Redmaple, as well as Ferdinand and his sister, who had arrived by airship a few days earlier, along with the female sword saint Abel. Speaking of Ferdinand, one must mention his sister, Cornelia. This young princess of the Ansel family became famous for her dance at a royal banquet not long ago. Beyond her title as the “Flower of Ansel,” she also earned the title of sword dancer after receiving a gift from Donald to celebrate her reaching the bronze high rank. Overjoyed, she performed a sword dance in public, leaving the nobles of the capital in awe. Having received Donald’s gift, Cornelia thought of him and, with her teacher and brother’s approval, asked to visit Dalaran. She had never been to the Northlands before; the ladies of the capital claimed it was a poor and backward region with uncivilized people. But she knew such claims were merely the result of those nobles’ envy toward rural nobles. If the lords of the Northlands were rural nobles, then why didn’t anyone dare call the Ansel family peasants or country bumpkins? Moreover, there were rumors that elf tribes lived in Dalaran’s territory. After learning from her brother that these rumors were true, Cornelia, who had never seen the legendary beautiful elves, insisted on going there at all costs. Edwina and her son had experienced the Dual-Headed Dragon Swamp incident alongside Donald, so they naturally knew of the existence of those elf tribes. As a rising star in the military, Ferdinand was very busy, even delegating his monthly transactions with Donald to his household manager. Since Donald had sent them an invitation this time, Ferdinand planned to take the opportunity to catch up and complete the transaction as well. As for the female sword saint Abel, she was simply interested in Donald’s innovative swordsmanship theories. During the time since they parted in Port Raton, she had gained some new insights and wanted to discuss them further with Donald.