A different world game? A different world game!

Chapter 1133 It's Hard to Leave My Homeland

The commander wore elven armor with silver leaf patterns, and the legendary rapier "Dawn" hung at his waist. The sword was already half an inch out of its sheath, but he forcibly pressed it back down.

As a commander, he must maintain a holistic perspective and cannot easily commit to the front lines.

But the current battle situation is sliding towards the brink of getting out of control.

While the five legendary void creatures were temporarily held back, the number of ordinary void creatures was virtually endless.

The city walls were damaged in many places, and the casualties of the defending troops continued to increase. Their magic power and physical strength were approaching their limits.

And the most fatal thing is—

Elrond raised his head and looked towards the northern horizon.

That sky had been dyed a solidified, chilling dark purple.

Along the purple edges, countless thick veins, like blood vessels, pulsate and spread slowly, as if the internal organs of a living creature are trying to envelop the entire world.

The devouring line is already within reach.

He could even clearly see fine spatial cracks appearing in the air less than 500 meters directly in front of the fortress.

The cracks, like the surface of shattered porcelain, continued to extend and overlap, with a viscous purple energy flow beginning to seep from their center.

A new void rift is about to open at the foot of the city walls.

Once the rift forms, a large number of void creatures will flood directly into the fortress, and the Devouring Line will follow closely behind, swallowing the entire fortress along with all the defenders inside into the void's heartland.

Time is running out.

"Commander!" An elven lieutenant rushed up the command tower, his voice urgent. "Emergency communication from the Night's Watch command: The second phase of the evacuation order has been issued! The Andal Spirit Fortress must be evacuated completely within one hour!"

Although the timeframe sounds tight, it's entirely within their control.

Elrond took a deep breath, suppressing the resentment and pain in his heart.

He had known this moment would come, but when it actually arrived, the almost obsessive longing for his homeland that belonged to the elves still gripped his heart like an invisible hand.

Are elves so reluctant to leave their homeland?

As the dominant species, the elves have lived on the continent of Tete since birth, and this place happens to be the center of the continent, giving them a unique advantage.

So the elf never thought of moving it.

They will always be on this continent.

In addition, their long lifespans and their deep connection with this land make them all the more intimately connected.

Even their lives were mostly spent on this land.

I never thought about leaving, and I never really left.

This time, they really have to abandon their homeland.

Only now did they realize how much they cherished their homeland.

Even better than dwarfs.

This is the Crown of the Green Forest, a sacred place guarded by the spirits of Andal for three thousand years, an emerald gem sung in countless elven poems.

Now, they have to give it up themselves.

“…Execute the evacuation procedure.” Elrond’s voice was deep but clear. “According to the pre-arranged plan, evacuate in batches. Prioritize the evacuation of the wounded, the mage ranks, and logistics personnel. The combat order will cover the rear.”

Even if it's hard to leave one's homeland, one must still leave.

Preserve more strength.

When they win, they can also revitalize this land more quickly.

"Yes!"

The orders were rapidly transmitted throughout the fortress via a data-driven command network.

Throughout the city walls, the soldiers, though exhausted, displayed remarkable discipline.

No one panicked, and no one fought over it.

The first to be evacuated were the seriously wounded and the mages who had exhausted their magic.

They were helped or carried on stretchers as they walked toward the massive directional teleportation array that had been prepared long ago in the central square of the fortress.

The magic circle was maintained by six high-ranking elven mages, and each activation could instantly teleport hundreds of people to the "Sengge Fortress" transfer station 500 kilometers away.

A flash of silver light, and batches of people disappeared.

The defensive fire on the city wall did not weaken—the soldiers covering the rear knew they had to hold out until the very last moment to buy time for their comrades to evacuate.

Arrows continued to rain down, spells continued to roar, and projectiles from various alchemical weapons were hurled out indiscriminately as if they were free.

The living plants controlled by the druids continued their frenzied attack.

Resources are consumed without regard to cost.

Since these resources can't be taken with us, all we can do is unleash a barrage of firepower in the remaining time.

The Night Watchmen have plenty of supplies, except for these.

But out of the corner of everyone's eye, they couldn't help but glance at the increasingly clear and closer purple sky to the north.

The crack is expanding, growing from a fine line into a ten-meter-long spatial rift with constantly cracking edges.

Purple, tentacle-like streams of energy emerged from the crack, spreading towards the fortress like venomous snakes that had caught the scent of blood.

"Second batch, evacuate!" Elrond ordered in the command channel.

Ranged archers, support priests, and engineers began to retreat in an orderly manner.

The density of firepower on the city walls began to decrease.

The void creatures keenly sensed this change and their attack suddenly intensified.

"Hold on! Buy the brothers some time!" a human shield captain roared, slamming his tower shield heavily on the ground. Behind him, ten shield guards formed a tight arc, desperately blocking a breach that was about to be broken through.

Loran stood on the watchtower, the frequency of the bowstring twanging reaching its limit.

His quiver was already half empty, but every arrow was still precise and deadly, pinning down the elite monsters that tried to pour in through the gaps in the firepower.

But his gaze would occasionally sweep over a certain spot on the city wall.

There, a dozen or so druids did not leave with the rest of the group; they remained at their posts, even more dedicated than before.

The one leading the group was the Druid Elder, Ferragen Linyu.

He was over two thousand years old, and was considered an elder among the elves.

Most importantly, he was among the first Druids.

Ferragan's face had the texture of ancient wood, his beard and hair were a mix of gray and green, and his eyes were as deep as a pool in the forest.

At this moment, he placed his hands on the core section of the city wall—where the "Natural Resonance" rune array was engraved, serving as the control center for the fortress's activated vegetation system.

As he poured in his natural energy, the vines on the surface of the city wall grew wildly, tearing the three bone cone crabs that had just climbed onto the city wall to pieces.

But on Ferragan's face, there was no ease of impending evacuation; instead, there was a deep, almost tragic tranquility.

"Third batch, combat reserve, evacuate!" Elrond's voice rang out again.

Most of the soldiers began to fight and retreat.

Ferragan finally released his hand from the city wall.

He turned to look at Commander Elrond, who was walking briskly towards him. “Commander Elrond,” Feragen’s voice was old and calm, “let me stay behind. I will cover your retreat.”

Elrond paused, his brow furrowed: "Elder Ferragan, we don't need to cover our retreat."

"The fortress is equipped with seventeen self-destructing rune traps, a triple energy overload device, and the final burst of the 'Wrath of Nature' barrier."

"These are enough to turn this fortress into a tomb of emptiness after we have all evacuated, giving us at least a half-hour window to evacuate."

This is a standard procedure designed jointly by the Night's Watch engineers and the elven mages.

Each one has one.

And it has already been proven that it works very well.

Ferragan slowly shook his head, his grey-green eyes reflecting the pulsating purple sky that was constantly approaching from outside the city walls.

“Elrond, you and I both understand,” his voice was soft yet exceptionally clear, piercing through the increasingly intense sounds of battle around him, “the eruption of the ‘Wrath of Nature’ barrier is pure destructive energy, it is ‘fire.’ It can destroy, it can purify, but it cannot ‘heal’ or ‘continue.’”

He raised a hand, his fingertips gently brushing against a rough section of the city wall beside him, which was now shimmering with a faint light.

"The Spirit of Andal is more than just a fortress. It is the convergence point of the natural spiritual veins of the Crown of the Green Forest over three thousand years, and the sanctuary where the souls of countless ancient trees rest. Its roots are deeply embedded in every inch of this land and in every stream."

Ferragan's gaze fell upon the ancient trees and vines below the city walls, struggling painfully against the purplish-black erosion, yet still fiercely fighting back under the druids' influence.

"If we leave with an explosion like this, what we will leave behind is a scorched earth, utterly dead, ravaged by both the void and our rage. The natural veins will be brutally severed and polluted, the souls of ancient trees will have nowhere to rest, and this land... will lose all possibility of revival."

This method would certainly work in other places, but the environment would be damaged even more thoroughly.

However, such destruction can also remove some of the pollution from the void to some extent, so it's hard to say whether it's good or bad.

But it's different here.

This is the birthplace of the Druids; it is not just a region, but a natural convergence point for a large part of the continent of Tete.

If the same problem occurs here, the price will be the immense difficulties they will face when rebuilding their homes later.

It's even quite possible that they'll be naturally rejected here.

Because part of the destruction came from themselves.

Even if accepted, such repairs would be many times greater than the past.

That's definitely in the thousands of years.

Even elves, with their concept of time, wouldn't perceive this time as a short period.

Not to mention that it will be a golden age, where every minute and every second will be of utmost importance.

Elrond's lips tightened.

He certainly knew that Ferragan was telling the truth.

The Night's Watch's tactics are efficient and ruthless, aiming to kill as many enemies as possible and slow down the advance, but rarely considering the "future" of abandoned lands.

Because in this war, "future" is a far too luxurious word.

The Night's Watch are just that pragmatic; they don't care about these things at all.

At such times, the Night's Watch's gaze is fixed on the entire world, taking the world as a whole.

“But Elder…” Elrond’s voice was strained, “what can you do if you stay? The Devouring Line is right before our eyes, the Void Rift is about to open. Your power alone cannot stop it…”

“It’s not obstruction,” Ferragan interrupted him, a strange, almost divine smile on his face. “It’s ‘transformation,’ it’s ‘rest,’ it’s… ‘funeral.’”

He turned around and placed his hands once again on the "natural resonance" array of the city wall.

This time, his entire body began to radiate a soft emerald green light. The light was not dazzling, but it carried a heavy, reassuring sense of weight.

“I am one of the elves, one of the first seekers of the druid path. My life is deeply intertwined with this forest, these ancient trees, and the spiritual veins of this land.”

Ferragan's voice seemed to resonate with the city walls and the earth, echoing with a buzzing sound.

“I’m staying here, not for a grand battle. I want to guide the ‘Spirit of Andals’ through the deepest… ‘Long Sleep Ritual’ before the void completely engulfs this place.”

"I will guide, gather, and compress all the remaining natural energy of the fortress, the spiritual veins of the land that have not yet been polluted, and the last vitality of all the ancient trees and living plants."

"It's not for explosions, but for 'condensation' and 'sealing'."

He looked at Elrond, his eyes clear and resolute.

"I will use myself as the guide, this fortress as the coffin, and the remaining natural will of the entire crown of green forest as my burial companion."

"We will sink together into the deepest part of the earth and enter a near-eternal 'slumber'. Our existence, our natural laws, will become a 'seed of order' buried here, a 'amber' that is wrapped in thick void silt but still retains the purest core of life."

Amber, as if time had stood still.

Just wait, and when the next generation opens up, everything will come rushing back.

“The void can devour everything on the surface, but it cannot truly ‘digest’ this core of order, which is formed by sacrifice and will.”

Perhaps, but that would have to wait until the world is truly destroyed.

But that's obviously impossible.

"On the contrary, our slumber will be like a nail, a deeply buried thorn, stuck in the 'rule wound' of this devoured area."

"It will continue to emit a faint but indelible natural repulsion, slowly 'polluting' the purity of the void, making this area forever unable to become a stable 'heartland' of the void."

"It might even... in the distant future, when the world takes a turn for the better, become a possible 'green' that can recover."

Ferragan's words left Elrond and the other elven officers who had not yet evacuated speechless.

This is not a tactic; it is an epic sacrifice and strategic plan that transcends the outcome of war.

Moreover, the effect will be better, and more time will be gained.

The goal can be achieved, and more benefits can be obtained.

but.

This requires sacrifice.

A powerful and legendary druid.

Is it worth it?

"This...this requires unimaginable natural affinity and soul strength, complete unity with the earth's spiritual veins...the process will be incredibly painful, and..."

Elrond's voice trembled slightly.

"Moreover, there is no turning back."

Ferragan calmly replied, "My soul will become one with this land, entering into eternal slumber, never to awaken again."

This is a difficult decision.

Because of the existence of the Black and White Dragons, the souls that died in the Void War will be protected and will have time to be resurrected after the war.

But this choice now will be true eternal sleep.

“But this is my choice, Elrond. Let an old man on his deathbed do something more meaningful for his homeland one last time. Rather than be reduced to ashes in an explosion, I would rather… be buried with the trees.”

Just then, a loud, sharp sound, like shattering glass, came from the north!

The ten-meter-long spatial rift finally took shape, expanding into an irregular hole with purple viscous fluid flowing along its edges!

"Waaaaah—!"

An even denser and more chaotic void energy surged forth like a flood bursting its banks.

Accompanied by chilling screechs, countless void creatures, their forms even more twisted and their auras more powerful, surged forth from the cracks like a tidal wave, heading straight for the city walls, whose firepower had been greatly reduced! (End of Chapter)