Chapter 561: Bay Territory's Harvest
A hidden unit slipped away from Black Crow Fortress under the blood-red moonlight.
They moved westward, carefully avoiding Cole Elf cities and villages, as well as the rampaging looters.
Looking at the desolate ruins in the distance, Sera's eyes were filled with calm and indifference.
The grudge between surface elves and Drow Elves wasn't something Sera cared much about.
She was only wary of the Cole Elf Kingdom, especially after learning more about them.
The Cole Elves did not perform weakly—in fact, they were quite impressive.
Despite daily reports of towns and villages being destroyed, they still displayed strong combat ability and resistance.
Even in the face of the savage gray dwarves and Drow Elf armies, they remained unyielding.
It must be said, the gray dwarf raider groups and Drow Elf coalition were among the best combat forces in the underground world.
Perhaps there were even more terrifying unknown entities deep within the dark abyss.
But for now, the alliance of gray dwarves and Drow Elves was enough to pose a massive threat to any kingdom or power.
Nearly 400,000 troops had been deployed for almost a month, yet they still hadn't conquered all the Cole Elf cities in this region.
That fact spoke volumes.
Wog, who accompanied them, clearly realized this too. He was very glad about the partnership with Bay Territory and also curious to see the Cole Elf Kingdom's true strength.
Of course, before that, they needed to reach the depths of the Cantrell Mountains as fast as possible to plan the construction of a gray dwarf fortress and base.
They moved swiftly, always skirting around Cole Elf population centers and advancing in stealth.
Behind them, over 500,000 Cole Elf troops had once again surrounded Black Crow Fortress and the surrounding cities.
Unfortunately, they were too late—over a hundred raider teams, each a thousand strong, had already broken through the encirclement and were causing destruction elsewhere.
After the Cole Elf army crushed a gray dwarf unit with overwhelming force—
The previously united gray dwarf forces quickly splintered and began wandering independently.
The Cole Elf army began tightening the encirclement.
They sent an elite force of over 50,000 soldiers straight for Black Crow Fortress, intending to reclaim the stronghold controlling the passage.
Unfortunately, they underestimated their enemy.
Black Crow Fortress had been further reinforced and upgraded—it was not only taller but much thicker.
Every 50 meters stood a tall arrow tower, densely covered in hundreds of firing ports.
More than 30,000 elite gray dwarf warriors were stationed within this increasingly menacing and fortified city.
What frustrated the Cole Elf commander most was that one of the city's original strongest defenses—the Maze Lock—had now become a shield for the gray dwarf forces.
That meant one of the Cole Elves' strongest trump cards—their spellcasters—
Had been rendered completely ineffective.
Their spellcasters couldn't operate under the interference caused by the Maze Lock, nor join regular combat squads.
As a result, the difficulty of taking Black Crow Fortress had increased significantly.
Matthew, watching the approaching Cole Elf army, noticed Prince Kreiser's probing gaze and turned to him with a smile:
"The longer we hold out here, the more chaos others can create elsewhere."
Though he said that, Prince Kreiser was not the self-sacrificing type.
Watching others feast while he took all the hits naturally left him unhappy!
After some hesitation, Prince Kreiser couldn't help but say:
"If we suffer heavy losses and lose Black Crow Fortress, the whole plan could fail."
"If I lose this battle, your Bay Territory gains nothing."
Matthew understood his meaning, and with a slight smile, comforted him:
"As long as we win this battle, everyone will see the weakness of the Cole Elf army and be able to rest easy."
Still doubtful, Prince Kreiser was about to enhance the fortress defenses.
He occasionally glanced in astonishment at the Bay Territory soldiers cloaked nearby.
He watched them efficiently give orders, carry materials to the walls, set up defensive weapons, and rapidly complete fortifications against the Cole Elf army.
For the first time, Prince Kreiser discovered that his gray dwarf warriors could actually follow orders and obey commands.
The reason was simple: over the past month, those warriors had been "persuaded" by the others' fists.
Of course, making these unruly, brutal gray dwarves obey without resistance required more than just beatings.
After the stick, a sweet date had to be offered.
The abundant food from Bay Territory was an unprecedented luxury for these gray dwarf warriors.
And to get fine wine, they had to behave and "obey."
The basic version of Bay Territory's military rules proved too much for some gray dwarves.
But that was fine—there were plenty of hungry dwarves waiting for a spot.
Those relying on strength and status were quickly purged.
After removing a full quarter of the gray dwarf soldiers, the newly formed 10,000-strong unit finally had a foundation of discipline and order.
Prince Kreiser had many complaints and opinions about this.
But he endured—for now was not the time to flip the table.
After all, nearly all of Black Crow Fortress's supplies still came from Bay Territory.
He couldn't bear to abandon Black Crow Fortress.
Indeed, rebuilding the entire fortress and deploying over 30,000 gray dwarf warriors had relied heavily on Bay Territory's support.
Bay Territory had invested over 5 million gold coins worth of supplies, along with a 1,000-strong team specialized in training and construction.
Such a massive investment wasn't about goodwill—it was about getting real returns.
Jifan, after tallying up the goods and gains, excitedly reported to Matthew:
"This week we obtained 1,345 types of high-grade magical materials, acquired 72 spellbooks, captured 675 elf spellcasters, and 9.72 million gold coins..."
After the report, Jifan recalled the raiders' greedy eyes and smiled as he continued:
"They don't seem satisfied with our trade terms—some are already plotting to act."
Matthew casually shrugged and flipped through the detailed inventory ledger.
Seeing many rare and critical magical plants, he reminded Jifan:
"If they dare act, give them a harsh lesson. That'll make the rest behave."
"If anyone dares provoke us, raise the prices boldly—after all, they don't have high-level teleportation tech."
Matthew had the confidence to say this because, with the help of Grand Arcanist Cronorman, he had successfully gained control of Black Crow Fortress's vital treasure—the Maze Lock!
That's right—both Matthew and Cronorman were deeply interested in the Maze Lock technology possessed by the Cole Elves.
Not to mention the Dragon Madness Maze Lock that caused massive turmoil and the decline of dragons.
Even the city Maze Locks in every Cole Elf city, which could resist most magical attacks and suppress internal spellcasters, were extremely powerful and practical.
The Maze Lock's control core was the pale blue Arcane Crystal now in Matthew's hand.
Its surface bore no magical markings or ripples, but inside, arcane energy flowed like water.
The entire structure of Black Crow Fortress was compressed into this large Arcane Crystal.
More detailed data slowly appeared before Matthew's eyes.
"Intermediate Maze Lock Core: A Transcendent Arcane Construct, capable of controlling the intermediate Maze Lock built around it. Functions include spell defense, mana manipulation, anti-casting zones, phantom fog, and more."
To control the Maze Lock core, Matthew had expended over 10 million Fate Energy to erase its original permissions.
With research data from Grand Arcanist Cronorman, Matthew confirmed his own control over the Maze Lock.
Only after mastering the Maze Lock of Black Crow Fortress did Matthew realize how much surprise and coincidence had contributed to the success of this raid.
Unlike elemental energy pools, the Maze Lock—
Not only failed to generate magic power, it consumed ambient magic continuously.
In a sense, it enforced an anti-magic zone within the area.
From a deeper level, it severed the inflow of elemental energy while absorbing existing elements.
It essentially functioned like a miniature magic web, achieving large-scale spell effects via preset arcane designs.
From that perspective, deep Maze Lock research greatly enhanced understanding of magic webs and spell essence.
That's why Cole Elf spellcasters were often stronger and more proficient than others.
Now that Matthew controlled Black Crow Fortress's Maze Lock, its expanding effect range encompassed the connecting passage as well.
Other gray dwarf forces and Drow Elves had no chance of mischief with him in control of the Maze Lock.
With his lord's reassurance, Jifan nodded excitedly.
He had long looked down on those greedy fools—perfect chance to practice.
Without a solid beating, those guys would never behave.
That's right—Bay Territory, the mastermind behind the invasion of the Cole Elf Kingdom, was the true victor of this war.
They used the gray dwarves to seize control of the crucial Black Crow Fortress.
By releasing underground raiders to weaken and attack the Cole Elf Kingdom, they paid no military price themselves.
The gray dwarves didn't want to provoke other underground forces—but that didn't mean Bay Territory wouldn't.
Once the underground armies entered the passage—
Bay Territory resealed the internal route in just one night by setting up fortress outposts.
Unless they were willing to use large teleportation arrays to send personnel and supplies back to the underground world.
Otherwise, they could only obediently rely on the golem train tracks built by Bay Territory for mass transport of troops and resources.
The gray dwarves simply couldn't do it—neither strong enough to fight back, nor able to resist, they had no choice but to comply.
The Drow Elves had that ability, but they were unwilling to expend such large amounts of resources. They preferred investing in their battles against the Cole Elves, so they temporarily chose to pay the fee.
Of course, these murder-happy arsonists were far from easy prey.
Once they found the chance—or once the battle was over—they would surely turn their blades toward Bay Territory.
But they wouldn't live to see that day!
Precious and rare magical resources, including Maze Locks, Longevity Techniques, and War Golem crafting technologies, quickly flowed into Bay Territory through the hands of hardworking gray dwarves and Drow Elves.
Bay Territory's research institutes and factories greedily devoured and digested this technology and these materials, rapidly improving their production capabilities and methods.
Unknowingly, Bay Territory's production technology had gradually absorbed the strengths of the Netheril Empire, Dwarven Kingdom, gray dwarves, Cole Elves, Drow Elves, and Ail Elves.
Combined with Matthew's knowledge and foresight from his previous life, it had become an immensely powerful production hub.
Although its scale couldn't yet meet the vast needs of war—
It demonstrated extraordinary potential and would surely become a world-class factory known across the Material Plane.
That's why Matthew fully supported Prince Kreiser—
While continuing to hold Black Crow Fortress, they would create as much chaos as possible within the Cole Elf Kingdom.
They deserved it!
The army before them was the first force the Cole Elf Kingdom had dispatched—but certainly not the last.
What Matthew needed to do now was defeat this powerful army.
Gazing out, Matthew observed their lavish formation.
Uniformly white warhorses emitted faint magical auras—rumored to carry unicorn blood.
Each of these high-grade steeds was worth over a thousand gold coins.
Just the mounts alone cost tens of millions for this 50,000-strong army.
Every elf warrior wore gleaming golden armor that sparkled under sunlight, exuding radiant majesty.
It was clearly fine-grade enchanted armor, just a step below high-level magical equipment.
Even better than Bay Territory's current enchanted armor.
They carried powerful longbows, each etched with dazzling magical runes.
At both sides of each mount, large quivers held arrows with vibrant fletchings, gently swaying.
These soldiers' strength matched their luxury—uniformly at peak mid-tier level, with an average challenge rating of 12.
In the center of the formation, hundreds of carriages rumbled steadily.
These moved with great speed but no jostling—clearly floating carriages suspended mid-air.
On each side of every carriage stood two massive iron golems.
Their emerald-green metal plating blended visually with the surrounding grasslands.
At the rear, 500 giant lizards stomped forward with thunderous steps.
They hauled towering siege weapons—over 200 by count.
Apart from them, airborne shapes also drew attention.
They were massive griffins.
Powerful bodies, enormous beaks, wings spanning five to six meters, and thick, muscular talons.
Griffins were high-level magical beasts, with intelligence comparable to humans.
Some at Legendary tier could even speak.
Atop their backs rode graceful elf knights.
Each had undergone rigorous training, boasting exceptional archery and close-combat skills.
The griffin riders had very high challenge ratings—at least 17+. They served as the army's eyes and a terrifying trump card.
Fortunately, their numbers were small—only 20 to 30.
Matthew instinctively raised an eyebrow, murmuring with interest:
"So it's the Magus Corps? Looks like they're going all-in—this is perfect!"
The Magus Corps—one of the five great armies of the Cole Elf Kingdom.
Each corps numbered up to 200,000. This 50,000 was only a fraction.
This elite force had appeared in multiple expansions in his past life's memories, showcasing formidable might.
In the end, they fell to the overwhelming Demon Scourge.
But for now, they were still one of the strongest military corps.
Yet Matthew wasn't worried at all—after all, it would be Prince Kreiser's gray dwarves doing the fighting.
No matter how many died, Matthew wouldn't feel a thing!
Besides, Matthew and Prince Kreiser might not even lose this time.
The highly mobile, spellcasting-heavy Magus Corps was countered by Black Crow Fortress's current setup.
"Maybe this time we can actually teach the Cole Elves a lesson."
The loss of hundreds of thousands of civilians and nearly 20,000 soldiers had only caused the Cole Elves emotional pain.
But if this regular corps suffered heavy losses—it would cut to the Cole Elf Kingdom's core.
Matthew also wanted to capture a few high-tier elf mages to "study" their skills and spells.