He did not understand how this was possible; this was one of the most heavily guarded elven cities in the kingdom. It was impossible for anyone to enter without being seen or without their magic being detected by the invisible magical barrier. Therefore, it should have been impossible for anyone to enter without passing under his watch, unless…
'We were betrayed by someone.'
"Soldier, what is your name?"
"My name is Ocirne Ferrolcen, sir."
The corrupted elf in front of him was very young—at most eighteen years old. His skin was dark, and his hair was white. From the brooch on his chest, he was a recruit who must have just arrived, and since he was a dark elf, it was possible he had been sent by the cult after being corrupted by the rotten part of the World Tree. Anyone would have pitied him for this being his first day, but Kaedryn was not someone who pitied his subordinates.
"Tell me what happened quickly while we move to battle, and you'd better follow me."
"Yes, sir."
The two moved toward the center of the city at great speed. According to what he had said, an elf from inside the city began attacking the guards. After the young elf managed to separate the fight with his fellow recruits, he was ambushed by both the guard and the elf—it was a trap meant to knock out the weaker guards.
Managing to resist the attack, he and his companions were shocked when literally all the civilians and guards did nothing to stop the attack and instead began joining against them. Ocirne managed to escape in time thanks to the sacrifice of his companions.
"I had to use my magic to get here quickly since it was the closest zone where I could report it. That explosion must have been made by one of my companions to draw attention."
From what this young corrupted elf said, one of his companions had explosion magic, which matched what had happened moments earlier.
"So that's it… a revolution has begun."
These elves must have been old followers who had hidden when the former king died and Elithia took the throne. If they betrayed them like this, it meant they knew Princess Elaris had returned. Focusing his eyes on the chaos ahead, he observed several dead dark elves on the ground—all recruits like Ocirne.
Only those bodies were present, meaning he had arrived too late, even as a Circle Six. No—he had not arrived late. From the mana traces in the area, they had been taken, most likely by someone at Circle Eight.
Looking at the dead recruits, he analyzed their likely level.
'From what I see, they are all Circle Four… at least the one who survived was the strongest.'
Kaedryn noticed something about the corrupted dark elf behind him. This elf, two years younger than him, had managed to keep up with his pace quite easily. If he really was Circle Six at eighteen, as he suspected, then they had great potential in their hands.
"Sir, there are explosions happening in the western zone. The attack isn't over yet."
Kaedryn noticed the explosion—but it wasn't only in the west. Both the north and south also began showing signs of attacks happening in sync. That was only possible if a high-level guard had allowed enemies inside, because it was impossible that so many enemies strong enough to cause this chaos could have entered otherwise.
With a hand gesture, he signaled his new subordinate to follow him. They would head south, so he grabbed the magical communication stone to inform the other commanders where he was going.
"You must have noticed the attack. I will cover the southern zone to assist one of our Circle Eight. Split up and help the other two."
"Understood."
Ending the communication, the two moved faster. This was exactly why he had said that three Circle Eights were needed to successfully invade this city.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, someone turned off a communication stone. That person was the Circle Seven spear elf who had appeared to protect his two children during the base attack. His name was Hiderom, one of the main attackers of this invasion.
"The invasion is going well so far, just as that boy said it would."
The plan had been made by the elves, but the boy named Enrico improved it after analyzing it together with the leaders of the attack. Hiderom could not deny that when they originally thought of this plan, he had already prepared himself to lose soldiers—but now he was certain of one thing…
"This first clash of the war will be a massacre."
"You bastard, you'll pay for this!"
Some corrupted elves stood up with holes in their bodies. It was frightening how they were still able to move despite mortal wounds.
"Dust Magic."
"Giant Magic."
The dust summoned by the corrupted elf near the wall began to surround Hiderom with sparks indicating it was about to explode. Meanwhile, behind him, a marble giant appeared. The giant was over ten meters tall, its hands descending to grab him in place. It had been summoned by another elf farther behind, hidden from his sight.
"Hurricane Wind Defense."
With the spear on his shoulder, he spun quickly in place without moving far. When he finished, a hurricane pushed away the explosions that were beginning to occur, and the giant hands trying to grab him were shattered into pieces.
"Hurricane Wind Attack."
Without moving, the already formed hurricane expanded to the giant's size, destroying it completely without leaving a trace. The tower in that area was also swallowed, and the two elves were annihilated by the hurricane without any chance to retaliate.
Stopping the hurricane's motion, he observed more corrupted elves moving toward him. Among them was a Circle Seven, meaning the fight would be somewhat difficult.
'The real problem is that both they and I need to hold back to avoid destroying the entire city.'
This city was considered one of the most important because it allowed control over the northern part of the Elven Dimension. Thanks to the mana the city naturally generated, they could corrupt the dimension more easily. What would normally take years could take months. This also benefited their side. This city would be used to restore the pure nature that once extended across the entire kingdom.
'That's why both sides must remain restrained inside the city… ha, though that was also part of the plan.'