The Ancient Elves were a colossal force, their territories spread across nearly every corner of the Martial Holy Land.
Aside from the Elf King's grand stronghold, there were twenty-one other territories of critical importance.
The Ancient Elves had dispatched the finest experts from the Elf Kingdom to garrison each of these twenty-one camps.
Yet even so, they remained overwhelmingly on the defensive against the Dark Hall's periodic offensives. The current state of the war was far from optimistic.
Although the Martial Emperor armies of the Greenwood Mountain, led by the Forging Immortal and the others, had joined the battlefield and considerably eased the pressure on the Ancient Elves…
The Fierce Beasts unleashed by the Dark Hall were growing ever stronger. In fact, many of them were no longer the same Ancient Fierce Beasts that had once been sealed within the Blood Devouring Killing Formation — they had somehow evolved, their forms becoming far more grotesque and their strength far more terrifying.
As a result, the war between the Ancient Elves and the Dark Hall still left the elves at a disadvantage.
Under these circumstances, even the little princess of the Ancient Elves, Xian Miaomiao, could not sit still any longer. She volunteered to go defend a territory just outside the Elf Kingdom.
Originally, the Elf King had refused, but under Xian Miaomiao's persistent insistence, he had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
However, the Dark Hall seemed to have known about this in advance. The very moment Xian Miaomiao arrived at that territory, the Dark Hall led a massive army in an assault on the position — and this time, it was the fiercest attack yet.
"Damn it! The Dark Hall was clearly prepared for this. They came for the princess!"
The lord of this territory stood within the great formation, atop the city wall, watching the Ancient Fierce Beasts besieging the barrier and the masses of Dark Hall experts beyond them. His brow was tightly furrowed, his unease profound.
Since the war with the Dark Hall had begun, they had clashed with the enemy dozens of times. And though those encounters had seen far more defeats than victories, every single one had been a head-on confrontation.
They had to uphold the dignity of the Ancient Elves. They could not be cowards who hid behind their walls.
But this time, the Dark Hall had sent far too many Fierce Beasts. There were even ten at the seventh level of Martial Emperor.
And the strongest protector they had here was an Ancient Elf guardian — one who had come specifically to protect Xian Miaomiao. Yet even he was only a seventh-level Martial Emperor. With just him alone, he was obviously no match for those ten Fierce Beasts.
This was, without question, the most ferocious offensive the Dark Hall had ever launched against them. They could not hope to contend head-on; all they could do was defend.
And now this great formation was their last line of defense. If it fell, they would be truly finished.
It would be one thing to lose the territory, but if Xian Miaomiao were killed as well, that was a responsibility he absolutely could not bear.
"Guardian, if the formation is breached… please do not concern yourself with us. Take the princess and flee," the lord of the territory suddenly dropped to his knees before the guardian beside him, making the request with utmost sincerity.
"What are you—" Seeing the lord kneel before him, the guardian felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. But in the end, he nodded. He understood that Xian Miaomiao's importance to the Ancient Elves far exceeded that of a single territory.
"Open the formation's gate. I'm going out to slaughter those beasts." Just then, a sweet yet powerful voice rang out.
Everyone standing on the city wall turned to look and froze. Before them stood an extraordinarily beautiful young girl, her blue eyes as clear as water and utterly captivating.
But those normally crystalline eyes now burned with fury.
She was none other than the little princess of the Ancient Elves — Xian Miaomiao.
"Your Highness, you absolutely must not!" Seeing that Xian Miaomiao intended to go out there right now, the lord's face turned pale with fright. Left with no other option, he turned his gaze toward the guardian.