The Lunlang family's allied forces collapsed before they could even launch a proper siege. This collapse had two consequences. First, it caused those armies and forces that intended to support the Lunlang family to completely abandon them, though no one realized this outcome on the night the Lunlang family patriarch fled in panic. The second, more direct impact was that the royal troops, originally intended as a reserve force, lost their reason to come to their aid and were happy to calmly withdraw after absorbing the routed army.
Thus, the war caused by the elves' inexplicable invasion finally came to an end.
The most bizarre and talked-about aspect of this war is how the Donic family, initially crippled by the elves, reversed the tide of battle. Despite the elves' pincer attack on both the royal army and the ducal forces, they held their own and won consecutive victories, ultimately forcing the elves to retreat. Meanwhile, the Lunlang family, who suffered a similar fate but still retained a large army, lost face and territory, and were reduced to a lowly earldom.
Along with the new young lady head of the Donic family, the Aruru mercenary force, which shone brightly at the end of the war, was also the subject of much discussion in the streets and alleys of the capital. Their combat prowess and the fact that they were human mercenaries were also hot topics of conversation.
Correspondingly, there was a barrage of criticism and merciless mockery directed at the Lunlang family's army. As for the Royal Army, who also failed to gain an advantage against the Aruru mercenaries—cough, cough, cough, what a joke! Could the Royal Army be considered to have suffered a defeat? No, the Royal Army certainly didn't suffer a defeat!
Therefore, all the pressure of defeat fell on the Lunlang family. Everyone mocked the Lunlang family's army, saying they couldn't even defeat the elves, let alone the Aruru people. It was as if the Lunlang family had lost the battle.
But in reality, the one who lost the most was the Lunlang family. Not only did their territory shrink by two-fifths, but they also lost many loyal and experienced soldiers, and even more importantly, they lost the royal secret network on which they depended for their development.
After all, differing opinions began to emerge within the royal family regarding whether to maintain relations with the Lunlang family or to expand relations with the Donic family.
On the other hand, the Donic family, who had achieved a great victory, also faced some happy troubles.
The first thing that troubled Serena was how to utilize this extra land. It wasn't actually a major economic zone, but it was vast, roughly half the size of the Donic family's land. Even if it wasn't economically developed, it had the important town of Dorgnitz and the weapons-producing village of Duran, located further east across the river from River Valley. Serena's problem was that their population wasn't large enough; sending more people to these two places would leave her own territory stretched thin.
On the other hand, there were overtures from both the royal family and the ducal family. This was something Serena had never imagined. The Donic family had always been overlooked, and the key to both sides' efforts lay with the Lunlang family. Now, suddenly being valued by both sides simultaneously made Serena quite arrogant. Even more intriguing was that, besides the overt courtship of the two powers, she also had the support of the elves. This was her greatest trump card and the foundation for her determination to seize those territories.
Of course, there was also the improvement in the morale of the army. After several battles, besides the mercenaries, the equipment and morale of their own troops had also greatly improved. Andrew's troops, in particular, had become the most relied-upon force besides the Aluru Legion. And the Aluru man Yun Zhe could not be ignored. Although the final battle report stated that the surprise attack that defeated Andrew's Legion was jointly planned by Cyrus and Philby, no one doubted that Yun Zhe was the true mastermind behind the operation. Especially after Cyrus revealed how they initially broke through the Royal Legion's encirclement.
At this time, Serena had achieved great success in land, politics, and military affairs, which was in stark contrast to her disheveled and homeless state just a few months earlier.
Of course, a practical concern also brought Serena back to reality: the debt owed to the elves. Although both parties agreed to start repaying the money next year, Serena, who didn't have any other source of income, was still somewhat worried about the 20,000 gold coins owed.
But that's not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that Yun Zhe is planning to leave.
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