“Go, call all the spiritual seeds and spirit attendants in your tribe here. From today on, I will personally drill you hard so you understand what 'kiting tactics' actually means.”
“Yes!”
The core combat strength of the Wood Elves lay in the elite forces composed of their spiritual seeds and spirit attendants. They assembled in the shortest time possible.
While waiting for them to gather, the high-ranking Wood Elves were already weeping tears of despair.
Qimeng had used them as free labor, forcing them to use natural spells to transplant trees and plants throughout the territory, manually crafting a dense, custom-made training forest.
However, when the elite lolis stepped into this elaborate training ground, everyone was utterly dumbfounded.
There was no high-level magical sparring to be found here.
The instruction Qimeng gave was absurdly simple.
Running!
“Listen up. Your spell proficiency is already high enough. There's no need to do any more pointless target practice.”
Standing on a newly built high platform overlooking the training grounds, Qimeng looked down at the group of young lolis who had changed into lightweight leather armor.
“The upcoming special training will have only one focus: mobile special operations designed specifically to support kiting tactics.”
A commotion broke out below the platform.
“Huh? Physical training?”
“Making Wood Elves, who excel in magic, train in physical skills?”
“Sacred Spirit Lord! With all due respect, we cannot accept such a barbaric training method!”
A petite figure stepped forward from the crowd, her teeth clenched.
It was Eve.
Back in the village, she had taken Xiaomi hostage to threaten Qimeng.
Seeing such absurd training now, she was convinced that Qimeng was simply using this opportunity to mock and seek revenge on them.
“If we waste our energy on running around, we won't have full physical strength and mana when we actually engage the enemy! We won't be able to sustain a high-intensity battle at all! If... if you have a personal grudge against me, you can take it out on me alone! Please do not make a mockery of my people!”
Standing nearby, the Grand Elder kept winking at her, breaking into a cold sweat from sheer terror.
All eyes instantly fell upon the two of them.
“Oh? A personal grudge against you?”
Qimeng looked down on her with disdain, a faint, noncommittal smile playing on her lips.
“I had almost forgotten about that, but it's rare of you to take the initiative to remind me.”
“Listen well. Returning good for evil is not in my vocabulary. Since you have so much backbone, why don't you be the first to experience the consequences of disobeying orders on behalf of your people?”
“Shadow Entangle.”
“Eh? W-Wait a minute...”
The shadows on the ground wriggled forward at lightning speed.
Eve instinctively tried to retreat, but the shadow beneath her feet suddenly came to life. It bound her limbs and flipped the stubborn little loli upside down in midair.
“Since you have so much energy, let's start by restoring your respect for your instructor. Xiaomi, go. Flick her forehead as hard as you can to help her clear her head.”
“You got it! Leave it to me, Master!”
Having held in her frustration for a long time, the foolish vassal Xiaomi cheered and hopped forward. Rolling up her sleeves, she strode over to Eve and readied her finger, gathering power.
Thwack!
“Yaaah?!”
A crisp, loud crack echoed across the training grounds.
Seeing this, the surrounding Wood Elf leaders wanted to step in and mediate, but the moment they saw the shadows squirming restlessly on the ground, they immediately stood at attention.
The fear of being dominated by the Blood-Sucking Vines was still fresh in their minds. Who would dare step forward to break up the fight now?
In an instant, the high-ranking elders unanimously lowered their heads in silent agreement, looking down at their noses and hearts, entering full play-innocent mode.
Seeing that even their leaders remained silent, the other Wood Elf girls dared not provoke the Sacred Spirit Lord.
Suspended in midair, Eve's eyes turned red as she was bound by the shadow.
Shame and the sharp pain from her forehead surged simultaneously, but she still clenched her teeth and endured.
“Ugh... I won't cry! Even if it's the Sacred Spirit Lord's command... this kind of unreasonable treatment, I absolutely... Yaaah!”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Xiaomi had no concept of being gentle with the fairer sex. Her rapid-fire forehead-flicks were swift and brutal, leaving bright red marks on Eve's smooth forehead.
“Ugh... You're lying... It hurts so much... Waaah!”
By around the tenth flick, the young girl's defenses completely crumbled, and large tears began to pour from her eyes.
“N-No more flicking... sniffle... I was wrong... Sacred Spirit Lord, please forgive me... Eve knows she was wrong, waaah...”
“Alright, that's enough.”
Qimeng waved her hand.
The shadow binds instantly dissolved. Like a drenched kitten that had just been fished out of the water, Eve collapsed to the ground shivering, clutching her bright red forehead as she wept silently. Her previous rebellious spark had been completely snuffed out.
Qimeng walked over to her and tapped her small head with a slender twig.
“Is your head clear now? You dummy, who told you physical training was meant for hand-to-hand combat?”
“Eh...?”
Eve sniffled, looking up blankly.
“I already said earlier that this is to support kiting.”
Qimeng pointed toward the dense, impenetrable training forest.
“Since your melee capabilities are lacking, do not engage the enemy directly. And if you want to prevent the lizardmen from closing the distance, the only way is to be faster and have more stamina than them!”
“I want you to train your Wood Elf long-range movement spell, 【Forest-Hidden Walk】, until you can execute it like ghosts!”
“Forest-Hidden... Walk?”
“Exactly. I want you to weave through this obstacle-ridden forest while maintaining high-intensity spellcasting, until you can execute blind long-range attacks at high speeds without affecting your accuracy in the slightest. This is the kiting tactic I have custom-tailored for you.”
Eve froze, looking at Qimeng in disbelief.
In the past, her tribe's battles had always consisted of blindly bombarding the enemy from the front with spells. Winning was cause for celebration, but losing meant humiliating surrender.
It had never occurred to her that they could choose to avoid direct contact with the enemy entirely.
Although this method seemed a bit underhanded, this was a war of survival. The only thing that mattered was winning.
As one of the rare magical geniuses of her tribe, she immediately visualized the battle scene in her mind.
A rain of arrows would pour down from all directions. When the enraged enemies rushed forward, the Wood Elves would use the speed advantage of 【Forest-Hidden Walk】 to vanish into the obstacle-filled forest in an instant, only to continue dealing damage from another blind spot.
This was the ultimate form of kiting, pushing their long-range advantage to its absolute limit.
“Th-This kind of tactic...”
Eve's tear-filled eyes suddenly lit up.
She had initially thought Qimeng was just using a personal grudge as an excuse to mock them. But hearing this, she finally understood that there was a profound tactical logic behind this training.
Far from holding a grudge over past conflicts, this lord had custom-tailored an invincible path that the Wood Elves had never even imagined before.
Her face flushing red with shame, the young girl's pride vanished entirely. Ignoring the soreness in her body, her knees gave way and she knelt half-prostrate on the ground, bowing solemnly to Qimeng.
“Eve... is willing to obey all of the Sacred Spirit Lord's instructions!”
“Very well! Now that you understand, get running! Anyone who hasn't finished running before sunset will only have tree bark for dinner!”
Watching the black-hearted old lolis screaming and sweating in the training forest, Qimeng finally felt a sense of deep satisfaction up on her high platform.
“Hmph. Let's see if you ever dare to scheme against me again.”
Venting her anger was one thing, but Qimeng knew very well that this tactic lacked a core component. It had to be paired with her Root Domain to achieve its maximum effect.
In other words, to secure the home-field advantage, she had to extend her Root Domain toward the northern region in advance.
With the omniscient information network provided by her domain, the Wood Elves on the battlefield would only need to follow her commands like puppets on strings to kite the lizardmen to death.
This battle would turn into a simple, overwhelming crushing from a superior position.
From the very beginning, the two sides were not even on the same level.
Rate on N.U.
