Chapter 171: Half-Elf

“Good day, Lord Su Lun. I am Grace, the chieftain of this half-elf tribe. It is a pleasure to meet you,” the leading half-elf said respectfully.

“Good day, Chieftain Grace. I heard you wish to join my territory?” Su Lun observed that the half-elf tribe before him was not large, with a population of about five hundred.

The leading female half-elf appeared to be around thirty years old. Although her clothes were not ornate, she looked graceful and very charming.

“Yes, we are the Elk Tribe, and we wish to join your territory as a whole. Please accept us,” Grace said.

“Of course, Zhenbei City welcomes your arrival,” Su Lun naturally did not refuse.

Half-elves were also a powerful race. After blending human and elven bloodlines, half-elves did not possess the strong spellcasting talent of elves, nor did they have the long lifespan of elves. However, their archery talent was no worse than that of elves, and their spellcasting ability was better than that of humans.

Because of the infusion of human blood, half-elves’ bodies were stronger than those of elves, comparable to humans, while their agility was slightly lower than that of elves. More importantly, the fertility rate of half-elves was much higher than that of elves.

“Thank you for your kindness.”

“Ding, the Elk Half-Elf Tribe has joined your territory.” A system notification sounded in his ear. Su Lun checked and saw that this half-elf tribe had five hundred and seventeen members. The effect of this Recruitment Token was much stronger than the previous two. With a five-hundred-strong half-elf tribe, they could easily raise one to two hundred longbowmen. The strength of Zhenbei City had increased significantly once again.

“How did you come to know my name?” Su Lun asked curiously as they walked.

“Lord Su Lun, after you defeated the Orc Alliance, tales of your deeds spread across this wasteland. After all, the orc tribes were the most powerful in the vicinity,” Grace said with a smile.

“So, I am already this famous in the wilderness.” Su Lun felt pleased and continued to ask, “What did they say?”

“Did they say I was wise and mighty, the chosen one, handsome and extraordinary?”

“Um, perhaps so,” Grace replied with some embarrassment, though she answered politely.

Seeing her discomfort, the Lord realized that things might not be quite as he thought. It seemed the tribes in the wilderness had some deep misunderstandings about him.

The half-elf caravan began to move toward Zhenbei City. Su Lun took this opportunity to observe these half-elves. Their appearances were indeed generally better than those of humans, though not to the extent of being breathtakingly beautiful. One could only say that there were no ugly ones among them.

These half-elves likely did not live very comfortably. Su Lun noticed that their tribe did not have many iron tools. Many of their arrows had bone tips, with very few metal arrowheads. Some half-elves were accompanied by large wildcats, which were probably their companions.

Half-elves were known for producing archers and rangers. Some highly talented half-elves became druids. The druid class could use Nature Magic and had the ability to shapeshift, making them very powerful.

“Grace, where did your half-elf tribe previously live?”

“We lived in the forest at the foot of the Lotas Mountains. However, in recent years, the orc tribes have been expanding continuously and are nearly bordering our lands,” Grace said with a bitter smile.

Su Lun understood Grace’s concerns very well. Orcs and elves were mortal enemies. It was the elves who originally supported humans in defeating the dominant orcs, leading directly to the collapse of the Orc Empire and their eventual expulsion to the wildlands.

Half-elves, as subordinates of the elves, naturally took part in that war. As a result, the orcs also harbored hatred toward half-elves. If their territories bordered each other, they would certainly come into direct conflict.

Given the size of this half-elf tribe, they would surely be the ones to lose. It would not only mean some deaths; these half-elves would also become slaves to the orcs, a fate worse than death.

Therefore, after learning of Su Lun’s victory over the Orc Army, this half-elf group began considering joining Zhenbei City.

After bringing the half-elves to Zhenbei City, Su Lun allocated one residential district for them to live in. Although they were not quite accustomed to such housing, the half-elves accepted it gladly.

After assigning the half-elves their living area, they would handle the remaining matters themselves. Su Lun then began discussing with Grace the obligations and rights that came with the half-elves’ joining.

“The half-elf tribe has two druids, forty-three rangers. Aside from the children, everyone else is proficient in archery,” Grace slowly explained the strength of the half-elf tribe.

Su Lun listened and was inwardly astonished. Although he already knew the half-elf tribe was quite capable, he could not help but feel a pang of envy. A tribe of merely five hundred people could have two druids and over forty rangers, while the rest could serve as archers. This was essentially a situation where every able-bodied person was a soldier.

Like the elves, half-elves also maintained the tradition of having females as chieftains. In elven bloodlines, females were generally stronger than males.

In fact, were it not for the effect of the Recruitment Token, it would have been very difficult for Su Lun to recruit half-elves. After all, often, race was the biggest barrier. Fortunately, Zhenbei City had shown from the start a willingness to accept non-human citizens. The barbarians, who now formed the main force in Northguard Keep, were the best proof of this.

“I can provide you with a place to live and sustain yourselves, and I will allocate sufficient land to you. However, these come with conditions,” Su Lun said with a slight smile, laying out his terms. “I require all adult half-elves to join the military and serve.”

“Lord, we cannot bear your demand,” Grace shook her head and refused.

“Chieftain Grace, I believe you understand that to gain corresponding conditions, one must fulfill due obligations. In Zhenbei City, whether they are barbarians, humans, or Drow Elves, they have contributed to Zhenbei City and thus earned their current treatment.”

“This is the basic rule of Zhenbei City. If I exempt you from obligations yet grant you equal rights, it would mean breaking equality. The bitter consequences would ultimately be borne by the half-elves themselves.” Su Lun picked up his teacup and leaned back in his chair, while Chris beside him reached out her hands to massage his shoulders.

After a long silence, Grace slowly spoke, “You are right. The system should not be broken.”

“Then, tell me, why do your half-elves wish to avoid military service?” Su Lun set down his teacup, looking very confident.

“We are not refusing military service, but your requirement is too heavy. We only have five hundred people. According to your demand, over four hundred in our tribe would need to serve…”

Su Lun was well aware of this. Compared to the conditions given to the barbarians, those for the half-elves were indeed a bit harsh. But this was negotiation—if there were objections, they could be raised until both sides reached an acceptable agreement.

After negotiation, it was finally agreed that one hundred and fifty half-elves would join the military. Among them, one hundred would become archers, while the rest would be rangers and the two druids.

After recruiting the half-elves into the military, Su Lun gained the half-elf troop tree. The ranger class was quite similar to that of the Drow Elves, but the archer troop tree surprised Su Lun.

After all, the Drow Elves had abandoned their faith in the Tree of Life, and many professions originating from the High Elves could not be inherited by them. Although half-elves had mixed blood, they could still take up these professions.

The system’s half-elf army consisted of one hundred and fifty half-elves. Aside from the half-elf rangers, the rest were all half-elf archers. Their first advancement would make them ‘Half-Elf Longbowmen.’ Further advancements would lead to ‘Half-Elf Master Archer,’ ‘Half-Elf Arcane Archer,’ and the top-tier unit, ‘Half-Elf Phantom Arcane Archer.’

With each advancement, the soldiers would gain some improvements. Initially, these half-elf archers were basically no different from human archers. The distinction came when they reached the level of Half-Elf Arcane Archer.

At this level, human archers had the chance to advance to master archers, while these half-elf archers became even stronger, acquiring some magical abilities. As for the more powerful Half-Elf Phantom Arcane Archer, their magical abilities were stronger, and their attack power, range, and speed saw significant improvements.

If all these half-elf archers were upgraded to the highest level, Su Lun would effectively have a mage corps. That was not just luxury; it was sheer dominance.

Of course, advancing was not easy. The experience bar for half-elves was much longer than that for humans. Especially at the arcane archer stage, the experience points they needed for advancement were dozens of times that of humans. Accumulating enough would be challenging.

Fortunately, half-elves had long lifespans. If it were humans, by the time they successfully advanced, their physical prime would likely have passed.

For physical professions, although becoming transcendent slowed aging and extended the prime period, before reaching the Legendary realm, the peak period for human physical professionals was thirty-five years old. Once past that age, physical attributes would decline across the board. Half-elves, however, were different. Because of their elven heritage, their lifespans were several times that of humans, so their peak period could last until the final hundred years of their lives.

In Su Lun’s view, the ranger profession did not have much room to shine in large-scale army battles. They were more suited for one-on-one combat or serving as scouts. Archers, on the other hand, were different. Large formations of archers firing volleys could clear an entire area.

If he had had a thousand half-elf archers during the last major battle with the Orc Alliance, Su Lun was confident he could have wiped out those orc forces on their charge. Of course, rangers were still very strong in various adventure teams. With animal companions, they could scout, use scimitars and bows—they were truly all-rounders.

This was not to say that the ranger profession was inferior to archers, but rather that it was not suitable for large-scale team warfare.