An upper-level elf showed a confused expression, frowning, and asked, "We have already cleared the skeletal remains of creatures around Kolos City thoroughly, so why hasn’t the number of the Skeleton Army decreased?"
Lu Heng had contemplated this issue before and answered after careful consideration, "Actually, I’ve thought about the reason for this problem.
"There was once an ocean of creatures on the Quel’dorei continent, leaving behind as many bones as stars in the sky.
"Even if we have cleaned up many of these skeletal remains, gathering a hundred thousand bones from the creatures that have died on the continent is not difficult. It just requires more time and going to more distant places.
"The reason for forming a Skeleton Army of a hundred thousand does not lie in the number of bones but rather in how many total bones the Bone Sovereign can control."
An upper-level elf frowned and questioned, "If that’s the case, isn’t our clearing of these skeletal remains futile?"
Lu Heng continued to explain, "It’s not futile. To the Bone Sovereign, these skeletal remains are consumables. Once a Skeleton Servant he controls is destroyed, that’s one fewer skeleton, but bones can be replenished.
"That is to say, if there are many skeletal remains around Kolos City, the Bone Sovereign can replenish the Skeleton Army nearby.
"If that’s the case, the Skull Sea besieging Kolos City would be endless.
"By clearing the skeletal remains around Kolos City, we have made it impossible for the Bone Sovereign to replenish his bones nearby; now, he has to go further afield to do so.
"This prevents Kolos City from being continuously overwhelmed by the Skeleton Army."
The upper-level elves present nodded in agreement after listening.
Queen Orelana had also realized this earlier and gave Lu Heng a satisfied smile.
She had him say this for another purpose: to strengthen the alliance between the elves and humans and to help Lu Heng gain more recognition from the upper-level elves.
It was also meant to solidify her position within the Elf Clan.
Although the Elf Clan is very united now, there are still factions within.
Particularly after the Great Arcanist Augustus died in battle, Queen Orelana lost her greatest supporter, and her position within the Elf Clan is not as stable as before.
Fortunately, Terres stayed behind to take over Augustus’s position.
Even so, Queen Orelana still needs to seek more support.
Facing this crisis, internal divisions arose within the Elf Clan.
For example, where should the defensive focus be placed?
Kolos City is naturally the most important fortress, but outside Kolos City, there are other significant areas of the Elf Clan that need protection.
For instance, the Moonshadow Forest, always overseen by Seren, as well as the Arcane Castle, which symbolizes the spirit of the Arcane Masters, and the eternal home of the Elf Clan, Moon God Lake.
These areas are not within Kolos City, raising the topic of whether they should be defended.
If all areas need defending, a considerable amount of strength will have to be divided.
Moreover, areas like the Moonshadow Forest and Moon God Lake have no walls to guard against, requiring more defensive strength.
If we voluntarily abandon these areas and concentrate our defensive forces in Kolos City, there is more hope of holding onto this Elf Main City.
The situation is similar with the Arcane Castle.
Additionally, of all these areas, the most difficult to abandon is the Arcane Castle, as it’s the headquarters of the Arcane Council of the Elf Clan.
Currently, the Arcane Council insists on defending the Arcane Castle, with the seven Elder Arcane Council members of the highest rank in the Elf Clan personally standing guard.
These are the seven most powerful Arcane Masters in the Elf Clan, except Queen Orelana.
Without these seven Elder Arcane Council members guarding Kolos City, the defensive power of the Arcane would be greatly diminished.
The purpose of this meeting was to make the high-ranking members of the Elf Clan present understand the severity of the impending calamity.
Queen Orelana hoped that through this meeting, she could persuade the Arcane Council to temporarily abandon Arcane Castle and jointly defend Kolos City.
However, the outcome of the discussion was not ideal.
After all, the Arcane Castle is a sacred place to the Arcane Masters.