“H-huh? I’m… getting… weak… ugh…”

“H-hey, what’s wrong!? Urgh, ah… huh…?”

The two soldiers who were standing on guard suddenly slumped on the ground and struggled to get up. However, not only have their limbs suddenly gotten weak, but they also developed a high fever.

“Wh-what is this… gahah, eh!? B-blood?”

In yet another place on the camp, a soldier who was preparing the plates for the meals suddenly coughed and fell in surprise as he spat out blood onto the dinnerware he was carrying. Similar episodes were also experienced by the other soldiers throughout the camp, but the Half-Elves were the only ones who could still move despite feeling some discomfort.

“Guh, hey, are you alright? Get the medics!”

“They can’t come, they’re also down!!”

A Half-Elf Knight held up a soldier who collapsed and used Earth Heal on him, but the effect was only momentary and could not stop the soldier’s pained groans.

“What the, hey! Someone explain what’s going on!!”

“We don’t know what’s going on either, Commander! All the Humans just…”

Ragiel, who emerged from one of the tents grabbed the collar of one of the confused Half-Elf Knights and demanded an explanation of what was going on, but Leiard, who also got out of the tent, stilled his hand.

“… Calm down, Ragiel.”

“I’m sorry, Master.”

Leiard looked around and observed the other Half-Elf’s condition.

“Nggh, I don’t feel good either, but… the Humans have it worse.”

He walks over to a nearby Medic who had collapsed and drops to one knee, touching his forehead as he assesses the situation.

“The high-grade fevers, loss of strength in the extremities, and other symptoms seem to affect the humans more than us. Moreover, this smell of blood mixed in the air…This might be the Bleeding Disease.”

Even though he thought it was impossible, Leinard quickly decided and instructed the Half-Elves in the vicinity.

“Everyone, bring the collapsed individuals into the tents, and don’t go out! Do not touch the blood they threw up either!!”

Although none of the Half-Elves have collapsed, they were still feeling unwell. After all, they also had human blood running in them, so they had to be knowledgeable and aware of epidemics that could cause enormous damage to humankind.

“M-Master, I’ll send out the scouts.”

“No, don’t do that… If the opponent is the white-masked entity Alvesta, then there will only be  more casualties.”

Leiard responded to Merida without looking back and tried to recall the rumors he had heard in the capital before their expedition.

(I think there was some news from the Holy Church that it had been subdued or something… Rather, that can’t appear here, so this must be the work of the Elves.)

“Master, hurry up and get in!”

“Yes…”

Leiard was too absorbed in his thoughts to move, so Merida pushed him back into the tent.

The next day, the damage assessment revealed that 60 percent of the army, or about 1,200 people, including the Quarter-Elves, were infected with the Bleeding Disease. They also found out that the only ones left were the Soldiers who were out of the path of the miasma that spread throughout the camp yesterday.

“The Half-Elves seem to be recovering, but… it seems treatment is impossible for the Quarter-Elves.”

“I agree, they are not responding to the healing magic either… There’s no proof yet, but it’s clear that this was an attack made by the Elves. For them to do such a nasty thing… Damn them, were they just using the negotiations as a front to trick us?”

Just as Ragiel said, the timing was too perfect, so the perpetrators could only be the Elves. Leiard felt his anger rise thinking about it, but he could not blame them either since they were being aggressive towards the Elves from the start as well.

(It seems we’re already at a stalemate…)

The number of their available troops was still four times more than Elwind’s, but they were at a disadvantage due to the number of sick people they had.

(Should we just abandon the affected personnel and conquer the city? … No, that would be foolish. If we did that, then we’ll just repeat the series of events from the previous war, won’t we!?)

And even if they went on the offensive, they would just be crushed faster if they were to go by the events from the previous day.

“Master, it’s time to go…”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Even though they were in the midst of a crisis, Leiard took several of his troops and marched towards Elwind’s city hall to continue negotiations.

……………

………

…

“Your Excellency, won’t you listen to our request again?” 

The Half-Elf with near-white skin and pale jade eyes tried to reason with the city mayor.

“It’s fine, Lord Leiard. We are prepared to assist the affected soldiers since I’ve heard that quite a number of your troops have suffered from hemorrhagic fever. After all, they won’t be able to get back in that condition, won’t they?”

“… Very well, what are your conditions?”

“If it’s about our conditions, then I will be taking over from here.”

Eliza made eye contact with the city mayor and continued,

“Our conditions are simple, please disarm.”

“To put it simply, are you asking us to surrender? We have no idea what happened yesterday, but it’s clear you’ve already won. How shameless.”

Leiard responds by ordering the wheat-skinned Half-Elf escort to stand down and the latter promptly goes quiet.

“Lady Eliza, just as Merida said, that is tantamount to ordering us to surrender. Is your confidence in issuing this condition coming from the fact that yesterday was your doing?”

“No, I have no clue about what you are talking about. But either way, considering the provisions you have in place, wouldn’t it be hard for your party to move out immediately?”

Eliza responded calmly, but Leiard and the other soldiers felt a slight chill when she inquired about the situation of their camp. 

Unbeknownst to Leiard’s group, even though the Blood Malady skill had a synergistic effect with the energy coming from the World Tree and Eliza’s wind magic, it still posed a threat, so Eliza had made sure multiple times that that Kobold’s ability would not affect the Elves. 

(If it is our provisions… We have enough for a month, but since the whole Transport Unit is incapacitated, then it would be hard to bring the supplies from the neighboring cities.)

If they didn’t have a means of transporting the goods, then it was useless no matter how many supplies were given to them by the neighboring cities of the Republic.

“We still have enough strength to engage in battle. We can’t just go home empty-handed.”

The Prime Minister’s daughter chuckles at the obvious mix of bluff and threat that Leiard was throwing at them and says,

“After you disarm, we will assist in treating the World Tree Memoria just as you requested. It’s painful for us to see a World Tree wither and die after all…”

(Can we… trust them? Perhaps the wards around the cities of the Grove of the Ancient Guardians broke down because they have also consumed too much of the life force of the World Trees just like us and it is not something that can be immediately repaired.)

If that were the case, then the Republic can make contact with the Elves for a while provided they don’t do anything rash. 

(Besides, there’s not much we can do at this point, so I guess this is where we’ll have to settle…)

“Merida, I’m sending a message to the homeland. Tell them we are stationed in the target city, but due to the extensive damage caused by a local epidemic, we are seeking to withdraw. Please also add that the Elves are going to lend us assistance in healing the World Tree.” 

“Understood. I’ll tell them that and have them restore the Tree’s connection to Affectio too.”

When the negotiations were roughly decided, the expressions of everyone present at the negotiations relaxed. After the talks were over, the members of the Republic’s army retreated, leaving only a handful of soldiers in the camp for self-defense.  

A few days later, Aristia attempted to heal Memoria from Elfast through the World Tree’s restored link to Affectio in the city of Elwind, and certain results were confirmed from the Republic’s side.

At the same time, except for some with severe symptoms, more than a thousand soldiers from the Philland Republic’s Army who had been lying ill gradually recovered and returned home, and as a result, the series of incidents came to an end without unnecessary bloodshed on both sides.

Additionally, Aristia also rewarded the big blue Kobold who played an active role behind the scenes with a large amount of honey and an honorary title… 

【Title Added：Yggdrasil Knight】

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…

As for Archer, the story goes back a few days before the three Kobolds became involved in the Elves’ affairs…