The current state of the underground world is an extremely powerful testament.

The territory of the Star Alliance has now expanded to cover most of the southeastern region. Even the most remote corners of the underground world have heard of the Star Alliance, and the illustrious name of the Wizards (Apprentices) has spread throughout the entire underground world.

This situation is likely to be replayed on the surface world in the near future.

It may seem calm on the surface now, but Sherman is well aware that the Franks Empire’s large-scale procurement of supplies from the Star Alliance has never ceased. There is even a trend of increasing the quantity, clearly storing up strength in preparation for the next war.

In the foreseeable future, the Franks Empire is likely to launch a new round of warfare to fully unify the southeastern region.

And an overlord empire ruling the southeastern region undoubtedly aligns perfectly with the interests of the Star Alliance.

By then, the teacher might allow the Star Alliance to take action and assist.

Sherman was pondering when he was suddenly interrupted by a burst of footsteps.

A Wizard Apprentice walked in.

"Captain, there’s a new discovery from the Demon Pattern Knight Order over there; you’d best come and take a look."

Sherman’s eyes showed a hint of doubt.

It was just a Dwarf City State, what discovery could warrant such attention from the team’s Wizard Apprentice?

Curious, Sherman put down his pen and paper, got up from his study, and went with Attila to the central plaza of the palace.

Near the entrance of the plaza, a group of Dragon Antelopes was leisurely strolling back and forth.

These powerful and elegant creatures have scales ranging from reddish-brown to bright gold, with broad wings extending out from their shoulders, spanning over nine meters during flight.

The Dragon Antelope knight unit was formed during the Star Alliance’s pause in expansion, thus it hadn’t truly proven its might on the battlefield yet.

Until more than half a year ago when the Star Alliance resumed expansion activities, the Dragon Antelope knights got the chance to showcase their strength.

Their impressive achievements stunned many people.

In the underground world, very few armies can withstand a combined charge of nearly three hundred knights with legendary power.

In the previous siege battle, after the walls of Fire Hammer City collapsed, the charge of the Dragon Antelope knight unit tore through the dwarves’ final defenses, establishing the outcome of the battle.

Such a dazzling performance made Sherman very eager about the future of this army.

Once the number of the Dragon Antelope knight unit expands further, reaching the scale of a small legion, it will undoubtedly become a formidable force that strikes fear in the enemy’s heart.

Retrieving his gaze from the Dragon Antelope, Sherman turned to look at the crowd in the center of the plaza.

There were over ten fully armed knights, led by one of the deputy commanders of the Demon Pattern Knight Order, Kolon, who was also the commander of this Dragon Antelope knight unit.

"Lord Sherman, Lord Attila."

Seeing Sherman and Attila approaching, Kolon immediately stepped forward to greet them.

Although he had already been promoted to a Legendary Knight and held the status of deputy commander of the Demon Pattern Knight Order, he still dared not be negligent or dismissive in front of two of Sunan’s best students.

"Thank you for your hard work, Commander Kolon."

After exchanging pleasantries, Sherman got straight to the point, asking about the so-called discovery.

Kolon pointed to a gnome sitting on the ground, bound by chains, and said, "This guy was found in the prison of Fire Hammer City. According to the prison guard, he escaped from a city-state that had been attacked by Dark Elves, and was imprisoned by the dwarfs upon arriving at Fire Hammer City."

"I thought that perhaps we could interrogate some intelligence from him, so I had him brought out of the prison, and it turned out, we did manage to glean some information."

Upon hearing that it was related to Dark Elves, Sherman and Attila’s demeanor became more serious.

Sherman turned his head to glance at the gnome.

Maybe he suffered a lot during his escape, or perhaps he was tortured by the dwarves. The gnome’s clothes were ragged, offering barely any coverage, and he was filthy all over, visibly haggard, his face filled with panic.

Dwarves and gnomes are both what are referred to as "Stone’s Offspring," skilled at working with stone and experts in surveying, mining, and smelting. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The former are known for metal forging, boasting many excellent forging masters in their tribe, and their forged weapons or armor are very popular in the underground world.

The latter are mostly skilled in intricate mechanical craftsmanship.

However, despite being Stone’s Offspring, dwarfs and gnomes have a poor relationship, frequently getting on each other’s nerves, often resulting in conflict and clashes.

A gnome running to dwarf city and ending up in jail is not hard to imagine.

Drawing his gaze back, Sherman gave Kolon an inquiring look.

Without beating around the bush, Kolon said solemnly, "According to what this guy says, the Dark Elves have suddenly escalated their offensive in the past half year, conquering several city-states. Now the area within over three hundred kilometers of Magic Spider City has fallen into their control."

Sherman and Attila immediately furrowed their brows.

Several years ago, they had already known about Magic Spider City dispatching troops to attack surrounding city-states.

Though they were somewhat surprised by the Dark Elves’ anomaly of not engaging in internal strife and instead joining forces, at that time Magic Spider City was still far from the Star Alliance, and their troop deployments were minor skirmishes, so the Star Alliance didn’t pay much attention.

But unexpectedly, Magic Spider City’s territory had already expanded to such a scale.

If this continued, they would soon be very close to the territory of Magic Spider City. Advancing another hundred kilometers, they might find themselves confronting the troops of Magic Spider City.

Sherman questioned with a furrowed brow, "Magic Spider City shouldn’t have the forces to swallow up so much territory; what exactly happened?"

Kolon glanced at the gnome and said in a low voice, "According to what this guy said, it’s because the Dark Elves have mastered a very powerful monster; just one can rout their city-state’s army!"

Monster?

Sherman quickly thought through the exotic beasts the Dark Elves typically breed, but couldn’t think of any with such potent strength.

Furrowing his brow, he turned and approached the gnome, looking down at him.

"What do those monsters you saw look like?"

Recognizing the high status of the inquirer, the gnome didn’t dare to conceal, he gulped and stammered:

"They, their lower bodies are like spiders, and their upper bodies look exactly like Dark Elves, incredibly fast; many of my tribesmen couldn’t even see their moves before—before losing their heads!"

Seemingly recalling the scene at that time, the gnome’s face uncontrollably showed fear.

Half-human, half-spider creatures?

Sherman frowned and pondered for a moment, but could not fathom a solution.

Attila was equally puzzled.

"Forget it. Let’s note this matter in the war report; if it’s our teacher, he should know what creature this is."

With his thoughts organized, Sherman paid no more heed to the gnome and turned to Kolon, saying, "Commander Kolon, I think we need to dispatch more scouts to investigate the situation ahead."

"No problem, I’ll arrange it right away!" Kolon nodded heavily.

If it’s really like what the gnome said, the upcoming battle might find them up against a formidable foe.

Before that, gathering as much intelligence as possible will allow them to better cope with the coming war.

After Kolon left with the gnome, Sherman and Attila returned to the study.

Sherman tore up the previous war report, contemplated for a while, and then with a plan in mind, began writing a new war report.

This time, Attila didn’t interrupt, quietly sitting aside, patiently waiting for Sherman to complete the report and seal it before speaking.

"Do we need to request reinforcements?"

Sherman thought for a moment and nodded, "I heard from Carolina that the teacher recently crafted a powerful high-tier magical construct, and is about to deploy it in the battlefield. Just in case, I’ll write an application for one."

Based on what the gnome mentioned, those half-human, half-spider creatures are at least at Tier Four Legend strength, perhaps higher. Meanwhile, the most powerful construct in the frontline Golem Legion is the Tier Three Legendary Refined Gold Golem.

Although they could use a strategy of overwhelming numbers against those creatures, for prudence, Sherman believed it wise to prepare for both scenarios.

Seeing Sherman had considered everything, Attila said no more.