Humanity commenced their attack. Technically, it couldn't be classified a war as Queen Sisi had no intention of declaring war. She didn't inform the elves she was coming for them, but the elves already knew, anyway. In that sense, it was a war where the declaration of war didn't need to be voiced. Although Queen Sisi didn't declare war, strictly speaking, it was a brazen front-on attack. Not a sneak attack. Taking that into consideration, it probably suited the elves' spirit of war.
Humanity didn't lead an upright frontal attack as the elves predicted. Queen Sisi did launch a serious attack, but she wasn't an idiot. She knew humanity couldn't spread out their forces in the forest and that numbers were their advantage. She understood she should strike the enemy's weakness with her strength, and not use a weakness to attack a weakness. That was why humanity utilised the most threatening weapon they had specifically against elves.
Said weapon was the ancient catapult. They catapulted lit up coal wrapped in rosin into the forest. In addition, they added the highly-concentrated flammable oil that the dwarves concocted, thereby turning the forest into an ocean of flames. The forest was comprised of flammable wood. The flames instantly devoured a big portion of the forest.
Humanity was in no rush. They quietly waited for the flames to die out. Once it was done burning, they just needed to deal with the ash, fallen trees and burnt elven corpses. In the end, however, humanity didn't successfully carry out their goal. Queen Sisi assumed the elves would all be hiding in the forest as hunters, waiting for humanity to enter. She thought she'd burn the elves alive in the forest if she just burnt the forest down. Sadly, she was wrong. All they found in the burnt remains were ash and fallen trees. There wasn't a single elven corpse in there. It was as the scouts' initially reported; the elves had already left the forest they resided in for generations. The forest had to shoulder humanity's violation.
"Where exactly have the elves gone? Does the forest belong to me now with just that? Have the elves given up on this land and left? So, it's over without a single skirmish?" pondered Queen Sisi.
The soldiers were already elated and had even begun writing home, telling their families they would be back in a week, supposedly. They interpreted the war to be the fire attack. All they had to do was wait for the fire to go out. Cleaning up the remains was basically the same thing they did in the city. They were professionals at cleaning corpses. They suffered zero casualties and injuries. They, therefore, perceived wars against foreign enemies as nothing special. They figured the field military did lie to them, after all.
Normally, merchants and women wouldn't be allowed in military camps. In addition, while in camp, soldiers weren't allowed to write letters or leave at their leisure. Queen Sisi considered the war against the elves to be a particularly relaxing one. Her forces had started to enter the forest, yet they didn't practice any semblance of discipline. They drank. Women came and went as they partied, and merchants sold snacks and alcohol. None of them felt any fear or sense of nervousness. It wasn't a war; it was just a holiday.
Queen Sisi felt somewhat despondent since winning without fighting didn't satisfy a commander's desire for glory. Further, nobody would be impressed with her when victory was achieved so easily. All they would say was the elves fled, and she wasn't defeated. The scorched land was of no value to Queen Sisi.
The only sign of war was the amount of money. The exorbitant expenses in the military were Queen Sisi's main concern. She didn't have much money for the war, and she even needed to loan a lot of it. After the war, she would have to repay the bank loan with land. If they had a fair amount remaining, though, she wouldn't have to give them as much land. The coal fireballs were all made from money, and humanity would struggle to turn scorched land into land that could generate profit. Hence, she forbade burning any more of the forest, and the army filed into the elven forest.
A big portion of the elven forest had already been scorched. With obstructions burnt down, humanity's army could spread out. They axed down any remaining obstructions so that the human army could continue advancing in rows and columns.
No elves welcomed humanity when they entered; there were no arrows zipping through the air, either. The forest was still. Humanity didn't know where the elves were. Soon enough, they developed the belief that the elves had fled and that the forest was theirs. It was a tour with Queen Sisi leading. Their mission was complete once they reached the other end of the forest and planted their flag.
Queen Sisi truly was incredible. The soldiers revered her because of the undemanding triumph. Ever since she emerged, she brought victory to humanity time and time again. She was courageous and wise. Nobody was able to match her, a fact that was proven over and over.
The soldiers shouted, "Love live Your Majesty" from the bottom of their hearts and sang songs that lauded Queen Sisi. They enjoyed their holiday with fervent reverence for their Queen. News of their victory not only spread among the soldiers, but also to the citizens behind them. The people fervently admired Queen Sisi thanks to the victory and the plethora of courageous exploits credited to her name. The citizens of the imperial capital went as far as gathering to kneel in front of the imperial palace despite being aware she wasn't in the imperial capital. They donated their own belongings and planned to construct a huge golden statue in her likeness.
Queen Sisi blessed humanity with dignity and glory beyond anything they'd had in generations. The humans, who formerly had to fight tooth and nail and barely scrape by, were finally the ruler of the continent. Half of the continent belonged to humanity. They would never ever have to rely on the assistance of any other race again. Humanity fell even the elves.
The young man who read the report outlining the results of the battle was quite surprised by the outcome. It sounded as though humanity had emerged victorious. Actually, they had occupied almost half of the forest without a single fight.
The elves' city was already right in front of humanity's army. Humanity had set up their encampment at a riverbank. Queen Sisi apparently joyfully played in the water. A good number of soldiers took advantage of the water flowing there to wash up and wash their clothes. The scene was a group on vacation through and through.
The young man couldn't figure out why the elves weren't present. Queen Sisi surely wanted to let him see the results. She didn't head their advice and attacked the elves. As she had occupied elven territory and achieved her goal, the results were a form of ridicule. If she came back in a good mood, she wouldn't kill him, but there was no doubt she'd rub it in his face and demean him. Nonetheless, the young man didn't believe Queen Sisi had won.
The young's rich war experience told him that, as long as the elves were alive, humanity hadn't won. Occupying land was meaningless; victory required defeating the enemy. If the enemy orderly retreated and didn't lose many men, the survivors were a threat. A perfect retreat was an indication the commander cannot be underestimated. Retreating was more difficult than attacking. As long as the elves had conserved their combat strength, they, by all means, could still retaliate in some shape or form. Moreover, camping next to a river wasn't ideal, especially when the enemy was hidden, while humanity was out in the open.
Queen Sisi had completely stopped bothering with the intricacies of battle, as everyone believed they could win. Nobody thought they would need to fight again. Accordingly, they did as they pleased and whatever was convenient for them. From the young man's perspective, that was a taboo for soldiers. Queen Sisi was unaware, though. If they found a bunch of elves' corpses, then they succeeded, but the elves were perfectly fine. Nothing was more worrying than the fact Queen Sisi had no clue where they were.
The biggest problem in humanity's war with the elves was the latter's combat style. Humanity specialised in team combat; the elves, on the other hand, were skilled in ambushes and guerrilla warfare. The elves had set up the perfect environment for them to maximise their skills. Nobody spotted an elf, which meant that humanity was in danger.
The young man wasn't certain that humanity had won. To the contrary, he thought that the elves might… have already won.
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Current time at humanity's camp.
Humanity wasn't cautious with fires despite being in the forest. They lit up a bright bonfire in the forest. The women giggled. The scent of wine whisked through the air. Queen Sisi rewarded the soldiers with a handsome amount of wine. Bottles of wine littered the ground. Humanity could enter the elves' imperial city tomorrow. The soldiers completely had their guards down. They merrily drank, sung and laughed. They didn't resemble soldiers at war in any capacity.
Queen Sisi stayed in the largest tent. She bathed in her bathtub while enjoying red wine and bird meat that the soldiers had just hunted. To top it off, she also had fruits from the forest. She, too, had completely dropped her vigilance. She definitely looked as though she was out on vacation. The rear continued to deliver supplies to the frontlines without any obstructions. There were no enemies in front. Tomorrow, she could sit on the elven king's throne. It was all as beautiful as a dream.
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Current time underground…
The elves assumed crouched postures. Above them were the cheerful laughter and the sounds of wine bottles rolling around. They bore with it very patiently. They had predicted that humanity might burn the forest, which was why they moved underground. With the effort of every elf, they were able to construct an underground passage that was as densely packed as a spider web. They could move about underground without humanity detecting them. Humanity never imagined the elves were right underfoot.
The elves were amazingly lucky. Humanity was right overhead and right around their exit. However, the elves didn't intend to go out and fight. They moved barrels of gunpowder underground. Fighting? No, they were going to just blow the human army into the sky. Their thinking was simple: you launched fire at us, so we'll return the favour with fire from underground.