The Elf Saint is a NEET, so I Forced Her to Work in Another World

Stalemate (Part 1)

***Kuro***

Yes, the invasion of Cherwoods had begun.

Her Holiness the Elf Saint, Lady Hinwe Tal-Inwir, finally decided to step up to her auspicious title. And, exploiting the opportunity to reinstall a determined holy lady to her rightful throne, we launched the invasion of elves' realm.

"..."

It was no easy task. As the one who hatched the idea and led the preparations, I had to take care of many things before crossing into Cherwoods in force. See, the Saints closed off the borders to safeguard the other worlds from the Seductress' influence. In the process, we damned the entire elvish population of Cherwoods under her mercy. However, it had to be done, or another 'Cherflammen' might happen.

So, not wishing to delay for long—or the Seductress would gain strength, and wipe out the entire elvish population of Cherwoods, I had to think of ways how to recruit elves willing to fight for Her Holiness the Lady Hinwe, while giving them enough time for training, military exercises and getting equipment to arm our invasion force. The Kingdom of Cherwind, the Federal Demon Republic, and the Holy Palatial Gardens offered soldiers to help our endeavor, but I had to decline their offer, since I wanted to keep this 'affair' between the 'elves' only.

See, an invasion force made of all the races of Chersea and the Other Realms can be counterproductive. Elves are highly 'isolationists', and watching other people take control of their lives can end up in tragedy against Lady Hinwe's rule.

"..."

At least, that's what I initially believe...

So, I opted to create an 'elf'-only force to invade Cherwoods. Recruitment was highly-successful, in part because many of the younger elves were bored in their long lives and were looking for some kind of 'thrilling' adventure, and also because of the popularity of their saint, made possible by the sales of her manga and related artworks. But, we couldn't take everyone in, primarily because we lacked the funds to train and arm a vast army that turned up in the recruitment drives.

Also, there's the factor that not every elf was fit for military service. Many of them were just in because they wanted a change of pace, and it's not good to the cohesion and discipline of the force we're creating.

Think of them like those teenagers back in my world whose only military experience was from playing FPS games. Those sorts who'd die quickly the second they set foot on the battlefield.

"..."

Ugh, I already got lots of blood in my hands. I don't want to add more weight to my conscience.

In the end, we implemented strict selection requirements to 'filter' those who could train and those destined to be cannon fodder. The latter group was sent home, while the former was formed into several regiments that came to be known in Chersea as the 'Elvish Expeditionary Forces'.

As for the soldiers offered to me by our allies, I kept them in reserve in case things got awry. But I wanted to avoid using them as much as possible; I gave them 'training roles' and other advisory duties, so that they wouldn't feel left out.

Those measures took care of our personnel issues. However, there's another limitation...

Of course, in every military endeavor, there had to be enough information about the enemy, which we could only get by gathering intelligence. Chersea and the Other Realms weren't Earth; the technology—while it did advance greatly for the past six years, still lagged compared to my old world's militaries. No satellite images to be counted upon to spy on the opposition, and any defensive structures they might be making. We couldn't send spies to the other side as well; communication was difficult, especially that no one dared to open a crossing, for fear of the Seductress' corrupting influence.