The Hero's Path

I didn't motivate the peasants; I punished them because they shouldn't be spoiled. (Although, motivating them would probably have been more beneficial). At the beginning of the game, I bought as many Assassins as I could with all my money, eliminating Djinns and other minor creatures without losses. I used Unicorns to sacrifice Mintaro as cannon fodder (they're useless later anyway). Then, with the 5,000 gold earned from the Wheel, I bought Archers and Armored Archers. Next, I dealt with the jumpers (or, alternatively, with the Chieftains or Skeletons), resulting in the planned loss of Archers and Armored Archers, and the unplanned loss of some Assassins. After that, the path is clear, and... welcome to the Elven city. There, I made some changes to my army, as described above. Then, I sailed back to Archyld with the annoying Elf (with all the staged battles, including the encounter with the Elemental Demon, acquiring the "Beacon" spell from him, and sending him away). From Archyld, I freed the knight, rescued the remaining peasants from the dungeon and tavern. I returned to the mayor of Archyld, received money for the peasants, and recruited a Monk from the town tavern (and had a conversation with the knight). Back to the Elves, I encountered a Thief along the way. At the Elves' city, I returned the Elf to his home and delivered the Monk to the city. Then, I robbed the city, talked to the mayor of the robbed city, and... hello, Blackrock with its dragons. I didn't bother with the trees; I didn't want to sit around and watch the Elves and Dryad get married. As for the Undead and Cabal, while waiting for his Excellency to deign to receive you, you can see what troops he summons, and if the situation is unfavorable, you can return home for another army.