Mothers of Nature held a much greater position in elven civilization than Martial Sages did in human civilization.
They weren't just the strongest combatants, no.
They were also spiritual and political leaders within light elven civilization.
The death of a Mother of Nature was a deep wound that would traumatize the light elves for years to come.
It also cracked the specter of domestic invincibility that the light elves projected and even themselves believed.
The truth that elves were invincible in their homeland would now begin to be questioned. The failure to annihilate a target that they had teleported into an ambush after spending months of preparation refining it to counter him would bring about a new wave of skepticism about elven power.
It would undermine the deterrence.
