Deleting whatsapp chats

Hi,
I want to clear out my Watsapp except for a couple of chats.
I know in the chat settings, I can delete or clear all chats.
My question is this.
If I archive the chats that I want to keep, will the delete function in the settings delete the messages in the archives as well?
If it does, I’ll have to select what I want to delete and do it the long way.
I don’t want to take a chance and just delete and hope the archived messages are still there.
Any help would be appreciated very much.
Thanks,

Gary