Elven cultivators

Inside an unassuming gray tent at Northwind Camp.

Anton sat cross-legged on one side of the low table, his expression calm.

Scott and Summers were sitting opposite them.

Summers' gaze occasionally swept across Anton's face, a hint of barely concealed doubt flashing in his eyes.

The vast expanse before him seemed somewhat different from what he had seen before.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on the specific differences.

Although her appearance and clothing remained the same, there was an indescribable feeling, as if she had undergone some kind of transformation from the inside out.

Like a dusty gemstone that has been carefully polished, it gives people a subtle sense of clarity.

"What's wrong?"

Noticing Summers' gaze, Anton raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing," Summers shook his head. "I just think you look much better lately."

Anton glanced at him and immediately understood.

After repeatedly overcoming inner demons, his Dao heart has been repeatedly tempered and refined, and is now clear and harmonious, so his temperament will naturally undergo subtle changes.

The three elders and Roman and others could see him every now and then, so their feelings weren't very obvious yet.

Summers might only see him once a year, so when he suddenly saw him, he could naturally notice the changes in him.

Anton didn't intend to explain further, skipping the topic and getting straight to the point: "Is there something you wanted to see me about today?"

When the matter was brought up, Summers' expression immediately turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Are you aware that the various Dragon Cities pay resources to the Dragon Court every year?"

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Anton nodded.

Of course he knew.

One of the main purposes of the Dragon Court in establishing Dragon Cities throughout the mainland was to collect various rare resources and transport them to the Dragon Court for its development.

It is equivalent to plundering resources from colonies to support themselves.

Every year, Dragon City sends out a carefully selected team to transport a large amount of rare resources away from the Eldron Plains to a designated location, where they will be transported to the Dragon Court by a unified escort team.

The exact departure time and route chosen have always been core secrets of Crestor City, unknown to outsiders.

Anton's heart skipped a beat, and he raised an eyebrow, asking, "Could it be that the higher-ups have obtained intelligence about the Kreisor Dragon City transport team?"

"That's right." Summers nodded subtly. "The delivery will take place in two weeks. As for the route..."

He took out a map, unfolded it and placed it on the low table, then stretched out his finger and slowly slid it along a winding dotted line on the map.

"The transport fleet will depart from the north side of Crestor City, pass through Green Valley, Morningstar Town, and Grayrock Pass, and finally leave Eldron Plains from the northern line of Dragontooth Defense."

Anton looked at the clearly marked route, his expression turning strange, and asked, "So detailed?"

Summers understood what he meant and said with a wry smile, "We also find it strange that the information came too easily, so we suspect that this is very likely a bait deliberately laid out by Cresol Dragon City to lure us in."

Anton nodded knowingly.

This possibility is indeed very high.

Although he wasn't directly involved in the Meteor Dragon Society's intelligence work, it was obvious to anyone that with the Meteor Dragon Society's intelligence network, which had only been operating in the Eldron Plains for a few decades, they simply couldn't accurately grasp the departure time and route of the transport convoy.

They even found out half a month in advance.

If the Meteor Dragon Society truly possessed this capability, they wouldn't have waited until today to obtain information about the transport team.

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This is so unusual that it's obvious to anyone that there's a problem.

This is a completely open conspiracy.

The bait has been thrown out; it's up to you whether you're willing to take the bait.

This also shows how desperate the city of Kreisor had become.

Over the years, they have been repeatedly humiliated by the Meteor Dragon Society and Canglan, greatly damaging their prestige, and they have long been eager to take revenge.

However, Canglan's whereabouts are unpredictable and he appears and disappears like a ghost. To this day, no one has figured out where he is hiding.

The strongholds of the Meteor Dragon Society were scattered and hidden, and several raids in Dragon City had little effect, making it difficult to find a suitable opportunity to strike.

Left with no other choice, they had to set up this scheme.

Using a convoy transporting rare resources as bait, they lured the meteorite dragon to take the bait.

"Could the resources be fake?" Anton asked.

"No." Summers shook his head, his tone certain. "If it were fake resources, we would easily see through it. If it were a trap, Dragon City would be more than capable of taking out our manpower, so there would be no need for them to fake it."

Anton nodded and continued, "What did they say? Are they planning to take action?"

"The higher-ups seem quite eager to make a move," Scott chimed in. "Resources that Kresol Dragon City would transport over such a long distance, especially as tribute to the Dragon Court, must be rare and incredibly valuable. If we could acquire this shipment, we could severely damage Kresol Dragon City's prestige and significantly replenish the branch's resource reserves—a win-win situation!"

"But the risks are also obvious."

Scott looked grave.

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"Just like Summers said, Dragon City wouldn't give us such a big gift for nothing. Since they dared to set such a trap, they must have prepared sufficient armed forces and are confident that they can take us down. They're just waiting for us to plunge in."

Although Scott did not say it explicitly, everyone knew that Cresolon City would not deploy a large number of troops for this operation, but only a small number of elite soldiers for an ambush.

Considering that the Meteor Dragon Society has a combat power of Cang Lan's level, ordinary elites are simply not enough.

To ensure absolute safety, Longcheng had no choice but to send out the governor.

And there must be more than one.

"We've been keeping an eye on the four governors stationed at Dragonfang Defense Line, as well as the one at Azurewater Harbor," Summers said in a deep voice. "Kreisor Dragon City is probably worried that we've fallen for their diversionary tactic, so those five shouldn't make a move."

"In addition, two or three governors will definitely remain in Kreisoron City to oversee things, so they will only be sending four or five governors at most this time."

Four to five Golden Peaks...

Anton's eyes flickered.

This is undoubtedly a large-scale operation.

This is probably the largest gathering of Golden Peak members in the history of Eldron Plains, enough to devour all of the Meteor Dragon Society's current power in Eldron Plains.

No wonder Kreisor Dragon City dared to set up this trap.

They were completely fearless and full of confidence.

However, the more this is the case, the less likely the Meteor Dragon Society will take the bait.

They're not stupid.

Sure enough, Summers then said, "Including you, our Meteor Dragon Society only has three peak Gold-level combatants. Half a month is too short a time, and there isn't enough time to transfer manpower from other branches. If it's just you and Lord First Torch, attacking the transport team is suicide."

"We have no choice but to abandon this bait."

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Anton nodded calmly, not surprised that his superiors would make this decision.

Even when Kreisoron set up this trap, they probably didn't have high hopes for the Meteor Dragon to take the bait.

They were just thinking of taking a chance, even if there were no chances.

It would be best if the meteorite dragon took the bait, so that they could be caught in one fell swoop.

If not, just treat it as a normal transportation operation; there's no loss anyway.

"If you're not planning to take action, then why did you call me here?" Anton asked.

Summers cleared his throat before getting to the point: "The higher-ups plan to launch a large-scale attack on the southern line of the Dragon Fang defense line on the day the transport convoy departs, aiming to destroy all military outposts along the southern line in one fell swoop."

After a moment's thought, Anton quickly understood.

On the day the transport team departed, the attention of Cresolon City was certainly focused on the north.

If the Meteor Dragon Society takes this opportunity to attack the southern military outposts in the opposite direction, the governor in charge of the ambush will definitely not be able to return to the rescue in a short time, and the chances of success are quite high.

but……

"Are you so sure Cresol Dragon City didn't anticipate this?" Anton asked with a half-smile. "What if they were prepared for this move in advance?"

Summers shrugged: "That's still more likely to succeed than attacking a convoy."

Anton smiled slightly and said no more.

It's possible that Kreisor Dragon City guessed the Meteor Dragon Society's intentions and instead laid an ambush on the southern front in advance...

But if you think like that, you'll get caught in an endless nesting loop of "I figured out the other side had an ambush here - the other side figured out I figured out the other side had an ambush here - I figured out the other side figured out I figured out the other side had an ambush here..."

This cycle repeats itself, and the more one thinks about it, the more traps seem to lurk everywhere, ultimately leading to indecisiveness and missed opportunities.

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There are risks in doing anything.

If there is a certain chance of success, you should act decisively.

Hesitation and indecisiveness will prevent you from accomplishing anything.

"This operation is of great importance. The higher-ups intend to use all their resources, and both the First Torchbearer and the other Torchbearer will be involved." Summers looked intently at Anton. "The higher-ups want you to participate in this operation as well, so they asked me to ask for your opinion."

Anton pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head under the expectant gazes of Scott and Summers.

"Sorry, I refuse."

Scott and Summers were stunned, completely unexpected that Canglan would refuse.

Why?

Seemingly thinking that Canglan was concerned about the risks, Summers quickly explained.

"Only one governor is stationed on the southern front. If attacked, only the governors on the eastern and western fronts can arrive in time to provide support."

"As for Cressoron City, we can only send one governor at most."

"In other words, we can only face a maximum of four governors at the same time, and the enemy's strength is not much greater than ours."

"Moreover, our goal is not to kill the governors, but to hold them back, giving our men enough time to destroy the military outposts. Once the mission is complete, we will withdraw immediately. The four governors cannot stop you at all."

Anton waited patiently for him to finish speaking before calmly saying, "I'm not worried about the risks of the operation."

Summers was now completely baffled: "Then you...?"

Anton pointed to the map on the table: "But I prefer attacking the transport convoy to attacking the southern front of the Dragon Fang defense line."

The tent fell silent immediately after he said that.

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Scott and Summers were both stunned, their faces filled with astonishment.

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