Elven cultivators

"have."

Anton didn't explain much, he just briefly mentioned the Nine Heavens Thunder Suppressing Yuan Formation.

Although the Meteor Dragon Society secretly spread information about the battle at Gray Rock Pass, it did not reveal details about the Nine Heavens Thunder Suppressing Formation and the Five Battalions of Divine Soldiers.

Apart from the parties involved, outsiders have no idea what exactly happened.

Upon hearing Anton's words, the eyes of the three elders lit up.

The magic array that can suppress and injure five governors should also play a significant role in dealing with high-level mind flayers.

But then the Grand Elder frowned: "But what about magic arrays... will those Mind-Stealing Demons fall for them?"

The Second Elder and the Third Elder also realized what was happening, and the same doubts appeared on their faces.

Indeed, it is not easy to ambush a peak-level Gold Saint using a magic array.

Not to mention that mind flayers are born with psychic abilities and have a far more acute sense of danger than ordinary creatures.

Luring them into a trap would likely be far more difficult than dealing with the Dragonborn Archon.

Anton shook his head: "I don't intend to use this to ambush the Mind Flayers, but rather as a retreat route when we attack the Mind Flayer mines."

The Grand Elder was taken aback: "What's the specific plan?"

Anton flicked his finger, and a wisp of true energy escaped from his fingertip, transforming into countless thin rays of light that intertwined in the void to outline a three-dimensional model.

It is a map of the area surrounding the Mind Flayer city-state.

The locations of all the Mind Flayer garrisons' mines are marked with red dots above.

He pointed to one of the mines furthest from the Mind Flayer city-state and said, "We can attack this place first, lure the high-ranking Mind Flayers out of the city-state, and reduce the pressure we have to face."

The three elders immediately understood what Anton meant.

The Mind Flayer mastermind will definitely leave at least two or three high-ranking Mind Flayers to guard the city-state, and perhaps also the garrison troops stationed at the mithril mine.

In this way, they would not have to face all the high-level mind flayers, and the pressure would be much less than if they directly attacked the mind flayer city-states.

The elder quickly began to calculate in his mind.

If they're lucky, they'll only have to face five or six high-level Mind Flayers at a time. In the worst-case scenario, they'll face eight at once.

This number should be roughly correct.

After a moment's hesitation, the Grand Elder couldn't help but ask Anton, "How many high-level Mind Flayers can you handle at most, assuming you're confident of victory?"

The Second Elder and the Third Elder also cast inquiring glances their way.

They were also eager to know just how strong Anton truly was.

However, Anton's answer took them by surprise.

"It's hard to say."

Hard to say?

The three elders looked at each other, wondering what this meant.

Anton coughed lightly and explained, "Without using the power of laws, my limit is dealing with three high-level Mind Flayers at the same time."

The premise is that we need to fight a protracted war.

By absorbing full soul power using the Soul-Suppressing Bell and then releasing the Divine Cleansing Sound Wave, you can control three enemies while unleashing a full-force attack. At least one high-level Mind-Stealing Demon can be killed in the process, and the remaining two can be dealt with using flying swords.

Upon hearing this, the three elders all fell silent.

Without using the power of laws, he can simultaneously deal with three peak-level Gold Saints...

They never dreamed that one day they would hear such words.

Has Anton's strength grown to such an unbelievable level?

Unaware of the three elders' thoughts, Anton continued, "If we were to use the power of the laws, it would depend on the specific circumstances."

"My power of laws is rather special; it requires time to accumulate, and the more I accumulate, the stronger it becomes."

Is there such a power of law?

The three elders looked astonished.

Could it be the highest-level time law?

No, that's impossible.

No one on the Dawn Continent has ever been known to have awakened the highest level of existential power.

Perhaps only the legendary Dragon God could master this level of laws.

After a long moment of stunned silence, the Grand Elder finally asked, "How long do you need to accumulate this?"

Anton said calmly, "In ten years, I am confident that I can take down seven or eight high-level Mind Flayers on my own."

Two months to condense a single drop of dark, heavy water; ten years to make sixty drops.

Adding the existing five drops, the total is sixty-five drops.

With a single strike, all of them could be instantly killed, easily eliminating five or six peak-level Gold Saints.

This is the benefit of having sufficient firepower.

The three elders fell silent once again.

If someone else said this, they would just think it's a fantasy.

But what about Anton...?

Before they could recover from their shock, Anton dropped another bombshell.

"In addition, I have also crafted a kind of puppet called the Five Camps Divine Soldiers. As long as 625 of them are gathered and arranged in an array, they can reliably trap a high-level Mind-Stealing Demon."

The Five Battalions of Divine Soldiers might be more effective against high-level Mind Flayers than against Dragonborn.

After all, the Five Battalions of Divine Soldiers have no independent consciousness and are not affected by psychic energy.

Many of the Mind Flayer's moves—including his signature Mind Blast—have no effect on the Five Legions.

The Five Elements Formation with the number 625 is not only capable of trapping a high-level Mind-Stealing Demon, but it could also wear it down to death.

However, Anton did not explicitly state this.

Even so, the three elders were already quite shocked.

They had only heard of alchemical golems capable of dealing with peak-level gold-tier beings before, and had never seen one in person.

Although Anton mentioned more than six hundred alchemical golems, it was still quite astonishing.

The cards Anton had repeatedly played had left them somewhat numb with shock.

Fortunately, Anton didn't reveal any more cards, leaving them unsure whether to breathe a sigh of relief or feel disappointed.

"In short, if you give me ten years, I can solve the problem of the gap in top-tier combat power."

Anton gave his final closing remarks.

In ten years, he should be able to gather 1,250 elite soldiers from the Five Battalions.

It can form two Five Elements formations with the number 625.

At that time, he should have already broken through to the seventh level of Foundation Establishment.

Add sixty-five drops of dark, heavy water.

As long as there are no legendary-ranking Mind Flayer elders or double-digit peak Gold Mind Flayers in the Mind Flayer city-state, he can crush them all by himself.

There was no need for the First Elder and the Second Elder to even take action.

The three elders were eventually persuaded by Anton.

The existence of the Mind Flayer City-State has always been a sword of Damocles hanging over the clans.

They cannot sleep or eat in peace until this problem is eliminated.

Instead of passively defending, it's better to take the initiative.

Moreover, conquering the Mind Flayer city-state will yield a large amount of loot.

Of course, most importantly, Anton had made all the arrangements.

They even considered using a magic array as a fallback plan, minimizing the risks.

Given this, what is there for them to hesitate about?

"The clan will fully support you; just tell me what you need."

The Grand Elder spoke solemnly.

"I need more magic cores," Anton immediately requested. "Also, please help me purchase more rare metals from Grayrock Castle."

"no problem."

The Grand Elder agreed without hesitation.

He paused, then added, "Also, we will keep your identity confidential for the time being."

Anton nodded knowingly.

He understood what the Grand Elder meant.

It's not that I don't trust my clansmen, but Canglan's identity is of great importance, and the fewer people who know about it, the better.

If it weren't for needing the full support of the Elder Council to deal with the Mind Flayer City-State, he wouldn't have revealed Cang Lan's identity now, but would have waited for a more suitable time in the future to tell him.

……

With clear goals and plans in place, Anton then focused on the preparations.

After inventing the combination of sensing spirit stones and spirit fire talismans, the work of making potions was basically handed over to the clan's pharmacists.

One of the prerequisites for crafting rune-inscribed equipment, the work of metal smelting, was also entrusted to the clan's weapon refiners.

This freed up a lot of energy and time for Anton.

Nowadays, apart from occasionally crafting rune equipment, refining Rejuvenation Pills, and setting up Spirit Gathering Arrays, he devotes most of his energy to cultivation and condensing the Netherworld Heavy Water.

Occasionally, he would take some time to forge the Five Camps of Divine Weapons.

During this time, Anton also considered whether he should cultivate another near-divine method, or forge one or two more magical artifacts.

But after careful consideration, I decided to give up.

With very few exceptions, most near-divine techniques consume a lot of true energy.

His true energy was barely enough to support his flying sword, and adding a near-divine technique would only exacerbate the problem of his lack of true energy.

Moreover, one or two methods are sufficient for fighting enemies.

Exquisite is not expensive.

As for near-divine methods like the Netherworld Heavy Water, there are still some in the Great Dao Jade Slip.

However, Anton is currently using all his true essence to condense the Netherworld Heavy Water. If he were to master another technique, it would be time-consuming and laborious, and he wouldn't have any extra true essence to condense daily.

The same principle applies to ritual implements.

He currently possesses three major magical artifacts: the Sword Pellet, the Fire Shield, and the Soul-Suppressing Bell.

It has attack, speed, and defense.

There is no need to refine any more magical artifacts.

The number of magical artifacts that can be controlled simultaneously during combat is limited; having more is useless.

Unless there is more time in the future, one can consider mastering several near-divine techniques and crafting several magical artifacts to improve combat flexibility.

And so, Anton gradually built up his trump cards.

Time slips away like sand through our fingers.

Summer of the year 9345 in the Dawn Calendar.

Anton successfully broke through to the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, taking another step closer to Core Formation.

The abundance of true energy allowed him to wield the flying sword with even greater ease.

I also gained a deeper understanding of the spectroscopic separation method.

However, it is still a little short of the level of "one transforms into sixteen".

The breakthrough in his cultivation also accelerated the speed at which he condensed the Netherworld Heavy Water.

In the same year, the Silvermoon Clan celebrated another joyous occasion.

Roman made a breakthrough.

On the night of the breakthrough, Roman immediately came to share his joy with Anton.

Anton was happy for her, so he invited Eleanor along, and the three of them had a barbecue in the backyard as a small celebration.

Roman's breakthrough means that the Silvermoon Clan has gained another Gold-tier fighter.

Although the advancement method for cultivators of the Strength Rank is completely different from that of ordinary warriors, in terms of combat power, they are only stronger among those of the same rank.

It's worth mentioning that Eleanor has already broken through to the peak of Silver rank and is currently making her way to the Gold rank.

Elena, the vice-captain of the Forest Guard, also broke through to the middle level of the Gold Realm not long after she switched to cultivating the Eight Desolations Prison Scripture.

The clan was thriving and producing many talented individuals, which pleased the three elders.

Anton, however, had little time to bask in this joy, as he continued his preparations for attacking the Mindbreaker city-state.

Two more years have passed.

Summer of the year 9347 in the Dawn Calendar.

Just as Anton was condensing the dark, heavy water as usual, a thought suddenly struck him.

The warning array set up at the other end of the rift emitted a warning signal that it had been activated.