Elven cultivators

The group walked across the gravel path at the edge of the mooring area toward the main gate of Annihilation Fortress.

The moment you pass through the city gate, a smell mixed with rust, sulfur, and coke hits you.

Looking around, the street was wide enough for more than a dozen fire-maned beasts to pass side by side. The road surface was paved with whole pieces of dark gray stone slabs, the surface of which was covered with scratches and pits of varying depths.

Those were the marks left by chariots, heavy boots, and dragging weapons, layer upon layer, like pages of paper that had been repeatedly written on and erased.

The buildings on both sides are low and sturdy, with uniform gray-black stone walls and windows so narrow that only one person can peek out, more like arrow emplacements than light-filled openings.

There is no artistic embellishment, only naked and undisguised pragmatism.

It has a style that is exactly the same as the original Cresol Dragon City, and even more intense.

This is not surprising.

This is, after all, a war fortress, not a city for people to live in.

The people who built it never intended it to be comfortable; they only wanted it to be sturdy, durable, and able to stop any enemy that tried to pass through.

However, it ultimately did not perfectly achieve the builder's purpose.

The group continued on their way.

The crowds on the streets gradually became denser.

A group of heavily armored, massive minotaurs carrying giant axes walked across the street, their heavy footsteps causing the stone slabs to tremble slightly.

Their hair is dark brown, they wear copper rings on their noses, their bodies are muscular, and they have a pair of large, curved horns like those of a argali sheep on their heads.

Roman's gaze lingered on the group of minotaurs for a moment before being drawn to the creatures nearby.

It was a creature she had never seen before.

Their bodies are like human children magnified several times, with a height of just over one meter, short and thick limbs, round bellies, and bluish-gray skin covered with wet mucus, like toads just pulled out of the water.

What is most striking is their backs, where a huge fleshy growth rises up like a camel's hump, rising and falling slightly with their breathing, and faintly visible blue blood vessels meander across the surface of the growth.

"Anton, what race are those?" Roman asked Anton, pointing at the creatures.

"That's the Sangworms." Anton glanced at them and casually explained, "They are a well-known spellcaster race. The fleshy lump on their backs is a natural magic storage organ that can store a large amount of magic. Because of this organ, they can easily condense magic circuits, making them natural spellcasters."

Roman clicked his tongue in amazement, glanced around, and then pointed to a group of slender, pale blue humanoid creatures not far away, asking, "What race are those?"

The humanoid creatures resembled elves in appearance, with similarly long, pointed ears, but were much shorter, only one-fifth the height of an adult human, like miniature versions of elves.

They wore light leather armor, with short bows hanging from their waists, and moved as lightly as cats, landing silently.

"Those are forest fairies, distant relatives of our elves. They are skilled in illusion and concealment, natural scouts."

"What about that one?"

"Those are sea serpents..."

Roman, like a curious child, kept asking about the origins of the various races he encountered along the way.

Anton was very open with his knowledge, and occasionally he would add some interesting facts and anecdotes about these races.

Grant and his two companions initially listened with great interest, but their expressions grew increasingly surprised as the story progressed.

The current Annihilation Fortress has gathered countless races from all over the continent; it would not be an exaggeration to say that all races have gathered here.

Even with their extensive knowledge and experience, having traveled throughout mainland China and interacted with various ethnic groups for many years, they wouldn't dare claim to recognize every single one.

However, along the way, Roman asked about some of the races, some of which even Roman himself couldn't name.

Not only did Anton recognize them all, but he could also readily describe their racial characteristics and special abilities, as if he knew them by heart.

It was as if there was no race he didn't know.

As far as they knew, Anton was not even two hundred years old this year, and he spent most of his time in the Eldron Plains, never venturing out to travel.

Where did he learn so much about race?

books?

impossible.

Even the most comprehensive racial encyclopedia on the mainland doesn't introduce so many obscure and remote races.

In their eyes, Anton at this time was more like a walking racial encyclopedia.

Grant and his two companions exchanged glances, all filled with surprise and uncertainty.

The Silvermoon Clan elves, however, remained quite calm.

They were no longer surprised by the unusual things their clan leader occasionally did.

"The Annihilation Fortress is now roughly divided into five areas."

Once inside the fortress, Grant gathered his thoughts and began to describe the fortress's layout.

"The Southern District is where the Allied Command Headquarters is located, and the staff of the five major powers are all there. Outsiders are not allowed to enter."

"The east and west wings are military garrison areas, where permanent troops from various ethnic groups are stationed."

"The northern district is specifically used to house the top combat forces of various races who have come to participate in the war at the invitation of the Allied Forces."

He pointed to a higher area not far ahead.

A relatively well-organized group of buildings can be vaguely seen, showing signs of careful renovation compared to the surrounding rough military buildings.

Before long, the group entered the North District.

Grant had already made arrangements, leading the elves directly to a courtyard that was quite large.

The outer wall of the courtyard was made of grayish-white sandstone, about two people high, and the top of the wall was covered with some kind of dark green vines.

Pushing open the iron gate, one is greeted by a small courtyard with a stone path in the center and several unidentified shade-tolerant shrubs planted on both sides.

It's clear that someone had managed to tidy it up during the lulls in the war; while it wasn't exactly exquisite, it was at least clean.

The main building is a three-story stone building. The first floor has a living room and a dining room, while the second and third floors each have several bedrooms.

"The conditions are basic, nothing like Silvermoon Forest," Grant said, "but for this fortress, it's considered a decent place to stay."

"You've come from afar, so rest for the day. We'll treat you to a welcome dinner tonight, and tomorrow we'll take you to the Burning Beacon Hall. That's where all the elites register to enter the subspace, and it's also where you exchange contribution points for resources. Elites from all races exchange intelligence and hand over missions there, making it the core of the entire Northern District."

Igner sidled up to Anton and grinned, "Anton, let's have a few drinks tonight."

As he said this, Igna's eyes flickered slightly, clearly still thinking about the Flying Cloud Ship.

But Grant had already grabbed his shoulder without saying a word and pushed him toward the door.

"Alright, alright, let them settle in first. We can talk about it tonight."

Alicia nodded slightly to Anton as a farewell, then turned and followed the two away.

The three Star Pillars quickly disappeared outside the courtyard gate, leaving only the Silver Moon Clan members in the courtyard.

"Find a room yourself," Anton said.

The elves nodded and went upstairs.

Anton then walked into the stone building.

His divine sense had already detected a basement here, which was perfect for setting up a teleportation array.

However, before that, we need to set up functional formations such as warning, soundproofing, reinforcement, and concealment of energy fluctuations.

By the time Anton had finished setting up the arrays except for the teleportation array, it was already evening.

Grant, Igner, and Alicia arrived as promised.

There are no restaurants in Annihilation Fortress, only camps that supply food to the army.

However, this is no challenge for the mighty Five Star Pillar.

Grant arranged a room in the camp and hosted a welcome dinner.

During the meal, Grant gave a general overview of the fortress's condition.

Igner, on the other hand, kept urging Anton to consider collaborating with him on the development of airship technology.

Alicia remained taciturn as always, only occasionally adding a few words.

After the banquet, the three pillars of the stars took their leave.

The elves then returned to their dwellings.

Roman was eager to go out for a stroll, but Anton stopped him.

"This fortress is now a melting pot of elites from multiple races, and the situation is far more complex than it appears on the surface. Try to avoid going out during this time to prevent any unforeseen complications."

The elves all nodded.

In just half a day, they had already witnessed the extraordinary nature of the Annihilation Fortress.

Golden peaks, rarely seen elsewhere, are everywhere here.

You can encounter dozens of them if you just walk around the street.

There are even quite a few legendary powerhouses among them.

In the event of a conflict, a legendary powerhouse might suddenly appear from nowhere.

In a place like this, you can never be too careful.

After letting the elves rest and recharge, Anton turned around and went back to the basement to continue setting up the teleportation array.

Although the allied forces have only achieved a partial victory and have not yet completely destroyed the Dragon Court, the conflicts between the various races have quietly surfaced.

They might not stab each other in the back on the battlefield, but in this fortress, private frictions and conflicts never ceased.

This seemingly united fortress harbors far more cracks within than they appear on the surface.

This is the inherent weakness of intelligent life.

……

The next morning, shortly after dawn, Grant appeared outside the gate.

Igna and Alicia did not come together.

According to Grant, Igner was dragged to the workshop area early in the morning by the people of the Heart of the Mountains, where a new batch of damaged golems had arrived that he needed to inspect personally.

Alicia went to the Southern Command Center, where the Emerald Court's staff had a meeting this morning regarding the distribution of subspace nodes.

Anton didn't mind and, together with the elves and Grant, headed deeper into the northern district.

The Burning Beacon Hall is located in the heart of the North District.

That place was originally the Dragon Clan's Hall of War Victories, a ceremonial venue used to commend meritorious service and award medals.

After the Allied Forces took over, they changed the name and used it directly as a place to exchange contribution points and subspace intelligence.

From afar, one can see a large number of creatures of various appearances entering and exiting the hall entrance.

The crowds were endless, and the place was extremely lively.

Once inside, they discovered that the interior of the hall was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside, clearly due to some kind of spatial expansion magic.

A very spacious circular open space sits in the center of the hall, surrounded by a ring of stone counters, dividing the hall into inner and outer layers.

A floating crystal panel hangs every few steps on the counter.

Intelligent beings from different races stood before the crystal plate, their fingers sliding across it as if examining something.

Grant led the group around the central open space, saying as they walked, "This is your first time here. I'll take you to the registration desk to enter your identity information and get your identity badges. Only with these badges will you be able to access missions, contribution points, and exchange privileges in the Allied Forces system."