Elven cultivators

"Have you heard? The Meteor Dragon Sword Saint has taken two members of his clan and entered the spatial node alone."

"What? How could that be? Isn't that suicide?"

"Is it true or false? Don't tell me it's just hearsay."

"It's absolutely true. I heard that Lord William and Lady Deborah witnessed it themselves."

"This is insane, absolutely insane..."

A message suddenly spread throughout the Dark Fortress.

At first, not many people believed it.

Although the Meteor Dragon Sword Saint is incredibly powerful, it would be absurd to say that he could attack a single spatial node with just one team.

That's something even the most legendary figures wouldn't dare to try easily.

Even the most insane person wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

However, as more details emerged from different channels, the veracity of the news began to rise at an undeniable pace.

Especially when a video recording captured by the crystal was quietly circulated, all the doubts came to an abrupt end.

The footage clearly records the entire process of Anton leading two elves into the gray-white mist, followed by the mist collapsing and disappearing.

The news is absolutely true.

The Annihilation Fortress was immediately thrown into an uproar.

The docking yard, the Burning Beacon Hall, the entrance to the subspace... everyone was talking about it.

"Without a legendary expert leading the way, what's the difference between three elves attacking a spatial node and suicide?"

"Has the Meteor Dragon Sword Saint gotten too cocky after winning a few battles? He's really showing no respect for the dragon race."

"It's a pity that the Elven race produced such a genius, only to perish in this way."

For a time, discussions about this matter were rampant.

Some felt regret, some were shocked, some were confused, and some were secretly delighted.

But regardless of their inner thoughts, everyone accepted one fact.

The Fallen Dragon Sword Saint, who once single-handedly slaughtered more than thirty dragons and was regarded as a rising star, is now probably in grave danger.

……

The northern district of the fortress, the residence of the Emerald Court.

Alvin stood by the window, holding a cup of warm moon dew tea in his hand, his gaze gazing through the window at the hazy sky in the distance.

The steam from the tea rose gently from the cup, forming a thin mist that blurred his expression in front of his face.

"Has the news been confirmed?" His voice was so calm that it betrayed no emotion.

"It's confirmed." The elf behind him bowed slightly, his voice low. "Anton did indeed bring two of his people into the spatial node. William's team from the Free Alliance and Deborah's team from the Tide Temple were also present at the time, and both teams confirmed this."

"The footage of the crystal has also been confirmed to be without any problems."

"...What is Anton thinking?" Alvin turned around, his tone finally revealing a hint of undisguised astonishment.

The elf behind him did not respond.

Alvin didn't expect his subordinate to answer, and frowned as he fell into deep thought.

Over the years, he has made many attempts to curry favor with that Meteor Dragon Sword Saint.

He even leveraged his connections and relationships within the Emerald Court to facilitate several new trade collaborations between the court and the Silvermoon Clan.

Even so, Anton remained unmoved by his attempts to recruit him.

Alvin initially thought that Anton had gotten in touch with Alicia.

After all, Alicia and Anton had known each other for a longer time. They were both members of the Meteor Dragon Society and had several encounters, so it wouldn't be surprising if they joined forces.

However, after careful investigation, he discovered that Anton and Alicia had not been in contact much over the years, and had met only a handful of times.

On the contrary, Grant and Igner were closer to Anton.

This relieved Alvin, but also left him quite confused.

He couldn't understand why Anton would rather befriend a human or a dwarf than be close to him, a member of his own race.

But now, none of that matters anymore.

"An elf who has only been a legendary figure for a little over a decade has grown to the point where he can directly contend with a peak legendary figure." Alvin's expression was slightly complicated. "I originally thought that he might become another saint among the elves in the future..."

He sighed and didn't continue.

The elf behind him suddenly spoke in a low voice: "My lord, regarding the Silvermoon Clan... should we make some arrangements?"

Alvin's gaze sharpened slightly.

The Silver Moon Clan largely developed around Andong.

Without Andong, there would be no Silvermoon Clan as we know it today.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of the rise of the Silvermoon Clan is well aware of this.

It's very likely that Andong won't be able to come back now, and that clan is probably about to undergo a major upheaval.

They possess two ley line nodes and two magic stone veins, and control a multitude of priceless commodities such as rune equipment, tempered metals, potions, and talismans, yet they have lost their only legendary swordsman capable of maintaining order.

In the eyes of many forces, this is no less than a piece of fat meat.

By now, many forces are probably already sharpening their knives.

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; there is never a shortage of people in this world who will kick someone when they're down.

"No rush," Alvin said slowly after a moment's thought. "Let's see how things go."

……

Fortress Logistics Department.

Alicia sat behind the long table, holding a quill pen in her hand, the tip hovering above the list, yet she hesitated to bring it down.

"What on earth is that Anton thinking?"

Igner sat opposite her, his face filled with anxiety and confusion.

"Three elves attacking a spatial node—is that an idea any normal person would come up with? He usually seems like a very composed person, so why is he suddenly acting so impulsively?"

Alicia put down her quill, looked up, and said calmly, "I don't think Anton is such an irrational person."

"You mean the news is fake?" Igner scratched his beard. "The images recorded by the crystal are perfectly fine, and no one would bother to fake them."

Alicia shook her head: "It's probably true, but I think Anton must have had his reasons for doing this."

Seeing Igna frown and about to speak, Alicia added calmly, "If Anton were a reckless and impulsive person, your Heart of the Mountains wouldn't have failed to gain any advantage over him over the years."

Igna froze, opened his mouth, but found himself speechless.

The collaboration between the Heart of the Mountains and the Silvermoon Clan was a game of strategy from the very beginning.

Both sides want to extract the greatest benefit from the other while preserving their own trump cards as much as possible.

Throughout this struggle, the Heart of the Mountains was never able to extract any core technology from Andon.

Whether it's the sensing spirit stone, the spirit fire talisman, or the soaring flying boat that Igna coveted.

Anton's shrewdness and composure during this confrontation led Igna to secretly think he was a cunning fox.

Such a person is indeed unlikely to intentionally put themselves in a desperate situation.

But he really couldn't understand what tricks Anton had up his sleeve that allowed him to conquer a spatial node with just three elves.

"Anton has never gotten this far because of luck," Alicia said softly. "Since he dared to enter the spatial node, he must have had his reasons."

Igner was silent for a moment, then finally sighed: "I hope you're right."

……

Subspace entrance.

A large group of people suddenly appeared out of nowhere, crowding the open space around the entrance.

Excited laughter and shouts followed immediately.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"The seventh spatial node!"

"We've made a killing this time!"

"As expected of Lord Grant and Lord Rexxar, that Stormwing Dragon is no match for them."

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of agreement immediately rose from the surrounding crowd.

Everyone cast a look of awe and admiration at the two figures at the front.

At the front of the crowd, Grant and Rexxar stood side by side.

Both of them still bore many marks from the battle, but they didn't seem to have suffered any serious injuries, and their mental state was quite good.

"We were lucky this time; our two teams ran into each other, and we took the space node without much effort," Grant said with a smile.

Rexxar was not satisfied and frowned, saying, "I clearly said that I would handle that Stormwing Dragon, but you insisted on interfering."

Grant smiled dismissively.

He knew that Rexxar, having absorbed dragon blood, was more bloodthirsty, irritable, and increasingly belligerent than before.

However, attacking a spatial node is not like usual. They are on enemy territory, and the slightest carelessness could lead to the annihilation of the entire army. They must go all out.

So even though he knew Rexxar was unhappy, he still had to take action.

Byron, too, looked excited amid the crowd.

He was lucky this time, and he also got some credit by following Rexxar and Grant. After the settlement, he would probably get a lot of contribution points, enough to exchange for the legendary magic equipment he had always wanted.

Just then, a gray-haired wolf-like man strode over from the periphery of the crowd and whispered a few words in Byron's ear.

Byron's face showed disbelief.

He grabbed the wolf's arm, whispered a few questions, and after repeatedly confirming that everything was correct, his expression suddenly became extremely strange.

Astonishment, excitement, mockery... several distinct emotions mixed together to form a somewhat distorted smile.

"Lord Lexa."

Coming to his senses, Byron quickly walked to Rexxar's side and spoke in a deep voice, just enough for everyone around to hear clearly.

"I received news that Anton recently led two members of his tribe into a spatial node on his own."

The crowd suddenly fell silent.

The elite Allied forces, who were still chatting and laughing, seemed to have their throats gripped by an invisible hand, and all their voices were cut off at the same moment.

They looked at each other, their first reaction being skepticism.

"Did I hear that right?"

"What a joke! How could the Meteor Dragon Sword Saint be that stupid?"

"Byron, don't spread rumors behind Anton's back just because you have a little conflict with him."

The last sentence was spoken by the minotaur Clyde.

Byron scoffed and ignored Clyde.

He simply held his head high, waiting for Rexxar's response.

"Is the information reliable?" Rexxar asked in a deep voice.

"Absolutely true." Byron's voice carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement. "William's squad from the Freedom Alliance and Deborah's squad from the Tide Temple witnessed it firsthand, and there's also footage of it recorded by the crystal as evidence. This matter has now spread throughout the entire fortress."

After these words were spoken, no one had any further doubts.

Gasps and exclamations erupted from the crowd.

"Has Anton gone mad?"

Why would he be so suicidal?

"Even if you really want to contribute points, is it worth risking your life?"

Grant frowned, a look of surprise and uncertainty flashing in his eyes.

The Anton he knew wasn't such an impulsive and irrational person.

That guy never does anything he's not sure he can do.

But this time... Grant couldn't figure it out either.

Rexxar narrowed his eyes, a hint of doubt in his mind.

Did Anton really lose his mind and willingly go to his death?

Byron couldn't help but smile.

That elf was too arrogant. Did he really think that just because he killed some dragons, he was more powerful than everyone else?

Even Lord Rexxar and Lord Grant didn't dare to attack a spatial node with just one team, yet he did it. He's incredibly arrogant.

That's it, there's no going back.

Seeing that many people were still speculating about Anton's purpose, Byron sneered and said gloatingly, "No matter what Anton's purpose is, the result will not change. This Fallen Dragon Sword Saint is probably already dead under the claws of the dragons."

No sooner had the words been spoken than a calm voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."