Elven cultivators

Spring of the year 9396 in the Dawn Calendar.

Subspace entrance.

A vast, distorted light curtain stretched across the mountain path, like a semi-transparent veil crumpled by an invisible giant hand, blurring the scenery deep within the Holy Dragon Mountains into an indistinguishable outline.

Three teams sat scattered in an open space in front of the entrance.

Humans, dwarves, and elves. Elites from different races either closed their eyes to rest, or bent their heads to wipe their weapons, or silently checked the scrolls and potion bottles at their waists.

No one spoke loudly; the only sounds in the air were the soft rustling of metal against leather and the occasional whisper.

The teams maintained a tacit distance from each other, refraining from disturbing one another.

The leaders of the three teams sat on a flat rock in the middle, chatting casually while waiting for the subspace entrance to open.

Igner sat cross-legged, holding a silver wine pouch in his hand. He tilted his head back and took a big gulp. The strong liquor dripped down his beard onto his armor, but he didn't care. He wiped it off casually and spoke in a deep, muffled voice.

"After destroying eleven spatial nodes, finding them is now much easier than before. The range of spatial fluctuations has more than doubled, and the movement patterns of the nodes are much easier to detect."

"At this rate, the remaining seven nodes will all be taken down in less than ten years. We'll soon be able to destroy this damned warp."

Grant leaned against the rock, his hands behind his head, and glanced at him with a teasing smile.

"Over the years, thanks to the war, Heart of the Mountains has sold a large number of magical equipment and alchemical golems, making a fortune. If the war ends too quickly, your source of income will be cut off."

Igna snorted and curled his lip, saying, "Our stuff sells for a living. Magical equipment, alchemical golems, magic crystal machinery—aren't they all hot commodities? Even after the war ends, there will be plenty of people all over the continent begging to buy our things."

Grant laughed and pointed at Anton.

"That's not necessarily true. Which of the Silvermoon Clan's civilian magic crystal products and rune equipment is of lower quality than your Heart of the Mountains? You're not the only buyer they can choose from."

Igna paused, opened his mouth, then closed it again, the wine flask in his hand hovering in mid-air. After a long while, he took a slurred gulp without saying a word.

He couldn't refute it.

The quality of items from the Silvermoon Clan is indeed comparable to that of the Heart of the Mountains.

Even in the field of civilian magic crystal products, the Silver Moon Clan is far ahead of the Heart of the Mountains in terms of both the variety of products and their cost-effectiveness.

Those exquisite and durable magic crystal lamps and magic crystal furnaces are now found in towns and villages across many places, becoming indispensable daily necessities for countless families.

If the Dawn Continent weren't so vast that the Silvermoon Clan couldn't possibly control the entire market, the Heart of the Mountains would probably have been nothing.

Anton simply smiled faintly and did not interrupt.

Nineteen years have passed since the start of the subspace offensive and defensive war.

As more and more spatial nodes are destroyed, the coalition forces are gradually accelerating their conquest of the warp.

At this rate, the remaining seven nodes probably won't take more than ten years.

The Allied forces conquered the subspace much faster than in the original timeline.

The reason for this is the chain reaction triggered by his butterfly flapping its wings.

Putting aside other things, three of the space nodes destroyed by the coalition forces were related to him.

One of them could even be said to have been destroyed by him alone.

In such circumstances, it is not surprising that history has changed dramatically.

"Anton, once things are settled in the subspace, what are your plans? How about we attack Holy Dragon City together?"

Grant then suddenly asked Anton a question.

Igna also put down his wine flask and looked over with piercing eyes.

Anton's eyes flickered slightly, then he shook his head: "No."

Igner frowned and said, "Why? That was the final battle to annihilate the dragons. What a pity to miss it! Don't you want to witness the destruction of the dragons?"

"Our clan is weak and cannot withstand heavy casualties," Anton said with an irrefutable reason. "The Silver Moon Clan is not suitable to get involved in a decisive battle of the magnitude of Holy Dragon City."

Grant and Igner exchanged a glance and remained silent.

Anton's concerns were not without merit.

However, this was only one of Anton's concerns.

Previously, attacking the Annihilation Fortress required a massive amount of cannon fodder, so the five top powers formed a multi-race alliance, sending countless vassal and allied races to the front lines.

Attacking the subspace requires elite combat power, so the five major forces recruited strong individuals from across the continent, attracting experts from all sides with generous contribution points.

But Holy Dragon City is different.

After the continuous depletion of resources from the wars in the Dark Fortress and the Warp, even a powerful race like the Dragonflight is nearing its end.

Their elite legions were decimated on the walls of Annihilation Fortress.

Their legendary dragons suffered heavy casualties in the Warp.

The entire dragon clan's resources have been almost completely depleted.

In contrast, the five top powers have retained most of their combat strength.

They can take over Holy Dragon City on their own; there's no need to share this last piece of the pie with other forces.

Even if they manage to get involved, the final share of the profits would likely be very limited.

The risks and rewards are completely disproportionate.

Anton had no interest in doing something so thankless and exhausting.

Moreover, once the Dragon Slaying War ends, the five top powers will immediately tear off their masks of shared hatred and begin a new round of war over the ownership of the Holy Dragon Mountain Range.

The Holy Dragon Mountain Range is the largest ley line node on the Dawn Continent, and the immense energy it contains is enough to make any power covet it.

The ownership of this mountain range could, to some extent, directly determine the power structure of the continent after the war.

The five major powers will not give it up easily; they will inevitably fight it to the death.

Given the Silvermoon Clan's current strength, getting involved in a conflict of this level would likely result in their annihilation if they were not careful.

Rather than taking the risk of coveting things that don't belong to you, it's better to look elsewhere.

Anton's thoughts drifted to farther places.

In the original history, after the fall of Holy Dragon City and the death of the Dragon Court Lord, the surviving dragons made the crazy decision to enter the Storm Rift in a desperate situation.

That forbidden land of death swallowed up most of the dragons that tried to cross it, with only a lucky few managing to escape.

Finally, led by a holy dragon, they fled to the Netherworld Trench and went into hiding.

The Nether Trench is located about 300 nautical miles south of the Eternal Night Islands, the southernmost point of the Dawn Continent. It is a forgotten deep-sea rift.

Not only are the resources scarce there, but the seawater is also icy cold all year round, with water pressure high enough to crush steel.

The seabed topography is as complex as a three-dimensional maze, with turbulent undercurrents and chaotic magnetic fields.

These extreme conditions deter even the most familiar sea creatures from venturing into the ocean.

Even deep-sea creatures rarely venture into that area.

More importantly, the magnetic field of the Nether Trench is extremely unique, capable of absorbing magical fluctuations and mental probes, acting as a natural shield.

The dragons are hiding there, and unless they actively reveal themselves, they are almost impossible to be discovered by the outside world.

If the original course of history had not been fundamentally altered by his intervention, and the holy dragon had still led the remaining dragons to the Nether Trench, then the best place to ambush them would be the Eternal Night Islands.

That's the only way to reach the Netherworld Trench!

Anton silently calculated the timeline in his mind.

The decisive battle for Holy Dragon City won't come too soon. The war in the warp will last at least another seven or eight years, after which the allied forces will need to rest, regroup, and formulate battle plans.

It would take at least two or three years to conquer Holy Dragon City.

All things considered, he has about ten years to prepare.

Dealing with a Saint Dragon, even a wounded one, is still extremely difficult and risky.

That is the power standing at the very top of the Dawn Continent, an existence that surpasses even legends.

He must make thorough preparations.

Besides maximizing both magical power and the Golden Core as quickly as possible, it would be best to refine all six Ding and six Jia guardian deities.

When the twelve guardian deities gather, they can form the Six Ding Six Jia Formation.

This would give us a greater chance of defeating the Holy Dragon.

Besides the Holy Dragon, Anton was also concerned about something else.

After the war to slay the dragon ended, the continent did not usher in peace and tranquility.

Five top forces are locked in a fierce battle in the Holy Dragon Mountains.

A new wave of chaos will also engulf the continent beyond the Holy Dragon Mountains.

Those forces freed from the war began to turn their attention to the former Dragon City—also known as the Leyline Node—as well as magic stone veins, rare mineral deposits, and strategic locations throughout the land.

These resource points will become the focus of contention among various forces.

Although the Silvermoon Clan resides in the eastern part of the continent, it is impossible for them to remain completely aloof.

Anton must make preparations in advance.

To ensure that the Silvermoon Clan has sufficient strength to defend themselves and even fight back when the tide comes in.

"What are you thinking about, so lost in thought?"

Grant's voice pulled Anton out of his reverie.

Anton snapped out of his daze and noticed that Grant and Igner were both looking at him with inquisitive eyes.

"It's nothing." Anton shook his head, his expression calm as usual. "I'm just thinking about how to handle things after I get back."

Igna nodded understandingly: "With greater power comes more trivial matters."

Grant, unsuspecting, casually changed the subject.

Just then, the distorted light curtain of the subspace entrance in the distance began to fluctuate violently, and the opening and closing frequency of the spatial rifts at the edges suddenly increased.

The entrance is about to open.

Igner took the last swig of wine, slung the wine flask over his waist, and grinned, "Let's go. This time we must find a new spatial node. You guys beat us to it last time, this time it's my turn."

Anton straightened up from the rock, took one last look at the hazy horizon in the distance, and turned to walk towards the entrance to the subspace.

Whether it's a holy dragon or a chaotic situation on the continent, what's meant to happen will happen.

All he could do was make himself stronger and the Silvermoon Clan stronger before the storm arrived.

Then, stand firm until the very end amidst the storm.