Elven cultivators

The man didn't notice the change in Anton's expression. His gaze swept over the caravan members lying scattered on the ground, and his brows furrowed involuntarily before he looked up.

Upon seeing Grant's face clearly, he was slightly taken aback, clearly recognizing the legendary swordsman's identity, and his expression immediately became solemn.

"Lord Grant," he stepped forward, "I am Wesley, the captain of the Starlight City Guard. May I ask what has happened here?"

Grant did not answer, but calmly said, "The security team doesn't need to worry about what's going on here. I will explain it directly to the Alliance Council, and they will send someone to take over."

Wesley paused for a moment, but quickly nodded, a perfectly timed smile on his face: "Since Lord Grant has already made arrangements, then we will not interfere."

He paused, then his gaze naturally shifted to Anton beside him, as if he had only just noticed that there was an elf standing next to Grant, and a perfectly timed look of curiosity appeared on his face.

"Who is this...?"

Anton looked at him, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"You don't recognize me?" Anton asked with a half-smile. "You should know me quite well."

Wesley paused for a moment, but his reaction was quick. He immediately put on a knowing smile: "To be standing with Lord Grant and being an elf, you must be Lord Anton, the Sword Saint of the Fallen Dragon."

Anton smiled slightly and raised his palm without saying a word.

A purple-white lightning bolt suddenly rose between his five fingers, as if a clenched lightning bolt suddenly condensed in his palm, emitting a piercing crackling sound.

The next instant, he swung his hand and threw it, the lightning transforming into a sharp arc that slammed straight toward Wesley.

No one present expected Anton to make a sudden move, and they were all taken aback.

Just as the lightning was about to strike Wesley, a thick, grayish-white mist suddenly surged out of his body, quickly condensing into a cold, pale wall of bones in front of him.

The bone wall was covered with fine cracks and holes, exuding a sense of decay, but when the lightning struck it, it produced a terrifying collision sound, scattering bone fragments everywhere.

Crack!

The bone wall shattered with a deafening roar, and the power of the lightning diminished considerably, but it did not dissipate completely.

The remaining arc of electricity pierced through the shattered bones like a venomous snake, striking Wesley precisely in the chest and sending him flying backward, crashing heavily onto the gravel ground five or six meters away, raising a cloud of dust.

"Captain!" The guards, startled, drew their weapons and glared at Anton. "What are you doing?!"

"stop!"

Grant stepped forward to stop the guards, then looked at Anton and asked in confusion, "Anton, what's going on?"

He understood Anton's personality and knew that he was not the type to attack someone without reason.

Since he took action, he must have had his reasons.

Anton gestured with his chin, indicating that Grant should look in Wesley's direction.

Grant followed his gaze and his eyes suddenly froze.

Although Wesley's hastily assembled bone wall blocked most of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, the remaining lightning still left large scorch marks on his body, and his chainmail was burned with several black holes.

But that's about it.

Anyone could see that Wesley wasn't seriously injured.

This is clearly illogical.

Grant clearly felt that Anton's attack was extremely powerful; even he would have to go all out to face it head-on.

Moreover, this was done in a situation that was almost a sneak attack.

How could a security captain, who is at most at the Gold rank, possibly have the strength to block this attack?

It would be more appropriate to replace him with a saint.

The guard captain in front of me was clearly hiding his true strength.

He clearly possesses the strength level of a Saint.

Why would someone like that hide their strength and condescend to become the captain of a security team in a small town?

Grant looked at Wesley with a scrutinizing gaze, and quickly realized something was amiss.

The crack in Wesley's chainmail revealed skin that was an unnaturally pale color, like dried wax.

What's even more chilling is that on those pale skin, there are patches of purplish-black spots scattered here and there, like lividity.

This is not the skin a normal person should have.

Grant had dealt with many people from the Ring of Annihilation over the years, so he naturally understood what this appearance meant.

His gaze toward Wesley suddenly turned sharp.

The guards realized something was wrong, their weapons froze in mid-air, and their anger was replaced by shock and confusion.

Wesley slowly stood up, patted the scorch marks remaining on his chest, and the gentle, polite smile on his face had completely faded, replaced by a cold gloom.

He ignored the horrified soldiers and Grant's gaze, staring intently at Anton.

"How did you find out?"

The moment that bolt of lightning struck, Wesley felt his scalp tingle and an unprecedented sense of dread surge from the depths of his bones, as if he had encountered some kind of natural nemesis.

He barely managed to block the attack by fully activating the White Bone Law, almost instinctively.

But it was precisely because of this that his carefully maintained facade, which he had painstakingly maintained for so many years, was completely shattered.

What Wesley couldn't understand was where he had slipped up.

He and Anton had never met before and had no interaction with each other. How could the other party recognize his identity at first glance and take action without hesitation?

Anton did not answer the question.

You can't exactly say that you fought Wesley in a game in your past life, so you recognized him, can you?

Of course, there are always people in this world who look alike, and Anton couldn't be 100% sure that the person in front of him was the third seat of the Ring of Annihilation.

However, the two members of the Ring of Annihilation had mentioned that the third seat of the Ring of Eternity was located in the Starlight Plains. In addition, Wesley's appearance here at such a coincidental time was too much of a coincidence, so he decided to test the waters.

Anton actually held back some of his strength.

If Wesley doesn't react in time, he will dispel the Purple Lightning at the last moment.

However, the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning was far too effective against undead creatures. It was almost impossible for the undead members of the Ring of Annihilation to maintain their restraint against their "natural enemy," which is why Wesley was exposed.

"He is the third seat of the Eternal Ring," Anton said, turning to Grant.

Grant's eyes were full of surprise.

I never expected that just after mentioning the Eternal Ring, one of the parties involved would appear right in front of me.

He is now completely convinced that Anton has a thorough understanding of the Ring of Annihilation.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have recognized the core members of the Ring of Annihilation at first glance.

Seeing that Anton ignored his question, Wesley's face grew even more gloomy.

"I don't understand," he said in a low voice, "We, the Ring of Annihilation, don't have much of a grudge against you, so why do you keep targeting us?"

Anton chuckled and said, "It seems you still think we don't know that the Ring of Annihilation plans to open the Abyss."

Upon hearing this, Wesley's expression finally changed completely.

Even within the Ring of Annihilation, not all members knew about the opening of the Abyss.

Wesley also did not believe that anyone inside would leak information.

But how did an outsider like Anton know this?

However, Anton showed no intention of explaining.

The reason he spent so much time exchanging words with Wesley was simply to use Wesley's words to reaffirm the truth of the Abyss to Grant.

Now that the goal has been achieved, there's no need to keep him around any longer.

The next instant, the light of the Xuanjin sword leaped out from Anton's chest.

The sword light flickered and transformed into hundreds of flowing blades, like a golden storm sweeping across the night sky, engulfing Wesley.

Wesley's expression changed drastically, and he reacted almost simultaneously.

The grayish-white mist around him suddenly surged and expanded, instantly covering his body with a dense layer of bony carapace.

The bone fragments were layered and interlocked, like a heavy armor formed from bones, gleaming with a cold, grayish-white light in the afterglow of the campfire.

At the same time, a gray-white bone wall rose from the ground, like a skeleton being pulled from the earth by an invisible hand, unfolding into a tall and wide barrier in front of him.

The moment the torrent of sword light struck the wall of bones, shattered bones and sparks flew everywhere.

Bone fragments, like shredded twigs, swirled and rose into the night sky, only to be crushed even more by the subsequent golden sword light.

In an instant, the bone wall shattered, and a golden storm crashed into Wesley like a burst dam.

Crack!

Large, fine cracks instantly appeared on the surface of the skeletal armor, like ice that had been struck by a heavy hammer.

Wesley was terrified.

His skeletal armor was exceptionally sturdy; even a full-force attack from a Saint would not be so easily breached.

He suddenly noticed that the surface of those golden sword lights was faintly shimmering with a five-colored halo.

It gave off the same feeling as the purple lightning from before, both carrying an aura that made him tremble from the depths of his bones.

In shock, Wesley raised his hand and clenched it, and a long white bone spear suddenly materialized in his palm.

The spear was surrounded by a flowing, corrupting aura, like some living thing breathing.

He hurled his spear with a sudden burst of speed, the blade tearing through the air with a sharp whistle as it hurtled toward Anton's face. He himself retreated rapidly without hesitation.

Grant's gaze sharpened, and he was about to make a move to intercept, but then he heard Anton's calm voice in his ear.

"Don't worry, he can't escape."

The moment he finished speaking, Anton transformed into a streak of dark golden light and darted out, smashing through the oncoming bone spear and instantly appearing behind Wesley.

Before Wesley could even react a second time, Anton had already opened his mouth and spat out a stream of crimson-gold flames.

Hao Yi San Yang Qi!

As the flames swept through, the air itself was scorched, creating distorted ripples.

Wesley darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the flames head-on, but the edge of his left arm was still licked by the flames.

Blackened cracks quickly appeared on the left arm of the skeletal armor, and a faint dark red glow could be seen deep inside the cracks, like the embers left inside a burnt-out piece of wood.

A sharp pain exploded from deep within his arm bone, and Wesley groaned, his face changing drastically.

However, he couldn't finish his sentence. The second bolt of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning crashed down, like divine punishment, completely engulfing his vision in a blinding purple-white light.