Elven cultivators

Chapter 447 The Ring of Annihilation Reappears

New message?

The three elders all showed a change in expression.

They knew very well that ordinary messages simply wouldn't reach them.

But the last war had just ended not long ago, and both the Alliance and the Undead were recuperating. What important news could there be at this time?

The elder took the battle report from the officer, unfolded the scroll, and scanned it from top to bottom, his brows immediately furrowing.

Seeing this, the Third Elder asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Has something happened at the front lines?"

"Not the front line." The Grand Elder handed him the battle report. "Disciples patrolling the western defense line discovered traces of the Ring of Annihilation."

"The Ring of Annihilation?"

The elder was slightly taken aback, then quickly took the battle report and carefully read through it. After a moment, he put the report down and frowned.

"Ever since the Abyss opened, those guys have vanished into thin air, without a trace. It's been so many years, why are they suddenly reappearing now?"

The Second Elder asked in a deep voice, "What is their purpose?" The First Elder shook his head slightly, "It's not clear yet. We only know that they seem to be transporting something and trying to sneak through the western defense line back to the north. However, they were discovered by the patrolling disciples, who are now tracking them from a distance with magical artifacts without alerting them."

The Second Elder and the Third Elder immediately understood what was going on.

The Ring of Annihilation must have infiltrated the west long ago, plotting something. Now that it has clearly succeeded, it wants to break through the defenses and return to the north.

The Third Elder frowned and said, "The Freedom Alliance's defenses are too lax. Not only did they allow someone to infiltrate their territory, but they also failed to notice when someone sneaked across the defense line. If we hadn't arranged for inner and outer disciples to form patrol teams in advance, they probably would have escaped successfully."

The Second Elder did not respond, but simply shook his head slightly.

The Ring of Annihilation always acts in secrecy.

If they really are plotting something in the West, as long as they don't make too much of a fuss, it will be difficult for the Liberal Alliance to catch them red-handed.

The same applies to smuggling defenses. No matter how tight the defenses are, there are loopholes that cannot be covered. Unless a large-scale military operation is launched, it is not impossible to send an elite team to cross the border silently.

The only thing they hadn't expected was that the disciples of Taichu City possessed magical artifacts capable of detecting the presence of the undead.

Most of the people in the Ring of Annihilation have undergone undead transformation, and the deathly aura on their bodies cannot be hidden in front of those magical artifacts.

The Grand Elder pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "No matter what, we cannot allow the people of the Ring of Annihilation to escape back to the north."

"They've been plotting in the west for so long, what they've finally obtained must be extremely important. We must intercept it and see what it is." The Second Elder and the Third Elder naturally had no objections.

"Who should we send?" the Third Elder asked.

The elder thought for a moment and said, "Let Roman and Cedric lead the team, and select a few true disciples to accompany them."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ryan, who had been unable to contain himself, immediately said, "Elder, I'll go too."

The elder looked at him with surprise, his gaze lingering on his eager face for a moment before he immediately understood.

"I heard you've been thinking of exchanging for divine fragments lately?" the elder asked with a smile.

Ryan's Haoyang True Body cultivation speed is extremely fast. He is now at the third level of the Golden Core stage and it is estimated that he will soon pass the Core Maturity stage, which requires him to absorb a large amount of energy from heaven and earth.

The clan happened to have a few surviving fragments of divine essence.

With the help of divine fragments, the time required to pass the Dan Shu Pass will definitely be greatly reduced.

Several of the clan's top-ranking disciples are now eyeing these fragments of divine essence.

Faced with the elder's smiling question, Ryan did not hide anything and readily admitted it.

He desperately needs more contribution points now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have led his team deep into enemy territory to carry out such a dangerous destruction mission.

"Alright, then you can join." The elder agreed without much thought. "You can also inform Roman."

Ryan was overjoyed and immediately nodded: "Yes, Elder."

The Grand Elder then added, "Just in case, let Wuyin go along as well."

Since the people of the Ring of Annihilation dared to cross the defensive line at this time, they must have some confidence. With the Fog Concealment present, they are undoubtedly more secure.

Ryan's expression shifted slightly.

Not long ago, Wuyin broke through and became one of the only two demigod-level combatants in the clan.

With it around, you don't need to worry unless you encounter the Black Emperor or the Undead Lord.

The latter is clearly unlikely to be within the league's defensive perimeter at this time.

The fact that the Grand Elder even summoned Wuyin shows how much importance he attaches to this matter.

"Go and prepare." The elder waved his hand at him.

Ryan bowed and took his leave, then turned and strode quickly out of the command hall.

Dusk falls near the western defense line of the mainland.

The sunset glow on the horizon resembled torn cotton wool, spreading strand by strand across the gray-blue sky.

The wind swept in from the west across the wasteland, carrying sand and bits of dry grass, rustling against the bare rocks.

A group of people were moving quickly along a dry river valley.

They walked very fast, yet their footsteps made almost no sound.

Everyone was wrapped in gray cloaks, with the hoods pulled down low, revealing only the lower half of the opening, which was indistinct in the twilight.

In the center of the procession, four burly figures carried a stone coffin.

The stone coffin was about the length of a person, and was carved entirely from grayish-white rock. Its surface was devoid of any patterns or inscriptions, as plain as a rock slab that had been casually cut open.

However, its weight was clearly disproportionate to its size; the muscles on the arms of the four strong men were taut like fully drawn bowstrings, with veins running from their wrists to their elbows.

Even stranger is the surface of the stone coffin.

No matter how the people carrying the coffin adjusted their posture, a very thin layer of grayish-white mist always separated the stone coffin from their hands. The mist flowed continuously, moving like a living thing between the coffin surface and the skin, blurring the contact surface into a hazy outline.

French walked at the very front of the group.

Behind him were the sixth, ninth, and eleventh seat holders.

Compared to French's composure, the three seemed more anxious, and every now and then they couldn't help but look back at the stone coffin being carried behind them to make sure there was nothing wrong with it before continuing on their way.

French observed this but said nothing.

He understood his three companions' thoughts very well.

The Ring of Annihilation successfully opened the Abyss and awakened the Black Emperor, making it arguably the number one contributor to the undead army's arrival on the continent.

Without their centuries-long planning, without their collection of death energy, their location of spatial folds, and their construction of ritual arrays, the Black Emperor would still be sealed deep within the Abyss, isolated from the world.

But merit is merit, and status is status.

Among the Black Emperor's minions, the Ring of Annihilation has always been in a very awkward position.

Not to mention compared to the six lords, even some high-ranking undead are more valued than them, and have much greater command and influence on the battlefield.

Perhaps it's because they aren't true undead. All six lords under the Black Emperor are ancient remains resurrected from the depths of the Abyss.

Most of those high-ranking undead were also transformed by the lords themselves, and their souls were engraved with absolute obedience to the Black Emperor.

The Ring of Annihilation is essentially still human.

A group of humans who transformed themselves into undead-like forms through a necromancy ritual.

The Black Emperor never publicly expressed his distrust of them, but he never truly regarded them as his confidants.

French was well aware of this.

That's why he planned this operation, took charge personally, and brought along all the members of the Eternal Ring.

It wasn't that he didn't want to bring more people, but rather that the members of the Eternal Ring had suffered heavy casualties over the years since they joined the undead army in their conquests.

At its peak, the Ring of Annihilation had all thirteen seats, with members spread across the continent, secretly manipulating the rise and fall of countless forces.

After years of continuous warfare, only six of the thirteen seats remained.

This time, in order to retrieve what was inside the stone coffin, two more members of the group were sacrificed.

Such a large organization, now reduced to such a small number of people, is truly pitiful. But French has no regrets.

As long as I can gain the Black Emperor's favor and be transformed into a truly immortal undead, all these sacrifices will be worthwhile.

"We need to speed things up," the eleventh seatman suddenly spoke up from the back. "I have a nagging feeling that I'm not right."

The Ninth Seat glanced back at him and chuckled, "You're just worrying too much. We've been operating covertly all the way here. We didn't even alert the Free Alliance scouts when we crossed the western defense line. Nobody noticed us at all."

"I'm not worried about the Free Alliance," the eleventh seat frowned. "I'm worried about the Silvermoon Clan."

"Those elves are incredibly resourceful, they come up with all sorts of strange things. You know how many men we lost in the East back then. You can never be too careful when dealing with the Silvermoon Clan."

The Ninth Seat laughed and said, "Don't worry, with the four of us here, unless a high-ranking elder of the Silver Moon Clan personally intervenes, even if they discover us, they won't be able to stop us."

The moment the words left his mouth, the Ninth Seat suddenly felt a darkness above his head.

It was as if a huge dark cloud had suddenly obscured the last rays of light in the twilight, shrouding the entire team in a heavy shadow.

He subconsciously looked up, and his vision was instantly filled with a huge dark gold outline.

What comes into view is a giant tower suspended high in the sky, with eight sides, overlapping eaves, and a deep, metallic sheen.

The outline of the three-legged golden crow bronze statue atop the tower was clearly discernible in the twilight, its beak slightly open, facing downwards. The Flying Radiance Tower!

The smile on the Ninth Seat's face froze.

French stopped abruptly, his pupils shrinking.

He reacted almost instinctively, letting out a sharp, low shout: "Go!"

Before French and the others could make a move, a deep and long hum came from high in the sky.

The bronze statue of the Golden Crow atop the Flying Phoenix Tower has opened its beak.

Golden flames poured down from the bronze statue's mouth like a waterfall.

The once dry and cracked riverbed instantly melted into a dark red pool of lava, and waves of heat, carrying a scorching smell, surged to both sides, engulfing the withered grass and pebbles at the edge of the valley.

The four burly men carrying the coffin didn't even have time to scream before they were engulfed by the Golden Crow True Fire and instantly turned to ashes.

The members on both sides of the line were not spared either; more than a dozen figures were silently melted away in the aftershocks of the flames, without even a chance to struggle.

In just a moment, all members of the Ring of Annihilation, except for French and his three companions, were wiped out.

However, the stone coffin remained intact in the flames. The torrent of crimson gold crashed against the grayish-white coffin surface, sliding to the sides like water hitting a reef, leaving not even a scorch mark.

The grayish-white mist on the coffin surface churned violently for a moment, then returned to calm, as if the flames that had just melted through fine gold were nothing more than a hot breeze passing over its surface.

French did not turn back to look at the sarcophagus.

His gaze was fixed intently on what lay ahead.

Six figures suddenly appeared there.

The one leading them was an elf girl.

Her long, silver-white hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and her close-fitting dark hunting clothes hugged her well-proportioned and muscular figure, with a thick axe handle peeking out from behind her shoulder.

She stood there, not deliberately exuding any imposing aura, yet she possessed a sharp, intimidating presence that made people dare not look directly at her, like a bowstring drawn taut but about to be released.

Beside her stood a male elf with a cold and hard face.

He was a head taller than the girl, with a straight back, and his whole body was like a silent and heavy rock.

French recognized the two men at a glance.

Roman Silvermoon and Cedric Silvermoon. Elders of the Silvermoon Clan, powerful figures at the Saint level.

French had also seen the four men standing behind them in intelligence reports.

Ryan, Evie, Lucius, Mia.

Without exception, they were all true disciples of the Silvermoon Clan, legendary powerhouses.

Two saints, four legends.

There are two more legendary combatants than them.

Frenchman's heart sank to the bottom.

Roman, however, paid no attention to the change in his expression. His gaze fell on the intact stone coffin, and a hint of undisguised curiosity flashed in his eyes.

"What a peculiar stone coffin; even the Golden Crow True Fire couldn't burn it."

Cedric said calmly, "It should be some kind of magical item."

Seeing the two elves talking as if no one else was around, completely disregarding them, the four of them, including Frankie, were quite annoyed.

They exchanged a glance, all understanding that a fierce battle was inevitable. Without hesitation, the four of them charged towards their opponents simultaneously.

A layer of grayish-brown halo silently spread from French's body.

The halo, though not particularly bright, gave off an extremely calm and oppressive feeling, as if the weight of the entire earth had been drawn to him, and even the air became stagnant and solid.

"The laws of mountains and rivers?"

Roman raised an eyebrow, surprised that the supreme leader of the Ring of Annihilation actually possessed the Laws of Mountains and Rivers.

But soon a smile appeared on her face, and she drew the battle axe from her back.

"Perfect, I like fighting against opponents who go head-to-head like this."

The moment he finished speaking, Roman was enveloped in dazzling lightning, which quickly spread to the battle axe in his hand.

The lightning was so intense that it even caused the surrounding void to twist and distort like shattered glass.

Thunderous silence.

This is Roman's innate divine power, which he created by combining his physical body and divine soul after breaking through to the fourth level of power.

The effect is quite simple and direct: it grants the physical body an ability similar to lightning elementalization, greatly enhancing the power of lightning-based divine abilities. This perfectly complements her previously cultivated Nine-Ring Golden Meridian Lightning Body.