Chapter 175 - 168: He Is Romance, After All

Several days had passed since the fierce battle.

On the outskirts of the Silver Moon Forest, the land once ravaged by war had been revitalized, nurtured by the array.

Charred tree stumps sprouted tender green shoots, and the churned-up soil was covered by new blades of grass.

If not for the occasional glimpse of broken metal fragments among the trees, one could hardly tell that this place had once been a bloody battlefield.

A group of figures appeared at the far end of the plain, riding beast mounts toward the Silver Moon Forest.

Sieg led the group. His complexion was much improved; his injuries had clearly healed completely.

Scott and Summers followed close behind, half a step back, their eyes habitually scanning their surroundings.

The plain still bore many scars of war, silently testifying to the ferocity of the great battle days earlier.

Just from the look of these scars, one could imagine the immense force Kresol Dragon City must have deployed that day.

Any other power on the Eldron Plain, faced with an army of this scale, probably wouldn't have lasted even a single day.

Yet the Silver Moon Clan not only held on, but also made Dragon City pay a bitter price, forcing them to temporarily sound a retreat.

"When we first came to the Eldron Plain, the Silver Moon Clan barely ranked as a mid-tier power among the many factions," Scott said, his voice tinged with emotion. "Who would have thought that in just a few short decades, they'd be able to contend with Kresol Dragon City head-on."

Summers nodded in deep agreement. "Looking across the entire Dawn Continent, how many factions can boast a Black Iron Legion?"

It was because they saw that the Silver Moon Clan had a real chance of defeating Kresol Dragon City that they had decisively rushed over to provide support.

Bazzer, who was following behind, heard their conversation and grinned, revealing two sharp tusks. "The Silver Moon Clan raised a genius like Anton, so it's no surprise they're something special."

Scott and Summers exchanged a look and both smiled, but didn't reply.

In their view, it wasn't so much that the Silver Moon Clan had cultivated Anton, but rather that Anton had single-handedly built the Silver Moon Clan into what it was today.

Based on analysis of numerous intelligence reports, Anton was clearly the key to the Silver Moon Clan's rise.

Chatting along the way, the group slowly arrived at the edge of the Silver Moon Forest.

As they drew closer, the pale cyan light barrier enveloping the entire forest became increasingly clear to the members of the Fallen Dragon Association.

The light barrier was as thin as a cicada's wing. Up close, it resembled a layer of fine gauze, wrinkled by a gentle breeze. It seemed so delicate that a single poke could shatter it, yet it possessed a certain unshakable gravity.

In the center of the group, Vorn's three heads tilted up almost simultaneously, his six eyes staring fixedly at the pale cyan light barrier.

"So this is the array that stopped the Radiant Ash Dragon? It looks so thin. Can it really block a Dragon Breath?"

"You idiot! If it couldn't, the Silver Moon Clan would have been turned to ash long ago!"

"Can we touch it later?"

The three heads chattered back and forth, their tones filled with irrepressible curiosity.

The others were long accustomed to Vorn's rambling and erratic nature, and by unspoken agreement, everyone ignored him.

Just then, the pale cyan light barrier silently parted, revealing a wide path.

A squad of Elves emerged, filing out from within.

At their head was an Elf with somewhat cold, stern features.

He looked quite young, yet his eyes held a world-weariness that spoke of ages past.

Sieg had researched the Silver Moon Clan beforehand, and he immediately recognized the Elf before him as the clan's Second Elder, Axel Silver Moon.

Following closely behind him were the core leaders of the Silver Moon Clan, all of whom had been mentioned in the intelligence reports.

Elena, Darian, Romance, Eleanor...

Sieg was the first to dismount his beast, stepping forward a few paces and bowing slightly with impeccable etiquette. "Elder Axel, forgive my intrusion."

Axel nodded in return, a faint smile gracing his stern face. "You are too kind, Lord Sieg. You have all come a long way to support us; it is we who should be thanking you."

Sieg shook his head. "You are too generous, Elder Axel. We share a common enemy. In helping your clan, we help ourselves."

He paused, his gaze instinctively lingering for a moment on the cyan light barrier behind the Elves, and couldn't help but ask, "Is Anton not in the forest?"

The Second Elder didn't hide anything, stating frankly, "Anton is in seclusion to achieve a breakthrough. It is not convenient for him to see outside guests at the moment."

At these words, all the members of the Fallen Dragon Association were stunned.

"I see," Sieg was the first to recover, a genuine smile blooming on his face. "That is truly good news. We wish Lord Anton a smooth breakthrough."

A complex light flashed through Scott's and Summers' eyes.

If Anton succeeded in his breakthrough, he would become a 140-year-old Legendary Powerhouse.

Reaching the Legendary Tier at that age would be an astonishing feat, regardless of race.

'Not to mention, given his feat of severely injuring Isaac while only at Golden Peak, if he successfully advances to Legend, how much will his power skyrocket?'

'At that point, even Isaac probably won't be his match anymore.'

"Everyone, please follow me." The Second Elder turned sideways and made an inviting gesture. "The Great Elder is waiting in the hall. Let us enter the forest and speak further."

The light barrier parted again to form a path.

The group stepped inside.

The moment they passed through the light barrier, the members of the Fallen Dragon Association felt an indescribable sensation wash over them.

It felt like plunging headfirst into a warm spring, or like stepping from an arid wasteland into a forest after a rain.

Sieg took a deep breath and could clearly feel his Magic Power circulating on its own. The flow was smoother and more distinct than during any of his previous training sessions.

He even had the feeling that just by standing here and breathing, without deliberately training, his Magic Power would increase faster than it would through arduous training outside.

Scott and Summers, walking behind him, also wore expressions of utter shock.

'Such a rich concentration of elemental energy!'

'Even at the Earth Vein Node where the Fallen Dragon Association's headquarters is located, we've never felt elemental energy this rich.'

'And the crucial part is, this is just the outskirts of the Silver Moon Forest.'

'If the elemental energy is this dense even at the edge, I can't imagine what it's like deeper inside.'

'And how big is the Silver Moon Forest?'

'It's a vast territory, large enough for nearly ten thousand Elves to live in!'

'To maintain such a terrifying concentration of energy over such a vast area... it's simply unbelievable!'

'How on earth did they manage it?'

'The Eternal Tree? The Spring of Life?'

'Or that strange array?'

Just as Sieg and his companions were reeling in shock, a sudden voice interrupted their thoughts.

"The concentration of elemental energy here is so high. It feels like soaking in a Magic Pool, doesn't it?"

"You say that like you've actually soaked in a Magic Pool before."

"How do you know he hasn't? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

After only a few words, the three heads started bickering boisterously.

The surrounding Elves looked at one another with strange expressions.

Romance nudged Eleanor's arm with her elbow and whispered with a laugh, "This guy is hilarious."

Eleanor suppressed a smile.

'It's my first time seeing a three-headed Hydra. I didn't expect one to be like this. He seems even more scatterbrained and impulsive than Romance.'

'Is the whole Hydra race like this, or is this one just an exception?'

Sieg cleared his throat and shot a look at Scott.

Scott understood. He placed a hand on Vorn's shoulder and whispered something, and the three heads immediately fell silent, looking resentful.

"My apologies," Sieg said to the Second Elder, his tone apologetic. "Please excuse his behavior."

The Second Elder smiled and shook his head, indicating that he didn't mind, and continued to lead the members of the Fallen Dragon Association forward.

The Clan was currently on a war footing and extremely busy. Along the way, they frequently saw guards hurrying past.

Farther off, several squads of Elves in rune-inscribed leather armor were directing Yellow Turban Warriors to move heavy wooden crates of supplies.

"What kind of puppets are those?" Vorn's middle head couldn't hold back again, pointing at the Yellow Turban Warriors. "They don't look like the Five Camp Divine Soldiers."

Romance jumped in. "Those are Yellow Turban Warriors. Anton made them too."

"Oh, so that's it," exclaimed Vorn's left head in sudden understanding.

"Anton really is amazing," the right head remarked, shaking from side to side.

"Of course he is," Romance said, as if it were obvious. "Anton can do anything."

"I heard he can also craft Magic Equipment?" the middle head asked, pressing for more.

"Of course." Romance patted the Thunderstrike Axe on her back, her voice filled with pride. "Anton crafted this war axe for me with his own hands. It's easily as powerful as any Extraordinary Level weapon."

"Amazing!" the three heads exclaimed in unison, their voices full of sincere admiration.

With that, the two of them struck up a lively conversation.

The members of the Fallen Dragon Association listened to their back-and-forth conversation, their expressions gradually turning strange.

They were well aware of how bizarre and erratic Vorn's thought process was.

They never expected someone could actually keep up with his pace and carry on a conversation with him.

And an Elf, no less.

'Aren't most Elves supposed to be proud and xenophobic?'

'And we've been wanting to ask...'

'Why is this young Elf's weapon a war axe?'

'Are there really Elves in this world who use war axes?'

The members of the Silver Moon Clan, on the other hand, reacted as if it were perfectly normal.

After all, it was Romance.

Nothing she did could be considered surprising.

Passing through an arboreal corridor, the group soon arrived at the Eternal Hall.

Before the hall's entrance, several figures had been waiting quietly for some time.

At their head was the Great Elder.

"Lord Sieg, members of the Fallen Dragon Association, welcome to the Silver Moon Clan."

He spoke calmly, his tone gentle yet solemn.

"Thank you for lending a hand at this critical moment. The Silver Moon Clan will never forget this friendship."

"You are too kind, Elder Leonard," Sieg replied with a solemn expression. "Kresol Dragon City is our common enemy. This cooperation is mutually beneficial; it's hardly a matter of one side helping the other."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries and were about to enter the hall together when a series of sharp, urgent chirps suddenly erupted from all the Elves at once.

The sound was shrill and short, like the startled cry of some bird, and it was especially piercing in the now-quiet forest.

Eleanor was the fastest to react. She quickly unfastened the palm-sized Chirping Sparrow Disk from her waist and looked down at it.

On the bronze disk, a jade-green light was flashing rapidly like a warning flame, and countless tiny points of light were densely clustered in the due-north position.

"Kresol Dragon City is attacking," she said, looking up at the Great Elder.

The Great Elder's gaze hardened, and he gave a decisive order, "Everyone, return to your posts! Prepare for battle!"

Then he turned to Sieg. "Will you be joining us on the front line?"

"Of course," Sieg nodded without hesitation.

The group immediately changed direction and sped toward the edge of the forest.

In just a few moments, they reached the command center of the temporary camp.

An Elf had already prepared a Water Curtain.

Through the clear and massive image, they could see Dragon City's army slowly advancing across the plain.