Beneath the Red Dragon

There are over a hundred elf women and children, trembling as they kneel beneath the Tree of Life, awaiting judgment.

”For daring to strike first at our warriors, kill them all. Let their blood honor the souls of the fallen warriors,” Black Dragon Rosani decided.

This fortnight, it was Black Dragon Rosani and Red Dragon Kleyna’s turn to guard Greenfield Forest, undergoing training.

However, the female Red Dragon Kleyna always focused solely on battle, not caring about other affairs, so the decision-making power usually lay in the hands of Black Dragon Rosani.

Among the Five-Color Dragons, Black Dragon Rosani was the most bloodthirsty, and his stance towards these Elf Tribes was that he could strike them but they could not strike him.

Should an Elf Tribe strike first, the Black Dragon would leave no survivors, a decision even Karon would not interfere with.

Thus, all the elves of this tribe were beheaded, offered as sacrifices to the Holy Temple Throne. This tall Tree of Life was also gnawed down by the Black Dragon and dismembered one by one.

”Another Tree of Life has died,”

In a council chamber on the crown of a tall Tree of Life, an Elf Grand Elder’s face was grave as he sensed this situation from the will of the Tree of Life beneath his feet.

Meanwhile, within the hall, a few elf elders and druids who had originally been in a heated argument suddenly fell silent.

The death of a Tree of Life signaled the decline of yet another tribe. Such news had frequently surfaced in recent months.

The Giant Dragon and its warriors seemed intent on sweeping the entire world clean, hunting down and crushing these elves as if they were pests hidden in the corners of the world.

These Elf Tribes had long been terrified and no longer had their initial ambitions and resolve.

And the topic of contention between these elf elders and druids was not about whether to proactively expel the Giant Dragons, but rather whether to continue migrating to evade these invaders.

”I believe there is no need to continue migrating. Our two large tribes combined now have over ten thousand Elf Warriors, enough to repel the Giant Dragon’s harassment. Recently, that abhorrent Red Dragon has also disappeared, clearly knowing it cannot withstand the power of our two tribes combined.”

”Perhaps we can persuade a few nearby large tribes to unite, gather together, so we won’t fear the Giant Dragon’s attack!”

An elf elder opposed further migration, and astonishingly, the majority of elders and druids supported him.

This was because each migration of the Tree of Life consumed a large amount of energy and could result in significant consequences. At least for several years, it could not continue producing Water of Life; if damaged during the journey, it might further reduce or halt the release of life’s breath.

Elves, unlike other species, share a symbiotic relationship with the Tree of Life.

Elves serve as Guardians of the Tree of Life, while the Tree releases its life’s breath for the elves to absorb.

Elves’ longevity and exceptional talents arise due to this; without the Tree of Life’s breath, these elves would soon regress into another type of creature.

Moreover, Water of Life does not merely extend the lifespan for elves; for these long-lived species with extremely low fertility rates, Water of Life enhances their fertility.

The more powerful the Tree of Life, the more Water of Life it can produce. Additionally, due to the Tree’s magical properties, it also attracts some formidable creatures, even natural enemies of the Tree of Life; the Tree must rely on the guardianship of Elf Tribes to grow safely.

This is why the Tree of Life entirely supports the Elf Tribe, inseparable in mutual dependency.

Although the Elf Grand Elder is the only one who can communicate with the Tree of Life’s will, holding the key to its migration, he cannot ignore the opinions of the many elders, so he persistently tries to persuade them.

The young Elf Druid Aiya silently observed the crowd in contention. The radical male elf Reiss was one of those opposing migration; this male elf even wanted to convince these tribes to unite for a counterattack.

Aiya could not help but sneer inwardly, as she did not understand where Reiss found the courage to resist the Red Dragon. Perhaps he feared others would unite to overthrow these rulers and deliver them to the Red Dragon, thereby enthusiastically urging all elves to partake in the war.

With a sigh in her heart, Aiya thought that, perhaps under such prolonged worry, these people’s deaths might be a form of liberation for the Elf Tribe.

...

The lush, boundless forest greeted another bright morning.

Rows of Jackal Wolfman Warriors clad in iron armor stood orderly before the clearing, their bloody or ochre eyes burning with fierce battle intent, uniformly wielding long sabers with short axes hanging from their waists.

Throughout protracted battles, even the innately unrestrained Jackal Wolfmen had been honed into an elite army by blood and death.

And these Jackal Wolfmen’s leader Yougu, clad in iron armor, stood at the front, his head adorned with blood-colored mane. The heavy axe he wielded was dark and stained with blood—crafted from the iron armor and weapons once belonging to the Jackal Wolfman Commander.

The mighty Dragon-blooded Centaur Chiron led his Centaur Corps, positioned to the right of the Jackal Wolfman Corps. These Centaur Warriors solemnly held long spears and stood upright in iron armor.

During this period, Karon continuously deployed battle troops from the territory to Greenfield Forest, taking turns to shape these scattered Beloved into disciplined forces through warfare.