Beneath the Red Dragon

”Damn it, which stray dog is barking here,” the previously speaking Elf Elder was furious, his pale face instantly flushed with blood, and he sneered, ”If your bones are so hard, go back and ask your tribe warriors and the Tree of Life, see if they are willing to support your idea, fool!”

Another Elf Elder was just about to retaliate, but several Elf Warriors beside him had already rushed up and pinned him down directly.

Several thick vines dropped from the hands of the Elf Druid, took root upon landing, and bound this Elf Elder tightly, even stuffing a thick vine into his mouth, then hung him upside down from the ceiling of the council hall.

Meanwhile, the elderly Elf Grand Elder Kaid smiled with narrowed eyes, clapping his hands softly, and said, ”Alright, alright, let’s not let this fool disturb our deliberations, everyone, continue to express your opinions freely and openly.”

The many Elf Elders below looked at each other, knowing exactly what Grand Elder Kaid meant—if they couldn’t see it now, then these elves’ brains had grown in vain.

Thus, the Elf Elders below became lively, ”Submit, since resistance is futile, it’s better to submit; the previous group of elf tribes that willingly submitted has proven these Giant Dragons didn’t come for slaughter and enslavement but just for dominance—we need not sacrifice the blood of warriors.”

”I agree, anyway, the Tree of Life has already expressed its stance, even if we want war, the Tree of Life might abandon us instead, and no longer support us,” a young male Elf Druid shouted loudly, as it was his moment to shine.

”Very well,” the elderly Elf Grand Elder squinted his old eyes, smiling as he pointed to the male Elf Druid shouting loudly, ”Take note, he is the one who has actively proposed submission to the Giant Dragon, anyone agree or oppose?”

”We have no objections!” the numerous Elf Elders declared in unison, leaving the Elf Druid bewildered.

”That’s good, next, let’s hold a gathering, let those three tribes come here to meet and discuss with us how to ’resist’ the oppression of the Giant Dragon,” Grand Elder Kaid sighed, ”For the future of the Elves, these few tribes can only be handled by us personally.”

”This way many innocent elves can be saved,” Grand Elder Kaid stood up, clapped his hands, and said, ”Go, liaise and communicate with these three tribes, schedule a date. It’s simple since their tribes’ Trees of Life have already agreed to join forces with us!”

...

Beside the extensive ruins of the World Tree, the Imperial Guard Warrior had already set up a simple camp for the Red Dragon and the Mage to rest; exploring this massive ruin would take considerable time.

Karon had already shrunk himself inside the barracks that the Imperial Guard Warriors had deliberately expanded. In its current form, the Red Dragon had to move cautiously, lest it collapse the barrack built with thick wood like a stack of blocks with just a little force.

Karon closed his eyes, becoming familiar with mastering his rapidly growing Heart Energy, which, after being reforged, provided him with magical power.

One of these powers was now causing Karon quite a bit of bother.

The newly awakened mind gave his mind a super hearing-like ability, allowing him to sense the mental activities and thoughts of creatures whose mental power was inferior to Karon, thus having to face the impact of these mental activities and various intertwining thoughts every moment.

Many people might have yearned for such ability and strength, yet Karon was well aware that no matter how cheerful, sunny, or pure a person might appear, there’s always deeply hidden darkness and filth within, so he didn’t quite enjoy this always passively owned ability.

Excessive exposure to others’ minds could disrupt Karon as well, and those chaotic and dark thoughts made it harder for him to trust those around him, so, as usual, he began practicing controlling this ability.

Fortunately, in this regard, he had plenty of experience, simply needing to restrain his Heart Power’s diffusion to focus his ability to the maximum extent.

Though as long as one got too close to Karon, their thoughts would be unconsciously perceived by Karon, Karon found this much stronger than the initial central-air-conditioning-like mental perception diffusion.

He believed that with some more practice, he would be able to naturally control his ability.

This had always been Karon’s belief: a creature that cannot even control its own power is, no matter how strong it is, also a form of weakness.

Currently, those Mages, including the squinting-eyed Hughes, didn’t like to contact Karon much, due to Karon’s ability. These Mages always felt that the Red Dragon’s gaze now seemed to penetrate their defenses and spirits within their minds, allowing him to perceive their inner thoughts.

Moreover, these Mages all knew that the Red Dragon was a master in the Mental Domain, so they gradually kept a respectful distance from Karon.

Even the Imperial Guard Warriors under command, while not worried about the Red Dragon seeing through their thoughts, found the Red Dragon’s uncontrollable Power of the Mind to possess a strong oppressive and invasive effect on will and spirit; thus, they seldom appeared in front of the Red Dragon.

Only the powerful Dragon Descendant Werewolf Saha stood fearlessly at the door of Karon’s barrack.

From Saha’s occasional fleeting thoughts, Karon sensed that this top-tier being within his ranks also bore many stories of his own. In this Werewolf’s life, he was indeed a legendary creature.