The Elven Cultivator

Chapter 309: Chapter 282: Undead Calamity, An Unknown

Time slipped away like sand through fingers.

In the blink of an eye, Anton had already spent three months in this forgotten stretch of sea.

While analyzing the fundamental laws of magnetic fields day after day, he had not neglected his cultivation.

After completely integrating the Law of the Earth Element into his True Seal embryo, Anton’s mastery of Earth Element Divine Techniques had clearly risen to a new level.

The veins of the Law became clearer.

The flow of power grew smoother.

The Earth Element powers that once required conscious effort to command now felt like a natural extension of his being, as easy as breathing.

The most direct change was reflected in the fusion of his Profound Yellow Dragon-Grasping Hand and his sword light.

Over the past three months, he had finally managed to completely merge the Dao of the Profound Yellow Dragon-Grasping Hand with his sword light.

On the island, Anton sat cross-legged on a flat rock. Before him, a ray of Profound Gold Sword Light darted back and forth within a small area.

The murky yellow glow that had once been just a thin layer clinging to the sword light’s edge had now become richer and more solid. It seemed to emanate from within the sword light itself, a perfectly natural integration.

When the sword light swept past, it carried not only a sharp cutting edge but also the profound, heavy intent of a collapsing mountain.

A low, muffled hum echoed faintly in the air, as if an invisible mountain were grinding its way through the void.

”It’s finally done.”

A look of satisfaction flashed in Anton’s eyes.

’The fusion of the Profound Yellow Dragon-Grasping Hand and my sword light isn’t a simple case of one plus one equals two.’

The sword light had always excelled in speed and sharpness. Now, it was infused with the weight and suppressive power of the Earth Element.

A single slash now possessed both sharpness and substance, both speed and suppressive force.

An enemy would not only have to face the sword light’s fierce cut but also endure a pressure like a mountain looming over an abyss.

The combination of the two was far greater than a mere sum of their powers.

’I wonder what level my strength has reached now?’

Anton compared his current strength to his past self.

Before forming the True Seal embryo, he could already face a peak Legend head-on without being at a disadvantage.

Now that the Law of the Earth Element had been integrated into his True Seal and the Profound Yellow Dragon-Grasping Hand had successfully fused with his sword light, his strength had undergone a qualitative transformation.

’A peak Legend is probably no longer my match at all.’

’Then... what about compared to a Saint?’

A glint appeared in Anton’s eyes.

A Saint was the limit of what a mortal could achieve.

Experts at this realm had already touched the threshold of divinity but had not yet stepped into the divine domain.

This divinity didn’t refer to things like a Divine Format, but rather the ultimate mastery over a Law.

The Legendary Tier allowed one to fully manifest a Law, comprehending and materializing their own Power of Law.

The Saint Tier, on the other hand, was built upon this foundation, further deepening one’s use of the Power of Law.

Their control over the Power of Law was no longer limited to themselves but could influence the world around them. They were only a single step away from forming a domain that could repel all other Powers of Law but their own.

It could be said that in the use of the Power of Law, whether in depth or breadth, a Saint completely crushed a Legend.

The power gap between the two tiers was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Even the current Anton didn’t dare claim he could face a Saint head-on.

’Before it’s tested in actual combat, it’s hard to say anything for sure.’

Fortunately, he would have a chance to verify it soon enough.

Snapping back to reality, Anton looked up at the deep, dark night sky.

’After the Dragon Slaying War ends, the war among the Ten Thousand Races will begin.’

’In the original history, the war among the Ten Thousand Races started in the same year the Dragon Race was annihilated.’

’That is, Chenxi Calendar year 10,000.’

’The Undead Calamity, however, erupted more than two hundred years after the start of the war among the Ten Thousand Races.’

He remembered it clearly: Chenxi Calendar year 10,273.

In that year, a rift connecting to the Nether Abyss plane appeared in the western part of the continent. Countless Undead poured out from the Nether Abyss like a bursting dam, sweeping across the Dawn Continent.

The first to be affected was the Freedom Alliance in the western part of the continent.

Caught off guard, the Freedom Alliance suffered devastating losses.

Even after urgently mobilizing its army to encircle and annihilate the threat, the Freedom Alliance was forced into a steady retreat under the Undead Legion’s ferocious assault. Its defense lines were constantly pushed back, and countless towns and villages were reduced to ruins.

Even the Freedom Alliance’s War Consul, the continent’s first Demigod Level expert, died in this sudden catastrophe.

His fall shocked the entire continent.

Only then did the factions that had previously underestimated the severity of the Undead Calamity awaken as if from a dream and begin sending troops to support the Freedom Alliance.

From then on, the Dawn Continent was plunged into a long and bloody war of attrition against the Undead Legion.

But now, due to his intervention, the course of many events had already diverged greatly from the original history.

Anton couldn’t be sure if the Undead Calamity would still break out in Chenxi Calendar year 10,273 as it originally had.

Furthermore, the location where the Nether Abyss plane opened was chosen by the Ring of Annihilation.

They had carefully selected the heartland of the Freedom Alliance as the first exit point, aiming to deal the heaviest possible blow to one of the continent’s strongest factions in the shortest amount of time, thereby paving the way for their subsequent expansion.

But whether the Ring of Annihilation would still make the same choice now was also an unknown.

After a moment of thought, Anton shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

’The war among the Ten Thousand Races hasn’t even started yet. It’s too early to be thinking about the Undead Calamity.’

’The urgent priority is to deal with that Saint-level Giant Dragon.’

’Everything else can wait.’

Just then, Anton’s expression suddenly shifted.

With a flip of his wrist, a Sound Transmission Talisman materialized in his palm.

The talisman paper was slightly warm to the touch, its surface shimmering with a faint golden light.

Anton infused a trace of Magical Power into it. The talisman paper unfolded on its own, and Eleanor’s pleasant voice emerged from within.

”Clan Leader, the allied forces have breached Holy Dragon City. The Lord of the Dragon Court has been killed in battle.”

Anton’s gaze sharpened.

”...However, the Dragon Court Lord’s final counterattack before death also created a gap in the allied forces’ encirclement,” Eleanor’s voice continued. ”Many of the Dragon Race took the opportunity to break out and have fled into the Storm Rift Abyss.”

”I understand.”

Anton put away the Sound Transmission Talisman, a dark glint flashing through his eyes before vanishing.

’So far, events are unfolding exactly as I remember.’

’The tracks of history haven’t diverged, at least not on this point.’

’I hope it stays that way.’

Anton raised his head and gazed toward the northern horizon.

That was the direction of the Storm Rift Abyss.

...

「Storm Rift Abyss」

This great rift, which encircled the entire Holy Dragon Mountain Range, stretched for tens of thousands of miles, its end nowhere in sight.

Gray-black clouds of mist rose from the abyss’s depths, swirling, spinning, and colliding above it year-round without ever dispersing.

As the mists churned, faint flashes of violet-white lightning could be seen weaving through the depths. Each flicker illuminated the clouds above the abyss, rendering them translucent and revealing the bottomless darkness below.

This was a forbidden zone for the living.

No living creature had ever emerged from this deathly place alive.

Today, however, that ironclad rule was broken.

The clouds suddenly tore apart.

One after another, massive figures burst out of the gray-black mist. They snapped their wings open, struggling to stabilize themselves in the violent winds.

Their bodies were covered in charred burns and deep gashes. Crimson blood trickled from their wounds, scattered by the strong winds into a faint red mist that spread through the gray-black clouds, like a blood-red ink wash painting blurred by water.

Though covered in wounds, they dared not linger. They forced their wings to beat, continuing to fly onward and leaving the forbidden zone of death far behind.

Only when they were far from that terrifying place did they finally dare to slow down, landing in a hidden valley to catch their breath.

Many of the Giant Dragons were at the end of their strength. They collapsed to the ground upon landing, gasping for air and looking utterly wretched.

At this moment, they possessed none of the dignity and arrogance of the Dragon Race, looking for all the world like a pack of stray dogs.

Although Saphiras was also badly injured, he still had some strength left.

He stood at the top of the valley and extended his senses. After confirming there were no enemies nearby, he let out a sigh of relief.

Looking back at his kin, a complex mix of relief and grief surged in Saphiras’s heart.

Relief, because they had been lucky enough to escape the deadly Storm Rift Abyss alive.

Grief, because of the fall of the Dragon Court and the deaths of the City Lord and Lord Wota in battle.

The Dragon Race, which had once ruled the continent and suppressed the Ten Thousand Races, was now reduced to these hundred or so survivors.

And he was the only royal Giant Dragon left.

This cold, hard fact weighed on Saphiras’s heart like a thousand-pound stone, leaving him with a suffocating feeling that made it hard to breathe.

”Lord Saphiras.”

A Stoneheart Dragon approached, his voice pulling Saphiras from his grief-stricken thoughts and back to the cold reality before him.

”What... what should we do now?”

Saphiras was silent for a moment before speaking slowly, his voice hoarse.

”First, we find a place to hide.”

”As we are now, we don’t have the strength to fight the allied forces.”

”We need time to recover our strength and gather our power.”

”When the time is right, we will return and take back everything that belongs to us.”

”We will make those lesser races pay for what they have done.”

Saphiras’s voice was calm, but a fire of hatred burned in the depths of his vertical pupils.

’This war isn’t over,’ he thought. ’One day, I will make those lesser races once again experience the terror the Dragon Race brought them.’

”Then... where do we go?”

Saphiras had already discussed this with Wota long before they acted. He already had a plan in mind.

”The Netherworld Sea Trench.”

he said without a second thought.

”The magnetic fields there can block all forms of detection. As long as we don’t reveal ourselves, it will be impossible for outsiders to find us.”

”The environment is harsh and resources are scarce, but its main advantage is safety.”

The Giant Dragon nodded immediately. ”I understand. I’ll go inform the others.”

He turned and left, his footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Saphiras remained alone at the top of the valley and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

The cool air filled his lungs, carrying the scent of soil and moss from the valley.

When he opened his eyes again, the confusion was gone, replaced by determination.

’Survive.’

’And then, get revenge.’