"Chopping down the Tree of Life just for research? I wonder what kind of subjects those Magicians wanted to research to be so wasteful!"
This thought flashed through Kalon's mind as he fixed his gaze on the Magicians. Kalon had previously pondered what Squinty-eyed Mage Hsiusir had said.
Those once incredibly powerful Magicians, wanting to research deities, blocked the deities' faith in the human world, which led to the gods' intervention, causing the mighty Magic Empire to collapse overnight.
Kalon felt that even if those Magicians were crazy, they wouldn't block the faith of all believing deities. They should have only blocked the faith of the deities targeted by the Magicians.
However, it led to all the believing deities acting together to destroy the Magic Empire. Kalon felt that perhaps it was this overly insane action that caused these Magicians to be feared by the deities.
Putting everything else aside, just for chopping down the Tree of Life for research, Kalon wanted to poke a few holes in those Magicians with his Dragon Claw.
The Squinty-eyed mage was looked at strangely by others, even the Gnolls had a strange look in their eyes, and he couldn't help but feel a bit abashed.
He mumbled, "Those Magicians were indeed a bit excessive, but it has nothing to do with me. I'm a legitimate Scholar Magician, a theoretician, don't you understand theoretician!"
Kalon ignored the Squinty-eyed mage's sophistry. He turned to the soul who called himself the Tree of Life and expressed his curiosity, "What exactly did those Magicians want to research that caused them to chop down the Tree of Life? And what is the origin of the creature you impaled?"
The male Elf's soul shook his head, his tone returning to calmness. "I am merely their experiment. Even the seeds of the Tree of Life were sown by those Magicians in this world. How would I know their purpose?"
"But ultimately, what those Magicians wanted to research was nothing more than the laws and essence represented by the Tree of Life. As for what the Magicians wanted to do with the essence and laws of the Tree of Life, perhaps the group of Magicians behind you will have their own ideas."
"And that corpse is an external creature that invaded this world hundreds of years ago, a descendant of the Aragami that roams the endless starry sky," the male Elf said lightly, as if this corpse, which still exuded a powerful aura even after death, was nothing more than an ordinary wild beast.
"Although I am a life born from the Tree of Life planted by the Magicians, many lives in this world were born because of me. They revere my remaining body as a guardian deity, helping me condense a soul consciousness. Naturally, I must also bear the responsibility of a guardian deity."
"The responsibility of a guardian deity!" Kalon felt a sense of admiration for the soul before him.
Although many gods of faith were more powerful than the life born from this Tree of Life, it was rare to see those deities protect their followers. Only a very few special souls could gain the favor of the gods.
Even Tiamat, the Dragon Goddess , who was said to favor Red Dragons the most, would only favor those Red Dragons worthy of her attention. The countless Red Dragon corpses slaughtered as evil dragons were enough to prove this point.
As for the descendants of the primordials, almost every True Dragon knew of their existence, but the form of these creatures was not a fixed type. So, it was understandable that Kalon didn't recognize it.
In the subsequent conversation, Kalon gradually dispelled the doubts in his mind. He had originally thought that the soul before him might be the soul of that corpse disguised.
Even a Red Dragon with True Vision would not blindly and arrogantly believe that his abilities could see through all disguises.
He also learned from the soul, who called himself Netis, that this Plane once had a powerful Dragon clan, specifically Green Dragons, among the Chromatic Dragon.
"The Dragon Nest of those Green Dragons is in the sky, on a floating island that once fell from the astral realm. You can go and see; perhaps you might gain something."
"Those Green Dragons once enslaved Elves, but there is always strength and weakness in the world. Experiencing some hardships can prevent those Elves from becoming complacent, so I have been silently observing."
The male Elf's words made Kalon feel that this soul seemed to be a Plane consciousness born in this Plane that had gained a hint of humanity, similar to a certain rule. In most cases, it was impartial, treating all things as equal.
"So, there are no Magician's remnants here, just a battlefield?" The Magician Hiusier finally couldn't help but ask, after all, their goal for this exploration was the legacy of the former Magic Empire.
The Elf Netis shook his head and said, "The Magicians' former tower stood beside the remnants of the Tree of Life, very far from here. You were probably able to find this place because of the Tree of Life's heart."
"Since that's the case, we should go back," Kalon decisively made the decision, turned, and instructed the Gnolls to prepare to return to the camp.
"Wait, Red Dragon, I have a small request," the ethereal Elf Netis called out to the turning Red Dragon. He was puzzled that this Red Dragon didn't even glance at the Golden God Spear and just turned to leave. He knew that the previous Green Dragon leader even slept with the Golden God Spear as a pillow.
Moreover, those Gnolls and Magicians were all eagerly looking at the Golden God Spear, wishing they could immediately claim it, but only this Red Dragon, a Chromatic Dragon known for its greed, showed no fluctuations in its eyes.
"If you can grant my request, I will give you an offer you can't refuse!" Netis stated his condition.
"An offer you can't refuse?" These words made Kalon stop. "First, tell me your request, Netis, and then I will decide if your offer is truly irresistible!"
"Red Dragon, the souls of the Aragami are naturally intertwined with their physical bodies; even death cannot separate them. Therefore, their physical bodies are even more formidable than those of True Dragons."
Netis finally stepped out of the black mist, his ethereal soul body almost transparent. He said, "My main body has remained here to lock down his constantly reviving vitality, and my soul is also confined here to suppress his soul. I hope you can forcefully extract his soul and then destroy it, freeing my soul."
"I saw your battle that night and know you possess this ability."
If Netis was still just a Tree of Life, he might not have made such a request, but Netis now possessed a complete, vibrant soul, with the emotions and feelings a soul should have. He also felt lonely.
Especially to lock down the soul of the Aragami's descendant, he had been constantly suppressing the other party, and his range of activity was not large, limited to this barren sandy land, which gradually made him feel lonely.
"And as my return gift, I will give you the seed formed from all the life energy when the Tree of Life entered its demise."
"I only hope to follow you and leave this small world to see the vast sky outside!"
Netis said with a solemn expression. Although this small world was full of vitality, for Netis, who was once the soul of the world tree, it was still too weak.
True Dragons are hard to raise in shallow waters. Even the world tree, which could traverse countless worlds and even crystal walls, would be malnourished in such an imperfect world of laws.
Moreover, Netis no longer wanted to be a great tree eternally rooted in the earth. He yearned to be a living being like those Elves, able to run, jump, and move freely.
Kalon shook his head so fast it was a blur. Are you kidding me? Although he had the ability to destroy souls, he didn't want to test the weight of a Legendary, even if the opponent had been stiff for hundreds of years.
And although he had dispelled his suspicion of Netis, he wouldn't easily believe his words.
"I refuse, Netis. Perhaps when I am strong enough in the future, I will try to do so, but now I will not take this risk. Even a treasure as precious as the world Tree's seed is not worth my risk."
Kalon's vertical pupils narrowed, then he changed his tone. "However, in the civilized world, if you want someone to do something, you have to pay a deposit. You can give me the Tree of Life's seed first, and I promise to come back and free your soul later. Trust me, I grow very fast!"
Netis's soul was silent, quietly observing Kalon, who had an honest expression. He realized that this Red Dragon truly thought he was an unsophisticated, honest person.
The Red Dragon's vertical pupils rotated, becoming round. He raised his Dragon Claw and patted his muscular chest, declaring loudly, "Don't you trust True Dragons? Proud True Dragons disdain to lie! I guarantee by the True Dragon's reputation that as long as I am strong enough, I will definitely come back to save your soul!"
In Kalon's eyes, the True Dragon's reputation was the True Dragon's, and Kalon's reputation was Kalon's. If anything went wrong in the future, it had nothing to do with Kalon; it was purely those shameless True Dragons ruining their reputation.
Netis's soul remained silent. The True Dragon's reputation, if you say it exists, then it does to some extent. But what does that have to do with you Chromatic Dragon? At this moment, the Red Dragon finally looked like a shameless Chromatic Dragon in his eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to be happy.
...
"Open the entrance," the young female Elf Aya, accompanied by a tall, powerful young male Elf, ordered the Elves guarding the tree hollow's entrance.
A green light glowed in the hand of an Elf warrior wearing ornate leather armor. He gently tapped the tree trunk, and the iron-thorned brambles, which hung down in front of the tree hollow and sealed its entrance, immediately softened and drooped, parting to both sides.
The poisonous vines covering the entire tree hollow entrance also snaked like crawling snakes, revealing a passage.
This was a natural tree hollow, extending about ten meters deep into the tree's base. Following the thick, winding roots of the giant tree, the two Elves finally reached the flat ground of the underground cave.
Here, countless roots of the Tree of Life curled and hung down, dividing the entire underground space into isolated small compartments, which the Elves used as natural prisons for some captives.
Now, each small compartment held one or two Kobold Soldiers. These Kobold Soldiers, sent out as scouts from the outpost, had been captured by the Elves in the past few days and became prisoners.
The bodies of the Kobold Soldiers were covered with thorny vines. Countless vines drilled into their mouths and noses, sucking blood and flesh to grow within their thin bodies.
Only one Kobold was still intact, bound hand and foot, barking incessantly.
Although the language was different, these Elf Druids could use magic to perceive the meaning of the Kobold's words.
"Woof woof, you just wait, the Great Red Dragon will burn you to ashes. Kobolds will return to the Red Dragon's kingdom even in death. I am the Red Dragon's dog in life, and I will be the Red Dragon's undead dog in death!"
The noisy barking of the Kobold Soldiers echoed throughout the entire cave.
The male Elf frowned, a strong feeling of annoyance rising in his heart. After discussions among the various Elf tribes, no one was willing to become a True Dragon's slave, so they decided to test the True Dragon's strength first.
If the True Dragon's strength was not great, these Elf tribes would unite and expel the invading True Dragon. If they truly could not resist, the Elf tribes would choose to migrate with the Tree of Life.
At that time, in the vast forest and tree sea, it would not be easy for the True Dragon to find these Elves.
But it was truly difficult to extract information about the True Dragon from the mouths of these seemingly weak True Dragon kin. These seemingly weak creatures were exceptionally fanatical.
Even when countless companions died tragically before their eyes, they would only stubbornly clamor, as if they were not afraid of death at all.
These Elves found it very difficult to understand the Kobolds' fanaticism towards True Dragons; only another powerful True Dragon could make the Kobolds loosen their mouths.
And the male Elf could no longer tolerate the Kobold's barking. Annoyed, he flicked two green seeds from his slender palm, shooting them onto the barking Kobold warrior in front of him.
The two seeds seemed to possess life, instantly growing thorny green sprouts at an incredible speed. The sprouts automatically found the Kobold warrior's mouth and nose, then drilled into the Kobold warrior's body.
Within mere tens of seconds, these short green sprouts transformed into slender vines. The vines were covered with sharp thorns, over ten centimeters long, piercing through every soft organ and viscus inside the Kobold warrior's body.
Then, these vines began to undulate and swell, like living creatures with breath, sucking the Kobold warrior's blood and flesh, making gurgling sounds like drinking water.
The Kobold Soldier's loud curses turned into miserable, painful howls. The female Elf Aya, beside him, frowned with a hint of unbearable pity, but quickly relaxed.
Since they had decided to go to war, then both sides were enemies. Even if Aya was naturally kind, she would not be soft-hearted.
The Kobold warrior's tragic cries quickly weakened and then disappeared. But the skin, completely drained of blood and flesh, did not dry up; instead, it was propped up by the vines growing beneath the skin.
The stems and leaves of the vines quickly stopped growing, but the wriggling did not cease. Soon, blood-colored flowers, like small trumpets, bloomed among the branches.
Aya and the male Elf walked past these flowers growing in flesh, and faint sounds of dog barking came from the trumpet-like flowers.
Just like when they were alive.