Recently, many changes have suddenly occurred around the outpost established by the Red Dragon's dependents.
The originally sparse jungle had become lush overnight, with countless thick vines and ancient trees seemingly growing from the ground, reaching their peak in a single night.
The entire outpost camp was now surrounded and engulfed by tall jungle.
Many wild beasts and animals that suddenly appeared in the forest would constantly wander around the outpost camp day and night, even in the moonless depths of the night, pairs of eerie green eyes in the forest watched the movements of these monsters.
They seemed to be observing.
One by one, the Kobold scouts sent out from the outpost camp disappeared into the jungle, never to return.
Not even a message was sent back.
This caused the entire outpost camp to fall into a tense atmosphere.
Fortunately, these dependents were not ordinary human soldiers; they were naturally thick-skinned and never felt fear about things that had not yet happened.
They were merely faithfully carrying out the Red Dragon's orders, guarding the passage to the Ekania World, that planar teleportation beacon.
The young Elf Druid Aya transformed into a nimble jungle leopard, moving through the forest.
She passed over the giant trees and poisonous vines that the elves had moved using tree-driving magic, and after walking for about a few miles, she saw a tall War Treant standing in the forest.
Although this War Treant, based on ordinary strength assessment, was only level fifteen and had not yet touched the threshold of the Saint-level.
However, the War Treant's uniquely massive body and thick, tough bark allowed it to display strength no less than that of a Saint-level in large-scale battles.
Beneath the tall War Treant stood many Elf Warriors and Elf Druids, gathered around the Elf Elders who held power in the tribes.
After this period of discussion, the five largest tribes closest to Aya's tribe had decided to unite and expel this true Dragon and its dependents from this world.
Having experienced long-term freedom, the elves were unwilling to become slaves again; they fought only for their own freedom.
Even the Tree of Life supported these elves with its will; the will of the forest was with the elves, and they possessed sufficient courage.
Aya leaped forward, then transformed into her elf form, walking towards the many elves.
"Cough, Aya, how is the situation in that true Dragon's camp?" the Elf Elder of Aya's tribe asked the young elf.
"Elder, that camp is almost entirely made up of the Dragon dependents, and there are two humans, but the true Dragon itself was not seen, and the Dragonborn who once appeared has also vanished.
Perhaps they have already returned to their own world through the invasion gate," the Elf DruidAya reported.
"Moreover, these days, the Giant Dragon's dependents have never ventured outside the camp's perimeter, except for those scouts they sent out.
Perhaps they are not here for enslavement or conquest; we can try to communicate with them."
"A true Dragon is a true Dragon; they will not give us a chance for equal communication," Ruisi, a male elf who had once fought alongside the female elf Aya, stepped forward and looked at Ayawith cold eyes, refuting her.
Ruisi was also an Elf Druid, recognized by the will of his tribe's Tree of Life, capable of exerting double his strength in the endless forest, truly a Son of the Forest.
These Sons of the Forest held quite high positions in their respective tribes; the Elf Elder Council that would govern the tribe in the future would be chosen from these Sons of the Forest.
Therefore, he was able to interject and speak at such a gathering, and the Elf Elders from the six tribes present did not feel offended.
"Since the true Dragon is not present, that's even better.
We only need to kill all the Dragon's dependents and then destroy their invasion gate."
Ruisi, clearly a warmongering male elf, stepped forward, raised his arm, and loudly declared, "Even a true Dragon cannot have an endless supply of dependents."
"If he doesn't learn his lesson this time, then every time he comes, we will kill his dependents.
Eventually, that true Dragon will have no more dependents to use.
Can he really challenge our entire world alone?"
The young Elf Druid's words, combined with his rousing demeanor, had a strong infectious quality.
Aya opened her mouth to speak, but she ultimately did not refute him.
She dared not and could not bear the consequences of making a different choice.
Let alone that she was just a Son of the Forest, even the Elders in the tribe needed to listen to everyone's opinions.
Soon, the Elf Elders of the major tribes made their decision.
"Then kill all these monsters, just like the minions of those ancient gods.
Use the lives of these monsters to warn that true Dragon that this world belongs to the elves!" an Elf Elder declared.
"Then let's begin, today," another tribe's Elf Elder agreed.
Crack, crack,
As the Elf Elders spoke, one by one, the tall ancient trees around them suddenly came alive, and faces resembling human countenances appeared on their trunks.
Under the elves' tree-driving magic, these ancient trees pulled their massive roots from the earth, twisting them together into limbs resembling human legs, and moved towards the true Dragon's outpost camp.
One by one, Elf Archers leaped onto the branches of the War Treant, like birds perched on its body.
The Elf Druids transformed into beast forms: jungle leopards, forest boars, griffins, falcons, and various other beasts and animals followed behind the War Treant.
More Elf Warriors flickered in and out of the jungle, surging towards the outpost camp.
Sharp whistles echoed through the outpost camp as the Kobold Soldiers on watch discovered the unusual movements in the forest.
At this moment, it was as if the entire forest was filled with malice towards them, chilling them to the bone.
The Gnoll Warriors in the camp, urged by the shouts of the Gnoll Barbarians captain, quickly donned their iron armor and picked up their shields and weapons.
Boom!
The next moment, the barrier covering the camp was shattered, like breaking glass, with fragments of energy flying everywhere.
The jungle outside came alive at this moment; more than a dozen tall War Treants pulled out their roots and stepped out of the forest.
They swung their thick branches, fiercely striking down at the camp gate.
The gate, made of wooden railings bolted together, was instantly smashed by the branches of the War Treant, and the nearby watchtowers were also broken by other War Treants.
Bang!
A War Treant stepped into the camp, swinging its thick branches to strike down at the swarming Gnoll Warriors.
The Gnoll Warriors immediately raised their shields to resist, but the War Treant's strength and size far surpassed that of these Gnoll Warriors; it was incredibly powerful.
The thick branches struck the wooden tower shields, sending both the shield and the Jackal warrior flying.
The tower shields in the hands of the Gnoll Warriors who took the direct hit were split in two, sending the Gnoll Warriors behind them flying, spitting blood.
In an instant, the casualties among the warriors in the camp reached more than a dozen.
"You're courting death, you damned pieces of wood!"
The Jackal Tribe captain's blood-red eyes bulged with blood vessels.
He threw down his tower shield, his body surging with power, and he darted forward.
The long spear in his hand, carrying immense force, directly shattered the face of the War Treant, deeply embedding itself into the War Treant's trunk.
Although the War Treant's face was its weakness, it was not fatal.
The treant's massive body let out a roar of pain, then its branches twisted, sending the Jackal Tribe captain flying.
Fortunately, the iron armor on the Gnoll Tribes captain provided some protection, so he was not left with broken bones and torn tendons.
The other Gnoll Warriors swarmed forward, breaking the branches of this War Treant and deeply embedding their long spears into the treant's heart.
In less than a moment, this treant fell with a roar, its heavy body crashing heavily onto the ground.
But more treants were advancing into the camp, and the Gnoll Warriors' bodies also began to glow with caster's magic, as they clashed, blood and tree sap instantly splattering.
Several massive War Treants combined their strength to push the entire camp wall until it tottered, and the entire camp's walls emitted a grating, teeth-aching sound.
Boom!
Finally, the walls of the entire outpost camp could no longer bear the strain and were pushed down by several tall War Treants, allowing more War Treants to step into the camp.
At this time, the Elf Archers also shot their deadly arrows from the War Treant, arrows coated with poison that could even bring down a giant elephant.
However, the full-body iron armor and face masks worn by the Gnoll Warriors made it impossible for them to attack effectively, so they could only shoot their sharp arrows at the barking, pouncing Kobold Soldiers.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Arrows rained down, but they suddenly deflected off the Kobold Soldiers, as if encountering some mysterious force field that could alter the arrows' direction.
It was then that the High-level Mage remaining in the camp finally took action, casting arrow protection spells on these soldiers.
These short Kobold Soldiers were like ants before the towering War Treants; one by one, Kobolds were swept away by the sweeping branches, flying several meters, their thin bodies collapsing limply like broken sacks, unable to move again.
But more Kobold Soldiers barked loudly, pouncing on the War Treants, using short knives and short spears to cut open the treants' tough hides, and then biting into the treants' bodies.
These weak Kobold Soldiers were like ants, crawling all over the bodies of the War Treants.
A portion of the Kobold throwers, hiding in the corners and on the roofs of the camp barracks, hurled their short spears at the Elf archers standing on the War Treants.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh,
The dense volley of short spears struck the unprepared Elf archers one by one, causing them to fall. The Kobold Soldiers surrounding the base of the trees swarmed forward, instantly tearing them into pieces.
However, Elf Warriors, several times more numerous than the Kobold, also entered the battlefield at this time. Although these Elf Warriors only wore leather armor, each of them had several times the combat power of a kobold Soldier.
They easily killed the charging Kobold, their weapons stained with the Kobold's blood.
Whoosh, a team of Gnoll Warriors dodged the War Treant's blows and plunged into the Elf Warrior ranks. They believed these Elf were the masterminds controlling the Treant, and that if they killed these Elf, the Treant would naturally retreat.
Clang, clang, clang,
The iron-armored Gnoll Warriors seemed somewhat redundant when facing the War Treant, but that was because the Treants had sufficiently powerful individual strength and no obvious weaknesses.
However, when facing these Elf Warriors, the Gnoll Warriors were like war machines without weaknesses. Their iron armor allowed the Jackal to charge recklessly into the Elf Warriorformation. The Elf Warriors' weapons could only weakly strike against the iron armor, completely unable to break through its defense.
The long spears in the Jackal's hands easily pierced the leather armor on these Elf Warriors, and their sharp claws could also tear open the Elf's bodies, staining the dark iron armor with blood.
The War Treant were slaughtering the Kobold, while the Gnoll Warriors were slaughtering these ordinary Elf Warriors.
"Die, you cowardly worms!" a Gnoll captain roared, his long spear soaked with blood, almost too heavy to hold. He kicked the corpse off the spear with a heavy breath, pulled out his long spear, and was about to continue forward.
Suddenly, seeds shot out from behind the Elf Warriors and landed on him.
Then, countless vines began to grow wildly. The blood on the Gnoll captain's iron armor also became sustenance for these vines, instantly sucked dry by them.
Within a few seconds, they spread over his entire body, binding the Jackal tightly.
These vines were tougher than the toughest sinews on even the most ferocious beasts. The Jackal was surprisingly unable to break free from the vines' restraints, and could only let the vines extend their barbed tendrils and penetrate his body.
In less than a moment, his strength drained away like flowing water, and the strong Jackal captain had become an empty shell. Blood-red flowers emerged from the gaps in his iron armor, blood-red and vibrant.
The battlefield grew increasingly chaotic. As more and more Elf Warriors and Elf Druid appeared, the entire outpost camp was gradually being compressed.
Even the iron-armored Gnoll soldiers could not simultaneously contend with the War Treantwhile facing the magical harassment of the Elf Druid and the encirclement of countless Elf Warriors.
The two High-level Mage responsible for guarding the camp had already taken action, with exploding fire rings and a series of fireballs killing several War Treant and hundreds of Elf Warriors. However, their magic power was rapidly depleting amidst the encircling crowd, reaching a dangerous edge.
"Let's retreat first," the two High-level Mage shouted to the Jackal supervisor resisting at the forefront. "We should temporarily abandon this planar teleportation beacon and rendezvous with other Mage teams. These beacons can be rebuilt anyway; it's just a bit more effort."
The High-level Mage Lumen, one of the Mage guarding the camp, shouted urgently, "They are too far from us. It will take time for a request for aid spell to arrive. We should evacuate, Gnoll."
"The Red Dragon once said to us, 'Hold this gate,'" the Gnoll supervisor roared, his broken long spear plunged into an Elf Warrior's body. He stepped back slightly and picked up a weapon from the ground.
"The Red Dragon's warriors will not retreat. His will watches over the Jackal. You go, Mage. Tell my Lord that the Gnolls has not forsaken their original oath. The Jackal's soul is forever loyal!"
The Gnoll supervisor's tattered and dented iron armor, like the weapon in his hand, was already soaked with the blood of both enemies and himself. Yet, he fearlessly charged forward again.
Ahead were the roaring and striking figures of all the remaining Jackal. At this moment, a sudden image flashed through the Gnoll supervisor's mind: the Dragon Language song that always emanated from the mountains in the Dragon Territory at sunrise.
The Jackal supervisor roared and shouted, and the Dragon Language song also echoed from his mouth as he plunged into the heavily surrounded enemies.
Blood splattered, and the song roared.
But war has an end, and songs have a finale.
Finally, this warrior, second only to the Gnoll leader Yug in the Jackal Tribe, also fell. His iron armor had long been deeply embedded in his strong body, and the blood within his body had already dried up, no longer flowing.
Thud, the Gnoll supervisor's body fell heavily. The life faded from his dim, bloodshot eyes, and a faint sound died in his throat.
"You shall inherit the great work of the Dragon God, even though it is a shattered past!"
...
The massive Red Dragon and the High-level Mage stood in front of the camp, while the Kobold Soldiers and Gnoll soldiers behind them remained silent.
The broken camp had long since dried its bloodstains, but traces of the great battle still remained.
However, the bodies of the Red Dragon's kin were not in the camp, but in the forest, on the tree trunks.
On those trees, every trunk was covered with the broken bodies of Kobold Soldiers. Their bodies were almost completely fused with the tree trunks, as if these trees had grown out of the soldiers' bodies.
There were also iron-armored Gnoll soldiers, their iron armor and bodies pierced by countless vines, with many blood-red flowers growing out of their mouths and noses.
These Red Dragon's servants had long since died, their blood and flesh evacuated, and their bodies completely twisted and deformed. The plants, meanwhile, filled the bodies of these warriors, as if the plants had eaten all the kin alive.
Kalon remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "Netis, I cannot fulfill your promise. These Elf, I cannot coexist peacefully with them!"
"Ah," a sigh emanated from Kalon's scales. It was a sigh from a trace of Netis's soul. He materialized in the air, then with a wave of his hand, scene after scene appeared before Kalon's eyes.
The last scene was fixed in Kalon's pupils: the Gnoll supervisor's dying shout.
"Kalon, do what you must. Although these Elf are beloved by me, I will not favor them," Netis's soul sighed, then retreated back into Kalon's scales.
Kalon's crimson pupils swept across. He could clearly see that many souls still lingered on the battlefield—the souls of the Red Dragon's kin. They refused to sleep in this world and were unwilling to depart, instead wandering and lost on the battlefield.
"Roar," an indescribable emotion and feeling suddenly surged into Kalon's heart. Kalon suddenly roared and ascended into the sky. Infinite magic power and psionic energy diffused from his body, and a Dragon Language spell bloomed from his throat.
The world's magic power boiled, carrying the Red Dragon's roar far and wide, transforming into layers upon layers of surging, continuous shouts and calls, "Heroes, return! Heroes, return!"
A thick, golden divine spear, radiating countless life energies, leaped out of the void, emitting immeasurable brilliance, as if it were a pillar supporting the heavens.
A spatial bag, emanating powerful magical energy, disintegrated in the air, expanding to form the ground beneath the giant pillar created by the golden divine spear.
The corpses on the trees also trembled, breaking free from the bondage of the trees and vines, and unraveling their forms in the air.
Their flesh covered the heaven-supporting pillar formed by the golden divine spear, becoming the dome.
Their bones connected joint by joint, becoming white pillars, like the golden divine spear, supporting the dome and the ground.
Soul crystals exploded in the air, merging into it, stabilizing the dome and the pillars. Pure soul power generated patterns on the dome and the pillars, forming murals.
Infinite magic power and psionic energy roared and surged from the Red Dragon, pouring into the temple gradually forming behind the Red Dragon.
Endless life energy and radiance flowed from the golden divine spear, patching and mending this temple of flesh and blood.
This most sacred temple, forged from the most defiled bones.
The Red Dragon's summons gave direction to those confused, wandering souls. Layers of ethereal stairs, radiating light like psionic energy, appeared in the void, connecting the gradually forming temple with those souls.
"Heroic souls, return! Heroic souls, return! Souls unwilling to vanish, then return to the Temple of Heroes! You shall, with the most loyal souls, step into this temple and enjoy eternal peace!"
The confused souls looked up. It was a temple radiating immeasurable warm light, as if the Red Dragon's voice resonated within it, calling to them.
They did not hesitate, singing the Dragon Language song, and stepped into the Red Dragon's temple!