The Elven Cultivator

In fact, with Anton’s current Cultivation Level, he could have long since been able to channel qi into Talismans and bend Spiritual Light to his will, allowing him to draw them in the air without any materials.

It was just that this method consumed a significant amount of True Essence.

A few Talismans would be fine, but applying four Talismans to several hundred people at once was something not even a Cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment could accomplish.

Using pre-made Talismans was much more efficient. He only needed to inject a trace of True Essence to activate them, and the consumption was negligible.

Even so, by the time Anton finished applying the Talismans to all the Elf and Dwarven Warriors present, he had already used up more than half of his True Essence. He had to down an entire bottle of Qi Recovery Pills just to replenish it.

’Qi Recovery Pills are decent for restoring Spiritual Qi, but they’re less effective for True Essence. After the war, I’ll have to find time to refine some new Pills.’

Anton put away the remaining Talismans. Turning, he saw the three elders with expressions that suggested they wanted to say something but were hesitating. He immediately understood and explained in a low voice, ”The Talismans have a very low cost.”

With his current Cultivation Level and mastery of talisman-drawing, he didn’t need a spiritual catalyst; he could draw Talismans on ordinary paper, making the cost almost nonexistent.

If one had to name a cost, it would be the greater consumption of True Essence—a labor cost, essentially.

Hearing Anton’s words, a flash of realization appeared in the eyes of all three elders.

It was just as they suspected. Like the Yellow Turban Warriors, the cost of Anton’s new type of Scroll was far below the normal standard.

No wonder they could be mass-produced.

The three of them almost instantly realized the benefits this new type of Scroll could bring.

For instance, in the current situation, the buffs from the Talismans had greatly enhanced the allied army’s combat strength, significantly increasing their chances of defeating the Molten Spike Tribe.

However, just as expressions of pleasant surprise appeared on the three elders’ faces, Anton threw a bucket of cold water on their excitement.

”The Talismans require a special technique to activate. Right now, I’m the only one who can do it.”

What Anton said was true.

Talismans required Spiritual Qi or True Essence for activation, and on the entire Dawn Continent, he was currently the only one capable of it.

To change this, he would have to modify the talisman system to allow Talismans to be activated with Magic Power.

However, that was far more difficult than modifying a combat technique.

Anton was more inclined to take a different approach: combining Spirit Stones with Talismans, so that people other than himself could use Spirit Stones to activate them.

But how a non-Cultivator would be able to draw upon the energy within a Spirit Stone was a problem that required deep consideration.

Anton was still in the process of researching it.

The three elders were deeply disappointed after hearing what Anton said.

But when they learned that Anton was researching a solution, hope rekindled in their hearts.

They had great confidence in Anton’s talent.

Once the problem of using the Talismans was solved and they could be widely distributed, the increase in the Clan’s strength would be immediate and dramatic.

On the other side, the Dwarves were also clicking their tongues in amazement.

They weren’t surprised by the Talismans’ effects, but by the fact that the Silver Moon Race could actually produce such a huge number of Magic Scrolls to bolster their combat strength.

The three Dwarven elders—Hagrid, Knut, and Thorvin—were utterly astonished by this.

They hadn’t overheard the conversation between Anton and the three Elf elders, so they had no idea that the Talismans’ cost was practically zero. They only felt that the Silver Moon Race’s resources were even more profound than they had imagined.

With the buffs from the Talismans, the allied army’s morale soared.

At that very moment, the Lizard-man army on the barren plains began to move. Several disorderly phalanxes surged toward the Silver Moon Forest.

Seeing this, the Great Elder’s expression turned grim as he gave a command in a deep voice:

”Prepare for battle!”

As his voice fell, the defensive perimeter at the forest’s edge immediately came to life.

Living thorns buried deep underground awoke like giant pythons from a long slumber. Countless vines burst from the loam and rotting leaves, swaying and dancing in the air as they wove together into a wall of thorns covered in barbs.

Behind the living thorns, Sentry Trees also roused from their slumber, slowly pulling their roots from the ground and taking up positions behind the defensive line with heavy steps.

The charging Lizard-men soon flooded into the forest and were the first to crash into the wall of thorns.

The spike-covered living thorns immediately coiled around the Lizard-men at the forefront like venomous snakes, constricting their waists and limbs. The barbs dug deep into the gaps between their scales, rapidly injecting a paralytic toxin into their bodies.

The Lizard-men let out agonized hisses and struggled fiercely. Their sharp claws tore through a few thorns, but more vines wrapped around them, snapping their bones and rupturing their organs with sheer force. They soon fell silent and died.

Seizing the opportunity, the Elf Archers, who were already poised and ready, loosed their bowstrings in unison. A dense volley of arrows rained down like a storm, tracing tight parabolas through the air before landing accurately among the Lizard-man ranks.

Arrows pierced through scales, spattering blood, and cries of pain rose and fell in waves.

Immediately after, the Elf Casters raised their Magic Staffs high, and spells of all colors rained down on the enemy formation like a celestial maiden scattering blossoms.

Lightning Bolts, Brightflame Orbs, Freezing Rays, Ice Storms, Phantom Killers... under the bombardment of Magic, the Lizard-men fell one after another like stalks of straw being reaped.

However, the number of Lizard-men was simply too great.

The gray-green tide surged forward, one wave falling only to be replaced by the next.

They brandished War Axes and sharp claws, hacking madly. Faced with absolute numbers, the wall of thorns soon collapsed.

The Sentry Trees, long in waiting, immediately took its place. Their thick branches swung like massive arms, sending any approaching Lizard-men flying.

Several Lizard-men pounced on a single Sentry Tree at once, their claws sinking viciously into its trunk and sending sap spraying.

The Sentry Tree’s branches whipped about wildly, flinging the Lizard-men off one by one, but more clambered on, like a swarm of ants gnawing on a giant elephant. In the blink of an eye, they tore it to shreds.

Fortunately, after being buffered by the two defensive lines of living thorns and Sentry Trees, the Lizard-man army’s charge was finally brought under control.

Only then did the allied army of Elves and Dwarves officially launch their attack and join the battle.

Clad in Rune-inscribed leather armor and wielding frost-patterned weapons, the Elf Warriors were like a sharp blade, stabbing viciously into the dense Lizard-man formation and instantly kicking up a storm of blood.

The Dwarves, meanwhile, swung around to attack from the flanks.

They were even more ferocious than the Elves, paying no mind to formations as they charged into the Lizard-man ranks in groups of three or five, swinging their war axes and hammers with ferocious power.

The Dwarven Warriors’ fighting style was exceptionally simple and brutal: cut down an enemy with one swing of an axe, step over the corpse to advance, and cut down the next one.

Their Chain Armor Shirts were soon spattered with the blood of Lizard-men, their beards dyed a dark red. Yet, they only fought with increasing ferocity, letting out guttural war cries.

”Kill all these cold-blooded crawlers!”

”Victory is ours!”

Romance had somehow mixed into the Dwarven formation. Shouting the slogan of ”Victory is ours!”, he swung his War Axe, cutting down one enemy after another. For a moment, he seemed even more incomparably fierce than the Dwarves themselves.

Empowered by the Talismans, the Elves and Dwarves unleashed combat strength far beyond their usual levels, slaughtering their enemies fearlessly.

The Lizard-man vanguard quickly collapsed under the allied army’s pincer attack.

But before the allied army could even breathe a sigh of relief, the ground began to tremble violently as hundreds of behemoths charged into the forest.

The Stone-skinned Giant Demons had joined the battle.

Cedric, who bore the responsibility of a commander, had been keeping a close eye on the Stone-skinned Giant Demons’ movements. Seeing this, he issued a new command without hesitation.

One by one, tall Oak Guardians strode forward with heavy steps to meet them.

Their bodies were even larger than the Sentry Trees. Their canopies spread out like parasols, and their trunks were covered in a thick layer of bark-like armor.

Oak Guardians were animated beings transformed from thousand-year-old trees, aided by Life Spring Water. Their combat power was no less than that of a Steel Golem.

However, the Silver Moon Race had to offer most of its Life Spring Water as tribute to Kresol Dragon City, so the number of Oak Guardians they could transform each year was only in the single digits. Coupled with the heavy losses from years of war, they could now only barely scrape together fifty Oak Guardians.

With the Oak Guardians as the vanguard, the Elf and Dwarven Warriors followed closely behind, managing to withstand the Stone-skinned Giant Demons’ charge through sheer force.

The two sides clashed fiercely. Blood, severed limbs, and shattered wood flew everywhere, and in an instant, the forest turned into a bloody meat grinder.

The Great Elder’s gaze passed over the battlefield and met the eyes of Zhuo Gu, who was positioned at the rear of the Lizard-man army.