The Elven Cultivator

The day of the operation arrived.

Outside Changhu Town, on the southern shore of the long, narrow lake.

Anton stood on a flat rock by the lakeside, his gaze crossing the water toward the distant Changhu Town.

The morning light had just peeked over the eastern mountain ridge, dyeing the horizon a pale gold. The lake’s surface reflected the faint dawn, shimmering gently.

He had arrived a little earlier than the appointed time.

While he waited, Anton didn’t waste any time. Within his Qi Sea, nine drops of Dark Heavy Water slowly rotated, silently absorbing and refining True Essence in their daily cultivation.

About half an hour later, a faint sound of something tearing through the air came from the sky.

Anton looked toward the sound. Two black dots were streaking in from the south at high speed. In the blink of an eye, they passed through the morning mist and landed not far from the lake.

The one in the lead was a middle-aged human man, tall with broad shoulders.

He had a square face, slightly high cheekbones, and a jawline as firm and sharp as if carved by a knife. His face was nearly wrinkle-free, save for a few fine lines at the corners of his eyes that added a touch of steadfastness and experience.

Following behind him was a Dwarf.

He was a bit shorter than the average Dwarf but even stockier. His dark brown hair and beard were woven into dozens of fine, short braids, the ends adorned with copper rings and small agates that made a soft clinking sound as he walked.

Beneath his thick beard was a weather-beaten face, and his gray eyes held the stubborn, tough spirit characteristic of Dwarves.

The two figures approached.

The middle-aged man wore a warm smile that could put anyone at ease and extended a hand to Anton.

”A pleasure to meet you, Canglan.”

”My name is Sieg, First Torch of the Fallen Dragon Association’s Eldron branch.”

Anton had already seen a portrait of the First Torch from Summers, and it was indeed the man before him. Seeing this, he also smiled, extended his hand, and shook Sieg’s.

’He’s not what I expected. I thought the head of a Fallen Dragon Association branch would be a more forceful person.’

’I never expected him to be so gentle and steady in person.’

The Dwarf at his side, however, was looking at Anton with unconcealed scrutiny.

Seeing Anton look his way, he spoke in a gruff voice, ”I’m Bullock. Like you, I’m a Torchbearer for the branch.”

Before Anton could reply, he continued, ”I heard from Sieg that you claim to have the ability to fight three Golden Peak experts at once and win. I’m a curious person, so I’d like to see that for myself.”

Bullock stared at Anton, his expression clearly saying, ’Let’s see what you’ve really got.’

Sieg coughed lightly, shot Bullock a look, then smiled apologetically at Anton. ”Sorry, Bullock’s a bit blunt.”

Anton indicated that he understood.

’Most Dwarves have tempers as foul and hard as stone. Thorvin and Grim, the ones I’ve met, are actually some of the more good-tempered ones. This Bullock before me truly represents the personality of most Dwarves.’

”Once the operation begins, you’ll naturally see whether I was lying,” Anton said calmly. ”As for now, making a scene would be too loud. We can’t risk alerting the Dragon Race.”

Bullock frowned but said nothing more.

”It’s getting late. Let’s get down to business,” Sieg said, smoothing things over. ”Canglan, you proposed this operation, so we’ll follow your lead.”

Anton nodded. Without being overly polite, he pointed toward Graystone Pass and said, ”First, we go to Graystone Pass.”

Neither Sieg nor Bullock objected, and the three of them immediately set off for Graystone Pass.

Just as they neared their destination, Sieg’s and Bullock’s expressions shifted.

The two of them almost instantly sensed something was amiss inside the pass.

Anton spoke up in time, ”I’ve set up an Array inside.”

Bullock curled his lip, unimpressed.

’Arrays… I’ve seen plenty of them. The offensive ones on city walls can only simulate Magic up to the fifth circle. They’re fine against Silver Tiers, but a joke against Golden Tiers. Unless it’s a large-scale Array controlled by dozens of Golden Tier Casters, it’s impossible to threaten a Golden Peak expert. This guy went to all that trouble just to waste his time.’

Sieg’s expression remained impassive, but inwardly he also doubted the Array would be of much use.

Anton didn’t bother explaining further. After entering Graystone Pass, he got straight to the point. ”In a moment, I’ll go intercept Dragon City’s transport convoy and lure the Consuls here. I’ll have to trouble you both to wait here.”

”Once the fighting starts, I just need each of you to hold off one Consul. I’ll take care of the rest.”

The plan was very simple.

”No problem.”

Sieg agreed readily, then took something out and handed it to Anton.

Anton took a closer look and saw that it was a Scroll.

The Scroll was made of deep purple beast hide, its surface stamped with silver runes. A faint aura of spatial fluctuations emanated from it.

”This is an instant teleportation Scroll,” Sieg explained. ”When activated, it can transport the user to any location within a hundred-li radius. It doesn’t need to be channeled, it activates on contact, and a typical anti-magic field can’t stop it.”

Anton raised an eyebrow at this, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

’Anti-magic fields are the bane of Magic and Magic Scrolls. A normal instant teleportation Scroll couldn’t possibly bypass an anti-magic field’s shielding. A Scroll that can be used inside one is definitely a high-grade item. No wonder Sieg agreed to my request so readily; he’s holding a life-saving trump card like this. With such a tool, even if the operation fails, the three of us can most likely escape unscathed. This really does lower the mission’s risk significantly.’

Of course, even with an instant teleportation Scroll, it wasn’t a one hundred percent guarantee. Risks still remained.

’Whether Sieg genuinely has high hopes for this mission and wants to take a gamble, or if he’s trying to make me owe him a favor to pull me closer, it’s a bold move either way.’

Anton couldn’t help but think more highly of him.

”Thanks,” Anton said, taking the Scroll.

The three of them then discussed the details of the operation once more. After confirming nothing had been missed, Anton left Graystone Pass.

As he stared at Anton’s figure disappearing over the horizon, Bullock couldn’t help but ask, ”Do you really believe what Canglan said? That he can handle three Consuls by himself?”

Sieg glanced at him and asked in return, ”Do you think a man who could kill a Golden Peak expert before even awakening the Power of Law would lie about something like this?”

Bullock’s expression froze. He opened his mouth but couldn’t find a single word of rebuttal.

Sieg smiled faintly. ”I find it hard to believe too, but since Canglan said it, he must be confident. He’s performed many miracles since he first appeared. What’s the harm in trusting him one more time?”

”As for the risk... Hah, joining the Fallen Dragon Association to fight the Dragon Court is already the most reckless thing in the world. What’s one more risk on top of that?”

Bullock’s expression flickered, and he fell silent.

...

At noon, the scorching sun hung high in the sky.

Anton hadn’t gone far from Graystone Pass, stopping about five or six kilometers away from the entrance.

He then unfurled his Divine Sense, maintaining its maximum coverage, and began to wait patiently.

「About an hour later.」

His Divine Sense caught a convoy appearing in the distance.

The group was not large.

There were only about a dozen carriages in total, each pulled by four Firemane Beasts.

Surrounding the carriages were a hundred Dragon Race cavalry, marching in neat formation and vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

Further back, about three hundred Gray Scale-man infantry followed.

Looking at this procession, Anton raised an eyebrow slightly.

’I can’t sense any aura from this convoy that could pose a threat to me. The strongest among them is only at the Upper Gold level. It’s obvious: either they’re using some kind of Extraordinary Level magic item to conceal their auras, or the Consuls are still hidden somewhere nearby.’

Without the slightest hesitation, Anton’s thoughts stirred. A silvery-white sword light instantly shot out from his chest, split into two in mid-air, and then streaked toward the convoy, tearing through the sky.

The sword light was faster than lightning, letting out a piercing shriek as it tore through the air, arriving in an instant.

The Dragon Race cavalry in the convoy never imagined someone could attack them from four or five kilometers away. The dozen or so riders at the very front were instantly pierced through the heart, tumbling from their Firemane Beasts to the ground. They died without so much as a grunt.

Only then did the people inside the carriages react.

In an instant, five tyrannical auras erupted from the convoy.

BOOM!

Five carriages instantly shattered into pieces. Five figures burst out from them, paused for a moment in mid-air, then shot toward Anton like streaks of lightning.

Anton’s Divine Sense immediately captured the faces of the five figures.

They were five members of the Dragon Race clad in dark armor.

Their bodies were covered in dark red scales, a pair of short, sharp dragon horns grew from their foreheads, and their vertical pupils glowed golden-red like molten lava. With every breath, faint sparks seemed to fly.

”Five Consuls? They really went all out.”

Anton gave a scornful laugh, wrapped his body in sword light, and shot toward Graystone Pass like a lightning bolt.

”Trying to run?”

The leading Consul sneered and waved his hand.

A pale cyan halo shot out from his palm, instantly crossing a thousand meters to land precisely on Anton.

In that instant, Anton felt his body suddenly grow heavy. The air around him seemed to turn into a thick swamp, and the speed of his Sword Escape abruptly dropped by more than half.

His gaze sharpened. He swept his Divine Sense over the Consul and quickly discovered the ring on his right index finger.

’An Extraordinary Level magic item.’

Anton clicked his tongue, but his expression remained calm.

’The position I chose to reveal myself wasn’t far, so even with my speed reduced, I’m not worried about being caught before I reach Graystone Pass. Not to mention I’m only using a single ray of sword light right now. If I weren’t trying to lure them, I would have unleashed all eight rays of sword light and left those Consuls in the dust long ago.’

The five Consuls, however, were unaware of this. Seeing Anton slow down, they all revealed cold smiles and immediately accelerated in pursuit.

A moment later, Anton shot into Graystone Pass like an arrow loosed from a bow.

At the same time, the five pursuing Consuls all paled slightly.

They had keenly sensed danger.

”There’s an ambush ahead!”

one of the Consuls shouted in a low voice.

The lead Consul hesitated for only a moment before his expression turned resolute. He said coldly, ”So what? Even if the entire Fallen Dragon Association branch is here, they only have three Golden Peak experts at most. We have the advantage in both numbers and strength. What’s there to fear from an ambush?”

The other four Consuls heard this and deeply agreed.

”After him! Kill Canglan!”

The lead Consul was the first to charge into the pass.

The other four exchanged a look and followed close behind.