Chapter 55 {Mysterious}

  “You know very well what is the most precious thing you possess—and the thing the dragon will need the most to hatch its egg smoothly,” Ian smiled and pointed toward the great tree growing at the center of the village.

  The noble frowned.

  For the first time, she felt disturbed. This tree was the source of their power and vitality—it was the most important thing to the elf race.

  They were born from it and buried within it. It was the origin of their lives.

  Life!!.. This was the Tree of Life.

  Of course, this was not the legendary Tree of Life, but merely a strand from a branch among a billion branches. Even so, it contained pure life—life that the Wind Dragon had lost a great deal of. That was why, the moment it learned of it, it would come. The reason the dragon came here in the first place and settled in this area was because there was a Tree of Life nearby.

  The problem now was that it was going through childbirth while weak. But the moment it gave birth, it would devour this tree to heal itself and accelerate the incubation process. At that point, the Elf Village would be sentenced to death—and carrying out the sentence would not take long.

  This was what the noble had thought about many times. Now, Ian had placed his hand directly on the wound, leaving her cornered.

  “The gathering will be tomorrow, at dawn, one full mile east of the dragon. That is where the camp and force assembly will be. We will gather only the elite—the elite of the elite,” Ian said as if it were already decided.

  “And your role?” the noble asked with a frown.

  “I am just a merchant, my lady…… A merchant!!!!,” Ian laughed, turned his face away, and left.

  The four followed quickly.

  After that, Ian headed to another place.

  This time, he went alone.

  After some discussions, he said with a smile, “A deal ”

  >>>>>>

  The next day.

  Four forces gathered—not many, just around thirty people.

  Elau Village and its forces at the Second Level: 10 individuals.

  Elf Village, likewise with Second Level forces: 12 individuals.

  Ian, along with 8 Second Level bandits—freezing the blood in the veins of the Elf noble and the Lord of Elau Village.

  “Where is he?” the Lord of Elau Village asked.

  Ian smiled. “There.”

  Everyone followed the path until they saw an old man on his donkey.

  His aura was calm and simple—almost nonexistent—yet he made all of them tremble.

  His energy was so powerful that it made them feel that if he pulled his staff and struck once, he would turn all of them into a lump of flesh.

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  Who else could it be but Yassin? Behind him appeared Chris, Liu, Bali, and the rest—yet only humans, humans alone.

  Five at the Second Level, yet their auras alone forced everyone present to shiver.

  Their power was overwhelming.

  Looking at them, one could feel death waving from them—one might even see its manifestation standing behind each of them.

  Look at Chris, and you would see a massive blade flashing and vanishing behind him, born from the power of his bloodline.

  Look at Asia, and lightning flickered around her.

  Liu was like an undying armored fortress.

  As for Bali, The Ordinary one among them, he alone was stronger than the generals of the Elf Village and Elau Village combined.

  They arrived on red war horses (except for Yassin), drawing every eye.

  The noble felt her sword screaming and wanted to leave.

  They are far too strong, thought the Lord of Elau Village, feeling danger creeping in.

  “Now, let us review our deal,” Ian said, drawing all eyes. “Let the lords follow me.”

  >>>

  The orc—Ian—the Lord of Elau, Yassin, and the Elf noble stood in a tight circle.

  “The corpse will go to the Lord of Elau,” Ian said. “The loot to the noble, and the egg to me.”

  “And what about him?” the Lord of Elau asked, pointing at Yassin.

  “I have already received my reward,” Yassin said with dignity.

  Ian sighed. “You’ve bankrupted me.”

  “Don’t make that stupid face in front of me. You are the biggest winner here with the egg,” Yassin said indifferently. “But I am disappointed in the group of fools you brought.”

  He acted like a rampaging beast, paying attention to no one—yet neither the noble nor the Lord of Elau spoke. Yassin alone could sweep through everyone here.

  “As agreed, you will be the vanguard,” Ian said.

  “I do not go back on my word, but to place my life in the hands of these weaklings—tsk. I am worried about my men,” Yassin said.

  His voice was filled with power; every word struck like a hammer against their hearts.

  “We are not weak,” the Lord of Elau straightened his back.

  “Prove it. Gather yourself and your men against me—one strike!! If you survive after that, I’ll respect you a little,” Yassin said, anger clearly visible in his eyes.

  He did not like anyone challenging him. That was what a true hero was like.

  “My lord, we have already agreed on everything, and I brought you the element you requested for the battle,” Ian said, easing the situation after seeing that the deal was on the verge of collapse.

  Then he took three formation banners out of his pocket.

  “This thing—” the noble was shocked. “We searched for it for a long time.”

  “It will be mine according to the deal after we are finished,” Yassin said, making it clear that he had gained more than them.

  Ian nodded, then looked at the two. “We will organize the groups so that each group has no more than ten, to benefit from the banner.”

  The lord and the noble agreed. The excess members would withdraw and join Yassin’s forces.

  “And what about the other beasts?” the Lord of Elau Village asked.

  “Anything else that gets killed will belong to whoever kills it,” Ian said.

  The three agreed and moved.

  “Alright, let’s move,” Ian led them inward, then retreated the moment they reached the range of the Wind Dragon.

  The beasts began to appear.

  Group after group.

  Their numbers were not large, but their strength was as well.

  This would weaken their forces before they reached the dragon—but Ian intervened and dealt with them.

  Raaaaaaaaar!!

  “You finally came,” Ian laughed.

  The White Tiger appeared along with the King Wolf, which had previously been the mount of the orc lord.

  White Tiger: Second Level.

  King Wolf: Second Level.

  — This goes deeper than I imagined, the noble thought.

  — This person is more dangerous than the human lord, the Lord of Elau thought. I must get rid of him.

  The White Tiger and the King Wolf swept through the path—especially with the White Tiger’s new skill.

  “Tiger Dispersal.”

  The White Tiger split into three, releasing Tiger’s Roar at the same moment.

  Tiger’s Roar (Mastery, Intermediate).

  The tiger’s strength had increased greatly in the recent period, and with its help, the path was opened.

  As for Ian, he gathered the loot and sent it through the Heavenly Mirror.

  The movement of the Heavenly Mirror drew their eyes, but they did not dare to comment.

  In their sight, something massive began to appear.

  A fat dragon five meters long, a body covered in long green-coated scales, winds swirling around it, long eyebrows reaching the ground, and three horns atop its head.

  Wind Dragon.

  Third Level.

  The problem was that this dragon was weak—its aura unclear, wounds covering its body, and its belly extremely swollen.

  It was on the verge of giving birth.

  Ian smiled. “We’ve arrived.”

  Hrrrrrrrrrr!

  The clouds moved with the dragon’s roar, and the sky darkened.

  With a single roar, the power of the Third Level was displayed with ease.

  Ian stepped back. “My role ends here.”

  >>>>>>

  A New Week With Two Chapters