The Elven Cultivator

Chapter 285: Chapter 258: A Less Crowded Area

Outside Darkness Fortress, at the entrance to the Subspace.

The sky was a dreary gray. A layer of leaden clouds hung overhead, completely blocking out the morning light.

Although it was still early, a large number of squads had already gathered around the entrance.

Powerful individuals from every race gathered in small groups, whispering amongst themselves. From time to time, they would cast curious and awestruck glances at a figure sitting on a flat rock not far away.

The Fallen Dragon Sword Saint.

That name was now known to all in Darkness Fortress.

Many of these powerhouses were eager to approach and strike up a conversation, but after seeing Anton meditating with his eyes closed, they hesitated and ultimately gave up on the idea.

Who knew if approaching him so rashly would displease him?

In a corner of the crowd, Byron watched Anton, the center of everyone’s attention, with an incredibly complicated expression.

Just then, he felt a mocking gaze from the side, and a wave of irritation washed over him.

He didn’t even have to turn his head to guess who it was.

’It must be that damned minotaur, Clyde, laughing at me again!’

Byron’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He wanted to shout a curse, but he was afraid Clyde would publicly bring up the things he had said behind Anton’s back when they first met him in the Subspace.

Losing face was a small matter, but if he provoked Anton, he didn’t have the strength to deal with a Sword Saint who could go head-to-head with a peak Legendary Giant Dragon.

After a moment of hesitation, Byron swallowed his frustration and avoided looking at Clyde’s punchable face.

At that moment, a sudden commotion broke out in the crowd in the distance.

"It’s Lord Grant and Lord Rek’sa!"

Two figures walked side-by-side from the direction of the fortress, each with a squad of their own behind them.

Grant was wearing a suit of silver-gray light magic armor today, the greatsword on his back still as eye-catching as ever.

Rek’sa walked beside him, his burly frame like a moving mountain. His shoulders were broad, and his gray-white fur fluttered slightly in the morning wind.

The hideous scar that ran across half his face was particularly stark against his gray-white fur.

The Beastman Warriors behind him were all broad-shouldered and heavily built, fully armed and reeking of blood.

The arrival of the two squads instantly livened up the area around the entrance.

Many squads, including Byron’s and Clyde’s, immediately went forward to greet them, their faces wreathed in smiles.

"Lord Rek’sa!"

"My lord, are you also entering the Subspace today?"

Without exception, the forces behind these squads were all allied races of Blood Roar Fortress.

As a core figure of Blood Roar Fortress, they naturally treated Rek’sa with the utmost respect and flattery.

Not to mention, Rek’sa himself was a peak Legendary Powerhouse.

Seeing Rek’sa arrive, Byron subconsciously puffed out his chest and glanced involuntarily at Anton.

’On second thought, the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint might be powerful, but it’s not like I don’t have backing either.’

’There’s no need to be so afraid of Anton.’

Rek’sa also noticed Anton. He narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in their depths.

But he only looked for a few seconds before looking away, paying him no mind.

Meanwhile, things were just as lively over with Grant.

Many elites from the Freedom Alliance, Dwarves, and even Elves from the Jade Royal Court came forward to greet him.

Grant smiled and responded to each of them, his tone easygoing and his manner approachable.

After dealing with wave after wave of greetings, he finally led his teammates through the crowd and walked toward Anton.

"Anton."

Anton had already sensed Grant’s arrival. He opened his eyes and looked at him with a smile.

"You’re late."

"The entrance to the Subspace hasn’t opened yet, has it?" Grant grinned. "Same as always, how about a little competition to see who can find and destroy the spatial node first?"

"Alright," Anton agreed with a smile.

Over the years, whenever they ran into each other at the Subspace entrance, they would make this same harmless bet, just to liven things up.

Grant was about to say more when the distortion not far away began to churn violently, and a long, narrow rift split open in its center.

The entrance to the space had opened.

The surrounding chatter instantly died down. Everyone’s spirits lifted, and without delay, they began to file into the Subspace.

Grant waved to Anton, then turned and headed for the entrance with his teammates.

"Let’s go."

Anton hopped off the rock and called for the Great Elder and Romance to enter the Subspace.

...

The Subspace was as gloomy and desolate as ever.

Not long after entering, the Silver Moon Squad encountered a Dragon Soul.

However, the moment the Dragon Soul fully formed, it was shredded into a shower of light motes by a flash of sword light, then immediately absorbed by the Soul-Collecting Cauldron.

The trio’s pace didn’t even slow in the slightest.

The Great Elder and Romance watched this, marveling inwardly.

They had been hunting Dragon Souls with Anton for years and had witnessed firsthand just how rapidly his strength had grown.

The outside world might not know, but they were well aware that their Clan Leader’s strength had unquestionably reached the peak Legendary tier.

Anton walked at the very front, his expression calm and untroubled.

Over the years, as his Magical Power had grown and his Golden Core had steadily strengthened, the might of his sword light had increased day by day.

The Dragon Souls of the Subspace no longer posed any threat to him.

Entering the Subspace to hunt Dragon Souls had become a relaxed, almost leisurely routine.

Anton estimated that at this rate, his Magical Power and Golden Core would both reach their limits in twenty years at most.

At that time, he could begin to condense his Magical Power’s True Seal.

However, because he had absorbed all the Dragon Souls and they hadn’t found any spatial nodes, his Sword Pill hadn’t been upgraded in years and had stagnated.

As a result, Anton could occasionally feel a sense of ’hunger’ coming from the Sword Pill.

It was already impatient to devour a member of the Dragon Race.

Time passed quietly on the monotonous wasteland.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.

After once again annihilating an attacking Dragon Soul, Anton’s expression suddenly shifted.

Romance and the Great Elder also sensed something at almost the same instant, and they both turned to look to the northeast.

"A spatial fluctuation!"

"It’s a spatial node."

The Great Elder and Romance were both overjoyed.

After so many years, they had finally found a spatial node again.

A gleam also flashed in Anton’s eyes. Without delay, he immediately sped up, dashing toward the source of the spatial fluctuation.

In less than fifteen minutes, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

As expected, a vast expanse of grayish-white mist spread out before them.

It was the spatial node.

Not far in front of the spatial node, two groups of people were sitting on rocks about ten meters apart, seemingly resting.

"Only two squads?"

Anton raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the squad on the left.

It was a group from the Sea Race.

The Sea Race wasn’t a single species, but a collective term for all intelligent ocean-dwelling creatures.

The diversity of its internal groups was in no way inferior to that of the land-based races.

For example, the Sea Race squad before them, despite having only seven members, had a complex racial composition, including Siren Mermaids, Ming Jiao, Selkies, a Hydra, and a Sea Giant.

Five different ocean races in total.

The upper bodies of the Siren Mermaids were somewhat similar to those of Elves.

They had delicate faces, slender figures, and the subtle sheen of fine scales was faintly visible on their skin.

Their lower halves were long fish tails, with scales in a gradient of colors, shifting from silver-white at the waist to a deep ocean blue at the tail fin.

Legend had it that Siren Mermaids were the nobility of the Sea Race.

They used their songs to cast Illusion Techniques, capable of unconsciously invading an enemy’s mind and trapping them in an endless abyss of dreams from which they could never escape, even in death.

Beautiful and dangerous—that was the impression many intelligent creatures had of the Siren Mermaids.

Sitting beside the two Siren Mermaids was a Sea Giant who stood a full six meters tall.

His entire body was covered in rough, grayish-blue skin, like a reef soaked in the sea for millennia. His muscles were gnarled and bulging like small hills, and his mere presence exuded a heavy sense of pressure.

He also carried a massive Trident on his back, its tines glowing with a faint, cold blue light.

Next to the Sea Giant were two Ming Jiao.

They had slender, well-muscled bodies and dark blue-gray skin covered in fine, granular scales. Symmetrical, whisker-like tentacles grew from their faces, swaying slightly with each breath.

The Ming Jiao were famous among the Sea Race as artisans.

Deep Sea Refined Gold, Sea Crystal Stones, Jade Wave Copper... The raw materials for many High Tier Magic Equipment came from the hands of the Ming Jiao.

They were the most outstanding metalsmiths in the ocean world.

There was also a Selkie in the squad.

He looked like an ordinary Human Race male, but his true form was that of a seal person; he had simply used a Transformation Skill to take on a human appearance.

What Selkies were best at, and also what they most enjoyed, was transforming into humans to walk through land-based towns.

Many of the Sea Race’s commercial trades were managed by the Selkies.

The racial composition of this squad was quite rare, even for Darkness Fortress.

In comparison, the other Human Race squad had a much more conventional composition.

The arrival of Anton’s trio quickly drew the attention of both squads.

The Hydra’s three heads turned almost simultaneously, its six eyes locking onto Anton in unison.

"Someone’s finally here!"

"I don’t know what’s up with this damn place, but we haven’t seen any other squads."

"Huh, why are there only three Elves?"

The three heads spoke one after another, clamoring loudly.

The leader of the Human Race squad, however, recognized Anton. His eyes lit up slightly as he immediately stood up and walked over.

"I’ve long heard of your great name, Lord Anton."

He stopped a few steps in front of Anton, a warm smile on his face.

"My name is William Sorren, from the Freedom Alliance."

"Hello." Anton nodded in greeting.

Seeing William, a Legendary Powerhouse, acting so enthusiastically toward Anton, the Hydra’s three heads were all taken aback. It whispered to the Selkie beside it, "Is that Elf famous? Why does William seem so friendly to him?"

The Selkie gave it a strange look and said helplessly, "Even if you’ve never seen the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint, you should at least remember his name. Didn’t I tell you the name Anton Silver Moon before?"

The Hydra froze for a moment, then its three heads exclaimed in unison.

"The Fallen Dragon Sword Saint?"

"The Elf who single-handedly took down over thirty Giant Dragons?"

"So it’s him."

All three heads turned in unison, staring at Anton with wide eyes, a trace of excitement in their gazes.

Who in all of Darkness Fortress didn’t know how formidable the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint was?

With a figure like him joining them, they would undoubtedly have a better chance of destroying the spatial node.

William naturally thought the same.

Although he didn’t show his excitement as openly as the Hydra, he was no less delighted inwardly.

Therefore, when Anton asked about the situation with this spatial node, he immediately told him everything he knew.

However, after listening to William’s account, a hint of surprise appeared on Anton’s face.

"You’re saying you discovered this spatial node four days ago, but only your two squads have been drawn here?"

Romance and the Great Elder also looked at each other in dismay.

In four days, based on past experience, at least ten or twenty squads should have gathered.

But now, there were only two.

This was too abnormal.

’Come to think of it, we haven’t run into any other squads these past few days either.’

When outsiders enter the Subspace, their arrival points are random.

’Could it be that we just happened to land in an area with very few allied elites?’

"That’s right." William sighed. "If you hadn’t shown up, I would have suspected that the Dragon Race had used some means to shield the spatial fluctuations in this area."

"Now it seems we were just unlucky and happened to land in a region with fewer allied elites."