The defeated have nothing, lose everything, and in such situations, don't have much choice. They either become enslaved to survive or choose death over submission.
Under Garon's gaze, the once formidable lord of Flamesteel City tilted his head.
Flames danced across his face, his mouth twisted into a sneer, and then he scoffed.
"Enough with the nonsense."
"Victory belongs to the king, defeat to the enemy. This time, I've lost."
"But I am the lord of the Flamesteel, the master of fire elements. Flames never fear death!"
Legendary beings, standing at the pinnacle of countless worlds across multiple planes beneath the gods, are existences that can overlook mountains. To make such beings submit and become slaves to others, not even gods descending could necessarily accomplish it.
Not to mention legendary beings, even true dragons would not consent to be enslaved.
Even if the other party was a Dragon God.
Like Balton, who worshipped the Frost Giant God Solem in his weaker days.
If he had become legendary, he would definitely not hold such beliefs.
The Flamesteel City Lord's response did not surprise Garon, but he felt a twinge of disappointment.
Garon shook his head and sighed softly.
"What a pity."
As his voice fell, a gust of cold wind was exhaled from Garon's mouth, hitting the elemental form of the Flamesteel City Lord.
The severely weakened Flamesteel City Lord couldn't resist, his body violently shuddered, then vanished into the cold wind without a word.
In Garon's dragon claw.
The elemental core, shaped like a cluster of flames, still shone brightly, but the elemental life that had nurtured and grown it no longer existed. Even if a new legendary fire element was created from this elemental core, it wouldn't be the Flamesteel City Lord himself.
"Unfortunately, there is only one soul cage, and it can only enslave beings with souls of flesh and blood."
Among the spoils left by Halis, aside from the Blood Sacrifice Ascension Ritual, the most valuable was the soul cage, a legendary piece of evil equipment capable of forcibly enslaving legendary beings. Its existence would surely attract the hostility of other legends.
No one wants to be unrested even in death.
Opening a dimensional space, Garon carefully stored the legendary fire elemental core separately.
Then, Garon flapped his dragon wings and left the scene, returning to the battlefield.
Before he chased the Flamesteel City Lord, he had already frozen the body of the Stone City Lord within clusters of ice crystals using his frost dragon breath. His subordinates guarded the area, repelling wave after wave of earth giants trying to rescue the Stone City Lord.
Upon Garon's return, the ice crystals melted.
The scattered elemental stones, like countless magic gems of earth attributes, radiated a warm and rich yellow glow, comparable to a large gemstone mine reserve.
These elemental stones still carried the faint consciousness of the Stone City Lord.
He wasn't dead yet.
The elemental stone fragments trembled slightly, rolling on the ground, trying to converge.
The tenacity of legendary elemental life was evident.
Thinking of the Flamesteel City Lord's unequivocal refusal, Garon felt that legendary beings all possess pride and dignity; further persuasion would be futile and might even be looked down upon by the other party, so he didn't offer the Stone City Lord a chance to trade freedom for life.
Thus, Garon's dragon might burst forth like a tsunami.
The fierce and ferocious dragon might swept over every elemental stone.
Suddenly, all the trembling, moving elemental stones shook violently as if in their last throes, then the scattered consciousness carried by them was torn apart by the dragon might, ultimately returning to calm.
The elemental stones on the ground still shone brightly but no longer possessed any signs of life, becoming inanimate objects.
The Stone City Lord's body, twenty-five meters tall and equally wide, shattered into countless elemental stones, pleasing Garon greatly as his eyes sparkled with deep yellow light.
These elemental stones, forming the body of the legendary earth giant, were of quality no less than magic gems.
Some elemental stones from key parts were of such high quality that they would excite any spellcaster.
Opening another dimensional space, Garon stored these legendary elemental stones, alongside the elemental core, where the Flamesteel City Lord and Stone City Lord would unlikely imagine coexisting in such harmony.
Then, Garon soared into the sky, turning his gaze back to the battlefield.
At that moment, the battle between fire and earth elemental lives continued, but it was no longer as intense as before, especially since the legendary leaders of both sides were confirmed dead.
Fire and earth giants had already ceased fighting.
Only low-level elemental lives lacking intelligence continued to battle.
Meanwhile, an invisible yet tangible dragon might erupted.
Like a silent tsunami, the dragon might rose, causing every elemental life it swept over to tremble.
Besides the rolling boulders and surging flames, the battlefield fell into a brief silence.
The silver dragon's gaze swept across the battlefield, over the strange spikes, stone columns, rolling stones, burning flames, and the somewhat somber faces of the elemental giants.
"This war is over."
The silver dragon spoke, his voice deep, resonating with every elemental giant.
Some giants didn't understand the dragon language, but from the current situation and the changing expressions and actions of those who did, they could roughly guess the meaning conveyed.
Many fire giants' bodies flickered with light, showing their unrest.
The earth giants' rigid faces showed no clear change.
But the grinding noise from their earthen bodies likewise revealed their inner turmoil.
"The victors are neither fire nor earth elements, but I, the eternal dragon from the prime material world, the sole ruler here."
"Now make your choice, kneel and swear fealty, or resist and die."
Garon hovered in the air, his voice spreading across the battlefield.
Legendary giants couldn't possibly choose to submit, but it was very likely for the common elemental giants.
At these words, a brief commotion stirred on the still battlefield.
About half of the giants roared in anger and defiance.
The other half slowly bent their bodies, kneeling before the silver dragon's wings.
Besides the giants, many intelligent elemental lives, upon seeing the situation, also knelt down, choosing to swear fealty. The proportion of these ordinary elemental lives was much higher, nearly ninety-nine percent.
For them, swearing fealty to the giants or the true dragon made no difference.
It was merely a change of a more powerful master.
Of course, a few elemental lives loyal to their original lords stood upright, glaring at the legendary dragon circling in the sky.
Garon nodded imperceptibly.
Then, he turned his gaze to his subordinates.
"Kill those resisting giants and elemental lives. Their bodies and cores, you may take as spoils of war."
The red dragons were momentarily stunned, then overjoyed.
"Thank you for your generosity!"
Then, Roel and Gresha, baring their fangs and wrapped in flames and smoke, charged at the resisting elemental giants.
Kricens and Fred, unable to resist the temptation, began casting high-level spells against the elemental giants without regard for mana consumption.
For high-level spellcasters, the elemental stones of earth giants and the elemental cores of fire giants were excellent magical materials, coveted for crafting useful items, normally unattainable and priceless.
Kricens, who had visited other elemental planes, wouldn't dare to act rashly in front of an elemental giant.
Otherwise, legendary elements would come seeking revenge in minutes.
As for the Coldforest Serpent Dragon, which had lost a dragon claw, it was unenthusiastic and did not join the red dragons and spellcasters.
For it, these materials were less valuable than delicious blood meals.
The dragons' obsession with treasure seemed quite strange to the serpent species.
Moreover, the Coldforest Serpent Dragon inherently possessed a cruel desire to kill, mainly targeting beings with flesh and bones. It enjoyed tearing apart their flesh, crushing their bones, and savoring their fear and despair. Elemental lives, feeling no pain and lacking flesh and bones, did not arouse its interest in killing.
"Ulbius, you performed well this time."
"What reward do you desire?"
Garon looked at the Coldforest Serpent Dragon.
It coiled its slender body, its mouth clacking as it chewed on something.
Garon looked closer and grimaced.
He discovered it was Ulbius's own severed dragon claw. The Coldforest Serpent Dragon chewed on its claw, the friction between dragon scales and fangs making a crackling sound, enjoying the meal.
Upon hearing Garon's words, the serpent dragon, while chewing on its claw, voiced, "I don't want anything. Oh, if possible, let me play with the Wolfheart Clan again when we return to the prime material world. I like those cold little wolf pups."
"And I'm not fond of this demi-plane's environment and creatures."
Joining the Wolfheart Clan's campaign greatly satisfied the Coldforest Serpent Dragon's cruel desires.
Its extreme cruelty and bloodthirstiness were a major reason the Wolfheart Clan advanced so vigorously, as many clans knew that blocking the Wolfheart Clan, then facing the serpent dragon, meant consequences far beyond mere submission and fealty.
The Coldforest Serpent Dragon had indeed earned its terrifying reputation as the eternal dragon with the remnants of clan creatures' limbs, chilling to the core.
"Alright, you'll continue with the Wolfheart Clan when we return."
Garon had no aversion to the Coldforest Serpent Dragon's pure and naive evil.
Nature cannot be stripped away. The serpent dragon had always been obedient, its cruelty and bloodthirst directed only against Garon's enemies, making it an excellent subordinate in Garon's eyes.
"Great."
The serpent dragon nodded eagerly, then paused, raising its intact claw, "Sir, would you like to try? I seem to taste quite good. Huh, I never noticed before."
Garon: . "No, thank you."
He glanced at the dark green, ferocious claw and immediately declined.
Eating oneself and even asking for taste, truly a ruthless dragon.
True dragons possess some self-healing regenerative abilities, not as extreme as trolls, but still formidable. Though the Coldforest Serpent Dragon had lost a claw, it could regrow over time, the new tender claw eventually becoming sharp and dangerous again.
The serpent dragon had finished eating its severed claw, still lingering on the taste, then looked at its intact left claw and powerful tail, pondering some unusual thoughts.
Garon covered his face.
If not stopped, this creature might actually carry out the terrifying act of consuming itself.
"Ulbius, I need you in your best condition to serve me. Don't think about eating yourself; it will weaken you."
Garon frowned, speaking earnestly.
The serpent dragon looked up, surprised and shocked, "You actually knew what I was thinking! Truly, your wisdom is beyond me."
Garon: . The intelligence of serpent dragons is far below that of regular true dragons. Their praise didn't sound as pleasant to Garon.
After a pause, the serpent dragon asked dejectedly, "Then, if I'm injured in the next battle and eat the severed limb, that's alright?"
"Yes," Garon replied concisely.
Moments later, Garon glanced at the serpent dragon's blurred injury, his gaze shifting.
He remembered the future Garon using time reversal to heal himself.
Neither time stop nor acceleration could achieve the same effect as time reversal.
It was a miraculous ability that could resurrect the dead without loss.
According to the future Garon, he was willing to expend more of his time power to collectively resurrect the over eighty million soldiers of the Golden Alliance and the Dimo defense forces, a feat even gods would marvel at.
A thousand Light Popes performing resurrection spells couldn't achieve this, even if they were drained dry and died from exhaustion.
Garon's mind was filled with the time power's looping wheel.
The flow of time power and the mysterious symbols adorning it were imprinted clearly in Garon's mind.
"Perhaps, I could try."
Acting immediately, Garon gathered time power at his wrist, slowly rotating in the shape of a wheel.
Symbols formed from time power adorned it, flowing with the wheel's rotation, emitting a profound and mysterious aura.
The semi-illusory wheel of time appeared in Garon's vision. He extended his dragon claw towards the serpent dragon's severed limb.
The serpent dragon paused, puzzled, as it couldn't see the wheel of time.
Then, under Garon's control, the time wheel at his wrist began to rotate counterclockwise
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