The silver moon hung high in the sky, its light cold and clear.
Urbis, oblivious to the impending events, was still enthusiastically playing with its weaker prey, treating their blood and bones as toys. This snake dragon's nature was a blend of innocence and brutal cruelty.
Moonlight flowed like water.
A mist appeared unexpectedly, enveloping the towering snow mountains and Urbis within it. However, Urbis seemed unaware of the change in its environment. This mist was not natural.
Then, the sound that reached Urbis' ears alerted it.
The sound of hooves, like iron shoes on ice, approached from afar, as if they were right next to Urbis' ears.
Clip-clop, clip-clop. The crisp sound of hooves came from all directions.
Only then did Urbis realize something was wrong and noticed the strange changes in its surroundings.
The dense pale mist obscured its vision.
The fierce and ferocious cold forest snake dragon showed no fear. It devoured its half-dead prey and then, with its elongated body and its dark green scales, bristling with sharp spikes, made a rustling sound.
"Who dares to play tricks on me, Urbis?"
Urbis roared.
Taking a deep breath, it then exhaled a breath typical of a cold forest snake dragon.
Almost tangible electrified steam.
As Urbis moved, its breath stirred the surrounding pale mist, tearing it apart. However, more mist quickly gathered, refilling the snake dragon's field of vision.
"The snake dragon kind, naturally cruel and bloodthirsty, a penchant for tormenting the weak. All are evil beings that deserve to die."
The sound of hooves stopped.
At the same time, a cold, indifferent voice came from within the mist.
Urbis' gaze turned fierce, and it swiftly turned its head, breathing a dragon's breath towards the source of the sound. The pale mist was torn apart, creating a clear path, but it felt nothing tangible being hit.
"A sneaky little mouse. Your voice sounds quite appetizing."
Upon hearing the cold voice, Urbis instinctively felt a surging hunger, an insatiable craving.
Moreover, Urbis understood the language.
It was not Draconic, Common, or Infernal.
But Elvish.
The inflection of Elvish, even when cold and deadly, sounded as beautiful and melodious as a poem.
"So it's an elf, heh heh, I haven't tasted the exquisite flavor of elves in a long time."
"Once I catch you, I will slowly savor every inch of your flesh, relishing the unmatched taste of an elf's body."
Elves were the favorite food of snake dragons, without parallel.
Realizing that the other party was likely an elf, Urbis' appetite surged.
Spell-like ability · True Seeing!
True Seeing, a powerful perceptual magic that snake dragons possess, could see through many illusions and magic concealing or hiding.
After casting True Seeing, Urbis looked around, its gaze sweeping across every inch.
Under its True Seeing vision, the surrounding pale mist became thin and illusory. Then, a figure on a white horse, holding a fine longsword, a figure in white, appeared in Urbis' vision.
This being was all in pale colors, at first glance, appearing like a ghost in the swaying mist.
But the figure was solid.
Urbis smelled a delicious aroma that made it salivate uncontrollably – undoubtedly the scent of an elf.
The pale figure had a handsome, androgynous, almost elven look, with slightly pointed ears visible on either side of the face. This elf was too beautiful, and it was almost impossible to tell from the appearance whether this individual was male or female.
However, judging from the flat chest and the previously low, cold voice, this elf was male.
With its appetite stimulated, Urbis' eyes turned blood-red, its muscles tensed, and its body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging at the pale elf.
The size difference between them was like a speeding train tearing through the mist, charging aggressively towards a normal-sized human.
On the other side,
Faced with the roaring and bellowing cold forest snake dragon,
The tiny pale elf held the sword with both hands, poised in front of his chest.
At this moment, the moonlight seemed even colder. A cold aura quickly sprang up around them, the invisible moonlight seemingly drawn by the opponent's sword, turning into a cold and brilliant light.
Urbis felt alarmed inside.
Just looking at the opponent's sword caused a tingling pain all over its body, a sense of impending death.
Thus, the formidable Urbis came to a screeching halt.
Without a word, it turned and fled.
The pale elf was slightly taken aback.
A snake dragon that knew to flee was a rare sight.
Snake dragons were natural enemies of elves. This ancient elf, who had lived for thousands of years, would mercilessly kill every snake dragon he encountered, leaving numerous snake dragons dead at his hands.
But they all had one thing in common.
Even if they knew they couldn't win, they would rush forward, roaring, and then die valiantly, casting a vicious death curse in exchange for their lives.
"Interesting."
The pale elf chuckled lightly.
The crisp sound of hooves resounded again.
His horse neighed, leaving a straight trail in the air, quickly pursuing Urbis. In just a few breaths, Urbis was once again within attack range.
"I don't think I can beat him."
"And I can't escape."
Urbis glanced backward.
Its dark green faceplate showed a fierce and ferocious expression, and its body abruptly stopped.
It fled at first because Garon had instructed it not to use the suicide curse against an overpowering enemy. Urbis listened to Garon's words, but when escape was impossible, Urbis decided to let the enemy taste the might of the snake dragon's death curse.
Life and death be damned, fight if provoked!
At the same time,
Just as Urbis turned around to fight to the death,
Buzz! An abyssal dragon's might descended like an invisible storm, causing the space here to nearly stagnate.
Urbis looked up with joy.
Pursuing him from behind, the pale elf, less than a kilometer away, also looked up to the sky with a condensed expression.
The clouds dispersed, revealing a pair of platinum dragon eyes.
The silver dragon's wings blocked out the moonlight, radiating a heavy, mountain-like oppressive feeling, quietly observing the pale elf.
The pale elf frowned and spoke in Common, "Unknown true dragon, why do you obstruct me?"
"Are you trying to protect this cruel and bloodthirsty evil snake dragon?"
True dragons and snake dragons generally did not get along.
Snake dragons possessed dragon might, heritage, and dragon breath but were not considered part of the true dragon kin. Snake dragons didn't care about this non-recognition, but the condescension and arrogance from true dragons deeply disgusted them.
The legendary dragon that suddenly appeared from the clouds didn't seem like an evil creature.
Moreover, the pale elf couldn't fathom its depth.
Therefore, the pale elf asked patiently.
"It is my subordinate, loyal to me."
The silver dragon bathed in moonlight, its gaze indifferent, looking down from above.
Upon receiving this response, the pale elf's face darkened slightly.
"I see you do not seem like an evil dragon. Taking a naturally cruel and ferocious snake dragon as a subordinate is not a wise choice."
The pale elf spoke.
He looked up at Garon, but his exquisite and perfect face showed no hint of fear.
Garon's expression remained unchanged, his voice deep, "Every inch of this land, every snow mountain, belongs to me."
He paused, his platinum dragon eyes sharpening.
"What my subordinates do, good or evil, is not a concern for outsiders."
Urbis coiled its body and slipped under Garon's wing, then looked provocatively at the pale elf, eyes filled with greed, obviously still longing for elf flesh.
"Lord, the tender flesh of elves is the most delicious, the greatest delicacy in the world. You must not let him go."
Urbis licked its lips, speaking to Garon in Draconic.
Upon hearing this, the pale elf's face turned cold.
He understood Draconic.
Looking at the forty-six meter long silver dragon, the pale elf did not act rashly.
He couldn't gauge Garon's strength.
This already indicated the dragon's level.
Moreover, judging by body size alone, Garon was undoubtedly an ancient dragon. The pale elf did not believe he was a match for such a profound ancient dragon.
"The mighty dragon, my name is Adunis, from the elven kingdom of moon elves, the Moonlight Knight."
"In light of your legendary status, I will pretend I never encountered it."
"However, since this snake dragon is your subordinate, I implore you to strictly discipline it, lest it brings you unnecessary trouble."
The Moonlight Knight's gaze swept over Urbis, then looked at Garon, speaking sternly.
After speaking, his horse neighed, and moonlight flickered around him, making his body gradually ethereal.
He used some sort of teleportation magic and was about to leave.
At the same time, an overpowering dragon's might pressed down fiercely.
The pale horse stiffened, and the Moonlight Knight's face instantly darkened, his teleportation spell brutally disrupted by Garon's dragon's might.
"Your Excellency, what do you mean?"
The Moonlight Knight tightened his grip on his sword, speaking gravely.
Garon looked puzzled, revealing sharp fangs with a smile, "Elf, you enter my territory, attack my subordinate."
"And just like that, you think you can leave so easily?"
The Moonlight Knight glanced at the unharmed snake dragon, still casting a provocative gaze at him, and said displeasedly, "Lord Dragon, your subordinate seems unharmed."
"Huh? Who said I'm not hurt?"
Urbis's eyes widened.
Bold Urbis, with his master present, felt no fear of the Moonlight Knight.
"I was scared by you, psychologically hurt!"
"I might never dare to hunt alone again, and even starve to death!"
"You say I'm not hurt? This is a fatal wound!"
Urbis was quick-witted for once, and Garon looked at it approvingly.
"Lord Garon, this guy bullied me, you must avenge me."
"If I die, snake dragons on Noah Continent might go extinct."
The fierce snake dragon showed a pitiful look, clamoring.
Garon did not respond to Urbis.
He looked at the Moonlight Knight, his voice calm and unhurried, "You heard it. Whether it's invading my territory or injuring my subordinate, you cannot just leave freely."
The Moonlight Knight frowned, speaking gravely, "Then how do you propose we resolve this?"
Garon's gaze wandered over the Moonlight Knight.
The silver sword in his hand, merging with the moonlight, was clearly a precious treasure, a legendary weapon.
Besides, his wristband, armor, and other equipment were enveloped in rich elemental radiance.
Finally, Garon's gaze settled on the Moonlight Knight himself.
"Remove your magical artifacts and leave half of your blood. Then, you can leave safely."
Garon did not want the elf's blood because he wanted to taste if it was as delicious as the snake dragon said.
The main reason was the high elf skull.
This legendary artifact, now mentally connected to Garon and owned by him, had been inactive due to a lack of high elf blood. The mind-locking domain, meant to protect dragon nests, had been a long-time disappointment for Garon because it remained unusable.
But just now.
The high elf skull vibrated.
It conveyed to Garon an intense desire for the blood of the Moonlight Knight.
He was a high elf! He was not a common elf native to Noah Continent.
The Moonlight Knight's elven kingdom, not in the prime material plane, was an outer plane dominated by elves, with names like Elven Forest and Natural Wilderness.
"Impossible!"
Garon's brazen demand turned the Moonlight Knight's face cold.
"Taking a snake dragon as a subordinate, indeed, you are an evil dragon."
"Before the witness of the Father of Elves, I, Adunis, swear here and now, I will represent the moon and hunt you until the end of my life!"
The Moonlight Knights of the elven kingdom were not kind-hearted knights. They were war weapons of the elven realm.
Under the moon's glow, the Moonlight Knights roamed various planes and worlds, arriving with the cold night, tirelessly exterminating enemies of the elves.
Representing the moon, Hunting me in the name of the moon? The serious words of the Moonlight Knight, with Garon's past life memories, made him unable to suppress a chuckle, laughing out loud.
"Elf, you should first think about how to escape from my hands."
Garon planned to capture this legendary elf knight alive.
He wasn't sure how much high elf blood was needed to activate the high elf skull, so it was better to keep him alive and contained, providing a constant source of blood.
This act might seem evil in the eyes of others.
But Garon was indifferent.
As Garon finished speaking, the Moonlight Knight's face sank.
Countless moonbeams, like flowing water, shimmering, gathered around him, turning into cold and pressing physical moonlight.
The Moonlight Knight pointed his sword at Garon, his magic power erupting.
But at that moment, he suddenly found the space-time around him seemed to freeze for a moment. His mind was still functioning, but control over his body was completely lost in that instant. As a result, his bursting magic backfired on him.
Garon observed the Moonlight Knight's suddenly much paler face and nodded slightly.
At the moment the Moonlight Knight was gathering power to use his abilities, Garon used Time Split on him.
In that instant, the time the Moonlight Knight perceived and the time his body experienced were separated. His perception of time became chaotic, resulting in him watching his magic backlash against him.
Time Split had more than one use.
Garon used the Moonlight Knight as a test subject to verify his abilities, so he didn't immediately use Time Stop to capture him.
"You—" The Moonlight Knight spat out blood, his face full of doubt and astonishment.
He knew his magic backfired because of Garon, but he had no idea when and how Garon acted. He didn't even have the slightest basic feeling
of what had happened. Faced with such a situation, the Moonlight Knight realized that the silver dragon before him was entirely out of his league.
Although both were legendary beings, there were vast differences among legends.
He felt that he and Garon were not of the same caliber of legend.
Intelligent creatures that achieve legendary status are rarely foolish.
Realizing that he was completely outmatched, the Moonlight Knight, like Urbis before him, turned and attempted to flee.
His horse let out a resounding neigh.
Countless cold moonbeams converged from all directions, forming a pair of thin, transparent wings that resembled the starry sky.
The wings were surrounded by countless wind elemental energies.
It was clear the horse had incredibly fast speed.
However, Garon's expression remained unchanged.
The power of time gathered like silk, silently sealing the space in front of the pale horse.
The horse flapped its wings.
Splat! Blood splattered.
As the pale horse flapped its wings, increasing its speed to escape Garon, the Moonlight Knight sensed an extreme danger.
"Stop!"
He yelled loudly, but the pale horse, moving too quickly, was already unable to brake in time.
The Moonlight Knight's heart sank, and he flung himself off the horse's back.
Then, under the Moonlight Knight's angry gaze, the pale horse relentlessly crashed into a dangerous area.
That was a chaotic flow of time, invisible but deadly, filled with countless rifts. Consequently, the pale horse's body appeared with dense cracks and then, following those cracks, disintegrated into fragments.
"Time Split's physical rending damage is almost as devastating as a collapse of the planes."
"It's a pity it can't be directly applied to the target."
Garon narrowed his eyes, examining the effects of his ability.
Meanwhile, as his beloved horse was disintegrated in an instant, the Moonlight Knight's face showed uncontrollable rage.
"You will pay for your actions in blood!"
Then, the Moonlight Knight cut off his own left arm with his sword and rapidly uttered a complex elvish incantation Garon couldn't understand.
The left arm instantly withered, experiencing millennia in a moment, losing all life and turning to ash in the harsh wind.
"High elf life magic."
Garon watched intently.
High elves could cast far more potent spells than ordinary ones using their life force, known as life arcane or life magic. The mind-locking domain was also a type of life magic.
At this moment, the Moonlight Knight's tightly gripped sword shone brilliantly.
The cold moonlight formed an extended edge hundreds of meters long.
"Die!"
The Moonlight Knight charged forward, slashing at Garon with his sword.
The edge of the moonlight blade vaguely showed fine spatial rifts, few but undeniably present, indicating the sword's power.
However,
Unable to perceive the power of time and without any means to counter it, no matter how strong a legendary creature was or how astonishingly diverse its methods, to Garon, they were no different than fish on a chopping board, easily manipulated.
Garon simply used Time Acceleration.
The target was not himself, but the Moonlight Knight's weapon.
So, to the Moonlight Knight's astonishment and horror, while he was still far from Garon, the hundreds of meters long moonlight blade suddenly surged in speed, slashing downward in a mournful arc, like a crescent moon.
Impressive in appearance,
But because it accelerated and slashed down midway, it didn't even touch a hair on Garon.
Garon stroked his chin, too lazy to move.
"Many of my abilities have been enhanced. Previously, Time Acceleration couldn't be applied to an enemy's weapon."
The acceleration seemed like a straightforward boost.
But for legendary beings who strive to perfectly control every bit of their power, such sudden, uncontrollable acceleration could be fatal in many situations.
The Moonlight Knight was furious.
In his rage, he also felt a chill in his heart.
As a powerful legendary being, his experience today was incomprehensible.
He didn't understand how the silver dragon used his abilities, rendering him utterly defenseless. It was as if he was not the revered legendary Moonlight Knight, but a frail ordinary elf.
"It's over. Give up your futile struggle."
The plain sound of Draconic resonated.
The next moment, the enormous silver dragon vanished from its spot.
At the same time, a streak of light appeared in the Moonlight Knight's field of vision—a fleeting silver glow.
When he regained his senses, those platinum dragon eyes were already close at hand.
The heavy, thunderous breathing only then slowly reached him.
"How is this possible, what kind of dragon is this!"
"Ancient dragons shouldn't have such powers!"
The Moonlight Knight was shocked and tried to move away.
But he was immobilized.
The Moonlight Knight was firmly grasped in Garon's claw.
His sword was now in Garon's other claw.
How all this happened, the Moonlight Knight had no clue.
"You little thing, I gave you a chance."
Garon's face, adorned with delicate dragon scales, slowly approached, closely examining the Moonlight Knight.
The Moonlight Knight began to struggle.
But the dragon claw remained motionless, solid as a mountain.
With Garon's power, a legendary creature of the Moonlight Knight's size, once in his claw, would find escaping a mere pipe dream.
"My lord, this guy is definitely thinking of how to escape. Better to eat him."
Urbis, ever persistent, said.
Garon opened his mouth towards the Moonlight Knight.
Urbis, thinking Garon was about to eat him, quickly shouted, "Leave me a bit, lord, please, just a little bit."
Garon ignored Urbis.
He expelled the Banishment of Time Breath.
The invisible breath enveloped the Moonlight Knight.
His body disappeared bit by bit, and in a blink of an eye, was banished beyond the flow of time by the Banishment of Time Breath.
Since the target was a legendary being, this method required Garon to constantly expend a certain amount of time force. But to capture a legendary being and prevent him from resisting or causing trouble, the Banishment of Time Breath was the most effective means Garon possessed.
___________________
(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)
If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT