Under the Red Dragon

Thud, thud, thud. The sounds of heavy axes striking trees echoed through the forest as the barbarian chief, Gibb, led his barbarian warriors and a group of heavily armed gnoll warriors in felling trees.

Each of these wood-cutting warriors was protected by two other warriors, while kobold guards patrolled the forest to prevent any unexpected incidents.

After replenishing his forces, Caron once again had an abundance of warriors at his disposal.

Continuing their pursuit of the fleeing elven tribes, they were getting closer and closer to the migrating elves.

Thud! A gnoll warrior swung his axe, but suddenly, something unexpected happened!

The gnoll warrior's axe was blocked by an ancient tree that had suddenly come to life, its branches forming a狰狞 face. The other branches, like spears, instantly pierced the gnoll warrior's body.

The gnoll warrior's body was riddled with holes, but he suddenly went berserk, his crimson eyes blazing with a bright light. He raised his heavy axe high above his head, cleaving the branches that had pierced his body.

He roared, "Though flesh may die, the soul returns to the sacred hall!"

With a final burst of strength, the gnoll warrior, his body gushing blood, raised his heavy axe and leaped forward, splitting the animated ancient tree in two with a single blow.

At that moment, a dozen or so other ancient trees came to life simultaneously, lashing out at the warriors with their twisting branches. But the gnoll warriors, as if forgetting that they had already removed their heavy armor and were now just ordinary flesh and blood, charged forward, roaring the slogan "Though flesh may die, the soul returns to the sacred hall!" They never retreated, and in that instant, they smashed the dozen or so treants into pieces.

Swish, swish, swish! Dozens of arrows rained down on the warriors, but the alert guards intercepted them. At that moment, the kobold warriors' sharp whistles echoed through the forest.

But before reinforcements could arrive, the gnoll warriors who had been cutting trees had already taken up their heavy axes and chased after the figures quickly disappearing into the forest.

The barbarian chieftain, Gibb, was stunned. The suppression of the forest's will was terrifying; he had experienced it when he first arrived. But these gnoll warriors had charged into the forest without hesitation.

"Damn it, you gnolls might as well rename yourselves barbarian berserkers!" Gibb's totems suddenly came to life. He swung his heavy axe and charged into the forest, roaring, "Follow me! I'm going to kill all those cowardly dogs hiding in the shadows today!"

Boom! The sky was filled with the sound of flapping wings as two dragon shadows swept in from afar. The red dragon, Kleineria, and the black dragon, Rosani, flew in rapidly, followed by a surging tide of warriors.

"Everyone, I love war!" the red dragon, Kleineria, roared as she swooped down towards the forest.

A few dozen miles was but a moment to these powerful warriors and dragons.

The dozens of gnoll warriors suffered heavy casualties. Although this elven tribe was small, with only a few hundred elves, the presence of the Tree of Life and the treants allowed them to exert several times their combat power.

However, the gnoll warriors were surrounded by the light of the Crimson Sanctuary, the light of loyal and courageous souls, bestowing blessings and courage upon them.

Even when severely wounded, they stood firm amidst the siege.

The barbarian chieftain, Gibb, lived up to his reputation as a powerful totem berserker. The totems on his body had come to life, the bear granting him strength, the eagle granting him speed, the snake granting him flexibility, and the turtle granting him protection, all transforming into phantoms that surrounded him.

A single blow from his heavy axe was enough to fell a treant. Gibb led the barbarian warriors into the elven village, joining the besieged gnoll warriors.

"Die, you bastards!" Gibb roared, his muscles bulging. He swung his giant axe, unleashing a torrent of light that cut several elven warriors in half at the waist.

At that moment, Kleineria and the black dragon, Rosani, arrived with reinforcements.

Boom! A powerful deep breath came from the red dragon, Kleineria, and a blanket of dragonfire spewed from the female dragon's mouth, incinerating a dozen or so elven warriors on the ground.

"I am death," the black dragon, Rosani, intoned in a low draconic voice, his magic manipulating the magic in the air, corroding the ground beneath many elves' feet into a soft swamp. One by one, the elves sank into the swamp, screaming, and were quickly swallowed.

Whoosh! A treant in the elven village attacked the black dragon in mid-air, its thick trunk like an elongated spear, thrusting towards the black dragon.

The black dragon, Rosani, rolled agilely in the air, dodging the treant's thrust. In the instant of dodging, his sharp dragon claws severed the treant's branches one by one. Then, the black dragon's four sharp claws tore open the treant's tough bark, sinking deeply into the treant's body.

Roar! The treant let out a fierce roar and wail as the black dragon, Rosani, corroded its outer tough bark with poison, then bit the treant in half.

This small elven tribe suffered a devastating blow in an instant. The elven warriors were beheaded one by one by the arriving gnoll warriors, and their heads were hung on their waists.

The elven elders and some elven druids with real power managed to survive, but they were also taken away by the gnoll warriors to be used as offerings to the souls in the Crimson Sanctuary, their flesh and bones to become embellishments for the tall bone throne.

A hundred or so elven women and children were kneeling under the Tree of Life, trembling, awaiting their judgment.

"Dare to attack our warriors first? Kill them all! Use their blood to sacrifice to the heroic souls of the fallen warriors," the black dragon, Rosani, decided.

For the past half month, it had been the black dragon, Rosani, and the red dragon, Kleineria's turn to guard Greenwild Forest and gain experience.

However, the female red dragon, Kleineria, only cared about fighting and did not care about other things, so the right to speak was generally in the hands of the black dragon, Rosani.

The black dragon, Rosani, who was the most bloodthirsty of the five-colored dragons, believed that only he could attack the elven tribes, not the other way around.

Once the elven tribes attacked first, the black dragon would not leave a single survivor. Caron would not interfere with this decision.

Thus, all the elves in this elven tribe were beheaded and sacrificed to the sanctuary throne. The tall Tree of Life was also felled by the black dragon and dismembered.

"Another Tree of Life has died,"

In the council hall on the canopy of a tall Tree of Life, a great elven elder said with a heavy face, sensing the situation from the will of the Tree of Life beneath his feet.

In the hall, the elven elders and druids who had been arguing fiercely stopped.

The death of a Tree of Life represented the decline of another tribe. In the past few months, such news had been frequent.

The dragon and his warriors seemed to be sweeping the entire world, finding them, these elves, like bugs in the corners of the world, and crushing them to death.

These elven tribes were now terrified, no longer with their initial ambition.

The topic of discussion among these elven elders and druids was no longer whether to actively drive out the dragon, but whether to continue migrating to avoid these invaders.

"I don't think we need to continue migrating. Our two large tribes, combined, have more than 10,000 elven warriors, enough to resist the dragon's harassment. Recently, that hateful red dragon has also disappeared, obviously because he knows he cannot fight the combined power of our two tribes."

"Perhaps we can persuade the few large tribes closer to us to unite and gather together, so we won't be afraid of the dragon's attack!"

An elven elder opposed continuing to migrate, and the elders and druids who supported him accounted for the vast majority.

This was because each migration of the Tree of Life consumed a lot of energy and had serious consequences. At least for several years, it could not continue to produce the Water of Life, and if it was damaged during the migration, it would reduce or cut off the release of life energy.

The elven species was different from other species. The Tree of Life was a symbiotic relationship for the elves.

The elves were the guardians of the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Life released its own life energy for the elves to absorb.

The elves' longevity and excellent talents came from this. Without the life energy of the Tree of Life, these elves would soon degenerate into another creature.

Moreover, the Water of Life was not only for prolonging life for the elves, but also for increasing fertility for this long-lived species with a very low fertility rate.

The more powerful the Tree of Life, the more Water of Life it could produce. Moreover, due to the magical characteristics of the Tree of Life, it would also attract some powerful creatures, even the natural enemies of the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life must rely on the protection of the elven tribe to grow safely.

This was also why the Tree of Life supported the elven tribe without reservation. The two sides were interdependent and indispensable.

Although the great elder of the elven tribe was the only one who could communicate with the will of the Tree of Life and held the key to the migration of the Tree of Life, he could not ignore the opinions of the many elders and could only continue to persuade these elven elders, trying to convince them.

The young elven druid, Aya, silently scanned the arguing crowd. The radical male elf, Rhys, was one of the elves who opposed the migration. This male elf even wanted to persuade these tribes to unite and counterattack.

Aya couldn't help but sneer secretly. She didn't know where Rhys got the confidence to resist the red dragon. Perhaps he was afraid that the others would unite and overthrow these rulers and give them to the red dragon, so he worked hard to encourage all the elves to participate in the war.

Aya sighed in her heart. Under this long-term worry, she even felt that perhaps the death of these people was a relief for the elven tribe.

...

The lush and boundless forest ushered in another bright morning.

Rows of gnoll warriors in iron armor were neatly lined up in front of the open space, their pairs of blood-red or brown pupils shining with a strong fighting spirit. They all held long knives, with short axes hanging from their waists.

In the long battles, even the naturally undisciplined gnolls had been honed into elite troops by blood and death.

The leader of these gnolls, Yug, was wearing iron armor, revealing a head with a blood-red mane, standing in front. The heavy axe in his hand was dark and stained with blood, a weapon he had forged from the iron armor and weapons of the former gnoll overseer.

The powerful dragonborn centaur, Chiron, led his centaur legion, standing to the right of the gnoll legion. These centaur warriors held long spears in their hands, wore iron armor, and stood solemnly at attention.

During this time, Caron had been constantly dispatching the war soldiers in the territory to Greenwild Forest, taking turns in battle, and using war to hone these loose dependents into disciplined troops.

In addition, the powerful dragonborn wolf, Saha, was now leading a group of heavy armored guards, standing to the left of the gnoll legion.

The average height of these heavy armored guards could reach three meters. After putting on the full body armor, they were even taller, looking more powerful than the centaur warriors. The blood-red cloak behind them was like a flamboyant banner.

The weapons of these heavy armored guards were all long-handled broadswords and heavy blades, capable of cutting people in half, skin and bones, with a single blow.

Finally, there was the miscellaneous warrior legion led by the barbarian chieftain, Gibb, mainly composed of the dozens of barbarian warriors he had brought, mixed with some bearmen, trolls, and ogre warriors.

These warriors did not have iron armor, but wore leather armor or tough animal skin aprons. The dragon territory's current supply was not enough to fully arm all the warriors, so these later miscellaneous troops were treated slightly worse.

But they would not be short of weapons. Each of them held flails, battle axes, and heavy hammers, standing behind the triumphant barbarian chieftain, Gibb.

The barbarian chieftain, Gibb, had been received by the red dragon for his outstanding military exploits, and the souls of the barbarian warriors who died in battle were able to return to the dragon's sanctuary, which made him feel very honored. He waved the heavy axe in his hand, showing off his strength.

Without exception, the eyes of these warriors looked at the floating blood-colored sanctuary in the sky, and the figures of several dragons behind the blood-colored sanctuary.

Whoosh! The blue dragon, Doss, and the white dragon, Camide, flew in, circling around the blood-colored sanctuary, and the figures of the red dragon, Kleineria, and the black dragon, Rosani, flew up and down.

Caron's huge body also descended at this moment. His dragon claws pressed on the increasingly vast blood-colored sanctuary, and his immeasurable magic poured into the sanctuary. The world's magic was also gushing, drawn to him.

"Pass through the boundless forest, step over the endless river, pass through the cemetery where countless warriors are buried, and ascend to the sacred mountain top," countless songs and war dances emerged in this blood-colored sanctuary, and the souls of those who died in battle sang loudly.

"The blood-colored sanctuary is located on the top of the mountain, where the loyal and brave souls return. The blood-colored sanctuary craves the flesh and blood of the enemy. Brave warriors, go, go! Though flesh may perish, the soul will forever return to the sanctuary. Use the blood of the enemy to sacrifice to the sanctuary, and use the heads of the enemy to sacrifice to the throne!"

Countless warriors raised their heads high, raised the weapons in their hands, and roared in unison: "Blood sacrifice to the sanctuary, heads to the throne!"

"Set off!"

The vast sanctuary radiated immeasurable light, as if it was being pushed forward in the air by a giant red dragon.

The figures of the dragons flew in the sky, and the figures of the warriors traveled on the earth. They rushed towards the distant enemy, determined to win this battle.

Two or three elven warriors patrolled the forest not far from the tribe, in teams of three or two, leaping and shuttling between the trees.

In the forest, these elves were blessed by the will of the forest, moving flexibly and quickly, making them the most outstanding scouts.

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A faint tremor came from the ground, and the elven warriors were just about to listen intently.

Caw, caw, ravens and vultures flew from the forest, suddenly making strange, noisy calls, attracting the attention of the elven warriors.

These elven warriors didn't want their position exposed and were preparing to shoot these noisy creatures to death with their bows and arrows, but in the next instant, countless violent gusts of wind struck.

The pupils in the elven warriors' eyes dilated sharply. It was a barrage of flying axes, covering all the space the elven warriors could dodge.

"Enemy..." Before the warning cry could be uttered, these elven warriors were chopped into dozens of pieces by the incoming flying axes.

The tranquil forest gradually filled with a bloody scent.

Rumble, rumble, the next moment, countless warriors ran from the distant jungle, like a fierce tide of beasts, trampling the forest land.

Two tall Trees of Life stood, their dense canopies covering the huge elven tribe. The area around the Trees of Life was a lush green for hundreds of meters, with lawns of green grass.

The elves enjoyed a rare moment of peace, strolling, playing, and talking in this area. These elves knew how to enjoy life, a skill that long-lived races must learn.

Just then, a tremor came from the distant forest, as if a tide of beasts was surging through the forest, rapidly approaching the elven tribe.

However, these elves didn't take it seriously. The war trees on the periphery were the best defense for the elven tribe. Once these war trees revived, they could easily drive away the rampaging beast tides.

But suddenly, a large patch of dark clouds floated in the sky, covering more than a hundred meters of the air without warning, enveloping many elves.

Boom, crack!

Bolts of lightning suddenly rolled and poured down from the dark clouds, striking towards the elven tribe and turning the area within two hundred meters into a lightning hell.

The high-level magic, Lightning Storm, a large-scale spell released jointly by the mages, unleashed its formidable power in this world.

Although the countless falling lightning bolts didn't have precise locking effects, the area of damage was almost the same as locking for these ordinary elves and some weaker elven warriors; it was a one-hit kill, death upon contact.

With just one spell, the elves in the elven tribe instantly panicked, suffering many casualties.

Warriors wearing iron armor and fully armed appeared in the eyes of these elves, and they immediately panicked, and the dragons that appeared in the sky made these elves scream.

"D... Dragon! The dragon and his warriors are attacking!" A terrified, trembling scream spread throughout the elven tribe.

Whoosh, the wind howled in the sky, and the blue dragon Dos summoned the wind in the air, spreading the toxins researched by the mages across the field, covering every part of the elven tribe.

Those old or young faces that revived and emerged from the tree trunks showed expressions of pain under the influence of the toxins, painfully wailing as they pulled out their branches, trying to stop the oncoming warriors.

"Grandpa's axe is already hungry and thirsty," the barbarian leader Gibb roared, totems surrounding his body, his muscles bulging as he excitedly leaped up, roaring and chopping an axe down, cutting a war treant in half.

The gnoll Yogg also roared, splitting another war treant blocking the way in half from top to bottom.

Roar, an ancient war tree tens of meters high showed an old face, its tall body came to life, and its thick branches swept across, knocking the red dragon Kleinaiya, who was spraying dragon fire in mid-air, away.

But the next moment, Kalon, pushing the Scarlet Sanctuary, fell from the sky. He seized this moment, his sharp claws deeply digging into the war tree's trunk, stepping on the ancient war tree's dense canopy, breathing deeply, and spewing out destructive and violent pale dragon fire.

Boom, hiss!

The extremely violent high-temperature dragon fire instantly ignited this war tree, which had accumulated power to enter the Saint realm over endless years.

The red dragon's tyrannical dragon fire was its nemesis, and it had been weakened by toxins specifically targeting trees. Now it could only helplessly wave its branches, struggling in the dragon fire. Its deep life essence allowed it to last a little longer, but it also prolonged its painful time.

The other warriors avoided this area to prevent being accidentally injured. Only those unlucky elves, who thought the war tree was a reliable support, were crushed to death by the falling war tree.

The white dragon Camed flew up and down around an old war treant, and when dodging the ancient tree's strikes, he would use his sharp claws to cut off the treant's branches.

The white dragon, with the best hunting skills, was at ease in the battle, patiently cutting the treant in front of him into a tree trunk, and then giving the treant the final fatal blow.

The black dragon Rosani wantonly spread the swamp of death in the air, and would also take the time to spray his strong acid venom at places with many elves, causing these elven warriors to die in pain.

Rumble, the centaur Chiron led fully armed centaur cavalry into the elven tribe from the opened gap. Iron-clad cavalry were the nightmare of all infantry.

A team of elven warriors bravely greeted these invaders, but the centaur cavalry who rushed past didn't need to wield weapons at all, just holding their spears flat, skewering these elven warriors on their spears.

The warriors who poured in behind the centaur cavalry immediately spread out in the half-elf tribe. Each of their attacks would chop towards the elves' necks, relying on the iron armor on their bodies without fear. In an instant, the entire elf camp was covered with rolling heads.

"Attack that Tree of Life, the important figures of the elven tribe are there," the gnoll Yogg, covered in elven blood, raised the battle axe in his hand high and shouted to the centaur Chiron.

The top of the Tree of Life was protected by the Tree of Life's natural protective barrier and the elven elders' natural magic barrier. Layers of surging energy were gathering, and those elven druids and elven elders seemed to be casting some large-scale magic or divine spell.

Many elven druids were also guarding in front of the Tree of Life's council hall. Seeing the invaders starting to charge towards here, they jumped down from the Tree of Life, transforming into earth bears and tall giant eagles and other combat creature forms, joining the battlefield.

Aoooo, an ogre carried a double-headed flail, the huge force swinging the double-headed flail with a violent wind sound, slamming it on the claws of an earth bear with a bang. Crack, the earth bear's claws broke, and it let out a painful cry.

But the giant troll next to him waved a large club and smashed the druid's bear form, splattering brains everywhere. He raised the large club high and roared happily: "Brain sacrifice to the temple, brain sacrifice to the temple!"

Some elven druids were also waving spells on the Tree of Life, scattering seeds towards these invaders. Thick vines grew instantly, trying to bind and kill these invaders.

But the gnoll spellcasters provided blessings and protection for the warriors charging in the front. Those seeds were like deflected arrows, slipping from these warriors and falling to the ground, regrowing.

But the rapidly growing vines were immediately chopped to pieces by the warriors rushing past, making a strange wailing sound, breaking into countless vines.

Crack, a thick lightning bolt fell. After releasing the storm, the blue dragon Dos began to trigger the lightning in the air, flying to the top of the Tree of Life and spewing out lightning breath.

The red dragon Kleinaiya, who had been slightly injured, also rejoined the battle. The angry mother dragon took a deep breath and spewed out her dragon breath, which was gradually increasing in power.

The Tree of Life's natural shield and the druids' magic shield were rapidly consuming, and it looked like they were about to break.

Boom, Kalon, who had once again solved a war tree, pushed the Scarlet Sanctuary across the sky. For the red dragon, the strongest weapon at this time was the red dragon's body.

He crashed straight into that natural shield with the Scarlet Sanctuary, and the huge impact instantly shattered the shield, revealing the terrified elven elders in the council hall.

"Little mice, welcome the end of life!" Kalon's huge head blocked the door of the council hall, sparks splattering between his nostrils, and a bright line of fire instantly spread from his abdomen to his throat.

Boom!

A terrifying stream of lava with an immeasurable temperature spewed out of the red dragon's mouth, breaking through the shields of the elven elders who were still chanting spells, and then igniting their bodies.

Bang, a strong explosion bloomed from the top of the Tree of Life, the uncontrolled huge magic power and the red dragon's dragon fire reacted violently, shattering the entire canopy of the Tree of Life, and even Kalon was pushed far away.

Those elven warriors who were still resisting with their remaining courage instantly lost their courage, howling and trying to escape this battlefield, but were mercilessly chased up by the warriors and beheaded.

Many elves instantly dropped their weapons, knelt on the ground, and begged for the forgiveness of the dragon's眷属, including Aiya.

This kind, slacking-loving elven druid knelt on the ground with a look of decadence. She thought this was good, the choice she made had also borne fruit, and she could be free.

The dragon's warriors swept past these kneeling elves. Whether they lived or died would be decided by the dragon. Even if they were mad with killing, the dragon's will was above all else.

The warriors beheaded all the elves who dared to resist or wanted to escape, raised the heads of the enemies, and shouted towards the Scarlet Sanctuary and the dragons in the high sky: "Blood sacrifice to the temple, skull offering to the throne! Blood sacrifice to the temple, skull offering to the throne!"

The Scarlet Sanctuary bloomed with immeasurable vast light, and the souls within sang the dragon's song, receiving the heroic spirits who died in battle. The blood and souls of the enemies were absorbed by the Scarlet Sanctuary, turning into murals, vivid, as if they were in front of them.

Boom!

The red dragon's body fell, and he looked at these kneeling elves and laughed loudly: "Go, go, I will let you leave. You need to spread my will, in this forest, in all the elves' tribes, tell them, those who obey me will receive survival and prosperity, those who resist me will receive destruction and death!"

"Let all the elven tribes make a choice, whether to offer me those few elven tribes that attacked the camp, or become the勋章 of my warriors like these two tribes! I look forward to their choice!"

The red dragon's thick dragon claws pressed on the huge Tree of Life, his firm will intertwined with the trembling consciousness of the Tree of Life, and his arrogant laughter echoed in the consciousness of the Tree of Life: "Tell all the Trees of Life, those who obey me will prosper, those who resist me will die!"