Chapter 286: Chapter 259: Only Three?

There wasn’t much Anton could do about the situation.

All he could do was wait, just like William and the others.

During this time, Anton exchanged a few words with the Sea Race team.

The leader of their group was one of two Sirens, a woman named Deborah from the Coral Islands in the Northern Sea Region.

The Coral Islands were a major Sea Race power, subordinate to the Tide Hall.

Among the five major powers, the Tide Hall was the most low-key.

Many on the mainland knew very little about the Tide Hall and the Sea Race.

On the Eldron Plain, for example, the Sea Race population was quite small.

Most were marine species living in shallow waters; deep-sea species were exceedingly rare.

So, upon hearing that Deborah and her group were from the Tide Hall, Romance immediately started asking all sorts of questions like a curious child.

Out of respect for Anton, Deborah answered patiently.

Anton would occasionally chime in with a few words.

He didn’t say much, but his comments always hit the nail on the head.

The understanding of the Tide Hall and the Sea Race he revealed in his words secretly astonished Deborah.

If not for the rumors that this Fallen Dragon Sword Saint was not yet two hundred years old and had rarely left the Eldron Plain, she would have suspected he had lived in the Great Vortex Islands for decades, or even a century.

Time slipped by quietly.

In the blink of an eye, another three days had passed.

The grayish-white mist at the edge of the plains continued to throb slowly, expanding and contracting with the same steady rhythm as before.

However, not a single new team had appeared in those three days.

William’s expression grew uglier with each passing day.

Deborah’s brow furrowed ever more tightly.

Even the usually chatty Hydra had grown uncharacteristically silent.

On the eighth day, the grayish-white mist suddenly expanded rapidly, its edges churning like boiling water.

It was obvious the spatial node was about to shift its position.

Seeing this, both William and Deborah looked grim.

It was infuriating to have finally found a spatial node, only to be forced to give up due to a lack of manpower.

But it couldn’t be helped. Their three teams combined only had five individuals with Legendary Combat Power.

Crucially, none of them were at the peak of the Legendary level.

A lineup like this had absolutely no chance of destroying the spatial node.

If they could have gathered a dozen or so teams, led by a peak Legendary Powerhouse, they might have dared to risk it.

But in this situation... there was only one choice left.

"We have no choice but to give up."

William forced out the words.

The teammates behind him wore expressions of unwillingness and helplessness.

Deborah sighed and said, "It’s a great pity, but there’s nothing to be done in this situation."

Hearing this, Romance and the Great Elder glanced at each other. They didn’t respond immediately, instead turning their gazes to Anton.

Anton didn’t hesitate for long before standing up.

"We’re going in."

William and Deborah both froze, thinking they had misheard.

William subconsciously asked, "Lord Anton, you mean... just our three teams will enter the spatial node?"

Anton shook his head. "My team is definitely going in. As for you, do as you please."

As soon as he said this, both teams fell silent, their faces screaming, ’Are you kidding me?’

’Just your team? Three Elves attacking a spatial node? How is that any different from a suicide mission?’

Although Anton had a record of holding his own against a peak Legendary Giant Dragon, that was when he had joined forces with Valin.

On his own, there was no way he could be a match for a royal Giant Dragon.

And among the Giant Dragons guarding a spatial node, there was bound to be a royal one at the peak Legendary level.

Not to mention the dozens of other Legendary Giant Dragons and hundreds of Pure-blooded Dragon Race members.

And Anton intended to challenge such a lineup with only two of his kin?

This was no longer a matter of courage.

William and Deborah simply couldn’t understand what Anton was thinking.

They glanced at each other, their lips moving slightly, but in the end, they said nothing.

After all, they were just strangers who had met by chance; there was no real friendship between them. Since he had already made his decision, they, as outsiders, had no standing to dissuade him.

Noting their changing expressions, Anton didn’t bother to explain further.

Had this been when he first entered the Subspace, he would have indeed chosen the safer route and given up on entering the spatial node.

But times had changed.

He had already broken through the Shell Barrier, his power had skyrocketed, and he now held an incredibly powerful trump card in the Jia Shen Divine General. The possibility of soloing a spatial node was not out of the question.

He had waited these past few days only out of caution, thinking it would be safer to gather more people and reduce the risk.

But since no other teams had arrived, he would have to go it alone.

He wasn’t willing to miss this opportunity after finally finding a spatial node.

Even if he couldn’t take down the spatial node in the end, with his current strength, it would be more than enough to hold out with the Great Elder and Romance until the node shifted its position again.

Although Romance and the Great Elder didn’t know what trump card Anton held, out of trust for their Clan Leader, they said nothing. They simply followed behind him, their steps firm as they entered the spatial node.

Watching the three figures submerge into the mist and vanish into the grayish-white fog, William and Deborah looked at each other, at a loss for words.

’This Fallen Dragon Sword Saint doesn’t seem like a reckless person.’

’Since he decided to enter the spatial node, he must have some degree of confidence.’

But no matter how hard they thought, they couldn’t imagine what trump card Anton could possibly have that would be enough to close the massive gap in strength between the two sides.

After a long moment, William finally managed to squeeze out, "This Fallen Dragon Sword Saint... is a bit too impulsive."

He had seen madness, but never madness like this.

Two with Legendary Combat Power, plus one at Golden Peak, trying to force their way into a spatial node guarded by a royal Giant Dragon.

Even "a moth to a flame" was an insufficient description.

’What a pity. A dazzling new star, who had just begun his rise, is about to be snuffed out here.’

William sighed to himself.

Deborah was silent for a long time before finally saying, "I hope he can hold out until the spatial node opens again."

However, everyone present knew that was simply impossible.

As more and more spatial nodes were destroyed, the interval between their positional shifts grew longer and longer.

This meant it was becoming even more difficult to survive until the entrance to a spatial node reappeared.

With just Anton and the two other Elves, they couldn’t imagine any possibility of survival.

Just then, the grayish-white mist before them suddenly collapsed, dissipating at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, it vanished completely, leaving nothing behind.

The spatial node had shifted its position.

William withdrew his gaze, turned to his teammates, and shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Let’s go. There’s no point in staying any longer."

He took an escape Scroll from his waist and tore open the seal. A faint blue light poured out, enveloping his entire body.

"We’ll go back and rest for a few days, then come back in to try our luck."

As his voice fell, his figure dissipated in the blue light.

His teammates followed suit, leaving one after another.

One after another, flashes of blue light lit up the wasteland, only to extinguish an instant later, leaving nothing but empty ground.

The Sea Race team also chose to leave soon after.

Just before activating her escape Scroll, Deborah glanced at the spot where the spatial node had been, and a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

’When the news of the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint’s demise reaches Darkness Fortress, who knows what kind of uproar it will cause.’

’For a Legendary Sword Saint who had just risen to fame to perish in the Subspace like this... the entire continent will probably be shaken.’

...

「Inside the spatial node.」

On a wasteland paved with flesh and bone, the node’s core hung in mid-air, throbbing slowly like a giant heart.

A dark red light seeped from the core’s depths, bathing the entire fleshy wasteland in a crimson glow.

Gareth was coiled before the node’s core, his massive body like an immovable mountain.

His scales, as thick as slate, were layered in shades of gray and brown. Their edges were coated with a dull, keratinous layer, giving them an indestructible appearance.

His limbs were as thick as stone pillars, and his claws were dug deep into the fleshy ground, as if he were one with the wasteland itself.

At this moment, the Rock Dragon’s vertical pupils were half-closed. He stared blankly into the void before him, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

The news he had received over the past few days weighed heavily on his heart.

In just a few short years, nearly a third of the node cores had been destroyed.

His people had suffered heavy casualties.

He now felt a sense of worry and confusion about the future of the Dragon Race.

’Can we really hold on until the day the City Lord achieves his breakthrough?’

But after only a moment, Gareth took a sharp breath, suppressing that flicker of doubt.

’The Dragon Race is the noblest race on this continent, the natural-born rulers.’

’We will never be defeated and fall into decline like this.’

’Two-thirds of the spatial nodes in the Subspace still remain. We can hold out for a long time.’

’As long as the City Lord breaks through to a higher realm, the so-called allied forces are nothing but pushovers. He could crush them with a flick of his wrist.’

Gareth’s gaze became firm again, a flash of cold resolve in his vertical pupils.

’No matter what, I will guard this spatial node. I will never allow the allied forces to destroy this place.’

Just then, the node’s core suddenly trembled.

Its steady, drum-like pulse abruptly quickened. A dull roar echoed across the wasteland, and even the fleshy texture of the ground quivered with the vibrations.

Gareth’s head snapped up, a grim, cold light appearing in his eyes.

He stretched his body, slowly rising from his coiled position.

The friction of his scales produced a low grinding sound, like rocks scraping together, and the bony spines along his back stood on end.

"Prepare for battle!"

His deep voice rolled across the wasteland like muffled thunder, reaching the ears of every Giant Dragon and Pure-blooded Dragon Race member.

The surrounding Giant Dragons spread their wings, and the Pure-blooded Dragon Race members drew their weapons, all preparing for a fight.

’If the allied elites have gathered outside the spatial node, this moment of positional shift is when they will attack.’

Sure enough.

In the next instant, figures materialized out of thin air at the entrance.

However, upon seeing who had arrived, all the Giant Dragons and Dragon Race members, including Gareth, were stunned.

’Only three of them?’

’What’s going on?’

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