Chapter 291: Chapter 264: The Fierce Beast Bares Its Fangs

The war in the Holy Dragon Mountain Range continued.

The tug-of-war in the Subspace was like a slowly unfolding chess match. The two sides were locked in a back-and-forth struggle, and news of a spatial node’s destruction only arrived once every one to three years.

But on the distant Eldron Plain, another war had erupted without any warning.

Chenxi Calendar, Year 9387. Spring.

Citing Black Stone Territory’s secret funding of rogue Mercenary Corps and bandits to continuously attack their partners’ transport caravans, the Silver Moon Clan suddenly declared war.

The news sent shockwaves across the entire Eldron Plain.

Ever since the fall of Kresol Dragon City, the Silver Moon Clan had not instigated a war.

They had focused on developing trade, signing cooperation agreements with various powers, and selling Rune Equipment, Refined Metal, potions, and Demon Crystal products all over the continent.

Everyone knew this once-remote Clan was rapidly growing, but few understood just how powerful it had become.

Now that this beast, dormant for so many years, had finally bared its fangs, it immediately attracted immense attention.

In an instant, the powers on the Eldron Plain and in several surrounding regions all focused their gaze on this war.

A storm was brewing.

...

Above the Green Highlands, the clouds were thin.

A giant falcon was streaking north at astonishing speed, its gold and white wings shimmering in the sunlight. Every flap left a faint golden afterimage in its wake.

A man and a woman sat side by side on the giant falcon’s broad back.

Laine squinted, gazing at the gradually clarifying horizon. The wind at this high altitude rushed past his ears, carrying a biting chill, but it was repelled by a faint layer of Spiritual Light covering his body.

Mia sat beside him, her hands braced on the bird’s back. Leaning forward slightly, she looked down from her high perch at the rapidly receding mountains and rivers below, her face alight with joy.

"The surface world is so much better," Mia said, taking a deep breath of the dry, cold air. "In the Dark Nether Realm, even the wind is damp and cold. It always feels sticky when you breathe it in. The air on the surface is so much more refreshing."

Laine nodded in agreement.

They had been on an exploration mission and only learned of the Clan’s declaration of war on the Black Stone Territory when they returned to Nine Nether City after the mission ended.

As soon as they heard the news, they returned to Taichu City without a second thought, accepted a mission to join the war, and then rushed to the Green Highlands without stopping.

Lucius had better luck than them.

When the Clan declared war, he had just finished an exploration mission and returned to Nine Nether City to rest. The moment he heard the news, he immediately returned to Taichu City and was already on the Green Highlands battlefield by now.

"Speaking of which, this Radiant Feathered Falcon is really something," Mia said, patting the back of the giant falcon beneath her. "If we flew with the Wind Manipulation Technique, not only would we be slower, but we’d also use up Spiritual Qi. Having it for transport makes things so much easier."

The Radiant Feathered Falcon was a Tier One Spirit Beast developed by the Beast Garden through more than ten generations of selective breeding, using the Sun Falcon as the base stock.

Its wingspan exceeded five meters, and it had a compact, muscular body. Its hooked beak was as sharp as a dagger, capable of easily pecking through plate armor.

Moreover, this giant falcon’s diving speed was incredibly fast, its talons possessed immense strength, and its temperament was ferocious. With vision that could reach over ten kilometers, it was considered one of the Taichu City Beast Garden’s most successful creations in recent years.

The Silver Moon Legion had established a new flying corps two years ago, using Radiant Feathered Falcons as their mounts.

Glancing at the giant falcon beneath him, Laine couldn’t help but marvel.

The evolutionary improvement of an ordinary species often requires dozens of generations, a process spanning hundreds of years.

Moreover, the more powerful the creature, the longer the time required.

However, the Beast Garden used special methods to catalyze the growth of Spirit Beasts and, to a certain extent, guide their evolution in a specific direction, drastically shortening this process.

The Radiant Feathered Falcon was a Spirit Beast species that had been bred and improved in just over ten years.

An even more outstanding example was the Rock Armor Beast.

It was a Tier Two Spirit Beast bred from the Rift-Spine Dragon Beast, its creation tapping deep into the Rock-Horned Dragon bloodline within it. This pushed its defensive capabilities to the absolute limit, making it a veritable moving fortress.

Laine had heard that the Clan deployed the Rock Armor Beasts in this war against the Black Stone Territory, intending to test the new Spirit Beast’s combat effectiveness and collect data for future breeding.

While they spoke, the Radiant Feathered Falcon entered the central Green Highlands.

At the horizon’s edge, the gray-black silhouette of a mountain range slowly emerged, resembling an ancient behemoth lying prone upon the earth.

Its ridges were knife-edge steep, its overlapping peaks cleaving the vast plain in two.

The Black Stone Mountains.

The natural barrier of the central Green Highlands, and the lair of the Black Stone Territory.

And at the eastern foot of the mountains, on a vast plain, a sprawling military camp spread out like a gray chessboard, extending to the end of their vision.

Thousands of tents were neatly arranged, and military banners fluttered above the camp. The oak tree emblem on the flags was particularly striking in the sunlight.

Giant, silver-gray supply wagons formed a long line outside the camp, their compartments covered with rainproof oilcloths.

Soldiers bustled back and forth, unloading boxes of supplies from the wagons and moving them to designated warehouse areas.

Further away, Scale Rock Lizard cavalry patrolled in formation around the camp’s perimeter, their gray-green scale armor glinting coldly in the sunlight.

Mia exclaimed in amazement, "Looking at the size of this camp, the Silver Moon Legion must have sent at least half its forces."

Laine made a rough estimate, nodded slightly, and smiled. "The enemy is one of the top powers in the Green Highlands, after all. It’s only natural for the Clan to take this seriously."

In recent years, the Silver Moon Clan’s development had been accelerating.

Thanks to Anton’s growing fame, groups of Elves from all over the continent came to join them in a continuous stream. The Clan’s population grew rapidly and had now surpassed the one hundred thousand mark.

The Silver Moon Legion expanded in turn, now numbering over eighteen thousand.

This was with raised recruitment standards; if they had opened recruitment freely, their military strength could easily surpass twenty-five thousand.

After all, even the garrison, which served as the Silver Moon Legion’s reserve force, had now grown to over five thousand strong.

The eighteen-thousand-strong Silver Moon Legion was organized into twelve Banner Teams.

Of these, two Dark Banner Teams were permanently stationed at Nine Nether City, responsible for the exploration and defense of the Dark Nether Realm.

The Taichu Spirit Realm—the new territory formed by merging Taichu City and the Silver Moon Forest—was protected by the Mountain Protection Array, so two Banner Teams were more than sufficient for its daily defense.

The remaining eight Banner Teams acted as a mobile force, either rotating to guard various mining veins or resting and training in the Taichu Spirit Realm.

Judging by the size of this camp, at least six Banner Teams had been deployed.

That meant nine thousand troops.

It might not sound like much, but the Silver Moon Legion was no ordinary army.

For a nine-thousand-man army, the accompanying mounts, pack animals, puppets, and Vassal Races serving as auxiliary troops would amount to at least five to six times the number of soldiers, if not more.

The size of the camp naturally swelled accordingly.

As Laine was thinking, two black shadows rose from the edge of the camp ahead and rapidly approached them.

They were two slightly smaller Radiant Feathered Falcons. On the back of each falcon sat two Elf soldiers clad in rune-inscribed leather armor, with shortbows at their waists and solemn expressions.

One of them held a palm-sized bronze disk. Faint runes could be seen flowing across its surface, and a pale green Sensing Spirit Stone was embedded in its edge.

"Halt! Land for inspection!"

One of the soldiers shouted, his voice exceptionally clear in the vast, open sky.

Laine patted the Radiant Feathered Falcon’s back. With a knowing cry, the falcon slowed its speed and gradually descended to the ground.

The two Elf soldiers also landed, and one of them stepped forward.

Laine took a Token from his robes and tossed it to the soldier.

"Disciples of Taichu City, here on a mission to join the war."

The Elf soldier had actually recognized Laine and Mia long ago. After all, the pair were among the very top echelon of Taichu City’s disciples and held extremely high status within the Clan.

Even so, the soldier didn’t lower his guard. He first glanced at the bronze disk. Only after seeing it showed no reaction—confirming the two before him were not in disguise—did he carefully inspect the Token.

Once he was certain it was authentic, the Elf soldier respectfully handed the Token back.

"Lord Laine, Lady Mia, my apologies for the intrusion."

"Standard procedure. As it should be."

Laine put away the Token and gave a slight nod.

The two then rode the Radiant Feathered Falcon toward the camp, finally landing in the temporary beast yard at its northeastern corner.

The yard covered a vast area, sectioned into huge enclosures by thick wooden stakes. Wide passages were left between the enclosures for personnel and vehicles to pass.

The air was thick with the unique, gamy smell of beasts, mingled with the scent of hay and feed.

Dozens of Aran were bustling about between the enclosures.

They were feeding the Radiant Feathered Falcons, clearing manure from the pens, or applying ointment to injured mounts.

Seeing Laine and Mia leap from the Radiant Feathered Falcon’s back, two Aran quickly set down their tools and hurried over.

"My Lord, My Lady."

They bowed, their movements respectful and practiced, their faces holding perfectly measured smiles.

"Good work," Laine said, handing the reins to one of the Aran. "Take good care of him. We’ll need him again in a few days."

"Rest assured, my lord." The Aran took the reins, carefully leading the Radiant Feathered Falcon away. He gently stroked the giant falcon’s neck with his other hand, his movements deft and practiced.

Watching the Aran’s skilled handling, Laine nodded to himself in approval.

The Clan had now absorbed over thirty Vassal Races like the Aran.

Most of them had been recruited over the years.

Gnomes skilled in engineering, the Rock Scale Race who were experts in prospecting mineral veins, the Sol Stone Monsters adept at mining, the Blade Claw Race who specialized in subterranean combat...

There were also Halflings, Wind-kin, Riverfolk, and Wood-Sprites from the surface world, and so on.

Each of these races had its own specialty, filling the Clan’s labor shortages in many sectors. This freed the Elves from arduous, low-skilled labor, allowing them to devote more energy to their training and other core affairs.

Furlo had once mentioned to him in a casual chat a development plan for the Vassal Races that her teacher had finalized.

’What was it called again... Upgrading the Division of Labor in the Industrial Chain?’

Laine didn’t really understand such esoteric terminology, but he had grasped the basic logic from Furlo’s explanation.

The Clan would control the core technological sectors and high-end production, such as forging Rune Equipment, creating Dragon Origin Potions, and processing Sensing Spirit Stones.

Meanwhile, low-tech, labor-intensive, and foundational processing tasks—like casting and assembling Demon Crystal product components, extracting materials for low-grade potions, and basic metal smelting—would be outsourced to the Vassal Races.

The benefits of this were obvious.

On one hand, the Elves no longer needed to waste their energy on trivial, arduous, and repetitive labor, allowing them to focus on more valuable work.

On the other hand, the Vassal Races received stable pay for this work, which improved their lives and increased their strength. As a result, their loyalty to the Clan also grew.

A win-win situation.

As far as Laine knew, the standard of living for the Vassal Races had indeed improved greatly in recent years.

They moved into brick-and-stone houses built by the Clan, had stable food supplies and medical care, the infant survival rate had increased significantly, and their populations were growing steadily.

The leaders of those Vassal Races were very satisfied with this, and they carried out the Clan’s orders without question.

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