Translator: AnubisTL
Dragon Garos raised his wings, then slammed them down like the sky collapsing.
The hybrid centaur's spirit tensed. Her hooves struck the ground, creating sonic booms even before they touched down, allowing her to change direction with phantom-like speed, evading the dragon wing's strike.
Azure qi formed small, wing-like shapes around her ankles.
Flapping these qi wings, she moved through the air, each step detonating a small burst of qi, propelling her to full speed. Her silver greatsword slashed repeatedly at the red-iron dragon, only to be intercepted by its claws every time.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as the wind-blade-enhanced weapon clashed against the dragon's claws.
Elvie's sword dance blurred into afterimages, her movements flowing with a fluid, rhythmic grace.
Yet, to her astonishment, the red-iron dragon's massive, imposing frame possessed absurdly swift reflexes. Its claw strikes left trails of afterimages, each collision sending tremors through the hybrid centaur's arms, making it nearly impossible to resist.
After another clash, Elvie's wings suddenly unfurled, sweeping through the air with gale-force winds. Her figure shot skyward.
She halted high above, raising her greatsword overhead. Her entire body blazed with intense white light, transforming her into a miniature white sun that illuminated a patch of the night sky.
A sacred and pure aura emanated from her.
The intense white light began to compress, coalescing along the sword's edge until it formed a magnificent blade of light over ten meters long, as solid as steel.
With her left hand, she formed a seal, conjuring azure cyclones that enveloped her wings.
Gripping the sword hilt with both hands, she spread her wings and dove downward with blinding speed.
The hybrid centaur transformed into a shooting star, trailing a pale blue-white tail as she hurtled toward Garos.
"Interesting," Garos murmured, his eyes narrowing. He braced himself on his powerful hind legs and rose to his full height.
As the sword of light, imbued with unstoppable force, descended, his right claw shot out and seized it with pinpoint accuracy.
The red-iron dragon's terrifying physical strength crushed the blade of light. The collision of magic and raw power erupted in a circular shockwave, causing the ground to buckle and collapse inward.
Crack—shatter!
The blade of light shattered into fragments, scattering like rain in a shower of pure white sparks.
Elvie was hurled backward by the shockwave, crashing heavily to the ground. When she staggered to her feet, the light around her had dimmed, and her face was noticeably paler.
"Great Lord of the Crimson Wings," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Your power overwhelms me. I pledge my allegiance to you, to serve beneath your dragon wings."
The hybrid centaur knelt, her voice filled with awe.
She had exhausted all her skills.
Throughout the battle, Garos had remained largely passive, never launching a fierce assault. Yet despite this, she had been helplessly defeated.
"You're quite impressive," Garos remarked.
This Elvie was young, her life grade lower than the previous centaur chieftain's. But in a real fight, she would undoubtedly surpass the other two chieftains by a significant margin.
Her pegasus ancestral bloodline granted her a resilient body, explosive power, and exceptional speed, while her elven blood made her a master of magic.
Garos saw the makings of a legendary figure in this hybrid centaur.
Among his familiars, only the Dragon Blood Gluttonous Demon Karu had previously shown the potential to break through to legendary status and serve him loyally for eternity. Now, this hybrid centaur had joined that select group.
Meanwhile, Silvermane's eyes flickered with complex emotions.
He had never witnessed Elvie fighting at full strength, always assuming she was merely the strongest of the younger generation, her experience and power far inferior to his own.
He never imagined that this mixed-blood outcast, rejected by her clan, had been concealing her true strength all along.
At the same time, Solgorn's desire to ascend to a higher rank burned even more fiercely within him.
If the three centaurs had attacked together earlier, with the hybrid centaur among them, Solgorn might have died here.
Though he had a powerful brother to rely on, Solgorn was still a dragonkind, possessing his own dignity. He didn't want to depend on Garos to solve every problem.
I can't afford to slack off anymore. I must dedicate all my free time to meditation! he resolved.
The night gradually faded, and the distant horizon transformed into a gradient of gray-blue.
Mist flowed across the grassland like melting ice, dampening the fur on the centaur guards' legs.
It wasn't yet dawn, but campfires already blazed in the White Mane Clan's camp, sending plumes of smoke into the air. Most of the centaurs were awake, each tending to their assigned tasks: tanning hides, forging weapons, preparing food, and beginning a new day.
Therefore, when the red-iron dragon circled overhead, its majestic wings blotting out the sunlight and casting the centaur camp into shadow, it immediately triggered a fierce reaction.
The guards braced themselves as if facing a formidable enemy, standing at full alert.
They drew their powerful bows, raised their war spears high, and fixed their gazes on the uninvited guest, arrows nocked and ready to fly at any moment.
"Stop! All of you, drop your weapons!"
Elvie and Silvermane's voices rang out.
Only then did the centaurs notice their two commanders.
The red-iron dragon's appearance was overwhelmingly fierce and menacing. Its thorn-spiked hide, steel-like scales, and impossibly muscular body pressed down on the centaurs, their spirits taut and unable to tear their gazes away.
Compared to this creature, the white dragons they had encountered before seemed gentle and friendly, almost benevolent.
"Skywing Commander, Silvermane Commander," the centaur warriors murmured, their voices hushed as they looked at the two commanders who had landed. "What's the situation now?"
At the same moment, an old centaur shaman emerged from his tent, draped in a Raven Feather Cloak, his gaze sweeping over the dragon and the centaurs.
"We have already pledged allegiance on behalf of the White Mane Clan to the great Lord of the Crimson Wings," Elvie and Silvermane declared in unison, their expressions solemn and resolute.
The centaurs, who had never witnessed Garos's power firsthand, paled, and unrest began to stir through the camp.
"Silence!" Elvie roared.
Her authority within the guard was considerable, and the warriors gradually quieted down.
"Where is Luca?" the old centaur suddenly demanded.
Luca was the name of the Ironhoof Commander.
"He died because of his own foolishness and stubbornness," Silvermane replied.
Both commanders had made their choices, and their decisions represented the future of the White Mane Clan. There was no other path left.
Recalling his earlier premonition, the old centaur paused for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice, "Lay down your weapons."
The warriors exchanged glances, hesitated briefly, then slowly lowered their weapons under the combined authority of the two commanders and the shaman.
"Great Lord of the Crimson Wings," the old centaur declared, kneeling first. "The White Mane Clan is willing to crush all obstacles in your path and pledge our loyalty to you."
The two commanders followed suit, and soon all the centaurs of the White Mane Clan knelt in unison.
"From this day forward, you belong to me," Garos boomed, his voice like thunder. "You will swear allegiance to me, and I will lead you to glory."
With this, the sizable centaur force became part of the Ironforged Clan.
Garos's influence in the Borderlands was growing steadily, and this was only the beginning.
Not long after, north of the Borderlands, a towering mountain loomed beside the Ice Plains. Its soil and rock were frozen as hard as steel, leaving it barren except for jagged, grotesque formations of stone.
In the dragon nest, a cave encrusted with ice crystals, the white dragon Treacy slowly opened her eyes after nearly twenty years of dragon sleep.
Her slender, sixteen-meter-long body didn't appear particularly robust. She lacked dragon horns, and her snow-white scales radiated waves of icy qi. Though newly awakened, her gaze was piercingly cold.
Treacy had entered dragon sleep in a fit of rage, and that fury still burned within her, undiminished by her frozen slumber.
"Centaurs! I will find you, crush your bones, and make you die in agony and despair!"
The white dragon bared her fangs and rose from her coiled position.
Upon awakening, her life grade had increased by a full level, now reaching 13. This newfound power would ensure the centaurs' annihilation.
She crawled out of the cave and soared into the sky without hesitation.
After twenty years, the damned White Mane Clan had likely abandoned their previous territory and relocated.
But Treacy swore by her noble dragon bloodline that no matter how long it took, she would hunt them down, exact her vengeance, and teach them the price of provoking dragonkind.
(End of the Chapter)
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