Chapter 288: Chapter 261: The Fallen Dragon Sword Saint Courting Death

"Have you heard? The Fallen Dragon Sword Saint took two of his clansmen and entered a spatial node alone."

"What? How could he? Isn’t that a suicide mission?"

"Is that true? Don’t tell me it’s just a rumor."

"It’s absolutely true. I heard Lord William and Lady Deborah saw it with their own eyes."

"He’s crazy. Absolutely crazy..."

A piece of news abruptly spread through Darkness Fortress.

At first, not many people believed it.

The Fallen Dragon Sword Saint was powerful, but to say he could attack a spatial node with only two companions was simply too outrageous.

That was something not even a peak Legend would dare attempt lightly.

No matter how insane someone was, they wouldn’t dare do something like this.

But as more details trickled out from different channels, the authenticity of the news began to climb at an undeniable rate.

All doubts came to an abrupt halt, especially when a video recording from a memory crystal was quietly circulated.

The footage clearly recorded the entire process of Anton leading two Elves into the gray-white mist, followed by the mist collapsing and disappearing.

The news was indisputable.

Darkness Fortress was immediately thrown into an uproar.

The docking field, Ranfeng Hall, the entrance to the Subspace... everyone was talking about it everywhere.

"Attacking a spatial node with just three Elves and no peak Legendary Powerhouse leading them? What’s the difference between that and suicide?"

"Did the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint get arrogant after winning a few battles? This is showing way too much disrespect for the Dragon Race."

"What a pity. It’s rare for the Elf Race to produce such a genius, only for him to fall in such a way."

For a time, talk of the matter was rampant.

Some lamented, some were shocked, some were confused, and some were secretly delighted.

But regardless of what they thought, everyone tacitly accepted one fact.

The Fallen Dragon Sword Saint—the one who had single-handedly slaughtered more than thirty Giant Dragons and was seen as a dazzling, rising star—was now most likely done for.

...

「North District of the fortress, the Jade Royal Court’s encampment.」

Alvin stood by the window, a cup of warm Moon Dew Tea in his hand, his gaze passing through the lattice to the gray, hazy sky in the distance.

Steam curled up from the cup, forming a thin mist before his face and blurring his expression.

"Is the news confirmed?" His voice was so calm that it betrayed no emotion.

"Confirmed." The Elf behind him bowed slightly, his voice low. "Anton did indeed enter the spatial node with two of his clansmen. The William Squad from the Freedom Alliance and the Deborah Squad from the Tide Hall were present, and both teams have verified it."

"The recording from the memory crystal has also been confirmed to be authentic."

"...What in the world was Anton thinking?" Alvin turned around, a trace of unconcealable shock finally entering his tone.

The Elf behind him didn’t respond.

Alvin hadn’t expected his subordinate to have an answer anyway. He frowned and fell into thought.

Over the years, he had made no small effort to show goodwill to the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint.

He had even used his connections and influence within the Jade Royal Court to push for several new trade agreements between the Court and the Silver Moon Clan.

But even so, Anton had remained completely indifferent to his hints of recruitment.

At first, Alvin had thought Anton had allied himself with Alicia.

After all, Alicia had known Anton longer. They were both members of the Fallen Dragon Association and had interacted several times, so it wouldn’t be strange if they joined forces.

But after a careful investigation, he discovered that Anton and Alicia hadn’t interacted much over the years; the number of times they’d met could be counted on one hand.

In contrast, Grant and Ignatius were much closer to Anton.

This both relieved Alvin and, for a time, left him very confused.

He didn’t understand why Anton would rather befriend a human and a Dwarf than grow close to him, a fellow Elf.

But now, none of that mattered.

"An Elf who only advanced to the Legend rank a little over a decade ago grew strong enough to contend with a peak Legend head-on." Alvin’s expression was a bit complicated. "I originally thought he might become another Saint for the Elf Race in the future..."

He sighed and didn’t continue.

The Elf behind him suddenly spoke in a low voice, "My lord, regarding the Silver Moon Clan... should we make some arrangements?"

Alvin’s gaze sharpened slightly.

The Silver Moon Clan had largely developed with Anton at its core.

Without Anton, there would be no Silver Moon Clan of today.

Anyone with even a little knowledge of the Silver Moon Clan’s rise knew this well.

Now that Anton was likely never coming back, the Clan was probably in for a major upheaval.

It possessed two Earth Vein Nodes and two Magic Stone Veins, and controlled numerous priceless commodities like Rune Equipment, Refined Metal, potions, and Talismans, yet it had lost the one and only Legendary Sword Saint capable of holding the fort.

In the eyes of many factions, this was no different from a juicy piece of meat ripe for the picking.

Many factions were probably already sharpening their knives.

When a wall is about to collapse, everyone gives it a push. There’s never a shortage of people in this world who will kick a man when he’s down.

"Let’s not be hasty." Alvin mused for a moment before speaking slowly. "We’ll wait and see how things develop."

...

「The fortress’s logistics department.」

Alicia sat behind a long table, a quill pen in her hand. Its tip hovered over a list, yet she hesitated to write.

"What on earth is that guy Anton thinking?"

Ignatius sat across from her, his face a mask of anxiety and confusion.

"Three Elves attacking a spatial node—is that an idea a sane person would come up with? He usually seems like such a steady person. How could he suddenly be so impulsive?"

Alicia put down her quill, looked up, and said calmly, "I don’t think Anton is that irrational."

"Are you saying the news is fake?" Ignatius tugged at his beard. "But the recording from the memory crystal is authentic, and no one would bother faking something like this for no reason."

Alicia shook her head. "The event itself is probably real, but I believe Anton must have his reasons for doing this."

Seeing Ignatius frown and open his mouth to speak, Alicia added calmly, "If Anton had a reckless and impulsive personality, your Heart of the Mountains wouldn’t have failed to gain any advantage over him all these years."

Ignatius’s expression froze. He opened and closed his mouth but found he was speechless.

The cooperation between the Heart of the Mountains and the Silver Moon Clan had been a game of wits from the very beginning.

Both sides wanted to gain the greatest benefit from the other while keeping their own trump cards hidden.

And in this game, the Heart of the Mountains had never managed to pry any core techniques out of Anton.

Not the Sensing Spirit Stones, the Spirit Fire Talismans, or that Cloud-Surging Flying Ship that made Ignatius drool with envy.

The shrewdness and composure Anton had shown in their dealings had often made Ignatius curse him inwardly for being a cunning fox.

A person like that was indeed unlikely to walk into a hopeless situation willingly.

But he really couldn’t figure out what kind of backup plan Anton could possibly have that would allow him to conquer a spatial node with just three Elves.

"Anton didn’t get to where he is today by relying on luck," Alicia said softly. "Since he dared to enter the spatial node, he must be confident."

Ignatius was silent for a moment before finally sighing. "I hope you’re right."

...

「The Subspace entrance.」

A large group of figures suddenly appeared out of thin air, crowding the open area around the entrance.

Excited laughter and shouts immediately followed.

"HAHAHAHA!"

"That’s the seventh spatial node!"

"We made a huge haul this time!"

"As expected of Lord Grant and Lord Rek’sa! That Gale Wing Dragon was no match for them at all."

As soon as the words fell, a chorus of agreement rose from the crowd.

Everyone turned to cast looks of awe and admiration at the two figures at the very front.

At the head of the crowd, Grant and Rek’sa stood side by side.

Traces of battle still lingered on them, but they didn’t seem to have any serious injuries, and their spirits were quite high.

"We were lucky this time. Our two teams ran into each other and took down the spatial node without much effort," Grant said with a smile.

Rek’sa, however, was not satisfied. He frowned and said, "I clearly told you to leave that Gale Wing Dragon to me. You just had to interfere."

Grant just smiled, unconcerned.

He knew that because Rek’sa had fused with a draconic bloodline, he had become more bloodthirsty, irritable, and warlike than before.

But attacking a spatial node wasn’t an ordinary situation. They were on enemy territory, and the slightest mistake could lead to the annihilation of their entire force. They had to give it their all.

So even though he knew Rek’sa would be displeased, he had to take action.

In the crowd, Byron was also flushed with excitement.

He’d gotten lucky this time and had tagged along behind Rek’sa and Grant to get a share of the credit. After the rewards were settled, he estimated he would get enough Contribution Points to exchange for that Ancient Level Magic Equipment he had always wanted.

Just then, a gray-haired member of the Wolf Race walked quickly from the edge of the crowd and whispered a few words in Byron’s ear.

A look of disbelief appeared on Byron’s face.

He grabbed the Wolf Race man’s arm, pressed him with a few hushed questions, and after repeatedly confirming the information, his expression became incredibly strange.

Astonishment, excitement, and ridicule... a mixture of several distinct emotions twisted his face into a somewhat distorted smile.

"Lord Rek’sa."

Coming to his senses, Byron strode to Rek’sa’s side and spoke in a deep voice, just loud enough for everyone around to hear clearly.

"I’ve received news. A short while ago, Anton took two of his clansmen and entered a spatial node alone."

The crowd fell abruptly silent.

The allied elites, who had been laughing and chatting moments before, seemed to have been seized by an invisible hand, their voices all choked off at the same instant.

They looked at each other in dismay, their first reaction being disbelief.

"Did I hear that right?"

"What kind of joke is this? How could the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint be that stupid?"

"Byron, don’t go spreading rumors behind his back just because you have some issues with Anton."

The last sentence was spoken by Clyde, the minotaur.

Byron sneered, not bothering to respond to Clyde.

He just held his head high, waiting for Rek’sa’s response.

"Is the information reliable?" Rek’sa asked in a deep voice.

"Absolutely." Byron’s voice held a trace of irrepressible excitement. "The William Squad from the Freedom Alliance and the Deborah Squad from the Tide Hall saw it with their own eyes. There’s even a recording from a memory crystal as proof. The news has spread throughout the entire fortress by now."

With those words, no one had any doubts left.

A series of gasps and exclamations immediately rippled through the crowd.

"Has Anton gone mad?"

"Why would he do something so reckless?"

"Even if he was desperate for Contribution Points, it’s not worth risking his life, is it?"

Grant’s brows furrowed tightly, a flicker of bewildered suspicion in his eyes.

’The Anton I know isn’t that impulsive or irrational.’

’That guy never does anything he’s not confident about.’

’But this time...’ Grant couldn’t figure it out either.

Rek’sa narrowed his eyes, also feeling a bit puzzled.

’Did Anton really lose his mind and run off to his death?’

The corners of Byron’s mouth curled up uncontrollably.

’That Elf is just too arrogant. Did he really think that just because he killed a few Giant Dragons, he’s better than everyone else?’

’Even Lord Rek’sa and Lord Grant wouldn’t dare attack a spatial node with just one team, but he did. His arrogance knows no bounds.’

’Well, serves him right. It’s a one-way trip.’

Seeing that many people were still guessing at Anton’s motives, Byron sneered and said with schadenfreude, "Whatever Anton’s purpose was, the result will be the same. The great Fallen Dragon Sword Saint is probably already dead under the claws of the Dragon Race."

The words had barely faded when a calm voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.

"I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you."

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