Kalon had no idea how long he had been in this desolate Spiritual World; his perception of time was in a state of constant flux.
Sometimes he felt as though countless years had passed, but in the next second, he would feel as if he had only just stepped into this world.
This extremely distorted and ever-changing perception, coupled with endless loneliness, could easily drive even a strong-minded person insane. Even with a will as firm as Kalon's, the prolonged shifts in time perception left him feeling somewhat weary.
A silent world, devoid of living beings or Evil Creatures, where only Kalon existed.
Sometimes Kalon even wished to encounter one or two powerful Evil Creatures; even having a fight would be better than this.
But despite the constant distortion of his perception of time, the time Kalon actually experienced did not change.
In the first few years, Kalon persisted in exploring the possible changes within the desolate Spiritual World, also attempting to rely on his own perseverance to reach the end of this world.
After persisting for several years, Kalon discovered that this world seemed just like its desolate and silent surface—completely unchanging, except for its spontaneous absorption of all surrounding spiritual matter.
Kalon's power could not even cause a single ripple in this world before it dissipated into spiritual matter and was swallowed by the world.
And this world, much like the legendary River of Time, seemed to have no beginning or end, with its source obscured and its conclusion indistinguishable.
Through this exploration of endless time, he gradually learned how to draw faint spirituality from this desolate world to replenish his Spiritual Body.
He discovered that after these dissipating bits of spirituality were swallowed and absorbed by this desolate world, they would somehow be replenished and transmitted into the deeper layers of the true Spiritual World.
Because as he advanced, the speed at which his own spirituality dissipated gradually accelerated, and the world's absorption of spirituality was step-by-step increasing.
This desolate world was similar to the stomach and intestines of all spiritual domain worlds, using endless time to wear down and transform all matter into spirituality; this was where the rules of the world manifested.
Unfortunately, although this desolate tunnel was like the world's digestive tract, there was no actual intestinal passage for Kalon to leave through—unless he collapsed all his spirituality, but then he would no longer be himself.
Eternal loneliness led Kalon to begin devoting all his mind to the exploration of spirituality as a way to pass the time.
Until countless decades and countless moments had passed, Kalon was finally able to stabilize his Spiritual Body effortlessly, no longer affected by the passive devouring of this world.
But Kalon was already exhausted. He had not been defeated by the erosion of death, nor by endless loneliness, yet he was easily toppled by the weariness of the soul. He entered a spiritual slumber in a corner of this world.
Day after day, year after year, his massive Spiritual Body passively competed with this world for the meager dissipating spirituality, until these spiritual bits accumulated—grains of sand forming a tower, tiny patches of fur making a coat—and layers of spirituality wrapped around Kalon's body.
Like a Light Cocoon, it continued to grow stronger in the corner of this world.
Kalon entered a deep sleep, but his companions were waking up one by one.
As time passed, one adolescent True Dragon after another woke up from their nests.
Antagena was the first of the group to wake up. From this, it could be seen that the current Green Dragons, though ranked third among the Chromatic Dragon species, did not even match the potential and talent of the once-weakest Camid.
The more deeply a True Dragon was influenced by the Evil Dragon Blood, the harder it was for them to achieve stronger growth. Their futures were bound by the bloodlines and heritage left by previous generations, allowing them only to grow according to established rules—Antagenacould feel this now.
However, when Antagena crawled out of her twisted Green Forest Palace, she saw Alina already waiting there.
Catalyzed by the bloodline and magic of the growing Green Dragon during her slumber, the area around the Green Dragon's nest was already densely covered with countless twisted, thick vines and toxic grass. Those twisted ancient trees grew like monsters baring fangs and claws, shrouding the entire sky and making it difficult for sunlight to reach the forest.
"What are you doing at my nest, Alina? This is my private domain; you have offended me."
Antagena bared her fangs, a low growl and warning sound emanating from her throat. Every True Dragon's nest was equivalent to their most private domain; even the closest of companions could not enter at will, or they would face a battle.
The Green Dragon's growing body was like emerald-forged metal, her beautiful scales shimmering brilliantly. Even the lush green forest could not compare to the vitality and color of the scales on this Green Dragon.
Fortunately, Green Dragons were already somewhat different from ordinary Chromatic Dragons, tending to be more tolerant of companions they had recognized. Moreover, Alina was only at the periphery of the nest and had not intruded into the actual nest palace.
Most importantly, Alina was a Young True Dragon, which greatly suppressed Antagena's desire to fight—because the awakened Green Dragon was very hungry and only wanted to consume a large amount of delicious meat right now.
"Quiet down, Antagena. I sensed you were about to wake up, so I waited here. I think you need to understand the situation of the territory."
Alina smiled, revealing her pearly white fangs. Her crisp Dragon Language carried a sense of comfort and friendliness. The long tail swaying behind this young female True Dragon showed that she was in a rare good mood.
Thus, when Camid emerged from his nest built of frost, he saw two True Dragon s visiting together.
However, Camid did not guard against the other True Dragons like Antagena had. It wasn't because Camid had such a good personality, but because his two heads were busy arguing and fighting with each other.
"Camid, you fool, you should listen to me from now on," said the second head that had grown out, which was somewhat different from the original head.
The white scales and fine scales on the neck and head had turned into a layer of fine down and long hair, just like the adolescent White Dragon Sloka.
"You're the fool! Do you even know what a boss is? Kalon is my boss, and I'm your boss, so you should listen to me!"
Camid bared his teeth and let out a low growl, then unexpectedly bit his newly grown head, taking the long neck beneath the head into his mouth.
He shouted in muffled Dragon Language from his throat: "If you dare not listen to me, I'll beat you to death! You nagging, annoying True Dragon thing!"
Antagena and Alina were initially quite interested in watching this farce, but the two heads refused to give an inch, fighting directly until both heads were panting and stopped out of exhaustion.
"Eh? Antagena, Alina, when did you get here? You didn't sneak any of my frozen food, did you?"
Panting heavily, Camid finally looked at the two True Dragons who had already lain down bored on the ice piles at the mountain peak, asking with a hint of suspicion.
The two female True Dragons looked at each other, quite speechless. Finally, Alina sighed, "Never mind, Camid, just come with us!"
So when Rosani woke up, he saw two silent female True Dragon s and a white True Dragon fighting with himself.
After this period of growth, Rosani's head had become completely different from a normal Black True Dragon species. Thick, long spines grew on his broad head, extending along his cheeks and wrapping around his entire face.
His jaw was slightly narrower, and the spines growing there were of varying lengths, making him look exceptionally hideous and fierce. Especially the two True Dragon horns that looked like a face mask made him resemble a demon Dragon from hell.
"Oh, seeing you all makes me happy, but I'd rather be greeted by a group of enthusiastic Little Mares," Rosani said, poking his head out of the lake and carefully examining his appearance through the water's surface.
Meanwhile, he pricked up his non-existent ears, wanting to hear his companions' praise for his current form.
"Your current appearance doesn't look like a Black Dragon at all. Perhaps you have some other undiscovered bloodline in you, but it's certainly powerful and fierce enough."
Camid's new head paused its arguing and tactfully offered praise.
"Are you trying to say Rosani isn't pure-blooded, but a Hybrid Dragon? I see what you mean,"
Camid subconsciously retorted to his other head's words.
The True Dragons looked at each other, but only Rosani slapped his tail indifferently, climbed out of the lake, and showed off his new appearance with great pride.
Only Dos was different from the other True Dragon s. After each True Dragon's slumber, their spirits were quite active, and the growth of their bloodlines gave them even more energy.
However, Dos looked listless. He stepped out of his Dragon Nest slowly, and when he saw the True Dragons gathered around his mountain-top nest, he couldn't help but sigh deeply and let out a wail in Dragon Language.
"Don't tell me that as soon as I wake up, I have to fulfill the responsibilities of a Dragon Lord. Even in my slumber, I kept dreaming of mountains of paperwork crushing me. I feel like I haven't slept enough this time; I need to go back for a nap!"
Germot, this special white Dragon, woke up almost at the same time as Kleinaya. Although Kleinaya had entered her slumber earlier than the white True Dragon, this also proved that this white True Dragon's talent was now powerful enough.
For the first time, the group of True Dragons gathered on the mountain peak, gazing at the mountain where the Lord of the Dragons—who still showed no fluctuations of aura and was clearly in a deep sleep—resided.
"You're all a bunch of useless trash, unable to even deal with a few Orcs. Do you really want to wait until Kalon wakes up to clean up this mess himself?"
The irritable Klenaya cursed without any restraint. This Red Dragon's strength was among the top tier of the Dragon Lords. As a female Red Dragon who had reached adolescence, her body had already grown to fourteen meters.
Therefore, even when facing the young Alina, she did not appear inferior in the slightest.
"The warriors of the Dragon clan are brave and loyal, but their numbers are too few. They should not be consumed in large quantities, as that would empty the elites of our territory. That is why we have been stalling, waiting for you all to wake up!"
The Ocean Dragon Nakson spoke without fear. Among these Dragon Lords, this water-attribute giant True Dragon's talent was not outstanding, and his strength was not prominent, but he was quite rational. Although he had not yet become a Dragon Lord, his status had significantly improved.
Because over the past few years, it was entirely thanks to the ocean Dragon Nakson maintaining order in the territory; he had made considerable contributions.
The White Dragon Germott stood atop the mountain peak, looking down through the mist swirling around the mountains. The Kings Capital he had once established had now become a massive and solid giant city.
Countless residents moved within it; even from the mountain peak, the True Dragon s could see those densely packed little people.
But at this moment, this massive city was surrounded by countless Orcs, and the heavy cannons on and below the city walls were roaring.
Countless Orcs, under the cover of their own long-range fire, carried siege engines and scaling ladders to assault the tall city walls. Every moment, countless Orcs were dying.
Despite this, the endless stream of Orcs still numbered no less than a hundred thousand. The dark mass of people covered the sky and the earth, like a large piece of black, wriggling curtain covering the cleared land, hitting the city's defenses like a tide.
Only the eastern wall of the Kings Capital, due to the obstruction of the Golden River, made it difficult for these Orcs to deploy a large number of troops for an attack. After leaving behind several thousand corpses, they chose to leave a small portion of warriors to besiege it.
The remaining army crossed from the downstream of the Golden River, surrounding the entire Kings Capital and attacking incessantly.
As for the tall city walls, that solid magical defense barrier had long been shattered during the days of non-stop assault, exhausting all its energy. At this time, even the hard granite wall structure was pitted by heavy cannons and giant ballistae, with shallow holes the size of bowl mouths everywhere.
Occasionally, crossbowmen and gunners guarding the walls would be hit by Orc heavy cannons, being blown to pieces along with their weapons.
There were also some Elven archers who, failing to dodge in time, were pierced through by the Dragon-Hunting Ballistae, their shattered bodies and blood splattering across the wall's surface.
However, under the interference of the hundreds of Wyvern Knights in the sky, the Orcs' offensive was not smooth, requiring a heavy price in lives to even approach this massive city.
The White Dragon Germott furrowed the fine scales between his brows; he did not see the strongest legion among the Dragon clans warriors, those powerful fighters cultivated at the expense of a vast amount of the Dragon clans Territory's wealth.
Even the warriors guarding the walls, besides the numerous Elven archers, Greenskins, and Kobold musketeers, consisted only of many Orcs wearing leather armor. These Orcs were particularly brave, striking their own kin head-on without mercy.
Meanwhile, the Akzi, who had not come to the mountain peak, was roaring on the city walls, directing the defense. Occasionally, he would breathe lightning, turning some Orcs who tried to leap onto the wall into charred lumps.
The Blue Dragon Carlit, Ellie, and the Young Red Dragon Kadilos were each guarding a side of the city walls. The True Dragons roars shook the heavens and earth, and even the True Dragon s on the mountain peak could hear them clearly.
Only a few cowardly White Dragons were sneakily hiding behind the battlements, only striking with claws and teeth or using their long tails to swat Orcs off the wall when they climbed up.
"Where is Chiron? Has even he vanished from this world? And Yug, Gibb—the strength of these warriors is comparable to ordinary True Dragons. Their legions are our most capable and loyal battle groups. Have they all returned to the Sanctuary?"
These outstanding warriors were well-known to the True Dragons because they were not only loyal but also possessed the strength to challenge True Dragons, thus earning a place on the True Dragons' watch list.
"Hehe, they aren't in the city. On the day before the siege, they had already been moved out. If we hadn't sensed that you and Klenaya would wake up soon, we probably would have started a full-scale counterattack long ago."
Alfred said while shaking his head. This Red Copper Dragon now had the Alina as his mate, was one of the lords of the Dragon Clan Territory, and was engaged in the work he loved; among the True Dragon s, his mood was the most relaxed.
"It seems you already have a plan," White True Dragon Germott relaxed the fine scales between his brows, his Dragon Language low and powerful.
"Then let it proceed according to your plan. This war should end by our hands; it should not disturb the Great Lord's slumber. Let Sleeping Dragons Lie!"
...Night fell over the Golden Land. The former Golden City had already been rebuilt by the Orcs, with a large army left to guard it; the supplies for the Orc army were stockpiled here.
Therefore, the guarding warriors were numerous, totaling twenty thousand, along with several powerful legion commanders, all of whom were extremely strong warriors who had stepped into the Saint Rank.
After receiving unstinting support from the Orc Kingdom, the strength of the Orc army had also become even more powerful.
However, during these two-plus years of war, although the Wyvern Knights and some True Dragons in the Dragon clan would intercept and destroy the Orc Kingdom's supply ships at sea, they had never invaded this rebuilt military fortress to avoid losses.
So the Orcs in the city appeared exceptionally relaxed and negligent. They brazenly drank cheap liquor bought from human merchants at their outposts, talking loudly about future plans for this fertile land.
In the eyes of these Orcs, it was only a matter of time before the army broke through the Dragon clans Capito City. This fertile and wealthy land, deeply cultivated by the True Dragons, was also about to become the Orcs new home.
These Orcs would no longer need to crowd onto islands, worrying about depleting resources and an ever-growing Orc population.
The Orc Kingdom would no longer face the danger of splitting, but would instead re-enter the stage of the main continent, growing vigorously in this slightly remote yet uniquely endowed Golden Land until it restored its ancient glory.
But these Orcs did not notice that beneath their newly built fortress, tunnels were being dug, and warriors were quietly waiting in the passages for news.
"According to the plan, every squad needs to resolve its own target. If you fail to complete it, you need to light your own flare, and someone will come to finish up for you, but at that point, your mission will be considered a failure,"
The muffled voice of a warrior wearing black battle armor came from beneath his faceplate. This warrior carried no weapon; his weapons were a pair of steel claws that replaced gauntlets.
And the battle armor on this warrior was engraved with dense runic circuits, and the mark in the center of the helmet was in the style of a wolf's head, clearly a modified Magidrive Battle Armor.
This batch of armor was known as Nightwalker Battle Armor, belonging to the experimental armor of the Nightwalker Warband.
And this small number of the Nightwalker Warband was currently responsible for leading those powerful mercenary groups hired by the Dragon clan, in charge of issuing missions and supervising combat plans.
"This guy is definitely a powerful Werewolf. Even though he's wrapped in airtight armor, I can still smell the dog stench on him,"
A blonde youth said quietly within the team; the Vampire bloodline in his body was exceptionally sensitive to the presence of Werewolves.
"Ignore him. We need to put all our effort into resolving our target, and then we can let loose and kill those Orcs. Each one is a point; I don't want to waste time."
The voice of a yellow-haired girl sounded, along with the sound of blowing bubbles.
Before the words finished, they suddenly felt the ground undergoing a slight change. The blonde youth of the perception type quietly spread his perception and suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air.
Around the entire Orc fortress, countless skeletal undead emerged. These skeletal undead were tall, with ghost fires flickering in their pupils, and their strength was clearly much higher than that of ordinary skeletal undead.
And from the previously flat ground, bone claws constantly broke through the soil. The night's cold wind brought them the power and aura to become active again.
That was a Lich clad in a black robe, a Lich releasing his full power for the first time. He was summoning all the living beings who had died on this land to fight for the Dragon clan.
One by one, the skeletal undead converged into a skeleton army, thousands, tens of thousands, like a Scourge of the Undead. They let out silent roars and then charged toward the Orc fortress.
"Enemy attack!"
The Orcs were alarmed by this massive tide of corpses and bones, letting out warning cries and blowing the horns of battle.
One giant ballista after another, one heavy cannon after another, began to lock onto this fearless skeletal tide, letting out booming roars.
But they didn't notice that above the clouds in the sky, countless True Dragons poked out their heads, spread their wings, and swooped down.
Except for the Akzi, all the True Dragons gathered once again.
And those Orc legion commanders who were resting had just been startled awake by the horn blasts when they found that they were already surrounded by a large number of warriors.
Outside the city, on the main road leading to the Orc army, cavalrymen cast in steel were lined up in the center of the road, the long blades in their hands shining with a cold light that even the dark night could not hide.
The outcome of this battle was already predestined. On this night, the Orc army's fortress was broken, and not a single Orc survived!