Capítulo 353: Chapter 353: Merciful Father
"Dragon Lord, your performance has truly surprised us."
With the battle decided, the two star realm dragons, having destroyed the elves' warships, no longer intervened in the remnants of the war. While there was still a risk of death, ordinary true dragons also needed the tempering of war for their growth.
Flying near Garon, the star realm dragons spoke simultaneously.
"Do you know how the Star Realm was born?"
"The flow of time here is frozen, quite unusual."
Hearing the star realm dragons, Garon's gaze shifted slightly as he spoke.
The star realm dragons, native to the Star Realm, may have unique heritages and know some secrets about the Star Realm. Because of the peculiar nature of the river of time here, Garon developed a deep interest in the Star Realm.
Faced with Garon's inquiry, the star realm dragons pondered quietly.
To Garon's disappointment, they soon responded, "Sorry, the birth of the Star Realm is too ancient, almost as old as the multiverse itself. Our heritage does not contain any records of it."
Not getting an answer, Garon shook his head and set aside his curiosity for now.
Time passed.
The stubbornly resisting elven forces were thoroughly defeated. Some elves died fighting and floated in the gravity-less silver vacuum, while others, broken in spirit from fear of death, chose to abandon their faith and surrendered to the dragons, becoming captives clinging to life.
During the war, the dragons treated captives as slaves rather than exterminating them.
If they had pursued a policy of extermination, elves with even a hint of retreat in their hearts would have fought back desperately, which wouldn't have been beneficial. The elves did the same, capturing some true dragons.
However, with their proud nature, true dragons would rather die than accept enslavement by another race, so those captured by elves were simply imprisoned.
Some elven floating islands were shattered, becoming debris floating in the vast void, but many others remained intact and would now serve as the dragons' bases in the Star Realm.
A portion of the true dragons stayed behind to manage this newly conquered territory.
The rest returned to their previous dragon floating islands.
Garon also returned, resting in the Black Crystal Palace dragon lair.
In the vast dragon lair, the silver giant dragon gazed at the river of time.
The stationary river of time, Garon had only seen it in the Star Realm. This was not a small-scale Domain of Time Stop but an entire, infinitely vast plane.
What Garon most wanted to explore was why, although the river of time here was clearly motionless, the creatures of the Star Realm could still think and move normally.
"If I can understand this, I should be able to gain a new time-related ability."
Garon thought quietly.
He then closed his eyes and deeply immersed his consciousness into the river of time, exploring its abnormal state bit by bit.
Centered on Garon.
In a small area around him, the stationary river of time began to flow again with the breathing of the silver giant dragon.
At the same time.
Since news of this had spread, the Star Realm had become lively.
The Lord of the Dragon Court had come to aid the battlefield in the Star Realm and had achieved victory in a local war with overwhelming force shortly after arriving. He had also defeated two elven demigods at once, breaking the mystic barrier and capturing them within a very short period.
This silenced many of the Star Realm's powerhouses who had scoffed at Garon.
Many Star Realm demigods had previously looked down on Garon's sweeping performance in the prime material world, thinking that this Lord of the Dragon Court was all show and only capable of posturing in the prime material world.
There had even been demigods from the Star Realm who had claimed that the Lord of the Dragon Court wouldn't stand a chance if he dared to leave the prime material world and venture into the Star Realm.
However, now many of those demigods who had made bold claims were nowhere to be found, having hidden themselves away.
Whether they were avoiding trouble with the Lord of the Dragon Court or for other reasons was unknown.
The elves, who were most attentive to the dragon news, naturally knew that Garon was currently in the Star Realm.
The elven armies in the prime material world breathed a sigh of relief.
But now the pressure was on the Star Realm elves, many of whom prayed not to become targets of the Lord of the Dragon Court. In reality, due to the vastness of the Star Realm and the chaos of localized battle zones between dragons and elves, the chances of encountering Garon were still very slim.
Although Garon was not invincible in the Star Realm.
It was certain that no demigod could defeat him, and elves with weak divine powers or higher, the real divine members of the elven pantheon, were few in number.
They were mostly outside their divine realms, and the gap between weak
divine power and ordinary demigods was like that between demigods and legendary beings—a chasm.
If these elven deities were to enter the fray, Garon wouldn't stand a chance without using his Time Reversal ability.
However, they had their own dragon gods to contend with, and whether they could take the opportunity to strike at Garon would depend on whether the dragon gods would allow it.
Time in the prime material world quietly passed.
Months quickly went by.
During this time, Garon moved around assisting the Star Realm dragon race, defeating one elven stronghold after another, achieving victories on multiple local battlefields.
With the freed-up dragon forces, they could then go to aid other battle zones.
This created a virtuous cycle, and if nothing unexpected happened, the advantage of the Star Realm dragon race would grow rapidly with the passage of time, like a snowball.
One day.
After breaking through another elven stronghold.
Among the myriad floating islands and debris of warships.
The peerless beast-like silver giant dragon looked down indifferently at a struggling demigod elf in its claw.
The elf demigod repeatedly burst forth with divine power, trying time and again to break free from Garon's grip, but the silver dragon claw remained immovable, its vast and limitless strength leaving the demigod in despair.
The strength of legendary dragon species is comprehensive.
Even without using his deification, Garon's physical attributes alone topped those of his peers among true dragons, not to mention other races.
"Don't waste your energy."
The giant dragon looked down, speaking calmly.
Garon did not erase this elf demigod's divine power to seal him because he needed a messenger.
The elf demigod paused in his struggles.
Lifting his head and gasping for breath, he looked up at the silver giant dragon. In the platinum dragon eyes of the other, he could see no emotion, only his own disheveled reflection.
"I will let you go," Garon said.
"Ha, I won't do anything for you, even if it means being sealed in eternity, I won't compromise with you," the elf demigod who had lived for tens of thousands of years said defiantly.
Under his gaze, the Lord of the Dragon Court smiled indifferently.
"No, no, no. You will do exactly as I say."
The elf demigod scoffed, noncommittal, without responding.
"Let me tell you what you need to do."
"Next, you will safely return to the realm of Aphand and then present yourself to the realm's chief deity."
"You will tell this great deity that if he wants his little princess to return safely to Aphand and reunite with her father, he had better produce a ransom that satisfies me."
Listening to Garon's words, the previously scoffing elf demigod's face changed.
Though he was loath to fulfill the enemy's wishes, this concerned the Princess of the Day, and he had no choice but to inform the chief deity.
"By the way, a lord of demons, a prince of the Abyss, is willing to exchange all territories of one layer of the Abyss for the Princess of the Day."
Garon was blatantly bluffing with this outrageous demand.
All the territories of one layer of the Abyss, even a prince of demons wouldn't be able to offer such a trade.
"I think, as a mighty elven god, you should be able to offer something of greater value."
"Otherwise, I may just have to try making a deal with the demons."
Garon showed a look of regret, shaking his head slightly. "The beautiful and pure Princess of the Day, if she falls into the hands of demons, the torments she would suffer are unimaginable, and that is not something I would like to see."
His gaze slightly narrowed. "So, you had better start moving quickly, my patience is limited."
With that, Garon opened his dragon claw, allowing the elf demigod to regain his freedom.
The elf demigod clenched his teeth, fury in his eyes.
"Shameless!"
"An enemy's insult is the best praise for me."
Garon remained unmoved, unconcerned.
"However, due to your disrespect, I will have the Princess of the Day bear your punishment."
Garon gazed at the elf demigod, who spoke.
"You..."
The elf demigod's tone weakened, fearful of what Garon might do to the Princess of the Day, thus he dared not speak further.
Quickly, the elf demigod's body surged with divine power fluctuations, disappearing from the Star Realm.
Garon watched the spot where the elf demigod had departed, remaining still for a few seconds, then used a time teleportation spell to return to the Black Crystal Palace dragon lair.
In the Star Realm, his time teleportation effect was also enhanced, consuming only a minuscule amount of the power of time.
Shortly after.
Aph
and realm, the land of elves.
This plane was filled with endless dense forests, with clear streams flowing across the land, many small animals drinking from them, birdsong and floral scents filling the air, presenting a vibrant scene.
This was the realm of elves, unicorns, chimeras, giant eagles, and other species.
Most of the time, this was a place of peaceful beauty, where elves liked to sing ancient songs in melodious voices, with birds and the breeze harmonizing in the background.
But now, things were different.
In the vast, boundless elven realm, although it still appeared sunny and green, the creatures there seemed to be under a dark cloud, nearly all of them somber, with even their smiles forced.
The prolonged war with the dragon race had led to many elves never returning.
The continuous defeats and heavy casualties had shattered many elven families, living in a realm created by their deities, but now their faith in their own gods was wavering.
At this time, a voice had emerged in the elven realm.
A voice calling for a ceasefire, declaring defeat to the dragons.
This voice was still weak at the moment.
But it was foreseeable that as time passed, it would only grow stronger until even the divine powers of the gods could not reverse it, at which point, the divine power level of the elven pantheon would plummet.
When the deities first noticed their followers' wavering faith, they realized the severity of the issue.
The once-multiverse dominators, now fighting them—the dragons—were a prime example.
If gods continue waging wars without regard for the lives of their followers, it's only natural for those followers to abandon their faith. If they don't want their divine power levels to decrease, a ceasefire is imminent.
But a ceasefire isn't something that can be stopped just by saying so.
The dragons currently showed no signs of stopping, and to call for a ceasefire meant that the elves would have to give up their territories in various prime material worlds and planes, which they had managed for countless years, and retreat en masse to Aphand to quell the dragons' fury.
But this would cause the elves to fall from the ranks of first-rate powers in the multiverse to second-rate ones.
Without thousands or tens of thousands of years of recuperation, recovery would be impossible.
Moreover, this was assuming other races wouldn't interfere and would allow the elves to quietly develop.
At that moment.
The space in the elven realm rippled.
A demigod appeared above a forest.
However, compared to the usual noble appearance of a demigod, this one's aura was unstable, his divine light flickering, clearly in poor condition.
Scott looked ahead.
Surrounded and protected by countless towering ancient trees, a majestic, luminous temple stood silently, with many elf divine envoys stationed around, at least of legendary power, with not a few demigod-level divine envoys guarding as well.
On the temple walls, one could see intricate, ornate patterns, with endless divine light flowing.
A silver crescent-shaped divine emblem was engraved on the main door.
This signified that this was the temple of the elves' creator, protector, benefactor, and father to all elves—the chief of the elven pantheon, the elven chief god, Corellon.
The elven chief god was a very powerful deity.
Among gods, biological levels are generally not used to divide strength levels.
Divine rank is the main criterion for distinguishing between gods.
Gods of divine rank one to five possess minor divine powers; these gods' divine ranks are generally not stable, so although they are true gods, they are also known as demigods.
Gods of divine rank six to ten wield lesser divine powers; many gods of the dragon pantheon fall within this range, but their biological levels are high enough to rival their divine powers.
The metal dragon god and the Immortal Dragon Queen both have a divine rank of ten, at the peak of lesser divine powers, but have yet to break through to moderate divine powers.
Eleven to fifteen represent moderate divine powers.
And sixteen to twenty, known as greater divine powers, are also referred to as high divine powers; the chief gods of all pantheons are necessarily beings of great divine power.
There are differences even among the great divine powers.
The Magic Goddess, the Ancient God of Death, the Dark Goddess, the God of Justice, and other great divine powers have a divine rank of eighteen, already among the strongest of the great powers.
Yet, the elven chief god's divine rank surpasses even these deities, reaching nineteen.
Had he not just finished battling the metal dragon god and not yet recovered, only to be ambushed and attacked by many gods of evil alignments, the elven chief god would not have been severely injured.
Divine rank does not fully represent a deity's combat ability.
Divine domains are equally crucial.
Corellon has ten domains of authority, including magic
and war, so his individual combat ability ranks among the best of all great powers.
However, divine rank is an important reference, which is undeniable.
Back to the matter at hand.
Scott, having just barely escaped from the hands of the Lord of the Dragon Court—or more accurately, having been deliberately released by him—this elf demigod took several deep breaths to stabilize his aura, then conveyed his request to meet the chief god to the divine envoys.
Quickly.
He was led silently by the divine envoys into the temple.
Inside the temple, filled with divine light and magnificent splendor, Scott appeared guilt-ridden as he knelt before the deity seated on the divine throne.
"Lift your head, my child."
He heard the gentle voice of the elven chief god.
Scott obeyed, lifting his head to see the great deity radiating immense light, his true appearance impossible for even a demigod like him to discern.
The elven chief god exuded a vast and profound divine might, like an ocean, making it difficult to see that he was seriously injured.
The elven chief god extended his palm and lightly touched Scott.
Click!
An unnoticed, always hidden time mark shattered.
The elf demigod blinked, then his expression changed dramatically, nervously saying, "Father god, I am sorry, I failed to detect the enemy's methods."
The elven chief god waved his hand, saying, "It's alright, it's not your fault."
"I am already aware of your purpose here."
"Do not feel guilty."
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