325: Chapter 326 Lilia: Let's take the initiative.

The once arrogant and overbearing Third Prince of the Canglan Empire, the noble Dragon Rider Byron, had now turned into a cold, shriveled corpse with skin of an eerie dark green color, lying dead with his eyes wide open amidst the weeds and fallen leaves on the outskirts of the Sunlight Forest.

Those eyes, which had always been filled with arrogance and violence during his lifetime, were now only void and frozen in horror, as if at the very last moment of his life, he still could not believe that he would fall in such a stifling and rapid manner in this forest he had regarded as his hunting ground.

Around him, more dried corpses of similar appearance were scattered in disarray. These were the Griffin Knights he had brought, along with the remains of their mounts.

Just a moment ago, they were still riding their fierce flying mounts, surrounding their prince, descending like a dark cloud pressing down, and issuing an ultimatum with the posture of conquerors. But now, they were entangled with their mounts, turned into insignificant fertilizer for this land, without even being able to leave behind a proper wail.

Originally, they might have thought this was just a routine show of force and pressure, a notification full of ritual before the imperial army officially set out. They might have imagined the fearful screams, desperate weeping, or fierce resistance of the Elf Race, but they never expected that what awaited them was not a rain of arrows or magic, but a silent, withering breath from an ancient dragon, and the ensuing, utter extinction.

"Is that it?"

In mid-air, Lilia rubbed her still slightly dizzy forehead, looking at the lifeless "battle results" below, her petite mouth pouting in dissatisfaction. She had originally been excited with a hint of drunkenness, thinking she could properly stretch her muscles, but it turned out the opponent couldn't even withstand a single blow? This was too boring! It felt like throwing a fully charged punch into thin air, leaving only emptiness.

The Emerald Dragon, Little Green, seemed to sense its master's mood, emitting a low and slightly depressed hum from its nostrils, exhaling two pillars of white mist carrying the fragrance of grass and trees. Its massive head lowered slightly, its emerald-like dragon eyes sweeping over the ant-like corpses below, a trace of human-like boredom flashing in its eyes.

As a mount carefully cultivated by Hansa Bami and assigned to Lilia by Lin Muyang, it basically had no opportunity to take action in its daily life.

Those young ladies of Lin Muyang were each more terrifying than the last. This time, having finally been formally summoned, it had expected to display the majesty of the ancient dragon race, but the opponent was so weak that it didn't even count as a warm-up. Defeating such an opponent could not demonstrate its strength at all; on the contrary, it made it feel a bit beneath its dignity.

Soon, under Lilia's signal, Little Green restrained the surging natural dragon might around its body, and like a light emerald cloud, it slowly descended from the sky.

Its massive body, over fifty meters long and as heavy as a mountain, landed on the giant root platform in front of the Sunlight Palace, yet it was unexpectedly light, causing only an imperceptible vibration and a few falling leaves. Its huge dragon wings folded elegantly at its sides, its long neck covered in beautiful scales lowered, docilely bringing its head closer to Lilia, as if waiting for its master's next instruction.

The surrounding Sunlight Elf Clan members, although they knew this terrifying giant beast was on their side, still felt their heartbeats accelerate and their breathing slightly stifle as they watched such a behemoth land nearby, the oppression originating from the level of life causing them to subconsciously take a few steps back and tighten their grip on their weapons.

But seeing it treat Princess Lilia so docilely, they couldn't help but feel an unspeakable excitement and pride amidst their nervousness—Look! This is our Princess's dragon! It is countless times more powerful than those so-called wyverns of the humans!

Soon, under Laigong's command, a team of elite elf guards suppressed the shock and lingering fear in their hearts, quickly and cautiously leaving the protection range of the Sunlight Barrier. They arrived at the edge of the forest, and seeing those weirdly and miserably dead corpses, many young elves couldn't help but turn pale, but their discipline made them act quickly.

They used specially made vine nets and wooden frames capable of isolating residual toxicity to carefully transport the corpses of the Third Prince Byron, the Griffin Knights, and the dark red wyvern back, placing them in a cleared open space in front of the royal court. These corpses might not have much value in themselves, but as evidence and samples to understand the enemy's situation, it was necessary to bring them back.

Laigong looked at the dozen dried corpses laid out side by side, especially the body of the Third Prince in the middle wearing tattered, gorgeous armor, who had once been overbearing, his brows locked in a frown. There was no joy of victory on his face; instead, it was shrouded in a layer of thick gravity. He turned to look at Lilia, who was floating down from the air and landing on the green dragon's head, still looking somewhat lazy, and asked in a serious voice:

"Lilia, it is truly shocking that you have the help of this powerful dragon. But Byron is, after all, a prince of the Canglan Empire, and a Third Successor with a high status. Dying here just like that, the Emperor of the Canglan Empire will never let it go and will surely launch the most insane retaliation. By then, it might not be small-scale harassment, but an army pressing down with the strength of the entire nation! Do you have the confidence to withstand the full-force attack of the Canglan Empire?"

In Laigong's view, even if his sister possessed this incredible dragon, there was only one, after all. No matter how strong the dragon's power was, there would be a time when it exhausted its strength. Facing legions that truly covered the sky and earth, endless war magic, and the secret weapons or stronger individuals the empire might be hiding to specifically deal with dragons, whether it could protect the Sunlight Elf Clan was still an unknown. Being able to withstand the attack might already be the best outcome.

"Still waiting for them to attack?" Lilia jumped lightly from the top of the green dragon and landed in front of Laigong. Hearing her brother's words, she gave him an "are you stupid" expression, reached out her fair, tender finger, and poked Laigong's chest. "Brother, you need to open up your train of thought! Why be passively beaten? We'll just go directly to the imperial capital of the Canglan Empire later and wipe out their royal family! Once and for all, how simple!"

"Anyway, the royal family of the Canglan Empire is now notorious within the empire."

"???"

Laigong was stunned on the spot by his sister's understated yet earth-shattering statement, his mouth slightly open, unable to close it for a long time. Strike first? Go straight to the heart of the enemy? Wipe out an imperial royal family that had been passed down for hundreds of years, possessed billions of people, countless strong individuals, and massive legions?

This idea was more than just arrogant; it was simply insane! Even with this dragon, facing the entire foundation of an empire was by no means an easy task! His sister had gone missing for a trip; had her courage grown too much?

Just at this moment, Lin Muyang, with Gui Wanwan and Feng Ling, walked over with a leisurely gait from the direction of the Morning Sun House. Their arrival attracted the gaze of all the elves on the platform. Lin Muyang's expression was calm, as if the brief turmoil just now was merely an insignificant interlude.

Gui Wanwan still followed quietly by his side, like a shadow without presence. Feng Ling tilted her head slightly, her molten gold eyes filled with contemplation, seemingly curious about certain things.

"That said," Feng Ling's crisp voice rang out, breaking the brief silence. She looked at Lilia and raised a key question, "Why did this Canglan Empire suddenly decide to take action against the Sunlight Elf Clan at this time? Looking at their stance, it doesn't look like the small skirmishes from before, but rather like they want to annex you in one go."

"Yeah, I'm curious too." Lilia blinked. She hadn't been in the clan for the past few months and wasn't clear about the changes in the continent's situation, so she also had a puzzled expression.

Laigong steadied himself, temporarily suppressing his sister's crazy plan, and answered Feng Ling's question first, as this was the situation that most needed to be clarified currently: "According to reports from our spies planted in the human kingdoms, the main reason lies in the old rival of the Canglan Empire to the east, the Iron Dome Empire, which broke out into a fierce civil war for the throne a month ago."

He organized his words and explained in detail: "The Iron Dome Empire and the Canglan Empire have similar national strength and share a border. In order to fight for the fertile plains and mineral veins in the east, they have been fighting intermittently for nearly a hundred years. The two countries have stationed a million troops at the border all year round, keeping each other in check, and neither can easily mobilize their main forces to do other things."

"But this time, during the civil strife in the Iron Dome Empire, several princes were fighting fiercely for the throne. The elite legions in the country were all recalled to suppress the rebellion or participate in the struggle for succession, leaving the eastern border defense empty. To avoid being attacked from both sides, the Regent of the Iron Dome Empire has urgently sent a mission to sign a truce agreement with the Canglan Empire for at least one year, and ceded some disputed border areas as the price."

Laigong paused, his tone heavy: "This means that the pressure on the eastern front of the Canglan Empire has suddenly disappeared. Their most elite Eastern Border Legion and Dragon Flame Legion, deployed at the eastern border, are now able to free up their hands. According to the greedy and expansionist nature of the Emperor of the Canglan Empire, he would never let this massive fresh force sit idle. And those surrounding settlements of non-human races naturally became the best training grounds and resource replenishment sites in his eyes."

"Our Sunlight Elf Clan, although our numbers are far inferior to the human empire, relies on the geographical advantage of the forest and the Sunlight Barrier, with all people being soldiers, and our individual combat power is not weak. In the past, when small units of the Canglan Empire came, not to mention defeating us, they could hardly shake the barrier. But this time is different..."

Laigong looked at Byron's corpse on the ground, "They sent a Dragon Rider prince to deliver an ultimatum, which in itself is an extremely strong signal that the Canglan Empire is determined to win this time! I am afraid that as soon as the truce agreement takes effect, their main Eastern Border Legion will turn their guns and head straight for the Sunlight Forest!"

"By then, what comes to attack might not be as simple as a million-strong army; it is very likely to include the empire's trump card war beasts, legendary mage legions, and even more than one Dragon Rider!"

His analysis was clear and logical, explaining the motives, timing, and potential threats of the Canglan Empire clearly, making the faces of the surrounding elf elders and royal family members look even worse. It turned out that what they were facing was not an ordinary border conflict, but the comprehensive engulfment of a behemoth that had freed up its hands!