The Unexpected Visit of the Nature Elves

"Congratulations, Lord! During your summoning of the undead dragons, you triggered the Lord's talent: the Awakening of the Ancient Bloodline. Eleven undead dragons have undergone bloodline evolution, significantly boosting their level and combat power."

Seeing the notification in his mind, Haotian couldn't help but feel elated. He took stock of his new undead dragons: among the twenty-nine, there were eighteen bone dragons, six zombie dragons, and five corpse dragons. There wasn't a single ghost dragon, as their soul essences had been devoured during battle.

In terms of levels, three undead dragons had reached the peak of the Saint rank, most were ordinary Saint rank, and some had fallen to the peak of the Extraordinary rank. The downgrade was because summoning undead dragons generally reduces their rank by one level. If they were initially at the early Saint rank and didn't undergo bloodline evolution, they would be summoned at the peak of the Extraordinary rank.

Luckily, Haotian had upgraded the Dragon's Grave to a high level. If it had been at a lower or medium level, their ranks would have dropped even further. For local undead dragons transforming on their own, the drop in rank would have been even more significant—a Saint rank dragon turning into an undead dragon on its own might drop to an ordinary Extraordinary rank.

"Falling to the peak of the Extraordinary rank is not a big deal," Haotian mused. "Their base is still that of dragons. At the same level, they can easily crush ordinary undead. They'll quickly return to the Saint rank."

His good mood remained unaffected. Including the Sky-swallowing Dragon Python King, the Zombie Dragon King, and the other five undead dragons, as well as Charles and his brother heading to the Forest City, Haotian now commanded thirty-six undead dragons. This lineup could only be described with one word: formidable.

Haotian immediately planned to release them from the Dragon's Grave, to lead the Windrunner sisters to Dragonfall Gorge. But just then, he sensed something and ordered the dragons to stay put. He then left the Dragon's Grave.

"Lord!" Aurelia approached, saying, "There are four elves outside your territory—two at the peak of the Saint rank, and two high-ranking Saints."

"So soon?" Haotian was surprised. He hadn't even begun his day's work, yet the elves had already arrived. Wait, four elves? Shouldn't it be the Elf Lord and the sisters Amy and Ella? Why was there an extra one? 

However, he didn't think much of it. It was normal for the Elf Lord to bring along an extra companion or two. He instructed Aurelia, "Let them in and be courteous. After all, they're our patrons."

"Yes, my Lord!" Aurelia nodded and retreated. Haotian headed to the Spring of the Elves, letting the little one on his shoulder drink to its heart's content before filling several large barrels with tens of thousands of bottles worth of spring water. 

Yesterday, he had sent Sophia with a large amount of spring water to the Forest City. Overnight, the spring had refilled. His territory lacked many things, but elven spring water was not one of them. This well was his goldmine. And now, with the addition of a dragon sprite, the little one was another money tree.

Having prepared everything, Haotian went to the city hall to await the patrons.

Outside the territory's walls, four figures floated in the air. The Elf Lord, Amy, Ella, and a strikingly beautiful nature elf in a green dress and flower crown, all mounted on unicorns, exuded purity and sanctity. Their gazes pierced the towering walls, landing on the Ancient War Tree standing at the center of the Golden Oasis, their expressions filled with shock and disbelief. 

Amy, having been to the Golden Oasis before, was less surprised. The other three nature elves, however, were seeing a living Ancient War Tree for the first time.

The Elf Lord took a deep breath. "Such a rich and pure treant aura—this ancient tree is indeed the legendary Ancient War Tree!"

Amy added, "The ancient treants and even the Eternal Treant Guardians we saw earlier were nurtured by it. But there's a problem..."

"What problem?" the three turned to Amy.

"When I was here before, there were far fewer treants in the Golden Oasis. The oasis itself has also expanded significantly."

Not just the oasis...

She noticed the walls seemed to have been rebuilt, becoming more majestic and sturdy than before.

"This is a territory blessed by the Goddess!" The Elf Lord was now more convinced of Ella's previous speculation. She couldn't wait to meet this human lord, eager to understand what made him special enough to earn the blessing of their Elven Goddess. Even their nature elf tribe...

As the Elf Lord's thoughts wandered, the tall gates slowly opened. A figure emerged, causing the Elf Lord's pupils to contract. Beside her, Amy, Ella, and the nature elf in green all gasped in unison.

"An elf??"

"There's an elf in the Golden Oasis?"

"Not quite. She looks like us but lacks the aura of our nature elf tribe..."

"Is she an elf? We'll find out soon enough!"

The group flew towards the figure, who greeted them with a graceful elven salute. 

The figure was none other than Aurelia. As she returned the greeting, she studied the elves, noting the similarities and differences. As the Lord had mentioned, these nature elves resembled her but had distinct auras. Though both revered life and nature, the subtle differences in their auras were perceptible to elves.

"I am Aurelia, a follower of the Lord. He is awaiting your arrival. Follow me."

With that, Aurelia soared into the sky, heading towards the city hall. The Elf Lord and her companions quickly followed.

After a brief flight, the Elf Lord inquired, "Are you also a nature elf?"

She was very polite, aware that this powerful half-god named Aurelia could easily suppress their group. This made the Elf Lord slightly resent Amy for not informing her about a half-god elf residing in the Golden Oasis during her previous visit. It was quite an unexpected revelation.