At the Jade Forest border.
Unlike the ground armies, which had only just begun clashing at close range, the battle high in the sky was far more intense.
Even though her Domain, Emerald Kingdom, had been "poisoned," setting aside her Domain, Aesselas was still a Level 17 Dragon.
The loss of her Domain's effectiveness affected her far less than it would have affected most other professions.
She still possessed a massive body comparable to a war machine, and her spellcasting ability and power to control nature had not declined in the slightest.
At this moment, the poisonous breath she released had condensed into dark green phantom wyverns, which tore toward the Spellweaver on their own.
At the Green Dragon Queen's level, her breath was already deeply integrated with her magic and the surrounding environment. It was no longer a simple attack produced by her physical organs.
And although Level 17 was still within the epic realm, there was a world of difference between Level 17 and Level 16: at Level 17, one could begin attempting to learn Level 9 spells.
Whether one could truly master them depended on talent and methods, but that was still a very real threshold.
With a true dragon's magical talent, learning them through the accumulation of long years should not be a problem.
Spellweaver Erich Zevier's figure flickered through the air.
As an archmage, even though his Domain had been completely transformed, his magical foundation remained as steady as a mountain.
Anyone capable of breaking through into the epic realm was a legend within their own life story.
They would naturally maximize their strengths, while unavoidable weaknesses could be concealed through many different means.
As for spatial magic, a category of spells that could be used both offensively and defensively, Erich Zevier had placed great importance on it ever since he entered the master rank in his youth.
Among mages with epic potential, his spatial magic talent was neither particularly good nor bad.
So, lacking outstanding talent, he could only make up for it through repetition.
Through day after day of dull practice, all kinds of spatial magic had become instinctive to him, almost like breathing.
In particular, the Level 7 spell Teleportation had been refined by him into a highly personal technique: Cocoon Art.
At short range, the casting interval of Teleportation was greatly reduced, and a single cast could trigger several consecutive spatial displacements.
During teleportation, the magical silk cocoon surrounding him would form a sturdy defense, preventing shockwaves from interrupting the teleportation process.
Even if an enemy's attack managed to seize that fleeting instant and break through the cocoon's defense, his Cocoon Art could alter the original teleportation coordinates and instinctively eject the caster to a nearby spatial point instead.
Seeing Spellweaver Erich Zevier flicker madly like a slippery loach under the strangling attacks of hundreds of her poison-mist dragons, suspicion filled the Green Dragon Queen's eyes.
But with her mouth, she continued testing him.
"Still using the same methods from over a hundred years ago? It seems that during all this time, aside from obsessively studying my Domain, you have made no other progress."
If he wanted to kill her, merely sealing her Domain and relying on Erich Zevier's old abilities would be far from enough. What else was he hiding?
Although Aesselas had verbally belittled the Spellweaver as an insect from beginning to end, in action, this seemingly powerful dragon was cautious to the point of almost being laughable.
Though her strength on paper far surpassed Erich Zevier's, she acted like the weaker side, refusing to approach the old man and instead continuously probing him with magic and verbal provocation.
This was one of the differences among true dragons.
If this had been an adult red dragon, it would have defeated the opponent head-on with absolute force. As for what hidden backup plans the enemy might have? That would not be something it needed to worry about. Its absurdly monstrous body would withstand all those open and hidden attacks.
But green dragons were different. Their bodies were far inferior to red dragons', and compared to brute force, they preferred to think.
To Aesselas, this was undoubtedly a dangerous enemy who hated her to the bone. The fact that he had endured over a hundred years of torment from her curse just to counter her Domain proved as much.
With the strength he had shown, he should understand whether or not he could kill her.
So what exactly was the method he was hiding?
As the borderland lord of the Jade Forest, Aesselas actually did not care about the outcome of this war.
Even if she won a great victory and drove straight in to occupy all of Coldemerald Province, she would then need to withstand attacks from even more directions. Whether she could hold the spoils of victory was still unknown.
If she lost, then it simply meant retreating into the forest and relying on its natural defenses to turtle up.
What she cared about was always her own safety.
As for the lives of the Green Dragon Army, those were things to consider afterward.
She could always cultivate a new monster army again.
Despite how aggressively she had launched this war, if the situation turned unfavorable, she might flee far away the very next moment.
That was the extremely flexible bottom line of a green dragon.
So when facing a green dragon with absolutely no sense of honor, merely being stronger than her was not enough to kill her. One needed crushing strength, preferably enough to cut off every avenue of escape.
If she wholeheartedly wanted to flee, even an Level 18- or 19 epic powerhouse might not be able to take her down completely.
And powerhouses of that level, in an age when legends did not appear, were already nearly pillar-like existences holding up the sky.
Moreover, this war was not only breaking out at the Jade Forest border. Without definite information, why would Aesselas willingly make herself the first bird to stick its head out?
It was not only her. At this very moment, the other six borderland lords were also launching wars against humanity.
And deep in the monster kingdom to the south, massive numbers of monster troops were gathering. Great demon nobles had quietly arrived in the borderlands as well, fully prepared. Their purpose was to send a clear signal to the seven borderland lords.
The monster kingdom intended to continue that unfinished war.
Seeing the Green Dragon Queen Aesselas gradually fighting farther and farther away, Spellweaver Erich Zevier finally showed a trace of mockery.
Just like more than a hundred years ago, this so-called "powerhouse" still had no honor at all.
That was why she had abandoned the hundreds of thousands of Green Dragon Army troops and other monster legions on the main battlefield.
That was why she had brazenly attacked the location of his family in the rear.
Back then, with the reinforcement of the formation core and the family-inherited artifact in hand, his combat power had been enough to contend with her briefly.
Aesselas leaving the battlefield had served two purposes: one was to lure him away from the formation core, and the other was that even if the scheme failed, she would have a perfectly legitimate reason to avoid a battle where she might have fallen.
Facts proved that she had indeed been right.
After receiving the formation's support and having his combat power surge rapidly, Erich Zevier had slaughtered hundreds of thousands of monsters. But once the reinforcement ended and that great power faded from his body, she returned to the battlefield and almost cleanly shattered his inherited artifact, leaving him with the curse that would affect the rest of his life.
His path forward had been cut off, while she had continued advancing triumphantly.
"But this time, you will never escape again."
Catching the faint hint of retreat in the green dragon's pupils, Erich Zevier's gaze gradually hardened.
Of course he would not allow her to leave.
He was already so old, and his current strength was nothing more than a final flare before death.
After these few days passed, his strength would drain away at an unimaginable speed.
This was his last chance.
He looked at the still-unaware Green Dragon Queen, and a proud smile appeared on his face.
He had succeeded.
In this world, aside from the Green Dragon Queen Aesselas herself, he was absolutely the person who understood this evil dragon best. In some ways, he even understood her better than she understood herself.
Earlier, he had not merely been sealing her Domain.
Far away, the Green Dragon Queen Aesselas, who had been slowly flying backward, finally noticed something wrong.
"???"
She had clearly flown backward for a very long distance, but when she looked down, she was still above the main battlefield.
"What is going on?"
Her heart shook with horror.
Was space magic affecting her?
But as a noble true dragon, how could she fail to notice a spell effect placed on her own body?
Thinking this, she stopped pretending entirely and suddenly beat her wings, flying hard toward the rear.
She could tolerate losing the war.
What terrified her was losing the initiative to retreat.
After trying, the Green Dragon Queen Aesselas quickly confirmed it:
she could not withdraw.
Whether by crossing physically or casting spatial magic to leave this place, she could not achieve her goal.
At that realization, she suddenly felt this method was unexpectedly familiar.
"Erich Zevier… you placed 'deception' on me?"
Aesselas's expression darkened.
She felt humiliation rising from the depths of her heart.
She had actually been controlled by an enemy using the very method she was proudest of.
And this power of deception was even better applied than her own. It was too solid, looking almost like an iron law.
No matter what method she used, every force around her was deceiving her, forcing her to remain unable to leave this land. And their battle had only just begun, yet the other party had achieved this objective in such a short time. This truly exceeded her imagination.
The Spellweaver had imposed a single-direction deception, one and only one: preventing her from fleeing the battlefield.
"Very good. Very good!"
Aesselas looked toward Erich Zevier, a fierce light filling her eyes.
Seeing that her retreat had been cut off, she was now about to become a true beast.
As long as she killed Spellweaver Erich Zevier, she would regain her freedom.
However…
Her gaze shifted toward where Erich Zevier stood.
The worst possible thought slowly emerged.
Since he had already restrained her…
Boom!
The poisonous clouds filling the sky abruptly dispersed.
Space began to shake violently near Erich Zevier.
The air seemed to be torn apart, and three figures broke through space.
"Erich, I didn't expect you to actually do it."
The newcomer's voice carried an indescribable emotion.
"In that case, as agreed, leave this place to us."
At first, the figure was surrounded by a layer of light, but as his words fell, his appearance gradually became clear.
He had pale purple hair and deep purple eyes.
This was the signature appearance of the direct bloodline of the Carlos royal family.
The King's Hand, Eli Carlos, a Level 19 Archmage. During the war more than a century ago, he had already been famous, having slaughtered countless demonkind.
Even the Green Dragon Queen Aesselas's expression turned ashen the instant she saw him.
And the old man beside him was no less significant: Milo Dalton, Archbishop of Lathander, Lord of the Morning, an Level 18 priest with the title Holy Fire of Judgment.
The third figure, a woman with deep red hair, also had an impressive background. Mabel Burns had received instruction from the legendary Sword Saint Roland in his later years when she was young. Although she had been too young at the time, and the Sword Saint had lacked the energy to formally take her as an apprentice, she could still be considered half his student.
At just over sixty years old, she was already a level 17 sword professional, and one of the Kingdom of Carlos's publicly acknowledged candidates for legend.
Together with Erich, the Level 16 archmage who understood the Green Dragon Queen Aesselas extremely well, the ambition behind this lineup was obvious.
The three who had been teleported in from afar had come to kill the green dragon.
And to kill her quickly.
Why had they not chosen to descend the moment the war began?
Because strategic-level combatants like them affected the entire situation with every move. If they appeared here, then defensive power elsewhere might become lacking, and the enemy could make targeted arrangements in response.
If the attack worked, that was fine. The royal leadership of humanity was not incapable of tolerating some degree of mutual exchange.
But if they transmitted this power here and still failed to keep the Green Dragon Queen in place, then the situation would become extremely unfavorable for the Kingdom of Carlos.
Even slaughtering the Green Dragon Army afterward would not make up for the losses and risks that might arise elsewhere.
The first wave of troops the Green Dragon Queen sent out was not her absolute main force at all.
However, Spellweaver Erich Zevier had staked his own character as guarantee and requested this support from the kingdom's higher-ups before the war officially broke out.
He stated plainly that he possessed the power to bind the green dragon and prevent her from fleeing. After hearing him remotely, it was ultimately the King's Hand, Eli Carlos, who made the decision to authorize this operation.
Eli Carlos also had to bear considerable pressure. If he left the kingdom's central command, other battlefields in need of reinforcement might face uncontrollable risks.
But in the end, Eli still came.
He did feel guilt.
This archmage of the Zevier family had abandoned his family to preserve hundreds of thousands of soldiers. And after the war ended, Eli had strongly persuaded him to give up his personal grudge for the sake of peace.
Seeing this once-dashing genius mage now bent and decaying under the torment of illness and curse, he finally decided to trust him once.
And clearly, the Spellweaver had not disappointed him.
Now, they only needed to quickly kill this green dragon, who could no longer retreat. Once that was done, they could use long-range teleportation to return to the nearest large teleportation array, then teleport back to the royal capital, ready to support the entire kingdom again at any time.
"Begin!"
Eli Carlos exchanged a glance with Erich Zevier.
He said nothing more.
At this point, speed was paramount.
Archbishop Milo Dalton swept out the flame in his hand, radiating pure white divine light. However, its target was not the green dragon in the distance, but the archmage Eli Carlos.
In an extremely short time, the archmage's body was wrapped in a powerful flame. He suffered not the slightest injury. Instead, his aura began rising at an unimaginable speed.
"Level 9 spell: Holy Fire Wish!"
"Imprisoning Slash!"
The red-haired woman, who had disappeared at some point, had already appeared beside the green dragon's enormous body.
Thousands upon thousands of spatial slashes descended like countless seals, firmly imprisoning the green dragon.
Now, not only could she not withdraw from the Jade Forest, even her other movements were directly restricted.
After receiving the Wish enhancement, Eli Carlos also swung his staff.
Boom!
The surrounding air seemed to change.
Looking higher into the sky, a scorching heat descended with a roar.
The thick dark green clouds were violently torn open.
A blazing meteor wreathed in roaring flames was tearing across the heavens, dragged down from high above the material plane, crashing toward the imprisoned Green Dragon Aesselas.
And judging by its slanted falling trajectory, it was aimed not only at the green dragon, but directly at the formation of the Green Dragon Army below.
On the battlefield beneath, countless people raised their heads to look at this almost miraculous scene.
This was a mighty power completely beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Even the power of gods could hardly seem greater than this.