Draconic instinct made the Iron Dragon want to kill the Centaur Commander to vent his anger, but after being with Garros for a long time, he had learned restraint.
He had already demonstrated the might of Dragonkin.
A living Centaur Commander was worth more than a dead one.
Silvermane was stunned for a moment, then ecstatic, lowering his head deeply.
"Thank you for your mercy."
The Iron Dragon looked toward Garros and tilted his chin up, silently showing off his growth and wisdom.
Garros smiled slightly and did not hold back his praise, saying, "My dear brother, I thought you would execute him to vent your anger. Your growth is visible to the naked eye; you have truly impressed me now."
The Iron Dragon replied, "We share similar blood; it is not worth mentioning."
He feigned composure, trying to appear emotionless, but unfortunately, his tail unconsciously curled up behind him, betraying his joyful mood.
Under the velvet-like night sky, the Ignas Siblings interrogated him about the specific situation of the White Mane Clan.
Silvermane did not hide anything.
He recounted the situation of the White Mane Clan in full detail.
Almost all the Centaur elites from the shock troops and hunting parties were here. Those left in the clan were only individuals temporarily unable to fight due to illness or other reasons. However, besides the shock and hunting parties, there was still a guard unit at the clan's base.
Silvermane felt that even if the White Mane Clan avoided the fate of becoming Dragonkin subordinates, having lost their shock and hunting parties and being severely weakened in Origin Qi, it would be difficult for them to continue surviving in the Borderlands.
Since that was the case...
It was better to go all the way and swear fealty to the dragons.
Through the Iron Dragon's final act of mercy towards him...
Silvermane could judge that these two Young Dragons valued practical benefits more. They were different from the Evil Dragons in his memory, who were driven by emotion like Vicious Beasts.
This also meant that if the White Mane Clan surrendered, they would not face senseless slaughter.
Furthermore...
When he had first tried to deceive the Iron Dragon, part of what Silvermane said had been sincere.
Because of the chaotic situation caused by the war in the northern ice fields, the Borderlands had also been impacted. The situation was more turbulent and harder to control than before. Under these circumstances, following a powerful dragon was a good choice.
"Lead the way,"
Garros said simply.
He did not like procrastination.
Since the matters regarding the White Mane Clan had happened, he would settle them today.
Meanwhile, the previously captured Ogres, Werewolves, and other Molten Iron subordinates remained here. The other Centaur Warriors were stripped of their armor and weapons, to be guarded by the Molten Iron subordinates and the Iron Dragon.
These Centaur Warriors could not be fully trusted yet.
They had submitted temporarily out of fear of Garros's power, but in their hearts, they still felt some resistance and resentment.
Only by conquering their clan and turning their relatives—their wives and children with whom they shared blood bonds—into members of the Molten Iron Clan could they become reliable.
Garros planned to take only the heavily injured Silvermane to the Centaur clan.
He was not an Evil Dragon, so he would first communicate with words rather than through bloody suppression. But if negotiations failed, he didn't mind letting the Centaurs experience the combat techniques of a Martial Dragon.
However...
Just as Garros was about to pick up Silvermane and take flight, his gaze shifted, and he looked toward the sky.
At the edge of the night sky, a snow-white figure was breaking through the clouds.
It was a female Centaur with wings on her back. The moonlight cast a bright glow on her wings, making every feather shine brilliantly and uniquely.
"Is this the Elvie you mentioned?"
Garros looked toward the Centaur Commander.
"Yes, it's her,"
Silvermane said in a low voice. "She is the strongest warrior of our younger generation."
An Elf Hybrid who has even regressed to manifest the Pegasus Bloodline, possessing a pair of Pegasus Wings. Truly rare; her rarity is almost on par with a Hybrid Dragon, the Red-Iron Dragon thought, narrowing his eyes as he waited for the hybrid Centaur to approach.
Elvie wore light armor, and her physique was more slender than a normal Centaur's.
A longbow that exceeded her height was slung across her back, and she gripped a silver greatsword in her hand. With the flapping of her wings and her hooves lightly treading the air, she gradually descended toward the ground.
Unlike Silvermane and Iron Hoof...
Elvie had not intended to fight the young Iron Dragon head-on.
She felt that the Iron Dragon's appearance was unusual, and she was more patient. She wanted to determine the Iron Dragon's background and origins by tracking him before considering her next move.
As it turned out...
Iron Hoof and Silvermane were too eager for the position of Clan Chief and had acted prematurely, drawing out the terrifying existence behind the Iron Dragon.
When Elvie arrived, she happened to see the terrifying scene of the Red-Iron Dragon crushing the Centaurs with overwhelming force, and she also saw Silvermane's submission.
She had originally wanted to return to the clan first to report what had happened here.
But she did not dare to act rashly for fear of revealing her presence, so she stayed hidden among the clouds, remaining silent.
It wasn't until she saw that the Red-Iron Dragon was too lazy to wait even a day and was about to seize Silvermane to head to the Centaur clan that Elvie realized she couldn't be faster than him, so she was forced to show herself.
If the Red-Iron Dragon reached the clan's lands first...
Based on Elvie's knowledge of her fellow guards, she knew conflict would be unavoidable, and then blood would surely be spilled, resulting in casualties.
So she appeared.
"Noble Dragon."
The Centaur landed before Garros and bowed. "I am the guard captain of the White Mane Clan. I am willing to swear fealty to you and go to the clan with you to ensure my people's respect and awe toward you."
After a pause, she kept her head lowered in a humble posture and continued, "But in Centaur tradition, surrendering without a fight is a great disgrace. I request that you grant me an opportunity for a challenge."
Silvermane wanted to say something, but he glanced at the Red-Iron Dragon and tactfully refrained from overstepping his bounds.
Garros's gaze fell upon the hybrid Centaur, noting the features belonging to elves and Pegasi.
Pegasi were celestial beings, primarily companions to powerful entities like Solars. They were rarely seen on the Material Plane. In Garros's view, the Pegasus Bloodline that Elvie had regressed to was more noteworthy than being an Elf Hybrid.
Time passed second by second.
After scrutinizing the hybrid Centaur for a few seconds, he said, "Come then, challenger."
Opposite him, Elvie raised her head, revealing an exquisite and perfect face.
"Please be careful. Here I come."
She gave a warning, and immediately after, the wings on her back burst with a bluish-white light, and her four hooves lightly left the ground.
She did not charge directly. Instead, her left hand formed complex runic seals in the air, then quickly swept across the sword blade.
Wind Blade Enchantment!
As her palm passed over it, blue wind emerged inch by inch on the blade, emitting a hum like a lute string when swung.
Elvie was a Magic Warrior.
A Magic Warrior, as the name suggests, was a class that practiced both magic and combat techniques. It required extremely high talent, and the threshold for entry was very high. A high threshold often meant being stronger than ordinary classes.
Magic Warriors used one-handed weapons and did not need to chant; they primarily cast spells through hand seals with their free hand.
"A very rare class. Interesting. This hybrid Centaur might be able to give me a little surprise,"
Garros thought silently, not seizing the initiative to attack first.
The next second, the hybrid Centaur suddenly dived, approaching him, her left hand still continuously forming seals to cast spells.
She held her greatsword high, moving extremely fast, the sharp blade sweeping toward Garros's vital eyes.
Garros raised a claw, carrying a massive sense of pressure, and swept it toward the hybrid Centaur's body.
Boom!
The hybrid Centaur was hit, and her body instantly shattered, but there was no blood or flesh. It only exploded into a cloud of blue wind. Her true body appeared on Garros's right rear, her greatsword, carrying a high-frequency vibrating wind blade, slashing toward Garros's hind leg joint.
But before it could hit, a shadow suddenly appeared beneath Elvie, and wind pressure came from above.