Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 466 The Wind Rises
For those of short lifespan, those who cannot reach the level of demigod or even immortal have little chance of participating in the two Demon Tide Wars.

Even if epics and stories have been passed down, the cold words and incomplete records can never fully recreate the world war that turned the entire world into a purgatory.

"This eternal war is more intense each time than the last."

At this point, it's probably necessary to supplement our knowledge of planes.

The world is actually shattered, a “crystal wall system” composed of countless planes of varying sizes.

It can be viewed as planets in the solar system, or more like islands floating on the ocean, but the distances and passages between them are not fixed.

Some planes can even be seen as a moving vessel of life.

The main plane is the largest area and also the most suitable environment for reproduction.

Those messy planes, including many elemental planes, the Beast Realm, the Elf Ancestral Land, the Dragon Continent, and so on, are often second-tier high-quality planes.

They are often occupied by a former dominant group, becoming their breeding grounds.

But the crown and the throne remain on this supercontinent, or rather, on this great continent.

The prime plane can offer many "special products." As far as Rean knows, these include the right to reproduce of a large number of races, as well as the "Pantheon" that comes with it. It is relatively easy to gain faith in a god, but it is also limited by the ownership of the plane (the number of believers).

At the same time, they control many sub-planes. After their race receives divine favor, "humanities research" such as literature, science, and magic will be favored, and even "soul reincarnation" will be given preferential treatment. Future children will have greater potential and stronger talents.

"It is said that the total number of souls in the entire world is finite."

Even if they were ultimately forced to lose their era, the "accumulation" they took away was incomparable to that of weaker groups.

Those era overlords who did not become extinct are still able to continue their clans smoothly, and there are many candidates for them on the earth.

The world moves forward in cycles, and the accidental involvement of Outer Gods and other realms brings even more variables.

It is said that the entire crystal wall system is constantly expanding, and in the process, it is even swallowing up other crystal wall systems and the multiverse.

It is said that the primary plane is also constantly expanding, and has even devoured many secondary planes and small worlds outside.

It is said that the elves originally came from another land.
"We have already won several battles against the demonic tides."

"And that's why our civilization became stronger, even overcoming the inherent weaknesses of many races."

At this moment, Rean recalled Kuku's invention. It was a discovery by the kobolds, but the biggest beneficiary was the dominant civilization at the time.

"But because of this, the war we are about to face will be even more brutal."

This wasn't Wu's statement; in fact, Wu listened very attentively and even showed an expression of sudden realization.

He may not even know why the war could never stop, or why it was so intense. Those caught in the middle of it all had only the choice to kill or be killed.

He did pursue the truth, but the more he searched, the more desperate he became.

These words were actually spoken to him by Rean.

Rean obtained the information from Kuku and Snake, part of which was what they said directly, and part of which was what they couldn't say directly. He pieced it together from various sources.

"This land is actually crying out for war, crying out for a stronger overlord."

These were the snake's original words, but Rean thought about it and didn't say them aloud.

Perhaps for the world, life is not important; evolution is the key.
"We've gone off on a tangent. The Demonic Tide isn't just about the opening of elemental tides and the increased activity of various races. As the tides rise, gods and ancient beings, who were previously restricted, can now move freely. In this process, the evolution of life becomes extremely easy, and powerful beings will continuously emerge."

For those elemental races, even if they fought a battle and lost 95% of their population, and ultimately failed to gain the authority of the overlord, it still brought about the evolution of their race.

However, what the losers gain is not necessarily evolution.
"I remember the Bottom Lizard Demons had a land and a kingdom in the Ocean Cave plane. Uh, that plane, it seems to be gone?" Wu was a little surprised. How could this race be getting worse and worse? They used to have a kingdom. "They lost it. It's too common for the losers of war to lose their homes."

Having lost their original homeland and country, these bottom lizard demons are probably not having an easy time.

This isn't just wild guessing; it's a summary of information Rean obtained from his mentor. It outlines the kind of environment that would require evolving away the eyes, retaining only basic light-sensing abilities (black and white blurry imaging).

What kind of living areas require the development of gravity technology to make the physical structure as flat and elongated as a gecko?

What kind of environment makes them, who are clearly intelligent, crawl like wild beasts?

"I suspect they've always lived beneath the rock face, in underground hollows, in a honeycomb-like, lightless zone."

Their bodies are wealth, a "living treasure mine" for the entire plane to hunt. Since they don't have the ability to occupy an entire world, they can only find a safe place to hide.

Perhaps they have long lived in the void and ley lines beneath the prime plane, in the gap between the earth element plane and the material plane.

Rean thought of the Sapphire Dragon, whose maze-like underground honeycomb structure was the standard terrain in certain areas of the Earth Elemental Plane, where the Sapphire Dragon had honed its sonic radar.

Sapphire dragons, at the top of the food chain, still thrive in the Earth Elemental Plane, but those bottom-level lizard demons...
"If they were truly invincible, there would be no need for them to jump out immediately. They probably couldn't take it anymore. Everyone knows that drawing aggro immediately makes you an easy target for a group attack."

"It's possible they made a deal with certain forces and willingly acted as cannon fodder or vanguard."

"If they are truly a top-tier race, and if they can really sustain a long war, wouldn't it be better to occupy the fertile central region instead of the continental border?"

Rean vaguely guessed the truth.

In fact, the living space of the Bottom Lizard Demons is quite limited, and many newborns are forced to "fossilize" and fall into a long slumber after a short period of activity.

Those massive ancient beings were transformed directly into rocks, becoming the support of their tribe, one could even say "houses" or "dams." Faced with the pressure of the elemental planes and the long-term erosion of the tides, many ancient beings were completely weathered away without anyone noticing.

There are other dangers in that underground area. Less than 20% of their newborns reach adulthood, and due to the long-term lack of light and normal gravity, their race has become distorted and alienated, a degenerative disease that is no longer being controlled.

They are gradually being rejected and completely eliminated by the world.

They couldn't hold back any longer.

"I think they might just be bait, constantly stirring up wars on the continent's borders to attract the attention of the dominant races, and then they might become targets to test the military strength of those great powers when they step in themselves."

Rean sighed. Some things are best left unsaid.

"I don't think they'll be as strong as the Lizard Demons of Wu's era. No matter how strong their individual strength is, those guys don't even have a rag on their bodies."

This is not superfluous; the demons in the dream not only have clothes, but also equipment.

Although the equipment was very worn out and the clothes were tattered, there was really no need to go into battle naked and use one's body to withstand the opponent's blade.

Rean had only spoken with Dania privately, and he estimated that those demons didn't have the ability to fight continuously, probably because they had already risked everything for this surprise attack.

"Does this mean they won't attack us?"

Some people may seem naive, but most of the candidates actually saw through it.

"No, quite the opposite. If they are unable to defend the rich Kingdom of Hadur, they will consider migrating northeast and hiding in a corner of this continent to avoid risks." When you are weak enough, even bullies who are far away will come and kick you, stealing the little wealth in your pocket.

"If they become powerful... well, it seems they might attack us too, connect this area into one, form their own kingdom, and have a port to the sea."

Weak nations are often among the first to vanish without a trace during world wars.

They're too lazy to even find a reason to destroy you.

(End of this chapter)