Chapter 83: Banishing the Breath of Time

"Powerful silver dragon?"

Garon was unfazed by the pack leader's fearless stance; in fact, he rather admired it. However, he couldn't help but chuckle silently when he heard the pack leader's initial address. Indeed, to the eyes of ordinary creatures, he now appeared more akin to a silver dragon than a white one.

Unknowingly, Garon had shed the shameful image of a true dragon in the eyes of others.

But to him, whether seen as a silver or a white dragon made little difference; neither compared to his identity as a time dragon.

Garon did not correct the pack leader's mistake.

He slowly lowered his head, his body slightly leaning forward, casting a long shadow ahead, bringing an immense oppressive force close to the pack leader before speaking calmly, "I have heard that among you winter wolves, there is a title known as the Master of the Ice Plain."

"Recently, I have been considering claiming the Master of the Ice Plain as a follower."

He paused for a moment, his tone even and unrushed, "Do you think this is a gesture of goodwill or malice?"

Upon hearing Garon's words, the surrounding winter wolves stirred, a low growling passing between them, as if conveying messages to each other about how to handle Garon.

The pack leader hesitated for a few seconds, instinctively stepping back due to Garon's imposing aura.

After snapping back to reality, the pack leader realized it could not show weakness. Struggling to suppress its unease, it stabilized its posture, looking up at Garon and began to speak in a storytelling tone, "Seven years ago, when I was but an ordinary winter wolf, the clan I was part of encountered a nearly mature white dragon."

There are two ways for a winter wolf to become a clan leader.

One is to defeat the current leader, a typically challenging feat.

The other is to leave the clan and establish a new one, taking on a new name as the leader, bestowing names upon all the winter wolf members of the new clan.

"It came from the west, arrogant and rude, trying to force us into submission to become its followers, obeying its commands."

After finishing its story, the pack leader raised its head, sending a long and clear howl into the air, echoing through the dense branches of the snow ridge pines.

Less than two seconds after the howl began, responses came from various directions within the snow ridge pine forest, as if answering the call of the pack leader.

Once the crisscrossing howls subsided, the pack leader continued, "But the outcome was that it fled, battered and bruised. Our claws and sharp teeth tore through its scales, tasting the delicious dragon blood."

Garon laughed, "You compare silver dragons with white dragons?"

In his heart, Garon suspected that the white dragon beaten by the winter wolves was the White Dragoness herself.

Nearly mature, from the west of the snow ridge pine forest, arrogant and rude—these keywords matched the White Dragoness if there were no surprises.

It was unexpected to hear she had such a past of trying to gather followers and getting beaten instead.

Garon grew even more interested in this group of winter wolves, wondering what the White Dragoness would think if she knew that one of his followers had once defeated her.

The pack leader warily scanned Garon's imposing form, a flicker of anthropomorphic dread in its eyes, but it firmly stated, "The Wolfheart Clan will not become the followers of any creature."

"Even if you are a powerful adult silver dragon, please leave."

"Otherwise, I do not mind repeating the events of that day, feasting on dragon blood."

As soon as it finished speaking, Garon heard rustling sounds as bodies swiftly moved across the ground, brushing gently against the snow.

He remained unflappable, looking around.

Hundreds of wolves—white, black, gray, red—at least five or six hundred, emerged like a tide from various parts of the snow ridge pine forest, converging towards this location.

Ordinary wild wolves, magic wolves wreathed in elemental light, and even several ferocious wolves measuring six to seven meters in length seemed to be responding to the winter wolf's call, gathering here.

Garon's eyes brightened, his expression one of delighted surprise rather than alarm.

The winter wolf, known as the most dangerous and intelligent among wolves, has always been the king of wolves, capable of communicating with all wolves and even domesticated dog species. But a pack leader like this one, who could summon all surrounding wolf packs with a single howl, was truly exceptional among pack leaders.

Its ability to establish a clan of nineteen winter wolves was indeed commendable.

Subduing such a group of winter wolves meant gaining a large batch of wolf followers.

A true dragon soaring, with fierce wolves following. The scene was not bad at all.

The pack leader never imagined that its display of strength would not intimidate

 Garon; instead, it made him even more determined to possess them.

Since winter wolves are proud and nearly impossible to subdue without overwhelming strength, Garon patiently waited for the wolf pack to assemble.

His quasi-legendary strength, if frightened by a pack of wolves, would indeed be laughable.

Moments later, the wolf pack summoned by the pack leader was fully assembled.

The surrounding space was filled with the low growls of ferocious wolves.

Intelligent wolf species like the winter wolves were rare, and most of the summoned wolves had only the thinking of wild beasts. Upon seeing Garon, none could maintain their composure, all adopting highly tense combat stances.

Four ferocious wolves, each between six and eight meters long, slowly stepped forward, standing behind the pack leader, casting beastly glares at Garon.

Among the wolves present, besides the other adult winter wolves, these four ferocious wolves had the strongest aura, and the magical wolves did not share their fierce, bloodthirsty nature.

The collective roar of the wolves was indeed formidable.

But to Garon, their display was like a child showing off muscles to an adult.

Even the largest of the ferocious wolves was only about the size of Garon's arm.

"We respect the strong, and you, as an adult silver dragon."

"But that does not mean the Wolfheart Clan fears battle."

With his allies assembled, the pack leader felt more confident.

Clusters of ice crystals formed under its feet, lifting it to a height parallel to Garon, in a display of defiance.

Garon was unimpressed by the pack leader's antics.

The more powerful he was, the less he cared for the schemes of the weak.

"Now that everyone is here, let's settle this," Garon said, shaking his wings and standing tall, a grin spreading across his face.

Dragon might burst forth.

With his connection to the River of Time deepened, imbued with a hint of the profound heaviness of time, his dragon might spread like a heavy mountain, sweeping over every wolf.

All the wolves stiffened at once.

The winter wolves and ferocious wolves fared slightly better, merely appearing dazed and lost, unable to recover for a long time.

The more ordinary wolves simply collapsed, their limbs weak, tails tucked, whining and lying down on the ground, the weakest even losing control of their bowels, paralyzed.

Garon was quite pleased with the display of his dragon might.

Then, he opened his jaws wide, and as the winter wolves still stared blankly, he expelled a breath unseen and unfelt, a broad conical exhalation.

Banishing the Breath of Time.

Like the Plundering Breath of Time, it was one of the two powerful dragon breaths belonging to time dragons.

Immediately after, all wolves in front of Garon when he opened his mouth suddenly vanished without a trace, without affecting the surroundings in the slightest, as if they had never existed.

Other than some paw prints on the ground and the lingering scent of wolves, there was no evidence they had ever been present.

Garon turned his neck, and after a sweep, all the surrounding wolves, except for the winter wolves, had disappeared.

Not just the beasts without magical abilities and ferocious bodies, but even the magical wolves and a few ferocious wolves had vanished.

This eerie scene, chilling to the core, awakened the Wolfheart Clan.

They barely regained some clarity, shocked and trembling slightly after realizing what had just occurred.

To avoid a desperate battle by the Wolfheart Clan, Garon did not attack them.

"What have you done!"

All the winter wolves bared their teeth, crouching low, their eyes filled with fear and unrest as they looked around the silent surroundings, then fearfully back at Garon.

They assumed a combat stance, but none dared to attack.

Having witnessed that terrifying scene, their hearts had turned cold.

To make over six hundred wolves disappear silently, leaving no blood or remnants, not even a death scream or a single hair, was beyond the understanding of the winter wolves.

Even as intelligent magical creatures, they had never seen nor heard of such a phenomenon.

Garon grinned, showing his sharp, fearsome dragon teeth, which glinted slightly in the sunlight.

"Don't be nervous, they are not dead."

"I am not some evil dragon who kills my potential followers without reason."

Unlike the aging and lethal effects of the Plundering Breath of Time, the Banishing Breath of Time's effect was more bizarre and extreme.

When Garon expelled the Banishing Breath of Time, the River of Time moved with it, and the intangible, ubiquitous phantom waters swept the targets into it, directly banishing them to a future time period.

But they were not truly in the future.

In fact, they ceased to exist.

They were not dead, merely non-existent.

Non-existent in the present and the past, and equally non-existent in any real future.

Under the effect of the Banishing Breath of Time, they would continue

 to be banished until the breath's effect ended, or Garon actively recalled them, withdrawing his temporal power. Only then would they be grasped by time again and brought back to the present.

Enemies struck by the Banishing Breath of Time, no matter how powerful, would be banished and exiled.

The effect of the Banishing Breath of Time, like that of the Plundering Breath of Time, depended on Garon's age.

If Garon did not actively withdraw his temporal power, they would disappear for three years, reappearing here only after that time.

Their physical state would remain as it was at the moment of disappearance, with memories and consciousness intact, as if they had merely blinked and three years had passed, with everything changed.

If Garon lived to be an ancient dragon, using the Banishing Breath of Time without care until the flow of time naturally caught up with the target, he could grant someone the experience of a thousand years in an instant, witnessing seas change into mulberry fields.

"They... they're not dead, then where did they go?"

The pack leader's voice, usually full of defiance and pride, stuttered a bit.

Even now, at the same height as Garon, it dared not look directly at him, its gaze shifting away to the sides.

Garon did not answer.

His voice low, he said, "Abandon your resistance to submission, submit to my will."

"I will grant you dragon blood, make the name of the Wolfheart Clan echo across the continent, turning you into dragon minions that all creatures dread, the evil wolves beneath the dragon."

In any situation, a combination of grace and might was an appropriate approach.

Displaying power and promising a future were effective means to subdue followers.

Mere threats or pure inducements were somewhat insufficient.

With dragon might like the sea, coupled with the previous terrifying event of changing live wolves, the winter wolves began to look at each other, hesitant and undecided.

Ninety-nine percent of wolf species are of evil alignment; they revere strength, are cruel and bloodthirsty, and appreciate power. Although they are proud and difficult to subdue, this is only because the difference in power between them has not been large enough.

With Garon's current display, the winter wolves were beginning to waver.

Some submit to dragons out of fear, others out of admiration.

Upon witnessing the power of dragons, countless intelligent beings desire to become followers willingly.

While the pack leader was still hesitating and pondering, a few younger wolves with their own ideas glanced at each other and then stepped forward simultaneously, bowing their proud heads to Garon, "Great true dragon, Wolf Ferocious (Wolf Line) (Wolf Ice) wish to become your loyal followers, from now on under the dragon's wings, to bleed for you, to fight for you."

The naming of winter wolves was quite arbitrary, entirely up to the clan leader's thoughts, and the names of this clan were particularly unique.

After speaking, three adult winter wolves silently passed the pack leader, walking up to Garon, turning their gaze towards their kin.

Garon extended his dragon claw, gently stroking the snow-white fur of a winter wolf, his voice calm, "I am not an evil dragon, I do not like to coerce."

"Whether you wish to become my followers is up to you."

"But this place, the snow ridge pine forest, can only be ruled by my followers. You may decide whether to stay or leave."

Following the action of the three adult winter wolves, two more winter wolves, attracted by Garon's power, moved to his side and silently exchanged glances with their kin.

There were nine adult winter wolves here in total, and the majority had already decided to become Garon's followers.

Only the pack leader and three others remained undecided.

The pack leader looked at Garon, the silvery gleam of his scales, the serpentine majesty of his four dragon horns, the twenty-meter-long super-large dragon form. After each clan member moved towards Garon, persuaded by them, the pack leader finally jumped down from the ice cluster, step by step approaching Garon.

Seeing the pack leader's decision, Garon felt pleased, "You have made a wise choice, the Wolfheart Clan will still be led by you."

"Tell me your name."

The pack leader lowered its head, speaking in Common, "Wolf Evil is honored to become your follower."

After speaking, Wolf Evil turned to look at the remaining three adult winter wolves, speaking firmly, "What are you waiting for? Under the leadership of our great silver dragon master, the Wolfheart Clan will surely become the strongest winter wolf clan!"

Clearly, it had its own ideas and ambitions.

Choosing to become Garon's follower was not just driven by circumstances but was a recognition of Garon's power.

With the pack leader setting an example, the remaining three winter wolves no longer resisted. One by one, they walked up to Garon, and the little

 winter wolves previously hidden came out, timidly raising their heads to look at Garon.

"Thank you to the book friend who has been so supportive... Writing my first alliance leader, I'm so moved."

"Since I've promised, I'll stay up late and add more, suffering yet enjoying typing all night."

"Today I strive to write four chapters, four thousand words, publishing one chapter at a time."