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The orcs took the opportunity to counterattack, easily seizing several forts that were poorly guarded. The Northern Legion fully occupied these forts, successfully avoiding the harsh cold and further consolidating their gains. The remaining orcs temporarily withdrew from the northern ice plains, but everyone knew that next spring, this force would attack the ice plains again. At that time, the barbarians who had lived on the northern ice plains for hundreds of years would likely be driven back to the Arctic tundra or face total annihilation.

After reading the military report provided by the Temple, I privately speculated about the course of the war. Naturally, I understood that Leimen and the orc king Samantha must have more than just the "Horn of Doom" as their trump card. Not only had the "Golden Bell Shield" promotion campaign already produced tens of thousands of new elite soldiers, but in their long-prepared plans, there should be at least two other forces capable of deciding the outcome of this war. However, with the "Horn of Doom" I stole supporting the situation, they could not only gain higher morale but also hide another ace, thereby increasing their chances of victory in future wars. Why not take advantage of it?

However, the Temple was naturally unwilling to sit idly by and watch the barbarians perish. They had already begun full mobilization and were contacting various human nations to seek aid for the barbarians. But among the human nations, only the four Western Holy Kingdoms and the Viking Empire bordered the Orc Alliance. Other countries were far less concerned about the Orc Alliance and often had conflicts with the Temple, so they did not respond significantly. Moreover, the Viking Empire had been in prolonged conflict with the alliance, and even if they were willing, it would be difficult for them to spare forces to support the barbarians due to their own conflicts with the Temple.

Thus, although the Temple clearly knew that once the barbarians were exterminated, hundreds of thousands of powerful warriors stationed in the Northern Country would join the southern battlefields, completely disrupting the strategic balance, they had no effective countermeasures. Besides, the route to the north was blocked by the orc North Sea Fleet, which consisted mainly of the White Bear Tribe and the numerous Penguin Clan, known for their aquatic prowess. Using the bones and scales of the giant sea creature "Kraken," they had built unique warships with both water and wind attributes, maintaining an advantage over human fleets, preventing the Temple from transporting large-scale troops and supplies to the northern ice plains.

Therefore, the Temple could only send a few elite forces, useful mages, and priests to aid the barbarians. This time, they recalled me and Lansino, seemingly with this intention in mind.

However, the most important thing now was to make me a dragon knight.

Stepping onto the Dragon Sealing Platform again, my mood was entirely different from the last time. Although there were no traces left of the previous battle, I still felt as though I could hear the final roar of the ice wind, which intensified the burning hatred and anger within me, causing a glint of murderous intent to flash across my eyes. However, my personality differed from that of my master Huang Yaoshi. He was passionate and would erupt with his hatred without regard for place, right or wrong, or the object of his wrath, acting purely on impulse. On the other hand, I was more reserved, able to endure for a long time to seek revenge, and I cared about very few things. Otherwise, I wouldn't have betrayed my master and fled from Peach Blossom Island years ago.

"Knight Fengxuan, please step onto the platform," said one of the elders of Sacred Dragon Mountain, who was dressed in heavy, ornate ceremonial robes and held a platinum diamond staff, standing beside the "Dominion Sword." He continued, "Within the thousands of miles of mountains surrounding Sacred Dragon Mountain, there dwell more than half of the dragons on the Mainland. However, not all dragons are willing to enter into a contract with humans. In fact, in the past thousand years, only about twenty dragons have chosen to become mounts for dragon knights, including those that have fallen in battle. In reality, most current dragon knight families maintain their status by serving one or two dragons generation after generation. To gain the recognition of a new dragon, one must hold a Dragon God Ceremony on this Dragon Sealing Platform, transmitting the information of the dragon knight to all the dragons on the Mainland. If any dragon is willing to respond to the call, it will be transported to Sacred Dragon Mountain to sign a contract with the dragon knight. However, the chances are slim. But don't worry; your summoning is different. Through our special methods, this ceremony has a fifty percent chance of receiving a dragon's response. If it doesn't work, we will issue another call, repeating this three times, giving you an eighty percent chance of success. So as long as luck isn't too bad, you will definitely summon a dragon."

I inwardly sneered at the old man's words, which seemed less than truthful. If such special methods made summoning dragons so easy, there would be many more dragon knights, and they wouldn't be so precious. According to the Temple's information and what I learned from Zhu Liya, Sacred Dragon Mountain actually holds dragon summoning ceremonies every year, but successful cases are rare. After all, dragons are proud creatures, and even with the Dragon God's permission and a special purpose, becoming a human's mount is akin to a human becoming a slave to a mouse. The only exception is the summoning of "Dragon Emperor Knights," who, after receiving dragon power enhancements, possess some dragon traits, making them more acceptable to dragons. The "Abyssal Dragon King," being the strongest dragon, has a notorious reputation, but its unparalleled strength garners admiration from many dragons. Therefore, when the "Supreme Dragon Saint," who has absorbed the dragon power of the Abyssal Dragon King, performs a summoning, the success rate is almost guaranteed.

Dragons summoned by "Dragon Emperor Knights" and "Supreme Dragon Saints" usually do not choose to contract with other dragon knights after their masters die. However, their relationship with Sacred Dragon Mountain is better than those dragons who never acknowledge it, allowing Sacred Dragon Mountain to understand their preferences and increase the chances of successfully summoning them later. Among these, dragons summoned by "Supreme Dragon Saints" have the highest probability of becoming mounts for ordinary dragon knights, which is why Sacred Dragon Mountain chose me as a dragon knight, not without ulterior motives.

The twenty or so contracted dragons mentioned by the elder do not include those contracted by "Dragon Emperor Knights" and "Supreme Dragon Saints." The eighty percent chance of success is not due to their efforts but because of the dragon traits between "Dragon Emperor Knights" and "Supreme Dragon Saints" that I possess.

However, these matters are irrelevant to me. The most important thing now is to quickly sign the contract. Initially, I was worried that the contract might fail due to my being a werewolf, but after indirectly asking a few people from Sacred Dragon Mountain, I learned that the ancient "Sacred Dragon" did not specify race in the original contract. It seems that among the strong who participated in slaying the "Abyssal Dragon King," there were orcs and elves. Only the "Dragon Sealing Emperor" monopolized the "Sacred Dragon Covenant," which later became the "Dominion Sword," granting humans the privilege of signing dragon knight contracts. Of course, I have no real intention of having a dragon as a mount. Even if the Dragon God's contract can make dragons unconditionally obey dragon knights, it is impossible to truly control a dragon with intelligence surpassing that of humans. If they genuinely scheme against me, they could easily find loopholes in my commands, leading to my death before I could issue new orders, which I am extremely wary of.