The Beastland, an outer plane, originally had three layers. However, due to the brutal and unrelenting divine war between the dragon and giant pantheons, the uppermost layer, the Radiant Forest, was forcibly destroyed.
When the Radiant Forest collapsed, some animal lords quickly fled, but a significant number were annihilated along with the forest. Roughly a quarter of the animal lords and a third of the creatures in the Beastland perished. This outer plane suffered unprecedented devastation.
Now, only two layers remain: the Forest of Dawn and the Forest of Night. The Beastland is the only plane with merely two layers, making it the weakest among the well-known outer planes.
In such a weakened state, the Forest of Dawn welcomed a visitor, or rather, an uninvited guest.
In the Forest of Dawn, the sun is a red fireball close to the horizon, casting long red shadows across the forest. A silver moon hangs low on the opposite horizon, surrounded by faint, cool mist. Streams, mountains, rivers, marshes, and wetlands remain as they always were, with numerous diurnal beasts inhabiting this layer.
However, the sky of the Forest of Dawn has significantly changed. Before the dragon and giant war, it was clear and filled with white clouds. Now, it appears shattered, like a mirror that has been gently dropped, with numerous faint cracks running north to south and east to west, resembling scars in the sky.
When the Radiant Forest was destroyed, the aftermath swept towards the Forest of Dawn. Although the Beast Lord tried to sever the two layers, the Forest of Dawn still suffered some damage, and the sky almost broke apart.
It's worth mentioning that the changes in the Beastland also affected other planes. Due to the destruction of the Radiant Forest and the damage to the Forest of Dawn, many intelligent beasts no longer wished to stay. They preferred to form contracts with spellcasters under lower conditions and leave the Beastland en masse for other planes. This led to the emergence of numerous summoners, a type of spellcaster that branched off from conjuration. The most advanced summoners could even summon animal lords to aid in battle.
Moreover, the conflicts in the Abyss, and the Pantheon's crusade against divine-like beings in lower planes, forced many demons and devils to flee to other outer planes, bringing various effects—good and bad—there. This resulted in numerous stories of glory, betrayal, and death.
In summary, although the planes are independent, they are interconnected and influence each other. Significant changes in any outer plane have varying degrees of impact on the Great Ring Multiverse, clearly demonstrating that planes are the constituent units of the multiverse.
A gentle breeze swept through the Forest of Dawn. At the same time, none of the countless creatures living there, including the animal lords, noticed a pair of platinum Time Dragon eyes opening silently in the river of time surrounding the forest.
The macro form of the Time Dragon appeared in the river of time in the Forest of Dawn. Garon's wings extended infinitely, almost silently enveloping the entire Forest of Dawn, vast and majestic. His platinum dragon eyes reflected everything in the forest, including the situation in the lower layer, the Forest of Night.
Every plant, stone, and tree, the beasts hiding in the bushes, the babbling streams, the bored animal lords, and the towering mountains—all scenes happening in the river of time were reflected in Garon's eyes.
Including the white-feathered griffin perched atop a towering peak.
The white-feathered griffin quietly basked in the sunlight of the Forest of Dawn. It had the head of an eagle, the body of a lion, a pair of broad wings, and black-and-white fur and feathers. Its wing edges were adorned with a ring of snow-white, razor-sharp feathers.
White-feathered griffins are fierce magical beasts under normal circumstances. However, the griffin noticed by Garon was evidently not an ordinary one. There were no other beasts around it, not even animal lords. Within a billion-kilometer radius centered on the griffin's peak, there were no animal lords, despite the area's lush and abundant resources.
This 'white-feathered griffin' exuded an aura of quasi-divine power.
"Beast Lord," Garon murmured, gazing at the griffin.
The Beast Lord can transform into any beast, adopting different forms daily.
At this moment, the Beast Lord, as the plane's ruler, sensed the foreign observer.
The white-feathered griffin opened its eyes and raised its head. Its sharp gaze, like a sword, pierced through the illusory river of time, locking onto the hidden Time Dragon.
The griffin flapped its wings, its modest size resembling any other beast, and stood vigilantly.
It made an unusual sound, a mix of an eagle's cry and a lion's roar.
"Beast Lord, I come to negotiate," Garon projected a mental wave devoid of malice.
"Temporarily relinquish your position as the plane's ruler and hand over the plane's armament. Let me rule the Beastland for a while."
"When I have mastered the river of time in the Beastland, I will return the position to you."
"In return, I will help you recreate a Radiant Forest."
Once he mastered the river of time, Garon could do anything within his domain. Creating a new Radiant Forest wouldn't be too difficult, and forming a rudimentary framework for the Beast Lord to develop further would be even simpler.
As he spoke, the colossal silver dragon emerged from the river of time, hovering high above the Forest of Dawn, causing numerous beasts to panic and tremble in fear.
However, Garon had overestimated the Beast Lord's wisdom. Due to the immature state of the Beastland's will, it was less developed than the early Hero Domain. The Beast Lord, a creation of the Beastland's primal instincts to defend itself, couldn't communicate properly during the dragon and giant war. Now, with the Beastland's will further wounded by the Radiant Forest's destruction, communication was even more difficult.
Faced with Garon's proposal, the 'white-feathered griffin' stared intently at the Time Dragon.
With a sharp cry, the rules of the Beastland began to resonate, enhancing the Beast Lord and attempting to suppress the silver dragon—though the plane's suppression was completely negated by Garon's time god abilities.
The griffin, flapping its wings, soared into the sky, growing rapidly into a colossal beast that blocked out the sun.
The griffin's wing slashed through the air like a blade aiming for the silver dragon.
Garon's eyes narrowed. He raised his time-marked wings to meet the griffin's strike head-on.
A thunderous clash resounded, sending shockwaves in all directions. Ancient towering trees were uprooted, mountains shattered into endless debris, and rivers were lifted into the sky. The Forest of Dawn, tranquil for centuries, was thrown into chaos.
The dragon's wing and the griffin's feathered wing collided. The white feathers on the wing edge gleamed with a sharp light.
The feathered wing cut through the barrier of time, leaving a mark on the dragon's wing that couldn't be considered an injury.
In the griffin's eyes, Garon saw pure wildness and deep hostility.
"After the dragon and giant war, the Beast Lord became extremely hostile towards dragons and giants," Garon thought silently.
"How can I communicate with the Beastland's will?"
The griffin let out another sharp cry. It darted around the silver dragon like a black-and-white lightning bolt, its wings cutting relentlessly.
The griffin's greatest strengths were its wings and speed. The Beast Lord, in griffin form, had elevated these traits to quasi-divine power, able to easily tear through the material world. But against the dragon's scales, it wasn't as effective.
The griffin's wings left scratches but couldn't penetrate the scales beneath.
"Enough!" the silver dragon said calmly.
Instantly, a ripple of slowed time enveloped the 'black-and-white lightning,' trapping it in the time-stopping domain, slowing its movements.
With a powerful swing, the dragon deflected the griffin's wing and grabbed its neck with the other hand.
The griffin struggled, its claws tearing at the dragon's chest to no avail.
The dragon remained unfazed, feeling the griffin's weak attacks. He sealed the surrounding space-time and tightened his grip.
Suddenly, the griffin's feathers retracted, its massive body compressed, and it grew transparent insect wings and a carapace, transforming into a tiny cicada.
The cicada slipped away from the dragon's grasp, morphing into a towering bear with a muscular, hairy, clawed body.
"Interesting, this Beast Lord is like an ultimate druid, somewhat similar to the Faceless King but also entirely different," Garon thought.
He clenched his dragon claw into a fist, clashing with the bear's paw.
The dragon's immense power overwhelmed the bear, pushing it back. The bear's skin and bones began to crack under the strain.
The bear then transformed, its fur retracting, and its rough skin became smooth and slimy. It turned into a slug-like creature.
The slug's slimy texture dispersed the dragon's power. The Beast Lord continuously transformed, taking various beast forms, each with magnified abilities, to battle the silver dragon.
A white tiger with an earth-shattering roar. A fox adept in illusions. A crocodile with formidable defense. It even transformed into a dragon beast with a true dragon's physique.
The Beast Lord seemed capable of transforming into any beast in the multiverse, amplifying their abilities to quasi-divine levels.
However, no matter how the Beast Lord changed, the silver dragon remained composed, neutral
izing all attacks and putting the Beast Lord in peril multiple times. Only the Beast Lord's unique abilities and the Beastland's enhancements allowed it to persist.
A golden leopard-like Beast Lord narrowly avoided the dragon's tail sweep.
Pulling back, it transformed into a venomous snake with black-and-green scales, ready to spit deadly venom.
But the silver dragon suddenly vanished from the Beast Lord's sight.
A massive shadow loomed over the snake. An eagle with steel talons and platinum eyes.
With a click, the eagle's talons pierced the snake's scales, flesh, and spine.
One ability of the time god was to use abilities recorded in the river of time. The stronger the user and the weaker the opponent, the more effectively the ability could be used, sometimes even surpassing the original.
After a while of battling, Garon decided to use the Beast Lord's own abilities against it.
The snake convulsed as if electrocuted. It retracted its scales and turned into an iron wireworm, wriggling up the eagle's talons.
The eagle transformed into a small fire mouse with a flaming tail.
The fire mouse spewed flames, enveloping the wireworm. The wireworm twisted in the fire, transforming into an ice-blue cat that extinguished the flames with its icy presence. The cat lunged at the fire mouse, which then turned into a two-headed dog. The dog intercepted the cat, biting its neck and waist.
After a while of such transformations and battles, the Beast Lord let out a deafening roar.
It grew larger and larger, becoming an amalgamation of various beast features.
"Getting desperate," the silver dragon thought, reverting to its original form and watching the Beast Lord's monstrous transformation.
Though fierce, this form had many weaknesses.
The silver dragon's eyes focused on a weak spot within the Beast Lord.
Time Sequence Burst!
A vast amount of flesh evaporated, leaving no trace.
Simultaneously, time crystals emerged from the dragon's wrist, rotating slowly, piercing through the Beast Lord's body.
The silver dragon spread its wings and descended, enveloping the Beast Lord in its shadow.
After a while, amid the rain of feathers, scales, claws, and flesh, the silver dragon held a bloody flag in satisfaction.
Having destroyed the Beast Lord's monstrous form, Garon found it.
The flag moved without wind, its patterns constantly changing into various beasts, accompanied by their roars.
"The Beast Lord, this plane king, was actually the plane's armament," Garon realized.
This was similar to the Hero Domain, where the Hero King was the Hero's Crown.
"The Beastland's armament... I'll call you the Beast Flag."
Garon named the mystical flag.
"If that's the case, might the Singularity of Mechanus and the Archon of Celestia also be plane armaments?"
"Not necessarily. Mechanus and Celestia are stronger than the original Hero Domain and peak Beastland. They likely don't need plane armaments to form a plane king."
"I now have three plane armaments: the Hero's Crown, the Star Scepter, and the Beast Flag. Each is far superior to ordinary artifacts, especially within their planes, where they possess limitless power."
"I wonder what the other plane armaments are."
As a collector dragon, Garon felt an urge to gather all the plane armaments.
Using them was secondary; the main goal was to complete the collection.
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