Chapter 743: That was a warning

The cruelty of the battlefield was heart-wrenching.

Pervasive smoke, the reek of blood, the ever-present shadow of death, shattered armor, fallen mounts... no one could escape the Grim Reaper’s gaze.

Perhaps in the next moment, a bloodline warrior, bravely felling foes, would be struck down by stray bolts, eventually becoming a pile of bones awaiting a necromancer’s call.

Despite this, the battle raged on.

A day earlier, just as Lorelia’s cave spiders were on the verge of being annihilated, Soraya and Clymene finally reached the battlefield.

"Leave the rest to me."

Soraya’s expression was grave as she took the undead scepter from Lorelia’s hand.

"You... you all... finally came. I’m so tired!"

The moment the undead scepter left her hand, Lorelia fainted.

Soraya reached out, catching Lorelia as she fell towards her.

Having just arrived on the battlefield, Soraya was unaware of the specific situation. She turned to Vexis, who was maintaining the summoning formation.

"Her spiritual energy is severely overdrawn. She needs a period of deep sleep."

This was the truth. Lorelia had held on until now not only by overdrawing her spiritual energy but also by depleting her stamina.

If not for the spiritual recovery potions Vexis occasionally sent her way, and the copious amounts of life essence Orion had provided, Lorelia would have long since died from exhaustion.

"How’s the war effort?"

Learning the details, Soraya felt relieved; she knew Orion valued Lorelia immensely.

To the Stoneheart Horde’s upper echelons, Lorelia was a treasure.

"It’s a good thing you arrived. Her million spiders are nearly all dead."

Upon hearing this, Soraya and Clymene were both shocked.

Had the battle reached such a desperate stalemate? Were the Stoneheart Horde’s losses truly this severe?

"The enemy is a coalition of two Archlord factions. It’s only because of their sacrifices that we’ve held out this long."

The "they" Vexis mentioned included not only the sacrificed spiders but also the Legendary powerhouses holding back the enemy in the lower sky and within the celestial dome’s black barrier.

At this, Vexis, Soraya, and Clymene all looked towards the terrifying hurricane.

Gustalon deserved prime credit for preventing the wholesale slaughter of their mid-to-low-tier forces.

"Prepare yourselves. I’m about to release the enemy."

Gustalon had sensed the arrival of Soraya and Clymene. Having used all his tricks, he too was reaching his limit.

Alerted by Gustalon, Vexis, Soraya, and Clymene focused their minds, ready for battle.

The hurricane that had swept across half the battlefield finally subsided. The Legendary powerhouses who had been tossed about within it reappeared in mid-air.

Not one of the enemy’s eight Legendary powerhouses had fallen; all were unscathed.

The Stoneheart Horde’s fighters, sensing the arrival of reinforcements, looked ready for a counterattack.

Rumbold, Vexis, Gustalon, Little Four, Little Five, the Aarakocra, the Wyvern King, Soraya, and Clymene—nine Legendary powerhouses now faced the enemy. Having shifted from a disadvantage to a slight advantage, their eyes gleamed with excitement.

Slay the enemy!

Kill these enemies, and the Lord’s Stones within their bodies would be their spoils of war—theirs for the taking.

This was the promise Orion and Leonidas had made to them before the battle, and one of the driving forces for their perseverance.

"My friends, now is the time to strike back!"

It was Rumbold who roared. As one of Arthas’s powerful lords, he had been incredibly frustrated and constrained since the war began, a feeling he detested.

Now, Rumbold would counterattack; he would turn the enemy into skeletons.

"Kill!"

Equally frustrated was Gustalon.

For the sake of the bigger picture, he had been forced to whip the wind elements into a massive hurricane.

This wasn’t Gustalon’s fighting style. Normally, when he assassinated enemies, it was clean, decisive, silent, and stealthy.

With a roar, Gustalon transformed into a whirlwind and charged out.

The battle, spearheaded by Gustalon, erupted once more.

...

Silence!

Neither Deputy Commander Edward nor the unknown entity had shown themselves or engaged in a major fight. The movements of demigod-level powers always seemed so hard to fathom.

After an unknown period of stillness, the auras of both Deputy Commander Edward and the unknown entity vanished.

Leonidas was the first to react, and he was laughing.

"Wahahaha... Did you see that?"

"Even the being behind you can’t save you! I told you so!"

Leonidas roared and bellowed, tightening his bonds on Archlord Lestat.

"Ah... no... impossible... You can’t kill me!"

"Please, I beg you, don’t kill me! I... I’m willing..."

Squelch!

The words Archlord Lestat was about to utter were cut short.

Orion, wielding his trident, launched an Instant Impact, interrupting Lestat and piercing his body.

Lestat was grievously wounded, but Orion stopped there, as this prey belonged to Leonidas.

Killing an Archlord(Arch Lord) could drop a survivor’s treasure chest. If Orion continued, he risked being accused of kill-stealing.

"Bro, much appreciated! Watch how I devour this damned Bloodreaver!"

"You sucked my blood, you ate my flesh! Now you’re going to give it all back to me—every last bit!"

Amidst a torrent of curses, Leonidas once again transformed into a pool of crimson molten iron, engulfing the severely injured Lestat.

Orion knew Leonidas intended to devour Lestat alive to vent his pent-up fury.

Lestat biting Leonidas’s neck and sucking his blood had thoroughly disgusted Leonidas earlier.

A quarter of an hour later, Leonidas re-condensed from the molten iron, his aura somewhat stronger.

"Bro, this avatar of yours is quite something!"

"Hahaha, naturally! Back in the day, you have no idea how much effort I poured into forging it."

Leonidas was very pleased. Devouring this Bloodreaver had enhanced the strength of his dragon avatar.

Although it couldn’t advance him to the rank of Archlord, a deeper foundation was always a plus.

"Bro, what’s next?"

"Will their true bodies descend?"

Orion voiced his doubts. He was certain of one thing: the fallen Lestat and Kian were merely avatars of two Archlords.

The best proof was that neither Lestat nor Kian had deployed a body of faith during this conflict.

"Heh, their true selves descend? They wouldn’t dare."

A look of disdain crossed Leonidas’s face, an air of utter indifference.

Seemingly noticing that Orion’s frown hadn’t eased, Leonidas explained.

"Bro, do you think Deputy Commander Edward appeared in the Emerald Dream Realm just to rescue us?"

"That was a warning!"

"A warning from the Deputy Commander to certain mighty beings. If they personally enter the fray, Edward will too."