Chapter 1052: Hitting the Jackpot

As Tangere, Clymene, and Gustalon stood there, deep in thought, Orion’s voice echoed in their minds.

"The Black Tower is ours. Split your forces into four groups. Using the tower as your center point, cleanse this land of all remaining demonic monsters."

The three commanders were stunned for a moment, then they all acknowledged the command.

"As you command!"

"As you command!"

"As you command!"

.....

The Black Tower, Fifth Floor.

Orion and the Deathly Soul-Reaper stood amidst the wreckage. Nearby, the will projections of Arthas and Alexander surveyed the chamber. The demigod from the Cult of Four was gone, annihilated by their combined power.

"It’s definitely a Cult of Four Black Tower," Alexander said, his eyes scanning the architecture with intense curiosity. "Hulk, you’ve really hit the jackpot this time."

"I damaged it pretty badly," Orion noted. "Can it be repaired?" Taking possession of a massive, unique structure like this was an opportunity he didn’t want to waste.

"I’ve already erased the tower’s primary teleportation runes," Arthas stated, ever the cautious strategist. "The Cult can no longer use this tower as a node to send reinforcements. And just in case they have a backup method, I’ve also placed a ward in the surrounding area to block all incoming teleportation."

Orion shot him a grateful look. He was thoroughly impressed by the capabilities of his two brothers.

"So," Alexander began, "no sign of the clown or the Witch, then?" He had arrived late, after Orion had already dealt with Yilaya’s avatar.

"It was the Witch," Arthas corrected him. "Orion killed her avatar. She recognized me, which means Hulk’s identity is blown as well." His tone was heavy. If not for the demigod’s sudden arrival, he would have preferred to remain hidden. His appearance had inadvertently exposed Orion.

"Damn, you’re something else," Alexander said, turning to Orion with a complex look in his eyes. "Killed the Witch twice in a row. You’d better watch your back from now on. She holds a grudge like no other. Pissing off a woman with that much jealousy is asking for trouble."

Alexander had entered the Champions Alliance in the same cohort as the Witch; he knew her better than most. He could only imagine her, hiding in some dark corner of the universe, shrieking in hysterical rage after losing two avatars to the same person.

"I’ve never been one to worry about future enemies," Orion said, his voice firm. "If the clown and the Witch come for me, I’ll try to kill them. For your sakes alone, I will always stand against them."

Hearing this, Arthas and Alexander fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

After a long pause, Orion broke the silence, his eagerness showing. "So, my brothers... how do I go about repairing my new trophy?"

"For now, leave most of the internal runes and formations as they are," Arthas advised. "Wait until the Deputy Commander is out of his recuperation and have him take a look. You are not a demigod; many of these systems operate at their level of power. At the very least, you must purge everything that belongs to the Cult of Four. Otherwise, it will be extremely dangerous."

"And before you do anything else, start gathering materials," Alexander added. "You’ll need a massive amount to reconstruct the tower’s defensive shield and its teleportation array. Also, that demonic monster conversion formation at the base of the tower... if you don’t want the Cult to use it against you someday, you’ll need to modify it."

"I’d recommend converting it into a formation for creating Skeletal Knights," Arthas suggested. "With this tower, you won’t need to go to the trouble of establishing graveyards in this realm. You can transform this place into something like my undead tower."

At this, Orion’s eyes lit up. He had long been envious of Arthas’s undead tower and Leonidas’s Palace. The idea of having his own mobile fortress, a base of operations he could relocate at will, was a dream come true. If the conversion was successful, the stoneheart horde’s offensive capabilities would jump two tiers overnight.

"Alright," Alexander said, walking to a shattered window and gazing south. "Since we’ve run into those bastards from the Cult of Four here in the Silverwood Realm, let’s talk strategy." It was clear to him that the Cult wasn’t just here for a small piece of territory; they were aiming to conquer the entire world. As their sworn enemies, the Champions Alliance had no choice but to intervene.

"For now, we consolidate our hold on the Forest of Nature," Arthas said cautiously. "As for our next move, we wait for the Deputy Commander and Leonidas to awaken. We’ll see what they think. To invade an entire world, the Cult will have committed several demigods. Just the two of us won’t be enough."

"Fair enough," Alexander agreed. "I’ll need to gather more intelligence on this world anyway. Hulk, don’t forget to save a spot for my Blade Hall when you’re setting up shop."

"I’m out," he declared. His will projection dissolved, shooting out of the Black Tower and vanishing into the distant sky.

"Once I’m done in the Godforsaken Land, I’ll send more troops over," Arthas said. His phantom then dissipated, returning to the small skull Orion carried.

Orion looked down at the dormant demonic monsters and Black Tower guardians in the tower’s lower levels, his gaze deep and calculating.

.....

Godforsaken Land, outside the sand scorpions’ Nest.

The Hell-Drake Hound, Dirtclaw, lay sprawled on the ground, letting out an enormous, bored yawn.

"The battle’s over, right? Why haven’t we gone home yet?"

In truth, he probably knew the answer. But standing guard here was just so, so boring.

"The mighty one’s rendering is not yet complete," Soraya’s voice echoed from within the Nest. "Until they leave, we cannot. Besides, the demigod who escaped might return. We are auxiliaries to the undead armies; we can’t just abandon them. Orion can leave. We cannot." She, at least, was content. Though her small scorpions had suffered heavy losses, she was happily incubating a new generation within the Nest.

"My lady," Dirtclaw called out without turning his head, his senses still sharp despite his endless yawning. "I was wondering... could I request some of your sand scorpions as companions for my sons?"

The best and most common mounts in the stoneheart horde were the cave spiders, the small scorpions, and the icefield snow wolves. They were numerous and easily replaced. Dirtclaw had already secured plenty of the other two for his pups. Now, he was hoping to give them another option.