Chapter 938: As Long as I Am Here

The clouds of battle parted. The explosive collisions ceased, and the churning waves of energy fell still.

Orion, Leonidas, and the spirit sword avatar gathered in the quiet emptiness of the sky. For a long moment, none of them spoke.

The fight had shaken them all. It had taken the combined might of three of the Champions Alliance’s top-tier arch lords just to bring down a single avatar of the Great Dragon King of Light, Mondusath.

That white dragon, they all knew, represented the absolute pinnacle of power at the arch lord stage. It was the ceiling.

“Son of a bitch,” Leonidas finally grumbled, his tone laced with cynical resentment. “Talk about an OP boss. If you didn’t have so many tricks up your sleeve, bro, our corpses would be decorating this battlefield right now.”

“There’s always another level,” Orion said, his gaze distant. “Did you ever imagine that a single arch lord could be that terrifying? I think that white dragon could have faced a demigod phantom without flinching.”

He turned to the others. “Let’s go back. The Deputy Commander and the others were surely watching. The fact that the dragon demigods didn’t intervene means there’s something else going on here, something we don’t know.”

To avoid provoking an all-out war between demigods, Orion, Leonidas, and Alexander turned and left the field, leaving their mid- and low-tier forces to continue the grinding war of attrition on the front lines.

Titanion Realm, deep within the dwarven Tribe territory.

War between lords was a brutal affair.

Initially, under Grand Duke William’s leadership, the four lords of the human kingdom had held their own against Torin’s five. But the tide turned in an instant when Torin tore two scrolls in half, summoning a pair of Legendary-level puppets out of thin air.

In the ensuing chaos, the two human earls were cut down.

The sudden reversal happened so fast that even the human kingdom’s Saint Noel, who was observing the battle, couldn’t react in time.

“Insolence!”

A wave of pure fury washed over Saint Noel. For two lords of the kingdom to be slain right under his nose was an unforgivable failure. But as his will projection descended upon the battlefield, he was met with an even greater shock.

A mysterious and unfamiliar will, one of immense domain power, rose from within the Avenger Armies to intercept him.

Saint Noel made several attempts to probe and question the entity, but received no response. The lines were drawn. This was a blood feud, with no room for negotiation.

“I will hold him! William, Theodore, fall back now!”

With that telepathic command, Saint Noel engaged the unknown will projection.

Down below, the moment they felt the presence of the enemy arch lord, any will to fight drained from William and Theodore. Without a shred of hesitation, they turned and fled.

“After them! Don’t let a single one escape!” Torin shrieked with manic laughter, black, demonic sigils writhing across his skin, twisting his features into a terrifying mask.

He had slain two lords with his own power. The intoxicating sensation of holding the power of life and death in his hands was a dizzying, addictive rush.

At the same time, with their own esteemed patron’s will now present on the field, Brokk of the Dark Dwarves, Gotte-Steel of the Gnomes, and the lords Orwar and Jin cast off all restraint, roaring as they gave chase to the fleeing Grand Duke and Prince.

News of the turning tide spread like wildfire through the armies clashing on the ground. The scouts from the various northern clans embedded within the Avenger Armies immediately disengaged from the fighting and raced back to deliver the report.

Stoneheart Citadel, the Stoneheart Horde.

Orion, of course, felt the ripples from the arch lord battle.

He opened his eyes, left the throne room, and walked out onto the eastern ramparts of the citadel. A few moments later, Lilith, having gotten the news, appeared at his side. She linked her arm through his, her face etched with worry.

“Is something wrong?”

Orion nodded, seeing no reason to hide it. “There are aftershocks of an arch lord battle coming from the dwarven Tribe’s territory to the east. I imagine the kingdom’s Saint has finally clashed with the power behind Torin.”

Lilith didn’t need to be a strategist to understand what that meant.

War had come. And it was likely to be a full-scale war between the north and the south.

“Do we need to prepare?”

Orion shook his head, pulling her close with his free arm. “I am here,” he said, his voice ringing with absolute confidence. “As long as the northern lords aren’t complete fools, they won’t drag the Stoneheart Horde into this.”

“My guess is the Northern Coalition will flood into the dwarven lands to link up with Torin’s Avenger Armies. It’s always smart to stand in the shadow of a giant. Even they understand that.”

His confidence was its own form of power.

“Of course,” he added with a thin smile, “if some shortsighted lord wants to deliver their Lord’s Stone to my doorstep, I certainly won’t object.”

“Send word to Aldous. Tell him to put our forces on alert, just in case. Have our standing armies mobilize and begin patrols along our northern borders.”

With Delilah away in Soaring Bird City, the logistics and administration of the horde fell to Lilith. She absorbed Orion’s intel and strategic analysis, knowing it was now up to her to set his commands in motion.

“Daddy! Mama!”

Just as they finished speaking, Elara sensed Orion’s presence and, in a flash of teleportation, appeared on his shoulders, clinging to his neck.

“Is it time?” Orion asked, reaching up to habitually ruffle her hair.

“Uh-huh! I can’t wait anymore!” Elara chirped.

Lately, Pallas had become the talk of Stoneheart Citadel after bonding with his black dragon, his status among the other Tribe younglings skyrocketing. As far as Elara was concerned, once she had her dragon, she was going to throw a party that would put Pallas’s to shame and cement her rightful place as the coolest kid in the Tribe.

“I need to take Elara to the Valkorath Realm,” Orion said, turning to Lilith. “Her dragon egg is about to hatch. We’ll be back in three days, max.”

Lilith nodded, a warm smile on her face as she watched the strange and loving pair.

Human Kingdom, Soaring Bird City.

The city was still mostly a ruin, but since the evil Abyssal energy had been cleansed, reconstruction had begun with the full support of the kingdom. The basic layout of the city remained, making the work proceed smoothly.

On the grounds of the former palace, a new, heavily armed fortress was being erected. Its style seemed to borrow heavily from Stoneheart Citadel’s design. It was clear Ava intended to turn this place into a bastion.

Delilah could understand the sentiment. No one wanted a repeat of what had happened to the old Soaring Bird City. Ava didn’t want to be caught helpless ever again.

“Your Excellency,” a voice called out, pulling Delilah from her thoughts. It was Ava. “Has there been word from the Stoneheart Horde?”