South Pole Region, Sakura Country, Chidori County.

On the southern gate's city wall, waves of cheers rose higher and higher.

The Lord of Chidori County stood on the wall, holding a crimson staff, the flame crystal at its tip still emitting faint smoke.

He watched the Yellow Turban Army slowly retreat, their yellow headbands gradually shrinking under the blood moon, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

A double Nightmare Tide, five thousand Yellow Turban Army, and two Rare Bosses—he had held them off.

A level twenty-nine Fire Mage with a second promotion, four level twenty-nine subordinates, plus /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the magical resources gathered from the Crying Rift Valley and equipment dropped by high-level monsters over the years in Chidori County—he had the confidence.

Chidori County had always been ranked first among the Sakura Country's county-level territories.

It wasn't by luck, but by strength.

The Crying Rift Valley was right on his territory; how much equipment and how many rare materials did those magical resources and high-level monsters contribute to him every year? Lords from other places could only look on with envy.

The soldiers below the wall had already begun cleaning up the battlefield.

Some were collecting weapons, some were moving corpses, and some were extinguishing the still-burning catapults.

Several soldiers pushed a captured battering ram, laughing and joking as they headed into the city, as if showing off their spoils of war.

Standing on the city wall, the Lord of Chidori County gazed at the receding Yellow Turban Army in the distance, and another thought suddenly popped into his mind.

He wondered how many territories in Sakura Country would be destroyed tonight.

Not to mention those at the village or town-level; at the county-level alone, at least a dozen or so would surely be wiped out.

He thought of the county-level lords he didn't get along with, and the smile on his face deepened.

It would be best if they were all wiped out, saving him the trouble of dealing with them in the future.

Just as he was thinking this, a horn blast suddenly sounded from the southern horizon.

It wasn't the horn of the Yellow Turban Army. Their horns were made of ox horn, sounding low and muffled, like an old ox gasping for breath.

This horn blast was made of beast bone, sounding sharp and piercing, like something screeching.

The Lord of Chidori County frowned and turned toward the south. In the distant darkness, something was moving.

Not one person, not a group of people, but a vast expanse.

A blurry, black, tide-like mass was surging forward. It grew closer and clearer.

At the very front was a figure riding a giant direwolf, which was several times larger than an ordinary direwolf.

Fangs like daggers protruded from its mouth, and its eyes were blood-red, glinting coldly under the moonlight.

An orc sat on the wolf's back, nearly two meters tall with thick green skin, wearing heavy black iron armor and wielding a massive double-edged battle-axe.

He wore an iron helmet with a black feather stuck in the top, fluttering fiercely in the wind.

【Orc Warlord · Urga (Rare)】

【Level: 35】

【Affiliation: Cangshi Clan】

Behind Urga were five Mammoth War Elephants.

Each was over ten meters tall, draped in heavy iron armor, with barbed iron blades tied to their tusks, glinting coldly under the blood moon.

A wooden arrow tower was mounted on each of their backs, where the figures of Troll Archers could be faintly seen, their giant bows positioned at the tower's firing slits, arrows like spears.

Further back were five hundred Direwolf Cavalry.

The sound of the direwolves' footsteps was as dense as a drumbeat, and the riders' scimitars were unsheathed, glinting coldly in the moonlight.

Five hundred Orc Archers followed behind the cavalry, their longbows fully drawn, arrows pointed at the walls of Chidori County.

At the very back were four thousand Orc Infantry, carrying iron axes and maces, their steps heavy, making the earth tremble.

The Lord of Chidori County stood in place, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his staff.

He watched the approaching black tide, his mouth hanging open, unable to utter a single word.

His mind went blank, as if he had been struck by a hammer, and he couldn't think of anything.

His four level twenty-nine subordinates stood beside him, equally stunned.

On the city wall, the soldiers cleaning the battlefield stopped their work and stared blankly toward the south.

Someone's weapon fell to the ground, someone's legs gave way as they sat on the battlements, and someone covered their mouth, their eyes filled with terror.

No one ran. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but they couldn't!

The five thousand Yellow Turban Army had just retreated; the city gates hadn't been repaired yet, and the arrows hadn't been replenished.

The soldiers were covered in wounds, their mana was exhausted, and they could barely even stand.

At such a time, an Orc Army even stronger than the Yellow Turban Army had arrived—how could they fight?

The Orc Army did not stop. Urga rode his giant direwolf at the very front.

He didn't even spare a glance at the walls of Chidori County, simply raising his battle-axe and pointing forward.

Five hundred Direwolf Cavalry charged first, scimitars held high, their war cries shaking the heavens.

Five hundred Orc Archers fired in unison, arrows raining down like a swarm of locusts, blotting out the sky.

Five Mammoth War Elephants began their heavy strides, crushing toward the city wall, each step making the earth tremble.

The Lord of Chidori County finally moved.

He raised his staff, and a wall of fire rose below the city wall, engulfing the Direwolf Cavalry at the front.

But the fire wall only burned for a minute before it was extinguished.

...

An hour later, there were no living people left in Chidori County.

The walls had collapsed, the gates were shattered, and corpses lay everywhere in the streets.

Corpses of soldiers, corpses of civilians, corpses of the elderly, women, and children.

The Lord of Chidori County lay in the ruins of the Lords Mansion, his staff broken in two, the flame crystal shattered on the ground.

His four level twenty-nine subordinates lay beside him; some had their chests split open by battle-axes, some were crushed into pulp by Mammoth War Elephants, and some were turned into pincushions by arrows.

Urga stood on the ruins of the Lords Mansion, his giant direwolf crouching beside him, licking human blood from its claws.

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the collapsed houses, burning streets, and mountains of corpses, his expression blank.

"Priest," he spoke, his voice low, like stones rolling down a hillside.

An orc wearing a black robe stepped out from the back of the ranks, leaning on a bone staff with a dark red gem embedded in its head.

He walked up to Urga and bowed slightly.

"Begin building the sacrificial altar," Urga said. "To welcome the Prophet and the other lords."

The Priest looked up, revealing a wrinkled green face.

His eyes were pure black, without whites, deep and bottomless.

"Yes," his voice was hoarse, like the wind blowing through dry leaves.

The Priest turned and waved to the orcs behind him.

Dozens of orcs carrying wood and stone stepped out and began building the sacrificial altar in the open space in front of the Lords Mansion.

Their movements were practiced, as if they had done this many times before. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The base of the altar was quickly constructed, built up layer by layer, getting higher and wider.

Urga stood on the ruins, watching the altar being built, a slow grin spreading across his face.

Under the blood moon, the flag of the Cangshi Clan fluttered over the ruins of Chidori County.