Chapter 37 - The Great Orc Invasion

News of the fall of the prolific, “Heavenly Steel Dragon,” Master Tasuman, traveled in the western continents. The whole Serdio Continent and the Superbia Continent had mixed feelings about the passing of the Sword Saint who had betrayed his own nation. Kazas and Arcadia, specifically, Emperor Doel and Empress Tiamat were not disappointed at the loss.

In the Serdio Continent, there are several Grandmasters and Archmages that serve Asmodel fon Doel. It is the same for Empress Tiamat as well, making the loss of someone like The Swordmaster to be significant, but, not a substantial one. However, what really surprised Tiamat was the fact that one of her “Judges” managed to escape to her in an injured state.

The job class, Judge, are guardians and sentinels of law and order. One of the more technical jobs, it is a once-in-a-generation type of talent. Though, the job class can be achieved through hard work and decades of experience in six job classes. The criteria may be one of the most difficult, but, the benefits outweigh the negatives. In effect, those who have attained the right to be called, “Your Honor,” are effectively commanders of any army.

In Arcadia, they are a special order of Royal Knights under Empress Tiamat’s Ministry of Law. The Empress of Conflagration introduced to the people of Arcadia a military court, the supreme enforcers of Arcadian Law. Each Judge wields extraordinary legal power in his or her own right over the military and in judicial matters.

Functioning as chief arbiters of Arcadian Law, they are also above the class of a Master, making them Grandmaster-level. Judges freely wield both physical and magical prowess to an extreme degree. Sometimes, they have duties such as guarding high-profile characters such as the likes of Royalty or Nobility. Most importantly, a Judge is sent on the most sensitive missions, usually for the sake of their country and liege lord.

With all that said, such an individual on the level of a Judge returned to Tiamat in a charred state.

“Atoru, what has become of you?!” Tiamat questioned her Judge. Several servants aided in keeping Judge Atoru from falling to the floor.

“I-I barely escaped. My Empress, there were more than we thought…” Those were the last words that the Judge said as he fell unconscious.

“M-My Empress,” a servant called out, “Look at the wounds of Sir Atoru!”

!?

“This is… Hellfire?” Not just that, someone was able to freely manipulate it?!

“Go and grab an Elixir. When he awakes, deploy him to where Viera’s disciple has gone to.”

“By your order, Your Grace,” acquiescing to the Empress’ command, the servant carried Lord Atoru and began their next move in the war.

For someone like Judge Atoru…?

Atoru is an extremely powerful and skilled archer that specializes in long-range, effectively making a longbow his favored weapon. Unlike most Judges equipped with full plate armor and are rarely seen without their helmets, Judge Atoru is bare-chested and has red hair. Atoru wears metal plate legs with an accommodating cape and a sleeve of armor with matching gloves. He is one of the elder Judges of Arcadia and a Grandmaster known as the Divine Archer.

He places above The Heaven’s Respected 10. Was there someone superior to him in archery?

Trying to deduce who could defeat one of her Judges upset Tiamat who took the loss of Master Tasuman and Gaspless as insignificant. But then, she thought. His last words were, ‘there were more than we thought…’

?!

Realizing the situation, Tiamat grasped that the enemy had more powerful players than they previously thought, “Get me information about the Omen Nation’s current power. Leave no stone unturned.”

A shadow that crept up appeared, it was another Judge who bodyguards the Empress at all times and is also a Spymaster, “By your will, Your Grace.”

There’s no need for me to step in. My 6 Grandmasters and Archamages that I’ve developed were made after the great war, Soul Campaign. No one other than the Bahamut State could compete with us!

In an arrogant state born from her inferiority complex toward her elder brothers, Quasar, Radian, Fomalhaut, and Bahamut, the Empress of Conflagration had ambitions to be acknowledged as one of the top beings on the planet.

I did, after all, manage to poison my elder brother, Quasar. With Radian being slain thousands of years ago, only Fomalhaut stands in my way of supreme dominance!

***

Soaring high in the skies, Quasar, known as “The Dragon,” is a giant Non-Elemental Dragon poisoned by Negative Energy and is now Dario’s familiar. Before his defeat to Azad and the 3 Demon Lord Slayers, Quasar was a legend of an immensely powerful non-elemental and elemental Dragon. He is one of the few remaining Ancient-level rank Dragons who has lived since the inception of the world.

Funnily enough, Azad and Quasar had a prior history before the events of Dario conquering the Tomb of Calamor. In fact, Quasar was the reason why Azad was weak enough to be Deluc’s undead. They had fought on the sands of Hollow World for a long time ending in Quasar’s victory, however, it was very circumstantial. At the time, Azad had already been weakened due to the Fairy Campaign and managed to escape Quasar’s breath attack by entering Deluc’s Dungeon. From then on, all of them would become to be the Sith Lord’s familiars.

As for now, Quasar had regained consciousness after being revived by the Sith Lord. Some time had passed after being overcome by Negative Energy made Quasar’s consciousness fall into limbo. The subconscious had taken over, or, in other words, the dark persona.

Quasar would be set for battle whenever he recovers his former power. Due to transforming one’s nature to the complete opposite, his level had been reduced. And, he aimed to be on the level where he could morph into a humanoid, at the very least.

BLAST! BLAST!

Spewing gold and grey flames made the monsters shiver in unimaginable pain. The burning sensation was otherworldly as the red sands of Hollow World began to look golden.

“At last, I have ascended,” said Quasar. After saying such words, the Gold Dragon morphed and a brilliant white light shined across the entire Hollow World.

CRACKLE!!! CRACKLE!!! CRACKLE!!!

Whirlwinds and lightning manifested throughout the Middle Continent, The Demonic Lands. Amidst the cause of such havoc, Quasar’s massive body transformed into a horned, humanoid standing 1.8 meters tall with dark skin and nicely combed blonde hair. Wearing a noble’s vestige clothing fit for a gentleman and a golden tail covered with metal plates and four long spikes at the end.

Looking below him, Quasar saw several figures looking from the sands of Hollow World. In his vision, the energies of such beings were bright enough to shine like a diamond. Descending, the appearances of Glenn Courtwell, Claudio Valeth, Emir Sarjace, Calavera, and Marquiss Bismark entered the stage. The one to shine the brightest was the Lord Apprentice, given, that the fact of becoming the Lord Vicegerent’s successor is synonymous with entering godhood.

“At long last,” Glenn removed his hood and the sun reflected his platinum hair, silver eyes, and glowing tattoo. “Erebus will soon face its demise.”

Understanding the situation at hand, Quasar inquired “The question is. Who is to fall first? I assume you have a plan, Lord Apprentice?”

Ending the scene with a sinister grin that made the devil shiver in fear, Glenn smirked, “Come, such things will be discussed in The Regalia.”

Hearing the artificial sounds of quantum technology, a perfect attraction lured their eyes. The Regalia had floated above where the party was standing and the docking hatch opened.

***

Glenn Courtwell and a party of people at the top of their class were seated around a high-end style table in a room crested with gold engravings. It was an ambiance fit for the elite of elites, those who are capable of ruling the world.

In a short briefing by Lord Vicegerent himself, this would be one of the few times when Jinn would make his appearance to his people. His successors hardly get to see their Master as well, in essence, being in his presence itself had the likelihood of attaining Enlightenment. The details were explained as such.

Glenn, Claudio Valeth, Quasar, Calavera, and Emir Sarjace are to conquer Radiant Kingdom, an ancient kingdom governed by humans. They function under a Monarchy system ruled by a royal family, but, in reality, it is a kingdom manipulated by a Silver Dragon. Unfortunately, news about the Omen Sect’s revival has come to light around the world at this point, and surprisingly, the Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, and Humans have banded together in anticipation of revenge.

“Doom Lord, Claudio Valeth,” said Lord Vicegerent. Claudio, looked at Jinn, “You are in charge as it is your home, is it not?”

“Indeed, Lord Vicegerent,” Claudio replied.

“My Apprentice and several others will also be with you for some time. Work together to achieve success. Veda will fill you in on the details.”

“By your will, Lord.”

Lord Vicegerent left the room and Glenn spoke, “Please speak your mind.”

“I have reigned as the Valeth Tower Master for ages, yet, when I came to know the truth of the true power of my country, I left in search of something,” Claudio displayed Negative Energy or Chaos Energy, one of the few beings capable of harnessing chaotic mana. “It was all for the sake of taking Radiant Kingdom from ‘his’ clutches.”

Quasar’s ears perked up, knowing that his words are required, “He has always enjoyed manipulating fate and destiny, now, he has multiple species in the palm of his hands. The question is. How will each puppet’s strings be cut?”

The Doom Lord clasped his hands, “Kuku, allying with Orcs is a harder task than one would think,” a window screen popped up detailing a video of the borders between Hollow World (The Demonic Lands), and Erebus (Eastern Continent). “The elites of the Orc species have decided to invade.”

The Orcs in the eastern continents come in many variants, however, what the video showed were High Orcs and Blood Orcs. Both are advanced evolution species, “Normally, you would never see these two work with each other.” Before turning to an undead species, Claudio Valeth would use to have an evil and diabolical laugh.

Chuckle.

“Kuku! We’ll intercept them before they reach us,” and that same laughter would be the same after his resurrection. Diving into the minor and major details of the plan, Claudio provided details on what they would be doing.

The main strike force consisted of Glenn, Claudio Valeth, Quasar, Emir Sarjace, Calavera, and Marquiss Bismark will face the Orcs numbering a half million at Fortress Graham, the eastern fort similar to Fortress Gaspless. Moreover, 3 Demon Lord Slayers including Gerald, Caesar, and Nocturne will serve as reinforcements.

Approximately, a little more than 100,000 undead was the size of the Day Army. Half of them were In Dario’s command and at least 20,000 were needed to sentinel the Omen Sect’s territory. The horde will continue to decrease as the criteria for higher-tier undead grows. As of right now, all of the undead do not level below Peak Realm. With all that said, there will be no undead horde to assist Claudio Valeth and the others.

“This mission is simple. We need to collect those souls and revive the ‘Undead Aristocracy’ from ancient times,” an evil smile reaching from ear to ear made the Doom Lord look conniving. “The foundation of the ‘Grand Necropolis’ will serve just that.”

***

Claudio Valeth was Radiant Kingdom’s first 7th Circled Archmage. Taken to Valeth Tower from a young age, the boy prospered to be the kingdom’s next shining generation. He was a powerful Mage and Necromancer that left his country, Radiant Kingdom, hundreds of years ago. Known to be a genius who developed the kingdom’s magical tower, Valeth Tower, and made his country shine on the map. It was only when he sought ascension to the 8th Circle was when he discovered the truth about the true ruler of his country. Knowing such a thing, he abandoned all he had built seeing how everything was for naught. The Silver Dragon was an existence far above his 7 Arcane Circles. At the very least, to fight an Ancient Dragon would require 9 Circle Rings. Therefore, the former Valeth Tower Master left his country in pursuit of his goals.

Traveling far west, Claudio Valeth set his sights on the red sands of Hollow World. It didn’t take long for him to see an exceedingly rare specimen, a Doom Lord, a being who could control the non-elemental, Chaos. He thought, at the time, raising such a being as his familiar was a risk he’d be willing to take. Who would have thought that becoming a Doom Lord himself would end up becoming the case?

I could end this myself. Thought Claudio Valeth. Even the Lord Apprentice could easily clean up that rabble much faster than I could. The Doom Lord was standing atop the palisade of Fortress Graham.

Give them a greeting. A telepathic message was sent from Glenn. By the context of the message, Glenn was trying to say to start the battle off with a bang. After receiving the message, Claudio Valeth relayed a message to the main strike force. Lord Vicegerent has placed restrictions on all of us. The bodies of the Orcs must stay intact.

Too much firepower that can disintegrate the body also loses the soul, therefore, no spell above 9th Class is a choice in the battle. This should serve as a kicker!!! Instantly knowing what spell he should discharge, it would be one in the 8th Class.

Arcane Spells: [Lightning Needle Shower Rain]

-Claudio Valeth's unique spell that traces his finger in the space creates a streak of light blue energy light that breaks into thousands of razor-sharp, needle-like glass.

-One of the few rare spells that inflict critical hits.

Rank: 8th-tier Proficiency: 125%

A shower that looked like shiny crystals coming toward the Orcs made it look like a bloody light show. Pretty, but, also gruesome, tens of thousands of Orcs were seen losing body parts and large holes piercing through them.

According to the physiology of the vast Orc species, specifically, High Orcs and Blood Orcs, are said to be highly resistant to magic. Too bad, Non-elemental magic works no matter what. In a series that looked like a slaughter fest, the rest of the main strike force displayed their skills on par with the spell, Lightning Needle Shower Rain.

Critical!

-45189

Overkill!

Critical!

-22344

Overkill!

Critical!

-32785

Overkill!

Critical!

-12526

Overkill!

Critical!

-56390

Overkill!

…

Many tens of thousands died from the extreme force of Claudio Valeth’s spell. And so, The Great Orc Invasion would be a battle that would be talked about in the world.