Chapter 704: Wings of Flame

Emerald Dream Realm, Gloomwood Forest.

Darkness lurked deep within the dense woods.

The arrival of the cave spiders cast an even deeper hush over the silent forest.

From time to time, a light breeze rustled the leaves; the sound, like whispering, broke the silence only to deepen the hair-raising, sinister atmosphere.

Dark silhouettes flitting through the trees made the forest increasingly grim and terrifying.

Awooo!

Suddenly, a beast’s roar echoed through the forest—the sound of a dark fiend.

The dark fiend was pitch black, its hide deflecting most of the force from ordinary attacks.

Due to the special structure of their hides, these monsters were essentially immune to physical attacks.

However, these dark fiends took double damage from magical attacks.

“Dirtclaw is the greatest, strongest, most handsome gnoll warrior!”

“Revel in my hellfire! I shall burn away all sin and extinguish the hopes of these dark creatures.”

“This shall be the place of your damnation!”

Dirtclaw, transformed into a Hellhound, thrust a paw into the body of the dark fiend beneath him and pulled out an Alpha-level dark source crystal.

The dark fiend had already succumbed to the hellfire.

The shriek moments ago had come from this dark fiend as Dirtclaw killed it.

It was like a signal; beast roars began to echo one after another throughout Gloomwood Forest.

“Bro Fergus, how was my declaration just now? Did it have that touch of the sacred? That ‘revered by thousands’ vibe?”

Dirtclaw tilted his head, asking Fergus, the giant-blooded warrior beside him.

Fergus rode an abyssal dragon, his aura formidable, his entire being radiating a potent force of blood and vitality.

This inability to fully retract his aura indicated that Fergus had achieved a new breakthrough in his cultivation.

Just in the past two days, Fergus had broken through to Alpha-level.

“Elder Dirtclaw, your mighty strength is already revered by thousands.”

“Hahaha… Bro Fergus, you sure know how to flatter.”

Dirtclaw stayed close to Fergus, who had just advanced to Alpha-level, partly to foster their bond and partly to protect him.

Protecting Fergus was not a task given to Dirtclaw by Orion, but by Delilah.

Fergus was a genius of the Blackrock Giant clan.

The more geniuses the Blackrock Giants produced, the more stable their clan’s position within the Stoneheart Horde became, which would indirectly further consolidate the succubus race’s status.

Of course, this also included the gnoll race.

Some advantages had to be built incrementally, through small deeds. When it came to matters concerning his own interests and the status of his gnoll race, Dirtclaw was very patient.

Aside from the recently born Pallas, Fergus and Tarn also held Orion’s attention; this was a widely acknowledged fact within the Stoneheart Horde.

With every distribution of supplies, the ever-efficient Lilith would personally review the allocations, specifically granting the giant clans extra preferential treatment.

In Lilith’s view, such matters could not be treated carelessly.

Awoooo!

Dirtclaw let out a roar, his mood excellent, hellfire blazing around his body. He cut an incredibly valiant and dashing figure.

“There’ll be non-stop battles up ahead. This is our chance to rack up achievements and boost our strength.”

“Bro Fergus, stick with your friend Dirtclaw. Let’s get your abyssal dragon to Alpha-level ASAP.”

Dirtclaw’s words made Fergus’s heart burn with an intense fire.

Alpha-level—that would be the second abyssal dragon of that rank, after Orion’s.

Such an honor was something Fergus craved immensely.

This was a path filled with glory, for it was a road Orion himself had walked.

“My fighting spirit still burns! I cannot be blinded by pride! My road ahead is still long.” Fergus clenched his fist. “I can definitely do it!”

Roar!

The abyssal dragon let out a deep growl, a sound like rolling thunder that penetrated Gloomwood Forest, as if echoing its master’s declaration to the world.

“Awoooo, Bro Fergus, keep up! I’m about to take off!”

“I will guard your back, Elder Dirtclaw.”

The invasion had begun, and with it, the slaughter.

Slaughter was inevitable, as Orion and Leonidas needed to continually expand their forces.

High in the sky, Leonidas flapped his leathery wings and called out to Orion.

“Bro, get on my back! The wyvern you’re on is too slow!”

“That Legendary-level dark creature sensed us. The bugger’s trying to bolt.”

Despite being only an avatar, Leonidas’s perception range was still much wider than Orion’s.

Leonidas could sense threats far sooner than Orion.

It had to be said, the gap between an Arch Lord and a Legendary-level entity was truly immense.

With a crackle of electricity, Orion didn’t stand on ceremony and instantly appeared on Leonidas’s back.

“Hahaha… Well? How’s this for a special experience?”

“My avatar might not compare to a colossal dragon, but it’s still a fire dragon of excellent lineage. Feels pretty damn good, doesn’t it?”

Honestly, Orion didn’t feel much of anything.

The main reason was that he was on Leonidas, someone he deeply respected.

In Orion’s heart, he didn’t dare to think of him as a mere mount.

Besides, even if he did feel something, only an idiot would say so at a time like this.

If it were to be mentioned, it should be when their friendship had deepened, brought up as an amusing anecdote.

“Bro, is that Legendary-level dark fiend at peak Legendary?”

It wasn’t surprising Orion asked; the truth was, he hadn’t even sensed this dark fiend lord before it chose to flee.

“Could the dark fiend lord’s perception be stronger than mine?”

This was Orion’s doubt, and he also began to question the dark fiend lord’s actual strength.

“Awooo… Peak Legendary? That fellow is far from it. Judging by its aura, it’s an upper-tier Legendary at best.”

“The critter probably has some special way of sensing us and bolted because it knew it was outmatched.”

Hearing this, Orion squinted at the path ahead and said nothing.

In such a situation, choosing to escape was indeed the most sensible course of action.

When facing two opponents stronger than oneself, if one lacked the resolve for a fight to the death, abandoning one’s lair, fleeing with some of one’s kin, and finding allies to stage a comeback was the wisest move.

“Bro, can we make it? Can we catch up?”

“Bro, don’t underestimate me. It won’t get away.”

As Leonidas finished speaking, his dragon mouth opened slightly, and a low draconic incantation emerged. The surrounding fire elements immediately flared with greater intensity.

A moment later, a pair of enormous flame wings erupted from the fire dragon’s ribs. With a single flap of these fiery wings, Leonidas’s speed surged, increasing by two whole tiers.

“Haha, these are the Wings of Flame!”

“Ever seen ’em? My own draconic magic—pretty badass, huh?”

A howling gale rushed past Orion’s face, faintly carrying Leonidas’s proud and flamboyant laughter through the wind.