Chapter 977: Operation Overworld

The wind died.

The waves subsided, the churning vortex vanished, and even the dragon’s agonized cries faded into silence.

In the end, the massive octopus, the Kraken, had won a decisive and brutal victory.

The Bronze Dragon went from thrashing in torment to lifeless in a matter of seconds. Before Orion’s eyes, its magnificent scales shriveled and flaked away like old parchment. The muscle on its claws and wings atrophied, seemingly sucked back into its core as its entire body began to dissolve. Its huge, crystalline eyes went dull, vacant, their focus lost to the eternal dark of the deep.

The Kraken’s tentacles slowly relaxed their death grip as it began to savor its prize. An eerie, malevolent aura pulsed from its black form as it shifted its tentacles, plunging thousands of siphon-like suckers into the dragon’s corpse and beginning to feed.

Orion watched in silence as the Kraken siphoned a black, viscous fluid from the dead dragon. A few minutes later, the Bronze Dragon’s remaining frame suddenly collapsed, dissolving into countless fragments that drifted down into the abyss.

Only then did the Kraken’s immense body begin to shrink, finally reducing itself to a palm-sized octopus that zipped through the water and landed softly on Orion’s shoulder.

“Can you still fight?” Orion asked, turning his head to look at the jet-black creature. The name ‘Kraken’ had just taken on a whole new meaning for him.

“Don’t worry,” the Kraken replied, letting out a satisfied burp. “Absorbing that big guy more than covered my losses. It’s a shame I couldn’t force out its body of faith, otherwise I would’ve erased it for good.”

“If you’re good to go, then we move.”

The ancient giant-horned whale flicked its tail, cresting a massive wave that propelled them forward, carrying Orion and the Kraken at high speed toward Dragonflame Island.

Dusk Continent, the city of Lorelia.

Having completed her mission to purge the heretics, Clymene led her undead armies back to the city’s Necropolis. The vast underground complex was something she had requested Orion build after her ascension to a lord. More than just a place to house the undead, the Necropolis could actively nurture them, even spawning low-level Bone Warriors and Skeletal Knights. It was much like Lorelia’s Nest, built deep within a subterranean cavern.

Orion and Clymene stood at the cavern’s entrance, watching the silent, disciplined columns of undead march into the darkness.

“My dear Clymene,” Orion began, his tone direct, forgoing any preamble. “Are you interested in expanding our borders?”

“Expanding our borders?” she asked, her head tilting slightly. “Is there a problem on the Dragonflame Island front?”

Orion shook his head. She’d misunderstood.

“No. An invasion of another world. I’ve acquired the coordinates.”

Clymene turned her empty eye sockets toward him. She looked at the man her little brother had become, a towering figure who now served as the pillar for their entire tribe—a body that shielded them all.

“When do we leave?”

Orion wasn’t surprised by her response. She didn’t ask why they were invading or what dangers they might face. She only asked when.

“You’ll have to wait. I can’t spearhead this until the war on Dragonflame Island is over.”

“Will we be invading with the allied forces?”

“Not at first. I expect they’ll join later. Initially, I need you and a few other allies to establish a beachhead. Set up a base camp for us.”

The ‘allied forces’ Clymene referred to were the members of the Champions Alliance. For the invasion of Aerin’s world, Orion needed to gauge the enemy’s strength first. Only then would he decide whether to call in his bros.

If the faction opposing the Wood Elves only had one or two demigod phantoms backing them, Orion felt he could take the whole world for himself. If it proved too much to swallow, then he’d call for backup and they’d split the prize.

“You want me to begin preparations now?”

“Yes. Time is a factor. As soon as I have an agreement with my allies, you’ll need to be ready to deploy.”

“I will have the armies restored to full strength immediately.”

Orion then gave his sister a brief rundown of the situation in Aerin’s world, so she would know what to expect. He had a specific reason for choosing Clymene’s forces as the vanguard: the plague.

No matter how well he prepared, an unknown contagion would almost certainly affect troops of flesh and blood. He wasn’t willing to risk his people, not even the spiderlings or the small scorpions. They might be cannon fodder, but they were fodder cultivated with countless resources.

The undead, however, were immune to most plagues. That was Clymene’s edge.

Titanion Realm, Stoneheart City.

After speaking with his sister, Orion focused his mind, sinking his consciousness into the Survivor’s Platform. He created a new private channel and pulled in Caesar, Tangere, and Aerin.

The ability to create channels was a function unlocked only after a survivor reached the arch lord level. The realization had startled him when he first learned of it. It meant that in the grain merchant channel Scarecrow had pulled him into, there was a hidden arch lord. The thought put him on edge, reinforcing his wariness of other survivors.

As if by coincidence, all three were online and accepted the invitation instantly.

[Private Channel: Operation Overworld]

Hulk: This is a private channel for this op. The four of us are the entire team for now.

Hulk: Before we start, let me lay down some ground rules. I’m leading this. If you can’t follow orders, you’re out. If you betray the team, I will hunt you down myself. No quarter.

He set the tone before anyone else could speak. It had to be clear. Follow the plan, and everyone wins.

Caesar: Big boss, whatever you say. We’re with you.

Caesar, ever the loyal subordinate, was the first to reply.

Aerin: I’ll do whatever it takes to survive.

Aerin knew her position. The primary objective of this mission was to save her and what was left of the Wood Elf race.

Tangere: I’m good.

Tangere hadn’t been able to resist the allure of a new world; he’d accepted Orion’s offer. But as he looked at the chat, a sense of unease settled over him. It was obvious the other two were already in Orion’s pocket.

He figured any objection he raised would be shot down immediately. He decided to keep his mouth shut and just see how things played out.