Chapter 683: An Unexpected "Ally"
Sure enough, Gruumsh wiped the golden divine blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered at Cassius, his lone eye gleaming with excitement: "Red Dragon, for a lowly mortal, you're not bad.
It's just a shame you crossed paths with a powerful, undefeatable god!"
Gruumsh advanced step by step, a storm of blood-red divine light erupting from his body. The immense pressure swept across the land, making all things tremble.
He slowly raised his hand. The battleaxe exuded a terrifying aura of destruction, his voice like thunder: "I'll show you—what true power really is!"
Cassius spread his wings, straining against the oppressive divine might. His eyes locked onto Gruumsh's avatar, watching his every move. Every muscle in his body tensed; he didn't dare relax or slip up.
This orc god's combat prowess was too refined, too experienced—he could predict nearly all of the Red Dragon's movements. Cassius had no choice but to go on the defensive, waiting for Gruumsh to reveal an opening and strike with lethal precision.
Gruumsh sneered at the Red Dragon's cautious stance, his face filled with confidence: "Soon you'll realize, before a true god, all resistance is futile!"
As he spoke, the orc's feet slammed into the ground, splitting it apart as dust and rubble flew. His black-armored body turned into a blur and appeared above Cassius's head at a speed too fast to follow.
"Swish—"
The battleaxe swung down, a slash of blood-red light ripping through the sky, aiming directly for the Red Dragon's head.
Luckily, Cassius had prepared. His tightly coiled muscles sprang to life as he leapt from the ground with force.
At the same time, the Red Dragon released a searing pillar of fire from his jaws, like a rocket engine propelling him upward.
"Boom!"
With the boost from the flame and his beating wings, Cassius's massive form soared dozens of meters into the sky in an instant.
Gruumsh's axe missed, but the blood-red slash was so fast it still sliced through Cassius's scales, leaving a gruesome wound several meters long across his chest.
A moment later, and his chest would have been cleaved open—his beating dragon heart split in two.
The ground, however, took the full blow, leaving a fissure dozens of meters long and roaring with echoes, as if wailing in agony.
The flame pillar slammed into Gruumsh's chest, but his thick breastplate blocked it, spewing sparks and fiery streams.
Gruumsh's armor, scarred and dull, looked like common battlefield gear—but it was in fact a powerful divine artifact, letting the orc god kill without restraint.
Normal fire breath couldn't even scratch Gruumsh, nor penetrate the blood-red divine barrier surrounding his armor.
Cassius gritted his teeth and summoned all his inner strength. His dragon crystal flared with sunlike brilliance, specks of dazzling light colliding within.
"Boom—"
Solar divinity and the fire of Order erupted from within. The flame pillar turned blinding silver-white, continually corroding and tearing away at Gruumsh's protective aura.
"In the end, you're still just a mortal! I'll make you see—just how vast the gulf is between us!"
Gruumsh didn't dodge. Instead, he laughed arrogantly and hurled his battleaxe with all his strength.
"Swish—"
The axe spun through the air, generating cyclonic winds and tearing at space as it flew rapidly toward Cassius from the side.
Every moment, the spinning axe shredded dozens of meters of space, releasing countless blood-red slashes—each one strong enough to cleave a legendary warrior in half. The storm of slashes could annihilate an entire army of transcendents.
Sensing the danger from below, Cassius made a split-second decision—he didn't dodge. Instead, he dove straight at the unarmed orc, the fire in his mouth blazing brighter.
The spinning axe passed him, but several blood-red slashes still struck his massive body.
In an instant, his golden wing membranes were torn. Bloody gashes appeared, leaving his wings tattered.
But Cassius didn't care. He roared furiously, continuing his unstoppable dive toward Gruumsh's avatar.
"Roar—"
"Come, Red Dragon. Show me what you've got!"
Gruumsh raised his head and sneered. Divine light gathered in his left hand, condensing a heavy, ancient shield that he raised before him.
The Red Dragon crashed down with blazing fire. His nearly sixty-meter frame struck like a falling mountain, shaking the world.
"Boom—"
The heavens cracked, the earth wailed!
The impact was like a meteor strike—collapsing the ground, launching rubble, and generating shockwaves that tore across the land in fiery gales.
A crater nearly a hundred meters wide and several meters deep formed. In its center, Gruumsh stood, his feet buried in stone, his shield shattered.
"Rooaar—" Cassius howled and seized the chance, slamming his massive claw down on Gruumsh, who was still in a guarding stance.
"Boom!"
Another crater formed. Gruumsh, unprotected, was smashed deep into the earth. Golden divine blood burst from his mouth, and his black armor cracked in multiple places.
This was the power of a full-force Red Dragon strike! His claw alone could outmatch most spells.
But the divine aura around Gruumsh rapidly healed his wounds, repairing the armor. Within a breath, most of his damage was gone.
"As expected of a greater divine avatar! That recovery speed is insane," Cassius thought, readying another strike—until he noticed a smile forming on Gruumsh's bloodied lips.
That smile made Cassius's heart pound—an overwhelming sense of danger flooded his mind.
Something's wrong!
Instantly, he beat his wings and shot upward, dispersing the dust around him.
A moment later, the battleaxe came whirling back at high speed.
"Swish—"
It tore through where Cassius had just stood, unleashing hundreds of blood slashes that nearly tore the space apart, before Gruumsh caught it again.
Gruumsh sighed, seemingly disappointed. The Red Dragon was too cautious—he hadn't taken the bait.
Cassius, in the air, felt a chill. If he'd struck again, just a bit greedier for a hit, that axe would've torn him to pieces.
Eyes locked on Gruumsh's avatar, Cassius cursed to himself: "This bastard is way too dangerous... one mistake and I'm dead."
The situation was clear now—Gruumsh fought without reservation, while Cassius had to stay on constant guard.
True, Cassius had a last resort to instantly flee back to the Empire and avoid death.
But if he retreated, the Empire's foothold in northern Faenso would fall to the orcs, and his own prestige would plummet.
Lose this rare opportunity, and he'd be stuck ruling the backwater North for eternity—a long-lived, local tyrant.
Wrapped in black mist, Gruumsh slowly rose again. In his right hand was the axe; in his left, a new bloodstained spear. He said confidently, "I told you—godly power is far beyond your comprehension.
Cassius, I'll give you one last chance—submit, and you'll be worshiped across the multiverse by billions of orcs. But..."
He grinned and added, "You'll appear beneath my statue—as my eternal mount."
To show sincerity, a divine contract materialized in the air, radiating tempting power. Signing it promised immortality and immense strength.
Gruumsh thought the Red Dragon had been thoroughly cowed, that he'd do anything to survive—and the offer was generous.
Give up dignity and become a subordinate god—many mortals would kill for the chance!
But Gruumsh didn't know—Cassius found the offer completely unappealing. He already had multiple paths to godhood.
"Screeech—"
Cassius slashed the air. Blazing claw-shaped forcefields shredded the divine contract without mercy.
From above, the Red Dragon glared down and sneered: "Old green-skin, did your followers die so horribly that you've gone insane?"
"Ingrate."
Gruumsh's gaze turned cold. Veins bulged on his forehead. His lone eye exploded with divine power, bloodlight engulfing a hundred miles.
He stepped forward. With each step, his body swelled, and his aura intensified.
Finally, a one-eyed orc nearly 100 meters tall stood on the earth—left hand with spear, right hand with axe, black armor gleaming, exuding ancient, barbaric terror.
The pressure of a greater god's full form slammed into Cassius, nearly dropping him from the sky. He struggled to stay aloft.
Only now had Gruumsh consumed his divine source to reveal his avatar's full form—the embodiment of war and conquest, an orc god willing to sacrifice all for victory.
Cassius beat his wings, struggling but unafraid. He sneered, "Old green-skin, you're burning your source just to kill me.
I bet your old enemies are attacking your divine realm, aren't they? You want to finish me off quickly. Am I right?"
"You want to die!"
Gruumsh roared, pointing the Blood Spear at the Red Dragon. Murderous intent locked onto him.
Cassius surged upward, trailing a blazing tail. In seconds, he broke through the divine field and soared to several kilometers high, gazing down at the orc below.
Though mocking aloud, Cassius stayed wary—this was still a greater god's avatar empowered by its source. One mistake could be fatal.
"Roar—"
The Red Dragon howled skyward. Flames from the Inner Planes and the sun wrapped around his body. In moments, Cassius's form grew to match Gruumsh's hundred-meter stature.
"Boom!"
Gruumsh stomped the ground again, collapsing the hill. Then he leapt thousands of meters, axe and spear in hand, soaring to meet Cassius.
The axe swept the sky with a world-splitting slash. The spear tore the heavens apart. The two artifacts boxed the Red Dragon in.
Cassius reacted instantly. Using his Elemental Mastery and Fire Plane Authority, he elementalized himself—sacrificing power to become a sea of flame pouring to the ground. He vanished into the blaze.
The axe cleaved the fire; the spear pierced it. A fifth of Cassius's fire authority was annihilated in an instant.
Escaping the pincer strike, the firestorm roared and reformed—reshaping into the massive Red Dragon body.
Cassius didn't hesitate. Wings drawn, body tucked, he dove like a meteor to the earth.
"Worm, you'll die horribly!" Gruumsh, full of fury, gave chase with axe and spear, bathed in blood-red light.
"Boom—"
Cassius crashed into the ground, shaking it violently. The earth had long been ravaged by their colossal clash.
Facing Gruumsh's seemingly unstoppable avatar, Cassius could've torn space and fled.
But he didn't. He looked skyward at the orc and felt a familiar aura. A sly glint flashed in his eyes.
He had expected this.
Cassius looked down and shouted, "You'd better think this through! If I fall, no one will stop the orcs from overrunning this land! I could abandon North Aether and return to Anzeta. In ten years, I could raise another Conqueror Army—but what about you?
Can the Elven Kingdom or the Dwarf Clans still hold off the orcs? Do you want to see Gruumsh rise in power as the beast tide ravages everything?"
His voice rang with passion. Clearly, this wasn't for Gruumsh—it was directed at someone hidden below.
"Does that Red Dragon have allies? No! He must not leave alive!"
Gruumsh's face twisted, rage burning in his eyes. He roared and charged, weapons wrapped in divine power.
"Boom!"
The ground split. Mountains shook. A stone dwarf wielding a heavy hammer and shield emerged, wrapped in earthy divine light that clashed with Gruumsh's bloody aura.
This unexpected "ally" was a dwarf deity—none other than the Silent Guardian, the God of Shield Dwarves, Dumathoin—who had fought Cassius just months ago!