With the first deserter, the second always follows.
The frontlines of the Orc Empire—once a wall of steel and roaring voices—crumbled like dry clay. Fear spread faster than fire in dry grass.
The rout began.
Soldiers who had been pushed to their limit, covered in the blood of their comrades, now screamed in despair. Their lines buckled, then collapsed.
"We lost! We lost!"
"They're all dead! All of them are dead! Humans are too terrifying—we can't win!"
A blood-drenched orc stumbled into the rear ranks, his face twisted with terror. Tears, snot, and blood mixed across his features as he shrieked like a madman.
Those who hadn't yet seen the carnage at the front—the ones still advancing with grim determination—stared in shock. Fear coiled in their bellies. If even their strongest warriors had been obliterated, what hope did they have?
---
Steel Descends
On the ridge above, Gavin Ward raised his hand. His calm voice cut through the chaos.
"Armored corps, advance."
Engines roared. Forty T-34 tanks rolled forward, steel titans rumbling down the hillside. Their tracks tore deep gouges in the earth, the metallic growl of their advance drowning out even the cries of the dying.
From the orc lines, soldiers froze. Their eyes widened, breath caught in their throats.
"What… what are those?!"
The sight of the tanks shook their hearts. The beasts of steel descended with unstoppable force, guns swiveling, machine guns bristling.
"Tat-tat-tat-tat!"
The MG42s mounted in the firing ports spat flame. Orcs dropped in heaps, mowed down like wheat before the scythe.
One soldier's scream pierced the chaos as a tank rolled straight over him, crushing his armor and bones alike. His death cry echoed, chilling all who heard it.
"Run! Run for your lives!"
Panic became a flood. The orc army—hundreds of thousands strong—began to unravel.
---
The Collapse of Order
What had been a disciplined legion moments ago turned into madness. Soldiers shoved each other aside in their scramble to escape. Banners fell, spears snapped underfoot, shields abandoned in the mud.
"Hell! This is hell itself!"
"I don't want to die—I want to go home!"
Men wept openly as they fled, their discipline gone. The rout spread like wildfire, consuming not just tens of thousands but hundreds of thousands.
The orc generals tried desperately to restore order.
"Hold the line! Rally to me!" one shouted, only for a shell to explode nearby, tearing him to pieces.
Others ran to Emperor Longdan Gol himself, faces pale.
"Your Majesty! The front is broken—we've lost!"
"Nonsense!" Longdan Gol's roar shook the air. His fangs bared in fury, he swung his massive battle-axe. In a single blow, he decapitated the messenger who dared speak of defeat. The head rolled at his feet, eyes still wide in terror.
"We have not lost! We still have three hundred thousand troops! Hold the line!" he bellowed.
But his denial meant nothing. Around him, deserters streamed past in waves, their panic unstoppable.
---
Abandoned
A general tugged at his arm. "Majesty, we must retreat! If we stay, we'll be destroyed!"
"No! We are not defeated! I will not flee before mere humans!" Longdan Gol snarled, his bloodshot eyes blazing.
But reality was undeniable. The tanks smashed through the orc ranks. The machine guns cut down anyone who lingered. Explosions rained ceaselessly, each blast shredding morale further.
Finally, one general broke.
"Forgive me, Majesty, but I refuse to die here!" He turned and ran.
Another followed. Then another. Soon, nearly all the orc generals scattered, abandoning their emperor to his fury. Only the royal guard—fanatically loyal and sworn to die at his side—remained.
"Traitors! All of you traitors!" Longdan Gol screamed, veins bulging on his forehead. He swung his axe wildly, killing more than a dozen fleeing soldiers, but it changed nothing. The tide of deserters continued.
---
The Emperor's Madness
In the chaos, one terrified orc soldier stumbled into Longdan Gol. The emperor seized him with iron grip, his claws sinking into the man's shoulder.
"My generals have betrayed me! You—yes, you! You'll command in their place! I'll make you marshal of the empire!"
The soldier's eyes bulged in horror. He struggled, shaking his head violently. He wanted nothing to do with this madness—only to escape the slaughter.
"You dare resist me? You dare betray me too?!"
Longdan Gol's rage broke into full insanity. His eyes glowed red, his tusks dripping saliva. With a roar, he dragged the soldier close and sank his fanged jaws into his head.
Crunch!
The sound of bone splintering echoed as blood sprayed across the emperor's face. He ripped the head free in his jaws, chewing with animal fury. The headless corpse collapsed at his feet.
Nearby soldiers screamed in revulsion and terror.
"Rebellion! Betrayal everywhere! I'll kill you all!" Longdan Gol raved, his battle-axe swinging wildly, cutting down any who came near.
The royal guards, equally crazed, hacked into fleeing orcs, turning the rout into a massacre of their own people.
---
The Empire in Ruin
All order was lost. The once-proud army of half a million had disintegrated. Tanks plowed through the broken lines, artillery thundered without pause, and machine guns scythed down stragglers. The battlefield became a field of corpses, the ground slick with blood and mud.
Longdan Gol stood amidst it all, drenched in gore, roaring at ghosts. His empire's finest soldiers abandoned him, generals fled, his magic shattered.
The Orc Emperor had become a monster—abandoned by all but his most fanatical guards, trapped in the ruins of his own pride.
---
Watching Eyes
Far away, in the City of All Laws, the magicians of the Central Magic Empire watched in stunned silence.
"This… this is the end of the Orc Empire's might," one whispered.
Another muttered, "The emperor has lost not just his army, but his sanity."
Even Tang Ke, who had mocked the humans, said nothing. The crystal mirror reflected only slaughter—and in the center of it, a mad emperor chewing the flesh of his own soldier.
César folded his arms, his voice quiet but certain.
"The age of orcs is finished. The age of mortals has begun."
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