Chapter 1389
Shadows of the Throne and the Abyss
"As long as I sit on this throne," Orion continued, his voice resonating against the obsidian walls, "nothing that matters within the Stoneheart Horde will change. The shadows may harbor rats—traitors, cowards, the self-serving—but in the face of my light, they will either kneel or burn."
This was Orion's philosophy, carved from experience.
It was why he spent his days, and even his dormant periods, seated upon the throne rather than secluded in a private chamber. In this world, absence bred amnesia. If a ruler disappeared from view, the people forgot the weight of his presence. By remaining visible, Orion made himself a monolith—an unmovable anchor for the Horde.
The Horde had expanded rapidly, absorbing countless races and factions. It was statistically impossible for there not to be dissenters or backstabbers in the mix. But Orion didn't care about the small fry. His sheer, overwhelming power forced the rats to stay in the walls.
"Ruling is about heat control," Orion mused, his eyes gleaming. "If soone truly gets in the way, you don't argue with them. You incinerate them."
Elara nodded, her mind racing as she synthesized the lesson.
"So," she said, her voice firming with resolve. "We accept help from both the Saint Gran Council and the Order of the Dandelion. We take everything they offer."
She looked up at her father. "I will invite them both in. I will feed off their resources and force them into a deadlock. They will be so busy competing for influence over my Association that they won't notice I'm using them to build my own foundation. And while they bicker, I will beco strong enough to crush them both if they step out of line."
Orion threw his head back and laughed, a thunderous sound of approval. "Fast learner. That's my girl."
He leaned forward. "Tell
what you need to get this started."
Elara began to list her demands—land, funding, personnel. Orion granted every single request without hesitation.
Ultimately, the headquarters for her new Mage Association was established in a lavish palace within the Inner City. It was a beautiful, secluded estate, chosen for its architectural grandeur. It also happened to be the very villa where Orion and Delilah used to et for their illicit trysts, a detail that amused Orion to no end.
The Abyss. Foundry Citadel.
While Orion was reminiscing about his past affairs, the subject of those mories had just arrived at her new post.
Delilah, the Succubus Queen, had transferred from Vigil's Point to the Foundry Citadel. The move was a necessity; Orion had marched the Wraith Knight armies into the Minor Hell dinsion, leaving a power vacuum in the Citadel. With the administrator Ashreign gone, the fortress needed a steady hand.
"Ah..." Delilah inhaled deeply, her wings twitching. "This is the Sixth Layer. The Abyssal energy here is so thick I could drink it right out of the air."
"Praise the Giant King! And praise Aldous's eternal hunger!"
Standing beside her, bellowing at the sulfurous sky, was the Ogre Lord, Aldous. He, too, had been reassigned to the Citadel.
"Well, look what the void dragged in," a deep, gravelly voice rumbled from the shadows. "The Ogre who eats trash, and the Succubus who's hungry for the Master's cock."
Delilah and Aldous turned.
Approaching them was a juggernaut of a man. Standing nearly twenty feet tall, bald, and rippling with muscles that looked like carved granite, he moved with the montum of a landslide. An aura of unbridled violence radiated from him—the unmistakable pressure of an Arch Lord. He didn't bother to suppress it; he let it wash over them like a heatwave.
"Xalathar?" Delilah asked, unfazed.
Unlike the Ogre, Delilah commanded the Sentinel Corps. She was the mistress of intelligence for the Stoneheart Horde. She knew Xalathar had ascended to Arch Lord status, though they had never t in this form. The pressure he exerted felt familiar—wild and untad.
"Hmph. In the flesh," Xalathar grunted, stopping a few yards away. He crossed his massive arms. "Delilah. You used to bribe
with good at back in the day. For that alone, I'll watch your back in the Foundry Citadel."
Delilah flashed a dazzling, professional smile.
The Xalathar standing before her was nothing like the beast she rembered. In his humanoid form, he had adopted a swagger that was equal parts nacing and goofy. Back when she used to feed him treats, it was to keep him docile enough to ride into battle. Now, he was a person, and apparently, a very cocky one.
"I am here on King Orion's orders, Xalathar," she said, her voice silky but firm. "I expect your full cooperation. This is the Horde's territory. We cannot afford mistakes. We will not sha the Master."
She wasn't here for a vacation.
"Take
to the Grand Wardens," she commanded. "I need to see Eparus, Holrivus, and Thronlis. And send word to the military commanders—Vex, Phorzak, Bidalun, and Bolvar. I want them all in the war room imdiately."
To Delilah, these were just nas on a dossier. To control the Citadel, she needed to put faces to the nas and establish dominance.
To Xalathar, however, these were drinking buddies. Especially Bolvar, the third army commander promoted by Orion after the conquest of the rival Abyssal Lords.
"Follow ," Xalathar grunted.
He glanced past her, eyeing her retinue. She hadn't co alone. Behind her stood a battalion of a thousand elites—Succubi, Shadow-fiends, Ogres, and Abyssal Sirens. She had brought her own enforcent squad.
As for Orion's avatar, the Deathly Soul-Reaper, he was absent. He had already departed for the Death-Soul world, beginning the arduous process of ascending to Demigod status.
Three days later, the atmosphere in the Abyss shifted.
In the three major strongholds of the Stoneheart Horde—Foundry Citadel, Wraith Keep, and the Temple of the Conquest Legion—new orders were posted. Delilah wasted no ti.
[Priority Directive: Total Eradication]
[Target: Weeping Banshees within territorial borders]
[Objective: Secure Banshee Crystals]
This was Delilah's private agenda masked as administrative cleanup.
She had co to the Sixth Layer not just to manage, but to evolve. She knew her limits; her natural potential had hit a ceiling. To bridge the gap and ascend to Arch Lord, she needed external power. The Banshee Crystals were the key to amplifying the "God-touched" mark Orion had placed upon her.
It was the only way she and her sister, Lilith, could secure their futures. For the sake of their position at Orion's side, Delilah was willing to slaughter every Banshee in the Abyss.
Aldous had a similar fire in his belly.
He was already at the peak of the Legendary level. The Abyss offered him endless combat and a fiefdom rich in energy. With enough battles and enough raw Abyssal power to consu, he saw a path to becoming an Arch Lord himself.
Aldous was different from the others in the Stoneheart Horde, who were confined to the Alpha level. His potential was bottomless.
Even before Orion reached the Legendary Level, Aldous was already a mid-tier Legendary in his own right. In terms of raw foundation and accumulated power, the ogre was second only to the Titan King himself.
Orion had bet on him for a reason.
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