In an instant, the battle surged into a fever pitch.
Amid this war of nothing but slaughter and death, Vexis's urgent voice sounded in Orion's ear.
"Lord Orion, my master has already issued a retreat order. When should we leave this place?"
Zzzzzt!
The trident in Orion's hand swept through the air in a semicircle. Lightning power erupted, clearing out the sli molds layer within a radius of about 2,000 ft.
Vexis's reminder had definitely reached Orion's ears. However, in these circumstances, there was no way to retreat in an orderly manner.
"Have the undead hold the line in front. Let the horde's bloodline warriors and the small scorpions retreat first."
"As you command!"
On the battlefield, Onyx and Earthshaker stuck together, watching each other's backs.
Suddenly, the distinctive horn of the Stoneheart Horde sounded. At the sa ti, the lich Vexis's voice announcing the retreat reached their ears.
Onyx raised his great axe high, cleaving the skull of a nearby Alpha-level sli molds skeleton in two.
With a single gesture, Onyx pulled the life essence into his palm.
"Little Bull, get ready to fall back!"
Only after finishing this sequence of attacks did Onyx shout at Earthshaker, who was still locked in combat with a four-legged beast.
Earthshaker's Blood Sharing was linked with Onyx, Gronthar, Dirtclaw, and the others, making him fight like a mad bull charging into the mutated sli molds. His body was frequently injured in battle.
Earthshaker pushed himself hard, eager to reach the Alpha-level peak. He believed that once he attained that rank, his master—the Giant King and lord of the Stoneheart Horde—would surely help him advance to the Legendary level he dread of.
He trusted that his master would make his dream co true.
"Moo!"
In a frenzied bull-like state, Earthshaker forcibly suppressed the raging killing intent in his heart. He swung the totem pole replica in his hands, knocking aside the surrounding sli molds mutants. He quickly joined Onyx's side.
Riding on his Dark Armored Beetle, Onyx charged forward to clear a path while Earthshaker covered the rear. In no ti, they both withdrew from the front lines.
Elsewhere, Gronthar and Dirtclaw also received the signal.
Dirtclaw transford into a Hellhound, biting down on a sli molds parasitic creature that resembled a brown bear. He tried to crush its skull.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The sound of bones shattering rang out. The bear-like sli molds parasitic creature's head was destroyed, and it died on the spot.
Dirtclaw swallowed the creature's life essence in a single gulp.
In truth, Dirtclaw had his own little sche. Life essence devoured on the battlefield wouldn't have to be turned over to the horde. Desperate to grow stronger—desperate to beco a Legendary-level being—he was willing to do whatever it took.
"Dirtclaw, let's retreat. If we don't leave now, the mutated sli molds will surround us."
Gronthar's voice echoed nearby. Dirtclaw let out a howl, then bounded over to Gronthar in just a few leaps.
"Hurry, hop on my back!"
Gronthar, without quibbling, did exactly as he was used to doing in these joint maneuvers. He was well-practiced at this.
The massive figure of Gronthar leapt onto the Hellhound's back and raised his huge axe against the surrounding sli molds mutants.
Even carrying a rider larger than himself, Hellhound-form Dirtclaw seed unburdened. His four limbs gripped the ground, then he pushed off with force, racing toward the rear of the battlefield.
Not far away, Drakthul, Gormathar, and others also began to retreat.
Orion scanned the battlefield, keeping an eye on each of his important subordinates. Only when all of his Alpha-level followers had left the front lines did he finally exhale in relief.
"Wait, soone's missing!"
"Where's Gustalon?"
Orion's face darkened. The subordinate who should have had the easiest ti retreating was nowhere to be found.
He released his senses. Before long, Orion pinpointed Gustalon's presence within a stretch of sli molds layer.
Gustalon was trapped. He had been greedy for credit, hunting down a parasitic creature in an attempt to secure more life essence, only for other sli molds parasitic creatures to swarm in and surround him.
Turning into a bolt of lightning, Orion hurled himself into the sli molds layer where Gustalon was trapped.
Zzzzzt!
A burst of electricity crackled, and the sli molds layer exploded. Orion held several strands of Alpha-level life essence in hand, rescuing Gustalon.
"Withdraw imdiately!"
"You go first—hurry back and tell Soraya to activate the city's defenses. Prepare for a siege."
Narrowly escaping death, Gustalon gratefully looked towards Orion, then turned himself into a tornado-like gust of wind and swept away into the distance.
The fighting was fierce, and the retreat was rushed. The situation kept shifting, and the battlefront was shrinking bit by bit.
Soaring into the air, Orion surveyed the entire battlefield. The scale of the conflict here was enormous, and it was brutally rciless. Killing and sacrifice took place every second.
Right then, several vines lashed out of the sli molds layer, shooting toward Orion.
"Vine Splitters!"
These were beings at the peak of Legendary level. Transcendent power surged through Orion's body. He rapidly ford an Eightfold Spear Barrage and hurled it at the incoming vines.
But even as Orion fought off the Vine Splitters above, more vines shot up from directly below, whipping toward him from the sli molds layer.
Orion did not flinch. Triggering his Battle Will Surge, he ford a spherical wave barrier around himself, blocking the strikes.
Crack! Crack!
The vines slamd against the wave barrier, popping and snapping like lightning strikes against glass.
"Lord Orion, we must retreat! We can't fight here for long."
Orion had been itching to test his ttle against the Vine Splitters, but Vexis's reminder stopped him.
He hesitated a mont, glanced at the attacking Vine Splitters, then resolutely turned into lightning, withdrawing to the rear of the battlefield.
Only after putting significant distance between himself and the sli molds layer did Orion shake off that feeling of being targeted by a hunter.
"Lord Orion, the realm formation has been activated. Who knows what major changes it might bring?"
"For now, it's best to rely on Soraya City's defensive systems to stabilize the situation."
"And we should continue hatching those small scorpions without delay."
Orion nodded. Under these circumstances, it was difficult to rely on Arthas or any other allies. The arch lords of the Champions Alliance were almost certainly occupied defending against the sli molds broodmother erging from the main nest.
Thus, Orion could depend only on himself, along with Soraya City and the scorpion tribe incessantly spawning small scorpions.
"Let's go!"
Vexis nodded. Controlling the remaining skeleton warriors and undead scorpions, she directed a fighting retreat.
Orion guarded Vexis closely, preventing the fungal creatures from mounting a deadly ambush against her.
Boom! Rumble!
In that mont, thunder rolled across the sky. Jagged forks of lightning streaked overhead like the sky's own branching veins, flashing repeatedly.
Then ca a violent upheaval of heaven and earth. Two towering silhouettes, outside the realm formation, seed to clash once more in a mighty, cataclysmic struggle.
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