Chapter 803: The Deathly Summons
"Gustalon!"
Orion’s voice rang out in the open air. In an instant, Gustalon’s form materialized beside him.
"My Lord, your command?"
"Send word. Tell Soraya, Vexis, and Rumbold to muster their legions. The great war is about to begin."
"As you command!" Gustalon dissolved into a gust of wind and vanished.
Soon after, the call of war horns echoed across the region. Skeletons clawed their way from graveyards, and great sand scorpions burrowed up from beneath the dunes. From the skies above ca the answering cries of dragons and eagles. The horde was mobilizing.
"Let’s go, my friend," Orion said, a grim excitent in his voice. "I have yet to truly unleash my power as an Archlord."
He hefted his trident. "This will be a good opportunity to grow accustod to the storm raging within ."
In response, Leonidas let out a deafening roar and transford into his colossal dragon form. Orion leaped onto his back, and the two of them soared north toward the front lines.
As they flew, they both entered the Champions Alliance public channel. The enemy’s sudden and bizarre aggression was sothing neither of them understood; they hoped the others might have so insight.
Leonidas: Edward, Alexander, the enemy to the north on the Dusk Continent is making a move. Is anything happening on your end?
In his haste, Leonidas had dropped all formalities.
Alexander: All is quiet in my imdiate vicinity. The usual two enemy forces are keeping their watch. However, further north, two other factions have begun fighting each other. I do not know if it is related.
Alexander was the first to reply. When it ca to matters of war, their usual banter was set aside.
Kraken: Bosses, sothing is definitely wrong. I’m sensing terrifying fluctuations in the seas off both continents. I think a major war has broken out in the deep. The power... it’s definitely Archlord-level.
Following Alexander’s report, Kraken added his own discovery. He had been keeping a constant watch on the deep seas and was highly sensitive to any changes within them.
But strangely, Deputy Commander Edward did not imdiately respond. On matters of such gravity, he would never be silent. Unless... unless a battle of the demigods had also erupted.
The thought settled like a shroud of ice over Orion, Alexander, and Leonidas. A shared, deep sense of unease began to stir within them.
Edward: A war has begun between the demigods. My true form has been sealed within a mysterious ward. Do not be concerned. It is only a matter of ti before I break free.
After a long pause, the Deputy Commander’s voice finally ca through, though it was clearly his storm avatar speaking.
Edward: Be careful. The situation has changed. I do not yet know why this has happened so suddenly. The native factions of the Erald Dream Realm are the instigators. Be cautious. Proceed as you see fit.
In the skies above the Dusk Continent, Orion and Leonidas reeled from the news.
"My friend," Orion said grimly, "the enemy’s intentions are not good."
The intelligence from the Deputy Commander pointed to a long-planned, sudden strike.
"To the Abyss with them!" Leonidas roared. "They are at our doorstep! We will et them head-on! Are we to abandon the armies we have arrayed on the front line?"
That was an impossibility. After the losses to his wyvern armies, Leonidas had moved two more of his large beast armies to the front. He would not abandon his people without a fight.
Nor would Orion. The main strength of the Stoneheart Horde—the Sand Scorpion legions, the Cave Spider armies, the Skeletal Knights, the Cavalry Regints, and the three guardian armies—they were all there, filled with his kin and his people. To abandon them was unthinkable.
This war, initiated by the Silver-Eyed People, had to be t.
"Brother," Orion said, his voice low, "prepare your true form, or an Archlord avatar, for descent. I feel a great sense of unease."
"I feel it too," Leonidas agreed.
For two Archlords to feel a sense of crisis before a battle had even begun... it could only an one thing. This would be a fight of unimaginable difficulty.
Titanion Realm, at the World Tunnel.
A low, humming drone suddenly filled the chaotic darkness of the tunnel. It was a sound like an electromagnetic wave, a vibration that seed to be a deathly summons. The first ti the Giant King avatar heard it, even he felt a chill of terror.
"An attack! The enemy is coming!" Seadragon King Neptor’s voice was sharp with alarm.
It was not the disturbance itself that panicked them, but the fact that the demigod guardian within the tunnel had sent no warning. That could only an their own demigod had been trapped... or had already fallen.
"Let’s go," Orion’s avatar said, his grip tightening on his trident as he stared into the tunnel, which was now twisting like a vortex, growing increasingly unstable. "Prepare for battle."
The very space and ti within the tunnel were distorting, sotis blurring as if the passage itself were about to vanish.
"Neptor, Orion," Saint Noel commanded, his voice a steady anchor in the chaos. "Two in front, one in the rear. We guard each other’s backs."
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
Noel’s proposal was sound. Orion and Neptor were lee combatants, while Noel himself was a holy light mage, better suited for healing and support.
"By the Sacred Light, repel the unknown foe! Aegis of self, aegis of all we love!" Saint Noel intoned, his staff glowing. A shimring, divine shield enveloped both Orion and Neptor.
"The Sacred Shield. It can withstand three blows from an Archlord."
The three warriors shared a determined glance, nodded, and stepped into the world tunnel.
Imdiately, Orion felt a disorienting change. His body grew unnaturally heavy, not from gravity, but from a terrifying pressure squeezing him from all sides, a force so great it felt as if it were physically compressing his form.
But worse was to co. Their very thoughts grew confused, their spirits felt as if they were being shredded, their souls on the verge of dissolving.
The tunnel was catastrophically unstable. Orion could not fathom why the denizens of the Erald Dream Realm would choose to invade through such a treacherous passage.
At that mont, a spike of pure danger lanced through his senses.
"Look out!"
BOOM!
The Sacred Shield, rated to withstand three Archlord-level attacks, shattered in a single, explosive instant. Orion’s instincts scread. He activated his Instant Impact, throwing himself backward a great distance into the chaotic energies of the tunnel.
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