"GO TO HELL!"

Valerius’s taunt was answered by Edward’s ice-cold killing intent.

From within the mimicked formation, twenty identical guardians of raw magic surged forth, meeting the Cult of Four’s elemental legion in a cataclysmic collision of force.

The sky above Staghelm City was now dominated by two massive, interlocking rings of light—one real, one a perfect reflection. Within that celestial arena, dozens of terrifying, demigod-level entities were locked in a fight to the death.

Down below, watching from the city, Isilra and Moonwell demigod could only stare, aghast. It wasn’t the scale of the battle that shocked them; it was the chilling, inescapable dread it inspired.

Isilra couldn’t dare to imagine it: if the Champions Alliance hadn’t come, how long could she and her mother have possibly survived against a formation like that? A minute? Maybe two?

Thank the gods I agreed to the marriage. A startling wave of relief washed over her. The resentment she’d felt toward the political union suddenly seemed petty, childish even. If sacrificing her own happiness was the price for saving her mother and her entire city, it was a price she would pay without hesitation. Besides, who was to say what her future truly held?

Her resolve hardened. Leaping onto her white tiger mount, Isilra soared into the air above the battlements. Streams of moonlight poured from her, bathing every soldier on the walls in a soft, empowering glow.

"Warriors of Staghelm!" she cried, her voice ringing with newfound strength. "The demonic tide is upon us! This is the moment we fight for our lives, for our home! Our allies from the north have engaged the enemy’s demigods. Until that battle is won, our duty is clear: hold the walls! Annihilate every last monster that dares approach!"

She pointed toward the city behind them. "Our homes are at our backs! Our parents, our children! For them, we fight! For Staghelm!"

After so many sieges, the pre-battle speech was second nature, but this time, the words felt different. Heavier. Truer.

Infused with her blessing and fiery words, a defiant roar erupted from the city’s defenders. They raised their blades as one, a wall of steel and fury against the incoming horde.

"FOR OUR FAMILIES! FOR STAGHELM!"

From the celestial battlefield above to the blood-soaked ground below, the war had begun in earnest.

At the same time, the main ground forces of the Champions Alliance, having received their orders, were now advancing on Staghelm City at full speed. Their mission: to form a hammer to the city’s anvil, to crush the Cult of Four’s ground troops and bleed the enemy’s strength in the Silverwood Realm, one kill at a time.

***

Godforsaken Land, Cretaceous Valley.

Orion had no idea that, realms away, Arthas was busy playing matchmaker and had just landed him a wife.

He had remained secluded in his command tent for days, but today, he finally emerged. His sudden appearance immediately caught Soraya’s attention.

"Orion," she said, her senses on high alert. "Is an archlord approaching?" In her mind, only a threat of that magnitude would draw Orion out personally.

"No archlords," Orion replied, his gaze fixed on the horizon. "Just a few interesting little rats."

Before she could ask more, his form flickered and vanished.

Miles away, beyond the sprawling Cretaceous beast horde, the five leaders of the Cretaceous race—Perni, Bozath, Berlu, Dayna, and Kankerd—stood gathered on a hilltop, observing the valley where the Stoneheart horde had made their camp.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Perni said, an uneasy tremor in his voice. "These invaders are not simple." He had been the one to first scout them by projecting his consciousness into the valley, and he could still feel the phantom sting of the arrow that had obliterated his projection. The memory sent a shiver of pure dread through him.

"It doesn’t matter who they are," Bozath growled, his eyes burning with zeal. "The mother deity has willed their destruction. We are merely her instruments."

"The valley is covered in ice," Kankerd observed, his mind already working the problem. He was the strategist of the group. "One of them is an ice specialist. We lead with the Cinderjaw Rexes and have the Galehorn Triceratops follow right behind. The wind will fan their flames and melt a path through the ice. Once we open a breach, we can punch through their defensive line."

It was a sound plan. They had been watching for hours and understood that the invaders themselves, arrayed on the ridges, didn’t seem overwhelmingly powerful. The true obstacles were the enchanted ice and the endless snow monsters it spawned.

"Wind feeding fire. A good idea."

"Of course it—" Kankerd started to say, preening at the affirmation, but he stopped short. The voice that had agreed with him was... unfamiliar.

"Who—?"

"Me."

Schlick.

A trident erupted from the center of Kankerd’s chest, appearing from nowhere, impossibly fast and utterly silent. He looked down at the blood dripping from its three points, then looked up at his four companions. He saw only shock and disbelief in their eyes.

He could no longer feel his heart. His breathing had stopped. The world was fading to black. He lowered his head one last time to the trident piercing his body and let out a final, rattling sigh.

So this is it? I don’t even get to see the face of my killer? Mother deity... Kankerd is coming home.

A final spray of blood burst from his lips, and he fell. The smart ones were always the first to die, especially after the enemy knew who they were. Orion made it a point to sever the head of any strategic threat immediately.

A figure glitched into existence before them, flickering like a corrupted data stream before resolving into a solid form. Orion stood over the body. He yanked his trident free and, with a flick of his wrist, pulled the Lord’s Stone from Kankerd’s corpse, catching it in his palm.

"Enemy attack!"

"The invader!"

"Shit!"

Only then did the four remaining leaders—Perni, Bozath, Berlu, and Dayna—react. But it was far too late.

Orion released his full aura, an oppressive wave of pure power that slammed down on the hilltop, instantly paralyzing every Cretaceous beast and pinning them to the ground. The four leaders in front of him were frozen in place, unable to move a muscle.

"I have to say, I’m almost disappointed by how weak you are."

That was his opening line. Without waiting for a reply, he swung his trident, and Dayna’s head exploded in a shower of gore.

Another Lord’s Stone landed in his hand. For Orion, slaughtering Legendary-level beings like this was no different than butchering livestock.

"You are not worthy of this fertile land."

CRUNCH.

He thrust his weapon again. Berlu, the third leader, was dead before his body hit the ground.