War of the Gods!
Ye Chui obtained crucial information from the blood elf.
The Godsin Continent is formed from countless fragment worlds, divided into the upper layer, the middle layer, and the lower layer. The Stan world they were in now was merely one fragment in the lower layer. Ye Chui had asked many people, but no one knew what the middle and upper layers contained. All they knew was that reaching the upper layer offered the chance to leave the Godsin Continent entirely.
From the blood elf, Ye Chui now learned of the War of the Gods: the inheritors of the Gods clan would wage war against one another.
The continent was called Godsin because the followers of the gods had to atone here for their sins. The trials and battlefields of the lower layer were their penance. To survive, people had to fight. In the middle and upper layers, the fighting grew even fiercer, as though designed to punish both the gods and their followers. Those who inherited divine power would trigger the War of the Gods, forcing the gods’ own strength to destroy itself.
Ye Chui fell silent, thinking it over. But in that brief moment, the blood elf, who had seemed on the verge of death, suddenly moved. He was still trapped inside Resha’s cage of faith, yet his body slammed against the barrier. A chilling crack rang out, blood qi surged, and his form became horribly mangled. In exchange, he broke free.
The blood elf had been cunning. His near-death state had been a pretence; he still held enough vital power within him. By sacrificing part of his flesh and strength, he escaped.
Yet instead of fleeing, he charged straight at the elf baby.
The baby had been terrified of the blood elf at first, but now curiosity had overcome fear. She stood just behind Ye Chui, peeking out, close enough that the blood elf reached her in an instant. Laughing wildly, he placed his palm on her head.
“No!” Ye Chui’s heart lurched. The blood elf had schemed for the baby’s royal bloodline; any contact would gravely harm her. Ye Chui raised his gun at once. Guni, Shalemei, Resha, Green, Debbie, and the others reacted instantly, moving to stop him.
What happened next left everyone stunned.
“Aaaah!”
The blood elf let out a piercing scream and leapt backward. The arm that had touched the baby’s head burst into blood-red flame. Fire raced across his body. He thrashed wildly, trying to put it out, but could not. In seconds he became a living torch, twitching and flailing. Moments later he stopped moving. The crimson flames died away, leaving only a blackened wooden statue.
Elves were born from the divine elf tree; upon death, their bodies returned to carved wood.
With a crash, the charred statue crumbled into ash.
Everyone stood frozen. The elf baby, only now realising what had happened, burst into tears and ran to Ye Chui, clinging to his leg. Ye Chui soothed her, then turned to Celty, who was cradled in Selis’s arms. “What just happened?”
“Hmm…” Celty looked thoughtful. “Blood elves are fallen elves, also called dark elves. They are naturally suppressed by the royal bloodline, but I have never heard of one burning to death simply by touching royalty…”
“Could it be a rule of the Godsin Continent itself?” Debbie said in wonder, bending to lift the baby into her arms.
The baby rubbed her teary eyes, then suddenly looked around in confusion. “Mummy, who is talking?”
“Who is talking?” Debbie asked, puzzled.
The baby frowned even more.
Ye Chui had an idea. “Baby, what did you hear?”
She tilted her head, thought for a moment, then repeated the strange voice: “Elf race blood elf inheritor… defeated, eliminated completely! Attempted attack on superior inheritor, execution!”
“Superior inheritor…” Ye Chui’s eyes lit up as he considered the words. “I understand. The blood elf was an inheritor of blood elf power, while the baby is the reincarnation of the elf goddess, her true inheritor. We defeated him, so to him the baby became the ‘superior inheritor’. Once defeated and eliminated, attacking a superior inheritor triggers execution. That must be one of the rules of the War of the Gods.”
“Then what is a superior inheritor, Ye Chui?” Debbie asked at once.
Ye Chui gave a mysterious smile and nodded. “Good question… I have no idea.”
Everyone: “…”
Still, from the blood elf’s words, they vaguely sensed that the War of the Gods might be a struggle for rank among the gods’ inheritors.
…
In the forests of the Green Forest world, the battle between orcs and blood land warriors was nearing its end.
Deep in the woods, a pillar of light slowly rose. It was the [bridge] linking back to the blood land world. When the orcs had suddenly appeared and begun slaughtering her forces, Satan’er had realised the plan had gone wrong. Without hesitation, she ordered escape and urged the team’s [bridge builders] to hurry.
There were three high-level bridge builders, all trained by the blood land world. They stood in a triangle, complex magic runes glowing beneath their feet. The bridge was complete, but it could carry only a handful of people back. Only a few would escape the Green Forest world.
Satan’er watched warily from a tall tree. When the bridge formed, relief crossed her face. She glanced reluctantly toward the distant sounds of battle and screams, sighed, leapt down, and walked toward the light. The remaining green forest warriors guarding the area also approached, looking eased.
Thirty thousand elite blood land warriors had come, the core of their strength. Most would likely die here. The loss was catastrophic; it could knock the blood land forces out of the top ten rankings altogether.
Unbearable, yet she had no choice.
A sudden whoosh came from behind her.
Satan’er’s face tightened. She rolled aside.
Buzz.
A heavy, razor-sharp battle axe whistled past, barely missing her.
Before she could feel relief, a scream rang out.
Satan’er scrambled up, shook her head angrily, and turned. An orc was charging toward her. Over two metres tall, massively muscled, rough and fierce-featured, clad in crude heavy armour, Satan’er knew him instantly: Dulong, first warrior of the Cow Plain orcs.
A fearsome opponent. Fury filled her face. She shouted to her green forest warriors, “Kill him! Attack!”
To the two remaining bridge builders she yelled, “Hurry, keep the bridge open!”
Seven or eight blood land warriors rushed Dulong in a frenzy.
Dulong remained calm. Though huge, he moved with startling agility. He sidestepped the first attack, seized the warrior by the throat with one massive hand, and lifted him bodily. Swinging the man like a club, he forced the others back, landing crushing blows in between. In scarcely ten seconds, all seven or eight warriors lay on the ground.
Dulong tossed the body aside, spat contemptuously, and advanced on Satan’er.
She gritted her teeth, shouted, and burned through a dozen magic scrolls in rapid succession. Red lotus flames erupted around her. Carrying blazing power, she charged. Dulong had no magic of his own and dared not meet the fire said to consume all things. He dodged, rolled across the ground, reached his thrown axe, wrenched it from a dead bridge builder, shook off the blood, roared deafeningly, and attacked again.
The axe had been forged by Cow Plain’s greatest smith from finest steel, etched with powerful runes by master engravers. It was razor-sharp, unbreakable, and held magic resistance.
Facing the renewed red lotus blaze, Dulong swung to parry. Flames scattered before the axe, though his braid burned away and burns appeared on his skin. His battle lust only grew.
Satan’er saw she could not overcome him. Gritting her teeth again, she drew dozens more scrolls from her space ring, fused them into herself, and unleashed one of red lotus fire’s deadliest techniques. Flames cloaked her body as she circled Dulong at blinding speed. A wall of fire sprang up, trapping him inside.
Blobs of flame detached from the wall and struck him repeatedly.
Dulong swung desperately, deflecting what he could and striking at the wall, but most blows missed. Scars multiplied across his body.
Half a minute later, another explosion seared his back. He could endure no longer. The axe fell. He dropped to one knee, hands on the ground, breathing hard, seemingly spent.
From within the blazing ring, Satan’er laughed in triumph. She burst from the wall to deliver the killing strike.
But as her flaming hands neared, Dulong sprang up. One huge arm seized her slender neck, hoisting her into the air. A sickening crack sounded as it broke.
Her eyes bulged in disbelief.
“You thought orcs are nothing but brute force and stupidity,” Dulong growled. “That mistake killed you. I fell not from injury, but to feel your footsteps through the ground and know where you would strike. I am the smartest orc in history.”
“…”
Satan’er could no longer speak, but her expression showed bitter regret.
Dulong finished the two stunned bridge builders, tended his wounds briefly, slung Satan’er’s body over his shoulder, and headed back.
The God of Ten Thousand Beasts had returned. After five thousand years of darkness, the orcs of Godsin Continent would see dawn. Dulong, the wisest orc, glimpsed their rise.
This hell would change beyond recognition, and he, first warrior of the orcs, would lead them and secure their future.
Returning to the border between Green Forest and Stan worlds, he thought proudly: he had ended the Blood Dragon Flower Alliance’s Satan’er himself. Surely the man blessed by the God of Gods, Ye Chui, would now regard him highly.
He had killed her precisely to earn that respect.
Ye Chui’s group had dealt with the blood elf and reached the border. The fighting was over. Ye Chui and the orc high priest were talking amicably when Dulong appeared, Satan’er’s corpse on his shoulder. Ye Chui and his companions looked astonished.
Dulong basked in their surprise.
Thud. He dropped the body at Ye Chui’s feet and declared proudly, “Son of Sar, first orc warrior Dulong, at your service, Mr Ye Chui. I killed her before she could flee.”
“Well done, thank you,” Ye Chui said quickly, praising him. Then, while Dulong savoured the moment, Ye Chui leaned to Kas and whispered, “Who is this Satan’er?”
Ye Chui genuinely had no idea.
“Daughter of the blood land ruler,” Kas murmured back. “She effectively leads the entire blood land world now.”
“Ah, I see…” Ye Chui nodded, reached up on tiptoe to pat Dulong’s shoulder. “Great achievement. I’ll reward you handsomely. Though I don’t understand, you killed her, fine, but why go to the trouble of carrying the body back?”
Dulong faltered. “Well…”
She was a famous figure across the lower continent, powerful. Killing her was a major feat. Without the corpse, who would believe him? Ordinary orcs might leave it, but the wisest orc brought proof of his great deed. Yet Ye Chui’s group seemed to find it foolish.
Or perhaps Satan’er, most renowned woman of the lower layer, meant nothing to Ye Chui at all.
Killed and forgotten.
Countless thoughts raced through Dulong’s mind.
Then the short black-haired girl, Debbie, sidled up to Ye Chui, tugged his arm, and said in a voice just loud enough for Dulong to hear, “Ye Chui, that’s rude. You know orcs aren’t the sharpest. Asking like that hurts his feelings. Think of his pride, okay?”
Ye Chui nodded hastily. “You’re right, I spoke carelessly. Debbie, you think of everything.”
Debbie grinned, stood on tiptoe to pat Dulong’s shoulder, failed, and patted his chest instead in a tone one might use with a slow child. “You did great, really, hard work carrying her all this way. But… could you possibly carry her back again?”
Dulong: “…”
Everyone else: Girl, your words hurt the most.
