The ground shook, as loud explosions spread in the surroundings.

Just as they had done during their past two campaigns, the Haca Dynasty’s Army used their Magic Cannons to obliterate the walls of the Orc City.

At least, that was what they planned, but it didn’t go as smoothly as their previous two battles.

The Dryads Queen, and her elite sisters had joined the battle, and their Nature Magic created gigantic vines which wrapped around the Orc City, protecting it from the long-ranged magical bombardment.

Ronan, who was guarding one of the Magical Cannons clicked his tongue as he gazed at the Head Engineer, who was supervising the bombardement operation.

“Why are the Magical Cannon’s attacks considerably weaker than last time?” Ronan complained. “They should have been able to blast a hole in those giant vines by now. You’re even using Argonaut-Ranked Cores. Why is it taking so long?”

The Head Engineer gave the High-Ranker an apologetic gaze as he explained the current situation of their long-ranged Weapons of War.

“We overtaxed the Magical Cannons when we obliterated the Lorgakh Kur mountain range a few days ago,” the Head Engineer replied. “Although I did maintenance on them, their performance has significantly decreased due to wear and tear. If you give me a few days, I will be able to make them return to their peak performance…”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses!” Ronan shouted, which made the Head Engineer cower in fear. “You only had one job, and you can’t even do it right!”

The other Engineers, who were responsible for operating the Magical Cannons could only lower their heads as they clenched their fists in frustration.

Truth be told, they really didn’t know why their Magical Cannon’s Performance had significantly weakened. They had done all necessary maintenance, and yet its performance was nowhere near its optimum condition when the war started.

All of them were using Argonaut-Ranked Beast Cores, allowing them to create magical cannonballs, whose destructive power was similar to the full-powered blow of an Argonaut Ranked Beast.

Argonaut-Ranked Monsters were extremely strong and their attacks could easily destroy a City’s Defensive Walls.

Because of this, Ronan, and the other High-Rankers were very displeased with the current state of their war.

“Argonaut-Ranked Cores aren’t cabbages,” Ronan spat on the ground. “Switch back to Deimos-Ranked Cores!”

“Y-Yes, Sir!” The Head Engineer quickly ordered his subordinates to remove the Argonaut Ranked Beast Cores from the Magical Cannons before they broke apart.

Ronan scoffed before gazing at the sky where the Grand Spell was being formed.

However, this tactic of theirs was also not going as smoothly as they intended because the Dryads were countering their Grand Spell, with their own Grand Spell that specialized in Magic Nullification.

“Stop the Magical Bombardment,” Great General Garret ordered. “Bring out the Destroyer.”

Ronan, who heard the Great General’s words frowned, but didn’t say any words of protest.

‘It seems that we greatly underestimated the Orcs and their allies,’ Ronan thought as he watched the army move aside to create a path for the ten-meter tall War Machine to pass through them.

The Destroyer was a special Weapon of War that could only be used thrice during the entirety of their campaign.

This weapon was powered by an Empyrean-Ranked World Boss Core that they managed to get after some great hardships a decade ago.

The Head Engineer gazed at the weapon that was made by the Wizards of the Magic Tower of the Haca Dynasty.

It was a magic weapon that allowed them to gather their magical spells and amplify their effects, which could reach the power of a Grand Spell, before it was fired over a long distance.

The Orcs, who were unaware of the newest threat to their lives, cheered as they watched the Haca Dynasty’s attempts to destroy their Capital City fail.

“Hahaha! Serves these bastards right!” Oreg raised his fist high up in the air as he mocked the Haca Dynasty’s army. “Only relying on these cheap tricks to win. What a bunch of cowards!”

Lux, who was also observing the battle from his vantage point, casually sipped some fruit juice.

“Pa!”

“You want some too, Eiko?”

“Un!”

“Okay.”

The Baby Slime happily drank from a straw as Lux continued to watch the battle with a smile on his face. His other party members were with him, and were busy playing cards, as if they weren’t in the middle of a war.

Since the Orcs were in a good mood, they turned a blind eye to Lux’s and his companion’s antics as they waited for the moment to strike.

‘Master, the Haca Dynasty is about to use one of their Trump Cards,’ Draven reported. “If you are near the city walls, I suggest you go away as far as you can. This weapon looks very dangerous.”

‘Understood,’ Lux replied. ‘We will retreat to the rear of the city.’

Lux signaled for his people to leave and head to safety. However, he couldn’t bear to not tell the Orcs of the impending danger, so he hurriedly went to tell Baronar of the weapon that the Haca Dynasty had mobilized.

The Orc Chieftain, as well as the other Orc Warlords were gathered on the same spot, so Lux took this opportunity to inform everyone of his latest discovery.

“The Haca Dynasty is about to use a Weapon of War called the Destroyer,” Lux stated. “I don’t know how strong it is, but my spy within the enemy’s army told me that it could unleash an attack that is equivalent to a Grand Spell. It would be best if you order the Orcs who are near the walls to evacuate for the time being. It is possible that all of them will be annihilated if they don’t leave their posts now.”

Oreg snorted after hearing Lux’s words.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Oreg looked down on the Half-Elf who only reached his waist. “You have no authority here, Half-Elf. Don’t order us around.”

“I’m not ordering anyone,” Lux replied calmly. “I’m just informing you of what is about to come. If you don’t want to believe me then so be it. I only warned all of you out of the goodness of my heart.”

Eiko, who was perched on top of Lux’s head, glared at Oreg and opened her mouth to silently call him a “F*cker”.

Lux wasn’t able to see Eiko’s antics because he didn’t bother to wait for any of the Orcs to reply as he hastily left the scene.

He considered the Blackrock Clan to be his acquaintances because of the bonds they shared in the Dungeon of Dominion long ago. However, that didn’t mean that he would allow himself to be ridiculed by the Orcs he was trying to help.

The Orc Chieftain and the Dryad Queen looked at the Half-Elf’s retreating back with calm expressions on their faces. Just like Oreg, they doubted the authenticity of Lux’s words.

Suddenly, the Great Orc Shaman who had remained silent, made his opinion known.

“Let’s listen to him,” Baronar said. “If what he said is true then many of our brethren will die without knowing how they died.”

“Baronar, you’re going to believe that child’s nonsense?” Oreg glared at the Great Orc Shaman. “Have you lost your mind?”

Baronar shrugged off Oreg’s comment as he shifted his gaze to his Orc Chieftain who commanded their forces.

“Even if there is a small chance that what he said is true then we should consider it to preserve the lives of our brethren,” Baronar stated. “Right now, the Magical Vines of the Dryads are shielding our City from their Magic Cannons.

“Our forces standing on the ramparts have nothing to do but watch our enemies from a distance. We won’t lose anything by having them retreat until we confirm the authenticity of Lux’s words.”

Lady Avyanna stared long and hard at the Great Orc Shaman before asking him a question.

“Are you willing to trust that Half-Elf with your life, Baronar?” Lady Avyanna inquired.

“Yes,” Baronar replied in a heartbeat. “I trust him with my life.”

Flamma, who was standing beside his mother, looked at the Great Orc Shaman whom he respected the most. Although he didn’t like Lux after suffering a loss, he had to acknowledge that the Half-Elf was able to defeat him in a duel he started.

Also, he wanted to believe that the one who triumphed over him was telling the truth. Because of this, he decided to voice his opinion as well.

“Mother, let’s trust that Half-Elf once,” Flamma commented. “We won’t lose anything if we do.”

“Even you are on his side, Flamma?” Lady Avyanna asked with a frown.

“Yes, Mother.”

“Fine. I’ll listen to you and Baronar just this once. Order all the warriors on the ramparts to pull back.”

After receiving the order, Baronar immediately summoned his Elite Spirit Warriors to inform everyone near the wall to back away to safety.

Although everyone was surprised by their sudden orders, all of them obeyed without any questions.

They had seen how the magical cannons had decimated their Fortress walls in the past, and this knowledge allowed them to heed their superior’s orders.

Just as all the Orcs had abandoned the city walls, the Dryad Queen, who was standing beside Lady Avyanna, coughed out green blood.

A second later, a powerful explosion shook the entire city, creating a shockwave that obliterated their city walls and turned the Orcs who weren’t able to evacuate fast enough into meat paste.

Lady Avyanna, Barca, Flamma, the Orc Warlords, and the Dryad Queen, along with her subordinates were also blown away by the impact, and crashed towards the houses within the city.

Although injured, the Orc Chieftain raised her head and looked in horror at the destruction around her.

Not only were their fortifications destroyed, but a part of their city had been completely obliterated from the destructive attack that came out of nowhere.

“It’s over,” Lady Avyanna muttered as she clenched her fist so hard that blood seeped out of her palm.

Barca gate a hateful roar as he stood up from the ground. The other Orc Warlords, as well as the Orc Warriors answered his call.

They would no longer run like cowards.

Even in the face of death, they would fight till the bitter end.

As the Orcs howled their warcries, a red-headed teenager walked up towards the Orcs who were planning to do a suicide charge.

Baronar, who always paid close attention to Lux’s aura, turned his head to look at the Half-Elf who was walking in their direction.

It was not only the Great Orc Shaman who turned around to look at the approaching Half-Elf, whose steady steps emitted a confidence that surpassed an Empyrean-Ranked Alpha Monster.

“Hey, do you guys want to win this war?” Lux asked as a magic cannonball landed dozens of meters away from him, setting the houses it hit on fire.

More Magic cannonballs rained down upon them, setting the Capital City of the Orcs ablaze.

Even so, Lux’s steps remained steady, as if he had everything under his control.

Only when he reached Lady Avyanna, who was kneeling on the ground did he stop and offer his hand.

“I have a way to win this war,” Lux stated. “But, are you willing to pay the price for it?”

The Orc Chieftain raised her head to look at the Half-Elf who was on the same eye-level as her.

“Even at this time you want the Twin Flames?” Lady Avyanna smiled bitterly. “Fine. You can have it. As long as you have a way that will turn this situation around, I will give it to you!”

Barca and the other Orc Warlords looked at Lux with solemn expressions on their faces. Aside from Baronar, they never took Lux seriously because he was just an Initiate-Ranked Half-Elf, who would easily die from a single slap of their hand.

Contrary to what they were expecting, the Half-Elf only shook his head as he pointed his finger at Lady Avyanna, Barca, Baronar, Oreg, Tanabur, Mogazar, and Flamma.

A moment later, several rows of text appeared in front of the Orcs, which made them gasp in shock.

—————

< Lux Von Kaizer has sent an invitation for you to join the Mythical Guild, Heaven’s Gate. >

< Do you wish to accept? >

< Yes / No >

—————

Lady Avyanna’s body shuddered as she looked at the notification in front of her before shifting her gaze to the Half-Elf, who was looking back at her with a confident smile on his face.

“This is my condition for helping you in this war,” Lux declared. “If you accept it, I promise to help you drive the invaders away from your lands.”

Asmodeus, who stood behind his Master, laughed internally.

This was the bold plan that he had proposed to Lux. The Archlich was well aware that what they were doing was a gamble. However, if they timed it right, their chances of making the Orcs agree would increase.

Now that Lux had revealed his identity as the Guildmaster of the only Mythical Guild in the world to the higher-ups of the Blackrock Clan, the turning point to change the outcome of the war was about to begin.