Chapter 1067: The Truth
Krom was full of sincerity, while Ral Goldentop stared at the totem, eyes wide and red with shock. He reached out, touching the totem; the murmurs of countless souls echoed in his mind. It took him a full ten minutes before he finally withdrew his hand and bowed respectfully to the heritage totem.
“Krom, I may stop fighting, but don’t think I’ll ever submit to you. Warriors of the Goldentop Tribe never bow their heads. Don’t even dream of me yielding, and I won’t acknowledge you as my chief!”
Ral Goldentop stiffened his neck, stubborn as ever—like a dead duck refusing to admit defeat. Even now, he wouldn’t lower his head.
Krom just waved it off, unconcerned.
“Enough, Ral. I get it. We’re partners now—partners ruling this wasteland together. We’re all children of the Beast God, and that’s all that matters.”
Krom’s words soothed Ral Goldentop, and the battle ended for good. Ral still looked sour, but he didn’t refuse Krom entry into the Goldentop Tribe.
The wounded were brought into the Goldentop Tribe for treatment. Leon generously handed out Elixirs of Life, and those most badly injured among the orcs recovered more than half their wounds after taking the elixirs.
Especially Ral Goldentop, who was nearly roasted alive, and the warlock who almost got cleaved in two—after consuming the Elixir of Life, their injuries quickly stabilized.
That changed Ral Goldentop’s attitude toward the humans considerably. Once Krom explained everything that had happened in detail, Ral—straightforward as ever—became surprisingly warm toward Leon and his group.
Letting the souls of the orc ancestors finally rest—just for that alone, Ral Goldentop wouldn’t even flinch if he had to take his own life right now.
So Krav, who’d been bound all this time, was simply ignored. Compared to what Krav had done lately, Leon and his group were now heroes to all orcs. As for Krav, the outsider—let him rot.
Seeing the Goldentop orcs let Leon escort him straight into the room, Krav lost all hope. The Goldentop orcs were clearly a lost cause for him now...
Leon, along with the leaders of every faction, gathered in the room. In the center, Krav was shackled by chains of black and red flame—everyone looked on with cold, mocking smiles.
“Tell us how to escape this place, and we’ll spare your life.”
Dida La threatened coldly, a ball of orange flame floating beside him.
Krav’s face was pale as he sneered at the crowd.
“You think you dare kill me? Heh...”
Leon looked at Krav with a calm, indifferent gaze.
“Krav, you have two choices.
First: cooperate with us. Tell us the method and secret to escape this world, and we’ll take you with us. Until we leave, we’re partners—no one will harm you. Our grudges and scores can wait until after we’re out.
Second: refuse, and I’ll kill you. We’ll all be trapped here together.
Rest assured, I have twenty-eight ways to bind your soul after death—your spirit won’t return to the earth or become an ancestral spirit. I’ll keep your soul trapped here, suffering with us.
Before we die, I’ll make sure your soul is utterly destroyed. You won’t even get the chance to become undead.
You have ten seconds to choose. Because in ten seconds, you’ll be dead.”
After speaking, Leon fell silent, standing off to the side. Threads of flame from Theo began to seep into Krav’s body.
In an instant, Krav screamed—the corrosive black flame felt like thousands of tiny knives, scraping away layer after layer of bone, then burning it to ash.
It was as if thousands of places were being attacked at once. In less than ten seconds, most of Krav’s bones would be burned away.
Less than a second later, Krav was howling in agony.
“Cooperate! Cooperate! Damn it, I’ll cooperate!”
Krav roared four or five times before the corrosive black flame finally faded, absorbed back by Theo.
With a wave of his hand, Leon produced a Contract, its terms written out clearly for all to see.
Krav was obligated to reveal every detail about how to leave this world, so that everyone could escape.
On the human side, no one could harm Krav before he left this world.
Anyone who broke the Contract would suffer magical backlash and be forever shunned by the elements—unable to wield magic again.
Krav glanced at the Contract and sneered.
“Good, a Contract is best. You don’t trust me? I don’t trust you either!”
Once everything was confirmed, Krav placed his mark on the Contract.
Leon also added his own magical mark—a circular wheel made of countless runes, one ring within another.
This unique magical mark couldn’t be changed. It matched each mage’s magical path perfectly—everyone’s was different, especially Title Archmages, who each had a complete personal mark.
With this mark, anyone who broke the Contract would suffer magical backlash, lose the ability to use magic, and even have their soul rejected by the elements after death.
Krav carefully made sure everyone left their own magical mark, finally relaxing.
At last, he felt safe enough to reveal the secrets of this place.
“There’s only one way to leave this world: use the Totems of the Bloodfang Tribe and Goldentop Tribe. Together, they form a gateway, and the rulers and inheritors of both tribes are the keys to open it.
That means the Grand Chieftain’s blood and the Grand Seer’s soul power.
The gateway opens onto the Path of the Heroic Spirits, guarded by generations of orc heroes. The rank of those who enter determines the rank of the heroic spirits they face.
There are eighteen heroic orc spirits in total. Defeat all eighteen, and you’ll return to the temple where you first entered.”
After Krav finished, everyone finally understood why he joined the Goldentop Tribe and urged them to attack the Bloodfang Tribe.
Once the Bloodfang Tribe was conquered, Krav could get the Totem, Grand Chieftain’s blood, and Grand Seer’s soul power.
Then he could open the Path of the Heroic Spirits and escape this broken world.
But on the human side, not knowing the method—and with the Bloodfang Tribe’s Grand Seer already dead—the keys couldn’t be assembled, so they’d be trapped here forever.
The humans’ request was quickly agreed to by the Bloodfang Tribe and Goldentop Tribe—after all, they were only borrowing the Totem.
A little blood and a bit of soul power was nothing to them.
As everyone walked across the wasteland, they saw signs of life returning. Remembering the undead siege, they were filled with mixed emotions.
Krav glanced disdainfully at the humans.
“You really think you’ve sealed the Archfiend? How naïve.
The Goldentop Orcs have entered this world at least a hundred times, and over half have made it out alive.
Even without sealing the Archfiend, there are countless ways to escape this world.
You should know by now: this broken world is the past of the Blazeforge Realm.
Do you really think this broken world could suppress a Demon Archfiend? Don’t kid yourself.
The real seal is this world itself—not that so-called alchemy array!
This world, its time cut off, is the true seal. The Archfiend is trapped in severed time—do you really think any plane could suppress a Demon Archfiend?
Every time we enter, the timeline of this broken world is exactly the same. Next time, it’ll be just like this time—the world’s time is forever severed, never moving forward.
Next time you enter, they won’t know you. You’ll just see the same scene, the same things, as when you came in this time.”
After showing off, Krav looked at the humans like they were country bumpkins.
Everyone was stunned. Rafael opened his mouth, then gave a bitter smile—he had to admit, Krav made a lot of sense.
Now that he thought about it, that massive alchemy array—even if it was Sky Rank—probably couldn’t suppress a Demon Archfiend.
Rafael glanced at Leon, only to find Leon calm—as if he’d known all along.
“Lord Merlin, you knew already?”
Leon shot a glance at Krav.
“No alchemy array could suppress a Demon Archfiend—only time can do that.
In severed time, even a Demon Archfiend can’t escape. The alchemy array is the break point in time—the prison gate that seals the Archfiend.
What truly suppresses the Archfiend’s power is the prison itself, but the gate is crucial, since it’s the only way the Archfiend could escape.
The power leaking from that place is weak, but it can slowly corrode the prison gate.
Now that the gate is sealed again, the Archfiend’s power will have a much harder time seeping out.
Space can’t seal a Demon Archfiend—only time can.”
Leon explained to Rafael, then glanced at Krav, wondering why he’d entered this world alone.
By all rights, the Goldentop Orcs have entered this world hundreds of times—every detail should be recorded.
The Goldentop Orcs’ general didn’t come in, which means there’s nothing here for him. But Krav did—so there must be something here that benefits Krav.
Otherwise, why risk his life to come here?
Leon didn’t believe someone like Krav—who’d abandoned the ancient orc traditions—would enter here out of boredom.
Krav said nothing, which meant the world itself offered no benefit—the secret he’d just revealed must have been the last.