Chapter 990: Sryess
Most importantly, Sky Rank powerhouses simply cannot pass through this Plane Path. If any Sky Rank tries to enter the Blazeforge Battlefield through it, the path will collapse instantly, severing the connection between the two realms. The Sky Rank will fall into the endless void, their corpse never to be found...
And with the headcount limitation, barring any surprises, those entering from the Blazeforge Orc side will all be elites—their numbers similar to the humans, and their strength not far off.
The combined strength of the Odin Kingdom and the Andalusia Kingdom might just match the Blazeforge Orcs. Even if they can suppress the orcs a bit, there won't be much of an advantage.
Plus, Odin Kingdom’s numbers and strength both outclass Andalusia Kingdom. So, the task of tying down most of the Blazeforge Orcs falls to the six factions of the Odin Kingdom.
As for Andalusia Kingdom, if they go in, it’ll just be a slaughter—no chance of gaining anything at all.
And letting Diras get in with just a hundred Level-35 Soul Magic Crystals? No way I’m letting that guy off so easily.
Leon’s mind spun, a sly smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
The moment I saw Diras, I noticed something interesting. There’s a plan brewing, but it needs Diras—or rather, his bloodline—to pull it off...
"Let’s go. We’re heading in too. Lord Krovitz, have you decided? Are you coming with me?"
Leon turned to Krovitz. On the way here, Leon had made a point of asking Krovitz about the Blazeforge Battlefield, hoping to get him to come along.
When it comes to insider knowledge, Krovitz—an old orc—knows more about the eight Blazeforge Orc tribes than anyone. He’s privy to secrets that even the Gray Orc chieftain doesn’t know.
Having someone like him along in the Blazeforge Battlefield could make things a lot easier.
But unfortunately, Krovitz isn’t fond of fighting—he’s obsessed with puppet alchemy. He’s never actually been to the Blazeforge Battlefield. Later, after he advanced to Title Archmage and became a powerful Worldshaper, the Gray Orc tribe wouldn’t dream of sending him to such a dangerous place.
This time, he only tagged along because he’d had a sudden breakthrough in alchemical arrays—especially with new insights about the Plane Path.
Krovitz knew it was impossible to solidify a Plane Path here in the Blazeforge Battlefield. He was here to experiment, to see if it could be done.
"Archmage Merlin, I won’t be joining you. I haven’t fought in ages, and I’ve never been to the Blazeforge Battlefield. We Gray Orcs know little about it anyway. Ever since humans arrived in the Blazeforge Realm, Gray Orcs haven’t set foot in the battlefield. I have no idea what it’s like now..."
Leon nodded, not pressing further, and let Krovitz return to the Gray Orc Fortress. He led his own men into the Plane Path.
Stepping into the Plane Path, the space around them became endless void, swirling with twisted streams of light. Only a circular passage at the center led off to some unknown distance.
Here, you could clearly sense terrifying energy fluctuations outside the passage. If that power erupted, it would kill them instantly—even Sky Ranks wouldn’t stand a chance.
Looking outside the passage, you could vaguely see distorted images—some from ancient eras, some playing in reverse, as if time itself was rewinding in the scene.
This is a spatial-temporal turbulence. If it reaches its peak, it becomes a spatial-temporal storm—destroying an entire plane would be effortless...
Silently feeling the atmosphere here, chaos contained the aura of nearly every magical law. The space itself was so dense that Leon carefully used his Mana Harness to capture a thread of this raw, unfiltered spatial energy.
A second later, the swirling lights around them twisted and vanished. A vortex appeared, swallowing everyone whole.
The light abruptly dimmed. Before anyone could see their surroundings, a pungent sulfur stench hit everyone’s nose.
Then the temperature shot up to an absurd level. All they could see was desolation—rivers of magma flowing everywhere, chunks of blackened rock drifting slowly in the lava.
"Roar..."
A muffled, furious roar echoed, and a terrifying wave of magical power surged like a tide. The magma rivers on the ground grew violent, and in the massive magma lake ahead—over a thousand meters wide—the lava churned and black smoke billowed skyward.
A gigantic head, at least ten meters across, emerged from the magma lake...
Crimson skin, three scarlet eyes on its forehead, four thick, interlocking black tusks—its expression twisted and savage.
"Sryess—my gods, how is there still one of these monsters here? Weren’t they wiped out in the God-Demon Era, lost to the wars?"
Anderson’s three faces were filled with astonishment—clearly, this creature had caught him off guard.
Even Leon only vaguely remembered hearing about such a monster.
"Merlin, have everyone be careful. This kind of monster went extinct in the God-Demon Era. They’re terrifying magical beasts—stupid as rocks, pure animal. They live in magma, eat magma, and wherever they settle, the environment changes.
The magma-covered area gets bigger and bigger. Aside from magma, they destroy everything else in their territory—living creatures, even ordinary trees, all are fair game.
Be especially wary of their third eye..."
All three of Anderson’s faces showed surprise, but his expression was almost like he’d spotted something delicious...
Leon hovered in midair, a slight frown creasing his brow.
Just after entering the Blazeforge Battlefield, they’d run into a monster thought extinct since the God-Demon Era. And this one was a peak Level-39 Sryess—already showing a hint of transcendent aura. It wouldn’t be long before it advanced to Sky Rank.
It’s probably already begun the process of advancing to Sky Rank. Sensing new arrivals, the brute seemed to be getting angry...
Sryess’s body slowly emerged from the magma lake.
Its body was over a hundred meters tall, with a tiny torso but six gigantic arms—each seventy or eighty meters long. It had no legs, moving entirely on those six arms.
Each arm was covered in cracked patterns, with magma flowing through the fissures, forming strange and ancient magic runes.
"Roar..."
With a furious bellow, Sryess sent a hundred-meter-high wave of magma surging toward the group.
Leon drifted upward into the sky, not joining the fight—he left it to his subordinates.
A peak Level-39 magical beast, already showing a hint of transcendence, was the perfect test subject to see how much his team’s strength had grown lately.
A true Sky Rank would be too much for them, but this one—with just a touch of transcendence—was just right.
Facing the magma wave, Reina instantly transformed into a Frost Dragon and soared skyward.
In an instant, frost filled the air, twisting the searing heat as the temperature plummeted. Shards of ice danced around Reina, condensing massive amounts of frost elements even in this scorching environment.
Her form changed dramatically—her body grew sleeker, losing the bulky shape typical of dragons. Her scales became finer, and the patterns on them more intricate and mysterious.
Flying in midair, Reina barely relied on her wings anymore. She was faster and more nimble than ever.
With a subtle flicker, she effortlessly dodged the hundred-meter-high wave of magma.
The Patchwork Golem and Anderson didn’t bother dodging at all—they started casting spells immediately.
Two massive torrents of magic tangled together, warping into a twisted spellstorm that crashed into the magma wave, blasting a hole more than ten meters across.
Hubert hefted Slaughter, stomping across smoldering stones as he charged straight at the magma wave.
Whenever Slaughter swung, the terrifying force shattered the air, sending white shockwaves swirling around Hubert—he looked like a three-meter-tall cannon of compressed air.
With a thunderous crash, a twenty-meter boulder exploded into fragments. Hubert’s body became a blur, charging straight into the magma wave.
White shockwaves rolled and clashed with the wave, as Slaughter smashed down.
In an instant, a massive ripple spread from Hubert’s center, sweeping across the entire wave—a shockwave blasting outward.