Chapter 924: Ancestral Warden
The air began to distort, space itself seemed to tremble, and a terrifying wave of sound whipped the currents into a raging gale—as if a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage had unleashed a full-powered Tempest spell.
Seeing this translucent giant's overwhelming strength, the Blazeforge Orcs' morale surged even higher, their terrifying presence gathering like invisible flames blazing skyward.
But in the distance, the faces of the human coalition changed dramatically...
Leon’s brow furrowed—he had recognized exactly what this thing was.
At first, no one had noticed the presence of an orc priest, but now, one had appeared—an orc high priest with a full altar, who had directly summoned the Blazeforge Orcs' Ancestral Totem Pillar.
That colossal Ancestral Totem Pillar, hundreds of meters tall, was the Blazeforge Orcs' sacred symbol of faith. Once it appeared on the battlefield, every Blazeforge Orc became fearless—no force could make them cower.
Not only did it boost their combat strength by thirty percent, it also slightly accelerated their wound recovery—a truly terrifying effect.
If it were just the Ancestral Totem Pillar, it would be bad enough. But the crazed high priest had gone further, directly summoning the Blazeforge Orcs' Ancestral Warden.
This Ancestral Warden was not the spirit of some fallen tribal ancestor—it was a true faith spirit, forged from tens of thousands of years of Blazeforge Orc devotion, their fervent belief coalescing into a sentient entity.
As time passed, this Ancestral Warden had long since become one of the guardian deities of the Blazeforge Realm. If not for innate magical restrictions, this entity might well have reached Sky Rank—its presence radiated transcendent power, a living embodiment of the orcs' faith.
Though it never became a true Sky Rank creature, its power was nearly there—immensely strong, it possessed not only strength surpassing any Ninth-Rank Sword Saint, but also the spellcasting abilities of an orc warlock.
Even more terrifying, despite never breaking through to Sky Rank, its reserves of power far eclipsed any Ninth-Rank Title Archmage. Even Leon’s mana, vastly greater than his peers and bolstered by two Mana Vortexes, was nowhere near the might of this orc Ancestral Warden.
This thing was tireless—a nearly inexhaustible engine of destruction. As one of the Blazeforge Realm’s guardian deities, it had already performed several heroic feats in times of crisis.
In the history of the Blazeforge Realm, before humans had ever appeared, every time the Blazeforge Orcs faced an overwhelming crisis, they would summon the Ancestral Warden to turn the tide.
Now, with the orc Ancestral Warden manifesting once again, its terrifying combat power erupted. The spirit stretched out arms nearly a hundred meters long, snatching a Black Tower Third-Rank Title Archmage in one massive hand—its grip radiating raw magical force, warping the air around it.
The Black Tower mage was protected by three layers—Rune Shield, mana shield, and elemental shield—wrapped around him like concentric spheres.
With such defenses, even an ordinary Ninth-Rank Title Archmage couldn’t break through all at once. But in the grip of the orc Ancestral Warden, it seemed effortless—the three shields shattered instantly, and the terrifying force crushed his body to fragments.
After crushing the nearest Black Tower mage, the Ancestral Warden howled at the sky. Instantly, a vast black cloud hundreds of meters wide gathered overhead, the heavy stench of sulfur filling the battlefield. Fire flickered within the cloud, and in less than a second, flaming meteors several meters across, trailing long plumes of black smoke, began to rain down.
As the first meteor appeared, the black cloud seemed to boil—dozens more meteors shot out, crashing toward the human coalition, with Leon’s Alchemical Golem Army singled out for special attention.
In just three or four seconds, over a dozen Level-30 Alchemical Golems were smashed to scrap metal by the meteors...
In the midst of battle, Leon frowned slightly—the Ancestral Warden's mana reserves were terrifying. Though not quite Sky Rank, its power easily matched a mage legion, and its spellcasting rivaled several Ninth-Rank Title Archmages casting in unison.
Casting spells with such abandon would leave any Ninth-Rank Title Archmage pale-faced. Even Leon wouldn't dare to summon a massive black cloud and rain down meteors indefinitely; his own vast mana reserves would be drained in three minutes at most.
But for the Ancestral Warden, this seemed like just another ordinary spell battle.
Level-35 Alchemical Golems could hold out for a while, but the Level-30 models simply couldn't withstand such a relentless barrage of flaming meteors for long...
Ten minutes, and half the Level-30 Alchemical Golems would be lost...
But Leon couldn’t break away—his current opponent was a peak Eighth-Rank Sword Saint of the Blazeforge Orcs. Normally, such an opponent wouldn’t trouble him, but this Sword Saint’s weapon was a real problem.
The orc warlord wielded a massive sword over two meters long, forged from the tooth of some enormous creature, with almost no modification.
But Leon recognized it at a glance—the sword was forged from the sacred fang of a Sky Rank dragon. The patterns etched into the tooth were unforgettable.
Moreover, Leon could tell—the dignified, layered patterns belonged to the sacred fang of an Eighth-Rank Sky Rank dragon!
Sacred fangs—unique to Sky Rank dragons—are their four largest tusks, famed for their unrivaled piercing power. Legends say that when the Five-Colored Dragon sought to travel to other realms or the endless void, it didn't need teleportation arrays or special planar routes.
Take the Three-Headed Gold Dragon, for example—if it wanted to visit another realm, all it needed was the coordinates. With a single bite, it could tear open a gateway to that plane.
Now Leon was truly vexed. Normally, he could finish off a peak Eighth-Rank Sword Saint orc warlord with little effort, but this time he was being held up.
The greatsword forged from the sacred fang still carried a trace of transcendent power—clearly, the fang was broken while the dragon was still alive.
That lingering trace of power on the sacred fang was the real problem for Leon—the transcendent aura was the main reason for his troubles.
Trying to break free, Leon spat out a rune, forming a massive frost cage over ten meters wide to trap the orc warlord.
But the orc warlord simply swung the greatsword, its transcendent aura swirling. Like slicing through tofu, he pierced the frost cage, battle energy erupting as he tore a gaping hole and escaped.
Spells flew in all directions—fireballs, boulders, whatever Leon cast. If they collided with that greatsword, they were shredded to fragments...
In critical moments, the orc warlord even used the greatsword as a shield. When spells struck head-on, the transcendent aura forcibly scattered them into mere elemental energy, rippling through the battlefield with a wave of magical distortion.
Leon’s brow furrowed tightly. The orc warlord’s raw strength wasn’t the issue—it was that lingering trace of transcendent power in the sacred fang greatsword. Leon didn’t dare let him get close.
Transcendent power—even a single trace—could suppress everything. That was a true qualitative difference, especially since the fang belonged to a high-level Sky Rank dragon. The power in this fang far outstripped that of a lesser Sky Rank.
No shield spell could possibly withstand the piercing force of that sacred fang greatsword!
It was like trying to block a needle with sheets of paper meters wide—this wasn’t about raw strength, but a fundamental difference in nature!
Leon was pinned down and couldn’t deal with the Ancestral Warden, but neither the Black Tower nor the Cloudspire Tower could allow the spirit to rampage unchecked.
Soon, a dozen Title Archmages charged the Ancestral Warden, and Difo of the Black Tower joined the fray as well.
Difo had finally slain his opponent; now he had no interest in facing anyone else. Killing orc elites brought little glory, but the Ancestral Warden was a different story!
Difo knew perfectly well—the Ancestral Warden was one of the Blazeforge Realm’s guardian deities, a spirit formed from tens of thousands of years of Blazeforge Orc faith. Destroying it would earn far more merit than slaying a Level-39 orc elite, and in the context of the whole war, would mean much more than wiping out a ten-thousand-strong Blazeforge Orc army!
Destroying the Ancestral Warden would sever countless years of orc faith—a blow to the Blazeforge Realm far more severe than losing a single army.
With a dozen Title Archmages attacking together, Difo wouldn’t miss this chance. He rushed into range, a cold smile on his lips as he began casting, holding nothing back.
Damn it, as long as I destroy this Ancestral Warden, my merit in this offensive will far surpass Heron’s. Then the power of the Black Tower will be mine to command. That idiot Heron—let’s see how he explains himself to the Sanctuary. He’ll pay dearly for his stupidity.
Hmph, and not just Heron—Marfa Merlin, you’d better watch out too. Once Heron is dealt with, you’re next.
And then there’s Cloudspire Tower. Damn Heron, actually cooperating with them! Doesn’t he know how tense things have always been between the Black Tower Sanctuary and the Cloudspire Tower Sanctuary? Did he forget how the Black Tower’s newly ascended Sky Rank genius died three hundred years ago?
Once the battle ends, Cloudspire Tower will be next. All the spoils will be ours, all under my leadership—the glory will belong to the Black Tower!
Excitement flashed in Difo’s eyes as he gazed at the towering Ancestral Warden, over a hundred meters tall. He felt little fear now, joining the dozen Title Archmages in the assault. With a wave of his staff, countless snowflakes swirled, forming a raging storm of ice blades that crashed onto the spirit’s body.
The Ancestral Warden roared again and again. Facing the siege of a dozen Title Archmages, it didn’t use any defensive spells—its massive body was its best defense. Every spell it cast was offensive, often combined with physical attacks.
It was like a fusion of Sword Saint and Title Archmage, far stronger than any ordinary Ninth-Rank Title Archmage.