Chapter 1166
"Half? What do you mean, Archmage Leon—what's this about..."
Morgan looked utterly shocked, stammering out his question. But everyone more or less understood what Leon meant—this was simply too horrifying to accept.
The Blazeforge Orcs—those muscle-brained fools—had never compromised with humans in war. And now, they were actually willing to give up half?
What did this mean? It was cooperation, plain and simple. Once they reclaimed the Alchemical Array, half the spoils would go to the humans.
The Blazeforge Orcs already had eight Sky Rank powerhouses; nearly everyone who could break through had done so. Now, the Beast God's Blood could only be taken out of the Blazeforge Battlefield and handed to other warriors in the tribe who could attempt their own transcendence.
But among the Blazeforge Orcs, those who could fuse with the Beast God's Blood and complete their transcendence were few. Only those at the peak of Ninth-Rank Sword Saint, those who'd reached the end of the Sword Saint's path, were qualified. Ordinary Ninth-Rank Sword Saints didn't even have a chance.
Even if they claimed the Beast God's Blood, it might be decades before any orc warrior could actually use it.
But things were different on the human side. There were too many Mage Towers, too many factions. No Mage Tower would ever complain about having too many of these resources.
Title Archmages had long lifespans, and every Mage Tower had plenty of mages stuck at the peak of Ninth-Rank Title Archmage.
As long as there's Golden Transcendence Potion refined from the Beast God's Blood, a wave of Sky Rank powerhouses will emerge in no time.
The orcs couldn't possibly be unaware of this. In comparison, their losses from lagging behind are far smaller than the humans', and their gains this time far exceed ours. The Blazeforge Battlefield's victors are still them.
And yet, now they're actually willing to cooperate?
Are these guys really that stupid? Cooperation means giving up their victory—this time the Blazeforge Battlefield would end peacefully, letting the humans close the gap.
Once we leave the Blazeforge Battlefield, even this small boost will give the humans a bigger advantage there...
No one could figure it out. Sure, we called the orcs dumb, but not all of them are so clueless they can't grasp something this basic...
The group fell silent, shooting strange looks at the calm-faced Lin Yun, waiting for him to explain it himself.
Lin Yun walked over slowly.
"Everyone get ready for battle. We've already signed a contract with the orcs—it's a joint assault on the Alchemical Array. Once we reclaim it, all mana crystals will be exchanged for Beast God's Blood.
Then I'll refine it into Golden Transcendence Potion, and we'll split the potions evenly. The first bottle goes to whoever contributes the most—it's decided by merit."
No sooner had Lin Yun finished speaking than someone from the Odin royal family loudly demanded answers.
"You're actually making potions for the orcs! Do you even know what that means for them—"
He'd barely gotten two sentences out before realizing something was off. No one echoed his outrage; everyone just stared at him with weird, unreadable expressions.
Morgan broke into a wide grin.
"Idiot. You think the orcs won't reach Sky Rank without potions?"
Instantly, everyone fell silent. Orcs could break through to Sky Rank just by fusing with the Beast God's Blood, but now, humans finally had a shot at it too...
Off to the side, Raphael—an expert in alchemy—couldn't help but chuckle.
Those foolish orcs were truly pitiful, getting tricked by Archmage Leon with just a bit of obscure alchemical knowledge...
Directly fusing with the Beast God's Blood was definitely more effective than taking the Golden Transcendence Potion. But the orcs must've thought a potion would be better than the raw stuff...
What a bunch of poor fools—they even signed the contract...
Nearby, Joey's eyes lit up in sudden realization. He glanced at Lin Yun and shook his head with a smile, then whispered something to Heron, who burst out laughing.
"I knew it—Archmage Leon would never miss the chance to dig a huge pit for those orcs to fall into..."
Many people smiled knowingly. Alchemical potion-making among the Blazeforge Orcs was nothing like in the human world. Over the years, we've tricked the orcs countless times with it.
And generally, potions do work better than raw materials. The orcs had seen plenty of potions over the years, never an exception, so everyone just took it as common sense.
The Odin royal family member's face flushed red—he didn't dare say another word. Any more, and he'd just make himself a bigger joke.
No one expected these terms. Everyone was curious how Lin Yun managed the negotiations, but no one dared to ask.
Profits in hand are what really matter—the process itself isn't all that important, especially when someone else handles the bargaining. Compared to the gains, the details are even less relevant.
Soon, the human and orc armies assembled not far from the Alchemical Array. At least six or seven hundred Sword Saints or Title Archmages joined forces—almost every top-tier powerhouse from both sides of the Blazeforge Realm.
Eight Sky Rank orcs, four Sky Rank humans, plus two more who could fight at Sky Rank—making fourteen Sky Rank-level powerhouses in total.
With so many powerhouses gathered, the surrounding mana surged and condensed, forming a transparent wave hundreds of meters thick that shot into the sky, shredding the clouds to pieces.
From the direction of the Alchemical Array, magical beasts resting on the ground lifted their heads. At the array's center, the Dark Night Phoenix stretched its neck from beneath its wings, its eyes burning with black-blue flames. It glanced impatiently at the distance and let out a low cry.
In an instant, all the pseudo Sky Rank beasts and the true Sky Rank beasts sprang to their feet, their roars echoing one after another.
The remaining four Sky Rank beasts glared coldly and fiercely, roaring at the pseudo Sky Rank beasts.
Dozens of pseudo Sky Rank beasts instantly went berserk, charging straight toward the human and orc armies.
The ground trembled, elemental energy went wild, and spheres of destructive energy formed—rushing straight for the allied armies.
Balls of wild, destructive power erupted, and a dozen massive mushroom clouds rose before the armies. Destructive waves spread in all directions, obliterating everything in their path—even small mountains shattered and exploded.
Fragments of shattered stone swept by the destructive shockwaves were instantly reduced to ash, then annihilated within the energy currents.
Amid the explosions, dense chanting filled the air as waves of spells were unleashed.
Every Title Archmage here had at least Seventh-Rank power; when casting spells below Rank Six or Seven, they could fire off a dozen spells per second, minimum.
The strongest Ninth-Rank Title Archmages could release forty or fifty low-level spells per second, and Sky Rank powerhouses could easily unleash a torrent of magic.
Hundreds of Title Archmages cast spells together, forming a magical tsunami hundreds of meters tall.
A deluge of spells collided fiercely with the pseudo Sky Rank beasts' destructive energy spheres. In the middle ground between the armies, chaos reigned—air and elements alike were obliterated, leaving a pitch-black vacuum that kept exploding and vanishing...
On the other side, the orc Sword Saints raised their greatswords high, crimson battle energy slashing through the air, as if hundreds of massive crystal swords appeared overhead.
Countless giant swords, brimming with wild power, plunged into the destructive shockwaves, slicing the dark devastation into hundreds of pieces—the space itself seemed to shatter.
Fourteen Sky Rank powerhouses, hundreds of Title Archmages and Sword Saints, facing dozens of pseudo Sky Rank beasts. Even if those beasts were just a step away from true Sky Rank, the allied armies still held them down.
The charge of dozens of pseudo Sky Rank beasts was crushed after barely a thousand meters—on one side, a relentless tsunami of spells; on the other, a torrent of battle energy tearing and slashing mercilessly.
In less than five seconds, the three lead Wild Bull Beasts were shredded to pieces. In this ocean of spells and battle energy, every second meant taking dozens of slashes and hundreds of spells—without transcendent power, not even the Wild Bull Beasts could survive.
In half a minute, eighteen pseudo Sky Rank beasts were torn apart, their blood flowing like rivers across the barren ground.
Even with four true Sky Rank beasts present, they still couldn't halt the advance of the human and orc armies. When the troops were just over a thousand meters from the Alchemical Array, the Dark Night Phoenix finally lifted its head again.
A transcendent aura of Sky Rank Two erupted, sweeping through the battlefield like a storm, pressing down on everyone. Fourteen Sky Rank One powerhouses and hundreds of Title Archmages—all were suppressed!
The magical beasts, on the other hand, grew even stronger. Eyes blazing red, they charged in a frenzy, instantly reversing the tide and launching a counterattack against the humans and orcs.
The fourteen Sky Rank powerhouses' faces changed instantly.
"Damn it, how is this Dark Night Phoenix so strong? Its aura alone suppresses all of us—fourteen Sky Rank Ones and hundreds of Title Archmages, and we're all held down!"
Morgan shouted in shock.