Chapter 1182
Leon’s eyes seemed to lose focus as he stared in the direction of the Sacred Mountain. Deep within his pupils, countless runic patterns whirled frantically, completely oblivious to the voices around him.
Nearby, Morgan’s eyes darted about and his lips curled up slightly. He glanced at the orcs and the Heavenly Mages led by Dubois Charles, unable to suppress a hint of sympathy.
These fools. After knowing Archmage Leon for so long, I’ve never seen him afraid of anything.
Besides, Archmage Leon’s greatest strengths aren’t just in combat, but in other arts—alchemy, his vast knowledge, and that almost prophetic, razor-sharp insight.
If Archmage Leon is actively raising a shield, there must be some tremendous danger here.
Even my Dark Magic Beast has never known what fear is. Yet after entering the Sacred Mountain, it’s become obedient, almost as if it’s met its nemesis.
According to the sense relayed by the Dark Magic Beast, there’s something completely invincible lurking very close by—extremely powerful, extremely dangerous...
If we’re not prepared, someone could easily die here...
These fools still dare to mock Archmage Leon. They’re in for a rude awakening. Didn’t you notice Crompton and Kros, both third-rank Heavenly Mages, kept silent? Just like Archmage Leon, they must’ve sensed something.
Hey, that idiot Bronze Orc really thinks their defense is unbeatable after reaching Sky Rank? I've seen one burned to ashes with my own eyes.
Still acting so arrogant here—just wait, you'll suffer for it. You might really die if you're not careful.
Morgan subtly retreated a step, while Stell had already walked several hundred meters ahead, loudly mocking the human mages as he went.
Suddenly, both Crompton and Kros erupted with powerful waves of magic and combat energy, their auras spreading out like a tsunami.
Ahead of the group, the solid ground softened like water. A mud spring appeared, and from it, a more than three-meter-tall orc, looking utterly ordinary, emerged from the earth.
The orc had skin interwoven with earth and red tones, no magical runes on its body, and aside from the signature orcish tusks, almost no racial features.
Especially, there was no focus in this orc’s eyes, nor any sign of a powerful aura. It seemed utterly ordinary, like a roadside stone—if not witnessed personally, no one would even notice an orc suddenly appeared there.
Stell was still turning back to mock Leon, completely unaware that just over a hundred meters ahead, an oddly ordinary orc had suddenly appeared.
After the strange orc appeared, its lifeless eyes turned toward the group. Despite lacking any spark, a terrifying malice—vicious, cold, cruel—emerged, and countless negative emotions surged like a psychic storm.
Stell, who was closest, was hit head-on by the storm of negative emotions. Blood streamed from his eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth, and his body was hurled backward like a leaf caught in a gale.
Even as Stell flew through the air, unleashing all his Battle Qi, he continued to scream in agony, his face contorted beyond recognition.
His shrill screams sounded as if he were being tormented by some horrific punishment.
Stell was flung backward, but the others had no time to save him. The pure storm of negative emotions was absolutely on par with a powerful mind mage unleashing a psychic storm.
And this was a mind mage of truly overwhelming strength!
Kros stood his ground, gripping his greatsword planted before him. His faint golden Battle Qi rapidly condensed into armor, enveloping him completely.
As the storm of negative emotions struck, dense magical runes surfaced on Kros’s body, coming alive. Smaller orc phantoms appeared around him, battling the shadowy forms of negative emotions.
Crompton spat out two Radiance Runes, which exploded in front of him and instantly formed a milky-white mental barrier that enveloped him.
When the storm of negative emotions hit Crompton’s mental barrier, a series of sharp, grating sounds echoed out, and the surrounding stones were shattered into powder.
But aside from Crompton and Kros, the others weren’t nearly as fortunate.
Leon, Morgan, and several others had already activated their Rule Rune Shields—the ultimate defense technique of Sky Rank experts.
While not as targeted as a Mindshield, their defensive power was even greater.
Leon, Morgan, Rafael, Dida La, and Butler all raised shields. Swept up by the storm of negative emotions, the runic patterns on their shields swirled as they were tossed backward like balls in the surf—but they remained unharmed.
But Dubois and the others who seized the chance to mock Leon—and the orcs—weren’t so lucky.
A pure storm of negative emotions is even more troublesome than psychic spells. There’s no clever way to resist it—only brute force will do.
Those who were swept in without prior protection found their minds and souls in a terrifying torture chamber, suffering all kinds of cruel punishments.
Under this assault, mental and spiritual suffering was infinitely magnified, and the perception of time stretched endlessly.
A single second of direct impact felt, to the mind and soul, more intense than enduring a year of horrific torture.
One by one, the Sky Rank experts screamed in pain and despair as if they were young girls being tormented by a gang of brutes, flying through the air.
Even though the assault lasted less than two seconds, everyone had already unleashed their strongest defenses. But that one or two seconds was more than enough...
Beyond activating their defenses, they couldn't even control their own bodies, and could only be swept away by the storm.
Bone-chilling wails echoed in the air; even with their defenses raised, the screams never stopped.
After weathering the first wave, Leon landed steadily on the ground. Those who had activated their defenses early also managed to regain their footing one after another.
Leon frowned at the vacant-eyed orc, a flicker of 'just as expected' passing through his gaze.
The Sacred Mountain of the Blazeforge Realm is a place of near-divinity to the Blazeforge Orcs. For countless years, they have offered sacrifices; their strongest ancestral spirit is this very mountain.
This is the place closest to the origin of the Blazeforge Realm. Here, the Sacred Mountain itself has undoubtedly developed consciousness.
An entity worshipped by all Blazeforge Orcs, able to channel the realm’s power—if you trespass here, even a first-tier Sky Rank expert would be lucky to survive three seconds.
Now that the ancient god-demon has begun devouring the realm’s power, the Sacred Mountain has inevitably fallen under the Seventy-Third Deity’s control.
Since stepping onto the Sacred Mountain, not a single demon has appeared; the surroundings are so still, it’s as if death itself has settled here.
But the Seventy-Third Deity would never let us enter the Sacred Mountain unopposed. There’s no need to guess—we’re facing the Sacred Mountain Avatar!
Even weakened, the Sacred Mountain Avatar is still stronger than anyone here—including Kros and Crompton, both peak tier-three Sky Rank experts.
Unfortunately, as soon as the Avatar appeared, the uncontrollable negative emotions erupted, forming a psychic storm.
This psychic storm is powerful, but compared to the Avatar’s true strength, it’s much weaker. Blazeforge Orcs aren’t skilled in mind magic, so the Avatar isn’t either—it’s just pure venting.
Stell, the most miserable here, was left writhing on the ground, face covered in blood and screaming. His soul was battered by immense negative emotions, and the torment hadn’t ended yet—it would last at least seven or eight seconds.
But in the perception of the soul, those seconds could stretch into seven or eight years...
The pain is agonizing, but for a transcendent being, this level of torment won’t shatter the soul...
Morgan landed beside Leon, looking around with disappointment—no one had died, not even the pitiable Stell. He was clearly let down.
I knew something dangerous was coming. No wonder my Dark Magic Beast quieted down—this guy’s negative emotions are far stronger than my beast’s.
Too bad it only made those idiots who were laughing earlier suffer a bit, and that foolish Bronze Orc didn’t even get killed. What a pity.
Damn it, what the hell is this new orc thing...