Chapter 951: The Path of the Plane
Seeing that this tactic worked, Hubert finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was so worried he'd hit too hard and accidentally smash the fragile Gray Orcs inside to death...
As the chaotic melee raged on, the wide-area attacks from the Gray Orcs atop the fortress walls became useless. Only the bunker that could fire thick jets of flame still had some effect, but its rate of fire was abysmal—one shot every half minute. Each blast destroyed one of Leon's alchemical golems, but in the grand scheme, it hardly mattered...
Working in tandem with the Mage Legion, Hubert swiftly harvested the Gray Orcs. In less than ten minutes, over two hundred Gray Orcs were captured...
Faced with this situation, the remaining Gray Orcs tried to flee, only to find that monster Hubert clinging to them relentlessly. He even tanked a direct hit from the thick flame ray, and just kept fighting as if nothing happened. If that kind of creature chased you into the fortress, you were finished...
The last few dozen Gray Orcs finally abandoned any hope of retreat. With their remaining alchemical golems, they launched one final charge.
But it was pointless. Three minutes later, every Gray Orc had been captured...
At that moment, Leon decisively ordered a retreat, ignoring the monster alchemical golems still in play...
Two hundred Gray Orcs captured in one go. Sure, Hubert accidentally killed a dozen, and most of the rest were badly wounded, but it hardly mattered. Once they got back, a single vial of life potion would have them bouncing around again.
With so many captives this time, Leon stashed them all in the demi-plane. Seeing that today's battle was finally over, he turned and personally set out for Radiance Fortress.
After handing over more than two hundred Gray Orcs to Lord Shaun, and storing a batch of newly produced, stronger alchemical golems in the demi-plane, Leon wasted no time heading straight for the Gray Orc fortress.
A swarm of alchemical golems emerged—more than before, and each one stronger than the last.
After several rounds of this, the Gray Orcs finally understood: Leon's side was absurdly strong. Hundreds of Gray Orcs leading an army of alchemical golems simply weren't a match. But Leon kept circling them, snatching Gray Orcs every time.
If they kept up these small skirmishes, they'd only be slowly and relentlessly devoured.
"We can't go on like this. Those humans are here to capture us—cutting off our water, encircling us, trying to consume us bit by bit with minimal cost. We have to strike back, with everything we've got. Only by driving these humans off can we survive this crisis!"
Inside the war hall of the Gray Orc fortress, a Gray Orc commander shouted his opinion.
"Those humans keep producing more alchemical golems, and they're all elite units. If this keeps up, the fortress is doomed."
"That's right, we have to push them back. If the fortress falls, it's all over..."
A chorus of agreement erupted below. By now, everyone could see what Leon was up to.
"Fine! Open the gates! All-out counterattack—drive these damned humans away!"
The Gray Orc leader above, face clouded with worry, gave the order.
An hour later, the gates of the Gray Orc fortress swung wide open. Countless monster alchemical golems surged out like a flood, charging madly toward Leon's legion.
Behind the monster alchemical golem army, over a thousand Gray Orcs piloted Half-Golems, with many more riding alchemical golem mounts at the rear.
Seven or eight thousand cannon fodder alchemical golems thundered across the ground, making the earth tremble.
Leon frowned, instantly spotting what was different. The Gray Orcs were finally going all out?
The battle began—completely one-sided. Leon's newly reinforced front line of alchemical golems, all at least Level 30, formed a steel tide that swept away the cannon fodder monster alchemical golems before they could even put up a fight.
Soon, the alchemical golem army and Mage Legion clashed with the rear ranks of the Gray Orc Half-Golem army.
The Gray Orcs abandoned their defensive position, charging wildly into Leon's battle lines—only to achieve nothing.
Scores of Gray Orcs were knocked down and captured, while those in the rear frantically casting spells were scattered by a single charge from Hubert, making it easy to seize dozens at a time.
In no time, Hubert alone had captured seventy or eighty Gray Orcs. The prisoners were sent to the rear for containment; more and more Gray Orcs were seized, while Leon's front line barely budged.
Over three thousand monster alchemical golems were dismantled, more than a hundred elite alchemical golems destroyed, and over four hundred Gray Orcs captured.
Their desperate attack was doomed to fail—it was only a matter of time...
Hubert threw back his head and laughed heartily.
"You idiots! When Lord Hubert steps in, do you really think you can run? Just stick your heads out and I'll only knock you out—promise I won't snap your necks..."
It wasn't just Hubert—the Mage Legion was thrilled too. This was almost too easy...
Did these Gray Orcs really think they couldn't win, and were just here to die now?
Nobody thought too hard about it—they just captured batch after batch of Gray Orcs. Everyone was happy except Leon, whose brow furrowed as magical energy began to ripple around him...
The Gray Orcs kept up their suicidal charge. Every second, at least dozens of cannon fodder alchemical golems were destroyed, and nearly every second, another Gray Orc was captured.
But the Gray Orcs suddenly seemed fearless, utterly indifferent to losses. They fought with reckless abandon, desperate to push back Leon's army—a battle of mutual destruction, with no hope of survival.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Leon snapped his head up. Above the gates of the Gray Orc fortress, fierce spatial ripples appeared—like a stone thrown into a stagnant pool, visible waves spread outward.
Directly beneath the rippling space, a dozen cannon fodder alchemical golems were swept up by the spatial surge and torn to pieces—their steel bodies twisted like clay into bizarre shapes.
The calm sky above was suddenly ripped open like fabric—a pitch-black rift appeared, and wild winds howled as elemental forces went berserk. A void storm erupted from within, flooding the battlefield with an utterly alien aura.
Four massive arms stretched out from the spatial rift, gripping its unstable edges. Where palm met rift, arcs of blinding lightning crackled, making the space even more turbulent.
Those four arms pulled the rift wider, forcibly tearing the gap open.
A moment later, a humanoid alchemical golem—over ten meters tall, with four arms—climbed out of the rift. As it landed, the ground shook violently and a shockwave rippled outward, Sky Rank power flooding the area.
All the cannon fodder alchemical golems nearby scattered like subjects before their king, not daring to approach.
A Sky Rank Alchemical Golem!
Leon's alchemical golem army reacted like ordinary magical beasts before a superior predator—their combat power and agility suppressed, control and battle programs disrupted, unable to approach the Sky Rank Alchemical Golem.
Moments ago, everyone had been elated—but now, no one could laugh. No one expected the Gray Orcs to summon a Sky Rank Alchemical Golem.
The army retreated without hesitation, the alchemical golem corps recalled. Reina, Anderson, and the Patchwork Golem—who had yet to act—now readied for battle.
On the Gray Orcs' side, the moment the Sky Rank Alchemical Golem appeared, they retreated like a tide into the fortress, leaving only the Sky Rank Alchemical Golem outside the gates.
Leon's expression turned grave as he stared at the spatial rift overhead, clearly uneasy.
His mana array instantly locked onto the Sky Rank Alchemical Golem's aura and began a full analysis. A moment later, Leon relaxed slightly.
No wonder the Gray Orcs fought so desperately—they were opening a path to another plane. Even if unstable, it was enough to summon a Sky Rank Alchemical Golem.
The only consolation: though this golem had reached Sky Rank, it hadn't gained transcendent power. Its strength far surpassed level 39, but hadn't truly reached level 40.
Alchemical golems ascend to Sky Rank differently than humans—they can reach level 40 first, then undergo a final transformation to gain transcendent power and become a true Sky Rank.
Most alchemical golems get stuck at this last step, unable to complete the transformation, so they never become true Sky Rank Alchemical Golems.
This one was a textbook case—Sky Rank level, but no transcendent power. Compared to a true Sky Rank, it's much weaker and can't suppress beings below Sky Rank.
Even so, the Sky Rank Alchemical Golem could still exert a natural pressure—useless against humans, but enough to suppress lower-ranked alchemical golems, sapping their combat ability and performance.
The Sky Rank Alchemical Golem stood tall, its crystal eyes flashing crimson as its head rotated, scanning everything around it.
A moment later, it raised all four arms, unleashing countless beam spells like lasers. The concentrated rays struck every alchemical golem within two hundred meters, indiscriminately.
Scarlet flame rays punched through the power cores of cannon fodder alchemical golems, while blue frost rays froze others into ice statues, even freezing their magic reactors.