Chapter 583: The Final Battle

"Out of my way!"

Batu Skullcrusher howled at the sky, swinging his battle axe like a storm. Crescent-shaped arcs of blood light surrounded his body.

"Careful!"

Rhea flapped her black wings, her body encased in divine silver armor, and soared into the air, dodging strike after strike.

Ed held his warhammer horizontally, a thick shell of rock like tortoise armor shielding him from Batu’s blows. Stone shattered, etched with blade marks.

But the other dwarves and orcs weren’t so lucky. The orc chieftain, attacking indiscriminately, was a walking meat grinder—leaving carnage and blood wherever he passed.

Orcs howled, begging their chief to spare them, but the maddened Batu recognized no allies—dwarf, elf, or orc, all were hacked into pieces.

As the slaughter continued, the totems on Batu’s body grew more savage, his aura swelling as if an unseen maw devoured the blood and souls of those slain by his axe.

Naturally, in this bloodstorm, the dwarven warriors couldn’t hold on. One after another fell.

Seeing this, Edd’s eyes turned red, boiling with fury: "Orc! I’ll end your wretched life with my own hands, no matter the cost!"

The dwarven king leapt up, throwing all his strength behind a swing aimed at the rampaging orc’s skull.

With his movement, sand and dust surged, and countless sharp stones shot forth like arrows.

But Batu’s power had grown beyond Edd’s expectations. As the hammer neared, Edd’s pupils contracted.

"Clang—"

The metallic blast was deafening. Dust rose once more.

A massive axe cut through the air. Batu blocked Edd’s full-force strike with one arm, sending the dwarf king flying.

"Impossible?!"

Terror gripped Edd’s heart. His hands went numb, blood vessels in his palm burst, spraying blood.

The sharp stones rained down on the orc chieftain, riddling his hulking body with wounds.

Yet Batu paid them no mind. Grinning, he leapt to pursue and finish Edd off.

At that moment, a sharp female voice echoed from the sky—like divine judgment from Mount Celestia.

"Orc! You have slaughtered innocents and invaded the dwarves’ home—your crimes are unforgivable!

In the name of the Knight of Vengeance, mercy is not for the wicked—"

Everyone looked up. Even Batu froze, seeing a mark of Oath of Hatred glowing above him.

The half-elf paladin hovered in the sky, her black wings spread. She gripped her sword with both hands, eyes calm and bright.

Face stern, she raised the silver sword and pronounced the final verdict.

"Oath of Retribution!"

At once, twilight radiance burst behind her, dyeing half the sky crimson like sunset.

At this moment, the true power of the "Twilight Blade" was fully unleashed!

A Damocles Sword made of pure light plunged from the clouds, striking down the airborne orc.

Meanwhile, Edd rolled across the ground, climbed up with his hammer, and his eyes lit with excitement.

"Hahaha! Perfect chance! Time to end that orc and avenge my people!"

"Die!"

Edd shouted and leapt, summoning a giant rock spike over ten meters tall and slamming it down on the falling orc.

The orc chieftain was first pinned by the sword, then crushed by the rock.

"Boom!"

The ground quaked. Cracks spidered across it as stones scattered and dust filled the air.

Amid the murk, all that was visible was the massive shadow of the rock spike—Batu’s condition was unknown.

"Huff... huff... he should be dead, right?"

Edd knelt, panting, gripping his hammer, palms soaked with sweat.

"No, he’s not dead."

Rhea hovered above, voice grave, staring at the dust cloud.

She warned: "My Oath still lingers—the orc lives!"

Without hesitation, she swung her silver sword, her eyes blazing with resolve.

Divine Strike!

The twilight-tinged blade sliced the ground open.

Then, the vengeful spirits of dwarves, humans, and even orcs slain by Batu surged forward in wrath.

They were Spirits of Vengeance!

"Damn orc! If that didn’t kill you, I will!"

Edd gritted his teeth, used his hammer to stand, and pounded the ground like a smith at his forge.

The earth moaned, the mountains trembled.

Each strike dug feet-deep into the ground, spreading countless cracks.

Stones fell like rain, burying the area in a mound.

Finally, searing fire erupted from below—it was Moradin’s Soulforging Flame!

"Boom!"

Edd and Rhea’s legendary strikes bombarded the area, reshaping the battlefield.

When the smoke cleared, only shattered rocks and ruin remained—eerily silent.

"Is he dead?"

"Not even a dragon could survive that."

"Impossible! Lord Batu is immortal!"

Dwarves, elves, and orcs all stared at the ruins, holding their breath, murmuring anxiously.

If Batu had died, everything would change.

"Crack."

Suddenly, the stone mound shifted, pebbles tumbling.

A deep voice rumbled from below, echoing across the battlefield.

"Hahaha..."

"What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger!"

With a roar, rocks exploded and dust flew. A hideous figure burst forth, collapsing the mound.

Batu’s body was covered in wounds, skin shredded and soaked in blood.

But it triggered a strange ritual—the blood formed grotesque totems across his body.

Gruumsh’s Eye—Ritual Scars!

"Kill! Kill you all!"

His totems pulsed, steam venting from his pores. His one eye now bloodshot with madness.

Batu raised his axe, slick with his own blood.

A bloodstorm erupted, shaking everyone present.

Behind him, a towering shadow appeared—a colossal orc in full black armor, scarred, with a single eye.

"Praise the Sleepless One!"

"Glory to the Father God!"

Orcs shouted with fanatical fervor—they were witnessing Gruumsh’s avatar!

Though only a projection summoned by the relic "Blood of Gruumsh," its power struck despair into dwarves and elves alike.

Edd went pale: "By Moradin... this damned orc is a god’s chosen!"

Rhea was fearless. She dove with her sword: "Wretch! Even your god can’t save you!"

"Slash—"

Twilight light flashed—but Batu blocked the full-force strike with ease.

Edd roared, slamming his hammer to the ground: "Pay for my people’s lives!"

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Stone spikes erupted from below to pierce everything.

Batu stomped, smashing them with blood-wrapped feet.

Even as lava burst out, the orc laughed while bathing in flame.

"I said—what doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger! This is the orc way!"

Batu clenched his fist, summoning a bloody storm toward the knight of vengeance, slaughtering all in its path.

From the wall, elves watched the battered Rhea struggle in the air, their faces tense.

Seymour gritted his teeth and raised his staff: "Aid Lady Rhea! She has a greater mission! She must not die here!"

Elven mages raised their staves—casting spells like Hold Person, Plague, Blindness, Greater Curses—all toward Batu.

But he stood still, unharmed, even grinning.

"Heh, feeble long-ears—your spells mean nothing to Gruumsh’s warriors!"

That was the trait of Gruumsh’s Eye—generations of hatred empowered them to resist elven magic with sheer flesh.

"And you bearded fools! Your proud fortress is a joke to the One-Eyed God!"

Batu raised his axe and brought it down.

But his target wasn’t Rhea, Edd, or any elite...

—It was the millennia-old, unbreached walls of Avenderdan.

Behind him, the Gruumsh phantom mirrored his swing. Under tens of thousands of gazes, it descended.

"Boom!"

Space trembled. Mountains roared.

The god-infused blade struck—the metal and stone bricks crumbled.

Dwarves and elves on the wall panicked, torn apart by the gale.

Avenderdan’s ancient wall was cleaved open—a breach dozens of meters wide, now collapsing!

Yet the axe kept going—splitting wall, ground, and even the fortress’s foundation.

Built into a mountain, if the base collapsed, the whole kingdom would fall.

The orc chieftain had gone mad!

He didn’t want to conquer Avenderdan—he wanted to destroy it and shatter dwarven morale!

"No—!"

Watching the wall fall, Edd screamed, rage flaring in his eyes.

"Orc! I won’t let you destroy the Highland Kingdom’s legacy!"

He lost all reason, charging forward with his warhammer.

His blood boiled, rocks and flames swirling around him like a magma giant.

"Arrogant fiend!"

Rhea shouted too, sword in hand, wings spread, diving.

High above, the gold dragon tangled with the rotting giant orc looked down, noticing the fierce ground battle.

"What a racket!

If this follows the script, King Edd will sacrifice himself, fusing with his hammer to shatter the orc’s defense.

And Rhea will slay the orc chieftain, ending the war and earning dwarven support," thought the dragon—Cassius.

"Smack!"

The gold dragon swatted the rotting orc’s head flat and chuckled: "Sorry, done with you. Time to clean up below!"

"Roar—!"

A deafening dragon’s roar rang out. The massive gold dragon unfurled its wings and dove.

"Orc! That ugly monster is dead, and the next sinner due for punishment is you!"

Cassius thought, being the righteous ganker is way more fun than being the boss—though he usually played the latter.

In that instant, three legendary beings charged from different directions:

—The dwarf king, the half-elf paladin, and the gold dragon—all aimed at one foe.

Batu Skullcrusher, chieftain of the Red-Blood Tribe, Gruumsh’s chosen!

"Come on!"

"After millennia of suffering, the orcs will claim their land—Father’s gift!

And you so-called righteous fools will all be slaughtered, buried beneath it!"

Batu Skullcrusher roared, raising the "Blood of Gruumsh," venting his fury.

And at that moment, the Blind God Sight activated—through his lost eye, Batu saw the moment of his death—[Timeless Vision].