CHAPTER 924: SISTER-IN-LAW

Sunlight pierced the clouds, falling upon the dark grey city walls.

Delilah moved with a familiar grace through the sweet-scented air of the city, heading deep into the fortress of Stoneheart.

Several herbs in the magical plants garden had matured, releasing a fine, white fluff that drifted through the entire city, blanketing everything like a delicate layer of summer snow.

As she stepped into the garden, Delilah heard the cheerful shouts of Elara and Pallas.

Egged on by three chittering elemental sprites, they were chasing a shimmering faerie insect around the grounds.

Nearby, Orion and Lilith sat together, watching their two children play with blissful smiles.

As Delilah approached, Lilith gestured for the maidservants to bring her a chair before dismissing them.

"The dwarven elder, Harbek, has crossed the border of Soaring Bird City and entered our Stoneheart Horde’s ogre territory," Delilah said, sitting down and casually helping herself to a pastry from the round table. She nibbled on it as she delivered her report.

"My lord, what do you think he wants? The elder of the dwarven tribe, coming all the way out here."

Her tone was tinged with a smug satisfaction.

"Is he here to ask for aid, or to pledge his allegiance?"

When the Stoneheart Horde had first arrived from the north, the dwarven Tribe couldn’t be bothered with them. Now, the tables had turned. With the dwarves facing disaster, they were the ones coming to their door.

"Roll out the welcome mat, but keep him at arm’s length," Orion said, leaning back and lacing his fingers behind his neck.

He tilted his chair until it found that perfect, precarious balance point between sitting and falling, and let it rock back and forth with a gentle creak.

"The dwarves won’t get serious until the human kingdom turns down their plea for help."

"Aren’t you afraid Harbek will just take all the dwarves to the human kingdom instead?"

Honestly, a Legendary level dwarf like Harbek—a master of both combat and craft—was exactly the kind of talent the Stoneheart Horde desperately needed.

If Harbek could be brought into the fold, the question of who would truly lead the Stoneheart Horde Bureau of Weapons would finally be settled. In a short time, the Horde’s armament and weapons technology would leap forward by several tiers.

Considering all this, Delilah had to press him. "Orion?"

"If Harbek goes to the human kingdom, it just proves he’s not a smart man," Orion said, not bothering to meet Delilah’s gaze. He slowly closed his eyes, letting the warm sun soothe his eyelids. "And if that’s the case, the dwarven race would never flourish under his leadership anyway."

He paused, a lazy smile on his face.

"Besides, from what I know of that dwarven prophet, he wouldn’t have left things to chance. I bet they have a contingency plan. The prophet goes to the human kingdom, while Harbek comes here to us. Even I know not to put all my eggs in one basket."

His voice trailed off lazily. The succubus sisters exchanged a look but said nothing, content to simply share this rare moment of peace with the man beside them.

In the Emerald Dream Realm, over the Kasenna Sea.

Orion stared at Leonidas, who had his arm wrapped around the waist of the female dragon, Daize. His eyes were wide with pure admiration.

This bro is on another level. He actually conquered an arch lord-tier female dragon through a combination of fighting, roaring, flirting, and just generally being a menace. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Orion would have never believed it was possible.

"Heh heh heh. Bro. You know what to do. Call her ’sis’," Leonidas grinned, puffing out his chest.

A faint blush colored Daize’s cheeks and she tapped his chest with a playful fist.

"A pleasure to meet you, sis," Orion said, giving Leonidas the respect he’d demanded. He shot his friend a quick, conspiratorial wink.

"Bro, I’m leaving things to you for a bit," Leonidas announced. "I’ve got to, uh, get your sister-in-law settled in."

Just as Orion’s mind started racing with questions, Leonidas had already provided an answer.

Orion nodded. No matter how curious he was, he couldn’t exactly start interrogating him in front of Daize.

But before Orion could say another word, Leonidas unfurled a cross-planar teleportation scroll. With a ripple of void energy, he and Daize vanished from the Leonidas palace.

Orion shook his head. The Dragon Faction was going to be absolutely livid.

In this one conflict, they hadn’t just lost an arch lord and the powerful Tritail Dreadturtle he commanded, but one of their top-tier mistress dragons had also been poached.

In any tribe, every single arch lord was a pillar of their power. The defection of one wasn’t just a loss of combat strength; it was a devastating blow to morale and faith.

The sheer depth of this bro’s resources is just jaw-dropping.

From the moment he’d met Leonidas, seeing him sacrifice two of his own avatars, deploy a seemingly endless variety of land, sea, and air units, and now this feat of taming the dragon Daize... Orion was thoroughly impressed. He knew that an arch lord like Daize wouldn’t submit so easily just from a single fight. Leonidas had to have some skill or item that made her willing to follow him, to submit to him.

But then again, that was Leonidas’s secret. If he didn’t offer it up, Orion couldn’t ask.

Three days passed. Demon Makareth, who had been unconscious in the plaza, finally awoke.

He shot up from his prone position, shaking his head violently as if trying to dislodge something from his brain.

"Mak. We saved you some barbecue. You’d better get over here and refuel," Orion’s voice called out.

Makareth looked up and saw Orion lounging under a large sun umbrella. The world slowly came back into focus.

"Big boss. Give me a sec. Still rebooting."

Orion nodded and said no more. He’d settled on calling him Mak. Little M felt too much like he was talking down to him, and his full name felt too formal. Mak was a good middle ground.

A moment later, Makareth stood, ripped off his tattered and blood-soaked clothes, and collapsed onto a lounger next to Orion, wearing nothing but a pair of massive shorts.

"Big boss. Is the fight over?"

"Nah. The grunts are still grinding it out on the front lines."

"Say no more."

Makareth sat bolt upright, grabbed a massive haunch of roasted meat, and began to wolf it down.

"Let me get a full stomach, then I’m going back in to carve my way through them again."

True to his word, the moment he was full, the guy grabbed his giant moonstones scimitar and sprinted back toward the front lines.

"Interesting. Very interesting," Orion mused to himself.

He was fascinated by Makareth. Beyond his earnest intensity, the Demon lord had an extreme, almost fanatical, streak of obsession and madness etched into his personality.

Maybe only someone that goddamn stubborn could forge his own Lord’s Stone and ascend on his own terms.

Just as Orion was lost in thought, the air shimmered with void energy. Leonidas appeared a short distance away.

"Yo, bro," Orion called out, giving him a wave. "Back already? Did you feed your new girlfriend?"