CHAPTER 936: THE DIGNITY OF A SURVIVOR

A light-based power this perverse was beyond belief.

The white dragon drew closer, the sphere of radiant fire on its claw growing brighter, hotter.

A new mark blazed to life on Orion’s forehead: the emblem of two massive, crossed tusks. The Ancestor’s Soul.

Orion threw his head back and let out a guttural roar of pure agony. As he did, a shockwave of soul power erupted from him, violently expelling every trace of elemental energy from his immediate vicinity. For a split second, he existed in a perfect vacuum, devoid of both light and darkness.

The anomaly did not go unnoticed. The Great Dragon King of Light, Mondusath, thrust its claw forward without hesitation, aiming to impale him.

But in that same instant, Orion vanished.

He reappeared a safe distance away, panting, a wave of relief washing over him. Thank the gods for the Ancestor’s Soul. That was my last trump card. Without it, that last attack would have crippled me.

Mondusath’s calm voice drifted across the void once more. "No wonder you were able to infiltrate my sanctum and steal my treasures. You are as slippery as an eel."

The dragon’s form shimmered. "A pity. You cannot escape."

Another halo of light pulsed from its body. Where the light touched, the dragon could manifest. It appeared instantly at Orion’s side, swiping a claw to ensnare him.

The Ancestor’s Soul roared again, and Orion blinked away just in time.

"Bro, end your fight, now!" Orion sent a desperate, mind-to-mind message to Leonidas. "This white dragon is an avatar of Mondusath himself! It’s on a whole other level!"

This arch lord’s power couldn’t be measured by conventional standards. Its abilities weren’t just bizarre; its grasp of combat tempo was flawless. A warrior as powerful as Orion had been suppressed from the very first exchange, struggling just to find an opening to counterattack.

"Only shadows flee from the light," the white dragon intoned, its voice devoid of anger or surprise as Orion dodged again. The halos around its body began to flash in a complex rhythm as its free claw wove a series of intricate signs.

Miles away, Orion’s body suddenly wavered, then seemed to melt like wax, dissolving completely into the shadow he cast upon the ground.

Meanwhile, Leonidas, who had been thoroughly enjoying his brawl with the black dragon, nearly choked when Orion’s message came through.

Holy shit.

He didn’t waste a word. He sacrificed his battle-axe in a flash of light, simultaneously whipping out a scroll. He tore it in half and slapped the pieces against his chest.

The next moment, his Behemoth form began to shift.

His fingertips elongated, hardening into razor-sharp talons that crackled with raw lightning. Runes of thunder blazed to life across his massive body, coalescing in a matter of seconds into a gleaming suit of electric armor.

It was a Forbidden Art, a rare support-class incantation—the Aegis of Thunderlight.

"Go to hell!" the armored Behemoth roared, charging the black dragon with reckless, unstoppable force.

The news from Orion was so dire that Leonidas had no choice but to burn one of his own trump cards to end this fight immediately.

Titanion Realm, deep within the dwarven Tribe territory.

While Orion’s mirrored avatar fought a desperate battle against the Great Dragon King of Light, the survivor Torin was leading his Avenger Armies in a surprise assault on Grand Duke William and Prince Theodore.

The chaos of the rank-and-file soldiers, everything below Alpha-level, was a roaring tide of steel and screams, a single, massive melee that swallowed individuals whole.

But high in the sky above, the real battle was taking shape.

Torin, flanked by Brokk of the Dark Dwarves, Gotte-Steel of the gnomes, the werewolf Orwar, and the satyr Jin, had surrounded the four lords of the human kingdom.

Grand Duke William, a peak Legendary-level warrior, anchored their defense. Though outnumbered five to four, on paper, his side still possessed the greater raw power.

"Legendary level?" Grand Duke William’s face was a mask of fury, his voice shaking with rage as he felt the aura pouring from Torin. "So it’s true. You are a traitor. You’ve betrayed the human race, you’ve betrayed the nobles, and you’ve betrayed our faith!"

In this world, if a common human ascended to Legendary level without being part of the nobility, there were only two possibilities. The first was that they had forsaken their people and their faith. The second was that they had condensed a Lord’s Stone through their own power—a possibility so remote, the Grand Duke dismissed it out of hand.

"Betrayal?" Torin threw his head back and laughed, a ragged, broken sound that was more of a sob than a chuckle. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

His voice rose to a scream. "If it weren’t for you parasites hollowing out my Soaring Bird City, would I have ever ended up like this?!"

He gestured wildly, his eyes manic. "You nobles! What do you do besides squat on the heads of the common folk, sucking up the wealth they create, hoarding their faith for yourselves?"

"Soaring Bird City is my territory! Have you ever heard of a lord who has to pay entry tolls and protection fees just to enter his own city? Have you ever seen a lord so terrified that he daren’t even step outside his own gates?"

"That is what you gave me! Humiliation! You trampled on my dignity!"

To an outsider, Torin’s speech might have sounded pitiable. But the kingdom had extensive intelligence on him. The list of his own atrocities, committed in the shadows, was long.

"Lord Torin, it’s not too late to stop," Prince Theodore said, his voice calm and measured. "I give you my word. If you surrender and confess, you will be given everything you desire."

Torin was Legendary level now, with a coalition of other lords at his back. Such a faction was worth turning. If they could be brought into the fold, the human kingdom’s power would swell, cementing its place as the continent’s number one power. Recognizing this, even Grand Duke William held his tongue, his face a dark scowl.

Torin just stared at the prince. "Stop? Are you out of your mind?"

"Everything I want, I will take with my own two hands! Why would I need you to grant it to me like a scrap from your table?"

A chilling, high-pitched cackle escaped his lips. "Heh heh heh... I have you four surrounded. I will not let this opportunity pass. Your lives will be the offering that consecrates the banner of the Avenger Armies!"

His gaze fixed on the prince, dripping with venom. "Don’t think I don’t know, Theodore. You’ve always looked down on me."

"Do you remember? The first time you came to Soaring Bird City, it was I who broke my back playing host, who personally escorted you to the Stoneheart Horde to retrieve your bitch of an aunt."

A flash of memory, raw and painful, crossed Torin’s eyes—images of himself begging, scraping, and bowing for the sake of his city.

"And what was the result? When we returned, you didn’t even spare me a glance. I offered you my loyalty, and you didn’t even give me the chance to prove it!"

The memory shattered, replaced by a murderous rage. "And now you dare to offer me surrender? You’re the first one I’m going to kill!"

He would use slaughter to reclaim the dignity that was stolen from him—the dignity of an awakened survivor.

"Kill them!"