CHAPTER 946: THE NEW WARDEN

Orion nodded, not pressing further.

No wonder these guys have such an insane power curve, he thought. They’ve already been reaping the benefits of a Dragon Crucible for who knows how long. It’d be weird if they didn’t have a stable of elite talent.

"Bro," Leonidas said, shoving an inventory pouch into Orion’s hands. It was heavy with supplies. "This is from my personal stash. Use it. Try to build the Dragon Crucible as big as you can. I’m gonna run a batch of my own people through it this time, too."

The pieces clicked into place. Leonidas had clearly been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

Orion accepted, nodding. Even though it would cost him a significant amount of his own materials, gaining a unique, large-scale structure that could fundamentally upgrade his Tribe was more than worth the price.

With the deal struck, the mood sobered. No one dared get too relaxed. War was on the horizon, and every one of them could feel the tension tightening in their chests.

Human Kingdom, Soaring Bird City

When the war sirens blared, a wave of panic washed over the entire city.

Inside the palace, Princess Ava felt a knot of pure dread tighten in her stomach as two powerful, undisguised lord-auras swept over her city from the outside.

Most of the kingdom’s lords were already deployed to the eastern front, preparing for war. If Soaring Bird City were attacked now, no support would arrive in time.

But just as her anxiety peaked, Delilah and Lireesa arrived together.

"Princess Ava," Delilah said, a confident smile playing on her lips. "The visitors outside are two of the stoneheart horde’s Wardens. I hope they didn’t alarm you?"

Her tone was friendly, but it carried an unmistakable undercurrent of pride and subtle superiority. She’d received intel long ago that Lorelia and Aldous were on their way.

"Two Wardens of the stoneheart horde?" Ava was so stunned she couldn’t control her expression, her shock and confusion plain for all to see.

"Yes," Delilah confirmed, beaming as if bathed in a halo of her faction’s glory. "Two of our horde’s Wardens."

"Lady Delilah," the Grand Elder of the blood elf race, Lireesa, spoke up, her voice measured and cautious. "I recognize one of the lords outside as the Ogre. Might I ask who the other is?"

The true number of Legendary level powerhouses within the stoneheart horde was a complete mystery to outsiders. If internal rumors were to be believed, there could be as many as seven or eight. But the only ones who had ever made a public appearance in the southern territory were Soraya, Xalathar, and Aldous.

"That would be our horde’s newest Warden, Lady Lorelia."

Honestly, even Delilah felt a little strange calling her that. She never imagined that the timid, sneaky little thing she remembered would be the first of the inner circle’s new generation to break through to the lord level. It was a complete shock to the four core races, a surprise that filled them all with a fierce sense of pride and motivation.

ROAR!

As they spoke, the guttural roar of an ogre echoed from outside the city walls.

There, Lorelia stood on Aldous’s shoulder, staring with undisguised envy at the massive earring he wore.

"This was a gift from my lord, little sister Lorelia," Aldous rumbled, his voice a deep bass. "It is very important to Aldous. I cannot give it to you."

Aldous and Lorelia were an odd couple, to say the least. But somehow, the fun-loving Lorelia and the simple, life-loving Aldous got along perfectly, and they’d formed an unlikely big-brother-little-sister bond.

"Hehe, I’m just looking! I didn’t say I wanted it!" Lorelia chirped, tearing her gaze away.

Since ascending to lord, she had awakened the Dreamscape series of transcendent power. An artifact that amplified mental power, like Aldous’s earring, was incredibly attractive to her. Orion had already given her several similar pieces of gear from his personal collection after her promotion, but it was just her nature. As a girl who loved pretty, shiny things, her first instinct upon seeing one was wanting it for herself.

"Heh heh... when we get to the battlefield, Aldous will find you other nice things!" To an ogre, the solution was simple: if you wanted things, you took them from your enemies.

"You promise? And they have to be good things!"

"I promise!"

While Aldous and Lorelia were cheerfully plotting how to loot their future enemies, Ava, Lireesa, and Delilah emerged from the city.

"Sister Delilah!" Seeing her riding the Abyssal Dragon, Xalathar, Lorelia channeled her transcendent power and leaped gracefully through the air, landing lightly on his massive head.

"The master sent me to get you," Delilah said, a fond, indulgent smile on her face. "We’re heading to the eastern front to claim new territory for the Horde."

Looking at the strange yet familiar girl before her, the whole situation felt surreal.

Is this really the same little spider who spent all that time guarding the underground fissure?

"It’s been too long. You’ve changed so much." Delilah reached out and straightened the butterfly-shaped clip in Lorelia’s hair, which had been knocked askew. She treated her almost like her own daughter. In a way, she was.

With the exception of Lilith, the Tribe’s four elders—Delilah, Rendall, Onyx, and Thundar—and even Earthshaker had all practically raised Lorelia. During the dark beast tides, they had risked life and limb to build their fortunes, and they had poured most of it into this one kid.

"Hehe, Sister Delilah, do you like my dress?" Lorelia asked, spinning in a circle on Xalathar’s head. The motion earned her a low, annoyed growl from the Abyssal Dragon.

"Hey now, big guy," Lorelia said, crouching down and tapping him between the eyes, communicating with the dragon effortlessly. "The master said I get to ride you into battle, and you have to protect me!"

As Orion’s bonded creatures, they shared a natural affinity.

"Just as I suspected," Delilah sighed, turning to Lireesa and Ava with an apologetic look. "It seems we’ll have to head out first."

The moment she saw the chaotic duo of Lorelia and Aldous, she understood why Orion had sent her to the front lines. This expeditionary force had two powerhouses, but it lacked a true commander. If Lorelia and Aldous were the muscle, Delilah would have to be the brains—handling logistics and coordinating with the allied forces.

Under the dark, unreadable gazes of Lireesa and Ava, the Abyssal Dragon joined the mixed army of cave spiders and ogres.

With a deafening roar that shook the very ground, the horde turned and departed from Soaring Bird City.

Tens of thousands of cave spiders and ogres moved as one, a black torrent of chitin and muscle flowing down the road.

The sheer presence of the horde was a crushing weight, silencing the very wildlife in its path.

A tide of hissing and roaring, they moved forward.