Chapter 248: The End of an Era

On the steps of the grand hall, the empire's executioner, Langmahan, gazed at the imposing figure at the very front of the Orc army. The robust Orc's appearance perfectly matched the portrait in his memory. This was the Orc Grand Chieftain—Sodmar Warcry.

Staring at the Orc Grand Chieftain, Langmahan reached behind his back to grip the haft of his massive double-bladed battleaxe. He licked his dry lips, thrilling with immense excitement.

If he could kill the Orc Grand Chieftain, he would die without regrets!

Drawing the massive battleaxe, Langmahan hefted it by his side with one hand, stepped forward, and roared at the Orc army below.

"Standing before you is Langmahan Howard! Grand General of the Luonan Empire! The empire's first Warrior! Slayer of ten thousand! The empire's executioner! Slaughterer of Orcs!"

Langmahan's final title stemmed from his glorious record of butchering five small and medium-sized Orc Clans during his service at Blade Fortress.

Of course, that glory only applied to humans. To the Orcs, he was an unadulterated murderer!

Many Orcs had heard this killer's name. Even those who hadn't instantly felt a surge of rage upon hearing such a moniker.

Having long since cast aside any concern for his own life, Langmahan strode to the edge of the steps with his battleaxe in hand. He looked down contemptuously at the approaching Orc army and sneered.

"In my eyes, you Orcs are nothing but frail shaluo pigs!"

"Argh!"

Subjected to such an insult, the already foul-tempered Orcs flew into a towering rage.

"You damn mongrel! Say that again!"

"You filthy maggot! I'll feed you to the wolves!"

"I challenge you to a duel!"

"..."

Beneath his thick eyebrows, Langmahan's shrewd eyes swept over the infuriated Orcs below, leaving him entirely satisfied. His intent was to enrage them, using the momentum to demand a duel with the Orc Grand Chieftain.

If Sodmar Warcry refused, the chieftain's reputation would immediately be swept into the dust.

Sodmar Warcry frowned, raising a hand to quiet the restless Orc army behind him. He understood that the human before him was trying to provoke the Orcs, but he didn't know what his endgame was.

Before Sodmar could speak, Langmahan spoke with even heavier contempt.

"Hmph! What can you shaluo pigs do to me? I hereby issue a challenge to your strongest Warrior, Grand Chieftain Sodmar Warcry!"

Sodmar Warcry understood the man's goal. This human actually wanted to drag him down to the grave together, going so far as to use the despicable method of angering the entire Orc Race to force his hand.

However, Orcs feared no challenge!

Sodmar Warcry spoke in a deep voice.

"Human! You have successfully angered me! I will show you the consequences of insulting the Orcs!"

Laying down his harsh words, Sodmar Warcry tugged the reins of his worg, swung out of the saddle, and drew the Warblade from his back. As he strode forward, Langmahan hefted his battleaxe and walked down the steps.

Seeing this, the Orc army halted their advance and formed a semi-circle around them.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

With primitive, rugged exhales, the Orc army cheered their grand chieftain on. In Orc tradition, a duel between Warriors was sacred and permitted no interference.

Thus, even if Sodmar were about to die at Langmahan's hands, they would not step in to save him.

The initial distance between the two was around fifty meters. Both held their weapons single-handedly, locking their gazes on each other as their paces quickened.

"Roar!"

When they were only twenty meters apart, the two unleashed a war cry almost simultaneously and broke into a charge. Their pounding legs slammed heavily against the stone slabs, ringing out with heavy thuds.

Clang!

Carrying the howling wind, the Warblade and the double-bladed battleaxe smashed viciously against each other. The momentum of their charge combined with the immense recoil from their clash left their arms numb, nearly knocking the weapons from their grasps.

But both were among the fiercest Warriors in the Madilan World. Their powerful hands maintained a vice-like grip on their trembling weapons. Brawny muscles contracted to draw the weapons back before swinging them fiercely out once more.

Without the slightest bit of probing, both went all-out the moment they clashed. The battle immediately entered the most perilous stage of close-quarters slaughter.

Some people were naturally born with formidable strength, and the empire's executioner, Langmahan, was one such man. He stood a full two heads taller than a normal human, and his dense musculature was not in the least bit inferior to that of a robust Orc. The massive double-bladed battleaxe that ordinary people couldn't even lift was like a toy in his hands, twirled into a blur of afterimages.

However, Langmahan's opponent was no ordinary Orc either; he was the Orc Grand Chieftain—Sodmar Warcry!

In the eyes of common Orcs, Sodmar Warcry was a super powerhouse. Bolstered by the mighty strength inherent to the Orc Race, he showed zero fear trading blows with the heavy-weapon-wielding Langmahan, even while using a medium weapon like a Warblade.

In terms of agility, the armor-clad Langmahan was more than a step behind Sodmar. Yet, Langmahan diligently guarded his vitals, and the quality of his armor was simply too exceptional. Sodmar landed several slashes that only breached the armor's outer defense, failing entirely to pierce the chainmail beneath.

Conversely, if Sodmar, who wore only leather armor, took a single hit from Langmahan's battleaxe, the battle could practically be declared over.

Even so, Sodmar held the upper hand. He constantly clashed head-on against Langmahan, occasionally leveraging his superior nimbleness to carve another gash into the man's armor.

Gradually, Langmahan realized that if this kept up, his entire set of armor would likely be ruined. He no longer hesitated, completely abandoning his defense for a crazed, life-for-a-life fighting style.

Sodmar instantly felt the pressure mount, forced to weave and dodge.

Langmahan's assault grew increasingly frenzied, but Sodmar's gaze remained steadfast, as chillingly focused as a lone hunting wolf.

Finally, Sodmar seized an opening.

As Langmahan swung his battleaxe in a wide sweep, Sodmar gripped his hilt with one hand and propped up the back of his blade with the other to parry the strike. Before Langmahan could react, Sodmar pivoted on his toes and smashed into the human's chest, driving a vicious elbow directly into Langmahan's stomach, protected only by chainmail.

Langmahan felt a sharp agony tear through his abdomen, involuntarily bending forward. An instant later, a flash of cold steel became his final memory.

"Ohhh!"

Watching Langmahan's severed head hit the ground, the Orc army brandished their weapons and unleashed wild cheers.

On the steps, the civil officials and elders stared at Langmahan's fallen corpse with desolate hearts. Drawing the rapiers at their waists, they charged at the Orc chieftain who continued toward the grand hall.

With a swing of his arm, the blade flashed. The men crumpled to the ground, scalding blood spraying from the gashes in their throats.

They had fulfilled their vows with their lives.

With his face covered in blood, Sodmar climbed the steps. Blood dripped from the edge of his blade as he coldly fixed his eyes on the frail yet incredibly dignified figure seated high upon the throne.

"Halt!"

Just as Sodmar was about to cross the threshold of the grand hall, the Imperial Emperor's weak yet authoritative and resolute voice rang out.

"Take one more step, and you die!"

At the same time, the Imperial Emperor tugged a thin wire in his hand. The yellow cloths draped on both sides of the hall dropped, revealing rows upon rows of fully drawn crossbows. Their bolts glinted with a cold light, aimed squarely at the hall's entrance.

Sodmar hastily halted in his tracks, his heart churning with shock and anger.

"Despicable!!!"

Sodmar immediately spun around and barked at the Orc army behind him.

"You lot! Stay down there!"

Hearing the Orc's curse, the Imperial Emperor stared at the grand chieftain and slowly leaned back against his throne.

"Despicable?! Perhaps!"

Sodmar quickly calmed down and said coldly.

"Do you think this will save your pathetic little life?!"

"No!"

Following that, the Imperial Emperor looked at the Orc with disdain.

"I never intended to survive."

Past his initial shock, Sodmar also realized the truth. If this Imperial Emperor wanted to live, he would have fled long ago. Moreover, if he actually wanted to kill him, he wouldn't have wasted so much time talking.

"Then what is your purpose in staying here?"

The Imperial Emperor raised his head proudly, looking not at all like a monarch whose nation had fallen, and spoke in a flat tone.

"I merely wanted to see exactly whose hands I was defeated by!"

"Then! Now you see!"

Sodmar spread his arms, presenting himself more clearly before the Imperial Emperor.

"You?"

The Imperial Emperor looked down contemptuously at the Orc by the door.

"Are you even worthy of making me wait?!"

The Imperial Emperor spoke as if talking about a piece of trash. It angered Sodmar so much that his face flushed red, yet he didn't dare to lash out.

That was because the Imperial Emperor still held a tight grip on the two thin wires. Even while speaking, he didn't relax his hold in the slightest.

"Orc! The empire never fell to your hands!"

The Imperial Emperor leaned forward, glaring fiercely at the Orc in the doorway.

"Everything about you was within my sight! In the face of the empire, the Orcs possessed not a shred of ability to resist!"

As the red-faced Sodmar opened his mouth to retort, the Imperial Emperor loudly continued.

"Your name is Sodmar Warcry. Your father's name is Sidrang Warcry. Your wife, Annona Frostblade, died in childbirth, and you buried her at the border between the prairie and the Endless Desert. She left you two children. The younger one is still a cub, and the older one was married off to the chieftain's son of the Stubborn Stone Tribe a year ago. Cough, cough."

Having said all that in a single breath, the Imperial Emperor couldn't help but start coughing, his face flushing with a sickly red hue.

By the door, Sodmar's face turned ashen, his body trembling with anger. The Imperial Emperor knew everything clearly—even something as secretive as where he had buried his wife.

Actually, he knew that a large portion of the smuggling merchants were spies, but he never expected the Luonan Empire to have penetrated the Orc Race so thoroughly.

Traitors!

After a moment, the Imperial Emperor recovered and went on.

"All the records of the Orc Race's population changes and clan inheritances are kept on the shelves of my study. They document the history of your Orcs on the Great Orc Prairie over the course of thousands of years. This is the first reward I am giving you!"

Pausing for a moment, the Imperial Emperor continued to speak.

"Listen well to the second reward! The resting place you chose for your wife is not safe. The Endless Desert is pushing toward the Great Orc Prairie at a rate of one meter per year. This means that in a few years, once the fierce winds blow, her remains will be exposed to the wilderness."

Sodmar said in shock.

"This?! Even the Orcs haven't noticed this. How could you know about it so clearly?!"

"Hmph! That's why I said the empire did not fall by the hands of the Orcs! Sigh."

The Imperial Emperor sighed and continued.

"The area of the Great Orc Prairie shrinks year by year, and the number of Orcs it can sustain continues to dwindle. From supporting over 10 million Orcs thousands of years ago to only being able to feed 8 million today—these figures are all in those records. After this is done, you can flip through them yourself."

Sodmar had not forgotten that the Imperial Emperor called these rewards.

"What do you need me to do for you?"

"I want you to deliver a message on my behalf to the entity from another world behind you. Tell him that I wish to see him once before I die."

Sodmar's expression shifted uncertainly.

"No need to deny it! A year ago, I received secret intelligence that your Orcs had acquired otherworldly techniques, advancing your forging methods by leaps and bounds. I originally wanted to use you to obtain more of this otherworldly knowledge. Only, I never imagined that these otherworldly beings wouldn't even fear Dragon-Shooting Cannons, which is how today came to pass."

The Imperial Emperor sighed with some lamentation, leaning back onto his throne.

"It is the will of heaven!"

Sodmar looked at the cold glints of the crossbow bolts.

"If I say no, will these bolts shoot me into a sieve?!"

"No."

The Imperial Emperor's tone was flat as he continued.

"You may retreat right now."

Sodmar felt highly surprised. He sensed that the Imperial Emperor was telling the truth. If he left, the man truly wouldn't trigger the traps.

"What is your purpose in doing all this?"

The Imperial Emperor's heart remained completely undisturbed.

"For dignity! Until the day I die, the Luonan Empire continues to exist! Enemies are absolutely forbidden from entering the royal grand hall!"

Sodmar gave the towering figure on the throne one last look. He had to admit that this was a true king. He then turned and walked back down the steps.

The Imperial Emperor watched the Orc chieftain's head disappear down the steps, feeling extremely disappointed.

Perhaps even the Orc Grand Chieftain didn't have a way to contact that entity. After all, his ability to contact that entity was only a guess in the emperor's own heart.

Just as the Imperial Emperor was about to trigger the trap, a firework suddenly shot into the sky from the bottom of the steps.

Watching that dazzling firework soar into the air, the Imperial Emperor felt a wave of relief and sat steadily on the throne once more.

In the distance, the White Dragon Lord saw the firework exploding in the direction of the royal palace. It was the signal that the battle was over.

"Let's go over! Everything is finished!"

The White Dragon Lord flapped his wings and arrived in front of the royal palace's grand hall in a matter of moments. The Orc army had already cleared out a large empty space.

The fierce winds whipped up by his beating wings made the doors of the grand hall creak. The White Dragon Lord landed in the clearing, watching the approaching Orc Grand Chieftain. He waited for his explanation, because the Imperial Emperor was still seated upon the throne.

Upon approaching, Sodmar dropped to one knee with a look of shame and recounted the general gist of what had happened.

The White Dragon Lord chose to forgive him. After all, it wasn't a major issue, and the Orc Grand Chieftain had already brought him a massive haul of Elemental Crystals. He wasn't so petty as to lack that much tolerance. More importantly, the Imperial Emperor's actions were indeed worthy of admiration.

"Human, I hear your dying wish was to see me. Are you satisfied now?"

The Imperial Emperor stared at the head that was nearly the size of the grand hall's doors, speechless for a long time.

"The will of heaven... It is the will of heaven!"

Looking up to the sky, the Imperial Emperor let out a deep sigh and pulled a thin wire in his hand.

The oil inside the containers overturned, splashing onto lit candles. Instantly, the entire grand hall transformed into a sea of fire. Amidst the flames, a true king sat dignified upon his throne, calmly letting the inferno swallow him whole.

The White Dragon Lord watched the burning hall expressionlessly. An era of the Madilan World turned to ash along with the burning of the grand hall.

And a new dynasty, a new system, would be reborn from the flames upon the bones of the Luonan Empire.