Ashen Dragon

The gases, dust, and smoke generated by the explosion rapidly ascended, carrying immense energy as they spread into the sky. A massive mushroom cloud surged upward!

The base of the cloud was a deep orange hue, gradually transitioning to a grayish-white as it climbed higher. The top of the mushroom cloud reached dozens of miles into the heavens, piercing the sky and earth, an awe-inspiring sight to behold.

Apart from light and fire, thermal radiation quickly spread within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, causing an abrupt rise in temperature. Trees, wild grass, animal hides, and all flammable materials ignited instantly, filling the air with flying embers.

The earth, as if a great stone had been thrown into a lake's surface, rippled with unbearably searing waves, obliterating everything within a hundred-mile radius.

One stone stirred up a thousand waves!

"Run!"

"I don't want to die!"

The orcs desperately fled to the perimeter, pushing and shoving each other, frantically leaping into the river.

But soon, the river water began to boil, cooking the orcs who had jumped in. In just a single breath's time, the water at the edges of the river was evaporated clean, the riverbed scorched black and piled with unrecognizable green-skin orc remains.

Those underground orcs that had yet to be born also perished entirely in the cleansing heat of the shockwave, reduced to mere dirt.

In the sky, countless burning materials rained down like a fiery downpour, bringing death and catastrophe to the land.

"No, no, I haven't completed the Mother Goddess's task yet..." Mo Ke raised his scepter, letting out a hoarse roar, his shadowy face for once showing emotions of rage, despair, and panic.

The scepter was lifted, summoning countless spore filaments from all directions, which wrapped tightly around his body, forming an enormous and thick cocoon over twenty meters high, encapsulating Mo Ke within.

Yet in the face of the sweltering, apocalyptic windstorm and rolling clouds of smoke, it was no more significant than a speck of dust.

"Boom——!"

The frenzied heat surged forward like a tsunami, engulfing everything. Mo Ke's enormous cocoon persisted only for an instant before it ignited, turning into a charred fireball.

Inside the fireball, Mo Ke's venomous and unyielding wails echoed: "No—how could it be the Sun God?! There's no way He is still awake!!"

Soon, the beastman shaman was consumed beneath the relentless torrent of heat, his entire body desiccated, reduced to a blackened humanoid husk.

Yet even in death, this orc still believed this apocalyptic scene to be a punishment from the Sun God, refusing to accept that such a display of divine wrath could have been created by the imperial people—after all, the power was simply too unimaginable, resembling the disasters from an ancient divine war.

Solo knelt on the ground, his eyes tightly shut, his skin blistering and desiccating under the relentless inferno, white smoke rising from his body. Yet, the resilient vitality of this legendary creature allowed him to cling tenuously to life, barely surviving in the face of the scorching wave.

The last beastman chieftain trembled uncontrollably, his voice quivering: "How... how could this be? I was meant to be the savior of the orc race! How could it end like this?!"

His knees pressed against the reddened, scalding ground. Suddenly, he threw his head back and prayed, his contorted features filled with near-madness: "Mighty, great Father God Guosh, those damned imperial people have destroyed everything we had. I curse them! I beseech you—"

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a crimson thunderbolt tore through the dense smoke shrouding the sky, striking down onto Solo.

When the orc reopened his eyes, his left eye had dimmed while his right eye bore a murky, violent glow. Twisted and sinister totems emerged across the surface of his skin.

"Solo" stood unyielding amid the terrifying heatwave. He opened his mouth slowly, his tone betraying his barely contained fury.

"Cassius..."

"You will pay the price..."

...

"Full speed ahead! Climb higher!"

"Quick! We must escape the blast radius immediately, or we're all doomed!"

Sharp whistle sounds pierced the air, but within the roaring cacophony of the explosion, they seemed utterly insignificant.

Silhouettes trailed by brilliant flames streaked across the skies, tearing through the thick smoke left in the explosion's wake, climbing steadily upward until they reached altitudes of dozens of miles above the ground.

—They were the Aviation Corps of the Ashen Empire, and the entirety of this cataclysm could be blamed squarely on them.

Staring at the mushroom cloud that rose from the earth, Mantou was dumbstruck, still reeling with lingering fear: "Good thing we ran fast, or we'd have been roasted too."

At this moment, Mantou's headset was appropriately playing a fiery, electrifying tune—"aLIEz."

"Damn it, nuclear weapons!"

"Holy crap, we nearly got wiped out here!"

"Who would've thought this thing was that powerful? There weren't even any special markings—I thought it was just a cloud bomb!"

"If we got exposed to the radiation, do you think we'd mutate? Like grow three eyes and four legs or something—it could be kind of cool."

"I suggest you go try some nuclear wastewater instead."

Singo clicked his tongue in amazement. "A magic fission weapon—only Curtis, that lunatic, could have pulled off something like this. Unleashing something like this definitely counts as a full-on bloodline awakening."

"A nuclear weapon?"

Mantou was shocked. He thought he was in a swords-and-magic fantasy adventure, but now—why did everything feel so off-track?

Muskets and cannons aside, how did they even manage to create something like nuclear weapons? The Mechanical God Cult truly deserved damnation!

Singo spoke with an air of mystery: "Oh, that's not all. Rumor has it they've developed a spatial-collapse bomb, capable of even destroying small half-planes. It's just not stable yet."

Cold sweat dripped down Mantou's back. Inwardly, he resolved to avoid provoking these lunatics at all costs—especially that seemingly mild-mannered Bishop Curtis.

Another Wyvern Knight asked, "If this thing detonated, there shouldn't be any survivors within dozens of miles, right? Does this mean our mission is complete?"

"Not necessarily. I haven't received any confirmation of mission completion yet. We should remain cautious." Singo cast his gaze toward the earth.

The mushroom cloud had yet to dissipate; the ground was still enshrouded by dense smoke, while the shockwaves of high heat and pressure continued to spread ruthlessly.

Even though Singo, Mantou, and the others had long flown out of the blast radius, they could still feel waves of heat crashing against them.

Mantou chuckled, "We were bombing orcs, not Saiyans. Do you really think they could tank a nuclear blast with their bodies?"

Singo shook his head. "It's not that simple. In the Alezeg world, beings above the legendary level possess power far beyond our current comprehension. Even a nuclear weapon might not be able to kill them."

He glanced at Mantou, who was flying alongside him, before continuing, "Remember the beastman warrior who skewered you into a kebab from hundreds of meters away last time?"

"Damn it..."

Hearing this, Mantou immediately felt dejected and remained silent, consumed by the pain of losing experience points.

The Wyvern Knights circled high above, carefully observing the aftermath of the explosion.

"Yinav Valley has collapsed, buried under lava. No sign of surviving orcs has been found yet."

"The Binder River has dried up."

"The orc temple halfway up the mountain has turned to rubble, with no survivors spotted. The orcs inside should all be dead."

As the Wyvern Knights communicated among themselves, a crackling noise suddenly erupted in their headsets, followed by a connection to the command center.

Once again, Curtis's voice came through their earpieces: "What a magnificent display of fireworks. I hope everyone is pleased with the 'surprise' I prepared?"

He chuckled. "By the way, that magic fission bomb is nicknamed 'Fat Boy.'"

At these words, the Wyvern Knights fell into a tacit silence, though in their hearts, they all cursed in unison: "Madman!"

"Wait—"

Suddenly, Curtis's voice faltered, turning grave: "We've detected an extraordinarily powerful energy body—it's far beyond the limits of our instruments."

"There's a presence near you—legendary? No, something beyond legendary! It might be an incarnation of a divine being!!"

"Boom!"

A fierce gust of wind howled, as a pillar of blood-red light surged skyward, scattering the smog that cloaked the earth.

Everyone looked over in alarm. They saw a towering orc clad in black full plate armor, covered in scars, bearing a single, centered cyclopean eye. He wielded a blood spear and gazed up at the sky, exuding an oppressive and terrifying aura.

The intense gaze of his solitary eye swept across the distance of tens of thousands of meters, leaving the Wyvern Knights trembling in fear, nearly plummeting from their altitudes.

"Cassius—"

The orc's face twisted with rage, his thunderous roar shaking the earth.