Ember Dragon

"Swish—"

Cassius flapped his wings and soared into the sky in an instant. Endless flames spewed from his throat—chaotic fire, flames of Order, elemental fire origin, and fragments of divine power from various gods intertwined once more.

They clashed, tangled, and reacted with one another, ultimately producing an unimaginably terrifying wave of laws. Within the breath, it was as if miniature universes were being born and destroyed repeatedly.

To slay this powerful divine avatar, Cassius was going all out.

Even the vessels of his ancestral bloodline were ignited with intense firelight, the glow even radiating beyond his body, casting a vague, golden sheen over the Red Dragon’s form.

"Damn lizard."

Gruumsh could feel the terrifying might of that breath. He vaguely sensed—that chaotic and orderly power could actually devour divinity!

The orc swung his battleaxe, attempting to cleave space and blink away.

But Dumathoin was also closely watching Gruumsh. In a split second, the Silent Guardian made his decision—he absolutely could not let Gruumsh escape!

A fierce light blazed in Dumathoin’s eyes. He slammed his molten hammer into the earth, and dazzling divine brilliance exploded from the head of the hammer.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the ground quaked, dust soared, and countless enormous fissures split across the land.

Massive stone pillars burst from the ground and shot skyward like a colossal hand, trapping Gruumsh’s avatar within.

Each stone pillar radiated earthen divine light, brimming with earth’s overwhelming divine power. They easily sealed the space, temporarily preventing Gruumsh from escaping.

"Foolish pride, Dumathoin! You think—you can stop me?!" Gruumsh snarled, his face twisted in rage, and swung his battleaxe horizontally.

The axe, cloaked in blood-red divine light, instantly cleaved the stone pillars in half, collapsing them in an instant.

After all, he was a greater god-level being. Even Dumathoin going all-out couldn’t trap him completely—it could only buy a few seconds.

But that was all Cassius needed to gather power and unleash a devastating breath toward Gruumsh.

Gruumsh looked up and saw the Red Dragon already engulfed in sun-like radiance. The heatwave instantly consumed the surrounding space, and pillars of flame rained from the sky like divine judgment!

"Boom!"

Gruumsh’s face contorted. His enormous single eye exploded with a towering bloodlight, clashing with the Red Dragon’s flames.

For a moment, the sky was shrouded in Gruumsh’s divine domain. Bloodlight flooded the heavens, even making it hard for Cassius to break through.

The fire—infused with Order, Chaos, Flame, Sun, and other laws—collided with the blood-colored divinity, generating terrifying law turbulence at their boundary.

In that moment, the orc and the Red Dragon were like two massive celestial bodies, emitting their own light and heat, fighting for dominion over the land.

Yet Gruumsh remained a greater god—his rank too high. Even with Cassius giving his all, he was still vaguely suppressed and nearing his limit.

But in the next instant, Dumathoin let out a roar and raised his molten hammer high, smashing it toward Gruumsh with all his might.

Instantly, shattered rocks lifted from the ground, and a giant divine hammer—hundreds of meters long and composed of stone and divine light—appeared in the sky, slamming toward the orc god.

"Boom!"

Another clash of power. A violent shockwave spread over a kilometer away, blasting sand and dust into the air, sparking another world-shaking storm.

Under the relentless attacks of Cassius and Dumathoin, cracks finally appeared on the blood-red divine membrane. Then, it shattered and dissolved into countless sparks.

Cassius’s breath struck Gruumsh in full. The orc’s hulking form was instantly submerged in a torrent of flame, and Dumathoin followed up by hammering the shadowed figure within the fire.

The sea of fire surged to the sky, blazing violently. Thick smoke billowed, the intense heat nearly melted the earth, and magma flowed across the land.

Flames still poured from the Red Dragon’s mouth like a waterfall. He surged through the fire, slashing with his claws and sweeping with his tail—each blow powerful enough to collapse a hill.

Dumathoin’s hammer strikes raised mountains and split the ground. The earth trembled with deep groans, cracking under the sheer destruction.

Under the combined assault of Cassius and Dumathoin, everything around was annihilated without discrimination. This wasn’t just a natural disaster—it was an extinction-level cataclysm!

Finally, Cassius landed, gasping for breath. The flames around him extinguished, and his dragon crystal dimmed—he had spent too much energy. Even with the physique of a Progenitor Dragon, he couldn’t recover immediately.

Dumathoin also cautiously stepped back, shield and hammer in hand, eyes locked on the thick smoke, wary of a surprise attack.

The smoke gradually cleared. On the scarred earth, Gruumsh still stood tall.

But now, he was covered in injuries—burns, bludgeoning wounds. His plate armor was tattered, and he looked utterly battered.

"You... will all die!"

Gruumsh growled viciously. Divine power exploded. His body swelled again, wounds healed rapidly, and blood-red light engulfed the sky.

This was the power of a greater god’s avatar! Even that world-ending attack couldn’t destroy him—only send him into a berserk frenzy, growing stronger still.

"Boom—"

Under that divine storm, both Cassius and Dumathoin were torn with fresh wounds.

Scales and stone alike were shredded with ease. The blood-red divine light kept corroding their flesh, spreading deeper and deeper.

"As expected of the Orcs’ chief god. Even just an avatar isn’t something I can truly defeat."

Gazing at Gruumsh in the storm’s center, Cassius licked the burning blood from his lips, sighing to himself.

Even with Dumathoin’s help, they couldn’t kill him completely.

Fortunately, the war between the dwarven and orcish pantheons still raged. Gruumsh had to keep monitoring the Outer Planes.

As the war escalated, even the smallest fragment of divine will or power anchoring his avatar might be withdrawn at any moment.

"Filthy worm! I’ll rip your head off, I’ll—" Gruumsh’s furious words cut off. His single eye suddenly flashed with uncontrollable shock and rage.

Dwarves again!

Taking advantage of his distraction, the dwarf gods launched a counterattack—even their vanguard neared the Eternal Battlefield!

If they breached his divine kingdom, the consequences would be disastrous! He had to mobilize everything to stop them!

Realizing this, Gruumsh glared venomously at Cassius. Hatred and malice surged in his gaze, as though he wanted to flay him alive.

He roared, "Cassius, count yourself lucky! Remember—when I descend again, your death will be certain!"

Then, above the massive orc, a pillar of blood-red divine light shot to the heavens. Gruumsh’s avatar was about to pierce the barrier between Material and Outer Planes to return to his godrealm.

Cassius let out a breath of relief, but as he looked up at the bloody light, a glint of greed surged in his pale gold eyes.

Gruumsh’s five divine domains were: Orcs, Conflict, Survival, Strength, and Territory.

They embodied Chaos, Evil, Hatred, Orcs, Strength, War—aside from the racial domain, they matched Cassius’s own aspects very well.

A bold idea struck him—since he had thoroughly offended Gruumsh, why not go all in and seize this rare chance to devour the avatar?

Without hesitation, Cassius beat his wings and took off, soaring into the sky as Dumathoin watched in shocked disbelief.

High above, the blood-red light accelerated. Within it, an orcish visage took shape.

To return to the Outer Planes smoothly, Gruumsh’s avatar had already shed all material form, retaining only spirit and divine energy.

But just as space warped and the world’s membrane was about to be pierced, a Red Dragon, trailing radiant flame, streaked through the sky like a meteor and appeared behind Gruumsh’s avatar.

"Cassius! You seek death!"

Gruumsh’s translucent face twisted with terror, fury, and panic. He tried to form a divine weapon to repel the pursuing Red Dragon.

But as a spiritual-divine hybrid, he lacked the strength to affect the Material Plane as he did when he had descended to Soro.

Cassius grinned savagely, golden eyes gleaming. "Next time you descend, Gruumsh, it won’t just be an avatar that dies.

Mark my words—I’ll annihilate your true form! The orc race will vanish forever!"

"Boom—"

Instantly, a torrent of crimson and silver-white flames poured from his mouth. The two opposing flames twisted together, generating a black hole-like pull.

In the sky, a massive, patchy flame dragon formed—this was the embodiment of Plunder Breath.

"Damn you! How dare you desecrate a true god like this!"

"Cassius, stop now! You’ll regret it! You can’t withstand my wrath!"

Gruumsh’s remaining avatar howled and struggled desperately, but still couldn’t escape the pull. Ultimately, he was devoured by the Plunder Breath dragon.

The chaos fire burned away the avatar, turning it into disordered divine energy and erasing Gruumsh’s imprint.

The Order flame shaped it anew, condensing it into a blood-colored sphere that Cassius could absorb.

However, compared to when it had first descended, only a tenth of the divine power remained.

"War, Strength, Survival... such exquisite domains." Cassius held the blood sphere in his claws, trembling with ecstasy.

Blood and wounds no longer mattered—this surge of power made everything else meaningless.

On the ground, Dumathoin stood in a daze. He never imagined the Red Dragon would go this far—actually devouring Gruumsh’s avatar.

Dumathoin knew this reckless dragon would pose no small threat to the dwarves—but for now, Gruumsh was the more ancient and dangerous foe.

Cassius noticed the dwarf’s gaze. He turned, flapped his wings, and locked eyes with Dumathoin.

In that look, Cassius could sense astonishment, hostility, and worry.

The Red Dragon wasn’t surprised. After all, he had killed Dumathoin’s people and seized a dwarven city just months ago.

If Dumathoin let his guard down or acted friendly just because of this battle—that would be truly bizarre.

Cassius smiled politely and nodded. "Thank you for your help, Lord Dumathoin.

Do pass on my warmest regards to His Majesty Moradin. May he achieve final victory in this millennia-spanning war of pantheons."

His words were warm and friendly, as if the dwarves were his closest allies—and as if he had never slaughtered their people or taken their strongholds.

"..."

Silence was the only reply.

At last, Dumathoin gave him a long look, then rested his hammer on the ground. His body merged into the rock, and the heavy divine aura vanished from the Material Plane.

Dumathoin, too, left the Material Plane to rejoin the divine war. Across the multiverse, countless dwarves and orcs would battle amidst the turbulent planes.

To these true gods, battles between avatars were merely games played upon a fragile mortal world.

"Rooaar—"

A distant roar echoed from the horizon, overpowering the orcish howls and the wailing of artillery.

Before the towering walls of Wyvern Capital—formerly Avenderdan—the fierce battle suddenly halted. Orc warriors and imperial soldiers alike paused in unspoken unison.

Though the fighting stopped, the expressions of the orcs were far more anxious and uneasy than before—this was their race’s future on the line.

Orcs dropped their spears, bone clubs, and stone axes. Imperial soldiers laid down rifles and rocket launchers. All turned toward the source of the sound—

A colossal Red Dragon soared in the distance, wings so wide they blocked the sun.

"It’s His Majesty Cassius!"

"Long live His Majesty Cassius! Long live the Great Red Dragon!"

Bathed in radiant light, the imperial soldiers erupted in frenzied, reverent cheers. They raised their weapons and roared with fervor that shook the heavens.

The orcs, on the other hand, were stricken with despair. Their weapons dropped, some fell to their knees, stunned.

Soro awakened from his god-possessed state. Gazing at the devastated battlefield and the Red Dragon in the distant sky, he looked as if struck by lightning.

He dropped to his knees with a thud and murmured, "It’s over... it’s all over."

Soro knew it clearly—from this day forward, the future of the orcs of the Ugo Great Prairie... was shattered.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!