Chapter 457: Integrating the Mind, Expanding the Team

“I hope this is the only piece of truly terrible news. How goes the war over there? No other obstacles, I trust? We must prepare to seize the next node; to eradicate that outsider—who remains beyond the direct interference of the Void—by purely material means, we require the combined power of at least three nodes operating in unison.”

The white-haired youth spoke no further, merely confirming the progress of the task currently being executed by the orc, Basaka.

“No problems at all. The joint investigation legion sent by the elves, dwarves, and various human kingdoms will arrive only after we have thoroughly devoured the ring of orc kingdoms surrounding the Bloodfang Empire. By then, they shall understand the power of the nodes and the might of orcs who do not lose their reason to frenzy.”

“Good. Continue your work. I shall go to pay a visit to those old friends who began influencing this continent before us. I must confirm which lies have yet to be unmasked.”

The white-haired youth nodded, casually opened a phase gate, and stepped through, his figure vanishing into nothingness.

“Our efforts have reached this point; the things sacrificed for this cause shall never be in vain.”

Basaka the orc ceased to dwell on the matters mentioned by the youth, turning his focus back to the task at hand. The division of labor was clear; anything outside the plan would be handled by the youth.

Closing his eyes, he extended his spiritual power from his soul, connecting to the mental network that now blanketed the entire Bloodfang Empire—a collective consciousness formed by countless orcs and the remnants of other races swept into the fold. He guided multiple individuals within this collective to manifest their consciousness into physical bodies in the material world, joining the ongoing campaign against the neighboring orc kingdoms.

“Hum!”

Void energy was mobilized, tearing open a massive rift to allow the Bloodfang orcs to pass through. On the other side, within the neighboring orc kingdom, the warriors of the Bloodfang Empire were already at the gates of the royal city.

The crude walls and the few defensive magic arrays and alchemical devices purchased from wise races in recent years seemed utterly meaningless against the invaders.

“Boom!”

The wall was torn asunder by violent force—not by the Bloodfang attackers, but by the besieged kingdom itself, known as Steelmane, which had shattered its own walls from within.

A gargantuan wild boar charged out in a frenzy. Standing over thirty meters tall, its size was beyond belief. The countless silver, metallic bristles upon its hide resembled massive iron spears. With a roar toward the heavens, the beast charged straight into the orderly ranks of the Bloodfang orcs.

At this moment, every Bloodfang orc had entered a state of frenzy; their muscles bulged, their skin turned a deep crimson, and their physical capabilities were pushed to the limit. Yet, their faces lacked the distorted, rage-filled expressions typical of frenzied orcs; they remained calm and composed.

There was no verbal communication; such cumbersome methods were no longer needed. The “node” located in the Bloodfang Empire integrated their minds completely. Communication was now merely a matter of thought—a perfect communion of intent.

Mana fluctuations were stirred, and spatial teleportation was executed by the mages within the ranks a moment later. The entire army of over five hundred orcs vanished in a flash of magical light, leaving the sky-filling, razor-sharp bristles fired by the boar’s earth-shaking stomp to strike nothing but air.

Large-scale teleportation arrays usually require at least half a minute of coordinated casting by mages, yet these orc mages had completed the legion-wide transfer in less than a second, rendering the ambush by the ancestral spirit—worshipped and sustained by the entire Steelmane kingdom—utterly futile.

It was strange, in truth, for orcs to have mages at all. Among the many orc kingdoms, the development of magitech and alchemy was generally poor, and spellcasters were almost exclusively shamans; mages were an incredibly rare profession.

Yet, there were over a hundred orcs casting spells in this unit. This was not the entirety of the orc mages, but a closer look would reveal that those casting were not mages by trade at all, but pure warriors whose physical prowess exceeded that of formal knights.

Mana was combined and unified under the guidance of these “orc knights,” spliced together with the arrays of their companions. Like assembling a puzzle, once the array was complete, the large-scale spatial shift was achieved.

These orc knights possessed no mana cores—the hallmark of a true mage. Their method of mobilizing mana was simple: they utilized the power of the “node” to distort the material world with Void energy, forcibly wielding mana to cast their spells.

Admittedly, while their method resembled that of a warlock, the magical knowledge they employed was genuine. Even when using Void energy, constructing these spell models required fundamental magical theory. How these orc warriors, who had not even organized their own knightly training methods, came to master such knowledge was a mystery.

It was precisely because spellcasting is a formulaic and precise discipline that these orcs could construct large-scale teleportation spells in such a short time.

The interconnection of consciousness allowed these orcs to act as individual units, each constructing the most basic components of the array and splicing them flawlessly with those of hundreds of others. This would be impossible for a normal legion of mages; humans are not machines, and such extreme, unified casting is nearly impossible to achieve.

The boar ancestral spirit would not give up, of course. It bristled its quills and charged toward the retreating Bloodfang army, its massive frame imbued with terrifying destructive power.

But as it charged, a Void rift opened directly behind it. A massive wave of Bloodfang orcs poured out, flooding into the royal city through the breach the ancestral spirit had created, launching the final strike against the Steelmane Empire.

These warriors, having left the Bloodfang Empire to attack other kingdoms, carried the positioning of the “node” with them, expanding its range of influence. Thus, if reinforcements were needed, one only had to tear open a Void passage to drop an army from the sky.

The Steelmane orcs within were no match for the invaders. The kingdom’s ancestral spirit had been intended to serve as the vanguard—a thick-skinned, powerful beast to disrupt the invaders’ formation, followed by a desperate last stand led by the kingdom’s two legendary orc warriors.

However, as the spirit charged out, more enemies descended through the massive rift, shattering the Steelmane counter-attack formation. The sudden chaos, combined with their already inferior strength, left the defenders in an absolute disadvantage.

Even in their frenzy, the Bloodfang orcs did not lose their reason. Instead, with their minds linked, they possessed incredible coordination. Using the cover of the streets, they worked in pairs to lure the frenzied, mindless Steelmane defenders into traps.

This was entirely different from typical orc warfare, where frenzy meant abandoning everything for instinctual slaughter—no retreat, no surrender, only death.

But here, the Bloodfang orcs, while frenzied, chose not to engage the Steelmane orcs head-on. One would lure, while the other followed, waiting for the opportunity.

The frenzied Steelmane orcs focused entirely on the bait, paying no heed to the warrior trailing behind.

As the bait-orc rounded a street corner and cast a concealment spell, the frenzied Steelmane orc would pause for a split second upon losing its target. Though it would soon pierce the illusion with its heightened senses, it was already too late.

The Bloodfang orc that had been shadowing it all along would drive a longsword through its heart. The frenzy only made the injury to a vital organ more fatal. Blood sprayed, and the Steelmane orc fell dead.

Orcs who retained their reason while frenzied were an overwhelming force against those who lost their minds. This simple tactic—one to lure, one to backstab—quickly cleared the city of its defenders.

This method was effective even against legendary orcs. It required only two great-knight-level orcs capable of surviving a blow, and a team of mages to constantly harass the target, allowing them to wear down the legend with almost no losses.

The two great-knights would draw the legend’s attention, while dozens of mages used spatial spells to reposition them, helping them escape danger while simultaneously weakening and wounding the legendary warrior.

Because their minds were linked, their coordination was flawless. Every step, every spell, was tightly woven together. The mindless legendary orc began to accumulate wounds; at this rate, defeat was only a matter of time.

“Boom!”

The giant boar ancestral spirit crashed through the city wall once more, but this time, it did not attack the Bloodfang invaders; it charged without hesitation into the Steelmane orcs themselves.

“Is my kingdom, in the end, to perish?”

The King of Steelmane stood atop his castle, watching as the ancestral spirit—which had been sustained and worshipped for generations—betrayed them for reasons unknown. Was his final stand truly meaningless? And why had the Bloodfang Empire attacked them so suddenly?

“So be it. I shall fight to the end!”

With a sigh, the King prepared to enter his frenzy, a legendary warrior whose body was already weakened by age, ready to fight until his final breath.

“Please, wait a moment. Attacking your kingdom was my oversight, though it was a necessity. I ask that you do not enter your frenzy and hear me out.”

The voice appearing behind him interrupted his action. He had intended to strike immediately, but upon seeing the face of Basaka the orc, he froze in sheer shock.

“How can it be you…”

“It is I.”

A stunned question, a simple answer. In that exchange, Basaka used the power of the “node” to transmit the information he wished to convey to the King.

“…I see. So that is it. No wonder the Bloodfang orcs remained so rational even while frenzied. I understand. I hope your choice is the right one. I join you.”

“I am glad you understand.”