Chapter 1324: The Twilight Bloodline

The blazing sun sank toward the west, its blood-red rays slanting across the sky. The ancient jungle had transformed into a sea of fire, its flames as crimson as the dying sun itself, engulfing the orcs’ ancestral lands. The fiery glow spread relentlessly, staining the shattered stone plains and the towering walls of Red Jade City in a deep scarlet hue.

Silence gripped the city walls like a suffocating shroud. Everyone’s minds seemed tightly clenched by the spreading blood-red light on the plains below. Only when a tribal warrior’s loud shout pierced the stillness did the silence break: “The Great Chieftain has returned! Open the gates!”

With a groan of iron chains and creaking pulleys, the heavy purple-steel gates slowly lifted. Camilla and the last group of retreating tribal warriors surged into the ancient orc stronghold. As the massive gates slammed shut behind them, a fragile, fleeting sense of safety settled over the city. But that illusion did nothing to lighten Camilla’s heavy steps. She trudged up the ramparts, moving toward her generals and soldiers.

The tribal warriors guarding the walls and the hastily armed militia pressed close on either side. Many pairs of eyes—some anxious, some weary—watched her silently in the fading light. Camilla had never imagined the weight of her people’s gaze could feel so oppressive. She walked on in silence, feeling the strength granted by her bloodline’s gift ebbing away, while pain and poison began to gnaw again at her nerves and will. Waves of weakness crashed over her.

Just then, a tentative, youthful voice broke through the tension from among the warriors: “Great Chieftain, the uncles and aunts say you did the right thing…”

Camilla’s steps faltered. She turned toward the voice and saw a small orc girl standing boldly in a corner. Her ears were still covered in soft, dark fuzz; the battle tattoos on her cheeks and neck hadn’t yet appeared. She clutched a tiny axe, barely reaching the waists of the soldiers around her. By the standards of “Shahdafa,” she shouldn’t have been on the walls at all.

Camilla’s expression shifted. She approached the girl, bent down, and pressed her forehead gently against the child’s, feeling the warmth of her blood through the fur. Only then did she rise and look toward the nearby warriors. “Where are this child’s parents? Why is such a young one on the walls?”

She repeated the question twice, but no one answered. Realizing this, she looked down at the girl standing among the warriors, clutching her small axe, and bent down again. Her voice was hoarse but gentle: “You’re a brave child… Soon you’ll follow the tribe’s warriors. Someone will come to tell you where to go.”

After the girl nodded firmly, Camilla stood and made her way across the ramparts, where she found General Morak, his arm wrapped in bandages.

“Arrange for the children, scholars, and some of the young craftsmen to leave the city and retreat to the Ancestor’s Peak,” Camilla said quietly beside the old orc. “Also, there’s a child on the walls who hasn’t even grown her battle tattoos yet—take her with them.”

Morak’s face was heavy with emotion. “Great Chieftain…”

“We have nowhere left to fall back to. We must hold this line to buy time for the other tribes. That is the duty of warriors and chieftains—but it should not be the fate of our entire people,” Camilla shook her head. “The scholars, craftsmen, and children must survive. We need successors to rebuild this land. Even if all of Augure meets destruction, we must leave seeds of hope for the long history to come.”

Morak was silent for a moment before bowing his head and replying gravely, “As you command, Great Chieftain.”

The old orc quickly set the orders in motion. The chieftain’s commands were carried out, and he returned to Camilla’s side. Together, they gazed out over the blazing Red Jade Forest Sea, silence stretching between them.

Flames roared through the forest, black smoke and explosions erupting deep within. A swirling mass of purple-black energy tried to gather above the inferno but was repeatedly driven apart by the raging fire. Feeling the turbulent magic and elemental forces in the air, Morak whispered, “Your plan is working. The core of those monsters is being destroyed by the Forest Guardians’ flames.”

“Only a delay,” Camilla shook her head, her voice low and somber. “The flames can’t kill all the creatures pouring out of the wasteland. The Red Jade Forest isn’t an impenetrable barrier. The Forest Guardians’ power is limited, but the mutants keep coming.”

She lifted her gaze toward the burning forest. “When I was retreating, I noticed the monsters emerging from the mountain paths on both the north and south sides of Wolf Ridge. Under command, they’re no longer mindless beasts—they scout, split forces, and flank. Holding back even part of their vanguard with the Red Jade Forest is a major victory.”

Morak fell silent, unwilling to accept the bitter truth that burning the entire forest only bought them time. Reality, however, would not bend to his will. He sighed deeply. “At least we’ve stopped this land from turning entirely into wasteland. Burned land can still be lived on someday.”

Camilla nodded quietly. Then suddenly, she noticed something rising from the heart of the burning forest. Staring in shock into the flames and smoke, she saw a massive shadow coalesce—a cloaked, indistinct phantom taking shape!

It was the image of a Forest Guardian, a conjured illusion. The phantom rose from the forest, gazing distantly toward Red Jade City. After a moment’s watch, it raised a smoky arm and pointed toward the northern edge of the Red Jade Forest. Making a warning gesture, the colossal apparition shattered into swirling dust.

As the dust scattered on the wind, the forest fire surged to its peak—but the flames no longer bore any conscious will. They had become a mere forest fire.

The Forest Guardian was free. Another ancient, mysterious force on Augure’s land had passed into history. But the Great Chieftain and her general had no time to reflect. Morak’s eyes widened as he stared in the direction the phantom had pointed, his voice tense: “Great Chieftain, the Forest Guardian seems to be trying to tell us something. That direction is…”

“Prepare the warriors on the walls for battle. The evacuation teams must leave the city immediately,” Camilla’s words came fast, her mind racing toward the worst possibility. “That’s where the Fourth Human Mountain Division is stationed… The northern defenses may have been breached!”

The forces within Red Jade City were swiftly mobilized. Every able-bodied fighter and all available supplies were rushed to the walls. The evacuation groups gathered at the city’s western side gate. Soon, Camilla’s grim premonition was confirmed.

A sinister black smoke rose from the northern sky above the Red Jade Forest Sea. The gathering clouds pressed down with overwhelming weight. The battle-hardened soldiers recognized the feeling all too well—that was the unclean aura of a mutant legion massing, a sign that the land was turning to wasteland.

As Camilla had said, the Red Jade Forest could not hold back all enemies. With each defensive line shattered, the mutant horde could strike the surviving cities from any direction. The forest fire was not meaningless—it had stopped more than half the mutants—but now Camilla and her warriors had to face the remainder.

“Perhaps today is the day of our fate,” Morak said, gripping his chipped battle axe. He glanced at the Great Chieftain beside him. “I am honored to witness it with you.”

“Today, we all will be witnessed by our ancestors,” Camilla smiled, her sharp fangs gleaming blood-red in the twilight. “At least we held on until the very last moment.”

On the walls, exhausted warriors gathered once more. Broken weapons and battered staves were gripped tightly again. Every eye faced the dark tide surging toward Red Jade City. Beyond the burning forest, the mutants prepared to strike, waiting only for the flames to die down.

Then, suddenly, a fiery streak like a meteor tore across the blood-red dusk. A piercing, bone-chilling whistle accompanied it as the “meteor” plunged straight into the densest part of the northern black tide.

“Boom!!”

A terrifying explosion erupted, shaking the earth so violently that even the city walls trembled.

That first celestial fire seemed like a signal—or a calibration test. Seconds after the blast soared on the horizon, a relentless series of shrill howls tore through the sky. Before Camilla, the land beneath the black tide was instantly engulfed in explosions and firestorms, as if the earth itself writhed beneath this terrible power. Her fur bristled on end. Amid the ferocity, she sensed no “courage,” “rage,” or “bloodlust”—emotions of the living—but only pure destruction. This merciless, cold, precise force of slaughter made her instinctively glance at her general, only to find the same horror and disbelief mirrored in his eyes.

“What is that thing?” General Morak gasped, staring toward the meteor’s impact. All he could see was thick clouds glowing with light beneath the sunset. Then the clouds shifted—something vast and terrifying emerged, slowly moving toward Red Jade City.

It was a floating fortress, a palace forged of steel, suspended in the sky by glowing rune rings and heavy, intricate supports. The city was surrounded by massive cannons and platforms bristling with warriors. Descending from the clouds, it rained down devastating fire and explosions across the land. A deep, rumbling hum echoed from within the iron behemoth, like thunder in the belly of a great beast.

Immediately, more smaller flying platforms appeared around the “city.” Each was armed with massive cannons capable of unleashing celestial fire and a variety of other weapons. Like a swarm of beasts, they circled the sky city on all sides. The blood-red light of the sky reflected off their armored hulls and gun turrets, while the shredded clouds scattered outward across the heavens—

These colossal machines advanced slowly through the sky, executing their bombardment and sweeping fire over the land below with factory-like precision. Their pace was not fast, but it was precisely this deliberate, relentless advance that left every living creature looking up from the ground gasping under the weight of their overwhelming presence.

This was not a war the orcs recognized—this wasn’t even a “battle.”

It was a cleansing, a purification of the land, a form of “pest control” aimed at eradicating the vermin corrupting this world.

“Ancestor’s Peak…” Morak took a deep breath, as if trying to steel himself against the crushing pressure he felt. “What is that? The Elven Star Sanctum? But even the Star Sanctum doesn’t have a force like this…”

“Look up there—that’s the emblem of the Cecile Empire,” Camilla suddenly noticed the enormous holographic projections floating between those massive war machines. The projections were cast from the largest fortress’s flanks, seemingly designed to be visible to those on the ground. “Reinforcements! The Alliance’s reinforcements have arrived!”

At Camilla’s words, some of the giant platforms slowly lowered their altitude, unleashing a barrage of shells of all calibers onto the earth below. A more precise, more efficient “cleansing” began in earnest.

Then, like thunder rolling across the city’s skies, a broadcast crackled through—but the voice was that of a lively young girl: “This is the Cecile Empire’s Western Front Expeditionary Air Force, the ‘Dawn of the Mortal World’ Aerospace Combat Group. Repeating, the ‘Dawn of the Mortal World’ Aerospace Combat Group has entered the battlefield—We have been ordered to support your forces, we have been ordered to support your forces…”

That voice was familiar.

As the voice echoed, Camilla felt herself involuntarily relax, even allowing a faint smile to touch her lips. But standing beside her, General Morak looked surprised. “Such a young voice? Those terrifying aerial fortresses are commanded by a girl so young?”

“The young woman you speak of is one of the few qualified to change the order of our world, General Morak,” Camilla said softly, exhaling. “I didn’t expect her to come in person either, but somehow, it’s not entirely surprising…”

Morak hesitated, as if about to say more, but the broadcast from above cut him off: “This is Rebecca, calling Red Jade City, calling Red Jade City—Chieftain Camilla, please open your communicator for a conversation.”

Camilla blinked, then quickly turned to those around her. “The communicator—bring it here!”

A tribal warrior dashed off immediately, and before long, a portable magic-net terminal was brought to the city wall. For a long time, this device had been unable to connect to distant communication stations due to interference blanketing the land. But now, the base glowed with the unmistakable light indicating a clear signal.

There was no doubt—it was thanks to those massive floating fortresses in the sky.

(End of chapter)