Ember Dragon

Chapter 687: Ugo Great Prairie

An imperial soldier mustered his courage, stepped forward, and placed his hand before an orc’s nose, then cried out in surprise, "By Cassius—they’re not breathing!"

"What? Are... are all these orcs dead?!"

"No wonder His Majesty is so revered! With just a wave, tens of thousands of orcs are dead!"

The nearby imperial soldiers immediately erupted in an uproar, both amazed at how easily the orcs died and awed by Cassius’s godlike power.

This was a legion of tens of thousands of orcs! These brutes were strong, fearless in battle—even the Empire’s elite would need time to crush them.

Yet before the Emperor of Embers, they were like ants—helpless, offering no resistance, dying without a sound.

A Dragon-Oath Paladin seized the moment to preach, "This is the divine might of His Majesty Cassius! All who dare defy or blaspheme will face the harshest punishment—death!

Praise His Majesty Cassius! Praise the Great Red Dragon!" The Paladin raised his flaming greatsword and shouted loudly.

"Praise His Majesty Cassius!"

"Praise the Great Red Dragon!"

In an instant, all nearby imperial citizens knelt toward the Red Dragon’s direction, their expressions fervent and devout, voices rising to the heavens.

Even the players were stunned, each wearing a different expression.

One player exclaimed with envy, eyes blazing, "Damn! What AoE skill did Cass-bro use? One light beam and all the orcs croaked!"

"Forget it, that’s gotta be some boss-exclusive skill. No way the devs will let us get it. They just want us to stay cannon fodder forever."

"That spear—could it be a legendary artifact? Think I can steal it? I’d be invincible!"

"Yeah, in your dreams."

"Even if you could steal it, you’d be branded a blasphemer against the Emperor. Tiefling guards at the respawn point would spawn-kill you. Reroll time."

Another player groaned, clearly a hardcore grinder: "Tens of thousands of orcs wiped by NPC plot armor... such a damn waste!"

Cassius gripped the blood-red spear formed from Gruumsh’s stolen divine power, slowly flapping his wings, divine bloodlight surging around him, as he gazed down upon the dead orcs and the fanatical imperial soldiers.

As for the rambling players, he deliberately ignored them.

In his divine state, Cassius could better sense the faith emanating from the imperial troops—he could see faint motes of light rising from their bodies—that was belief.

War, Strength, Victory, Territory, Industry.

Their "understanding" of Cassius, under divine nature and divine domain, could be transformed into divine power across various aspects, granting him unimaginable strength.

God of War, God of Strength, God of Empire and Territory, God of Industry and Machinery—these domains seemed to take shape as golden thrones representing divine authority.

It was intoxicating. Greed gleamed in Cassius’s golden vertical pupils.

"Godhood... truly enough to drive anyone mad with desire. But... not yet," Cassius reminded himself.

He knew he wasn’t fully prepared to ascend.

If he seized godhood prematurely, he’d end up like the "Ephemeral God" Karrikex or the old emperor of Holy Fadlan—vanished and broken.

"The priority now is eliminating the lingering threats left by the Lady of Fungi and the Orc God."

With that thought, Cassius steadied himself, then suddenly flapped his wings, ascending nearly a hundred meters as countless devout eyes followed. His voice rang out with authority.

"These orcs were the source of disaster—chaotic, bloodthirsty, and guilty of challenging the Empire and defying me!

In the name of the Ember Emperor, I grant these orcs—total annihilation!"

His voice was stern and immense, like divine judgment, like a thunderclap reverberating across the scarred wasteland.

"His Majesty Cassius!"

"Praise the Great Red Dragon!"

Imperial citizens on the prairie burst into wild cheers, thrilled by their Emperor’s punishment of the orcs.

To these imperial soldiers, any kingdom or race that angered the Ember Empire deserved complete extermination—none left alive!

Cassius’s words weren’t just for the Empire’s citizens—they were a warning to the lurking onlookers: don’t provoke the Empire lightly.

After Gruumsh’s avatar descended, the divine fluctuations attracted countless powers—the divine envoys of Ammanata’s Church, angels from the Seven Heavens, prophetic mages from the City of All Magic, archdevils from Baator, legendary rangers from the Harpers...

Many powerhouses were watching in secret, most hoping Gruumsh and Cassius would destroy each other. And if not, they wouldn’t hesitate to intervene and finish off whoever survived.

Yet the final result shocked them all—Cassius had joined forces with his former enemy Dumathoin, dealing Gruumsh a brutal blow.

"That damn dragon."

"He might’ve found our hiding spots—retreat, now!"

"That Red Dragon wields terrifying power—we must report to the master immediately!"

Cassius looked coldly at each hidden figure as they vanished—ripping space, teleporting, blinking, disappearing into light—all gone within seconds.

"Tch. A bunch of sewer rats."

Cassius scoffed. He could’ve wiped them out now—but the time to turn on them hadn’t come yet.

Under countless watchful eyes, Cassius spread his wings and soared over the Ugo Great Prairie, casting a massive shadow over the war-scorched land.

Bloodlight followed his flight, rapidly covering the ground beneath the Red Dragon.

The moment it touched the ground, hidden orcs who had been silently rejoicing over surviving were instantly killed.

Even the mushroom orcs lurking in darkness exploded one after another. The green-skinned orcs still gestating in the soil turned to putrid mush.

Beyond the Red Blood Tribe loyal to Soro, many other tribes and clans had hidden away, self-reliant and removed from orc society.

In one mountain valley, a trembling elderly orc muttered excitedly, his wrinkles bunched up: "Th-this is Father God’s presence!

I was once a clan shaman—I’d never mistake it. Quick! We must greet Father God’s descent!"

"Long live the orcs!"

"Father God descends! Our orcs will rise again!" The orcs of that tribe brandished spears and charged out of the valley.

But when they looked up—they were stunned to see a colossal Red Dragon spreading its wings in the sky.

The self-proclaimed shaman stumbled back, muttering, "No... it can’t be... this is clearly Father God..."

"Swish—"

Bloodlight swept over the valley, and over a dozen orcs dropped where they stood, eyes lifeless, blood trickling from their lips.

Cassius gripped the blood spear, scattering Gruumsh’s divine radiance over the land—but unlike the Orc God, Cassius’s divine light brought not power, only death.

Like a god of death, the Red Dragon wielded bloodlight as a scythe, slashing and harvesting orc lives.

In just a few days, Cassius flew across the entire Ugo Great Prairie, exterminating every orc—those in hiding, underground, pureblood, green-skin—all were slaughtered.

He enacted his sentence through action, using divine power stolen from Gruumsh to bring total genocide to the orcs of the prairie.

He didn’t even worry about survivors. As the orc pantheon’s chief god, Gruumsh’s power could kill any non-legendary orc across the multiverse.

Originally a symbol of Gruumsh’s supreme authority, this very power was now used by Cassius to annihilate His children—a fitting irony.

With a ripple, Langpu appeared beside Cassius, smiling: "Master, congratulations on defeating the Orc God, eliminating the orc threat, and claiming the Ugo Great Prairie for the Empire.

Your victory over a powerful divine being has spread through the multiverse. All who hear your name now feel awe and reverence."

Cassius chuckled, "Enough flattery. You know as well as I do—that was just an avatar, barely one percent of the Orc God’s true power."

"But even so, it was Gruumsh. Your power now rivals the gods—you’ve broken the Material Plane’s bounds."

Seeing the Red Dragon’s look of impatience, Langpu quickly got to the point: "Perhaps because you provoked Gruumsh, our Empire’s trade and exploration parties across various planes have been attacked by orcs.

We seem to have become the common enemy of all multiversal orcs. Like dwarves and elves, this hatred is now baked into their essence.

Our experiments show even newborn orc infants will bite us madly, completely lacking reason."

Cassius said coldly, "The moment I chose total extermination, I prepared for this. So issue a decree: all imperial citizens—kill orcs on sight!"

Langpu nodded immediately: "Yes, Master."

Cassius continued, "As for the Ugo Great Prairie—its vast, sparsely populated lands are perfect as the Empire’s new ranches and hunting grounds.

Relocate some lizardfolk and goblin clans here. Also move part of the dragonbeast herds from Storm Highlands—at least 500 land dragonbeasts to supply Feanso’s northern leather and meat needs."

"Master, I’ll complete the task to the best of my ability. I won’t fail your trust."

While they spoke, Cassius had already flown dozens of miles. He could see the fortress built into the mountain—once the dwarven capital Avenderdan, now the Wyvern Capital.

"Rooaaar—"

Within the Wyvern Capital, bipedal wyverns raised their heads and howled in excitement, welcoming their master’s return.

Cassius flapped his wings and landed atop Blackstone Mountain with a thunderous crash, gazing north across the vast Ugo Great Prairie.

The Red Dragon spread his wings and declared, word by word, "From this day forth, north of Blackstone Mountain belongs to the Ember Empire."

Nishak Domain.

Within a colossal, towering steel fortress, a burly one-eyed orc sat upon a throne, exuding a terrifying aura.

Inside His fortress, countless orc warriors toiled or stood guard.

Outside it, massive battlegrounds stretched endlessly. Orcs from many Material Planes fought to the death. The victor of this blood game would win Gruumsh’s favor and enter the Iron Fortress.

But now, Gruumsh had no mood to watch. His single eye burned with rage as He gripped His bloodstained spear.

His divine anger turned the sky of the entire plane crimson. Clouds boiled, thunder roared, and blood rained from the heavens.

"Cassius."

Gruumsh growled through clenched teeth, as if wanting to devour the one behind that name.

For days, His faith from the Material Plane—more precisely, from the Ugo Great Prairie—had been weakening, and now, it had completely vanished.

That audacious Red Dragon hadn’t just destroyed His avatar—he’d wiped out all His children on the prairie, ruining His plans for a beast tide and catastrophe.

How could He not be furious?

In the god’s rage, massive crimson eyes appeared across the Nishak sky, terrifying all within His divine realm.

Suddenly, another orc appeared outside the Iron Fortress. He too bore divine aura, but was covered in wounds, gasping for breath.

"Lord! The damn dwarves are still attacking our territory!

I was caught off guard—took heavy losses. They had over thirty legends, twelve demigods, and even a mid-tier god! Their supernaturals are countless!"

Gruumsh narrowed His eyes. "Which dwarf god?"

The orc godling quickly answered, "Dumathoin! It’s Dumathoin!"

"That bastard again!" Gruumsh stood from the throne, gripping His spear, and marched out of the godrealm.

"I’ll make the dwarves pay!"

Dwarf and orc corpses floated in the astral void, severed limbs common, golden divine blood forming a meat-made asteroid belt, staining hundreds of miles with brutal gore.

On a floating island the size of a continent, countless dwarf and orc warriors fought, battling for their race, their faith, and survival. Giant avatars of their gods loomed behind them, locked in a distant standoff, exuding titanic pressure.

This divine war had raged intermittently for thousands of years. Billions of dwarves and orcs had thrown themselves into it, yet none knew when the eternal torment would end.