Chapter 379: Millions of Orcs, 100+ B-Ranks, and One Hero! [GT Bonus - ]

Even the System seemed to pity Luke after witnessing the absurd number of enemies gathered against him, while the four Titan spirits, who had been resting within his consciousness, emerged one after another.

Nyx looked toward the surrounding Orc army, then raised his head to examine the crimson dome stretching across the sky.

Caelith and Sevaroth also began studying the formation, while Myrkhal stared at the millions of warriors surrounding Luke with an expression of curosity.

"Isn’t this a little too much?" Luke muttered, his earlier confidence almost completely gone.

He had expected the Orcs to prepare an ambush, but never imagined they would mobilize an army numbering in the millions, along with more than a hundred B-Rank warriors, merely to capture a single D-Rank Hero.

’What the hell are they thinking? Did I personally murder their ancestors or something?!’

For the first time since arriving at the outpost, Luke began feeling genuinely afraid.

He knew his abilities were powerful enough to defeat opponents far above his actual cultivation, but there was a limit to what he could accomplish through transformations and temporary enhancements.

If his Eternal Titan Zero body had already been completed, he might have been capable of surviving such an encirclement, yet his current body was still far from reaching that stage.

Even with all his Titans and Armors, fighting this many enemies simultaneously seemed almost impossible.

’Shit! I might actually die here!’

Meanwhile, Emberlyn, who had remained hidden among the distant trees, was equally stunned by what had just happened.

When the illusion formation disappeared, she finally understood why the surrounding forest had seemed so ordinary despite the unusual concentration of B-Rank auras.

The Orcs had concealed an entire army.

’Millions of Orcs...’

Her expression became increasingly troubled as she examined the crimson dome overhead, realizing that she, too, had been caught inside its boundaries.

Even so, she remained hidden among the branches, and none of the Orcs appeared to have discovered her presence.

High above the battlefield, three figures floated outside the crimson dome, quietly observing the army gathered beneath them.

They were Gorzak, Kroghar, and Vradok, the three A-Rank leaders of the Zhurkhal Tribe.

Even from their position in the sky, the formation’s immense scale was clearly visible, with its dark crimson surface covering several miles of land while ancient markings slowly circulated across its exterior.

Gorzak stared at the tiny figure of Luke standing inside the dome before turning toward Vradok.

"Isn’t this going a little too far? That brat is only D-Rank, and we’ve gathered almost our entire army just to kill him."

He shook his head, clearly finding the arrangement excessive.

"Even one Peak B-Rank commander should be enough to deal with him, so why did you insist on bringing so many warriors?"

"We cannot afford to take any unnecessary risks," Vradok replied calmly, showing little concern for Gorzak’s complaint.

Unlike the hot-headed Orc Chieftain, Vradok had always preferred preparing thoroughly before confronting dangerous enemies, and that cautious nature had saved the Zhurkhal Tribe from destruction on several occasions.

Even Kroghar, who normally oversaw their military operations, had chosen not to interfere with the Great Shaman’s arrangements.

After all, this was no ordinary opponent.

They were dealing with a Hero summoned by one of the gods their ancestors had warned them about, and nobody could say for certain what kind of hidden protections or extraordinary abilities such a person might possess.

However, Kroghar still had one concern.

"Vradok, are you certain this formation can prevent those gods from communicating with him?"

Hearing his question, Vradok looked down at the dark crimson dome before answering.

"Yes. This formation was passed down by our ancestors specifically to interfere with divine connections, and once activated, it can isolate everything within its boundaries from external divine communication."

He paused briefly before adding, "Ordinary sounds and physical disturbances can still pass through the barrier, but the connections those gods rely upon will be severed. Even if the Hero attempts to request their assistance, they won’t be able to reach him through this formation."

Kroghar nodded thoughtfully, while Gorzak returned his attention toward the battlefield, already eager to see how long the young Hero would survive.

What Luke was about to experience was the true value of an ancient race’s inheritance, something that ordinary noble forces such as those belonging to a Viscount could never easily reproduce.

"Sigh, gentlemen, can’t we settle this peacefully?"

Luke looked toward the eight Peak B-Rank commanders waiting in front of him, forcing a somewhat awkward smile onto his face.

"How about we discuss this first? There’s really no need for everyone to get so excited."

Unfortunately, his attempt at negotiation only amused the Orc commanders, several of whom began smiling as they watched the fifty-foot Thunder Titan surrounded by their warriors.

They had already received orders to capture or kill the Hero, although crippling him first would make their task considerably easier.

Luke noticed their expressions and understood that talking was probably useless.

’Fine, then I’ll just leave.’

He immediately concentrated on his Armor.

’Valzareth!’

A dark ripple traveled across his body, causing the Nullex Armor surrounding his transformed physique to distort as its surface began changing.

VMMMM!

The existing armor gradually dissolved into flowing black energy, which spread across his arms, chest, and legs before reforming into the pitch-black plates of Valzareth.

Within seconds, the transformation was complete, and the enormous Thunder Titan now stood covered in Void Armor, its dark surface contrasting sharply with the lightning still flickering around his crown-shaped horns.

The unexpected change immediately attracted the attention of the Orc commanders.

"What kind of armor is that?"

However, Luke had no intention of explaining anything.

"Bye-bye!"

With a cheerful smile, he raised one hand and casually waved toward the commanders, his face still visible beneath the armor since he hadn’t summoned its helmet.

Then he activated Void Step.

’Void Step.’

"..."

Luke waited for the familiar spatial distortion to appear around him.

However, the air remained perfectly still, and his body continued standing in exactly the same position.

The Orc commanders exchanged confused looks.

"...What?"

Uzgor, whose unusually long arms hung beside his lean body, frowned as he stared at the giant standing before them.

"What is he trying to do?"

Luke was equally confused, although he quickly tried activating the ability again.

’Void Step.’

Nothing happened.

’What?’

His smile gradually disappeared as he looked toward the surrounding army, then back at the commanders waiting in front of him.

’Come on, Valzareth! Void Step!’

He concentrated more carefully this time, deliberately urging the Armor to activate its spatial movement ability.

Yet the familiar Void fluctuations still refused to appear.

’Void Step!’

"..."

’VOID STEP!!!’

Luke’s expression finally changed.

A bad premonition rose in his heart as he slowly raised his head toward the dark crimson dome covering the sky.

The ancient markings continued rotating across its surface, occasionally flashing as energy traveled between them.

’Don’t tell me...’

His gaze followed the strange symbols for a moment before he looked toward the distant boundary.

’Is that thing blocking my Void movement? But how?!’

"Luke, it seems you’ve become rather dependent on your abilities during our absence."

Nyx’s voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts, causing Luke to turn toward the floating Titan spirit.

"What do you mean?"

Nyx glanced toward the crimson dome before explaining.

"Have you forgotten that Valzareth is still a D-Rank Armor? Its Void movement cannot simply ignore restrictions imposed by a sufficiently powerful formation."

"..."

Luke’s face immediately became ugly.

He looked toward the dome once again, finally understanding why his repeated attempts had accomplished nothing.

’So this thing isn’t just some ordinary B-Rank formation.’

Considering how easily it had prevented his Void Step from activating, Luke suspected that its quality might have already reached A-Rank, although he couldn’t determine its actual level.

Unfortunately, understanding the problem didn’t make his situation any better.

Instead, it meant that his easiest method of escaping the encirclement had already been rendered useless.

Meanwhile, the eight Orc commanders had been waiting cautiously for Luke to perform whatever mysterious technique he had been preparing.

However, after watching him stand motionless for several seconds, they gradually realized that something had gone wrong.

"Hahaha! I thought this puppet was about to use some extraordinary ability granted by those traitor gods!"

One of the commanders burst into laughter, prompting several others to follow.

Drukon, the elderly Shaman with bone necklaces hanging across his chest, gave Luke a mocking look.

"Does he seriously believe his tricks can overcome a formation prepared by our Great Shaman? He must think far too highly of himself."

Hearing those words, the other B-Rank Orcs began laughing as well, while the lower-ranked warriors watching from the surrounding army gradually relaxed.

Earlier, many of them had been worried that the mysterious Hero might possess some extraordinary ability, especially after witnessing his sudden armor transformation.

Now, seeing that he had accomplished nothing, their confidence returned.

Luke, however, was in no mood to listen to their laughter.

’This is seriously bad.’