Chapter 360: The Golden Behemoth Hero

Piers sounded so certain that the others began to reconsider.

Gavin remained cautious.

"Send a few groups into Pandora first. Let’s see how the natives respond before we commit too many Lords."

"An excellent idea," Piers said. "We can also encourage Talassar, the Ivory Dominion, Bharan, and the Dawn Coast to go ahead of us."

That proposal met with unanimous approval.

"There’s something else," Gavin continued. "Fivefold Heaven has finished gathering its army. It should reach the Homeworld within a day."

The news lifted everyone’s spirits.

"Finally!" Nerissa’s eyes brightened. "Cassian will never hand over the Five Elements Temple willingly. Once he starts fighting Fivefold Heaven, we can reap the benefits."

——

At the northern edge of Pandora Forest, tens of millions of troops were locked in battle.

Slender Elven warriors faced thickset Orcs with tusked faces. Ancient Tree Seers, Ranger Generals, Archdruids, Beast Kings, Behemoths, and Kodo Behemoths fought among the masses. Between the two armies, there were well over ten thousand Legendary troops alone.

"Heaven’s Battle Array!"

Sacred power erupted from the center of the Elven force. In moments, a blade several kilometers long towered above the battlefield.

"What is that?"

The Orcs were still staring when it fell into the densest part of their army.

A deafening crash rolled across the field. From above, the strike had drawn a line of blood several kilometers through the enemy ranks.

Harriet turned her hand.

The blade rotated ninety degrees, then swept sideways.

Orc troops fell in rows. Nothing in the path of the enormous edge remained standing.

[Your forces have slain a Shaman Witchdoctor. Battle Essence gained...]

Kill notices flooded Cassian’s view. Fifty thousand appeared almost at once.

Half a month earlier, the Array’s first demonstration had persuaded him to strengthen the corps again. He had bought and consumed the Legendary Troop Souls he still needed, then spent more than two hundred billion Battle Essence bringing every Legendary Dawnwing in the army to Nine-Star.

A thousand Legendary Nine-Stars working in one formation were terrifying even at Level 85. Add Human Sovereign, Godslayer, and his other bonuses, and the result was before him now. He kept the premium Aether Crystals feeding Godslayer as the blade tore through the enemy.

A roar rose above the slaughter.

The strongest fighter in the Orc army was a Golden Behemoth Hero. Blood Boil blazed through its body, condensing its fifty-meter frame into ten meters of solid-looking gold. It threw both fists at the approaching blade.

More than a hundred Beast Kings followed its example.

The collision sent a shock wave across several kilometers. Dust swallowed the battlefield.

When it cleared, the sacred blade was gone.

More than half the Beast Kings who had tried to stop it were dead or badly wounded. Around them, countless weaker Orcs had died from the force of the collision alone.

The Golden Behemoth was still standing, but both forearms had been torn away. Pale bone showed through the ruined ends.

Fear flashed in its eyes.

It sprang into the sky, trying to escape.

The Elven army burst into cheers. This sudden encounter was neither a minor skirmish nor their greatest battle, but victories like this had been rare in recent years.

"A Level-105 Golden Behemoth Hero," Cassian said, impressed. "And certainly more than Legendary One-Star."

He studied the compact golden body.

"Blood Boil must be at Greater Mastery, at least. At that strength, only One with Crystal Convergence fully formed could be certain of beating it."

Unfortunately for the Behemoth, it was fighting Cassian’s army.

Before it could reach the top of its leap, more than a hundred gravity rounds struck it. The Kinetic Mechs’ concentrated fire caught it hundreds of meters above the ground.

A sonic boom cracked through the air.

The Hero plunged like a meteor, accelerating downward ten times harder than it had risen. It struck the earth and left a crater a hundred meters deep.

Its furious roar came from the bottom.

Rhea, Aurelia, Lethria, and the other powerful fighters sent their attacks into the pit. However strong the Golden Behemoth was, it was nothing like Vaurak.

In less than a minute, it was dead.

Above the field, Heaven’s Battle Array gathered another blade.

The Orc army retreated.

Cassian led the Dawnwings after them alongside the Elven forces. They pursued for more than ten minutes before Maereth raised a hand and called a halt.

"We’re stopping?"

He was not quite satisfied. A battlefield packed with enemies suited the Array far too well.

"Thank you for your help, Lord Cassian." Maereth’s gratitude was sincere, though the smile that followed was strained. "But any farther and we’ll enter the Bloodmaw Court’s Gate range."

"It’s that close?"

"A founded Nation can do more than appoint officers. It can spend National Fortune to extend the reach of its Gates. That reach defines its territory."

The Elder sighed.

"Without our Ancient Tree of Life, we cannot rebuild our Royal Court. The Bloodmaw Court has been pressing that advantage for years."

Cassian nodded slowly.

Pandora’s position was worse than he had thought. The enemy could open Gates almost on the Elves’ doorstep.

With their allies choosing caution, he had no intention of charging into Orc territory alone.

While the Elves cleared the battlefield, he examined the rewards.

More than ten billion Battle Essence in a little over ten minutes. Tens of thousands of Legendary items and hundreds of thousands of Epics.

One drop pleased him more than all the rest.

[Hero Sigil — Golden Behemoth]

[Use to summon a Golden Behemoth Hero.]

"A Sigil for a specific Hero. Perfect for Darian."

Over the past half month, he had given Darian the two Golden Behemoth Troop Sigils from the Labyrinth. Darian had used both, paying to recruit and raise the new troops. His force now numbered forty-eight Golden Behemoths.

If he reached Rank XVIII within the next four months, he could recruit a sixth Hero. A Golden Behemoth leading those troops would make the whole force much stronger.

Cassian was about to contact him when a call came through.

Darian had beaten him to it.

"Cassian, we’ve found Western Beacon, Black Banner, Dawn Coast, Bharan, and Jade Court Lords entering Pandora over the past hour. Should we use Spatial Lock Scrolls in some of those areas?"

Heaven’s Will had granted Homeworld Lords temporary access to Outer Realm Gates for the ranking. Even Pandora’s Elves could not simply revoke that permission. They would have to seal the space itself.

But a spatial seal would trap Divine Province’s Lords too—especially those who had brought their Domains. If war broke out at home, they would be unable to return quickly enough to help.

"They took longer than I expected," Cassian said lightly. "Leave them alone for now. Let them move in."

Darian frowned.

"You want to draw in more of them, then catch them all at once?"

"Exactly." Cassian smiled at his expression. "Don’t worry. They won’t grow beyond our control. Even if someone comes whom we can’t handle, Pandora’s Elves will help us."

"Are you serious?" Darian stared at him. "The natives would take sides in a war between us? Are you sure you haven’t misunderstood?"

Cassian spread his hands.

Darian could believe him or not. Pandora’s Queen was his Hero, and its Ancient Tree stood in his Domain. Besides, protecting the Crown Lords’ hunting conditions was written into the agreement.

"Oh, before I forget. I have something for you."