Chapter 227: Pre-War Meeting

Soft moonlight spilled across the Great Orc Prairie. The evening breeze rippled through the tender green grass, where unseen insects chirped, playing an early spring symphony in a picture of perfect tranquility.

An uninvited guest in a black hooded cloak shattered that peace. He rode a massive worg, bounding rapidly across the grass as the night wind caught his cloak, leaving it snapping in the air.

He stopped before a massive boulder, dismounted, and waited quietly with his head bowed.

Before long, three behemoths descended from the distant night sky, gliding silently through the air. The giant beasts landed around the humanoid figure. Even the smallest among them measured over twenty meters long.

The worg's fur stood on end. It splayed its legs, a nervous growl trembling in its throat. The cloaked figure hurriedly stroked the beast's head, soothing it until it lay quietly on the ground.

The White Dragon Lord ignored the worg. He beat his wings and touched down steadily, lowering the Two-Headed Ogre Chieftain from his grasp.

The cloaked figure pulled back his hood to reveal an orc's face streaked with war paint. His eyes gleamed sharply above a heavy metal nose ring, and the two great tusks jutting past his lips were fitted with decorative caps. Muscles bulged across his frame, radiating a wild aura.

If anyone else had been present, they would have instantly recognized him. This was the current grand chieftain of the orcs: Sodmar Warcry.

Yet now, this notoriously untamed and battle-hardened grand chieftain bowed humbly to the largest of the gold dragons.

"The descendants of Xinsanoan pay their respects to you, esteemed Guardian."

The ancient gold dragon, Adelaide Leslie, gave a faint nod.

"How is the plan progressing?"

Sodmar Warcry spoke up.

"The council of chieftains has already convened in secret. Everyone is highly confident in the plan and willing to cooperate. We've dispatched fifty thousand troops outside Blade Fortress to provoke them, but the enemy refuses to take the bait. They are stubbornly defending Blade Fortress and refuse to come out."

Sodmar Warcry's lips curled into a smirk.

"We bribed a disgraced human noble with gold and received some very interesting news in return. It seems the two human commanders in Blade Fortress don't consider us a threat. They are too busy fighting each other for power."

Adelaide Leslie furrowed his brow.

"It seems the Luonan Empire doesn't view the orcs as a threat. That won't do. Keep applying pressure to the Luonan Empire. You must draw in as much of their military strength as possible and force them to garrison inside Blade Fortress."

Sodmar Warcry felt a little confused.

"Guardian, doesn't the enemy's contempt make this the perfect time for us to attack?"

The ancient gold dragon, Adelaide Leslie, spoke calmly.

"The plan has changed. We have decided to intervene personally and destroy Blade Fortress. Naturally, we want the Luonan Empire to gather as much of its effective strength inside the fortress as possible."

Sodmar Warcry was overjoyed.

"Then I'll issue the orders as soon as I return, and we'll start preparing for the siege!"

Adelaide Leslie turned to his two kin.

"Amos, Leopold, do you have anything to add?"

The White Dragon Lord spoke.

"Orc! Send some clefthooves to Saska Valley. My army is stationed there, and they have a batch of high-quality heavy weapons that can be used on Blade Fortress."

Sodmar Warcry gave a slight bow.

"Thank you for your assistance. The orcs will remember this forever."

The White Dragon Lord nodded and instructed.

"Also, keep your movements concealed. Do not let any news leak. The Madilan World has no ogres or trolls. Arousing the Luonan Empire's vigilance would be detrimental to our future plans."

Sodmar Warcry glanced at the Two-Headed Ogre Chieftain standing nearby, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.

'An ogre?'

'Is this what they look like?!'

The ogre chieftain stood twice as tall as the orc, and his highly oppressive, muscular build made Sodmar Warcry feel immense pressure.

Adelaide Leslie also thought of the large heavy weapons the white dragon had brought. Their forging techniques were several tiers above anything in the Madilan World.

He had no doubt that once the ballista bolts struck the walls of Blade Fortress, the defending commanders would be so shocked by their massive power that they would immediately beg the empire for reinforcements.

The White Dragon Lord thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Everyone, I firmly believe we will emerge victorious in this battle. But what we should consider most is how to handle the relationship between humans and orcs after our victory."

Sodmar Warcry frowned. The hatred accumulated between orcs and humans over thousands of years could only be repaid with blood. A blazing fury ignited in the grand chieftain's eyes.

"We slaughter them all, of course! This world doesn't need humans!"

Sensing the brutality radiating from the orc chieftain, Leopold Chodmartin frowned and spoke.

"I once saw a similar story in a minor world. That world also had two races with an irreconcilable conflict. One of the races seized an opportunity and wiped out the other. Care to guess what the result was?"

The grand chieftain raised an eyebrow. Wasn't this exactly the situation in the Madilan World?

"What happened?"

Leopold Chodmartin watched the orc with an amused look.

"Having lost their rivals, the remaining race lost their drive. They wallowed in their past glories and failed to see the future clearly. By the time creatures from another world invaded, they had already forgotten how to use their weapons."

Sodmar Warcry frowned in deep thought. The gold dragon's words carried a massive amount of information.

After a long time, the grand chieftain grasped the core of the issue. It seemed the Guardians did not want humanity to go extinct.

The orc's thoughts were exactly right.

The White Dragon Lord had always been considering how to maximize the development of the Madilan World's value. The elemental crystals buried deep underground could not be fully mined overnight.

If the orcs lost their rivals, would they still follow orders like before once the Dragon Race completely withdrew from the Madilan World?!

The White Dragon Lord did not want to take that risk. Therefore, he had discussed the matter with the two gold dragons, and they had ultimately reached a consensus.

That was to destroy the Luonan Empire but spare the Kingdom Alliance. The territory and population of the Kingdom Alliance were even larger and more numerous than those of the Luonan Empire.

Sparing the Kingdom Alliance would prevent the orcs from achieving absolute dominance, preventing a situation where they eventually rebelled against their own masters.

The White Dragon Lord spoke.

"Sodmar Warcry, the Madilan World is nothing but a diseased, terrible plane. Here, neither humans nor orcs can grasp higher-level power."

With that, the Two-Headed Ogre Chieftain understood his intent. Waving a hand, he launched a shockwave that struck a nearby rock.

Before the orc chieftain's disbelieving eyes, a massive crater was blasted into the hard rock.