Chapter 228: Plan

Startled by the flying rubble and deafening crash, the worg sprawled on the ground leaped to its feet. It bared its fangs and glared at the Ogre chieftain. Despite its ferocious display, genuine terror lurked in the beast's eyes.

It was a fear of unknown power—a dread shared by the Orc grand chieftain, Sodmar Warcry.

In the Madilan World, a Mage's magic and a Warrior's qi had long since faded into history. Sodmar Warcry had only ever heard of these miraculous powers in legends.

The White Dragon Lord spoke.

"An opportunity now lies before you. After the war, I will take a group of highly distinguished Orcs back to my world, Nordhill. There, you will be able to master these miraculous powers."

Sodmar Warcry's breathing instantly grew heavy, his chest heaving.

In the Madilan World, the only way to improve one's combat power was through grueling training to hone martial techniques. Yet, even the most formidable Warrior could not stand alone against ten thousand enemies.

However, mastering a mystic force like qi or magic meant transcending the disadvantage of numbers. For an ambitious Orc Warrior, this was a fatal temptation.

The White Dragon Lord drew moisture from the air, condensing it in his palm to form an ice sculpture of an Orc.

"Incidentally, mastering these miraculous powers will not only enhance your combat strength, but also extend your lifespan. You may even achieve true immortality."

The temptation of eternal life became the final straw that broke the camel's back—and this particular straw weighed a hundred thousand tons.

Sodmar Warcry no longer hesitated, slamming his right fist against his chest.

"The Warcry Clan is at your command."

The White Dragon Lord nodded in satisfaction.

"Excellent. Let us continue discussing the details of the war."

After that, the Orc grand chieftain accepted nearly every one of the White Dragon's proposals.

After they negotiated the specific tactical details and how to coordinate with each other, this brief but massively influential meeting came to a close.

Upon parting, the White Dragon Lord spoke.

"Sodmar Warcry, pass my words to the chieftain of every major clan."

"As you command."

The Orc grand chieftain vaulted onto his worg and galloped away.

He knew that from this day forward, all the Orc Clans would answer to an unfamiliar White Dragon. Even his own orders as grand chieftain would likely carry less weight than the White Dragon's.

Watching the Orc grand chieftain's back, the White Dragon Lord turned to the two Gold Dragons and spoke.

"Well then, from this day forward, it is impossible for the Orcs to ever betray us!"

The two Gold Dragons nodded in agreement. No Orc chieftain could resist a temptation of that magnitude. By controlling the existences at the top of the Orc Race's pyramid, they had mastered the entire race.

And the Portal was the definitive key to cementing that control over the Orc Race; it was the most crucial point in the White Dragon Lord's plan to control the Madilan World.

The custom Portal the White Dragon Lord had ordered possessed a unique function: aside from using Elemental Crystals as a power source, it could draw Magical Energy from the void and store it.

However, its energy accumulation efficiency was relatively low. It would take twenty years to gather enough energy to open the Portal, and each activation could only transport one thousand people.

The White Dragon Lord's plan was simple: once they eradicated the Titan Race—the greatest threat in the Madilan World—he would establish something akin to a holy land and place the Portal inside it.

Then, he would select exceptionally talented elites from among the Madilan World's Orcs or humans, granting them the teleportation quotas to inject fresh blood into the White Castle.

At the same time, he would use these elites to bring the Elemental Crystals mined in the Madilan World back to Nordhill.

The Elemental Crystals would eventually be mined out one day, but the geniuses of the Madilan World were endless. In the long run, the value of these talented individuals far surpassed the worth of the Elemental Crystals.

After all, those one thousand individuals were the absolute essence of the Madilan World's population of hundreds of millions.

...

Blade Fortress.

Sendra, the city lord of Blade Fortress, had been rather irritable lately. Not only were the lowly Orcs outside the city acting up, but even his own people were working against him. The military leader, General Loski, had just seized a shipment of goods belonging to a merchant caravan secretly backed by Sendra himself.

Moreover, Sendra couldn't even openly question General Loski about it; instead, he had to worry about the general causing trouble for him.

Because that particular shipment could not see the light of day.

As the city lord of Blade Fortress, how could the shrewd Lord Sendra ever pass up the lucrative fat of smuggling?

In truth, this "devoted and dutiful" city lord—who supposedly shared a blood feud with the Orcs—was the hidden shareholder behind nearly a third of the smuggling caravans.

The remaining two-thirds were also backed by other nobles. Every year, they would use various channels—such as the wife route, the sister-in-law route, or the godfather route—to "honor" the esteemed City Lord Sendra.

Inside his closed room, City Lord Sendra slammed his fist against his desk in depression.

"That damned Loski! That arrogant little whelp is always going against me! What's wrong with everyone getting rich together?!"

Thump, thump, thump!

At that moment, the sound of rapid running came from the courtyard outside, followed immediately by a guard's anxious voice.

"My Lord! Something's happened!"

City Lord Sendra shouted back impatiently.

"What is it?!"

The guard shouted anxiously.

"Those Orcs somehow got their hands on a batch of crossbow cannons, and they just used them to shoot the wall sentries dead!"

Crossbow cannons?!

City Lord Sendra's heart leaped in shock. He shot to his feet, his expression turning dark and volatile.

Which bastard sold such massive killing weapons to the Orcs?!

Someone had broken the unspoken rules, filling City Lord Sendra with fury.

While smuggling was a practice tacitly permitted by the nobility, they were only allowed to sell the Orcs living supplies like grain or cloth, and iron tools were strictly capped at no more than ten pieces.

To say nothing of a lethal war weapon like crossbow cannons!

This was no longer a matter of smuggling for profit. This was treason!

Outside the door, the guard spoke again cautiously.

"City Lord! General Loski is currently waiting for you in the main hall! Will you be heading over?"

Evidently, the guard was well aware of the recent conflict between his superior and General Loski.

City Lord Sendra did not hesitate.

"I'll be right there. Have him wait!"

Greedy as he was, City Lord Sendra still knew where to draw the line in the face of such a critical issue.

City Lord Sendra walked over to the full-length mirror in his room, puffed out his chest, and straightened his collar and cuffs. Only after confirming there was nothing unseemly about his appearance did he push open the door and stride briskly outside.

He passed down the gravel path cutting through the lawn and rounded a rockery.

City Lord Sendra walked all the way to the main hall. Upon entering, he immediately saw a corpse covered by a white cloth on a stretcher, the bright red bloodstains on the fabric piercingly conspicuous.