Chapter 206
“Shit!”
“It’s not too late. We have to knock them down!”
Realizing the situation too late, the awakened began attacking the orcs climbing the cliff.
“Chiit!”
“Ghk! S-save me…!”
The orcs that were hit screamed as they fell—but for every one that dropped, even more were climbing up.
The orcs who had followed Ashanka up the cliff clashed with the awakened.
While the vanguard held the human defenders in place, reinforcements steadily climbed up behind them.
“Damn it! If more of them get up here, we’re finished. Block them no matter what!”
“You filthy pigs!”
The awakened attacked with everything they had, and the orcs responded just as brutally.
“Gah!”
“Urgh!”
Casualties piled up.
The orcs were dying in great numbers as well—but neither side retreated.
At the entrance of the underground cavern, corpses piled like a mountain, and blood flowed like a river.
“Kill all the humans!”
Ashanka roared.
He was the second-in-command of the orc race.
His voice carried a force that shook the very minds of his enemies.
It was the Fear of an orc hero.
Overwhelmed by the powerful aura, nearby awakened clutched their ears in agony.
“Ghk!”
“My ears…!”
Ashanka smashed the helpless, kneeling awakened with his war hammer.
Thud!
A skull shattered, and another life was lost.
Just as he swung to kill another—
Bang!
Someone blocked the blow.
It was Urtian, commander of the Red Storm Corps.
“Orcs daring to invade… I won’t let a single one of you leave alive.”
“You lowly humans killed our kin. This is only natural.”
“Shut up, orc.”
“You shut up, elf!”
With a roar, Ashanka swung his war hammer.
A gray aura rose from the weapon.
It was the orcs’ unique battle energy—Tugi.
Just as humans awakened and learned skills, exceptional orcs awakened this energy.
Boom!
Ashanka and Urtian collided.
Urtian activated his aura blade—but he was still pushed back.
It wasn’t that aura was weaker than tugi.
Their destructive power was equal.
The difference lay in the individuals themselves.
Though Urtian was large for an elf, Ashanka was twice his size.
That meant greater strength—and greater destructive force.
“Urgh!”
Blood trickled from Urtian’s lips.
From a single clash, his internal organs had been shaken.
His entire body tingled, as if it might fall apart.
Suppressing the blood rising in his throat, Urtian swung his shamshir again.
Slash!
His blade cut through the air toward Ashanka’s neck—
—but Ashanka dodged with ease and swung his hammer in return.
Despite his massive frame, Ashanka was incredibly agile.
His speed was no less than Urtian’s.
“Die, human!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ashanka relentlessly pursued Urtian, swinging his massive hammer.
Urtian evaded and countered with Wind Cutter to keep him in check.
The awakened of the Red Storm Corps tried to assist—but it was useless.
If they interfered in that battle, they’d be crushed within seconds.
So they had no choice but to focus on the orcs in front of them.
“Chaah!”
“Hyaah!”
Eloi and Brielle also fought fiercely.
But the orcs kept climbing endlessly, and the awakened were outnumbered.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Steel Fortress fell.
“…Haa.”
Zeon let out a faint sigh.
He had barely resolved the bat situation, only to face an even greater crisis.
He couldn’t let the Steel Fortress fall like this.
Zeon stepped forward—outside the fortress.
He walked through empty air without falling.
The sand formed footholds beneath his feet.
From the air outside, the situation became painfully clear.
Even now, the orcs were climbing the cliff like ants.
The moment they all reached the top—
the battle would be over.
And the result would be the annihilation of the humans.
“…I can’t allow that.”
Zeon had little interest in human power struggles.
But when it came to the survival of humanity as a species—
that was different.
He could not allow humanity to be wiped out by another race.
That was the only sense of duty he carried.
“Chiit! A human is floating!”
“Attack!”
The orcs that spotted Zeon launched their assault.
Whoosh!
Spears and various thrown weapons flew toward him—
but most fell far short.
The orc shaman saw this.
The old shaman instinctively sensed danger.
If we leave that human alone, disaster will follow. He must be killed.
A shaman’s instincts were far sharper than those of ordinary orcs—or humans.
The old shaman decided immediately.
Zeon had to die.
He pulled out a black crystal from his robe.
It was a curse catalyst—something every orc shaman possessed.
An item that amplified sorcery several times over.
The drawback was severe—using it would drain all his vitality, leaving him bedridden for months.
But now was not the time to hesitate.
Using the black crystal as a medium—
the old orc shaman unleashed a powerful curse at Zeon.
“Chaos, division, disease, suicide.”
All kinds of curses were amplified and poured into Zeon.
In that instant, Zeon felt an overwhelming lethargy.
His control over sand weakened, strength drained from his muscles, and a burning fever surged through his entire body.
A curse?
Zeon immediately realized what had hit him.
He had experienced curses before.
He quickly recalled something in his subspace that could counter it.
The Reaper’s Scythe.
He opened his subspace and pulled out the massive scythe.
It was the weapon once wielded by the Grim Reaper.
Like the black crystal, it was a curse-type item—but its power was on an entirely different level.
Simply holding the scythe caused countless curses to surge in.
Strength drained from his body, his vision dimmed, his heartbeat slowed, and his skin withered instantly.
Already weakened by the orc shaman’s curse, Zeon’s body was placed under immense strain.
Enduring the pain, Zeon swung the scythe.
His target—the old orc shaman casting the curse.
Slash!
The intangible energy released from the scythe sliced straight through the shaman.
“Keeaaagh!”
The orc shaman let out a horrific scream.
The black crystal shattered, and immense agony consumed him.
Every curse caught by the Reaper’s Scythe was redirected back at him.
His vision faded, his skin shriveled, his mind fractured, and countless diseases devoured him from within.
His consciousness dimmed rapidly—but the pain remained terrifyingly vivid.
And in his final moment, he realized his soul was being pulled somewhere.
The scythe had harvested it.
Thud.
The old orc shaman’s body, now dried like a mummy, collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Only then did Zeon return the scythe to his subspace.
It was an absurdly powerful item—but its backlash was just as severe.
Zeon immediately channeled energy into the Gauntlet of Scorching Heat.
A blazing energy surged, burning away the curses consuming his body.
“…Hoo.”
Only then did he feel like he could breathe again.
But there was no time to rest.
Countless orcs were still climbing the cliff.
He had to deal with them.
Zeon focused his mind and drew up his control.
Whoooom—
Wind began to gather around him.
A wind mixed with sand.
It grew stronger and stronger.
Sand from the desert was carried into the air, filling the sky.
“Krrok?”
“Chiit! What’s with this sand?!”
The orcs climbing the cliff looked around in confusion.
The world had suddenly turned hazy.
Their vision was completely obscured by the sand.
KRAAAAAANG!
A chilling sound echoed.
It was like the flapping of tens of thousands of bats—
but far sharper, far more terrifying.
Only then did the orcs realize.
It was a sandstorm.
The storm was raging directly toward them.
The high-speed rotating sand tore at their skin.
“Ghk?!”
“Chiit?!”
The orcs recoiled in shock.
Until then, they had thought it was just a natural phenomenon.
But this storm—
was created by Zeon.
Sand Storm.
As Zeon muttered quietly, the sandstorm intensified into a full-blown tempest.
Blade-like grains of sand mercilessly shredded the orcs clinging to the cliff.
Their thick, beast-like hides were stripped away, exposing raw, red muscle beneath.
No matter how tough they were, the orcs were helpless before it.
“Graaagh!”
“Chiit!”
Some orcs were swept up into the air, spinning wildly before being hurled down.
Thud! Splat!
Falling from dozens of meters, they became mangled heaps of flesh.
They died instantly, without even being able to scream.
Those who didn’t die immediately suffered even worse.
Countless grains of sand shredded them apart midair.
“Ghk!”
“S-save…!”
The orcs screamed desperately—but their voices never escaped the storm.
Pop! Pop!
Like bursting water sacs, their massive bodies exploded in midair, blood spraying everywhere.
The sand turned red with their blood—
yet compared to the vast amount of sand, it was insignificant.
Countless orcs were ground down by the storm, leaving no trace behind.
The awakened who witnessed this trembled.
“This is insane…”
“T-that’s even possible?”
“Oh my god…”
The sight of orcs being reduced to bloody sand, vanishing without a trace, filled them with terror.
Against enemies they had struggled so desperately to fight, Zeon displayed overwhelming dominance.
They knew the Sand Mage class was powerful—
but seeing it firsthand awakened a deep, instinctive fear.
Whoooom—
The sandstorm slowly subsided, revealing the landscape.
There were no orcs left.
They had all been erased—reduced to blood-soaked sand.
On the now-empty battlefield—
only Zeon stood alone.