Chapter 21: Collapse!

Twilight.

The crimson sunset was as red as blood.

At the mouth of Sunset Canyon, Sharpclaw reined in her Dire Wolf, spitting impatiently.

There was nothing but emptiness before her—just a few bare boulders and the howling wind.

Not even the shadow of a human Scout could be seen.

The deathly silence made her bloodlust boil, her restlessness about to explode.

“Ha! Cowardly humans! As expected, they’ve been scared out of their wits by our reputation—too afraid to even set an ambush before running off!”

The wolf riders burst into raucous laughter, casting contemptuous, disdainful glances at the distant Sunset Fortress.

“Messenger!”

Sharpclaw pointed carelessly.

“Go back at once and tell that pigheaded Piggelu—her pig brain is just overthinking! There’s no ambush here at all! We’ve already started making siege weapons, so tell her to hurry and bring the Order up!”

As for the human who had come running to report earlier—whom she had already slain with a single stroke—Sharpclaw didn’t give it a second thought, not even bothering to mention it to Piggelu.

Just a decoy sent to stall for time.

What was there to say?

***

On the battlements of Sunset Fortress.

Wendy and Astreia stood side by side.

“Report!”

A Scout dashed up the wall, dropping to one knee.

“Princess Astreia! Lord Wendy! The wolf rider vanguard has reached the mouth of Sunset Canyon—about two thousand strong—and they’re felling trees to build siege weapons!”

“In addition,” the Scout swallowed nervously and continued, “the Scout team last saw Captain Kelly inside Sunset Canyon! She hasn’t returned, and we fear… she’s gone missing!”

Missing?

Wendy and Astreia exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in the other’s eyes.

“Kelly?”

Astreia’s brows knit tightly.

“Wasn’t she supposed to be changing weapons at the Armory? Why did she sneak into Sunset Canyon without a word? And just before the Orcs arrived, no less?”

Wendy said nothing.

Kelly’s disappearance, coupled with the Orcs’ timely arrival, made him smell a whiff of conspiracy.

Even more crucial—should he give the order to detonate the Alchemical Explosives now?

If he gave the order, Kelly, lost in the canyon, would have no chance of survival.

But if they waited, more and more Orc troops would reach the canyon mouth and set up defenses, making the battle increasingly uncontrollable.

And that slightly timid face of Kelly’s flashed through his mind.

Wendy realized he was truly hesitating.

This was nothing like carelessly sacrificing lives in a game—this was a real, living person.

Astreia was equally torn.

As a competent General, she knew better than anyone that the big picture must come first, and that she should give the detonation order immediately.

But… she was afraid.

Afraid of how Wendy would see her after she gave such a cold-blooded command.

Would he think her a heartless monster, willing to sacrifice her subordinates’ lives for victory?

As the two stood lost in their own thoughts, unable to speak, a heavy and urgent clanking of armor grew louder.

“Your Highness! Why haven’t you detonated yet?!”

General Sera strode up to the battlements, her single eye full of urgency and confusion.

“The opportunity will slip away in a blink! What are you hesitating for?!”

Wendy was about to explain Kelly’s situation, but Astreia stepped forward first, placing herself between him and General Sera.

“General Sera, it’s me who’s hesitating!”

The Princess Royal’s voice was steady, as she took full responsibility.

“Kelly is my direct subordinate. She’s missing in the canyon, and I need more time to confirm her safety.”

At these words, General Sera’s single eye widened, and she pointed at Astreia’s nose, scolding sharply, “Nonsense!”

“For a single soldier, you’d gamble the lives of tens of thousands at Sunset Fortress?!”

“Astreia! I thought you were a competent Commander!”

Faced with the iron-blooded veteran’s thunderous fury, Astreia simply lowered her eyes, offering no defense, as if silently accepting the charge of “indecisiveness.”

Then, resolutely, she turned and gave the delayed order to the Messenger.

“My command… Ignite. Detonate!”

Wendy, standing behind Astreia, took in everything, understanding in an instant.

So, she was shouldering this guilt for his sake, using her own shoulders to bear Sera’s anger and questioning for him.

The knot of guilt over Kelly’s possible sacrifice quietly dissolved.

In its place was a complex, warm emotion.

After all, Kelly was just a stranger he’d known for less than a day—not even an important character in the story. To risk the entire battle for her simply wasn’t worth it.

But Astreia’s defense of him was real.

He hadn’t expected this upright Princess Royal to have such a sensitive heart.

Truly… impossible to dislike.

***

Midway through Sunset Canyon.

Piggelu had just received the message from the Messenger sent by Sharpclaw.

“All smooth? Already setting up positions and making siege weapons?”

Though an unexplainable unease still lingered in her heart, this news finally eased her worries a little.

Maybe she really was overthinking it?

Humans were just that cowardly…

“Full army, accelerate advance!”

She swung her massive bone club, issuing the command.

Yet just as the whole force began to march faster, only a few breaths later—

In the distance, at the canyon mouth.

A wisp of black smoke rose into the blood-red sunset, curling straight into the clouds.

And then, the earth began to wail in agony!

Countless Alchemical Explosive charges buried within Sunset Mountain were ignited all at once.

Inside the mountain, a thunderous roar like ten thousand storms erupted. The entire mountain seemed to come alive, twisting and groaning in pain.

“Vmmm—vmmm—”

A deep, thunderous rumble came from the depths of the earth. The ground beneath their feet began to quake violently, loose stones tumbling down from the canyon walls on both sides.

Then—

“BOOM!!!!”

A terrifying explosion, enough to tear the sky and shatter eardrums, burst forth!

The towering Sunset Mountain seemed to have been stomped by an ancient titan!

The mountain split, collapsed, and shattered!

The immense Hot Spring Vein that had built up inside over centuries was detonated by the furious energy, mixing with billions of tons of collapsing earth and stone to become a black tsunami that blotted out the sky, roaring down the canyon at the entire Orc army!

“No!!!”

Piggelu’s eyes bulged, nearly popping from their sockets.

She screamed in utter despair, “Rear to the front! Retreat!!! Retreat, now!!!”

“Run! It’s a landslide!”

“Help! Great Earth Mother, save me!”

“No! I don’t want to die!”

Countless Orc soldiers screamed in terror, chaos erupting as they desperately turned their Dire Wolves to flee this apocalyptic Disaster.

But in the face of nature’s overwhelming power, even the Orcs’ formidable bodies were utterly insignificant and helpless.

The flood of mud, boiling water, and boulders, unstoppable and wild, swallowed the entire elite Orc force in an instant.

No screams.

No struggle.

Nearly twenty thousand elite Orc warriors, together with more than ten thousand Dire Wolves, were wiped from existence in a heartbeat, returning to silence…

On the walls of Sunset Fortress.

All the soldiers who witnessed this divine punishment-like scene were left utterly stunned.

They felt the ground beneath them still trembling violently, and gazed at the apocalyptic sight in the distance, a fear and awe rising from the depths of their souls.

Everyone’s gaze, unconsciously, focused on the one who started it all.

That Prince of the Fallen Kingdom, standing against the wind, his face calm and unruffled.

At this moment, in their eyes, Wendy was no longer merely the First Beauty of the Valoran Kingdom.

He was a god—one who wielded Disaster itself, who with a laugh could move mountains and seas, slaughtering thousands…

Meanwhile, in the Orc main camp dozens of miles away, the earth’s wailing was felt clearly.

Shala Wiseclaw burst out of her tent, looking south.

Seeing the towering plume of dust rising to the sky, her heart plummeted to the depths.

“No… something’s wrong!”

“The vision in the Divine Oracle wasn’t like this at all!”