65: Kill Grom

Hearing Linn's words, Grom was stunned for a moment, then burst into deafening, wild laughter. His scarlet eyes were filled with extreme contempt and mockery: "Hahaha! An ant who hasn't even reached Gold Intermediate Rank, and you think you're worthy of being my opponent? Are you humans here to throw your lives away?!"

He swung his massive battle axe casually, the resulting gust of wind carving a shallow trench into the ground. His posture was extremely arrogant, showing that he didn't take Linn seriously at all.

Linn's gaze was icy; he had no intention of engaging in a war of words. Just as Grom's laughter was fading, he struck his Staff against the ground, and magic power surged forth from within him.

"Hum—!"

The ground beneath Grom's feet shook violently as countless thick vines, covered in sharp wooden thorns, burst from the soil. Like giant green pythons imbued with life, they instantly coiled around his massive legs, waist, and the arm holding the axe! Wood Spell—Thorn Entanglement!

"Hmph?!" Grom's laughter came to an abrupt halt. He exerted force suddenly, his muscles bulging. The vines binding him immediately emitted a teeth-grinding cracking sound as they snapped one by one. With his berserk High Gold Rank strength, breaking free from this control was not difficult.

But in that brief moment of hesitation, Linn's second wave of attacks arrived. He pointed his Staff forward, chanting incantations rapidly, and several scorching explosive fireballs shot like a volley toward Grom's face and chest!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The fireballs exploded against Grom's thick bone armor, flames churning. While they failed to break his defense directly, they knocked him off balance and scorched a patch of his mane. The searing pain only served to enrage him further.

"Cunning bug! Is that all you can do—these tickling tricks?!" Grom roared, completely breaking free from the remaining vines. Like a rampaging rhinoceros, he launched a berserk charge toward Linn, each step making the earth tremble.

Linn's expression remained unchanged. He increased his speed, his figure retreating like a phantom while his Staff continued to wave. Wooden spikes rose from the ground from time to time in an attempt to trip Grom, ice lances constantly condensed in the air to obstruct his vision, and fire blades precisely sliced toward the gaps in his armor. He refused to clash with Grom head-on, always maintaining a safe distance, using combination Spells of multiple elements to wear down and delay his opponent, much like leading around a clumsy giant beast.

Grom possessed destructive power, but every time, Linn dodged his attacks by a hair's breadth or was hindered by Spells that appeared out of nowhere. His battle axe could only swing uselessly at empty air or the ground. This made him so frustrated he nearly vomited blood, and his roars became increasingly violent.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the battlefield, under the joint suppression of Aivi and High Priest Sea Song—two High Gold Rank mages—Grommash's situation had become precarious.

Aivi's ice magic created large areas of frost Domain, greatly limiting his movement and attack speed. High Priest Sea Song chanted ancient Sea God prayers, sending high-pressure water blades and corrosive acid arrows seeking out gaps like venomous snakes. They constantly left deep marks on Grommash's thick armor, occasionally even piercing his defense and drawing blood. Grommash roared repeatedly; he was wounded in many places, and signs of defeat were already showing.

However, the overall situation for the allied forces was not optimistic. Although the allied forces held the advantage in high-end combat power, at the level of ordinary soldiers, the individual strength and ferocity of the Orcs far exceeded that of the Star Sea Territory soldiers. Even with the long-range support of the Sea God Clan mages, the battle line was being compressed step by step.

Orcs continuously broke through the blockade of arrows and magic, rushing into the allied ranks to unleash a bloodbath, with screams rising one after another. The Divine Arrow Army's firing frequency began to drop, and the faces of the Sea God Clan mages grew increasingly pale as their magic consumption became immense.

Linn scanned the entire battlefield from the corner of his eye, his heart sinking. He knew he couldn't drag this out any longer! For every extra second of delay, more soldiers would fall.

Immense pressure squeezed his spirit and magic core as if it were a physical force. Just as he narrowly dodged another of Grom's berserk slashes, the wind from the axe scraping his cheek painfully, Linn felt a barrier within him shatter with a "crack!"

A torrent of magic power, far purer and more magnificent than before, surged out from his magic core, instantly filling his entire body! Gold Intermediate Rank! Under the immense pressure of a life-and-death struggle, he had actually achieved a Breakthrough!

Without the slightest hesitation, Linn's eyes became incredibly sharp and resolute. He stopped moving about, raised his Staff high, and began to chant that ancient and Forbidden Spell. With every obscure syllable he uttered, the fire elements in the world began to riot crazily, gathering above his head.

The temperature rose sharply, moisture in the air was instantly evaporated, and even the light began to distort. A terrifying, world-destroying pressure descended upon the battlefield, making everyone fighting—whether allied forces or Orcs—feel a trembling from the depths of their Soul!

Grom also felt that fatal threat. For the first time, his scarlet eyes revealed a look of terror. He charged toward Linn again, desperate to interrupt this terrifying casting: "Stop!"

But it was already too late.

Linn's chanting came to an abrupt halt. He swung his Staff down violently toward Grom, his voice hoarse but carrying unquestionable majesty: "Forbidden Spell—Fire Burning the Heavens!"

There was no deafening explosion, only a sheet of extremely pure, scorching white light containing the Law of destruction. Like a sword of judgment sent down by a Heavenly God, it instantly engulfed the charging Grom completely!

Grom's thick bone armor, which was capable of withstanding heavy crossbow bolts, melted like ice and snow under the shining white light. His incredibly strong muscles, hard bones, and even the massive battle axe in his hand were vaporized directly within a hundredth of a second, leaving no trace behind! Only a shallow, vitrified pit remained, along with the strange smell of burnt matter lingering in the air.

As the white light dissipated, Linn leaned on his Staff, panting heavily. This time, he did not pass out immediately as he had the last time, but his internal magic power was completely exhausted. His sea of consciousness felt as if it were being torn apart, and a feeling of weakness that penetrated to the bone swept through his whole body. A portion of his black hair turned gray at a visible speed, and all color drained from his face, making him look exceptionally haggard and aged.

Forcing himself to hold onto his last shred of consciousness, he quickly retrieved the High-grade Magic Recovery Potion and Life Recovery Potion he had prepared long ago from his breath of life space and gulped them down. The warm medicinal power quickly spread, nourishing his nearly parched body, but the cost was clearly not something a few potions could fully compensate for.

Almost at the same time Grom was vaporized, a shrill and unwilling scream came from the other side of the battlefield. Having lost his brother, Grommash was shaken to the core. Aivi seized the opening, and an extremely cold ice lance pierced his heart, while High Priest Sea Song's follow-up high-pressure water blade cleanly and decisively severed his head!

The two supreme leaders of the Orc tribe had fallen one after another!