106: fierce battle

The war drums of humanity, like thunder awakening the earth, violently pounded at the foot of the Peak of the Storm!

Stripped of the sky's protection, the orcs' last shred of pride was utterly crushed.

Now, it was the turn of the Empire's human warriors to launch a conquering charge against this final stronghold!

"For the Empire! For His Majesty!"

"Kill—!"

The earth-shattering roars converged into an invisible torrent, accompanied by the clang of steel boots crushing rock, sweeping upwards like a tsunami along several treacherous mountain paths!

Leading the charge were still the five main heavy-armored legions.

They were like five red-hot branding irons, fiercely embedding themselves into the orcs' hastily constructed first line of defense.

The iron oath guardians did not participate in this steep terrain assault, but the energy barrier they erected at the foot of the mountain completely cut off any thoughts the orcs had of flanking or attacking from the sides.

At the same time,

The sky-watchers (scouts/reconnaissance units), still circling in the sky, were like a Sword of Damocles hanging overhead.

They projected every subtle change in each orc defense node on the mountain path in real-time into the tactical vision of the human Legion Commander.

"Left mountain hollow, range three hundred, enemy gathering about two hundred, javelin throwers present!"

The Legion Commander's roar echoed through the communication channel.

Almost the instant his words fell,

Dozens of small magic missiles, carrying a sharp shriek, soared from the breaker legion waiting in the rear, tracing perfect parabolas and accurately plummeting into that mountain hollow.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The continuous explosions turned the area into a sea of fire, with shattered rocks and orc limbs flying everywhere.

"Cleared! Advance!"

The Legion Commander waved his battle flag, and the heavy infantrymen marched over the scorched earth, continuing their upward grind.

This kind of precise strike, guided by the all-seeing eye,

Made the orcs' terrain-dependent defenses full of holes.

They would often just gather their forces, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the climbing human army,

Only to be annihilated beforehand by saturation firepower from beyond their sight.

The battle was not without its difficulties.

The orcs, especially the remnants of the Ice Bear Clan, displayed astonishing resilience in their desperation.

In some particularly narrow and dangerous corners that missiles couldn't cover, Ice Bear warriors, covered in ice-crystal-like fur, roared and launched counter-charges.

Their immense strength was enough to send shield-bearing heavy-armored soldiers, man and shield, tumbling down cliffs, and their swinging frost axes could easily cleave enchanted armor.

"Hold the line! Spearmen forward! For the glory of the Empire!"

A human captain shouted hoarsely, his helmet askew, his face covered in blood.

A brutal close-quarters battle erupted on the steep mountain path.

Every meter gained came at the cost of blood.

Human soldiers, relying on their superior equipment, tight formations, and the encouraging healing light occasionally shot from the Sanctuary robots in the rear,

Pushed upward, leaving a trail of blood with every step.

One Sanctuary even ventured forward, instantly deploying a powerful energy shield amidst the melee.

It blocked deadly javelins and ice shards for a small squad of human soldiers suppressed by Ice Bear warriors, then emerald healing beams rained down, pulling the severely wounded back from the brink of death.

"It's the White Robe Medics! Let's fight them to the death!"

The soldiers, given a new lease on life, burst with even stronger fighting spirit.

Just as the ground battle devolved into a stalemate, the final resistance in the sky also reached its end!

Awaken Eagle Soul!

Chieftain Alende, briefly possessing level 5 combat power, was like a burning golden sun, darting left and right amidst the encirclement of sky-watchers (scouts/reconnaissance units).

Each swing of his Thunder Spear carried the might to tear the sky, and over a dozen more sky-watchers (scouts/reconnaissance units) had already been reduced to scrap metal by his furious lightning.

But he could feel the power within him ebbing like the tide, and the phantom of the Eagle Soul also began to flicker erratically.

The burning of his life was nearing its end!

He saw the bitter struggle of his kin on the ground, saw Ice Bear warriors falling one by one, and saw the human banners steadily approaching the sacred altar at the mountain peak.

"Enough... it's... enough..."

He murmured to himself.

A trace of weariness flashed in his golden eyes.

But it was immediately replaced by endless resolve.

He no longer tried to break through, nor did he chase those annoying iron oath (robot class reference) mosquitoes.

He sharply changed direction.

Pouring all his remaining strength, all his life essence, all the power of the Eagle Soul into the Thunder Spear in his hand!

The spear instantly became incredibly dazzling!

As if he held a supernova about to explode!

"Heroic souls of the Peregrine Falcon Clan! Follow me... for one last strike!"

He let out a roar that pierced heaven and earth!

The spear, imbued with all his power, was not thrown at any enemy.

Instead, it was fiercely hurled towards the mountain body of the Peak of the Storm!

Towards the steepest rock face where the human main force was climbing!

In his final moments, he wanted to create a massive landslide, burying as many human troops as possible!

"Warning! Ultra-high energy reaction! Target directed at mountain body! Evade!"

Spirit Eye's sharp alarm sounded.

Everyone saw that terrifying golden meteor-like light plummeting towards the mountain!

Just at this critical moment!

Several special model sky-watchers (scouts/reconnaissance units) that had been hovering silently at high altitude—

They were not equipped with reconnaissance arrays,

But rather small, optimized spatial stabilization anchors!

They activated simultaneously!

Several invisible spatial fluctuations instantly enveloped the rock face about to be struck!

"Rumble—!!!"

Chieftain Alende's final strike indeed violently impacted the mountain, causing a fierce explosion and tremor.

Large rocks collapsed and slid down.

But under the effect of the spatial stabilization anchors, the scope and scale of the collapse were greatly confined to a localized area, and did not form the destructive landslide that was expected to sweep the entire mountain path.

The golden Eagle Soul phantom let out a mournful, unwilling cry, and completely dissipated!

Chieftain Alende, having exhausted all his life force, his golden eyes extinguished, his body fell helplessly from the high sky like a kite with a broken string.

Forever merging with his beloved sky and his homeland on the verge of falling.

"The Chieftain... has fallen!"

Some orc warriors who witnessed this scene let out desperate wails.

Their last spiritual pillar had collapsed!

Alende's death in battle

Became the final straw that broke the orcs' will to resist.

The defense line began to collapse completely!

The human army seized this opportunity and launched an even fiercer offensive.

"The enemy has collapsed! Charge! Seize the altar!"

Franco even personally wielded his greatsword, joining the charging ranks, like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, invincible wherever he went.

Marshal Adrian, meanwhile, commanded from the center, calmly deploying reserves, consolidating occupied areas, and mopping up remaining enemies.

Finally!

As the setting sun dyed the sky blood-red, the banner of the Empire's First Heavy Armored Legion was personally planted by the Legion Commander on the ancient eagle-head altar at the Peak of the Storm, which symbolized the power of the Peregrine Falcon Clan!

Symbolizing the end of organized orc resistance!

And also symbolizing the Azure Wolf Continent's official inclusion into the territory of the Dawn Empire!

"Long live!"

"Long live the Empire!"

"Long live His Majesty Brian!"

The shouts of victory resounded throughout the mountain peak, spreading across the vast Azure Wolf Continent.

This war of conquest, led by humans and fortified by the iron oath (robot class reference) legions, concluded with the Empire's complete victory.