123: spark

"Kill!" Stone Fang ordered, and the slaves surged forward like a breached flood, rushing toward the overseers who usually lorded over them.

Stone Fang and his companions charged at the forefront. They were all Transcendents; though they hadn't undergone Awakening for long, it was more than enough to deal with these overseers who only knew how to bully the weak.

Stone Fang swung his claws, whipping up gusts of wind. Before the overseers' whips could even descend, they were sliced in half at the waist.

"Splurt!"

Flesh and blood flew, and screams rose one after another.

Those overseers, who were usually high and mighty, now trembled like lambs waiting for the slaughter amidst the slaves' fury.

This battle had no suspense.

In less than half an hour, the overseers at the mine were slaughtered to the last one.

Stone Fang stood atop a pile of corpses, surveying the surroundings. On the slaves' faces, there was both the relief of surviving a disaster and confusion about the future.

"Are we... free?" an elderly slave asked tremblingly, his voice filled with disbelief.

"No, this is just the beginning," Stone Fang shook his head, his gaze firm. "We must go and liberate more of our kin; we must overthrow the rule of Blade Claw!"

He raised his stone claws high and shouted: "Smash the chains! Reclaim our freedom! Those willing to follow me, step forward!"

After a brief silence, the slaves erupted into thunderous cheers.

"We will follow you!"

"We want freedom!"

"We want revenge!"

At this moment, dark clouds rolled over the mine, looking like a burial shroud, much like their own state of mind.

Behind Stone Fang was a dense crowd of slaves, clutching stones, wooden sticks, or even broken shovels. Their eyes no longer held numbness and despair, but burned with raging fury.

Stone Fang led this newborn Insurgent Army away from the mine, heading toward the next target.

...

Soon, under the leadership of Stone Fang and his companions, the rulers of one mine after another, and one town after another, were killed by Stone Fang. The slaves of these rulers rose up one after another in response to Stone Fang's call.

Those beasts oppressed by Blade Claw also saw hope; they joined the Insurgent Army one after another, and the ranks grew rapidly.

In just a few days, the Insurgent Army controlled a small area of the wasteland.

...

Orc Empire, Royal City.

Blade Claw sat on the throne, its face so gloomy it could drip water.

It listened to the reports from the generals below, the fury in its heart almost setting the entire hall ablaze.

"A bunch of trash! You can't even suppress a group of slaves!" Blade Claw roared, its voice filled with irrepressible anger.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger," a general knelt on the ground, trembling as it said, "Among those slaves, some 'Transcendents' have appeared, and their leader is especially powerful in combat."

"Transcendents?" Blade Claw narrowed its eyes. "Could it be that the 'Enlightener' is preparing to make a move?"

It recalled that fellow who was spreading "heretical ideas" across the wasteland, and a surge of irritation rose in its heart.

"Pass the order down: mobilize the elite troops, led by 'Iron Pillar' personally, and be sure to... completely suppress this rebellion!" Blade Claw said through gritted teeth.

"Yes!" The general received the order and left.

...

On the wasteland, two armies stood in opposition.

One side was the Insurgent Army led by Stone Fang. They were ragged and armed with crude weapons, but their eyes were filled with a longing for freedom.

The other side was the elite force sent by Blade Claw. They were well-equipped and well-trained, the most powerful force in the Orc Empire.

Before the two armies, Stone Fang and Iron Pillar looked at each other from afar.

Iron Pillar was one of the most trusted generals of Blade Claw and a pillar of the Orc Empire.

It was burly with knotted muscles, holding a huge stone axe, and exuded a suffocating pressure.

"Stone Fang, do you know your crime?" Iron Pillar's voice rolled like thunder.

"Crime?" Stone Fang sneered. "What crime have I committed?"

"Inciting rebellion and opposing the God-given Royal Power—this is a capital offense!" Iron Pillar roared.

"God-given Royal Power?" Stone Fang scoffed. "Stop joking. There are no gods in this world! Blade Claw's royal power is built on our oppression. Such royal power is not worth keeping!"

"Obstinate! How dare you question the gods!" A glint of killing intent flashed in Iron Pillar's eyes. "Since that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

It swung the stone axe violently, slashing toward Stone Fang.

The stone axe tore through the air, emitting a piercing whistle, as if to tear everything into pieces.

Stone Fang did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly activated his Visualization Diagram. A huge stone claw appeared behind him.

"Clang!"

The stone claw collided with the stone axe, creating a deafening crash.

Stone Fang felt a massive force come through and his body involuntarily retreated.

"So strong!" Stone Fang was secretly shocked.

He knew he was no match for Iron Pillar.

But he did not retreat because behind him were countless kin longing for freedom.

"Brothers, for freedom, kill!" Stone Fang roared and charged at Iron Pillar again.

The warriors of the Insurgent Army also shouted and charged at the enemy formation.

A bloody battle began.

...

Although the Insurgent Army had many people, they were just a mob after all and could not compare to the Empire's elite, who were all Transcendents.

Not long after the battle began, the Insurgent Army showed signs of defeat.

Seeing this, Stone Fang was extremely anxious.

He knew that if this continued, the Insurgent Army would undoubtedly be defeated.

"This can't go on!" Stone Fang gritted his teeth. "Retreat, retreat immediately!"

After giving the order, Stone Fang immediately led his elite Transcendent team to block the enemy.

Only after leaving behind quite a few corpses did Stone Fang and his group successfully retreat.

After returning to the hidden camp, Stone Fang immediately gathered the High-ranking Officials for a meeting and finally decided to let their own Transcendents infiltrate the enemy camp to carry out assassinations.

The Transcendents acted quickly and, with the help of a special Visualization Diagram, infiltrated the enemy camp and immediately launched an assassination operation.

Their targets were the generals of the Orc army.

Although the generals of the Orc army were powerful, they were caught off guard and many were assassinated.

For a time, the Orc army fell into chaos.

Stone Fang seized the opportunity to signal the Insurgent Army to launch a counterattack.

"Kill!"

"Kill all these beasts!"

The warriors of the Insurgent Army had their morale boosted and fought bravely.

The formation of the Orc army began to waver.

...

"Report!"

A soldier stumbled into the palace.

"Your Majesty... General Iron Pillar... has fallen in battle!"

"What?!"

Blade Claw stood up abruptly, its eyes filled with disbelief.

"How is that possible? How could Iron Pillar die?"

"It... it was those 'Transcendents' among the slaves... they ambushed General Iron Pillar..."

"Trash! A bunch of trash!"

Blade Claw roared, smashing the table beside it with one palm.

It never expected that the elite force it sent would be completely wiped out.

"Pass the order down: mobilize all armies, this King will... personally lead the campaign!"

Blade Claw said through gritted teeth.

...

On the wasteland, Blade Claw led the Orc Empire army and started a decisive battle with the Insurgent Army.

Blade Claw's strength far exceeded that of Stone Fang and the others.

It brandished its "Sword Claw" and was invincible, with no one able to stop it.

No one could withstand it, not even for a single move.

The Insurgent Army's defense line collapsed rapidly under Blade Claw's attack.

Stone Fang was seriously injured, but he still did not give up.

He struggled to stand up.

"It's over."

Blade Claw looked at Stone Fang coldly, its eyes filled with contempt.