Chapter 40

There was no stopping it.

When the giant dragon abandoned all its offensive methods and used only its body as a weapon, charging at Sigma, no means could halt its advance, for kinetic energy was the best form of attack.

The rumbling roar came from underground, shaking the valley as if in an earthquake. The dragon transformed from Juventus crashed through the underground plaza’s gate, its massive body causing the walls to collapse, and it forced its way through the underground corridor, rushing upward. Sigma pursued relentlessly, casting bone spears in rapid succession, but to little effect.

Before the dragon, even if it was not a true dragon but a pseudo-dragon transformed by a Holy Domain Druid, its formidable defense was not something a mid-level mage like Sigma could easily penetrate. Even his most skilled twenty-four consecutive bone spears could only pierce the dragon’s scales, barely entering the flesh a few centimeters before being casually shrugged off. The most potent poisons on the bone spears were rendered ineffective by the dragon’s powerful physique.

He finally felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

Unable to defeat the enemy, unable to stop the enemy, no matter how hard he tried, he could not accomplish it.

Sigma knew what Juventus intended to do.

To take Bifeng and then kill all the half-orcs.

Although the dragon did not speak, Sigma could see from its murderous gaze its intention: the Temple had painstakingly cultivated the half-orcs, and they would not leave them for the Druids. Perhaps in the eyes of this mad scholar, the specimens kept in the half-orc valley were merely for observation, to be destroyed once the project was complete.

Knowing this, but unable to stop it.

He gritted his teeth, feeling the Scroll of Death Finger in his mage bag. His magic was nearly depleted, and if he recklessly cast a spell, he would be left in a state of magical exhaustion, completely defenseless—so this spell was destined to be used only in the most critical moment, but when was that moment?

The dragon’s massive body swept through the grand hall, crashing through the towering stone gate, its fierce and majestic form bursting into the valley. Its long roar echoed across the land, and the flapping of its wings stirred a fierce gale as it swept down the long stone steps!

Sigma rushed out of the palace, looking at the chaotic village, he took a deep breath and shouted, the wind element carrying his voice far: "What are you waiting for? Follow that path out of the valley! Reinforcements will arrive soon, I’ll hold them off, run as far as you can!"

The dragon let out another long roar, as if mocking him, and the king of the sky dived down, a scorching line of dragon breath shooting out, burning everything in its path to ashes—grass, trees, houses, half-orcs!

Shouts and curses echoed from afar as the half-orcs scrambled to avoid the dragon’s attacks. The vicious beast swept in a long arc, grabbing two half-orcs who couldn’t escape in time, crushing them to death, and then, as if taunting Sigma, it flew into the sky, roaring fiercely.

Sigma understood its meaning.

You are a genius, and you have a Holy Domain scroll, I can’t kill you or stop you, but I will kill these half-orcs, and you can’t stop me! If you want to protect them, if you want to stand with these despicable creatures, then watch them die before your eyes!

Like the sole predator in the sky, the dragon circled the valley, quickly picking off isolated half-orcs, killing them one by one, herding them together.

Sigma felt dizzy and disoriented. Even though he believed himself to be resolute and had a thousand reasons to believe he had done nothing wrong, seeing the half-orcs die helplessly, hearing their dying screams, and seeing their grieving families, his soul kept questioning whether this was all his fault. If he hadn’t met Bifeng, he wouldn’t have come to this valley, and if he hadn’t come to this valley, he wouldn’t have meddled in the half-orcs’ affairs, and if he hadn’t meddled, he wouldn’t have encouraged the half-orcs to rebel, and if they hadn’t rebelled, this situation wouldn’t have happened...

No, that’s not right.

Even if they didn’t rebel now, once the half-orc research was complete, the Temple would still erase all traces, leaving no clues for the Druids. The thousands of half-orcs couldn’t be relocated, and their only fate would be to be silenced. The newly cultivated half-orcs would be used as war fodder, becoming cannon fodder. Now, at least they could recognize their situation and escape, and as long as some of them escaped, the race could continue, living freely!

He glared at the dragon, deeply engraving the name of the Temple in his heart.

He flew toward the village center square, where the emergency assembly bell rang, and the half-orcs, packed together, their faces full of panic, fear, worry, and doubt. Sigma almost dared not look at their expressions, even though he knew his decision was right, he didn’t want to see the faces of those who had to make sacrifices.

He was just a small necromancer, without the power to protect everyone or make everyone happy.

They might resent me, he thought. Freedom, the Temple, being cannon fodder—these concepts are too distant for them. To these half-orcs, he wasn’t a savior bringing freedom and happiness, but the one who disrupted their peaceful lives. The future was too distant for them; they only saw the present. Saying he would solve the problem only brought a terrifying enemy. I’m really a nuisance.

Sigma smiled bitterly.

He landed, looking at the Minotaur elder.

The elder looked back at him, his eyes still calm and gentle, like an old ox, accepting everything, like a kind grandfather.

"Thank you, Dance with the Wolf. No matter what, you revealed the truth, preventing us from dying in ignorance," the elder said gently, his demeanor always calm, no matter how Sigma acted—whether disdainful, fierce, arrogant, or aloof, the elder remained serene. Now, he was the same.

Sigma smiled bitterly. What’s the point of saying this now? He whispered, "No matter what you think, I will keep my promise. Organize everyone to leave, go to the outside world..."

"Are you feeling guilty? There’s no need. If you hadn’t interfered, we might have lived in peace for a few more years, but eventually, we would face this behemoth alone..." The elder looked at Sigma calmly, "At least now, with you fighting alongside us, we have a chance to survive."

Sigma shook his head. "Fighting alongside? No, you can’t participate in this battle. Protect the villagers and leave safely. I can’t defeat it, but I can delay it. Trust me, reinforcements will arrive soon..."

"To fight for freedom, to reclaim our dignity, isn’t that what you taught us?" A dog-headed man, who had been scolded by Sigma, laughed, "Dance with the Wolf, we half-orcs have no history, no experience of slavery, we don’t understand the value of freedom or the importance of dignity. As for the continuation of our race, we don’t feel it strongly. So the reasons you gave us for fighting, we don’t understand..."

He looked at the dragon swooping by, squinting his eyes, his fangs slowly showing. "We don’t understand dignity and freedom, so we don’t want to fight for those abstract things. But if you tell us that if we don’t fight, our wives, children, and parents will die, then we understand."

The half-orcs silently split into two groups, more and more sturdy adult half-orcs gathered around Sigma and the elder. The elder took a thick war pole from a nearby half-orc and said softly, "It’s time to fight for our families."

Sigma tried to persuade them. "Trust me, you can’t join this battle. Senseless sacrifice isn’t bravery..."

The elder patted Sigma’s shoulder and smiled. "Dance with the Wolf, don’t look at my age. I’m very curious about the outside world. I always listen to Bifeng talk about the human world. I’ve heard many stories about necromancers, and I know you can turn fresh corpses into powerful explosives, right?"

Sigma, realizing something, was horrified. "You..."

"Only through the fire of sacrifice can the soul become great and free... It’s a beautiful saying. I can’t come up with such elegant words, but I’ve lived long enough to understand that nothing in the world is perfect. Even the most powerful can be defeated..." The elder raised the war pole and addressed the half-orcs who had decided to stay and fight. "Follow the order, watch carefully, I can only demonstrate once."

The old but still robust minotaur took a few steps forward, using the momentum of his spinning to throw the war pole with all his might. The dragon, diving from the sky, was hit squarely on the head by the two-meter pole, letting out a painful roar.

The enraged dragon circled and dived again at a low angle. The elder nimbly jumped back, dodging three attacks, and the increasingly impatient dragon landed, running a few steps, its massive shadow completely covering the elder. Its fierce mouth, with sharp fangs, lunged at the minotaur.

The elder didn’t dodge, but turned to look at Sigma, giving him a mischievous smile. He mouthed silently, "Please, use the corpse explosion."

Without thinking, Sigma’s right hand extended, his mental energy locking on, converting death energy, and releasing it.

The elder’s powerful body exploded in the dragon’s mouth. For the dragon, whose mouth could withstand the high temperature of dragon breath, the explosion was a different matter. The shockwave of blood and bone fragments forced the dragon’s mouth wide open, and it let out a scream of pain. The explosion even reversed the dragon’s breath, and the dragon, unable to fly, nearly fell to the ground.

There was no time to mourn the elder.

The second elder, a dog-headed man, shouted, "It works! It’s my turn! Wife, take the parents and children out. The remaining children and women are your responsibility. Now, watch your man’s skills!"

The third half-orc followed the second elder.

The fourth, fifth, sixth...

Until hundreds charged, orderly and deadly.

One stream retreated from the valley, the other charged fearlessly at the dragon.

They didn’t understand what dignity meant, nor what true freedom was. They could cower in the valley for the sake of their families, but they would also fight the most terrifying creature in the world for their families.

Even if they were destined to die, they would hold back this powerful enemy to buy time for their families to escape.

The second elder drew his short knife, running along the dragon’s body, reaching the base of its wing, stabbing it, and grinning. "Just like a bird, the wing base is the weak spot."

He glanced at the retreating crowd, his son, his wife, the dearest people he had to protect. He took one last loving look at the land he had lived on and shouted, "Dance with the Wolf, it’s up to you now!"

The towering man raised his short knife and, without hesitation, slit his own throat.

Sigma trembled, his lips bleeding, but his casting posture was as precise as a clock. The second corpse explosion hit, nearly tearing the dragon’s left wing.

The dragon thrashed, flapping its wings, swinging its claws, crushing, squeezing, and smashing the half-orcs who climbed onto it, but more and more half-orcs charged at it, like ants challenging an elephant, small but brave, willing to sacrifice their lives.

They didn’t shout "For freedom" or any other inspiring slogans. Their last gazes were not resolute and fearless, but filled with longing for their families, who were leaving. In the other stream, there were sad but proud gazes looking back at them, the reason for their willingness to sacrifice their lives.

What sustained them in facing death was never some grand ideal or belief in justice and freedom.

It was the small happiness that came from protecting their families.

On a summer day in the Nolun continent, in this small valley, the young Sigma, from a group of ignorant, short-sighted half-orcs, truly understood the meaning of the word "warrior" for the first time.

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PS: Third update today. The more I write, the longer it gets, nearly four thousand words. After finishing, I feel quite complex. Please give me a recommendation.

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