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"This castle must be garrisoned by human elites; otherwise, they wouldn't have held you back so effectively. However, there are likely stronger individuals inside the fortress—the current defenders alone won't withstand the Orc forces for long. I'll handle this." Seeing the situation before me, I naturally understood why the alliance had sent me here. It indicated the presence of a human Sword Saint, requiring a stronger warrior to eliminate them. In fact, more than half of the current Orc Sword Saints have undertaken such tasks before. Although Orc Sword Saints generally outmatch their human counterparts in strength, only a few from the Eagle, Leopard, and Lion tribes can confidently secure victories without letting their human opponents escape. Even then, there have been instances where multiple human experts joined forces and caught us off guard. Therefore, the alliance has had to increase the level of force deployed. Now, apart from a few top experts like myself, most Orc Sword Saints are sent out in pairs or trios to ensure success.

The *Saint Ice Thorn Aura* at the Sword Saint level, combined with the magic blade *Hu Po*, is extraordinarily lethal. There were no opponents in the human fortress that exceeded my expectations. The human Sword Saint was an expert recruited by the *Radiant Temple* and was obliterated by my *Ten Blades to Dust the Mortal World* strike. I also seized an epic-grade long halberd from him, which, although it was at the bottom tier of epic weapons and far from the top ten divine swords, was still a modest gain.

The war continued for another ten days before significant changes finally occurred. The human ultimate experts, the Sword Saints, entered the battlefield. The *Black Ice Demon Knight*, who had lost his nation, the *Radiant Temple*'s guardian *Holy Grail Knight*, and the Mercenary Empire's uncrowned king, the *Flame Saint*, launched a coordinated attack, breaking through the Orc encirclement. They led four hundred thousand human reinforcements to join forces with the *Twin Cities* garrison, completely turning the tide of the battle.

However, because the humans had heavily reinforced the *Twin Cities*, it left other fronts vulnerable. This allowed Orc forces to conclude several other engagements and free up an additional two hundred thousand troops to head to the *Twin Cities* ahead of schedule. They stood their ground against the humans, leading to an inevitable large-scale confrontation.

On that day, at the Orc military headquarters, the Orc King's camp.

Nearly all of the Orc generals and important officials were gathered. Seated in the center were Orc King Samanda and the *War God Temple*'s Pope, with leaders or generals from the various Orc tribes and a few highly respected Great Shamans below them. With the impending decisive battle, all Orc elites had assembled to discuss and formulate strategies for the upcoming fight.

As orders were issued, the Orc strategic deployment gradually took shape. Since I controlled a relatively small force but possessed the crucial *Crystal Dragon*, my tasks were twofold: to counter the enemy's *Crystal Dragon* and to actively contain strong human figures, such as the *Holy Grail Knight* or any potential *Dragon Warrior*.

Among the Orc leaders, none were more pleased than Chieftain Aihain of the Snow Wolf Tribe. Originally, the Snow Wolf Tribe had been excluded from the *Golden Great Plains* battlefield. Thus, he had to seek my assistance to earn sufficient merit for his tribe. However, when news of my possession of the *Crystal Dragon* reached Orc King Samanda, he unexpectedly altered the original plans and reassigned the *Snow Wolf Guards*, previously part of the Northern Legion, to the *Golden Great Plains* battlefield. While both Chieftain Aihain and I understood that Samanda intended for us to check and balance each other, Aihain clearly couldn't resist the temptation. With my limited foundation in the alliance, I ultimately had no choice but to accept.

The battle commenced that very night. With the support of three Sword Saints and the *Radiant Pope*'s top archbishops, the human army launched a coordinated counterattack on multiple fronts.

Among the Orcs, only *War Saint* Leimen, alongside Orc King Samanda, who is an *Emperor Martial*, could single-handedly contend with a human Sword Saint. However, this doesn't mean the Orcs lack other means to counter human Sword Saints. Otherwise, if human Sword Saints were as invincible as they claim, they would have wiped out the Orc Alliance centuries ago. The simplest method is numerical restraint. Deploying four or five top Orc Sword Saints, although unable to defeat a human Sword Saint, can effectively impede their progress. After all, today's Sword Saints are not the unstoppable *Sword Saint Ancestor* Leinster of old.

Unlike human martial arts, which often mimic elemental attacks akin to magic, Orc martial arts primarily enhance certain attributes of the self. The *Emperor Martial Overlord Art*, when practiced to its peak, earns one the title of *Emperor Martial*. The Eagle tribe's *Sky Eagle Soaring Art*, when mastered, grants the title of *Heavenly Duke*, and the Leopard tribe's *Close Yet Distant* bestows the title of *Swift King* upon its master. Past cases have proven that a combination of a *Heavenly Duke* and a *Swift King* is sufficient to contain a human Sword Saint. Other Orc experts, though lacking such speed, can still hold their own by rotating in combat, buying time without falling to defeat.

Although the Orcs have fewer Sword Saints than humans, their quality surpasses them severalfold. With human Sword Saints having lost more than half of their numbers in previous battles, the Orcs easily assembled over a dozen Sword Saints to lead their troops, intercepting the two armies led by the *Holy Grail Knight* and the *Black Ice Demon Knight*. Meanwhile, Orc King Samanda personally led his elite forces to confront the human main army under the *Flame Saint* Levis.

The two armies clashed on the expansive plains before the *Twin Cities*, where waves of elite fighters from both sides surged forward. Orc Shamans and human mages and priests infused both sides with magic and divine power. Though the Orcs were outmatched in magic, their numerous magical beasts and large air force compensated for this. As for the top figures, the *Radiant Pope* and the *War God Temple*'s Pope brought their relics, the *Eternal Holy Grail* and the *Eye of the War God*, to the battlefield. While these artifacts couldn't directly kill, they significantly enhanced the power of Shamans and priests. As for the other relic, the *Doomsday Horn*, though now a *War God* artifact, was originally a treasure of the Moon Elves' nature goddess, so it provided no assistance with *War God* miracles."