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"Old fool, did you think fleeing without a fight could change your doomed fate?"

Samantha's current state was equally wretched. Most of his armor and clothing had shattered, his body covered in wounds. His left eye socket was now just a bloody hole, and his left arm had been severed at the shoulder. Though he had forcibly sealed his blood vessels with combat energy, the raw, lacerated muscles and exposed white bone fragments made it painfully clear how severe his injuries were.

Yet even so, the Orc King remained as proud and imposing as ever, without a shred of defeat in his bearing.

Samantha—forever the embodiment of the word "victory."

At this moment, Samantha finally fully unleashed his Blade Saint domain, the "Roaring Throne." A vast golden ring nearly a kilometer in diameter enveloped the entire catacombs. The space trembled with thunderous lion roars and a psychic pressure surpassing even that of high-ranking dragons. Even experts like the Four High Priests and the Holy Grail Knights were suppressed, unable to lift their heads.

However, what shocked the Pope now was not this.

"Impossible, you sinful beast! How could you break free from the 'Genesis' seal I laid by sacrificing the Holy Scripture!?"

The Divine Prophecy, though a divine art, was divided into three tiers based on effect and power: the "Gospel," the "Apocalypse," and the "Genesis." The simplest, the "Gospel," primarily bestowed blessings, while the stronger "Apocalypse" was an offensive power. Even with the Pope's current strength, he could only freely wield the "Gospel." To invoke the "Apocalypse," he needed tools and time to prepare. As for the strongest, "Genesis," it was a means to directly create infinite miracles, its profundity said to approach the work of gods. Yet, the requirements for casting it were equally extreme. Earlier, the Pope had strained his wounded body and destroyed the Holy Scripture just to barely meet the minimum threshold for its use.

To pay such a steep price, only to fail in restraining this strongest orc king—allowing him to invade the core of the Saint Spirit Mountain Sky City at this critical moment—filled the Pope with shock and fury.

But he soon discovered the reason. Beneath the Orc King's radiant golden combat energy, there was another layer of murky yellow energy, exuding a dense aura. Though imperceptible to most, it couldn't escape the notice of a supreme expert like Pope Paul VIII.

"Sinful beast, you... you actually used 'Core Combustion'?" Paul VIII asked in disbelief.

Core Combustion was neither a martial art nor magic. It was a method—one only magical beasts could use. By igniting their magic core in an instant, the beast would gain several times their usual power for a short time. The cost, however, was the core's rank dropping by two levels. For natural super magical beasts like dragons or hydras, they could recover with enough time. But for mutated or ascended beasts, the core's degradation would also lower their own rank, and the difficulty of rising again would be several times greater. Aside from core self-destruction, this was the costliest combat method possible.

Paul VIII was a man of vast knowledge. He had some understanding of the orcs' long-standing research into "Warcraft Orc Warriors." Their clash half a year ago had led him to deduce that the Orc King had become such a hybrid. Today's confrontation further confirmed his opponent's surging magic power at the level of a super magical beast. Though he didn't know what price Samantha had paid, the Pope believed that a martial-obsessed Orc King like him would never willingly sacrifice so much of his strength unless his life was at stake.

Sacrifice, after all, should be the privilege of divine martyrs.

But he was wrong. The moment Samantha realized he was trapped, he had unhesitatingly activated "Core Combustion." With the sudden surge of power, he shattered the magic prison in no time and pursued the Pope into the Sky City.

"Humans, when we orcs were already singing praises to the sacrifices of our great pioneers, your kind hadn't even grasped basic language yet!" With overwhelming momentum, Samantha's "Cataclysm Demon Axe" came crashing down toward the Pope.

Though the power boost from "Core Combustion" had faded, Samantha had already deployed his domain. Within his "Roaring Throne," his strength was still greatly amplified. Unlike human Blade Saints, whose domains summoned elemental forces to aid them, Samantha's domain had only one effect: to strengthen himself, endlessly. He disdained using his domain to weaken his foes—he only needed to grow stronger, to once again highlight the Emperor Martial Overlord Art's original "tenfold combat power" advantage, which had become unremarkable after entering the Saint realm.

Unrivaled power—absolute strength towering above all schemes and tactics—that was the ultimate dream of those who practiced the Emperor Martial Overlord Art.

The Orc King descending from above, the silver-haired werewolf breaking through from the front—the two mightiest male warriors among the orc tribes joined forces in a strike that nearly surpassed even the legendary War Saint Leimen of old. Golden tyranny clashed with violet destruction, and even the Pope, wielding a divine artifact, couldn't help but show despair.

"BOOM————"

Gold, white, and violet forces collided head-on, unleashing a cataclysmic shockwave. Half the skulls in the five-layered catacombs were shattered, and the Saint Spirit Mountain Sky City sank another several dozen meters. The Four High Priests and three Holy Grail Knights were all sent flying. Only Xi Luo, protected by the Sword of Heroes, avoided such disgrace, though he too was forced out of the battlefield.

At the heart of the clash, where the light burned brightest, the battle seemed to freeze.

A pure white ring of light stubbornly held back the golden axe shadow from above and the violet blade glow from below.

"Divine artifact protection? Hmph, human, let's see how long this thing can shield you," Samantha sneered, the glow around his great axe intensifying.

In theory, divine artifacts were indestructible—unless a god directly intervened or a world-law-breaking forbidden spell was used. Every divine artifact was tied to the world's fundamental rules, and regardless of size or power, each could form an impervious protective barrier around itself, nullifying all attacks against it.