Richard ignored the orc and turned his head further, toward the distant battlefield where the heart of the fight was happening.
His eyes widened.
Far away—at least a mile from where he stood—the giant robot and the enormous centipede-like monster were still fighting. Even at that distance, they looked massive, towering over the rest of the battlefield like two mountains trying to kill each other.
Richard scratched his head slowly.
"How the hell did that arm get thrown this far?" he muttered.
The robot staggered slightly as the centipede lunged again. The beast's body was thick and long like a living train, its armored segments glistening darkly under the sunlight. Hundreds of legs crawled and scraped across the ground as it wrapped part of its body around the robot's torso.
The machine's head suddenly tilted forward.
Its metal mouth opened.
A roaring stream of fire blasted outward.
The flames slammed directly into the centipede's face. The creature shrieked—a terrible, metallic screech that echoed across the battlefield. Smoke and burned flesh filled the air as the monster thrashed violently.
But the centipede didn't retreat.
Instead, it snapped its enormous jaws forward.
CRUNCH.
Its fangs clamped down onto the robot's neck joint.
With a violent jerk, the monster tore the head clean off.
Richard blinked.
"…Okay," he whispered. "That's… impressive."
But the robot wasn't finished yet.
Even headless, its remaining arm swung upward. The massive, bladed hand sliced across the centipede's face.
The blade struck directly into several of the creature's clustered eyes.
Blue-black fluid sprayed into the air as the monster shrieked again, thrashing wildly.
Above them, the phoenix returned.
The massive bird of flame circled the battlefield once more, its wings burning like a second sun.
A storm of embers rained down as the massive bird flapped its wings.
Richard had seen the phoenix blessing earlier—gentle sparks that warmed the soldiers.
But this was different.
These embers were larger. Brighter. Angry.
They fell like burning stones toward the centipede, the horde of beasts behind it—
—and the broken robot caught between them.
The moment the embers touched the centipede's armored body, flames exploded across its back.
The monster shrieked in pure pain.
Behind it, the wolves and other creatures roared as fire spread through their ranks.
Even the robot caught fire.
Flames crawled across its metal frame like hungry snakes.
Then Richard noticed something strange.
From the back of the burning robot—
A figure launched outward.
The shape flew through the air like it had been catapulted away from the machine.
Richard squinted.
"…Was that a person?"
A heartbeat later—
The robot exploded.
Not a normal explosion.
The blast tore outward in a blinding flash of fire and metal, a violent sphere of destruction that swallowed the wreckage whole.
The ground trembled under Richard's boots.
The explosion looked like a small sun blooming on the battlefield.
Richard's mouth slowly opened, "This is bad." He crossed his arms, bracing for the impact.
The shockwave raced toward them—
But before it could reach the army, the phoenix flapped its massive wings again.
A wall of fire surged outward, colliding with the incoming blast. The air twisted violently as the phoenix's flames swallowed most of the shockwave, breaking its force before it reached the soldiers.
Even from a mile away, Richard felt the wind brush past him.
He stood there staring at the distant inferno.
"…This is insane," he said quietly.
Next to him, the orc adjusted the grip on his axe and glanced toward the approaching wolves.
"Stop daydreaming, half-breed," the orc grunted.
Richard looked back at what was in front of him again.
The second wave regrouped quickly after the distant explosion. Their howls rose again—louder this time, rough and furious—as if the blast had only made them angrier. Behind them, larger shapes moved through the smoke, pushing the smaller beasts forward like living battering rams.
The ground trembled under hundreds of pounding paws.
Richard tightened his grip on his daggers.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "Just another normal day, I guess."
The orc beside him spat into the mud and rolled his massive shoulders.
"Fight," the orc grunted.
Apparently, that was the entire battle plan.
The horde slammed into the defensive line again.
Shields crashed together as dwarves and orcs braced themselves. The impact sounded like a collapsing wall. Several wolves leapt over the front line, landing behind the defenders where goblins immediately rushed them with flashing knives.
Richard ducked as one wolf flew over an orc's shoulder.
The beast landed clumsily in front of him and spun with a snarl.
"Hey," Richard said.
The wolf lunged.
Richard stepped sideways and drove one dagger into its neck while dragging the other across its ribs. The beast thrashed violently for a moment before collapsing in the mud.
Blue blood splattered across his boots.
He yanked the blades free and stepped back as another wolf charged.
This one came faster.
Its claws scraped his already worn armor as he twisted away.
"Okay—still dangerous," Richard muttered quickly.
He ducked under its snapping jaws and stabbed upward into the beast's mouth. The blade punched deep into its skull.
The creature dropped immediately.
Around him, the battlefield had turned chaotic again. The explosion serves only as a break.
Richard moved with the army as blades and claws clashed around, still half-stunned by the madness but guided by old soldier instincts.
He sidestepped another wolf and slashed its leg.
"Peaceful life," he muttered.
Stab.
"Small house."
Slash.
"Maybe a garden."
A wolf nearly bit his arm off.
"…Definitely a fence."
A stab ended the beast's relentless charge.
"…I miss pizza already."
Nearby, the orc who had saved him fought like a walking siege engine. The huge warrior swung his axe in wide arcs, cleaving beasts apart and shoving others aside with brute strength.
Richard glanced over while stabbing another wolf.
The orc fought like he was chopping firewood.
Just much louder.
Then suddenly—
Something massive dropped from the sky.
Richard heard the sound first.
A deep rushing roar cutting through the battle.
"Uh," he said.
Before anyone could react—
BOOM.
The ground exploded where the orc had been standing.
Mud blasted high into the air as something enormous slammed down, carving a small crater into the battlefield.
Richard stumbled backward, nearly falling.
When the mud settled—
The orc was still there.
Barely, he's already on his knees.
The massive warrior stood in the center of the crater, legs buried deep in the mud, muscles bulging as he held his axe above his head.
The axe blade blocked something enormous.
A gigantic blue-furred knuckle.
Richard blinked slowly.
The creature crouched inside the crater.
At first glance, it looked like a gorilla—but wrong in too many ways.
It was twice as big as the orc. Had four massive arms, each thicker than a tree trunk, muscles rolling beneath dark blue fur. Its body hunched forward like a silverback, except the fur along its shoulders shimmered faintly like heated metal.
But instead of a silver back—
The entire creature was deep blue.
Its head burned with steady blue flames, fire dancing across its skull without spreading to the rest of its body.
And its face…
Richard felt his stomach tighten.
Four glowing eyes stared back.
Not arranged in pairs.
All four eyes stretched across its face in a straight horizontal line, like four lanterns placed side by side. They blinked slowly, each pupil locking onto the orc holding its fist back.
Behind the monster, a thick crocodile-like tail dragged across the ground, smashing broken weapons and corpses aside with every slow movement.
The beast leaned forward.
Its massive knuckles pressed harder against the orc's axe.
The ground cracked beneath them.
The orc's boots slid several inches through the mud.
Still he held.
His teeth bared in a wide grin.
"Big monkey," the orc muttered.
Richard stared.
"…That's not a monkey."
The creature opened its mouth and released a deep rumbling roar. Blue flames flickered brighter around its head as it pushed down harder.
The orc's arms trembled slightly under the weight.
Richard took one careful step backward.
"…I think," he said slowly, "this might be above my league."