Throne of the North.

Chapter 736 The Second Orc War (Part 22)
"howl!"

The fox-man, Shattered Bones, let out a loud cry, threatening the group of tall orcs in front of him. Then, with a few leaps and somersaults, he landed on their shoulders and roared at the southern sky.

"Damn humans!"

The surrounding orcs looked at it curiously. Orcs didn't have much brain capacity, and they were curious why the orc king had become so thin.

A robust and strong build is the true symbol of power, just like the Behemoth King. The current Orc King has created a huge sense of inadequacy among the Orcs.

"What are you looking at? You foolish bunch! The divine message given to us by the great Lord has failed because of your stupidity and weakness!"

Shattered Bones roared loudly, but for a fox-person, no matter how loud the sound was, it wasn't that loud.

The surrounding gazes made Broken Bones incredibly angry and sensitive, and he kept stomping on the orc's shoulders.

"Damn humans, launch an attack! Attack!"

Broken Bones leaped and darted about, but not many of the surrounding orcs paid him any attention.

"Your Majesty, we have failed."

The lean leopard-beastman king and bear-beastman king arrived, both heavily wounded. The legendary humans on the battlefield of the divine kingdom were watching them closely. If it weren't for the terrifying fighting power of the headless king, they might have died on the battlefield.

"Defeat? The great gods guide our war; we must achieve victory!"

Broken Bones roared and howled, absolutely refusing to accept defeat, for the price of such a defeat was far too heavy.

"Even the great beings have been defeated, their divine kingdoms shattered and fallen, and our army has suffered heavy casualties, making it impossible for us to launch an attack."

"The bear-man orc king spoke in a low voice, and his gaze toward Shattered Bones turned hostile."

This war was unprecedented in scale, but the losses suffered were also unprecedented.

The bright sky above was filled with falling meteors, fragments of the illusory divine kingdom colliding with the real world. In the distance, the Behemoth King was still fighting, unable to break free, because the Behemoth beasts and Behemoth cavalry had a very conspicuous target: the extraordinary legions of those human imperial nobles, who seemed to want to cripple the Behemoth royal family in this war, so that they would never have the chance to invade their land again.

The casualties among the orcs were beyond description.

They were indeed unable to launch another attack; they lacked the strength. But Shattered Bones were unwilling, extremely unwilling.

It received an oracle instructing it to lead orcs to invade human kingdoms. If it succeeded, it would be rewarded handsomely; conversely, the punishment for failure would be unimaginable.

The thought of this made Broken Bone tremble all over, and panic emanated from the depths of its soul.

"Great Lord..."

It silently prayed, but the great god did not respond.

Shattered Bones looked at the orcs around him and said in a cold voice:

"I am going to perform a sacrifice to the gods!"

No orc questioned it; offering sacrifices to the gods was simply a part of orc life.
After most of the day had passed, the Behemoth King, who had been held back by the human legend, returned. The mountain-like Behemoth was covered in wounds, with various human weapons stuck in its body, and it was emitting painful howls.

It miraculously survived such a war, and no one knows what method the Behemoth king used to ensure it was unharmed when it fell from the sky.

However, the injuries were severe; every wound on its body was large enough to bury a person. Amidst its painful howls, the Behemoth's body emitted a yellow light that enveloped it—this was the behemoth's way of healing itself.

"Sacrifice?"

"The gods have been defeated; can we still expect a response from them?"

Now, of the six royal courts, the Splendid King is headless, the Raven King has gone to some unknown place, and only four remain in power.

"God is great, and no matter what, He will not abandon His believers."

Broken Bones said with absolute certainty.

"In any case, the war cannot continue."

King Behemoth turned back to the south with immense heartache. The battle on the battlefield of the divine kingdom had brought more severe losses than the wars of the previous decades, and those who died were all members of their six royal courts.

"The war must not stop."

The orc king and his kings disagreed and fell silent, ultimately waiting for the ritual to end.

The orcs retreated hundreds of miles, and in full view of everyone, Broken Bones prayed with his blood, calling upon the magical storm Funi, begging the great god to respond to His devout believer.

however……

The sky was clear and the wind was gentle; everything was eerily quiet.

The gods fell silent.

"This...this is impossible."

"The gods have not fallen. How could the human empire kill such a great being? Besides, I am still alive."

"I am certain that He is still alive."

"He is just... asleep."

The orc kings all looked grim. It wasn't that they thought Broken Bones was lying—this wasn't the time to think about such things—but rather that their orcish gods were asleep, and what would become of the orcs in the future?
"The terrible calamity deep in the North has transformed into a tide of life flowing south, and the lands where the orcs live will be ravaged."

"What should we do without the guidance of a great deity?"

A sense of despair hung over the orcs; they had no time to consider the existence of the orc king.

"The war is over, Your Majesty. From this day forward, you are no longer the Orc King."

The Behemoth King was quite concerned about this matter, but the existence of the Orc King only existed during the war. After the war ended, the various Orc races were all fighting amongst themselves.

However, this time the defeat was too crushing. All the orcs became defeated dogs of the North and had lost the will to fight.

"I will lead the Behemoth people away from this snowfield and search for land closer to the ocean."

"How could a great god refuse my call?"

Broken Bones stood frozen in the middle of the altar, staring blankly at the bloody offerings around it. It didn't hear what the Behemoth King said; it just stood there dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, the orcs around them looked at the bewildered orc king and then at the departing Behemoth King, and soon they too chose to leave.

They left the Orc King's residence in all directions, dejected. Without the protection of power, the title of Orc King no longer existed.

Slowly, the wind and snow fell overhead, and in the hazy world, only the fox-man Broken Bones stood alone on the earth, looking around at the world in bewilderment. It didn't know what it should do anymore, or what meaning it had for its existence.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his soul.

The deity did not fail to respond, but was too weak, so that it took a long time before it finally addressed the shattered soul.

"Lord, great Master."

"He answered me! He answered me!!!"

"I am still the Orc King! I will lead the Orcs to victory over humanity! War! A new war must begin!!!"

The fox-man, Broken Bones, leaped and darted about in the wind and snow, shouting and looking around in an attempt to gain the protection of the orcs. But all around him was a vast expanse of white snow, and there was no sign of any living orcs.
"I……"

"I am the Orc King."

"Your Majesty, our war has been lost."

King Savi of the Terror Rhinoceros appeared at the edge of the snowfield. In terms of losses, the Terror Rhinoceros orc army, which had received the most favor and had the weakest foundation, suffered the greatest losses on the battlefield of the divine kingdom. In this war, the Terror Rhinoceros orcs were shattered.

Savi appeared here out of consideration for the help of the Bone-Shattering Orc King, but that's all.

“Savi? You’ve come at the right time.”

"I want you to lead the Rhinoceros Beastmen and carry out the Lord's will!" "The great being will guide us to escape the terrible calamity deep in the North. The gods will not fail, and we will be victorious."

"Your Majesty, we have already lost."

"My people no longer have enough warriors."

Savi seemed to have aged considerably. For many years, the Dreadnought Orc had been yearning to become royalty, and it had succeeded, but at a terrible cost.

The accumulated strength of the Dreadnoughts over a hundred years was completely wiped out by a war between the gods.

Its current duty is to lead the tribe to find a place to survive.

"Savi, you dare to question me? Question the Orc King's orders?"

The fox-man bristled and glared angrily at the King of the Fear Rhinoceroses.

"Your Majesty, we have failed. Humanity is too powerful. We have not achieved victory in the past hundred years."

After saying this, Savi turned and left. The rabid rhinoceros was tyrannical and had no good temper.

The war is over, the Orc King has lost his status, the gods no longer favor him, and the previous sacrifices did not even bestow upon the Orcs the wild divine blessing. This is the sign of the war's defeat.

It was only because of the connection between the royal family of the Terror Rhinoceros and the Broken Bones that it spoke to the Broken Bones in a friendly tone.

"Savi?!"

"Damn it, the gods will punish all traitors!!!"

Standing still, in the middle of the snowstorm, Broken Bones roared furiously.

But the sky and the earth are vast, and only its voice echoes. In the northern world, when the wind and snow arrive, everything is so lonely and hopeless.

Broken Bones collapsed to the ground, exhausted. It had failed, unable to fulfill the divine decree. The great Lord gave it final guidance: He needed faith, for in the previous war of the divine kingdom, the Lord had lost all His essence.

He was too weak.

But at this moment, Broken Bone was also in despair. The gods did not even have the power to grant it or punish it, leaving this fox-person unsure of how to gain faith.

It couldn't even replicate its previous methods of manipulating the elephant-man's body to gradually gain the beastmen's service.

The broken bones lay limp on the snow.

After an unknown period of time, on the edge of the wind and snow, at the edge of that hazy world, several blurry shadows appeared.

On all fours, several wolves bared their teeth and sniffed the ground, searching for anything. After a moment, they raised their heads and looked over with cold eyes.

The strong smell of blood and the unique rituals led them there.

The broken bone lying on the ground opened its eyes. What appeared in its field of vision was a sky full of flying snow and several large heads crowding around it.

They look somewhat alike, but the other side clearly exudes a more substantial aggressiveness.

werewolf...

Broken Bones opened its eyes wide, jumped up, and bared its teeth.

"You are the Orc King?"

"I remember the Orc King was an elephant-man, wasn't he?"

Several werewolves spoke up, exchanging glances somewhat bewildered, but still saying:
"Our Emperor invites you to go east to attack human lands and avenge your fallen people."

"Werewolves hope to gain the support of a great being."

Shattered Bones' eyes lit up, but he still couldn't help feeling uneasy.

It has little divine power left; the gods are almost asleep, so where would it find more power to bestow upon it?

"I want to offer sacrifices to a great being."

Shattered Bones said this, sounding nervous. These werewolves probably didn't know that it had already performed a sacrifice.

Several werewolves glanced at it and nodded.

"Do you need offerings?"

"Blood and souls are needed."

“We have many there.”

……

……

……

Frozen soil collar.

At Ryan's warm invitation, Count Pascal arrived.

The entire Rhinoceros Horn Mountain was filled with joy and enthusiasm.

"It's snowing again. This isn't the season for snow, but perhaps it's a change brought about by the defeat of the divine kingdom in the war and the fall of the divine kingdom. The world is mourning, while the North is celebrating."

Ryan stood on the windowsill, watching the snowflakes fluttering in the night sky illuminated by the firelight, and couldn't help but sigh.

Beside him, Count Pascal held up his wine glass and gently swirled it.

"I didn't expect Mr. Ryan to know philosophy. In the past hundred years, during the time when the gods were asleep, philosophers were the guests of honor of the nobility."

No matter where you are, powerful people like to feign refinement. Before the bards of the North appeared in large numbers in the South, philosophy became a very general term.

Almost everything that uses words to euphemistically describe the world can be referred to as belonging to this category.

“I know nothing about philosophy, Count Pascal, but I am very curious about it.”

In Ryan's frozen tundra, there now also exists a painter and a philosopher, who is probably somewhere in the banquet hall right now, engrossed in painting tonight's scenes.

"I'm just wondering when this war will end."

"The war is over, Ryan."

"The Emperor has sent a report to the north: the Hot Springs Fortress has triumphed, the orcs have suffered a crushing defeat, and it's said that cleaning up the orc corpses has now become a headache for the nobles. Grand Duke Rodrigo has stated—"

"Grand Duke Russell has made great contributions and deserves more benefits. Therefore, the task of cleaning up the mess on the battlefield has been entrusted to him."

"Grand Duke Rodrigo is trying to win over Grand Duke Russell. It seems the political turmoil in the capital is more serious than we thought. They are going against Grand Duke Meyers and the Emperor."

Ryan did not agree with the answer. Cleaning up the battlefield would be a decent task for a human, but it was not something a Grand Duke should take the initiative to do. This kind of trivial, thankless work was not suitable for a Grand Duke.

Moreover, this is an orc battlefield; what good could orc corpses possibly offer?
"Does the Grand Duke Rodrigo's family keep necromancers?"

Ryan laughed and said that if necromancers existed, the world of war would be their paradise.

However, despite the empire's glorious magical traditions over the past century, there has still been no place for necromancers to survive.

The nobles had a great aversion to magicians who dug up corpses.

Count Pascal could not answer the question either, as his army had harvested many souls during the war to cultivate gargoyles.

Ryan didn't delve into this matter, after all, it was none of their interest.

"However, the war is not over yet, Count Pascal."

(End of this chapter)