Chapter 520: A Head-on Clash

"Danger! Get out of the way!"

"No! Stand firm!"

In that instant, two distinct factions appeared among the Paladins.

Those close to Duke were concerned for his safety, believing that a mage should not face a warrior head-on.

However, Uther shouted for Duke to stand firm.

Why? Because in that very moment, in Uther's eyes, Duke's figure merged with that of Emperor Thoradin.

A head-on clash symbolized a man's romanticism and a symbol of courage.

If Duke saw himself as a mage, he would have reason to dodge. A simple teleportation spell could solve all of his personal problems.

But if Duke wanted to become a true leader, he couldn't dodge this strike from Orgrim. To dodge would mean losing the reason people followed him...

What would Duke do?

The answer was revealed.

Duke pulled Vereesa behind him with his left hand to protect her from the flames, and slowly extended his right hand.

Even knights with no understanding of magic could feel the power in the air surging wildly. The brilliant blue arcane energy gathered and exploded with a terrifying force that spread in all directions.

Head-on, the dazzling blue light collided with Orgrim's hurled Doomhammer.

Almost at the moment of collision, Uther regretted his decision.

"It's a loss! It won't work! Duke will lose!"

Yes!

Duke had unleashed only a sphere of arcane energy, while Orgrim had thrown a demigod artifact.

But Duke's mastery of power completely refreshed Uther's understanding of strength.

From the beginning, Duke had not used a single force.

Countless arcane missiles formed a continuous path of light, like a river from the heavens pouring down, like a scene of water dripping through stone, accelerated a million, ten million times.

Duke's attack, although lacking in mass, made up for it with its quantity and rhythm, continuously impacting, breaking the forward momentum of the Doomhammer...

But all of this happened in an instant, and only those with keen senses could see that Duke was losing before winning.

All they saw was that even the Warchief Orgrim's desperate attack could not shake Duke's terrifying might. The Doomhammer was completely repelled by Duke's magical force, and it crumbled in the collision.

The destructive red flames were shattered, and the blue arcane energy dominated the tunnel, the bloody battlefield.

For half a second, the entire Doomhammer seemed to freeze in mid-air, then suddenly was sent flying back!

"Great!" The remaining Paladins and newly arrived dwarf warriors cheered together.

But this was not the end.

Duke suddenly placed his left palm on his right forearm.

The output of magical power increased further.

In the astonished eyes of all, Duke poured all of his available magic power into one attack.

"Boom!!"

The original arcane missile turned into a massive arcane pillar.

It was like a comet crashing down, creating a terrifying tidal wave that surged toward the orcs.

This energy was not fast, but it spread through the entire tunnel, breaking everything it touched.

The first orc to encounter this force was completely consumed, his upper body obliterated.

Muradin was about to curse Duke for hitting even his dwarf allies, but then he laughed.

Because the arcane pillar's killing range was set at a height of 1.70 meters, no dwarf could be that tall unless they used the Divine Shield spell.

Faced with this overwhelming force, every orc had only two choices.

Either face it bravely, like a courageous orc.

Or bow their noble heads and avoid it.

The choice that Orgrim had asked Duke to make was now returned to him.

Orgrim hesitated!

It was another life-and-death decision!

He could tell himself, 'I am the Warchief, I should save myself, bow my head, and then regroup. As an invader, even if we retain control over one continent, we are successful.'

But by doing so, would he still be a brave orc?

Would those heroic Horde warriors still consider him the glory of the Horde?

No!

Orcs could accept defeat, they could die in battle, but they would never accept cowardice!

"Aaaaaah!" The Doomhammer had long since been knocked away. Orgrim stepped forward, throwing perhaps the last punch of his life with a straight fist.

In that moment, time nearly froze.

Two massive figures suddenly blocked Orgrim's path.

In less than a tenth of a second, the first figure was struck by the arcane energy, and Orgrim could see the orc's body breaking apart, then exploding.

The second, even larger figure, was blown away by Duke's force and crashed into the wall next to Orgrim, deeply embedded in it.

Only then did the weakened arcane force fall upon Orgrim...