Chapter 170 up
The ruined plaza of Valerith held its breath.
Smoke drifted through the broken statues and shattered stone. The echoes of distant fighting faded as warriors from both sides realized what was happening in the center of the battlefield.
Their leaders had finally met.
Lyra stood facing Orion across the cracked remains of the ancient fountain. Kael moved beside her, his posture calm but ready.
Behind them, Alliance soldiers and independent pack fighters formed a wide perimeter around the plaza.
Across from them stood Orion and his elite Eclipse Order guards.
The war had narrowed to this moment.
Orion’s blade reflected the gray light of the cloudy sky.
“You’ve come very far,” he said quietly.
His gaze moved between Lyra and Kael with cold interest.
“The Alliance leader… and the wolf who refused to kneel.”
Kael did not respond.
Lyra stepped forward instead.
“This war ends now.”
Orion smiled faintly.
“That is exactly what I intend.”
Then he moved.
The first strike came without warning.
Orion moved with terrifying speed, his blade cutting through the air in a precise arc aimed directly at Lyra.
Lyra raised her sword just in time.
Steel collided with a sharp crack that echoed through the plaza.
The force of the impact pushed her back several steps.
Kael reacted instantly.
He lunged forward, striking toward Orion’s exposed side.
Orion twisted smoothly, deflecting the attack and stepping away with effortless balance.
The clash had begun.
Around them, warriors held their positions.
This was no longer a battle for armies.
This was a battle between leaders.
Orion attacked again.
His fighting style was precise and controlled, every movement calculated.
Lyra blocked another strike, but the force behind Orion’s blade was immense.
He pressed forward relentlessly.
“Do you know why your system failed?” Orion asked calmly as their blades locked together.
Lyra pushed back.
“It didn’t fail.”
Orion tilted his head.
“Look around you.”
He gestured briefly toward the ruined city.
“This world built its peace on fragile agreements.”
He attacked again.
“You tried to civilize predators.”
Another strike.
“To make wolves behave like diplomats.”
Lyra countered with a swift strike of her own.
“And you decided mass murder was a better solution?”
Orion’s smile didn’t fade.
“I decided honesty was.”
Their blades collided again, sparks flashing between them.
Kael joined the fight.
He attacked Orion from the side with brutal force, forcing the Eclipse leader to shift his attention.
For the first time, Orion took a step backward.
Two against one.
Yet Orion did not appear concerned.
Instead, he seemed… satisfied.
“Perfect,” he murmured.
Lyra frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Orion did not answer.
He simply moved faster.
The battle intensified.
Lyra attacked from the front while Kael struck from the side, their movements surprisingly synchronized despite the chaos around them.
They had fought each other once.
Now they fought together.
And it worked.
Orion was forced onto the defensive.
His guards shifted nervously around the edges of the plaza but did not interfere.
This fight belonged to their leader.
Kael swung his blade in a powerful arc.
Orion blocked it—but Lyra immediately followed with a strike aimed at his shoulder.
The blade cut through his cloak, drawing the first blood of the fight.
A thin line of red appeared across Orion’s arm.
He glanced at the wound briefly.
Then he laughed.
“Excellent.”
The sound sent a chill through the watching warriors.
Suddenly Orion jumped backward, retreating toward the broken fountain.
His hand moved inside his cloak.
Kael’s instincts screamed.
“Wait—”
Too late.
Orion pulled out a small metallic device.
Selka’s voice shouted from the edge of the plaza.
“Lyra! Move!”
Orion activated it.
A deep mechanical hum vibrated through the ground beneath them.
Lyra’s eyes widened.
Explosives.
Hidden beneath the plaza.
Orion looked pleased.
“You see,” he said calmly, “Valerith was never meant to survive this war.”
Kael realized the truth instantly.
Orion had turned the entire city into a bomb.
If the charges detonated, thousands of warriors—both Alliance and independent—would be caught in the blast.
The entire city would collapse.
Orion raised the device slightly.
“One final lesson,” he said.
“Your unity ends here.”
Kael moved before anyone else could react.
He lunged toward Orion.
The Eclipse leader triggered the device.
A low rumble began beneath the plaza stones.
Lyra’s voice rang out.
“Everyone back!”
Soldiers began shouting as they retreated toward the outer streets.
But Kael didn’t stop.
He tackled Orion before the man could step away.
The detonator fell from Orion’s hand and skidded across the broken stone.
The rumbling grew louder.
Charges were already activating beneath the city.
Kael grabbed the device.
“Go!” he shouted toward Lyra.
She froze.
“Kael—”
“Go!”
Orion laughed beneath him, even as Kael pinned him to the ground.
“You’re too late.”
Kael examined the device quickly.
It wasn’t a simple detonator.
It was the trigger for a chain reaction.
Stopping it required shutting down the central charge located beneath the fountain.
And there was only one way to reach it.
The underground chamber directly below them.
But the chamber would collapse when the charges stopped.
Whoever shut it down…
Would not escape.
Lyra understood immediately.
Her voice shook.
“No.”
Kael looked at her.
For a brief moment, the chaos of the battlefield disappeared.
“Someone has to stop it.”
Lyra stepped toward him.
“We can find another way.”
Kael shook his head.
“There isn’t time.”
The rumbling beneath the plaza intensified.
Cracks spread across the stone ground.
Soldiers were already fleeing the city.
Orion watched them calmly.
“You see?” he said softly.
“Sacrifice is the only true law.”
Kael ignored him.
He placed the detonator device in Lyra’s hands.
“Lead them,” he said quietly.
Her grip tightened around the device.
“You’re not dying here.”
Kael gave a faint smile.
“That’s not the plan.”
But they both knew the truth.
Torren arrived at the edge of the plaza, breathing heavily.
“What the hell is happening?”
Lyra didn’t answer.
Kael stood.
“I’m going underground.”
Torren’s eyes widened.
“Oh no.”
“You’re not doing that alone.”
Kael shook his head.
“Someone has to get everyone out of the city.”
Torren hesitated.
Then he looked at Lyra.
For once, the sarcastic warrior said nothing.
Lyra’s voice trembled.
“We’ll come back.”
Kael nodded.
“Good.”
He turned toward the shattered fountain.
Then he stopped.
For a moment, he looked back at Lyra.
“I’m glad we ended up on the same side.”
Her eyes burned.
“So am I.”
Kael nodded once.
Then he disappeared into the darkness beneath the ruined fountain.
Minutes later, the rumbling beneath Valerith reached its peak.
Alliance and independent forces were already retreating beyond the city limits.
Lyra stood on the outer ridge with Selka and Torren, staring toward the ruins.
The entire city trembled.
Then—
Silence.
The rumbling stopped.
The explosives had been disarmed.
But the ground collapsed seconds later.
A massive section of the plaza sank inward, burying the underground chamber beneath tons of stone.
Dust rose into the sky like a storm cloud.
Torren stared at the destruction.
His voice was barely audible.
“…He did it.”
Lyra did not move.
Her eyes remained fixed on the ruined city.
Kael had stopped the explosion.
He had saved thousands of lives.
But no one could survive a collapse like that.
The wind moved slowly through the valley.
The war was nearly over.
But the price of victory had just become painfully clear.