The Dwarf Pantheon welcomed Sui Xiong's visit. They each sent out an avatar to receive him and explained everything without concealing anything.
The orcs had not told their allies the entirety of their plan. They had merely asked each ally's powerful deities to send an avatar to reside in their divine kingdoms, while having their entire pantheon prepare for war. They said that if the allies found their actions satisfactory and believed there was a chance of victory, they were welcome to join the battle. If they saw no chance, or were not satisfied enough, they could simply leave with their heads held high; the orcs would bear no resentment whatsoever.
Everyone had been puzzled at the time, and later they became even more puzzled—because they discovered that within the Orc Pantheon's divine kingdoms were not only those allies who had agreed to form an alliance, but also a great many gods who had shown no inclination to ally with them at all. There were even gods on terrible terms with the orcs—such as Elder Bear Shepherd, leader of the barbarian pantheon, who had been fighting the orcs all along. He, too, had been invited.
Naturally, what they sent were avatars, and avatars possessing only a small portion of their divine power. This was both a necessary precaution and a requirement of the Orc Pantheon.
"Just send an avatar that can show its aura and fill out the scene. Keep your strength concentrated in reserve—the real battle won't begin until the second wave," the Orc Pantheon had said at the time.
Everyone had originally assumed the Orc Pantheon wanted to wait until both sides were locked in a blazing, all-consuming battle before sending in reinforcements, becoming the last straw that broke the camel's back. Who could have expected... that they