Ashen Dragon

Outside the plains, Derol stared at the valley where gunfire echoed endlessly and said to the adjutant beside him: "Have all thirty tanks from the first armored battalion gone inside?"

"Yes, General. They've all entered the Path of Tempering, and the situation looks favorable so far," the adjutant replied solemnly.

Derol grinned savagely and then activated the intercom, speaking in a low voice: "The time is just about right. Let those dwarves… taste the Empire's special barbecue."

At the command of the Earth Goblin General, several metallic barrels extended from the sides of the steam tanks within the valley, emitting a pungent gasoline scent.

Suddenly, at the top of the valley, Kode felt a wave of unease rising in his chest—a bad premonition.

Having seen the power of machine guns and main cannons firsthand, the Dwarf Craftsman dared not underestimate these mysterious metallic devices, especially as he caught the distinct smell of petroleum...

Kode murmured to himself: "Could it be... No, this is bad!"

"BOOM!"

With the sound of air splitting violently, fiery dragons erupted from those barrels, jetting straight into the dwarves' tunnels.

This was the Empire's specially crafted gift for dwarves who loved to hide in tunnels—flamethrowers, affectionately nicknamed "Barbecue Experts" by the Imperial Military.

These were not magical flames but technological creations capable of spraying liquid fire made from a mixture of gelled gasoline and thickening agents. The flames spilled and flowed uncontrollably, reaching hidden corners impossible to target directly.

When the driver pulled the trigger, the spring valve opened, allowing the high-pressure flammable liquid to flow through an ignition device and eject from a nozzle.

"Fwoosh!"

The terrifying flames surged into the dwarves' tunnels, igniting those trapped inside—unable to escape, their bodies consumed entirely by fire.

Even dwarves taking cover behind stone barriers were quickly engulfed by splattered gasoline, their flesh igniting and burning swiftly.

"Fire! Flames everywhere! Damn it!"

"I'm burning! Where's water?"

"I-I can't see! Smoke everywhere—Moradin, is this Hell?"

Dense black smoke permeated the caverns. Dwarves' stout frames staggered as their bodies burned amidst the fire and haze, shrieking in anguish before succumbing to death, leaving behind charred corpses strewn across the ground.

Yet this wasn't the worst of it; the napalm-like gasoline emitted from the flamethrower burned continually, producing thick, choking smoke that consumed oxygen within the tunnels.

Soon, the oppressive smoke flooded the interconnected passageways, causing numerous dwarves to cough violently, suffocate, and even die from asphyxiation.

"Hell... This is Hell! We're trapped in here!"

Amid the dwarves' wailing, Bill, a Dragon Vein Goblin within one of the tank cockpits, couldn't help but hum a widely-known folk tune.

Grinning broadly, Bill said: "Haha, let these stubborn dwarves savor the taste of gasoline and flames."

By now, the tunnels along the Path of Tempering had been reduced to a living purgatory, filled with fire and smoke, overwhelmed by dwarves' cries, coughs, and pleas.

Kode was relatively lucky, stationed at the uppermost part of the tunnel near an air vent, so he avoided major impacts for now.

"No, no… How could this happen…?"

But as he listened to the brittle crackle of combustion, the desperate calls and hacking coughs of his kin, and felt the acrid smoke and searing heat rushing toward him, Kode's mental defenses nearly crumbled.

"The traps I designed, the tunnels I built—they were supposed to be flawless..."

The dwarf craftsman had no way of knowing that as they forged away day and night beneath the mountains, the world outside had already shifted dramatically.

From the tanks, torrents of fire coursed forth like merciless Red Dragons, slaughtering the dwarves trapped inside the tunnels without a shred of compassion.

Billowing smoke surged into the valley, spilling out through the tunnel openings endlessly.

The tunnels, once a source of pride for the dwarves—a defensive marvel thwarting giants and orcs alike—had now turned into their communal tomb.

"Charge, charge! Crush these dwarves and seize Aivendel!"

From inside the tank compartments, the Dragon Vein Goblins cheered raucously, screeching as they maneuvered their steam tanks through the smoke, heading toward Aivendel.

Kode, face ashen, watched the massive veiled silhouettes moving through the haze toward Aivendel, his trembling hand reaching out in desperation.

"Aivendel must not fall..."

"BANG!"

A gunshot echoed, and a small, blood-dripping hole appeared in Kode's forehead as his body slumped to the side.

Just like that, the corpse of the dwarf craftsman toppled from the valley, silent forever. On this battlefield, life was as cheap as dirt.

The old dwarf, known as "Master Craftsman" and "Trap Master," had never imagined he would perish so easily.

"Bullseye!"

A cheer erupted from the Imperial soldier below, who held the rifle.

According to the Empire's General Staff's tactical planning, the tanks were tasked with spearheading the assault, while the infantry followed closely behind for support and clean-up.

Typically, it would begin with a round of artillery fire, but given the constraints of the valley and concerns about potential collapses, this phase was skipped.

The soldiers accompanying the tanks for clean-up operations were predominantly scaled Half-Red Dragons, completely unafraid of fire and smoke, moving about unhindered.

Thus, even dwarves who managed to escape from the tunnels and take cover atop the valley were promptly picked off by the sharpshooting soldiers below.

"Kode... Kode actually died just like that!"

At the valley's top, another dwarf warrior witnessed the death of his old teacher—Kode—and fell into intense panic.

His name was Bo En, himself a Dwarf Craftsman. Not skilled in combat, his kin often labeled him a "coward."

Seeing the grisly fate of his master, Bo En shivered uncontrollably, shrinking into the crevices between rocks, making every effort to avoid exposing himself to the Imperial soldiers below.

Suddenly, Bo En felt a shadow looming over him as a foul, viscous liquid dripped onto his face. He touched the liquid, and his heart sank.

"This is... No way."

The dwarf lifted his head despairingly and saw an enormous Bipedal Wyvern descending upon him, saliva dripping from its maw.

"ROAR——"

The wyvern spread its grotesque wings and let out a fearsome screech, spewing rank, hot air.

"No, please don't eat me—dwarves' meat is tough!" Bo En trembled violently, covering his eyes as he tried to squeeze further into the rock crevice.

But soon, the dwarf was plucked from the rocks by the wyvern, ripped apart mid-air, his bloody remains raining down in chunks.

At this moment, hundreds of bipedal wyverns flapped their wings as they descended one after another to the valley's top, slaughtering dwarves relentlessly from the skies.

The dwarves had never imagined that they would face not only the fire below but also attacks from above.

"BOOM——"

The steam tanks continued their relentless advance, nearing the end of the Path of Tempering and breaking through toward the Aivendel City Wall.

The tank observers could already glimpse the light at the valley's exit and the mighty fortress built along the mountains in the distance.

But soon, a wall appeared before the tank legion—a wall of Dwarf Heavy Infantry.

Clad in gleaming, heavy armor and wielding Giant Shields, these dwarves formed a dense formation blocking the valley's exit, their gazes firm and unwavering.

This regiment had endured countless orc attacks and repelled beast tides like flowing waves.

But against the towering near-three-meter Empire tanks, these dwarves weren't a wall—not even a short wall—but merely a low dirt mound.

From closer distances, the drivers inside the tank compartments wouldn't even notice them.

Inside the tank, Bill sneered as he eyed the Dwarf Heavy Infantry standing their ground: "They actually think that flesh and blood can halt the Empire's tank charge? How delusional!"