Ashen Dragon

"For Father God Guosh!"

"Blood spilled across the land, Orcs shall rule the world!"

The Orcs boiled over with excitement, raising their blood-stained weapons high and shouting like a tsunami crashing down.

Indeed, the wall known as "Beastman Tombstone" was piled high with Orc carcasses, and thousands of fresh bodies lay in the Bone River.

But now, at a terrible cost, the Orcs had captured it and emerged as true victors.

This was their sixth breach of this barrier in thousands of years, and this time, their enemies were dwarf warriors, devoid of annoying Elves and Divine Descendants.

...

The goat agilely bounded and climbed amongst the cliffs, swift of foot, carrying the dwarf knights upon its back to the walls of Aivendel.

The Dwarf Knight dismounted from the goat and knelt respectfully before Ed, who was clad in armour and wielding a warhammer.

"Your Majesty, the Orcs have breached the outer walls and are amassing their strength, marching towards Aivendel."

Ed nodded slightly, then looking into the distance, sighed softly, "Bjorn, you were right; the outer wall has indeed fallen to the Orcs.

And... faster than any Beast Tide before, even warriors as strong as Tur could not halt the advance of the Orcs."

Bjorn stepped forward, shook his head with a bitter smile, "I wish I had been wrong, Your Majesty.

As far as I know, Batu Skullcrush has unified over a hundred Orc tribes of the Wuge Prairie; their number exceeds 1.6 million.

This time the Orc onslaught is fierce; they aim not only to conquer our High Mountain Kingdom but, I fear, to subjugate the entirety of Fianso."

Ed frowned, "Will the Gods not intervene?"

Bjorn bowed his head, "Your Majesty, I've dispatched Master Eugene to seek assistance from Father God Moradin and the righteous Gods at Heavenly Mountain, but now that the heavens are sealed, the help the Divine can offer is limited.

Moreover, I've heard the One-eyed God of the Orcs has obscured Father God's vision with some secret methods, blocking the view from Heavenly Mountain.

A fog shrouds the Wuge Prairie, and the Red Blood Tribe assembled with unimaginable speed; even our Scouts were unaware."

This venerable minister, over four hundred years old and having endured countless wars, now sounded weakened and hoarse:

"Your Majesty, I suspect the Orcs intend to make a swift decision, to capture Aivendel before the world's gaze focuses."

"How long must we hold Aivendel—to await Father God's aid?"

"No more than seven days, if nothing befalls Master Eugene."

"Good."

Listening to the distant roars of the Orcs, the Dwarf King was anxious, yet his tone remained resolute, "The millennial heritage of the High Mountain Kingdom, the glorious history of the Dwarf Clan, must not perish in my hands.

Even if this war is unwinnable, I will ensure those Orcs pay in blood."

Ed tightened his grip on the Heavy Hammer that symbolized the supreme power of the High Mountain Kingdom, the voice of Moradin.

Dwarf Scouts astride griffins spiraled high above, shooting down numerous Vultures and Giant Eagles, obtaining a vantage of the Beastman Army's movements.

Beastman Shamans were seen waving Scepters and chanting Spells.

With rumbling sounds, sturdy rocks extended on both sides of the Road of Glory, providing a path for Wildland Dragons, sharp-toothed beasts, and other gargantuan creatures bred by the Orcs.

More Orcs, Goblins, Ogres, and Hill Giants also flooded in, assembling in the valley before Aivendel, densely packed like a surging river.

In a matter of hours, the Orcs amassed fully, with tens of thousands charging towards Aivendel.

Upon the walls, Ed led the elite Dwarf Warriors, ready in formation, awaiting the enemy's arrival.

In fortress loopholes, steep cliffs, and secret tunnels, the vengeful eyes of Dwarf Warriors appeared.

At this moment, all 15,000 battle-ready Dwarves of Aivendel stood guard over their homeland.

Soon, the ground began to tremble, and a continuous, deep rumbling sound filled the air as a mottled green-yellow torrent flooded the plains before the valley.

In the sky, countless Vultures and Giant Eagles braved the dense barrage of Dwarf arrows, circling back and forth.

Batu sat upon the Bone Throne, pointing with his Great Axe towards the majestic fortress built against the mountains in the distance, greed in his eyes, "This, this is Aivendel, what a perfect place."

The Beastman Chief rose from his throne, his voice rising ever higher, echoing across the mountains, "My people, crush these Dwarves, take their fortress!

Only then shall we please the great Father God Guosh! This city shall mark the beginning of our Orcs' conquest of the world!"

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"Kill all the dwarves, seize the fortress!"

"For Father God Guosh!"

"The great Beastman Race will eventually rule the world!"

In an instant, the orcs boiled over again, unleashing frenzied battle roars that echoed through the sky, causing the mountains to tremble.

"Great children of Guosh—

Go, indulge in slaughter, with the strong bodies bestowed by the Father God, tear apart all enemies who stand in the way of the Beastman conquest!

Behead the dwarves, stab through the elves' hearts, sever the humans' arms..."

The shamans waved their bone staffs, thick blood fog engulfed the area before the fortress, making the beastman warriors even more frenzied, fearless of death.

They crowded onto the clearing, charging continuously towards the tall, solid fortress.

Watching the surging wave of orcs, King Ed's face displayed resolve as he commanded in a deep voice: "All units obey—shoot the arrows!"

Suddenly, thousands of dwarves drew their bows in unison, launching towards the sky, a dense barrage of arrows rained down like a downpour, instantly turning the foremost orcs into sieves.

However, Hill Giants and Half-Beast Giants advanced with Giant Shields, pushing on, blocking barrage after barrage of arrows.

But atop the lofty walls of Aivendel, elaborate steel crossbows, each meters tall and personally forged by Master Dwarf Craftsmen, were already aimed at them.

The dwarves strained to turn the windlasses, drawing the steel crossbows, their emotions stirred: "Yes, that giant, kill him!"

"Swoosh—"

With a piercing whistling sound, the over two-meter-long Giant Arrows tore through the air, piercing straight through the shields and impaling the next Giants and Half-Beast Giants to the ground.

Almost every dwarf is a skilled craftsman, and the King City of the High Mountain Kingdom, Aivendel, is a collection of countless masterful dwarf artisan skills.

Intricate machinery, buildings, countless in number—these are the dwarves' greatest reliance against the orcs.

On the slopes of Black Stone Mountain, the dwarves removed the planks, and the massive round boulders rolled down the predetermined tracks.

"Rumble rumble—"

The sound of rolling stones rose, and the orcs instantly realized something was wrong, noticing the massive objects charging towards them from the mountain slope—by then it was too late.

"Damn, these cunning dwarves released the Rolling Stones!"

"Run! Don't get smashed!"

"Boom!"

The rocks, several meters in diameter, barreled into the crowd, effortlessly crushing dozens of orcs, goblins, and ogres into mincemeat.

"Wait, watch the sky!"

Within the towering towers of the fortress, catapults designed by Master Cui Lan activated one after another, hurling flaming iron balls.

"Get down! Quick, get down!"

"These are the dwarves' catapults!"

The iron balls traced beautiful arcs in the air, finally landing precisely in the midst of the Beastman Army.

"Boom!"

Those red-hot iron balls hitting the orcs created large craters on the ground, followed by a sudden explosion.

Shattered hot iron fragments and overflowing flames killed hundreds of orcs, leaving nothing but charred corpses on the ground.

And at the highest point of the Main City wall, the protective arrays drawn by generations of Dwarf Mage masters suddenly activated, creating solid barriers outside the fortress.

The arrows, spent Short Spears shot by the orcs were all thoroughly blocked outside the fortress.

And in front of the walls of Aivendel, an intense fire blazed fiercely, while boulders rolled down and barrels filled with flames and liquor exploded in midair.

The dwarves' various strange devices showed their might, like the Grim Reaper calling for souls, bringing massive casualties to the orcs.

The Beastman Army faced not only the 15,000 Dwarf Warriors within the fortress but also the crystallization of thousands of years of wisdom from Aivendel and the entire Dwarf Clan.

But there were simply too many orcs, and even when the dwarves used all their means and exhausted their ammunition, they managed to kill only over ten thousand of them.

And the army led by Batu Skullcrush numbered two hundred thousand.

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