Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 861 - 802: The Battle of Kuafu

Visergg had never conceived the notion of "scalding heat"; he once believed that a life spent beside the great furnace would never yield any discomfort towards the color red for him. Just as he had never thought there would be such a degree of "wind" that could lift his steadfast self into the air, just like how the Underground City never sees the sun.

Thrown into the air by the aftermath of the explosion, the intense light seemed to have blinded him. The thunderous echo inside his skull drove him to madness, and in his dazed state, the pain of his skin carbonizing was profound.

Crawling on the ground, his body suffering extremes above and below, the torn air lacerating his flesh while the soft earth seemed to be trying to knead him into itself.

Three seconds after his tears evaporated, the King of the Dwarves barely regained his vision; enduring the pain, he opened his eyes to see a glowing morass of mud. The molten iron flowed like sludge, and one end of Mackenbert’s steel foundation had become a bubbling crater. Pieces of the Fire Diggers were sinking into the "mud," slowly descending, leaving not even residue behind.

The town hall, part of the welcoming plaza, two commercial streets, all gone, along with the warriors who struggled there, and their enemies.

Just a few minutes ago, Visergg Firehammer was immersed in the despair of the Fire Diggers’ devouring advance, how ridiculous. The true apocalypse, it turns out, was caused by our own side. That dreadful father of dragons, with one breath, brought about irrevocable casualties.

"Dwarves, what are they to a giant dragon..." The high-impact stricken King of the Dwarves detached himself from the combat’s fury, feeling the sorrow of the insignificant. The gap in power instantly stripped him of his faith in the Red Dragon, and now all the pitiful king wanted to do was to mourn for the Dwarves who had melded entirely with the molten iron.

"What are you doing, now is a great opportunity to pursue the retreating enemy." The voice of the Red Dragon Priest came from behind him. Strangely enough, this soft steel ground no longer concealed anyone’s movements.

"Does fighting... have meaning? Uncle, are we, mere playthings to them..."

The disheartened tone of Visergg irritated the Red Dragon Priest, who let out a cold huff, grabbed the Dwarf King by the nape, and forced him to stand up. "The soldiers are still waiting for your lead; you should never show cowardice at any time, our king."

"But my people have been destroyed by our own god! Like stepping on ants!" The pain of loss empowered the nephew to talk back, but to such a junior, the Red Dragon Priest’s response was a punch to his crying face.

"Deceived by appearances, you fool!" With the roar of the Red Dragon Priest, a new change occurred in the mud. Figures glowing all over broke out from the molten iron, gasping for air, one by one they bubbled, trickling red as they climbed out from the magma. Those who were unconscious were lifted by several Fire Elementals working together. Visergg’s eyes widened, realizing once again his own presumptuousness.

"Where do you think the life flame of the Red Dragon Imelt comes from? Overhead is her father, the father of order separated from the chaotic womb. There is no love without a source; the power of the father of dragons is a strict reward and punishment. It is an iron law that binds even himself; his power will not harm us who follow him, nor will it spare the enemies who defy him."

"Is this... a reward..."

The iron on the surface of their bodies fell off, revealing a deep brown like mountain rock, their limbs and appearance sculpted, the once naive or sly eyes now twinkled with red light. The Dwarf Race warriors, followers of the Red Dragon, gigantic Golems, took off their cooling iron shells, and in their thrice-enlarged forms, knelt before Visergg.

"Assembly complete, no casualties, Your Majesty." Captain Paul furrowed his brow, pondering how to kneel to make his height surpass that of the Dwarf King—it would be too shameful to lie down.

"Captain Paul, you’re still alive?" The dark-skinned King of the Dwarves hugged the warrior with joy.

"The Baron of the Garden cast my broken body into the flames, the power of the father of dragons restored me."

"That’s great, that’s so great."

"Your Majesty, it’s not yet time to celebrate our victory; our enemies are not all dead yet." The Molten Golem looked toward the other side of the Magma Pool, where General Marshim and his horde of insects were looking over this way with confusion and uncertainty.

"What is that? The Dwarves’ secret weapon? Steel Golems?" General Marshim fluttered his wings, issuing an absolute attack command with conviction. He dared not look up at the sky, nor allowed the swarm to fear the presence above, fortunately, the swarm prioritized executing the command.

The battle between the Dwarves and the insect horde erupted once again. The Golem army took the lead; without handy weapons, they brawled with their fists—considering their current tonnage, it was as if they came equipped with war hammers. The cunning Golems slipped to the edge of the lava pool and scooped up a lump of molten iron to smear over their faces—deadly effective. The swarm also launched a timely counterattack, but the stature and strength of the Golems now dominated over the Fire Diggers. Goodness, the Dwarf race could finally not trigger the Giant Slayer anymore.

"Ah..." General Marshim screamed as one despicable Golem splashed molten iron onto his belly while he was wrestling with another Dwarf. Gritting his teeth, General Marshim’s roar momentarily overpowered the Golems’ roars.

"You’re just a bit bigger, a bit heavier! The horde will eventually devour you."

The gate of the Underground City, endless flapping sounds emerged from the darkness, the reinforcement of Fire Diggers blanketed the sky. Lieutenants flew at the forefront, leading the last three thousand matured insects. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The flickering flames of hope that had just risen among the Dwarves nearly extinguished.