Ember Dragon

"Shh-"

With a slight noise, the space gradually distorted and the portal suddenly opened. Two golden dragons, one big and one small, walked out one after another. Aurora supported the seriously injured Titus and appeared in the Dwarf Palace.

The dwarves sat on both sides of a long table, which was filled with delicacies, mountain and sea delicacies, and the dwarves' favorite liquor, which exuded a strong aroma.

The palace of Aywendeldan is a wonder built by the first King of the Mountains thousands of years ago. It is exceptionally spacious for the dwarves, but a bit too narrow for an ancient golden dragon that is more than 30 meters long.

"It's the Wings of Dawn!"

"Master Titus, Master Aurora, you are finally here!"

"Good day, Lord Titus, I am so happy to meet you. I have been looking forward to this day for a long time."

Seeing the golden dragons coming, the dwarf generals and officials in the hall hurriedly stood up and greeted them enthusiastically, almost surrounding the two golden dragons. The hall suddenly became noisy.

Although they did not know etiquette and their gestures of saluting were rough and uneven, sincere admiration and gratitude appeared on their rugged faces covered with thick beards.

Dwarves have always been generous and stubborn, with clear likes and dislikes. They almost never hide their thoughts and often show everything on their faces.

For the dwarves, this "Dawn Dragon" Titus is their great benefactor. He stepped forward at the critical moment when the orc army was approaching the city, resisted several fierce attacks for the dwarves, and killed the chieftain of the orc tribe.

To this end, the dwarves, who are good at singing and dancing, created many popular songs such as "Golden Wings", "The Dragon Bringing the Dawn", and "The Flame on Blackrock Mountain". They also danced around the bonfire and sang loudly when celebrating after drinking.

In this enthusiastic atmosphere, even young dwarf children would hum a line or two of songs like "He swung his claws to flatten the orcs" and "He breathed out fire to burn the army" while playing.

"Good day, Sir Titus and Sir Aurora, I am sorry to have embarrassed you with these rude subjects of mine." A familiar voice came from a distance.

Titus nodded slightly and responded, "Good day, Your Majesty Ed, it's been a long time since we last met."

The surrounding dwarves made way for them, and in the distance, the Dwarf King Ed stepped down from the throne and walked forward with steady steps. He looked energetic, completely different from the seriously injured man he was a few days ago.

The dwarf king looked at the wounded body of the ancient golden dragon and asked with some concern: "Sir Titus, I heard about your heroic fight against the Burning Emperor. I wonder how serious your injuries are--"

Titus shook his head and whispered, "It's nothing serious, just some flesh wounds." He looked the dwarf king up and down, with a hint of surprise in his eyes: "But your body, how did it become like this?"

Through constant true seeing, he could see that although the dwarf king looked energetic, which was completely different from his previous dying appearance, the furnace fire in his body that symbolized the dwarf's life was already dying and dim.

“Hahahahahaha!” Ed laughed heroically, patted his chest heavily, and said quite complacently: “This is all the gift from our ancestors. The greatest advantage of us dwarves is our tenacious vitality and perseverance!”

Titus was silent for a moment, not saying anything, as he had guessed the other party's intention. The surrounding dwarf generals and ministers crowded together, hugging each other's shoulders, laughing loudly, and were extremely excited.

"Haha, this is the dwarf!"

"Yes, we were worried before, but we didn't expect that His Majesty Ed would recover in just a few days, and even become stronger than before!"

"His Majesty Ed has told us that he will sit on this throne for at least two hundred years! Let's make the Mountain Kingdom great again!"

A smile also appeared on Ed's rugged face. He stroked his beard and extended his hand: "Sir Titus, please take a seat. The main reason we invite you to this banquet is to celebrate the victory of the war.

Three days ago, our cavalry discovered that the orc army had all withdrawn to the north of Mount Fuller. Gruumsh's conspiracy has been completely crushed by us!"

At this point, the Dwarf King's tone became excited, and the surrounding dwarves cheered in unison, creating a warm atmosphere.

"Make the Mountain Kingdom great again!"

A dwarf raised his wine glass and shouted loudly. His face was particularly red, his body was swaying, and his steps were unsteady. It was obvious that he had secretly drunk a lot of strong liquor and became drunk.

"My ally, this is indeed something worth celebrating." Titus nodded calmly and sat on the large seat specially prepared for him by the dwarves, while Aurora sat beside him.

"Long live the Mountain Kingdom! Long live His Majesty Eddard! Shield dwarves will never surrender!"

"cheers!"

"Hahaha, cheers for victory!"

The dwarves cheered in varying degrees; the wild shouts and clinking of wine glasses filled the hall.

Looking around, Titus asked curiously, "Since this is a banquet to celebrate the victory, why didn't our elf allies come?"

Ed replied: "After the orcs retreated north, Lord Rhea led his troops and rushed back to Serenia. He must have been summoned by Her Majesty the Queen."

The Golden Dragon nodded and stopped asking questions, but he was secretly calculating in his heart - after the trajectory of fate changed, the timing of the Serenia coup would probably be advanced a lot.

And he should also carefully consider when to get involved so that he can get something he wants in the Elf Kingdom.
At this moment, Ed stood up, raised his glass in the direction of Titus, and shouted loudly: "Cheers to our noble and great golden dragon ally - Titus the Wing of Dawn!"

"To Lord Titus!"

"Dawn Wings! Dawn Wings!"

"The dragon that brings the dawn, he swung his claws and crushed the orcs! The dragon that brings the dawn -"

The dwarves shouted in unison again, calling out Titus's name, and even singing the songs they had made up in excitement.

In this carnival atmosphere, the usually old-fashioned and serious golden dragon seemed a little uncomfortable, but he still stretched out his claws, carefully grasped the wooden barrel that was taller than the dwarf, and drank the liquor inside.

"I just did what I should do. Respect to the dwarves. It is your bravery that brought peace and victory to Avender—" Titus said solemnly.

"Long live His Excellency Titus!"

"Praise the Golden Dragon!"

Hearing Titus' praise, the dwarves responded even more enthusiastically. They jumped up and toasted with the golden dragon, regardless of the huge size difference. As the banquet progressed, the dwarves continued to drink strong liquor, their faces became more and more ruddy, and the strong smell of alcohol filled the palace.

These guys didn't care about their image at all and celebrated wildly. They feasted on the table and circled the golden dragon hand in hand.

There were even drunken dwarves standing on the dining table, singing and dancing, causing everyone to laugh and make noises, and causing the silver cups and plates to clatter to the ground.

"Long live the Golden Dragon!"

"Dragon of the Dawn, you are the savior of Avenderdan!"

Although Titus and Aurora were also infected by this atmosphere, they did not dare to join in it at all - after all, with their size and strength, if they really celebrated, they might overturn the palace.

The banquet lasted until midnight. The dwarves were drunk one after another and lay on the ground in all directions. The palace became a mess and confusion, with wine glasses and plates all over the floor.

Ed, who was sitting at the end of the long table, did not drink much wine, which was unusual for him. He just smiled and looked at Jin Long from a distance, then stood up.

"Sir Titus, I am sorry to have embarrassed you with my subjects. The palace is too dirty, messy and noisy. It is not a quiet place. How about we go out and reminisce about the past?"

Gu Jinlong seemed to understand what the other party meant. He nodded slightly and then said to Aurora beside him: "Aurora, wait here for a while. I will be here soon."

Aurora looked worried and hesitantly said, "Senior Titus, your injury is serious."

Titus extended his claws, patted the young golden dragon's head, and gave him a gentle smile: "Aurora, my injuries are not so serious that I will fall to the ground if I leave you for even a step."

Hearing this, looking up at Gu Jinlong's smiling face, Aurora had no choice but to nod and wait obediently.

"Sir Titus, please follow me." Ed stretched out his hand and made a "please" gesture.

The gate of the palace slowly opened, and the dwarf king walked steadily in front, followed closely by the ancient golden dragon. Although his limbs were injured and he walked with a limp, he could still easily keep up with the dwarves' pace.

They walked through the garden, entered a hidden mine, went through a long tunnel, and finally arrived at a secret room deep in Blackrock Mountain.

Looking around at the lifelike dwarven reliefs and the ancient dwarven words, Titus said, "Your Majesty Eddard, I'm afraid you didn't bring me to this place just to reminisce about the past."

"Of course, I won't waste your time."

Titus folded his wings behind him, lay on the ground, and tried to keep his eyes level with the dwarf. Then he sighed and said, "Let's talk, Your Majesty Eddard. For example, about your health."

Ed smiled bitterly: "It seems that I still can't hide it from your eyes, Sir Titus. Your magical attainments are still so profound and unfathomable."

The dwarf took off the warhammer from his waist and said: "This warhammer is a sacred relic of our Mountain Kingdom. Whenever a dwarf with royal blood dies, he will melt himself into this warhammer and become the power of future generations.

A few months ago, I forced my body and soul to merge into one with it. Although I temporarily gained great power, I also paid an irreversible price.

Over time, in three years, the lifeblood of my being will be sucked dry by it, and I will become part of the hammer."

Ed stroked the lines on it and said softly, "But, as you can see, I used a secret method to take back some of the flames, which temporarily restored my strength, but I only have less than a year left to live."

Titus frowned and asked seriously, "There are still some ways to prolong your life in this world. Why are you in such a hurry to restore your strength?"

Ed turned his head and looked towards the southwest intently: "I have lived long enough. In my opinion, it is much better to die on the battlefield than to linger on in the world in a half-dead state.

As for why I am so anxious to recover my strength, I believe you know the reason better than I do."

Gu Jinlong's expression suddenly froze, as if he remembered something, and his voice became trembling: "You mean the Burning Empire?"

Ed nodded heavily and said, "You should know that the Burning Empire has completely occupied North Ethel, and the Mountain Kingdom is just to their northeast. The Red Dragon Emperor may send troops to invade at any time.

I have read the intelligence brought by the Harper Alliance. The military strength of the Burning Empire is too strong. If I don't return to its peak state."

The Dwarf King lowered his head and smiled bitterly again: "I am afraid that before the Red Dragon Emperor takes action, Avenderdan will fall completely."

Titus stood up suddenly, ignoring the injuries on his limbs. He gritted his teeth and said excitedly, "I will help you. I will never watch that evil dragon capture Avenderdan! I will never watch my allies being killed by an evil dragon again!"

Ed looked at Gu Jinlong gratefully, but shook his head solemnly and said, "Sir Titus, I formally refuse your assistance."

"Why? Am I not your ally?" Titus asked fiercely.

"Excuse me, you are too badly injured. You fought desperately to resist the invasion of the Burning Empire. You have done enough for us dwarves and this continent."

"What's more," Ed laughed bitterly, and then continued, "This is a war that is almost impossible to win. People like you should become an important force in resisting the invasion and play a greater role in the future. You can't accompany us and die in vain now."

"But."

Gu Jinlong lowered his head and fell silent. The dwarf king was right. With his current injuries, he was not strong enough to resist the invasion of the Burning Empire.

He was powerless to argue.

Rather than participating in a war that is impossible to win, it is better to make longer-term plans and unite allies from all over the world until you have the strength to compete with the enemy.

Of course, this is thinking from the perspective of the identity of "Titus". Now Cassius has perfectly entered the role and is completely immersed in the emotion of being unable to resist invasion.

After a long silence, Titus looked at the dwarf king and slowly said, "Your Majesty Ed, so...what do you want me to do?"

Ed raised his head and looked into the eyes of the ancient golden dragon, then said in a firm voice: "I would like you to protect the last bloodline of the High Mountain Kingdom for me. If Avendeldan falls, I hope you can leave here with everything I have entrusted to you.

In this way, even if the Mountain Kingdom perishes, in the near future our descendants will revive again, continue our civilization, and regain the former glory of the Shield Dwarves." (End of this chapter)