Ember Dragon

It was already three or four in the morning when they left the treasury. The ancient golden dragon and the dwarf king returned to the palace together. They just chatted casually along the way and had a tacit understanding. No one mentioned the crucial agreement.

In the palace, the young golden dragon Aurora had been waiting for a long time. The dwarves who were good at drinking also got up from the ground in twos and threes, but their minds were still a little dazed.

Then, amid the dwarves' reluctant farewell, rough singing and enthusiastic cheers, the two golden dragons suddenly flapped their wings, soared into the sky and flew into the sky.

On the wide terrace at the top of the palace, the Dwarf King raised his head and stared at the golden figure in the distance for a long time, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

Dawn was breaking, and the faint light of dawn outlined a golden edge for Blackrock Mountain and cast a hazy glow on the body of the golden dragon, as if it had merged into the sky.

Seeing such a scene, the dwarves who were seeing them off became even more excited and excited. The enthusiastic shouts of "Wings of Dawn" and "Dragon of Dawn" rose one after another and lasted for a long time.

"Your Majesty, what are you worried about?" A familiar voice came. The dwarf minister Bjorn was leaning on a cane, tremblingly walking onto the terrace and walked behind Ed.

After the Battle of Blackrock Mountain, this dwarf, who was over three hundred years old, seemed to have aged a lot. His face was covered with wrinkles, his body became more hunched, and even his walking was not so steady.

Ed could see that this old minister didn't have much time left, and the furnace fire in him, like his own, had already reached the point of exhaustion.

Looking at the sky where the golden dragon had disappeared, the dwarf king sighed softly, "Can we really trust an ally we have only known for a few months? Even if he is a righteous and kind golden dragon?"

"Your Majesty, this is a helpless move. We have run out of options. After considering many factors, Mr. Titus is the best choice."

Bjorn responded in a low voice, and as he spoke, the wrinkles on his face became deeper, just like the cracked rocks on Black Rock Mountain.

Ed took off the warhammer from his waist, held it tightly in his hand, stared at the dwarven words carved on it, then shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Bjorn, I don't know if this decision is correct.

But it feels terrible to leave the future of the shield dwarves in the hands of others."

Bjorn raised his head with difficulty and said, "Your Majesty, we have achieved our goal. With the protection of such an ancient golden dragon who is famous in the good camp, those children will not have a bad life.

Although it sounds frustrating, by doing this, the shield dwarves at least have hope for the future, not to mention that we don’t have much time left.”

Hearing Bjorn's words, Ed laughed at himself and tightened the handle of the hammer in his hand, as if to embed it into his flesh and blood: "You are right, we are all about to die, why are you still thinking so much?
As for the future of our shield dwarf tribe, let's leave it to the children who will grow up under the protection of the golden dragon's wings."

At this moment, the sun had risen completely, and the rays of morning sun fell on the terrace of the palace of Avundaldan and on the rugged faces of the two dwarves.

In the middle of the North Aysir Plain, in the temporary palace of the Burning Emperor - in a spacious cave, a red dragon was lying lazily on the ground, greedily absorbing the power of the sun in his body and exhaling a breath of hot white smoke with sparks.

At this moment, he slowly got up from the ground, stuck his huge head out of the cave, and looked towards the west with emotion - that was the direction of the mountain kingdom.

"Eye of Gruumsh"

Cassius opened his mouth, revealing a hideous smile, with smoke billowing out from between his teeth.

Participating in the Battle of Blackrock Mountain was just a casual move for him. He wanted to use it to increase the popularity of the "Titus" vest and gain a place in the camp of kindness and justice.

But this time, he discovered something incredible - the Eye of Gruumsh. Even Cassius himself did not expect such a pleasant surprise.

You have to know that it is a part of the body of a god with powerful divine power!

Even though the orc race is now in a period of decline and Gruumsh is about to fall to a medium-level divine power, the value of this artifact is still immeasurable. The value of a complete "Eye of Gruumsh" even exceeds the "Heart of Karix" in Cassius's hands.

Moreover, as one of the symbols of the "One-eyed God" Gruumsh, the fallen eye is likely to have condensed the divinity of chaos, evil, power, war and other fields, which is also compatible with himself. If all of these are swallowed up,
I'm afraid it can make the red dragon become a true demigod, but the remaining will in the Eye of Gruumsh may cause him some trouble.

“Divinity.”

Thinking of this, Cassius's light golden vertical pupils were filled with greed, flashing with faint fire, and ambergris as hot as magma was about to flow out from the corners of his mouth.

Suddenly, the communicator in the cave rang. After Cassius agreed, a magical image appeared in front of him - an ugly face, exposed fangs, and scaly cheeks. It was the dragon-veined ogre Rump.

As the most fertile plain in northern Thrace, the North Aysir region covers an area of ​​700,000 square kilometers, which is already one-fifth of the Burning Empire's homeland.

To digest such a large conquered area is a rather troublesome task even for the current Burning Empire.

The resistance forces in the North Aysir area are far more stubborn than those in the North, and the strength of the rebels is also stronger, including some extraordinary beings.

The customs, living habits and social culture of the Essel people are very different from those of the Anzeta people who live in a remote corner, so friction and conflict are almost inevitable.

Therefore, as the Prime Minister of the Burning Empire, Trump has been very busy recently. He has assigned six simulacra to handle affairs, with more threads than his master.

Moreover, unlike Cassius, the burning emperor who spent all day sleeping in a cave, eating and drinking, and being a hands-off boss, Trump fulfilled his duties as the prime minister of the empire conscientiously, was busy with work day and night, and refused to close his eyes for a moment, fully reflecting the special working system of the empire's "007".

If you feel sleepy, drink a bottle of high-level energy potion to be fully restored. If you are hungry, eat a bucket of tasteless instant organic sauce to satisfy your needs for the next few days.

As a wizard of extraordinary intelligence, this ogre has changed his gluttonous nature and turned into a complete workaholic.

"Good day, my honorable master." Trump in the magic image first bowed and then started reporting directly, refusing to waste even a second.

"A group of orcs has arrived from Longshou City. They claim to be envoys from the Red Blood Tribe and are from the Wugo Prairie in the northeast. They want to come and see you."

"Oh?"

Kaixiu immediately showed an expression of great interest, shook his head, and exclaimed: "Tsk tsk, it's true that when you mention the devil, the devil will appear. I didn't expect that the orcs would also come."

The red dragon looked at the ogre and asked casually, "What do you think, Rump?"

Rump quickly bowed his head and responded, "Master, according to our intelligence, the Red Blood Tribe gathered nearly 200,000 troops a few months ago and launched an invasion war against the High Mountain Dwarf Kingdom. The forces of the Golden Dragon and the Elves also participated.

The Red Blood Tribe suffered heavy losses and fled north in panic. Their chieftain, who was said to be favored by the orc god, also died in that battle.
This time they visited the Burning Embers Empire, obviously wanting to form an alliance with us and take revenge on the High Mountain Dwarf Kingdom. Blackrock Mountain is rich in resources and has many mineral veins. It is a gathering place for dwarf craftsmen and is indeed the next target of the Empire's conquest. However, the Empire now has enough strength to conquer the High Mountain Kingdom alone. Those defeated greenskins are not qualified to form an alliance with us at all. And forming an alliance with a force like the Red Blood Tribe that leans towards the chaotic evil camp is also against the principles of the Empire. "

Trump made no secret of his contempt and disdain for the Red Blood Tribe in his words. It was obvious that he had prepared his words long ago, and he spoke without stopping once he opened his mouth.

The red dragon nodded slightly, seeming quite satisfied with the answer.

Cassius's idea was similar to Trump's. The Burning Empire had the strength to conquer the Mountain Kingdom and monopolize Blackrock Mountain on its own. There was no need to let the Red Blood Tribe get involved.

Just like their father god, those green orcs are a group of bloody lunatics.

Cassius didn't want to let a powerful god enter his sphere of influence - what if the other party found out that he had stolen his eyes?
What's more, the Burning Empire has the dwarf's "loyal ally" Gujinlong Titus as an insider, who is well aware of the intelligence of the Mountain Kingdom and does not have to worry about being frustrated.

Rump observed Cassius's reaction and said, "Master, in this case, should we drive those orcs out of North Ethel - or kill them all?"

Cassius shook his head and smiled again: "No need. Although I have no interest in cooperating with orcs, I am somewhat interested in them themselves."

"Yes, Master, I will send someone to bring them to you right away."

Trump looked calm and didn't ask why. He just did it quickly and efficiently. After all, he was a ruthless person who experimented on vampires and human wizards.

In North Ethel, in Dragonshead City, a group of orcs wrapped in wolf fur were sitting on chairs, nervously looking at the snake lady who was communicating. They were out of tune with the surrounding environment.

Seeing the snake man turned around, the leading orc jumped up from his chair and asked anxiously, "Has His Majesty agreed to let us have an audience?"

"Yes, please follow me." The snake man replied expressionlessly.

"Great, great, we can finally avenge Lord Batu!" The orc's rough face was full of excitement, and his tall and strong body was trembling.

His name is Nur Chizong, named after a giant beast with red mane he hunted. Nur is a famous warrior in the Red Blood Tribe and a close confidant of the deceased chief Batu.

This time, Nur, following the orders of the temporary chief Solo, brought the most powerful warriors of the tribe to North Aether in order to form an alliance with the rising Burning Empire and take revenge on the Mountain Dwarf Kingdom.

Whenever he thought of that day, and the dwarves, elves, and golden dragons who shamelessly besieged the chieftain, Nur would feel uncontrollable anger and murderous intent in his heart.

How dare those shameless people who claim to be righteous to besiege a great warrior like this!

From that day on, Nur made up his mind that he would avenge Lord Batu one day. He would massacre Avundaldan with blood and chop off the head of the dwarf king with his own hands.

But there is always a gap between reality and imagination. After the Battle of Blackrock Mountain, the dwarven argali cavalry, the elves' unicorn cavalry and the hateful golden dragon carried out a brutal sweep against the orcs.

Countless orcs died on the fertile grasslands north of Blackrock Mountain. Orcs from various tribes fled in all directions, and the Red Blood Tribe that Batu had spent his entire life gathering also fell apart, leaving only a few major tribes.

Until a few days ago, Chief Soro claimed that he had also been favored by Gruumsh and gained powerful strength. He was able to barely integrate the remaining tribes. Although they are far less powerful than before, they are still a force that cannot be underestimated.

Afterwards, the orcs received the news that the Burning Empire had launched a blitzkrieg on North Ethel and were shocked. It became the common wish of the orcs to form an alliance with the Burning Empire.

Thinking of this, Nur secretly clenched his fists, his expression extremely excited: "I will definitely succeed, for Lord Batu, and for the brothers and sisters who died bravely in the battle"

The Burning Empire was busy maintaining social stability and had not yet established a complete, well-connected railway system in North Ethel. The person in charge of welcoming the orcs was an imperial wizard who was proficient in teleportation spells.

"When meeting His Majesty the Emperor, you must pay attention to etiquette, kneeling is the most basic."

"Haha, of course, no one dares to disrespect His Majesty. What you should be more careful about is not to faint from His Majesty's pressure."

The wizard was giving instructions on various matters while waving his staff to construct a spell model of the portal.

Nur was secretly pondering in his heart, feeling quite puzzled and even humiliated.

Although he was not as good as a hero like Batu, he was still a famous warrior in the tribe. He even faced the ancient golden dragon and shot two arrows on its wings.

Is the emperor really that powerful? To the extent that even he would tremble and even faint?

The orcs did not get any footage of the Red Dragon Emperor fighting, they only got the news that North Ethel was occupied by the Burning Empire - they did not know what the name "Casius" meant.

"Shh-"

Space twisted, and a rather narrow portal opened in front of them. The wizard said impatiently, "Alright, go in."

"it is good."

The moment one foot stepped into the portal, Nu's hair stood on end and his whole body trembled.

"This, this is."

The orc only felt an extremely terrifying pressure descending upon him, like a mountain pressing down on his back, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

The air around him was so hot, like purgatory, the sweat oozing from his forehead was evaporated in an instant, turning into wisps of water vapor.

His heart was beating violently in his chest, and the orc raised his head with difficulty, looking towards the huge cave in the distance.

"God the Father Gruumsh above"

At this moment, Nur finally understood what the mage said, and knew that he was absolutely not exaggerating. (End of this chapter)