Ember Dragon

Chapter 648: Crushing Advance
However, it is not over yet. For the dwarf defenders in the Road of Tempering, this is just the beginning of the nightmare.

With the detailed intelligence provided by Cassius, the military engineers of the Burning Empire were familiar with the internal structure of the fortress and developed targeted tactics.

For the current empire, as long as accurate intelligence is obtained, victory in the war can basically be secured.

"boom--"

The engine roared, steam filled the air, and the steel behemoth let out a dull roar as it rolled over the ground of the Grinding Road.

The traps such as tripwires and hidden spikes set by the dwarves were ruthlessly crushed by the tank's hard tracks. It was like a joke.

However, the poisonous arrows, burning stones, and iron spikes that fell from the sky were simply unable to penetrate the thick armor of the steam tank.

In previous wars, the dwarves used various means to deal with the orc army and caused huge casualties, and accumulated a lot of experience. However, when these means were used on the imperial army, they had no effect at all.

Instead, the Empire's bullets fired at them, causing heavy casualties to the dwarves hiding in the dark.

"Code, go to darkroom number three!"

"Quick, start the rolling stone!"

"We have to smash these iron lumps into pieces, otherwise we won't be able to stop them at all!"

"Damn, how did they get such a big piece of steel to move? What the hell is this thing!"

The dwarf warriors shuttled back and forth in the passage, anxiously communicating with each other and using their best skills, but they were helpless against these terrible "iron lumps".

Listening to the dense sound of bullets and looking at the dwarf corpses piled on the ground in front of him, Code's legs trembled, but he still went to the dark room and activated the mechanism at the urging of his companions.

Hiding in the observation tower at the top of the valley, Code muttered to himself: "It will definitely work. When encountering the rolling stones I designed, even the strongest beast titans will be crushed into meat patties. Those iron lumps can't..."

With a crisp sound, the lever was pulled and the mechanism was triggered instantly.

"Crack!"

After a series of ingenious chain reactions, boulders weighing hundreds of tons rolled down from the top of the grinding road one after another, causing dust to fly, stone chips to splash, the ground to tremble, and a rumbling sound to be emitted.

"boom--"

These heavy boulders kept rolling and roaring towards the steam tanks, and due to the narrowness of the valley, there was no room for them to avoid.

Looking at the huge rock approaching and accumulating terrifying power, Code's heart was pounding, and he muttered: "Hurry up, smash them and drive these imperialists out of the mountain kingdom."

In previous wars, the rolling stones designed by Code had caused huge casualties to the orcs.

Even the strongest Beast Titans are powerless in the face of boulders weighing hundreds of tons; after all, they are just flesh and blood.

The falling of a huge rock could often cause hundreds of casualties to the enemy and crush a large number of orcs into meat patties.

However, at this moment, something strange happened. The steam tank slowly turned its main turret, and the black muzzle was aimed at the boulder, emitting an intense and dazzling flame.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the boulder was hit by the cannonball and exploded on the spot, turning into countless pieces of rubble in the stunned eyes of the dwarves.

Under such an explosion, the entire valley shook violently, and even the top of the secret passage was covered with rubble and dust.

In the cockpit, a goblin was sitting in the main gunner's position and said excitedly: "Boss, we hit it!"

"Ouch!"

The tank commander behind him, Bill, the dragon goblin, slapped him hard and shouted angrily: "Did I ever tell you not to f*cking fire in the valley? Do you want to bury us all in there?"

The goblin covered the back of his head and shrugged, while the tank observer next to him shouted, "Boss, the next wave is coming!"

Bill ordered unhappily, "Activate impact protection!"

The remaining boulders also rolled down one after another. As the steam tank in the front row, Bill's crew had to bear more defensive pressure.

Just as the boulders were about to hit the armor in front of the tank, several steel spikes like sharp teeth suddenly stretched out, and their sharp tips flashed with the light of magic - that was the constant disintegration spell.

"Keng——"

The moment it came into contact with the iron spikes, dense cracks suddenly appeared on the boulder, and then it shattered and turned into powder in mid-air.

"What on earth is this? By Moradin, by God of Craftsmen, how could there be such a thing?"

On the observation tower at the top of the valley, Code took a deep breath. These invulnerable iron blocks were far beyond his imagination.

He had also heard about the terrifying Iron Golems of the Fadlan Empire, but even Fadlan would not send out hundreds of Iron Golems at once.

——But the Empire's steam tanks were different. At this moment, they broke into the Grinding Road one after another, rushing forward, and tearing open the dwarves' defenses abruptly.

At the end of the road of tempering are the dwarf heavy infantry holding huge shields and like city walls, but can they withstand the impact of the empire's steel frenzy?
The tragic scene in the cave just now emerged in his mind. The corpses of the dwarves were piled on the ground, their bodies were riddled with bullet holes, and the smell of blood and pungent gunpowder filled the cave.

Code's heart suddenly sank to the bottom, and endless despair filled his heart.

Can they really resist such an army?
Outside the plain, Dror looked at the valley where the sound of gunfire continued, and said to the adjutant beside him: "Have all 30 tanks of the first armored battalion entered?"

"Yes, Admiral, they have all entered the road of training and are currently in good condition." The adjutant replied in a deep voice.

Dror smiled grimly, then turned on the intercom and whispered, "The time is almost right. Let these dwarves have a taste of the Empire's special barbecue."

At a command from the hobgoblin general, several metal gun barrels extended from both sides of the steam tanks in the valley, emitting a pungent smell of gasoline.

Suddenly, Code, who was at the top of the valley, had a bad feeling and felt something was wrong.

Having seen the power of machine guns and main guns, the dwarf craftsman did not dare to underestimate those mysterious metal pipes, and he also smelled the smell of kerosene.
Cod murmured to himself: "Is it not good?"

"boom!"

Along with the sound of air exploding, long dragons of scorching flames suddenly shot out from the gun barrels and rushed straight into the dwarves' secret passage.

This is the gift specially customized by the Empire for the dwarves who like to hide in secret passages - the flamethrower, affectionately called the "barbecue expert" by the Imperial Military.

This is not a magical flame, but a technological creation that can spray a mixture of napalm and certain thickeners. It will emit burning liquid that flows everywhere and effectively hit various blind spots.

When the driver pulls the trigger, a spring-loaded valve opens and high-pressure flammable liquid flows through the ignition device and out of the nozzle.

"Hoohoo!"

The terrible flames rushed into the dwarves' secret passages, and those dwarves hiding in the secret passages were unable to avoid it and their bodies were burned. Even the dwarves hiding behind stone shelters were contaminated by the splashing gasoline and quickly burned.

"Fire! There's flames everywhere! Damn it!"

"I'm on fire! Where's the water?"

"I, I can't see clearly! There's smoke everywhere. Moradin, is this hell?"

Thick black smoke filled the cave. A number of sturdy and short figures were burning all over. They struggled and wailed in the flames and smoke. In the end, they were burned to death and turned into charred corpses all over the ground.

And this is not the most terrifying thing. The napalm sprayed by the flamethrower continues to burn, constantly producing thick smoke and consuming the oxygen in the secret passage.

Soon, thick smoke poured into the interconnected secret passages, causing many dwarves in them to cough, suffocate, or even choke to death.

"Hell. This is hell! We are trapped here!"

Listening to the dwarves' wails, Bill, the dragon goblin in the tank's cockpit, couldn't help but hum a popular little tune.

Bill grinned, "Hehehe, let these stubborn dwarves have a taste of gasoline and fire."

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At this time, the numerous secret passages on both sides of the Grinding Road had become a hell on earth, filled with flames and thick smoke, and the dwarves' wailing and coughing were continuous.

Code was lucky enough, as he was at the top of the secret passage, near the exhaust vent, so he was not affected too much.

"No, that's not the case."

But listening to the crackling sound of the burning flames, the cries for help and coughs of his fellow dwarves in the secret passage, and feeling the pungent smoke and heat waves blowing in his face, Code's psychological defenses almost collapsed.

"The traps I made and the secret passages I built were flawless."

The dwarf craftsman didn't know that while they were forging day and night in the mountains, the world had quietly changed.

The fire dragons spewing out of the steam tanks were like brutal red dragons, ruthlessly slaughtering the dwarves in the secret passage.

Thick smoke filled the valley and continued to pour out of the caves.

The secret passage that the dwarves were so proud of, this defensive position that once left orcs and giants helpless, has now become their burial ground.

"Charge, charge, crush these dwarves and capture Avendeldan!"

Inside the cabin, the dragon vein goblins cheered loudly. They screamed and drove the steam tanks through the thick smoke, heading towards Avondeldan.

Code looked at the huge black shadows in the smoke with a deathly pale face, and stretched out a trembling hand in the direction of Avenderdan.

"Avendeldan must not fall"

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out, and a small hole with blood flowing out appeared between Code's eyebrows, and his body fell to one side.

Just like that, the body of the dwarf craftsman fell from the top of the valley without a sound. On this battlefield, life was so cheap.

The old dwarf who called himself "Master Craftsman" and "Trap Master" never thought that he would die so easily.

"Hit!"

The imperial soldiers holding rifles below cheered.

According to the tactics designated by the Imperial General Staff, tanks were responsible for the main offensive advance, while the infantry would follow behind the armored forces to provide cover and finishing touches.

It should have been subjected to a round of artillery bombardment first, but considering the special nature of the valley and fearing that it might collapse, they did not do so.

The soldiers who followed up the tank troops and carried out the finishing work were basically half-red dragons covered with scales. They were not afraid of fire and smoke and could move freely in them.

In this way, even if there were dwarves escaping from the secret passage and hiding above the valley, they would be easily killed by the soldiers with superb marksmanship.

"Code, Code died just like that!" At the top of the valley, another dwarf warrior witnessed the death of the old dwarf, his master, and immediately fell into great panic.

His name is Bourne, also a dwarf craftsman. He is not good at fighting and is often called a "coward" by his peers.
Having seen his master's miserable condition, Bourne trembled and shrank into the cracks of the rocks, trying not to expose his body to the imperial soldiers below.

Suddenly, Bourne felt a black screen in front of his eyes, and some fishy and sticky liquid dripped onto his face. He touched it and immediately felt something was wrong.

"This is... No way."

The dwarf looked up in despair, only to see an incredibly huge two-legged dragon landing on top of his head, saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth.

"Roar--"

The flying dragon spread its ferocious wings, let out a roar, and a fishy and hot wind blew in the face.

"No, don't eat me, our dwarf's flesh is very hard!" Bourne trembled violently, covered his eyes with his hands, and tried his best to squeeze into the cracks in the stone.

But soon, the dwarf was picked up by the wyvern and torn into pieces in mid-air, with bloody body parts falling like rain.

At this time, hundreds of wyverns had flapped their wings and descended one after another to the top of the valley, falling from the sky and killing the dwarves above.

The dwarves never imagined that they would not only have to face the fire underground, but also the attack from the sky.

"boom--"

The steam tanks are still advancing ahead, and they are about to break through the obstruction of the Grinding Road and reach the walls of Avender.

The observers in the cabin could even see the light at the exit of the valley and the majestic fortress built on the mountain in the distance.

But soon, a wall appeared in front of the tank corps - it was the dwarf heavy infantry.

These dwarf heavy infantrymen were dressed in shiny heavy armor and held huge shields. They formed a dense formation to block the exit of the valley, with determination in their eyes.

This legion has withstood countless attacks from the orcs and repelled the tidal wave of beasts.

But for the Empire's nearly three-meter-high tanks, these dwarves blocking the exit were not walls at all, not even low walls, but just a low earthen slope.

If they were closer, the driver in the cabin wouldn't be able to see them.

Inside the cabin, Bill looked at the dwarf heavy infantry in front of him and smiled ferociously: "You actually want to use your flesh and blood to stop the tank charge of the Empire. It's really a fantasy!

(End of this chapter)