Ember Dragon

This is what happened to Cassius. Relying on his advantage of foresight, he was able to jump back and forth among the gods every time, making the gods hate him to the core but unable to do anything about it.

Finally, Dumathoin lowered his eyes and sighed leisurely.

"Ugh--"

It was rare for this usually silent god to make a sound. The sound was long and low, like the bleak autumn wind, or like the last elegy of the shield dwarves.
Dumathod raised the lava hammer in his hand and pointed it at the devastated ground with magma flowing all over it behind him. A stream of ochre-colored light spread out like a tide, and the power of the authority of the earth poured out.

"boom--"

With a dull roar, the rocks flowed like liquid. The rock pillars that rose from the ground sank rapidly, and the bottomless huge cracks gradually closed. The crystals, gems, iron, copper, gold, silver, and mithril on the rock dwarves also melted into the rock layers and flowed into the ground along the mineral veins, returning to their proper positions.
These treasures buried underground are like the most loyal soldiers, obeying Dumathoin's orders meticulously.

"This is the power of God. It is really enviable."

Cassius stood on the hill nearby, stopping to admire the spectacular scene of the undulating earth, as if the fierce war that had just occurred had nothing to do with him.

Only a red dragon can cause such large-scale changes to the environment within the imperial territory, and the level of detail of its control is not as good as Dumathoin's.

Then Dumathoin touched the ground with his Molten Hammer and made a gesture. In an instant, accompanied by a cold wind, a sad song whistled within hundreds of miles.

The shield dwarves whose corpses were scattered all over the ground seemed to have heard the call of the patron saint of the shield dwarves. Their corpses emitted a faint yellow light and slowly merged into the ground, sinking into the ground and turning into nutrients for the earth.

"Dumathoin's Rest."

The dwarves were born from the mountains and sleep under the rocks, which is not a bad ending.

Finally, Dumathoin raised his head, looked deeply at the red dragon with his silver fire eyes, sighed again, and then turned into a bright yellow stream of light, rushing straight into the sky.

Dumathoin left.

In fact, even if this silent conservative did not evacuate on his own initiative, he would not be able to stay in the main material plane for much longer, because Gruumsh has united with the demon army of the abyss and is preparing to attack his divine domain.

After weighing the pros and cons, Dumathoin chose to cease fire with Cassius and focus on the war in the outer plane - after all, the shield dwarves in the material plane have not yet disappeared, and the prince has led his subjects to open up a new home.

In fact, the battle between Cassius and Dumathoin was mostly a test. It seemed to be very powerful, but neither side used their trump cards.

The hundred-meter-tall rock dwarf remained where it was, hugging its knees like a living creature, slowly curling up, turning into a raised hill, and gradually becoming motionless.

And Ed's remains were buried deep in the hills, where he finally rested in peace.

The shield dwarves' elegy finally ended, the thick smoke and fire clouds in the sky gradually dissipated, and the midday sunlight penetrated the clouds and fell on the earth.

Under the fanatical gazes of countless imperial soldiers that were enough to burn through steel, the red dragon flapped its wings and soared into the sky, its huge body coated with a layer of golden halo by the sunlight.

"Long live Cassius!"

"Long live the great red dragon!"

"Gods! Everyone, even gods must succumb to your majesty's power and bow down to the great Burning Empire!"

"Praise the great red dragon! He defeated a god in order to protect us!" People's eyes were filled with tears, and emotions of excitement and gratitude filled their hearts and flowed in every blood vessel.

These imperial officers and soldiers did not know that Cassius and Dumathoin had reached a non-aggression truce agreement.

In their eyes, His Majesty the Emperor beat Dumathoin so hard that he surrendered on the spot and had to leave the main material plane.

However, Cassius has always accepted such "well-intentioned rumors". The red dragon, who has ambitions to become a god, is of course happy to hear rumors that can increase his prestige.

"Hahahaha, that dwarf god is still helping us clean up the battlefield. This is the first time I've seen a god collecting corpses!" An imperial soldier laughed out loud.

"Yes, gods are no better than this, far inferior to our Majesty!"

"When will this kindness be repaid?" Someone sang "Ode to Cassius" again, his voice trembling with extreme excitement, and even added a new line: "brave and fearless, fighting with the gods."

And high in the sky far away, Cassius flapped his wings, looked down at the post-war Evanderdan with his light golden pupils, then raised his head and let out a long roar that shook the earth.

"Roar--"

In an instant, those hundreds of two-legged flying dragons raised their heads, stretched their necks, roared, and neighed in unison, responding to their master from afar.

"Ow—"

Among the dragons, the largest flying dragon and its leader, Smaug, shouted the hardest. His voice was almost hoarse, and even the rocks nearby were cracked by his loud voice, with small pieces of stone falling continuously.

The stone fell and hit the corner of the street, scaring the dwarf hiding in the shadows so much that he almost screamed.

The dwarf huddled in a corner, his clothes tattered, his exposed skin covered with charred wounds and traces of battle.

His name was Jarl Brick, also a battle-hardened dwarf warrior. He had just been fighting with his comrades on the city wall when he was blown away by an imperial weapon and nearly lost his life.

Jarl prided himself on being a brave warrior on the battlefield, never fearing death, and had resolutely chosen to stay in Avendeldan.

But at this moment, he wavered.

The dwarf was trembling, his face was pale, his eyes were filled with despair, and he kept repeating one thought in his mind: "His Majesty Dumathoin has abandoned us. Our ancestors, He, He has abandoned us."

What is more terrifying than physical death is the collapse of faith, and now, Jarl is experiencing this process.

In the past, he firmly believed that after his death he would go to the kingdom of the dwarf gods and fight alongside his ancestors.

But at this moment, seeing Dumathoin fight with the terrible red dragon and finally leaving them, Jarl began to doubt himself after seeing the dawn of hope and turning into extreme despair.
Can he really still go to the Kingdom of God?
Was he going to die in Avenderdan, dying for his own ruined country and wasting the remaining two hundred years of his life?
Maybe. Maybe.
The hobgoblin general had said that if he surrendered, he would be treated generously.

Beads of sweat the size of beans oozed from his forehead. The simple moral values ​​passed down from generation to generation by the dwarves and the strong desire to survive at all costs kept colliding in Jarl's heart, making him hesitant.

But when Jarl carefully raised his head and looked at the huge red dragon in the distance, he opened his mouth and was stunned again.

What a giant dragon that is!

Under the sunlight, the Burning Emperor was enveloped in a light golden halo, exuding a majestic and sacred aura. Even the true body of a god could be no more than this.

"Long live His Majesty Cassius!"

"Victory!"

"Praise the great red dragon!" The cheers of the imperial soldiers resounded through the sky and echoed in the city of Avendeldan, causing the walls to tremble slightly.

I don't know if it was because of this fanatical atmosphere, but looking at the huge and majestic figure, the culprit who slaughtered countless of his people, Jarl actually had a bit of admiration in his heart.
"It doesn't seem humiliating to be able to submit to such an emperor." The thought of submission came to his mind, and Jarl felt his knees go weak.

Finally, amid the roars of the dragons and the cheers of the imperial soldiers, the last line of defense in the hearts of the dwarves suddenly collapsed.

He tore off his dirty clothes as a white flag, held it high, and shouted before being shot to pieces: "I surrender! I surrender! I am willing to submit to the empire!"

"Stop shooting!"

"Great, take him to see General Dror!" Under the officer's order, imperial soldiers armed with rifles swarmed forward and took Jarl away.

And so, the first dwarf to surrender to the Empire appeared.

With a loud bang, Cassius landed on the top of the Dwarf Palace, causing countless imperial officers and soldiers to look up with fanatical eyes.

"His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty Cassius!"

The sounds of knees hitting the ground rang out one after another, and the imperial soldiers knelt on the ground in groups, reverently kissing the ground covered by the emperor's wings.

Dror, Misha, Smaug and other high-ranking officials of the empire also rushed to the scene upon hearing the news.

"Greetings to your Majesty (Master), may the empire prosper forever."

Dror and Misha hurriedly half-knelt on the ground, placed their hands on their hearts, and suppressed their excitement in their calm voices.

"Master (Dragon language)."

Smaug also landed on the top of the palace. He lowered his head, pressed his forehead tightly against the ground, and almost fell down with his tail shaking constantly behind him.

Cassius stepped on the bricks and stones under his feet with his claws, secretly admiring the solidity of the dwarf's craftsmanship. Then he looked around and said lightly: "You did a good job."

Misha said quickly: "Master, if you hadn't come here, we would have been buried under the rocks."

Delor was full of flattery, and he took every opportunity to flatter him: "Yes, Your Majesty, you actually defeated a god this time!
Indeed, your power is greater than that of the gods, your figure is as majestic as a mountain, your wings cover the sky, and make all things tremble."

Cassius waved his paw helplessly: "That's enough, I'm not here to listen to your flattery."

Dror smiled and said, "Of course, Your Majesty, you are still so humble. Everyone, please stand up."

This time, Cassius could only be said to have used the general trend to force back an incomplete incarnation of Dumathoin, which was far from being a victory over a god.

"Master, I, I." Smaug also wanted to do the same and flatter his master, but he found that he had no chance to speak. He immediately regretted it and scratched the ground with his claws in a hurry.

"This is not the place to talk. Come with me."

As Cassius' mind moved, a flaming portal suddenly appeared in front of him, leading directly to the treasury near Avondeldan - the Lonely Mountain Treasure House.

Misha, Dror and Smaug quickly followed and came to a large cave, which was empty except for the occasional gold coins and gems scattered around.

Misha looked around and frowned, "Master, is this the legendary Lonely Mountain Treasure House? Damn it, those dwarves actually emptied the treasury in advance!"

Cassius said calmly: "You guessed correctly, this is the Lonely Mountain Treasure House, and it has indeed been emptied."

Dror gnashed his teeth and said, "That's all the wealth of the empire! How many tanks can be produced with that!"

Smaug was furious, spitting out his mouth: "Shameless dwarves, greedy dwarves, they should all be killed!"

They completely ignored the fact that they were the invading party and that all the wealth was the accumulation of the dwarves' hard work.

Cassius tapped the stone ground with his claws and said, "Now, your primary goal is to completely occupy Avendeldan and use it as a base to attack northward and completely wipe out the orc tribe."

Dror nodded quickly, patted his chest and laughed, "Those orcs are just defeated by the dwarves, and the dwarves are defeated by us. With the army I have, it is enough to kill all the orcs in the Wugo grassland."

Misha shook her head and advised, "General Delor, it is better not to be blindly confident."

Cassius nodded slightly and instructed the girl, "Misha, let Dror see the current situation of the orcs. This way, he will know why I am so eager to capture Avendeldan."

"Yes, Master."

Misha snapped her fingers, and the surrounding fire element particles gathered together, gradually condensing into an exquisite magical image.

And in that image, there are densely packed mushrooms all over the mountains.

Even Dror, a hobgoblin, felt his scalp tingle when he saw this scene, and he stammered, "What on earth is this..."

"Orc spores grow like mushrooms, and their eggs underground will give birth to new orcs." Cassius replied.

Misha frowned. "If they are not controlled, these orcs will cause a catastrophe that will destabilize the entire north."

Dror did not dare to neglect it any longer. He put away his contempt for the orcs and half-knelt down again: "Your Majesty, I will do my best to kill these damn orcs."

Cassius exhaled a mouthful of sulfur-smelling white smoke, blowing away the magic image. "Very good. The Empire will continue to send 40,000 elite troops and a large amount of munitions here, and mobilize 500,000 Starfallers to fully assist you in exterminating the orcs."

Dror bowed his head deeply: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Then, Cassius turned his head and looked at Smaug, revealing a half-smile: "The dragons have been unable to find a suitable place to settle in North Ethel, but from now on, Blackrock Mountain will be your lair."

Smaug's eyes lit up

In fact, Cassius had already made plans to settle hundreds of wyverns that were heading south in Blackrock Mountain, making it the second Dragon Valley.

Cassius pointed to the rock wall of the cave and said, "This is the treasure house of the dwarves in the Lonely Mountain. It will be your future palace.

Considering your meritorious service in this battle, I will give you a resounding title, the King Under the Mountain, how about it?" The red dragon looked at the flying dragon with a smile.

"Thank you, master." Smaug's eyes showed surprise, his tail kept wagging, and he was about to drool at the corners of his mouth.

At this moment, after a fierce war with tens of thousands of casualties, Cassius's evil taste was finally fully satisfied. (End of this chapter)