Ember Dragon

Chapter 757 Dwarves and Elves

Volcano secret realm.

The climate of this demiplane, located at the intersection of the Elemental Planes of Fire and Earth, is still extreme.

The sky was as red as blood, the ground was burning hot and cracking, smoke was billowing out of the cracks, and even hot lava was gushing out.

If you step into the depths of the secret realm, you can hear melodious horns coming from afar and the rhythmic and crisp sounds of hitting metal.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

"Hey! The blood deep in the rock marrow is burning! The echo hammer of the ancestors is ringing!

"The golden river flows under my feet, and the dwarves' drinking songs shake the hills!"

Deep in the endless volcanoes, a group of dwarf miners were seen swinging hammers and pickaxes, digging for rare metals and ores produced by the reaction of elements.

Although this group of dwarves looked dusty and unattractive, they were working enthusiastically and sweating profusely.

This place has become a city with distinct dwarven characteristics.

Seen from the sky, the volcanoes were covered with densely packed mines, stone buildings were built against the mountains, and dwarves carrying bamboo baskets were shuttling back and forth between the passages without stopping for a moment.

Statues appeared on the walls of the volcano, including gods believed in by the dwarves and heroic figures like King Eddard, all of which were lifelike.

Some volcanoes were even completely hollowed out and used by the dwarves as huge natural furnaces to forge precious equipment - such as tributes to the ancient golden dragon.

This demiplane was provided by the shield dwarves as an eternal ally, Titus the Dawn Dragon, and the dwarves were grateful to him for helping their people find a new home.

Every month, the dwarves hold a grand celebration to forge the most sophisticated equipment.

As the current Lord of the Mountains, King of the Shield Dwarves, and son of King Eddard, Zenn Crane often leads the dwarves in forging equipment.

Zenn's bronze eyes flickered with fire, and his muscular arms pushed the precious adamantium ingot into the core of the furnace.

"Chichi!"

The high-temperature flames licked the surface of the refined gold ingot, and dark red lines spread and grew on it like blood vessels.

"Start the furnace--" Zen roared, his hoarse roar echoing on the volcano.

"Hey!" Twelve shirtless dwarf craftsmen pulled the steel chains, the gate of the furnace opened with a bang, the lava waterfall poured down, and a heat wave hit their faces.

Zayn's beard curled and browned in the heat.

This is the seventeenth quenching. The refined gold has been refined to be extremely pure and turned into a red fluid and injected into the mold.

Zen and the dwarf craftsmen swung up their hammers, hammering and forging the swords repeatedly, and finally dipped the freshly-forged swords into the ice water that had been prepared long ago, causing steam to rise into the sky.

"Wow--"

A rare and precious adamantine sword appeared in the rough palm of the dwarf king.

Zane nodded with satisfaction and praised: "Yes, this is the highest quality one in the past month. It is just right to present it to Lord Titus."

One of the dwarf craftsmen was a little reluctant: "Your Majesty, why give such a good thing to others! We also need weapons. Don't forget that Avenderdan is still in the hands of the red dragon tyrant!"

"We dwarves are a race that knows how to repay kindness. This is the home that Lord Titus found for us."

Zane shook his head and continued, "What's more, Sir Titus is the Dragon of Dawn, the backbone of our justice camp."

"Once these weapons are in his hands, they will definitely be used to fight against evil forces, such as the empire led by the red dragon tyrant. To some extent, helping him is helping ourselves."

"I believe that one day, the cruel rule of the evil dragon will be overthrown. With the efforts of many righteous people, Avenderdan will surely return to the hands of us dwarves."

Zen's voice was sonorous and firm, just like the fine gold in his hand.

At this moment, a majestic and familiar voice came from the sky.

"Justice and light are still the main themes of this world. Those brutal villains will eventually be defeated by our united efforts!"

"In the near future, you will be able to recapture Avendeldan - that is what my late friend, the brave and tenacious King Eddard hoped to see!"

Hearing the voice, the dwarves all looked up and saw a huge dragon shadow appear in the sky. It waved its dragon wings, and its golden scales sparkled in the firelight.

"It's Sir Titus!"

"Praise the great Dawnwing! Eternal friend of the dwarves!"

Zayn was also excited, and he saluted respectfully towards the golden dragon in the sky: "Good day, Sir Titus, it seems that your body has fully recovered, which is really gratifying."

The ancient golden dragon flapped its wings and landed at the foot of the volcano. It looked around at the dwarven buildings and said with a smile, "Your Majesty Zen, it seems that you have adapted well and will soon be able to build a magnificent city again."

Zayn scratched his head and smiled innocently: "If you hadn't found a place like this, we wouldn't have developed so quickly. To be honest, this is all thanks to you."

"Sir Titus, these are the equipment we made for you. I hope you will be satisfied."

The young dwarf king waved his hand, and several strong dwarf warriors came over carrying several heavy metal boxes.

When he opened the box, he saw it was filled with hundreds of shiny metal equipment. Their quality was at least rare, and some of them were even close to legendary.

Afterwards, several more dwarves came over pushing carts. Those carts were filled with several tons of extremely precious magical metals such as refined gold and mithril.

You should know that the mining and smelting of these precious metals are extremely difficult, and the production in the Burning Empire is also extremely scarce. The metals offered by the dwarves are equivalent to the total production of the Anzeta region for several months.

Titus, or rather Cassius, felt secretly delighted.

It is indeed useful to keep these shield dwarves. It doesn't take any effort to make them work for you.

It was clearly Cassius who destroyed their homes, occupied their country, and forced them into a demiplane far away from the material world.

In the end, the dwarves had themselves to thank.

Titus nodded in satisfaction, waved his claws and stored the equipment in the space, and said: "Your Majesty Zen, the Justice Camp will remember the contribution of your dwarves."

"However, I came here this time because of another important matter that affects the situation in the Feianso continent, and I want to seek your help."

Zen patted his chest and said, "Sir Titus, you are our dwarfs' eternal friend. Your business is our business!"

Gu Jinlong was very pleased and said leisurely, "I believe you also know that the shield dwarves and the Silvermoon elves once signed an ancient contract and reached a sacred alliance, agreeing to jointly fight against the orcs' southward invasion." Zen nodded and sighed, "It's a pity that the elves in Serenia betrayed the contract. If it weren't for Lord Rhea, these Silvermoon elves would be a group of treacherous liars in our eyes."

"No, this is not the idea of ​​the Silver Moon Elves themselves, but the decision of the Elf Council."

Titus looked serious and said in a heavy tone, "I just received a letter from the current Elf Queen, Catherine Moon Chaser, asking for help."

"She claims that the elders of the Elven Council have been corrupted by darkness, and that Her Majesty Catherine will unite all forces that pursue justice, launch a sacred coup, and put Serenya back on track."

"I believe you are also aware that Serenia is located in the heart of the Fianso continent. Its location is extremely important and will have an immeasurable impact on the situation on the continent."

Zain frowned slightly: "What do you mean?"

Titus stared at the young dwarf king in front of him with a burning gaze, and his golden vertical pupils were particularly deep.

The ancient golden dragon said in a solemn tone: "Your Majesty Zen, are you willing to lend a helping hand to Serenya at this critical moment - in the name of the Lord of the Mountains and the King of the Shield Dwarves?"

"I"

Zayn raised his head, mustering up the courage to look at Gu Jinlong, but he was hesitant to make a decision.

Suddenly, he seemed to see a familiar reflection in those golden eyes—that was his father, the former Lord of the Mountains, Ed Klein.

Through Titus' eyes, which were like pools of gold, Zane seemed to travel through time and space, across the boundary between life and death, and saw his father's affirmative and earnest eyes.

If my father were here, he would make the right choice without hesitation and re-establish the sacred alliance.

This is the confidence of the Lord of the Mountains!

Thinking of this, the young dwarf king's eyes became resolute. He grasped the war hammer at his waist and said loudly: "Sir Titus, I am willing to lead the dwarf warriors to Serenia to support the Silvermoon Elves."

Titus nodded slightly, his face full of satisfaction, and said with emotion: "You are becoming more and more like His Majesty Ed."

Hearing the words of the ancient golden dragon, Zen was even more excited. He thought he was striding in the direction of his father and was about to lead the dwarves to a glorious future.

But he didn't know that this was just the effect of Titus, or Cassius's natural charm.

Zenn leaped up and stood on a towering volcanic rock. He first looked around at the many dwarves, then raised his war hammer high and said in a loud voice:

"My people, the Silver Moon Elves of Serenia are being corrupted by darkness, and their queen is launching a sacred coup! As Serenia's ancient allies, we, the Shield Dwarves, must not stand idly by!"

"I will lead the most courageous and powerful dwarf warriors and rush to Serenia with Lord Titus to support this holy coup!"

A dwarf hesitated and said, "But your majesty, Serenia has already violated the contract of the Holy Alliance."

Zenn said without hesitation: "It is understandable that they were previously corrupted by the will of the abyss. But if we turn a blind eye to the plight of our allies, can we still be called brave and tenacious shield dwarves?"

"When Sir Titus helped our High Mountain Kingdom resist the invasion of orcs, he did not seek any reward. He was even willing to risk his life to fight the red dragon tyrant head-on."

"If my father, King Eddard, were still alive, he would probably make the same choice as me—rush to Serenia with Lord Titus to support Queen Catherine!"

"This is not only for the justice in our hearts, but also for the glory of our shield dwarf clan!"

Shield dwarves are straightforward people, most of them have simple minds and strong limbs.

After listening to Zen's speech, many dwarves felt a surge of blood, and their blood began to boil like volcanic lava.

"Your Majesty, I will go with you!"

"I am coming too!"

"Long live the Lord of the Mountains!"

"For justice! For the glory of the shield dwarves!"

The dwarves were filled with indignation. They raised various weapons, cheered loudly, and even sang bold songs.

Titus also came behind Zane and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, if this coup is successful, all the righteous people in the entire Feianso continent will thank you for your efforts."

"Your names will be recorded as heroes in the epic of Fianso!"

"It's Sir Titus!"

"Praise the great Dawn Wings!"

The shield dwarves were once again used as tools by Cassius.

They did not know that behind these high-sounding words, behind this glorious and majestic golden dragon, was their most hated enemy, the tyrant who occupied Avendeldan - the Burning Emperor, Cassius.

Looking at the dwarves who signed up enthusiastically, Zein Xinsheng said with emotion: "Brave, optimistic, and heroic. These are the shield dwarves, and these are my people."

"Alas, it is a pity that Avenderdan is still in the hands of the enemy, and I can do nothing about it."

Titus stood beside him and said leisurely, "Your Majesty Zen, there is a motto in my hometown: Those who pursue justice can get help from the majority, otherwise they will be isolated and helpless."

"It is the same now. Your good deeds now will help the shield dwarves to retake Avendeldan in the future."

"Thank you for your teachings, Sir Titus." Zane answered seriously.

The more they communicated, the more the dwarf king felt that the ancient golden dragon in front of him was unfathomable and extremely wise. He was worthy of being an immortal species that had lived for thousands of years while still upholding kindness and justice.

In his mind, this "Wing of Dawn" is an elder who is patient and instructive, and has become a guiding light, second only to his late father.

However, Zen didn't know that in the eyes of Titus, or Cassius, he was a gullible dwarf, a toiling beast of burden, a fool who could be used to his heart's content...

Without much effort, Zane assembled a dwarf army of nearly 3,000 people, known as the "Mountain Expeditionary Force", almost all of whom were elite dwarf warriors wearing heavy armor. If he had not excluded the weaker children, women and the elderly, he would probably have been able to raise an army of more than 10,000 people.

Although the shield dwarves' formation was a bit messy, they were full of fighting spirit.

Titus stretched out his claws, and with violent spell fluctuations, he created a constant space portal that led directly to the space coordinates provided by Catherine.

"Mountain Expeditionary Force, set off!"

Zen raised his hammer high, his voice sonorous and powerful.

After hearing the order, the dwarves in heavy armor shouted loudly, and accompanied by the sound of metal friction, they rushed into the portal like a wave made of steel.

(End of this chapter)