Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

At the third lava watchtower of Forgefire Keep, sentry Gimli Ironhide yawned widely, the strong smell of alcohol wafting out with each breath, spreading through the slightly sulfurous air.

He touched the almost empty liquor flask at his waist and muttered a curse about the long and boring sentry post.

Below the watchtower, a tributary of the lava river glowed with a dark red light, casting shadowy reflections of the fortress's crisscrossing tunnels, sturdy stone structures, and towering chimneys.

The clanging of hammers, the roar of steam pistons, and the howling of the furnace—these eternal background sounds of Forgefire sounded more like lullabies to Gimli at this moment.

His gaze routinely swept over the dark area surrounding the fortress—the territory of the Shadowmoon Remnants' long-legged spiders, where minor skirmishes occasionally occurred, but they seemed to have become much more subdued lately.

Gimli even missed the occasional conflicts of the past, which at least kept him awake, instead of being drowsy from the warm lava heat and the effects of alcohol.

"Once I change shifts, I have to go to the tavern and have a couple more rounds of drinks..." he thought, his eyelids starting to droop.

Just as his vision was about to blur again, something seemed to move in the darkness.

Gimli blinked, thinking he was seeing things. He tried to focus, looking at the crystalline area that the dwarves called the "Spider Miasma Forest".

There was no light, but it seemed... there were countless shadows moving silently? Like a tide, or some kind of ominous shadow, slowly creeping towards Forgefire Fortress.

Gimli sobered up considerably in an instant. He grabbed the binoculars hanging around his neck—a masterpiece of the dwarven engineer, with rudimentary night vision capabilities.

The sight inside the microscope made his blood boil!

That's not an illusion!

Hundreds of spider-elf warriors are moving through the crystal cluster forest at an astonishing speed!

Their movements were perfectly synchronized. Although their equipment looked incredibly rudimentary to the dwarves, their menacing aura could be felt even through binoculars!

At the very front of their group was an adventurer riding a Steel Tyrannosaurus Rex.

For some reason, when he saw the adventurer and the red dragon hovering above his head, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes.

"Enemy attack—!!!" Gimli's hoarse voice burst out at the loudest volume he had ever produced, almost tearing his throat apart.

He pulled the rusty yet still sturdy bronze alarm bell on the watchtower!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!!!"

The urgent and piercing alarm shattered the tranquility of Forgefire Fortress at night!

Inside the fortress, after a brief silence, a cacophony of noise erupted!

Lights on the watchtowers lit up one after another, more alarm bells rang, and the dwarven warriors' rough shouts, officers' reprimands, and the clanging of metal armor mingled together!

……

When the alarm rang, Liu Nian had just reached a point about a kilometer away from the thick black rock walls of Forging Fire Fortress.

He stopped and looked around at the underground dwarf fortress.

It is truly spectacular.

The city wall is over thirty meters high and is made entirely of neatly cut black basalt. Its surface is coated with some kind of dark red metal, which gleams with a cold, hard luster under the light of the lava river.

On the city wall, there is a sturdy tower at intervals. The top of the tower is not a crenellation, but a series of rough-looking metal cannons with an amazing caliber!

The cannon was engraved with fiery runes, and there was a faint flow of energy—this was no ordinary cannon.

The castle is built into the mountainside, with its rear extending into the rock face, where one can vaguely see the huge furnace chimneys and complex piping system.

The entire fortress gives the impression of being sturdy, fiery, and full of the power of heavy industry.

In comparison, the city of exile is practically a refugee camp.

Liu Nian raised his hand, signaling Pandra and the five hundred elite spider elves behind him to stop and form a battle formation.

On the city wall, the dwarves reacted extremely quickly.

Within minutes, the wall was filled with dwarven warriors clad in heavy armor and wielding battle axes or muskets.

More dwarves are pouring out of the fortress and climbing the walls.

The muzzles of the hell cannons began to adjust their direction, runes lit up, and a deep charging hum was emitted.

A dwarf, two heads taller than an average dwarf, wearing ornate plate armor inlaid with jewels, a horned helmet, and wielding a massive runic warhammer, appeared on the command platform above the main city gate.

He sported a striking, fiery red beard, and his gaze was sharp as lightning, locking onto Liu Nian from a great distance.

"Spider bastards! And you insolent human!" The large dwarf's voice boomed through some kind of megaphone, loud as thunder, filled with undisguised contempt and rage. "How dare you trespass on the territory of 'Lord of Molten Hammer Keep,' Gruba Flamebeard! Today, I'll crush your bones and throw them into the furnace as fuel!"

Being too far away, Liu Nian couldn't see the name and rank above the dwarf's head. However, Liu Nian was too lazy to waste words. He was prepared to take down the opponent as quickly as possible, so he directly activated the newly learned skill - Eternal Night Curtain!

The skill icon lights up, and energy surges.

However, just as the dark domain enveloped the surface of the Forgefire Fortress walls, the dark red metallic coating suddenly shone with a dazzling light!

A massive, semi-transparent energy shield, flowing with lava-like patterns, instantly enveloped the entire castle like an inverted bowl!

The darkness of the Eternal Night Curtain released by Liu Nian crashed into the protective shield, but it was like water hitting a reef. It only stirred up a violent ripple before being firmly blocked outside, unable to penetrate even a little!

"A city-level protective barrier?" Liu Nian raised an eyebrow slightly.

These dwarves are really skilled; they have a defense system of this level.

"Hahaha! Ignorant outsider!" Gruba Flamebeard's mocking voice rang out. "Taste the greetings of Forgefire Fortress! Hellfire Cannon, aim at that arrogant human and blast!"

On the city wall, the largest hell cannon, with the head of a roaring demon carved on its barrel, instantly focused its light to its extreme, a blazing white tinged with a destructive dark red!

"Buzz—Boom!!!"

A terrifying beam of energy, over two meters in diameter, tore through the air, carrying soul-burning heat and pure physical destructive power, instantly traversing hundreds of meters and striking Liu Nian directly in the face!

This speed is beyond reason, and it's far more than just ordinary artillery!

Wherever the beam of light passed, it plowed a deep, scorched trench into the ground!

The power of this shot far surpassed any siege weapon Liu Nian had ever seen! It even made him feel threatened!

"Master!!" Pandra and the spider-like elves behind him cried out in alarm.

"Buzzing—!!!"

The beam of light struck Liu Nian squarely!

The blinding light completely engulfed him, and the terrifying energy explosion instantly turned the ground within dozens of meters into a pool of lava! The shockwave sent several spider-elf warriors who were relatively close flying!

The dwarves on the city walls erupted in thunderous cheers! No one could survive a direct hit from the Hellfire Cannon! That was a fortress-defending weapon capable of severely injuring or even killing the Abyss Serpent with a single shot!

Gruba Flamebeard also revealed a cruel smile.