Ashen Dragon

"What a laughable counterattack..."

"Is this all the so-called High Mountain Kingdom can muster? Looks like I'll be back in time for the Coronation Festival."

"Hahaha, this attack is weaker than the spit from my grandmother!"

"Charge! Kill them all!"

The Imperial tank drivers sneered mercilessly, unwilling to even expend energy to activate their shields, recklessly charging forward under a hail of arrows with utter disregard.

Arrows crafted to slay flesh and blood—how could they pierce through their monstrous war machines?

"Boom——"

The tracks of the steam tanks churned at full speed, carving deep scars into the plains, relentlessly advancing toward Aivendel.

"Damn it, these iron lumps are as tough as obsidian!"

The Dwarven commander snarled in frustration, yet refused to falter, shouting quickly to rally the other city defense warriors.

High atop the towering walls of Aivendel City, rows of steel crossbows, crafted meticulously by the Dwarf master craftsmen, locked onto the advancing tanks.

The dwarves loaded the bolts, laboriously cranked the winches to build up the tension, shouting with desperation: "Fire! Pierce their iron lumps!"

"Whoosh——"

A piercing whistle shattered the air as the two-meter-long giant arrow cut through the sky like a streak of silver light, hurtling toward the steam tanks.

"Shing!"

The cross-shaped, razor-sharp arrowhead carried tremendous kinetic force, punching straight through the heavy composite armor and pinning the driver inside the cabin to his seat, extinguishing the tank and leaving it billowing thick gray smoke.

"Bang!"

"Damn it, what rotten luck!"

Another giant arrow struck a tank's track, instantly immobilizing it.

Imperial engineers promptly rushed forward to make repairs, swapping out the damaged tracks, yet the dwarves seized the opportunity to unleash hidden sniper shots.

"Whoosh——"

One Imperial engineer, in the middle of replacing a track, was pierced through the heart, but others swiftly stepped up to fill in his place.

Aivendel's walls, the shared home of the dwarf craftsmen, were brimming with ingenious defensive weaponry, a perpetual thorn in the side of intruders.

Within the towering fortress spires, the Dwarves launched fire-spewing iron balls from catapults crafted with supreme precision by Master Cui Lan, repurposed from scrap weapons fused together.

The iron spheres traced elegant arcs through the air, breaking the sound barrier, before crashing wickedly into the Imperial armor formations.

"Boom!"

Flames erupted wildly as metal shards were flung in all directions, crushing an unlucky steam tank flat, even igniting its engine, which then triggered a catastrophic explosion.

Dense steam engulfed the battlefield as the tank was reduced to charred wreckage, blackened and smoking profusely.

Having achieved a victory, the dwarves erupted into cheers, joyfully continuing to hurl their burning iron orbs toward those cursed "iron lumps."

Amidst thunderous crashes, another steam tank took a direct hit, exploding on impact in plumes of bluish smoke.

Witnessing the scene, Derol furrowed his brow, angrily barking into the comms: "Do not underestimate them! These tanks are Imperial assets!"

"Yes, General!"

The drivers responded hastily, their Imperial arrogance finally giving way before the fierce dwarven resistance, switching to a full-scale assault.

"They not only refuse to surrender but dare to fight back?!"

Glaring at the distant tank wreckage, Bill, within the cockpit of the "Emperor's Furious Wrath," slammed his fist on the control panel in a fit of rage.

As a fanatical steam tank enthusiast, seeing a tank destroyed hurt Bill far more than witnessing his kin slaughtered!

For these dwarves to dare defile finely crafted war machines with such crude and primitive weaponry—it was an affront that couldn't be ignored!

This was utterly unforgivable!

"Buzz——"

The runes within the steam tanks lit up suddenly, flickering wildly, as an indestructible force field shield began to take shape over their thick armor fronts.

With the sound of rushing wind, another giant arrow cut through the air, but this time, it shattered mid-flight upon striking the shield.

Bill's face contorted with rage as he bellowed, "Still trying to hurt my darling? Damn dwarves! Blast them to smithereens!"

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom!"

The steam tanks roared like wild beasts unleashed, their main cannons firing incessantly, with intervals growing shorter, barrels turning scorching red.

Under the barrage of concentrated fire, shells rained down upon the city wall like a torrential storm, with the shield outside barely holding together, cracks spidering along its surface.

"Crash!"

Finally, the last shell struck, and the dwarves' magic shield buckled and shattered, dissipating into countless shimmering fragments of light scattered to the wind.

The Imperial Ogre Gunners had long anticipated this moment.

They had already calculated their firing arcs, targeting the heavy siege weaponry, loading shells, and holding their fire until this critical turning point.

"Boom——"

The instant after, cannon fire thundered in unison, shaking the earth as fire and smoke blanketed the Imperial positions.

A hundred heavy guns fired simultaneously, hurling shells that streaked through the sky, descending upon the dwarven siege weapons with devastating precision.

"Boom! Boom!"

"No! They're destroying our catapults!" cried the panicked dwarves, powerless to intervene.

Explosions tore through the air as shards and dust rained down; walls trembled violently, mountains seemed to groan under the barrage.

In mere moments, the master-crafted catapults of Master Cui Lan were blasted to pieces, reducing even their towering structures to rubble, burying dozens of dwarf warriors within, their fates uncertain.

One by one, explosions rippled across the battlefield, leaving Aivendel's walls on the verge of collapse.

The dwarven steel crossbows, arrow towers, and catapults alike fell victim to the Empire's precise and concentrated artillery strikes, their destruction complete.

"Boom!"

Steam tanks closed the gap to less than a hundred meters from the walls, roaring and raging as their cannons fired rounds that tore gaping holes in the gate.

Machine guns sprayed tireless streams of bullets like a raging storm, cutting down dwarf garrison after garrison, some soldiers falling from the walls entirely.

Following the armored troops were Imperial engineers and infantry advancing in rapid succession, with armored vehicles fitted with scaling ladders emerging from the rear.

The Ashen Empire's offensive was methodical and precise, almost artistic in its execution.

Imperial strategists disdained throwing men's lives away carelessly—that was wasteful. Instead, they preferred to systematically crush the enemy's will and confidence with steel and fire, only then taking the cities with ease.

Beholding their destroyed defenses, the dwarf commander fell to his knees, devastated, murmuring sorrowfully: "No, this is our city... this is the blood and sweat of the dwarves..."

"Boom!"

A bomb landed directly beside him, blasting the dwarf commander into the air on impact, his condition unknown.

Across the ramparts, eerie and grotesque shadows flitted in the chaos—bipedal wyverns had arrived once more!

"Boom!"

Amid clouds of dust, a towering and menacing black figure descended upon the walls, emerging from the debris as the smoke settled.

The humanoid creature stood well over three meters tall, its body covered in biological armor composed of scales and exoskeletal plating, beneath which bulged muscles like iron blocks.

Its left arm bore a blood-smeared chainsaw sword, while its right hand gripped a surreal bomb gun with a 27mm caliber so absurd it defied logic.

It spread its lips into a savage grin, scales lining its gruesome face as it laughed maniacally: "Hahaha, for the Ashen Emperor and the Empire!

Dwarves, repent before us, you weak flesh and blood!" The chainsaw sword spun up rapidly, emitting a shrill, agonizing noise.

This time, Aivendel's walls hadn't merely been hit with bombs—they bore the brunt of the most terrifying humanoid weapons, the ultimate creations of Imperial Biotechnology: Vitagis Dragon Scale Adepts!