Ashen Dragon

According to Cassius, rather than waiting for the enemy to discover one's own vulnerabilities, it is better to create the illusion of a "weakness" to confuse them.

Fate is fickle indeed. Who would have thought Cassius' whimsical and somewhat sinister plan would actually help Stieg secure a victory on the battlefield and kill a legendary-level opponent?

"Roar——"

Stieg perched upon the burning tower's peak, raising his tail adorned with the corpse of a Dwarf, then spreading his wings and letting out a long, piercing howl that sent shivers throughout Aivendel.

"Lord Bren has fallen!"

"He was the hero who slew dragons! How could he just perish like that..."

"Moradin above, what kind of monster is this!"

On Aivendel's ramparts, the assault of the Ashen Empire grew fiercer and more relentless. The Imperial Infantry's concentrated artillery fire overwhelmed the Dwarves, and witnessing Bren's death plunged their hearts deeper into despair.

A legendary-level Dwarf Warrior had perished, his very body strung on the tail of a Bipedal Wyvern as a trophy, proudly displayed to the horrified onlookers.

The entirety of Aivendel was shrouded in thick smoke; the ramparts ignited in blazing flames, ruins scattered across the terrain, littered with Dwarven corpses. The endless whistling of artillery fire echoed, as Bipedal Wyverns screeched in the skies and siege ladders mounted the walls, with countless soldiers swarming upward...

To the Dwarves, this scene was a waking nightmare. For centuries, Aivendel had been the very incarnation of resilience and indestructibility.

The Dwarves had never imagined this fortress might one day teeter on the brink of collapse, standing on the threshold of defeat.

But now, this reality unfolded before their very eyes, appearing distinctly in the gaze of every Dwarf.

After intense siege warfare, the Empire had managed to overrun much of the ramparts, meticulously advancing and poised on the brink of fully invading Aivendel.

Meanwhile, the Dwarves had suffered catastrophic losses. They had not only lost a legendary Dwarf Warrior but also faced the decimation of their once ten-thousand-strong force, which had dwindled to barely four thousand.

"We have not lost yet!" Ed stood atop the battlement, raising his Warhammer high and roaring out with ferocity.

This Dwarf King was a figure of unyielding majesty, his feet surrounded by the corpses of Imperial Soldiers, including a Dragon Scale Cultivator who had been smashed beyond recognition.

To this day, the defense of the Dwarves remained tenuously intact, largely due to the individual strength of this monarch.

"As long as there is one of us standing, as long as there is one hand that can wield a hammer, Aivendel will not fall, and the High Mountain Kingdom will not perish!"

Ed charged into the Ashen Empire's ranks amidst a hailstorm of bullets, wielding his Warhammer like a tempest, shaking the earth and scattering the sands. In an instant, he claimed the lives of over a hundred foes.

"Master of High Mountains!"

"Aivendel will never fall!"

Inspired by their king's unparalleled bravery, the Dwarf Warriors rallied once more for yet another relentless counterattack behind Ed.

Ed could withstand artillery shells with his body, but his subjects were not as fortunate. They lacked his battle-hardened physique and his noble royal bloodline.

Soon enough, amidst the Empire soldiers' overpowering artillery fire, the Dwarf King charged in heroically, only to see his soldiers one by one fall in the crossfire. As usual, Ed slew all his foes and single-handedly recaptured the battlefield once again.

"We've won!" After crushing the final Half-Dragon soldier atop the battlements with his Warhammer, Ed turned back, his visage alight with triumphant exhilaration.

But this time, there was no one left behind him—only a sea of lifeless bodies. Those trusted aides who had fought alongside him through life and death had all fallen under machine gun fire and cannon blasts.

Ed ascended to the summit of the battlements, surveying the surroundings. All he saw were his Dwarf brethren wailing in the flames, struggling amidst the smoke.

Under the Empire's sharp gunfire, the war was brutally one-sided. The Dwarf Warriors could hardly defend themselves and fell ceaselessly, while the Imperial Soldiers effortlessly seized battlements one after another.

"No... it shouldn't end like this..." Ed shook his head in disbelief. This was not the outcome he had envisioned.

In his imagination, Aivendel might fall, but its name and the valor displayed by its Dwarf Warriors would be forever etched into the memories of the people of Fianso Continent. Their heroic defiance and indomitable spirit would become legendary.

The High Mountain Kingdom should not perish so easily.

And yet, as of now, the war had lasted only two days, and the Empire had already crushed the Dwarves' defenses with overwhelming force.

Against the Empire's army, the tried-and-true tactics used by the Dwarves against Orcs proved utterly ineffective. Their resistance was little more than a tragic jest.

Ed's face was streaked with tears.

Divine Power can manifest in many ways. In the Realms, while some Divine Powers are termed as the progeny of others, these representations often align more with symbolic depictions of relations among deities rather than actual mechanisms for creation of new Divine Powers. At least, in mortal history, no Divine Power has ever been directly born of another. One such Power, Tyche, split into two entities—Beshaba and Tymora—a phenomenon that has historical precedent. When deemed necessary, Divine Powers appear capable of dividing themselves into at least two separate forms, with one evolving into a distinctly different being.

Long before the Time of Troubles, Ao explicitly created certain Divine Powers within the Realms, alongside the crystal sphere encompassing Realmspace. However, for countless millennia, he allowed these Powers to transform and develop unimpeded before deciding that realignment of the Realms' balance was needed, initiating the events of the Time of Troubles.

During these millennia, Divine Powers fragmented, spawned new existences, clashed as rivals, raised mortals deemed sufficiently strong to godhood, and welcomed waves of external Divine Powers brought by mortal migrations from other spheres. Without restraint, these Powers propagated and self-destructed. Only after the Time of Troubles did Ao intervene in regulating the emergence of new Divine Powers, the revival of deceased Realms Powers, and determining which multispheric Powers could integrate into the Realms.

After the Time of Troubles, candidates for ascension to Divinity required Ao's approval. If granted, Ao either arranged formal ceremonies beyond mortal sight or issued an informal endorsement for a being to ascend as a deity of the Realms. Mortals seeking deification typically achieved this through accumulation of strength, invoking arcane rituals, utilizing divine artifacts, receiving sponsorship from an established power, or combinations thereof. At certain junctures within this process, Ao's adjudication was pivotal. Should his verdict yield a denial, the aspirant would fail to ascend to deityhood.