A Brutal Melee

"Damn dragon!" Bren couldn't dodge in time and was hit head-on by the dragon's flames. The scorching flames raged on his body, burning his skin, while the surroundings turned into a sea of fire.

But this legendary Dwarf Fighter, with his powerful physique, braved the raging flames, carrying his greatsword as he charged out of the inferno, rolling several times on the ground to extinguish the flames on his body.

At this moment, the Dwarf was charred black all over, with burn marks everywhere. Even his hair and beard were burned off. But he was still not afraid. Instead, he slowly got up from the ground.

Bren gazed at the Wyvern in the distance, raised his greatsword, pointed the tip at the dragon's head, and roared, "Come, fight me to the death! I've even killed real dragons; you're nothing but a large reptile to me!"

"Aww—"

Smaug roared in fury, his golden vertical pupils blazing with fury, and the dragon scales on his face bristling, emitting hot white smoke as if they were about to explode.

"Foolish Dwarf! I am a servant of the Great Red Dragon, Wyvern whose blood of burning embers flows through my veins!"

Clearly, the Dwarf's words struck a nerve with Smaug.

As its wisdom, strength, and status grew, the Wyvern leader felt increasingly ashamed of its "lowly bloodline" and hated that it was not born a true dragon.

However, Bloodline Gift of the Embers of the Burned Emperor, Smaug's bloodline has broken through its own limitations, making him more noble than "inferior True Dragon" like the White Dragon, and his strength even far surpasses that of Red Dragon of the same age.

It is no exaggeration to say that he was the most powerful and largest Wyvern of the Third Era.

Seeing the Wyvern's rage, Bren became even more provoke, shouting at the top of his lungs, "A mindless beast is just a beast, and it will never become a true dragon!"

"Hahaha! Howl! Shout out your emperor! Only he is worthy to challenge me! As for you—you are not worthy! Do you hear me? I will cut off the head of that Red Dragon and hang it on the walls of Avendell Dan!"

He wanted to provoke the Dragon Blood Monsters, causing it to completely lose its mind, so that he could accurately seize its weakness and kill it in one blow.

"Arrogant Dwarf! How dare you insult His Majesty—you're courting death!"

A thunderous roar echoed above the city walls. In extreme rage, Smaug suddenly flapped its wings, took to the air, and, accompanied by a sky full of flames, swooped down towards Bren in the distance.

"Boom!"

Smaug opened his massive maw and unleashed a torrent of scorching dragonfire that instantly engulfed the city walls beneath him, causing the Dwarf soldiers defending the city to scatter and flee.

Thick smoke filled the sky, flames roared, a scorching wind swept in, and Mars flew everywhere, turning the world into a mottled ocean of gray, black, and orange-red.

Faced with this catastrophic sight, the Dwarf Fighter showed no fear. Holding his greatsword in one hand, he raised his head and stared directly at the oncoming Wyvern, shouting, "Come on, you damned bastard! You can never defeat Dwarf Fighter!"

Just as Smaug was about to swoop down in front of him, Bren suddenly leaped up and slammed onto the city wall. Using the side wall as a springboard, he dodged the dragon's breath and soared high into the air, swinging his greatsword.

Leaping Strike! It's another leaping strike! According to the Dwarf Fighter ' experience, leaping strikes are the most effective way to deal with such huge monsters, and they can always deliver a fatal blow to those behemoths.

"Drink it!"

Bren roared hoarsely, his greatsword tearing through the air with unstoppable momentum, slashing straight at the head of the Wyvern.

However, although Wyvern did not have the agile forepaws of true dragons, they did have forelimbs with Wing Membrane.

"Whoosh—"

Smaug suddenly flapped its wings, creating a scorching gust of wind that caused its massive body to retreat abruptly.

At the same time, his gaping maw met the Dwarf in mid-air. A blinding light appeared at his throat, and a torrent of flames erupted, blasting straight at the Dwarf.

Bren quickly changed his position, holding the greatsword in front of him as a shield to block the Wyvern's breath, but he himself fell from mid-air.

Smaug did not miss such a good opportunity. He increased the intensity of his breath while swishing his thick tail.

"Sizzle—"

With a piercing sound, the tip of his tail sliced through the air, and the venomous barbs unique to Wyvern lunged at the Dwarf.

The neurotoxin it contains is enough to render a Terrestrial Dragon Beast unconscious, and even legendary Dwarf are not immune to its effects.

Facing the tail hook that came hurtling through the air, Bren gritted his teeth, abandoned his defense, endured the burning heat of the dragon flames, and swung his greatsword with all his might to the side and back.

"Clang—"

The sound of metal clashing echoed in the air. Bren used his greatsword to knock off the Wyvern's tail hook and used the reaction force generated by the tail lash to change direction and avoid the attack of the dragon's flames.

"Boom!"

The Dwarf's sturdy and strong body slammed heavily against the city wall, sending stones flying and dust billowing, leaving a hole in the wall.

"Roar--"

A loud roar echoed through the sky. Smaug folded its wings, extended its sharp hind claws, and prepared to swoop down from high above to crush the Dwarf trapped in the city wall.

This Wyvern has always followed Keosius's teachings and knows the importance of seizing opportunities and finishing off enemies as quickly as possible— Smaug would never be like some game bosses who have a low desire to attack and waste precious time grooming their scales and licking their claws.

With a crisp, cracking sound as the air burst open, Smaug descended from the sky, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, his massive body slamming heavily into the city wall.

Little did they know that the Dwarf were not trapped inside the city walls, but rather lying in ambush in the hole, gripping their greatswords and tensing their muscles, ready to meet the Wyvern at any moment.

Just as Smaug was about to crash into the city wall, the black iron greatsword pierced through the dust and went straight for the Wyvern's belly.

"Boom!"

A tremendous roar resounded as Smaug smashed the city walls to pieces. Bren dodged the attack, but was still sent flying by the powerful impact. His hand gripping the sword went numb from the shock, and he almost dropped it.

Fortunately, the Dwarf managed to grab onto the edge of the outer wall, preventing him from falling from Avendell Dan.

"Damn it, how is this possible?!" Bren was filled with shock. He had just thrust his sword at the Wyvern's belly amidst the smoke and dust, but his full-force attack was blocked by the dragon's scales! His hands were numb from the impact, but the Wyvern didn't react at all, and even its outermost defense wasn't broken!

Unbeknownst to this legendary Dwarf Fighter, Smaug, as the Wyvern chieftain of the Empire, had several protective spells engraved on his vulnerable belly.

Furthermore, the Progenitor Dragon Blood bestowed by Keosius changed Smaug's form, giving him scales harder than those of ordinary dragons.

"Aww!"

Smaug roared again, and like a giant bulldozer, he relentlessly smashed the city wall beside him and charged toward the Dwarf hanging on the edge of the wall not far away.

He's attacked so many times, how come this Dwarf isn't dead yet? He's like a rock so hard it's stinking!

Smaug exhaled puffs of Sulfur Scent white smoke, thinking to himself with a mixture of anger and surprise.

It should be noted that even within the Empire, there are very few beings who can withstand the full power of Wyvern leader's breath, and even fewer who can fight him to this extent.

Upon seeing the Wyvern charging again, the Dwarf quickly used one arm to flip himself up with his greatsword, nimbly maneuvering along the city wall to dodge the Wyvern's claws and massive tail.

Thus, each filled with surprise and rage at their enemy, the Dwarf Fighter and the Wyvern chieftain once again grappled and fought.

"When--"

The giant sword struck the tail heavily, but was knocked away again, leaving only a shallow white mark, while the Wyvern was completely unharmed.

"This guy's scales are too hard. I have to find his weakness, otherwise I can't defeat him," the Dwarf thought through gritted teeth as he dodged the raging flames.

During the thrilling exchange, Bren continued to observe the Wyvern's body.

Finally, as Smaug spread its wings and roared, the Dwarf keenly discovered the enemy's weakness—its left chest. The Wyvern was missing a scale on its left chest! And that was exactly where its heart was located!

Bren was overjoyed and stared intently at the gap.

The Dwarf thought to himself, "As long as I hit that part that isn't protected by scales and pierce its heart, this Wyvern will surely die!"

But Bren also knew how difficult it would be to accurately hit that small area in battle; dealing with this Wyvern was extremely dangerous just by getting close.

Moreover, this Wyvern is too large; even if it were hit, it might not penetrate its heart, and instead make the Wyvern wary.

Steel Crossbow.

The word involuntarily came to Bren's mind.

The Dwarf Steel Crossbow, a ranged weapon, was originally designed to deal with such large monsters, making it perfectly suited for combating Wyvern.

Furthermore, the Steel Crossbow was also equipped with cross-shaped arrows specifically designed for hunting dragons, which were perfect for Bren's use.

With this in mind, Bren finally made up his mind. He decided to find an opportunity to escape the battlefield and use his Dwarf Steel Crossbow to shoot the Wyvern's missing scales on its left chest, delivering a fatal blow to the monster.

"Roar—" Smaug spewed flames, smashed through the city wall in his way, and rampaged across Avendell Dan, charging towards the Dwarf Fighter once more.

This time, however, Bren gave a mocking laugh and, taking advantage of his shorter stature, slipped into the tower's portal and disappeared from the Wyvern's sight.

"Coward!"

"Damn Dwarf, come out here!"

In a fit of extreme rage, Smaug swung his massive tail wildly, ramming his enormous and powerful body against the city walls time and again, cracking large sections of bricks and stones, and violently destroying everything around him.

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar and dust billowing everywhere, the tower that Bren had just entered collapsed into ruins, but the Dwarf had vanished without a trace.

Thanks to his familiarity with the walls of Avendell Dan, Bren had just easily escaped the collapsing tower and made his way through a secret passage inside the city to the Arrow Tower the Dwarf Steel Crossbow were placed.

After wreaking havoc and venting his anger, Smaug still couldn't find Bren. Standing atop the ruins, he roared to the sky, "Dwarf! Since I can't find you, I'll make your people pay the price!" Smaug flapped his wings, took to the air, and flew menacingly toward the Dwarf defenders on the walls of Avendell Dan.

The Wyvern spread its wings and swooped down rapidly along the city wall. It opened its mouth, and scorching dragon flames spewed out, turning the city wall occupied by the Dwarf into a sea of fire.

"No!"

"Fire is everywhere!"

"Cough cough cough! Damn monster! I'll take you down with me!"

Thick smoke billowed and flames raged. The city walls echoed with the agonizing cries of the Dwarf defenders as they struggled in the inferno, yet could not escape their fate of turning to ashes.

Smaug spread his wings and circled back and forth above the southwestern section of the walls of Avendell Dan.

The Wyvern weaved through the thick smoke, casting its hideous shadow. Like a god of death, it relentlessly took the lives of the Dwarf with its flames.

"Dwarf, continue to hide in the fortress like a rat!"

I will burn every one of your kin, every one of your relatives; I will burn all these Dwarf to ashes!

The whispers of death echoed above the walls of Avendell Dan, Smaug let out a series of exhilarating roars, spewing forth scorching dragonfire.

"I am the flame, I am death!"

This time it wasn't Keosius's order, but Smaug's heartfelt, cathartic roar.

Within the empire's order, this Wyvern chieftain, though well-fed and clothed and receiving generous treatment, had his destructive and murderous instincts suppressed within him, leaving him frustrated and unable to find a solution.

This time, in this siege, Smaug finally found complete release. He burned Avendell Dan, enjoying the Dwarf ' screams and feeling extremely exhilarated.

"You filthy monster! I'm here! I'm your opponent!" A familiar shout came from afar.

Smaug turned around impatiently and saw the dwarf warrior Bren standing atop a tower in the distance, shouting at the top of his lungs and waving at him.

Hearing his people wailing in the sea of fire, Bren felt an unprecedented rage—he would give anything to make this monster pay with its life! Beside Bren was a finely crafted Dwarf Steel Crossbow, its crossbow already fitted with black arrows with cross-shaped arrowheads—those were the Dragon Slayer Arrow.

As the saying goes, enemies are especially hostile when they meet.

"Aww—"

Smaug roared angrily, immediately abandoning the weak Dwarf guards, flapping his broad wings, and flew towards the distant tower.

Towering flames and thick smoke followed behind, Wyvern came on fiercely, like a natural disaster descending upon the world.

At that moment, Smaug had only one thought in his mind: he wanted to burn that damned Dwarf to ashes!

Bren was already prepared. He quickly turned the winch of his Steel Crossbow, aiming at the gap in the Wyvern's left chest, muttering to himself, "Come on, come on, I will kill you, to avenge my people who died in the dragonfire."

The final battle is about to begin.