Mountain Collapse and Threat

The rock Dwarf roared to the sky, swung his arm, and hurled a massive rock weighing tens of thousands of tons and more than ten meters in diameter at the Red Dragon high in the sky.

That was no ordinary rock, but a terrifying weapon imbued with the power of the earth. The power it contained could be enough to cause a magnificent Floating City to crash to the ground and turn into ruins.

However, the Red Dragon was not afraid at all. He opened his huge maw, and terrifying dragon flames spewed out from the depths of his throat. The dragon crystal on his chest was like a miniature sun, releasing its radiant light.

"Boom--"

With a deafening sound of air exploding, a dazzling pillar of fire, like a giant red and white sword, suddenly ripped through the sky, piercing through the giant rock and causing it to explode in mid-air.

Burning rocks rained down on the earth like a shower of petals, creating terrifying explosions. But compared to the spectacular battle between Keosius and Dumasong, this was merely a tiny ripple.

After piercing through the giant rock, the pillar of fire, imbued with the Sun God Power, continued to bombard Dumasong, heading straight for His vessel in the Material Plane — Ed's body.

But the Titan-like rock Dwarf stood tall, his arms sprouting countless incredibly hard gems that coalesced into a massive, crystal-clear shield with an exceptionally smooth cross-section.

This Gemstone Greatshield is hexagonal and over thirty meters long. If it were cut up, who knows how many exquisite jewels and ornaments could be made from it.

It should be noted that Dumasong is also the controller of the mine. At this moment, for the sake of this battle, he has actually controlled the mine, gathering all the gems buried underground within a radius of nearly a hundred miles.

"Boom!"

The two powerful elemental forces collided, and the Gemstone Greatshield blocked the pillar of fire spewed by Keosius. Its surface shone brightly and even reflected some of the heat back.

Behind the giant shield, Dumasong raised the Lava Hammer, and along with the surging magma, countless metal fragments of iron, copper, gold, silver, mithril, and other metals spewed out from the ground, shooting towards the Red Dragon in the sky like flying raindrops.

"Aww—"

Seeing this, Keosius roared to the sky, unleashing the full power of the Fire Elemental Plane. Meteors trailing flames rained down from the sky, colliding with the sharp metal fragments in mid-air.

In an instant, the sky was filled with meteors and flames, and the earth was shrouded in endless metal fragments. The two collided with each other, creating surging fire clouds in the sky, and countless burning metal fragments fell.

These precious metals were extremely pure and abundant, enough to make people risk their lives to seize them in the past. But now, people were trembling as they watched the Earth-Shattering battle in the distance, trembling under the overwhelming power of this natural disaster.

"Boom!"

The rock Dwarf swung his Lava Hammer and slammed it down on the ground, causing a dull thud. Countless sharp rocks rose from the ground, similar to Ed's move, but with even greater power.

Each rock rises a hundred meters high, like a steep mountain peak, or a giant sword piercing the sky and earth, aiming at the Red Dragon's belly, neck and other vital parts.

But Keosius was incredibly fast. With a flap of his Dragon Wing, he unleashed a terrifying storm, and his massive body transformed into a giant, crimson shadow that weaved back and forth through the churning fire clouds.

His speed was so fast that it was difficult for the naked eye of mortals to catch up with; all that could be seen were the ferocious marks left by the Red Dragon in the fiery clouds, and the occasional glimpse of its scales and claws.

At the same time, bolts of lightning roared down from the sky, striking directly at Dumasong's head, while miniature fireballs, resembling suns, crashed down from different directions.

These terrifying attacks, each capable of taking the life of an ordinary dragon, could not harm the Dwarf deity in disguise.

Dumasong's eyes sharpened, and he straightened up abruptly. Exoskeleton and mithril emerged from his skin, transforming into armor with extremely high magic resistance, which blocked the bombardment of lightning.

A blinding light shone from His Silver Fire Eyes, and those terrifying fireballs exploded in mid-air, their flames being absorbed into the Lava Hammer as nourishment.

Immediately afterwards, surging fire clouds pressed down on the ground like a tsunami about to engulf the land, and the surface was filled with extremely hot steam, enough to scorch mortals.

However, whether it was thunder, flames, or fire clouds, they were all just illusions created by Keosius. At this moment, he had already risen to a height of ten thousand meters and was descending from the sky.

A strong wind pressure descended, and the smell of Sulfur Scent Gunsmoke rushed in, making the whole world seem to tremble under the swooping of the Red Dragon.

Dumasong gripped his Lava Hammer, raised his Gemstone Greatshield, and stood ready, his imposing body radiating a deep, earthy-yellow light.

The next moment, the Red Dragon suddenly broke through the fire cloud and thick smoke, spewing out dark red Breath of Chaos, and pounced on Dumasong!

"Boom!"

This collision was earth-shattering, causing the world to tremble! The ground suddenly sank several meters under the Red Dragon's attack, and the cracks resembled a dense spider web, with countless magma gushing out.

The surrounding Black Rock Mountains shook violently, causing a massive landslide that buried countless lives in rocks and mud.

Despite having the Gemstone Greatshield to protect him, Dumasong was still caught off guard and smashed deep into the ground by the Red Dragon's attack.

He struggled fiercely, swinging the Lava Hammer with all his might. The hammerhead emitted an earthy yellow halo and carried a force powerful enough to shatter space as it smashed towards the Red Dragon's head.

Although Dumasong's rock avatar was enormous, standing a hundred meters tall, it was far less agile than the Red Dragon. Keosius reacted extremely quickly, dodging to the side, and then his Base Blood Vessels surged, unleashing a torrent of chaotic flames.

This dark red flame, imbued with the essence of chaos, broke through the barrier of the earth's divine power, pierced the Gemstone Greatshield, and attacked the avatar of Dumasong.

Dumasong suddenly rolled away, smashing through the Red Dragon's giant claws and narrowly avoiding the dragon's breath. The chaotic flames then scorched a bottomless hole in the earth.

Keosius grinned, revealing a smug smile, flames still swirling around his mouth. "Dumasong, if this were the Outer Plane, I might give you some leeway, but this is the Prime Material Plane! Just admit defeat. You Dwarf are no longer able to occupy Avendell Dan. This place already belongs, and can only belong to the Embers of the Burned Empire, and to me!"

Dumasong remained silent, not uttering a word, but he swung his fist, as big as a small hill, toward the Red Dragon's heart, Mars of anger flashing from his Silver Fire eyes.

"Boom!!"

Keosius flapped his wings and took to the air. Dumasong's punch missed its mark, but the power of the punch cracked the surrounding space, leaving the Red Dragon speechless.

Then, the Dwarf god's attacks became even more ferocious. His rock-formed body seemed tireless, braving the raging flames as he relentlessly attacked the Red Dragon with his fists, feet, and warhammer.

Keosius, on the other hand, used his superior mobility to continuously engage in aerial combat with him.

The Red Dragon also occasionally spewed out breaths containing various powerful forces such as chaos, order, and the sun, its methods varied, leaving Dumasong's avatar covered in scorch marks and cracks.

"Prepare to die!"

Keosius once again swooped down from behind the Dwarf, spewing a pillar of fire from his mouth. Caught off guard, Dumasong slammed into a small mountain nearby, his abdomen pierced by the pillar of fire.

"Boom!"

Under this immense force, the mountain collapsed with a deafening roar, burying Dumasong, but when Keosius pounced, he had vanished into the rocks.

The next moment, the rock Dwarf burst through the earth, leaping high into the air amidst countless shattered rocks, and swung his warhammer toward the back of the Red Dragon's head.

However, Keosius suddenly raised his giant tail and swept it across, knocking away the Dwarf god who was trying to attack from behind.

This was not merely a physical clash, but a contest of authority and divine power; every strike contained the clash of these two forces.

And so, Keosius and Dumasong fought their way from the Blackstone Mountain for dozens of miles, turning everything in their path into ruins of lava and ash, like a walking natural disaster.

"Keosius above"

"That was terrifying. The aftershocks of the battle alone could have caused a mountain to collapse. Luckily, we didn't act recklessly."

"His Majesty will surely win."

"If someone can fight His Majesty to this extent, then who exactly is that Dwarf?"

Just then, a clear female voice echoed through the Imperial army, answering the doubts of the Imperial soldiers. "That is Dumasong, the guardian deity of the Shield Dwarves race."

The great Embers of the Burned Emperor, our master, is battling a true god!

All the soldiers looked toward the source of the voice, and saw that the speaker was Misha, who was filled with excitement, as if she had witnessed a true miracle.

In fact, Dumasong was merely possessing Ed's remains and was influenced by the orc gods; his strength was incomparable to that of the Godly Main Body.

However, this did not prevent Misha from Keosius and extolling the heroic deeds of the Embers of the Burned Emperor in his battle against the gods.

In an instant, the people of the empire were in an uproar. Although they scorned the gods, they had to admit the power of these beings.

"That, that really is a god?" someone asked incredulously.

"No wonder, no wonder His Majesty had to take action personally! Only someone like him can rival His Majesty!" someone muttered to himself, his heart pounding with excitement.

"His Your Majesty Keosius actually went against a true god to protect us! How can we ever repay His Majesty's kindness!"

Some people burst into tears, kneeling on the ground and weeping bitterly, deeply moved by the emperor's act of standing up for them.

Meanwhile, on the ravaged battlefield dozens of miles away, Keosius paid no attention to his beloved people, a ferocious and arrogant smile on his face.

"Dumasong, can you feel it? The world is rejecting you! Look at your surroundings. After causing such enormous damage to the Prime Material Plane, can you still call yourself the guardian of the earth?"

Dumasong's face immediately darkened, but he had nothing to say in response to Keosius's accusations.

A person's Divine Authority influences their character. Having just witnessed the deaths of a large number of Shield Dwarves, He was already somewhat blinded by greed. Coupled with the constant provocations from this wicked Red Dragon, He made such an irrational move.

This "Silent Guardian" rarely let out a cold snort, looked up and glared at the Red Dragon above his head, making several gestures whose meaning was clearly conveyed to Keosius.

"Embers of the Burned Emperor, do you wish to oppose the entire Dwarven Pantheon?"

Keosius shook his head and replied easily, "Of course not, I'm helping you. It's better to have a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one. If the orcs were to invade the south, the number of Dwarf who would die would be far more than what we've seen today."

Dumasong gritted his teeth. Even the usually silent and honest deity was so angry at the shamelessness of this Red Dragon that his teeth itched.

"This is not over yet! Your actions have angered Moradin! Return Avendell Dan to us before our war with the Orc Pantheon ends!"

"I have already made significant concessions, how can you still not understand?"

Keosius sighed earnestly before continuing, "If the Dwarven Pantheon continues to cause trouble, I wouldn't mind wiping out the Shield Dwarves of the High Mountain Kingdom."

Dumasong's eyes sharpened, and he gestured again. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think I didn't notice what that Lord of the High Mountains was doing? Do you think his little tricks could escape my eyes?"

Keosius slowly flapped his wings and fell from the sky, causing the ground to groan and adding a few more cracks.

He didn't care at all, and just smiled and said, "Ancient Shield Dwarves Guardian, if you continue to be ungrateful, I am also very interested in entering that Demiplane and slaughtering the remaining Dwarf."

I just don't know—by then, will you still be qualified to be called the 'Guardian of the Shield Dwarves '?

The Red Dragon stared intently at the avatar of Dumasong, its pale golden vertical pupils revealing undisguised killing intent, taking the concept of "taking advantage of someone's misfortune" to its extreme.

"You"

Dumasong's face grew even more somber, an endless rage burning within him. The earth trembled slightly at his emotional shift, like a volcano about to erupt.

If it were a mortal, facing the anger of a god of moderate power, he would probably have already knelt down and begged for mercy, but Keosius was even more interested.

The Red Dragon spread its wings and took a few steps forward without fear, shaking its head and sighing, "If I can't find that Demiplane, and you insist on being my enemy, I will have no choice but to fight to the death and cooperate with those rude orc gods."

As you probably know, thanks to the favor of fate, my bloodline is coveted even by Tiamat. Tell me—what kind of monster would be born if this dragon blood were combined with an orc?

A threat, an undisguised, naked threat.

Moreover, this was a threat directed at a deity, which was practically blasphemy. What could be more audacious than this?

If this had happened before the Third Era, Dumasong would probably have already descended in his true form to let that foolish blasphemer witness the wrath of the gods and taste the power of Divine Punishment.

But now, Dumasong's rock-like face was unpredictable, showing signs of hesitation and wavering.

—Because what the Red Dragon said was not wrong.

If this matter is pursued further, and the powerful Red Dragon were to form an alliance with the Orc Pantheon, it would inevitably have terrible consequences, consequences that even the dragon itself could not bear.