Soth's Gunpowder

Alpha watched the unkempt Dwarf before him, who looked like a walking ball of fur and was cursing under his breath as he approached. He quietly asked the adjutant, "Is this reliable? Why does this feel kind of strange?"

The adjutant had just opened his mouth when the furball-like Dwarf spoke up. "You're the unreliable one! So what if you're tall, you hairy Werewolf? Let me tell you, there isn't any gunpowder in this world that Lord Soth can't make!"

Ignoring the Dwarf's shouting, Alpha continued questioning the adjutant. "Aren't Dwarves supposed to be good at forging? Why is this furball good at making gunpowder?"

The adjutant looked troubled as he watched the nearly exploding Dwarf who had been ignored. "Lord Soth is rather special. Don't let his appearance fool you—his gunpowder is incredibly powerful. The ammunition we use was made by him. You must have seen it—the exploding bullets used at the city wall."

Alpha recalled the scene he had witnessed before. Looking at the Dwarf in front of him, who had instantly become smug after being praised, he still found it hard to accept.

The adjutant understood how Alpha felt. After all, when he had first met Soth, he had also refused to face reality. So he continued praising Lord Soth. "Lord Soth, Sir Alpha is here for the first time and doesn't yet know how impressive you are. Why not let us broaden our horizons?"

Soth puffed out his chest even farther, though to Alpha, he looked exactly like a proud rooster. Soth said, "Fine. I'll let you witness the great Lord Soth's craftsmanship. Follow me."

He marched ahead on his short little legs, and the adjutant gestured for Alpha to follow. They arrived at an underground chamber, surrounded by sturdy walls of some unknown material that gave off a faint glow.

The adjutant introduced it. "This is made of Runic Steel, one of the strongest steels. It can withstand temperatures of several thousand degrees. I heard it took a great deal of material and time to forge it into this form."

"But only with a sealed chamber like this can Lord Soth freely invent all kinds of gunpowder."

Soth somehow rolled out a table piled high with all manner of unfamiliar objects. He rummaged through them and found three helmet-like items, handing two to the adjutant while expertly putting one on himself.

The adjutant handed one to Alpha. "This is a safety helmet. It can provide some protection." But halfway through extending his hand, he froze. Looking at the Werewolf before him and the clearly ill-fitting helmet in his hand, the adjutant did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Soth's voice came from ahead again. "What are you dawdling for? Put on your protective gear already!"

Just as the adjutant was about to say something, a pale hand took the helmet from him. Alpha had shifted back into human form. "This should do, right?" he asked, looking at the adjutant.

"Y-Yes." The adjutant hurriedly put on his own helmet as well.

Seeing that the two had put on their helmets, Soth apparently did not care about Alpha's transformation and began demonstrating his inventions.

He picked up a handgun and said, "This may look like an ordinary pistol, but the bullets inside are different." He fired a shot toward the distant target.

At first, it struck the target like an ordinary bullet. But one second later, it suddenly exploded, and a wave of heat swept over them. Soth looked on with satisfaction. "This type of bullet is already widely used. It's an Explosive Round. Once it hits a target, it releases enormous energy and destroys it from within."

Alpha had already witnessed its power.

Soth switched to another gun and fired at the target. The instant it struck, blazing flames erupted and burned the target to ashes.

"This is an Incendiary Round. The gunpowder inside was developed exclusively by me. It spontaneously ignites as soon as it comes into contact with air, and its density is even lower than fuel oil. Of course, you needn't worry about leaks—the outer casing will only rupture after suffering a sufficiently heavy impact," Soth said.

Then Soth took out a small pack and said, "This is the explosive pack you wanted." He opened the safety catch and threw it into the distance.

Time seemed to freeze. Nothing happened. Soth's expression stiffened slightly, and under the gazes of the other two, he explained weakly, "It needs just a little time to react."

After waiting a while longer, even Soth could not stand it anymore. He had just started to rise, intending to take a look.

First came a blinding flash of white light, followed by a deafening explosion. The blast reached them, and Soth, who had just stood up, was instantly sent flying.

The moment Alpha saw the white flash, he pulled back the adjutant, who had also tried to poke his head out. His ears immediately went deaf, and an even fiercer heat wave rushed over them. The exposed skin beneath his clothes actually stung with pain.

When the roar faded, Alpha opened his tightly shut eyes, only to find that everything was still white. The ringing in his head continued, and the adjutant beside him was in the same state.

After a long while, his vision gradually returned and the ringing in his head slowly weakened. Only then did Alpha finally hear Soth's wails.

That poor Dwarf had probably taken quite a hit. Watching the furball rolling around on the ground in the distance through blurred vision, Alpha silently thought to himself.

Once he felt he had recovered, he did not bother checking whether the adjutant had recovered as well. He simply said, "I'll take the explosive packs and leave first. Later, send Soth to the infirmary. That poor Dwarf is probably badly hurt." Whether the adjutant heard him or not, Alpha took five explosive packs based on his memory. Then, after taking only a few steps, he turned back and grabbed one more, just in case.

The guards above ground showed no reaction to the tremors coming from underground. They had probably grown used to them. Then a Werewolf emerged, holding his head.

Feeling waves of dizziness from time to time, Alpha could not help but sigh. The explosives were really good. It was just that Soth was far too unreliable.

Seeing Alpha return, Adona asked, "So? That Dwarf was interesting, wasn't he?" Alpha replied, "Yeah, pretty interesting. But he probably won't be getting out of bed anytime soon." Adona was not particularly surprised, wearing the expression of someone who was used to it.

Looking at the Crypt Lord in the distance, Alpha's expression grew grave. "How much time do you think we have left?"

Adona also put away his teasing expression. "Not much. They're waiting for the right moment now. Are you ready?"

Alpha said calmly, "You should be worried about whether those explosives are reliable."

Adona smiled. "Let's put on a fireworks show."

Alpha then said, "As you wish." With that, he leaped from the city wall under the astonished gazes of the others.

Feeling the cold wind, Alpha closed his eyes. The instant he landed, his tightly shut eyes snapped open. A glimmer flashed, green light emerged, and a giant wolf landed lightly on the ground before racing away.

Adona watched the giant wolf disappear into the distance. This guy had grown stronger again.

Alpha did not charge straight toward the Crypt Lord. Instead, he circled around and stopped atop a small hill to observe the situation ahead.

Only upon seeing it from up close did he realize that the situation was even worse than he had imagined.

There were countless Webweavers, along with some he had not seen before, which were probably Webbinders. Looking at those larger green spiders, Alpha could not help but feel a headache coming on.

Then there was the Crypt Lord. It had not seemed that large from afar, but up close, it was not only enormous—the armor on its body also radiated an ancient aura. The patterns on it revealed its toughness. Alpha was beginning to doubt whether the explosives could destroy its armor, but now that he was here, there was no turning back. All he could do was wait for the right opportunity.

Dusk slowly descended, and darkness gradually shrouded the land. Torches began to burn in the distant Dauntless Fortress, filling the area with blazing light and clamor. Alpha waited, and Adona waited as well, waiting for the Scourge to make its move.

Finally, when darkness completely engulfed the land, the spiders before him began to stir. Adona noticed it as well and ignited the piles of fuel that had been placed beneath the city walls beforehand, illuminating the surroundings of Dauntless Fortress as brightly as day.

On the small hill, Alpha had vanished the instant the Scourge began to stir.

The operation had begun...