Fire Dragon

Fire Dragon

Dwarves lived longer than humans. Even ordinary Dwarves usually lived around two hundred to five hundred years.

Of course, every rank extended one's lifespan to some extent. If one truly possessed Legendary Rank strength, one would completely enter the ranks of the long-lived species.

But it still depended on the race...

For example, a Legendary Elf hunk lived at least three times longer than a Legendary human...

"Report!!!" An Elven Ranger came sprinting over.

"Speak!"

"Over a thousand Orc reinforcements are on their way. They appear to be Orc elite troops."

William frowned slightly at those words and said to Odom, "How many people are in your clan? Move them out as quickly as possible!"

"Sixteen hundred. Only three hundred of them can fight!" Odom gave a bitter smile. Though he too was Dwarf royalty, his people had been wandering from place to place for many years.

Over a thousand years had passed. Their original force of more than a hundred thousand followers had gradually dwindled under constant pursuit. Newborns came nowhere near making up for the deaths.

Even so, the clan under his command had once maintained more than ten thousand people. But thirty years ago, a betrayal had killed his Epic-Class father, along with the vast majority of their fighting force and people at one of their former hideouts.

Odom Heavyhammer, barely in his twenties at the time, had led the remaining thousand or so people into hiding. Eventually, they discovered this Mithril Vein. Relying on the digging expertise passed down by their ancestors, they dug deep tunnels and stockpiled supplies, hiding here ever since.

Even those who had once pursued them believed they were already dead.

Odom barely needed to explain anything for William to understand...

Logically speaking, a Dwarf prince with such an incredible background, who had survived being hunted for so many years, could not possibly be simple. People like that often carried the protagonist's halo!

But why had he never heard Odom's name? Most likely, Odom had originally been trapped to death in this mine by the Orcs as well...

Those Orcs from earlier could not possibly have killed these Dwarves.

But what about an endless stream of reinforcements?

That was the final straw that would crush the Dwarves!

Unknowingly, his early rescue in this life had already changed some of history's course, while also drawing a massive amount of hatred...

Third-stage mission: Completed.

Reward: 50,000 experience.

Reward: Unclaimed Mithril Vein.

William glanced at the mission and did not put the experience into leveling up. Instead, he ordered, "Odom, have your people come out first. Move to Border Town immediately. Just bring some personal belongings. Ignore everything else. We leave at once!"

"Alright!" Without looking back, Odom plunged into the cave and immediately began organizing the evacuation.

William patted Lotner on the shoulder. "How are you holding up?"

Lotner's shoulder jolted, and blood immediately poured down his arm. The wound he had just sealed with battle aura had split open again, yet he still sneered toward the east. "It's just a minor injury. I can fight another three hundred rounds. Even another thousand Orcs wouldn't be enough for half a hand of mine to chop down."

"Then we're counting on you for everything!"

"..." Lotner pondered for two seconds, looking at William with sincere eyes as though he wanted to say something.

"Prepare for battle. Mages, form the magic array. Lotner, you rest first..." William stepped forward a few paces and skillfully directed the remaining hundred Elven Warriors. He said in a deep voice, "We'll protect our allies as they evacuate. Elves have never stood behind Dwarves!"

"Yes, my lord!" All the Elves straightened up. Their proud nature instantly filled them with fighting spirit, and they eagerly prepared for battle.

What magic array?

What buffs?

Could any of that compare to this sentence?

It was a joke.

With just a little provocation from William, the Elves became as fired up as if they had been pumped full of adrenaline.

However, things did not develop as badly as expected.

While Lotner had been dueling the Pale Orc, the Dwarves had already dealt with the Orcs inside the cave. Once they discovered the rescuing Elves, they had long since prepared to evacuate.

In less than ten minutes, all the Dwarves ran north. Their evacuation speed was absurdly fast, and their practiced moving routine left William dumbfounded.

All he could do was secretly sigh in admiration. As expected of the little Dwarves of Lonely Mountain, who had survived a thousand years of pursuit without going extinct. Their escape speed was top-notch. Even in the forest, they did not run much slower than Elves...

Naturally, Odom did not evacuate. He had a hundred Dwarf Warriors follow the main group first, while he remained behind with two hundred Dwarf Warriors!

William glanced at the Dwarf Warriors, who had fought for a long time and were covered in blood. After thinking it over, he decided against wiping out those thousand Orcs.

What he feared most now was losing troops. This was not a game. He was now the lord of Border Town. If he wanted to keep developing, every single person was a resource, and waste was absolutely unacceptable.

Especially since Lotner, who could take hits, fight, and charge recklessly, had not recovered from his injuries either...

Lotner, who was recovering nearby under the care of an Elven Warrior girl, suddenly felt that something was wrong. He secretly glanced at William and saw that he was smiling with extreme malice.

Fortunately, William waved his hand and chose to withdraw. Only then did Lotner finally lower the heart that had risen to his throat back into his stomach to warm itself up.

When the thousand elite Orcs arrived at the Mithril Vein, a towering Pale Orc slowly stepped out from the crowd. He saw the wrecked cave entrance and the traces leading north.

At the same time.

An Orc priest holding a staff, also draped in a black cloak with only his eerie green eyes exposed, slowly stepped forward. "The Elves of Border Town saved them."

The Pale Orc violently swung his warhammer, smashing an innocent tree in half, before saying in a deep voice, "I know!"

"Chase them. We've already collected half the bounty and magical materials..." The Orc priest sinisterly pointed north.

"Chase them? With what?" The Pale Orc sneered at him, then tugged the reins and turned around. "We've collected half the bounty, and plenty of our people have died. Since they ran, let those traitors look for someone else."

Then he looked at the Orc high priest, whose status was equal to his own. "Remember, we should never have been here in the first place. Especially not taking on a bounty mission in private—that was already a grave mistake.

"We even secretly kept those treasures. Have you considered whether our clan could continue living under our master's watch once he learned of this?"

The Pale Orc rode away on his giant wolf, and the other Orc soldiers followed without hesitation.

Only then.

Did the Orc priest reluctantly shift his gaze away from the north. Only then did he remember just how violent and cruel their master was.

Who was their master?

Naturally, the Dragon of East Sea Snow Mountain!

He was supreme!

His wingspan stretched more than ten meters!

A single sneeze from him could send hundreds of people to their deaths in a sea of flames!

He was an Elemental Dragon with the most terrifying nature!

Their master was a Fire Dragon!

Among all Dragons, the Fire Dragon possessed the most terrifying combat power.

No one wanted to experience the feeling of being watched by a Fire Dragon. Being hated by one was the greatest misfortune in the world.

Their Orc tribe was merely one of the many clans under their master's command.

They were far inferior to those stronger clans.

They had long since learned to be respectful!

Rather than remain greedy.

Please vote. The story leading up to the open beta is gradually unfolding. Those of you who have been reading carefully can probably guess what will happen before the open beta.