The midnight wind was as sharp as a blade, howling across the broad command platform of Kagurem’s northwestern wall. A translucent, pale-gold barrier powered by the subterranean furnaces—the "Heart of the Forge"—loomed over the city like an overturned Great Bowl. It didn't just shield the inner city; it extended forward, covering the encampments of the main defensive force outside the gates. Visible runes flowed across the barrier’s surface, emitting a constant, low-frequency hum.

  Atop the walls, war supplies were piled high like small mountains. Crates of sharpened arrows lay open, revealing dense thickets of black fletching. Rows of blue mana-restoring potions and red healing elixirs were stacked neatly behind the battlements.

  Lord Erik "Ironhammer" Bastard and Guildmaster Hagg Ironmane stood side-by-side at the wall's edge. Their expressions were etched with a gravity and shock unlike anything they had felt before.

  "...A hundred thousand?" Erik whispered to himself, his voice carrying an irrepressible tremor of disbelief. "The scouts' reports... they were actually true."

  "I fear there may be even more," Hagg’s voice was raspy, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the stone parapet. "Look at their formation... in that sea of goblins at the vanguard, there are gnolls and ghouls mixed in. The center-guard is composed of Hobgoblins and Trolls... and those massive shapes over there? Those are Cyclopes!"

  Erik took over, his face pale as he pointed to several prominent positions within the black tide, each guarded by elite retinues. "It’s not just them, Hagg. Look at the leaders of each phalanx—there, a Goblin King and a Kobold King. On the other side, an Orc King... and even a Minotaur King! Aren't those creatures supposed to be myths from the southern labyrinths? Even a Shadow Wolf King has brought its pack!"

  Hagg’s tone grew deathly serious. "In the skies... besides the Bone Dragons, there are swarms of Gargoyles and several Wyverns... Dammit, look at the very back. That crowned figure floating in the air... that’s a Lich."

  The gaze of the two leaders eventually bypassed this terrifying legion of monsters and kings, landing on the largest, most ominous mass of darkness—the entity commanding them all.

  "Hagg..." Erik’s voice shook with a tremor he didn't even notice. "What is that thing? Do the Guild’s ancient records mention such a monster?"

  "No..." Hagg shook his head, his face ashen. "I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. That isn't a living creature. That is... pure malice, crawled straight out of the Abyss."

  In that moment, a desperate thought surfaced in the hearts of both dwarven leaders: Can this city truly be held?

  Hagg took a deep breath, the air feeling as heavy as cold lead. He withdrew his gaze from the distance and turned to Erik.

  "I can't stay up here," he said, his voice carrying a newfound weight. "After seeing that, I have to be down there with the men. I must be the one to let them know exactly what they’re about to face."

  Erik nodded and extended his arm. Hagg reached out, and the two broad, calloused forearms locked together in a tight grip—a silent, sacred vow between warriors.

  "Go," Erik said grimly. "The command on the walls is mine."

  Hagg grinned, a smile filled with a suicidal intent for battle. Without another word, he turned and marched with heavy, hurried strides toward the stairs leading to the gate’s assembly area.

  As Hagg Ironmane descended the stone stairs, he could feel the blocks beneath his feet vibrating slightly, rhythmically matching the impact of the monsters hitting the city walls outside.

  He arrived at the assembly area inside the main gates.

  This was the location of the city’s most elite forces. Nearly two thousand elites, comprised of Rank C and above adventurers and the "Shield of Kagurem," waited in silence. The sound of whetstones against blades, mages whispering incantations, and the heavy breathing of warriors intertwined into a sharp, tense atmosphere.

  The captain of the "Shield of Kagurem," Glen Ironbeard, stepped forward and slammed his heavy iron gauntlet against his chest plate.

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  "Hagg," Glen’s voice was as raspy as grinding stone. "The troops are all present."

  "Good work, Glen." Hagg nodded, then stepped up onto a makeshift podium made of several weapon crates. "The situation... is worse than we thought."

  His voice wasn't loud, but it reached every ear with perfect clarity.

  "Listen up!" Hagg’s voice suddenly boomed like thunder. "Our brothers on the northwestern wall are about to be submerged by those mongrels! The Lord and the main force of the Iron Guard are barely holding the line! Our mission isn't to add to the chaos on the walls. Our mission is to cut our way out from here like a sharp dagger, strike directly into their rallying rear, and tear open a path to survival for our brothers on the wall!"

  His piercing gaze swept across the captains of each squad.

  "Stonefist Brotherhood! You are our battering ram! You lead the charge and tear a hole in their front line!"

  "Iron Heart! You follow behind, secure the line, and protect our flanks!"

  "Twin-Blade Heart!" He looked at Ilian and Sarah, his voice filled with expectation. "Your strength has long been at Rank B level; you just haven't gone for the promotion. After this, I will personally certify you. For now, your targets are the enemy casters and the Bone Dragons in the sky!"

  After assigning the tasks one by one, he took a deep breath and turned his gaze toward Yggdrasil and Balin.

  "Yggdrasil! Balin!" Hagg’s voice turned incredibly heavy. "The two of you stay close to me. We have only one objective—"

  He raised his hand and pointed toward the deepest part of the darkness outside—the massive, terrifying collection of abyss-born malice.

  "—That 'King'!"

  "While the others create an opening for us, we will be the surgical blade that strikes straight for the enemy’s heart! Do I make myself clear?!"

  "ROOOOOAR!!" Every adventurer and soldier struck their shields and chest plates with all their might, letting out a world-shaking roar in response to their Guildmaster’s command. Hagg nodded. He turned toward the massive city gates that separated life from death, raising his battle-axe, awaiting the signal from Lord Erik on the walls.

  With Lord Erik’s command echoing across the ramparts, the curtain of war was officially pulled back in the way dwarves were most proud of: with iron and fire.

  "FIRE!!"

  The commander’s flag snapped down.

  In an instant, dozens of burning "meteors"—trailing long streaks of black smoke—whistled through the night sky. Like angry fists, they slammed into the undulating sea of darkness beneath the city!

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  Massive explosions erupted one after another. Burning pitch splashed like lava, instantly consuming hundreds of goblins and kobolds. Immediately after, runic bolts whistled through the air, each acting like a small bolt of lightning, triggering violent magical explosions in the densest parts of the monster horde.

  But all of this was merely the appetizer.

  At the cost of thousands of corpses, the vanguard of the monster tide—fodder composed of goblins, kobolds, and ghouls—reached the translucent gold barrier outside the walls!

  WHIRRRRR————!!!

  A dull boom, like the striking of a giant bell, echoed across the battlefield. The first row of goblin fodder slammed into the invisible, absolutely solid wall of energy, their bones shattering and flesh pulping instantly from the massive recoil!

  Yet they could not retreat. The monsters behind them, unaware of the situation, continued to push forward frantically, forming a terrifying wave. Hundreds, then thousands of monsters were crushed against the golden energy barrier, unable to move, letting out agonized and desperate shrieks.

  At that moment, the sixteen thousand regulars of the Iron Guard, who had been waiting in formation inside the barrier but outside the walls, let out their first war cry!

  "FOR KAGUREM! FOR THE ANVIL AND THE FORGE!"

  The first row of heavy shield-warriors slammed their massive, wall-like shields firmly into the ground, forming an immovable line of steel.

  Immediately following them, the spearmen of the second row thrust their long, cold-glinting spears—meters in length—through the energy layer of the barrier from the gaps in the shields!

  Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!

  Countless monsters pinned against the barrier were instantly impaled by the sharp spearheads. Blood and entrails sprayed out, staining the golden barrier with a layer of filthy gore.

  Above them on the walls, a rain of support fire descended.

  "ARCHERS! VOLLEY!"

  Thousands of arrows, like black locusts, eclipsed the moonlight as they whistled over the barrier and landed with pinpoint precision in the enemy’s mid-rear.

  Beside the archers, the mage units had split into two groups. The first group held their runic staves high, chanting ancient dwarven incantations. Fireballs, ice spikes, and chain lightning poured down toward the larger figures in the enemy’s middle ranks. The second group of mages did not cast; they laid down their staves and took up backup shortbows, calmly shooting at the monsters below to recover their mana. Once the first group’s mana was exhausted and they stepped back to drink potions, the second group would immediately step forward to take their place.

  Inside and outside the barrier, above and below the walls, the dwarves used their most skilled and rigorous positional tactics to construct a massive, efficient "flesh grinder," ruthlessly harvesting the lives of the monsters.

  The situation seemed stable, but Erik’s face atop the command platform held not a hint of relief.

  Because they knew... all of this was still just the beginning.

  Those truly threatening King-class monsters, and that terrifying existence from the Abyss commanding them all, were still watching coldly from the rear of the battlefield.

  "The 'Flesh Grinder' is in motion. Kagurem has unleashed its full military might, showing the world why Dwarven fortifications are the stuff of legends. From the 'Heart of the Forge' barrier to the rotating mage units, their tactical precision is their greatest weapon.

  But the enemy isn't just a horde; it's a collection of 'Kings' led by a nightmare of pure malice. Hagg Ironmane has made his move, hand-picking Yggdrasil and Balin for a surgical strike that will determine the fate of the city.

  Are you ready to see our stout duo charge out of those gates? If you're enjoying the epic scale of this battle, please Follow and Rate to help us keep climbing the ranks! See you in the next chapter!"