"No, it's not," Dragonborn Bino scratched his head in frustration, "According to the harpies, the metal monster changed direction upon entering the mountains. It's heading straight…straight for…"
"Straight for where?"
"Straight for Azurelode."
Wind Dragon Cherkes was shocked!
Chapter 574 Azurelode
Azurelode.
It was a large metal mine at the edge of Stonetalon Mountains.
The cave spiders and the hill dwarfs were the ones toiling hard within the mine. They had obtained ownership of the mine from Dragon Lord Cherkes in exchange for offering a certain amount of metal ores on a consistent basis.
It was such a rich metal reserve rested right beneath the eyes of Dragon Lord Cherkes, yet he seemed blind to its wealth. Cherkes didn't do much else with it apart from some light excavation of the metal ores to forge metal armor for his subordinate dragonborn.
As for creating an empire of steel and exporting the valuable metal resources to other planes? Such mercantile thoughts had never appeared in the minds of the Dragon Lords.
Back then, the reason Cherkes had agreed to the joint excavation of Azurelode by the dwarfs and the spiders was that he had his eyes set on the accompanying resources of the metal reserves– the magical gemstones. Cherkes couldn't care less for those black and heavy metal ores that took up so much space.
Yet, it was these metal ores that Cherkes was never concerned about that drew him such terrifying and undefeatable enemies.
Second Grade Wind Dragon Lord Cherkes stood proudly upon the peak of the mountain. Upon hearing the report, he gripped the edge of the stone platform with his sharp talons, bent his body, looked down upon the forest beneath, and let out a reverberating dragon's roar.
The entire forest flew into chaos wherever the dragon's echoed.
Countless birds and beasts emerged from their homes and fled away from the Twin Peaks without looking back. On the other hand, loud dragon roars rang out in response from the dragonborn camp at the feet of the mountain. Squads of large and mighty dragonborn wearing metal armor and wielding poleaxes charged out of the camp in strict formation.
There were a hundred and two berserk dragonborn with First Grade power. These dragon warriors were already all of the strength that Wind Dragon Cherkes could assemble, disregarding the dragon messengers he had sent out to collect 'taxes.'
The dragon warriors' ferocious will to battle deeply motivated this wind dragon lord.
Cherkes might have chosen to ignore the transgression out of fear of the enemy if they were only passing through his lands. However, there was no way he could sit still when it looked like the enemy wanted to set up camp at the edge of his home.
Thus, Wind Dragon Cherkes looked at the ferocity of his dragonborn army and let out yet another powerful dragon's roar that shook the forests. He beat his green and gray wings hard and took to the skies with a powerful kick to the ground.
The wind dragons were naturally the masters of the sky.
Cherkes' ten-ton-heavy body looked idle and clumsy when he moved on the ground. However, when he took to the air, layers of semi-translucent wind barriers enveloped his body, and the terror and agility of a wind dragon were put on display for all to see!
Other dragons had a trace of disharmony when they turned and twisted in flight, but the wind dragons flew in the air with the agility and flexibility of a fish in water.
Wind Dragon Cherkes dove downward before abruptly pulling up right as his massive body approached the ground. He couldn't help but let out another roar when he flew past the dragonborn army.
The army immediately broke out into cheers.
They raised their large and wicked poleaxes to pay their respects to their lord, even as they started sprinting to follow behind the wind dragon and charge toward Azurelode.
…………
At this moment, the metal spider had already arrived at Azurelode. It transformed into an oddly-shaped monster and entered the mine without any difficulties, even as it was showered with the throwing axes of the hill dwarfs and the poison of the cave spiders.
The small two-meter entrance of Azurelode was clearly not large enough for something its size to easily enter. Thus, the metal monster extended a thick metallic limb to seal the entrance. Dong! Dong! Dong! As many as thirty combat magical machines were instantly shot out into the mine.
Countless cracks then opened up on the body of the metal monster. A barrage of bullets shot out and dealt with the trash and small fry hiding outside the cave.
The arcanite rifles had been reforged and were now all powered by magic energy. They possessed terrifying lethality that surpassed what they had in the past.
The fearsome metal bullets shattered and pierced everything in their way. Wood splintered and rocks split. In fact, the bullets could even cause a massive pillar of dirt to rise whenever they hit the ground, leaving only deep black holes in the ground.
The short hill dwarfs were not wearing any decent armor. Their bodies of flesh and blood were instantly riddled with holes by the brutal gunfire, draining the life from them. The cave spiders, on the other hand, were agile leapers and ran about quickly. Ordinary rifles had a hard time killing them.
Thus, a few more holes opened up beneath the metal monster's giant body, and several spider golems rolled out from within.
Spiders against spiders!
Two different spider-like creatures broke out into an intense fight in front of Azurelode.
The cave spiders' main weapons were their sharp fangs, pointed limbs, and their acid spit. However, none of these were threatening against the spider golems made of pure metal.
The metal spiders walked with heavy and clanging footsteps, rapidly closing the distance between them and their enemies. Several metal barrels extended out of the disc-shaped protrusion on their elliptical backs. Then, beams of intense flame would blast toward the cave spiders.
Charcoal spiders!
In almost a single instance, the cave spiders defending their nests outside Azurelode had already sustained heavy losses. Most of them had been burned into black charcoal by the hot flames.
Gazlowe's mental voice rang out in the minds of all the adepts once he had dealt with all these pesky 'trash.'
"Sit tight. I'm going in."
A dozen robotic arms with rapidly spinning drills attached to their tips emerged from the metal monster's body. A fearsome disaster befell the mountain where Azurelode was located.
A massive hole was drilled into the mountain amidst an ear-piercing clanging and the forceful pressure of the metal monster. The metal monster slowly vanished in a cloud of dust.
A long dragon's roar suddenly rang out from the depths of Stonetalon mountains as the metal monster was trying its best to dig into the depths of the mine.
A slight quake in the earth and a rumbling sound accompanied the dragon's roar.
The wind dragon and his dragonborn army had arrived!
"You deal with them!" Greem fell silent for a moment before giving combat orders to Gazlowe, "Try not to expose the existence of us adepts if possible!"
"I understand!" Gazlowe was much more obedient than before, "It's just a tiny Second Grade dragon anyway. I'll send it packing."
As a Third Grade brain monster, it wasn't an exaggeration when he said such a thing.
With the metal monster and all its hidden magic energy weapons, it was no trouble dealing with a barely adolescent Second Grade wind dragon. In fact, Gazlowe could even capture the dragon alive if the geography was suitable.
Thus, not only did the metal monster not stop digging upon Greem's orders, it even increased its pace, as if it couldn't wait to get underground.
Wind Dragon Cherkes flew high above Azurelode, looking down upon the mess beneath him with eyes widened in anger.
It wasn't that he cared for these worthless mine workers. Instead, he was stunned by the absolute hostility of the enemy. It seemed the enemy had no intention of making peace
with him, the Dragon Lord of this land. They had wrought immense destruction on the mountain the moment they arrived.
It seemed the enemy was trying to dig into the ore veins beneath the mountain.
A massive hole a hundred meters in diameter had already been dug out of the mountain. Over half of the metal monster itself had entered the mountain.
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
Cherkes cursed furiously.
The enemy's actions signaled one thing; they were ignoring him.
It was undoubtedly an offense against the Dragon Lord's reputation!
Cherkes could no longer hold back. He let out a roar, folded his wings, and dove straight down from five hundred meters in the air, his whole angular dragon body stabbing down like a sharp sword.
The dragon had come!
Naturally, there was no way any single one of Cherkes' actions could have escaped Gazlowe's spiritual senses.
Gazlowe only stopped his digging when he saw the dragon dive towards him. He commanded his large liquid metal body to prepare for combat.
The production facilities carried within the metal monster were all sent into the mountain, while all the magic energy weapons were transferred to the side facing outward.
The initially uneven metal body had now become as smooth as a mirror, melding to become one with the mountain, as if it was a metal city wall. Countless holes opened up in the wall as black gun barrels emerged from every one of them. All the cannons and guns locked on to the approaching dragon.
What…what was this?
Fierce winds blew through the air.
Cherkes' massive eyes opened wide while his body was still mid-dive. He watched the enemy's strange actions with utter confusion.
He might not have understood what the enemy was up to, but the sharp senses of a dragon caused an indescribable feeling of death to rise from the depths of his dragon soul.
He would most definitely die if he kept diving down like this!
This feeling had come so suddenly that Cherkes couldn't help but doubt it for a second.
While he was debating whether to pull up or continue descending for a dragon's breath, his sharp sight caught sight of a hundred magic-gathering points suddenly lighting up. The speed at which the magical energy was gathering, and the level of the power, left Cherkes speechless.
The wind dragon was utterly terrified, so much so that he fell into a complete panic. The dragon beat his wings desperately, trying to change the angle of his flight.
Dammit!
Cherkes couldn't even finish his roar before being drowned in a blinding sea of light by the one hundred energy pillars blasting into the sky.
Chapter 575 Dragonborn Routed
Cherkes felt like he was at the brink of death!
His flexible body was covered with layers of wind barriers that helped dissipate the damage of the energy beams as he dodged and retaliated with short bursts of dragon's breaths.
Even so, his lean body still had to endure the corrosion of the powerful energy ripples.
A rain of one hundred energy attacks, each above a hundred points in power.
The collision and refraction of the energy pillars in mid-air made it increasingly harder for Cherkes to dodge. There were many times when such chaotic ricochets and refractions hit him.
The wind barrier around his body could effectively disrupt the trajectory of most of the attacks. If there were only two or three such energy attacks, the wind dragon's swift figure would allow him to escape the line of fire with a single beat of his wings.
Sadly, Cherkes now faced the barrage of a hundred energy light pillars. The opponent clearly intended to use this area bombardment to leave him with no space to dodge or run.
The wind barrier refracted part of the attack, and his scales defended against another part of it. However, the remaining energy shockwaves were still far beyond the limits of what a Second Grade dragon could endure.
The flesh beneath his scales was severely corroded, and the scales themselves started to shed, revealing the charred flesh underneath. His veins had been burned, his flesh decayed, his bones embrittled, and his blood splashed everywhere.
When Wind Dragon Cherkes emerged from the sea of light, shrieking and howling, his lithe body had already been riddled with holes. Blood and wounds were everywhere while his scales scattered across the ground. Dragon blood rained down from above, filling the air with a pungent odor.
Large holes had also appeared on his unfurled dragon wings, making him incapable of commanding the winds in flight as he had before.
The simultaneous firing of a hundred magic energy cannons was no weaker than the simultaneous casting of spells by a hundred First Grade adepts.
Wind Dragon Cherkes was Second Grade, with a dragon's body and Physique that possessed exceptional magic resistance. However, he was still reduced to this terrible state after being caught unaware by the enemy's barrage.
He had only escaped the death trap because of the powerful abilities of the dragons. Any creature with slightly weaker magic resistance would probably have been torn apart and left without a complete corpse.
Cherkes dragged his broken body, howling as he flew even higher upward, trying his best to escape the area engulfed by the energy beams. However, he rose a little too fast, and his slightly withered tail smashed against the wall of the cliff, sending boulders tumbling down.
A single round!
In just a single round, Gazlowe had used his fantastic display of fireworks to almost cripple the wind dragon lord, forcing the dragon to escape into the distance while crying and screaming.
Cherkes' dragonborn army had only made it through the forest at this moment. They appeared within Gazlowe's vision.
Even though their dragon lord had already been defeated, the dragonborn army still charged toward that massive metal wall under the lead of the Second Grade dragonborn. The earth trembled under their heavy footsteps.
The loud blast of arcanite rifles rang out in the battlefield. A storm of metal bullets cut through the two hundred meter distance and crashed against the metal armor and fine scales of the dragonborn.
Metal bullets the size of thumbs crashed against the bodies of the dragonborn, sending sparks flying into the air. Blood splashed from the unprotected arms, face, and waists of the dragonborn. The grunting of agonizing dragonborn never ceased!
Gazlowe stopped the dragonborn warriors from pushing another inch forward with just the barrage of bullets. By the time the dragonborn took out their metal shields and prepared for their second charge, Gazlowe's magic energy cannons had already cooled down.
A hundred fearsome cannons adjusted their angle slightly. The next second, one hundred horrifying energy beams enveloped the dragonborn army.
The dragonborn warriors did indeed possess the strong bodies and exceptional magic resistance of the dragons. However, the level of their resistances couldn't compare to pureblooded dragons.
Cherkes had managed to endure over a hundred of those energy beams without dying, but these dragonborn warriors weren't capable of such a feat.
Only one barrage of the magic energy cannons, and already half of the one hundred and two First Grade dragonborn warriors, and the one Second Grade dragon commander, had died. It was a tragedy.
However, the determination and loyalty within their nature drove them forward. The dragonborn continued their assault under the lead of their heavily wounded commander.
The successive firing of the magic energy cannons had caused severe damage to the energy circuits within the body of the metal monster. It quickly repaired these conduits as it opened walls to send out two hundred magical machines in a single go.
Two hundred magical machines clashed with the remnants of the dragonborn army under cover of a barrage of bullets.
There was no need for cheering or battle cries. Both sides engaged in a battle of life and death upon contact.
The dragonborn were individually much stronger than the magical machines. However,
they weighed almost about the same.
On the one hand, you had muscular monsters. On the other, you had robust steel creations. Both sides were fearless and were not afraid of death.
That was why the battle immediately reached its climax the moment they clashed.
Second Grade Dragonborn Commander Bino had already gone berserk from the fighting, and his eyes were bloody red. He waved his heavy war axe, splitting apart two magical machines at the start of the battle while ignoring the multiple bleeding wounds on his body.
The strong robotic bodies of the magical machines exploded into countless components and sparking parts, but there were no signs of flesh or bone.
This discovery caused Bino's heart to sank.
No intelligent lifeforms piloted the metal monsters they were fighting with; it was no wonder that they were so fearless in battle.
As the commander, Bino couldn't help but hesitate in this situation. He couldn't, in good conscience, allow his companions to trade their lives for the destruction of these insentient metal monsters.
These dragonborn were all the mixed-blood descendant of wind dragons. They could all cast Windwalk and Tornado Vortex. The battle was well underway now. One could occasionally see the speed of the dragonborn suddenly increasing with a flash of white light before they split apart yet another magical machine and sent components flying everywhere.
However, these magical machines were all complicated to deal with. They would drag their smoldering and sparking bodies to fight the enemy as long as their remains weren't completely disintegrated or rendered incapable of combat. In fact, the damaged machines would even lunge at the dragonborn, slowing them down or distracting them with what remained of their arms and feet and creating opportunities for the other magical devices to attack.
It didn't matter whether it was the arcanite rifles firing from a distance, the blazing flamethrowers, or even the buzzing chainsaws. All of these weapons could deal severe damage to the dragonborn, who were equipped with only rudimentary metal armor.
There weren't that many dragonborn in the first place, and most of them were already wounded. Even the dragonborn army, known for their ferocity in battle, could no longer hold on for much longer against the superior numbers of the magical machines.
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