Green Monster Epic

Chapter 891 Blood Fury Fortress

The Blood Fury Fortress is less than one hundred and fifty miles west in a straight line, but the actual travel distance is more than doubled due to a treacherous canyon in the Mazha Nu Mountains. The flames of war are raging.

In the middle of the canyon stands a castle that is not particularly majestic, yet it tenaciously holds back the advance of hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the northern Elven Legion.

The narrow canyon terrain prevents the Elven forces from deploying, even with a force more than ten times larger than the castle before them. They can only watch as their strength is whittled away day by day, blocked before this canyon.

The Dwarves may not excel in other areas compared to the other three major civilizations, but their ability to construct fortresses is as outstanding as their skill in crafting equipment and weapons. Combined with their unique rune system, even a casually built castle possesses formidable magical and physical defenses.

"How much longer before we can break through this damned castle?"

Along the way, the Elven army has encountered not only a few magnificent fortresses but also many castles built in the dangerous terrain of the mountains. While these castles cannot stop the Elven army's advance, they can delay the Elves for a considerable time and inflict heavy casualties.

The demigod archmage, former president of the Mages Guild, "Golden Lightning" Garros, grew impatient, constantly playing with a thin lightning bolt like a wandering snake in his hand.

"Your Excellency, please rest assured, give us two days, and we will definitely capture this castle!"

The commander-in-chief of the Northern Legion, Baron Seanack, with his verdant hair, replied in a deep voice.

For him, the small castle blocking their path was not too difficult. He was more concerned about the Blood Fury Fortress they would face after clearing this obstacle.

Scouts sent ahead reported that the Dwarven Kingdom's reinforcements to the Blood Fury Fortress had already arrived. Combined with the original 300,000 troops within the fortress, the enemy's defensive strength now exceeded his own legion.

Although he was confident in the combat prowess of his soldiers, Seanack couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache at the thought of the losses incurred in taking another hard bone.

The significant setbacks suffered by the Kingdom on the southern and wilderness fronts had already influenced the Kingdom's attitude towards this war. Many Kingdom nobles, who were not very supportive of the military expedition, seized upon the losses from these defeats to make a big fuss, constantly criticizing the Kingdom's decision to launch the war, greatly affecting many grassroots Elven citizens.

War always results in deaths, but the results of the southern and wilderness fronts, where more than 400,000 to 500,000 soldiers were killed or injured at once, were enough to make everyone hesitate, no matter how mentally prepared they were.

Elves already have difficulty reproducing, barely managing to propagate one or two million people a year, and they need to carefully cultivate them for thirty or forty years before they reach adulthood. Now, after a few battles, half of them are lost. Which Elf doesn't feel heartache upon hearing this news!

After all, the dead and wounded Elves are mostly from grassroots families. Everyone raises a child with great difficulty, and they all hope that their children will have a bright future, not become expendable on the battlefield like this.

The dissent within the Kingdom has created considerable obstacles for conscription and supply on the front lines. For example, Seanack's Northern Legion has lost nearly 100,000 troops in more than a dozen siege battles, but has not received support from the mainland to replenish their numbers. This has made Seanack cautious about every siege battle that follows.

Just like the castle in the middle of the canyon, defended by only 10,000 Dwarves, if Seanack were truly willing to sacrifice Elven warriors, he would have been able to completely break through it in two or three days, even with the limited battlefield, instead of being blocked here for five days, making slow progress.

"I hope you can keep your word!"

Garros, with his golden hair, glanced at the other party dissatisfied. The aloof, calm, and rational demigod mage would not care about the loss of troops. In his eyes, those unrelated Elven warriors were just cold numbers, tools for the Kingdom to achieve its goals.

Since they are just tools, they should be used to their fullest potential, instead of wasting his precious time in this unknown little place.

"Understood!"

Seanack endured the demigod's sharp gaze like an arrow, still firmly executing his plan, and would not waver due to the demigod's constant pressure these past few days.

"Humph!"

Garros snorted again, failing to achieve his goal, turned around and left the outpost built on the hilltop at the entrance of the canyon, flying down into the sprawling military camp.

"Order the Third Legion to replace the Eighteenth Legion in the offensive."

"Yes, sir!"

The small castle was unsurprisingly taken down by the Elven Legion, and the loss of troops was within the acceptable range of Seanack and other legion leaders, with only slightly more than 10,000 Elven soldiers lost.

With no obstacles, the Elven army advanced at full speed under Seanack's command, rapidly advancing towards the territory of the Blood Fury Fortress along the winding and undulating valley road.

Several dozen miles ahead of them, a squad of less than a thousand sturdy Dwarven soldiers retreated while resisting the Elven pursuers who were biting at their heels.

Dwarven warriors fell from time to time. Even though they wore heavy armor as solid as iron barrels, they could not completely block the Elven archers' tricky arrows, which pierced through the few gaps in the armor, striking their vital points.

Even if the Dwarven warriors wanted to counterattack, it was futile. The speed difference between the Elven mounted archers riding black panthers and unicorns and the Dwarves was too great, and they could always calmly pull away. As for the throwing axes, darts, and other mid-range weapons thrown by the Dwarves, it was difficult to pose much of a threat to the Elven warriors.

It wasn't until a team of rock goat cavalry galloping towards them appeared in the direction of the Dwarves' retreat that the Elven archer captain raised his left hand, signaling the team behind him to stop their attack.

"Withdraw!"

In fact, the scale of the Elven cavalry pursuing the Dwarven remnants was not small. The number advantage of the rapidly approaching Dwarven cavalry squad ahead was not great, and the outcome of a real confrontation between the two sides was unknown.

But after all, this was Dwarven territory, and the Elven cavalry captain did not want to risk his subordinates for this little bit of military merit.

"Thank you!"

The Dwarven commander, leading the remnants in a difficult retreat, breathed a sigh of relief, took off his helmet mask, and smiled wryly at the cavalry leader who was a head taller than him.

"You've worked hard!"

"Leave the rest to us!"

The cavalry leader gave his comrade a bright smile and waved his hand to let his companions make way, allowing the retreating comrades to safely return to the Blood Fury Fortress.

At the top of the high mountains, clouds and mist lingered, and above the clouds, several burly figures stood in the air.

"The main force of the Elves is estimated to be able to reach the fortress in two days."

"Are our warriors in the city getting along well?"

Beside the Gray Iron Dwarf commander, Guleit, stood a stranger, a dwarf with red skin and red hair. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, overlooking the vast, undulating mountains and the winding, gray-white road upon which a black, serpent-like stream of people flowed.

Behind them were several dwarven powerhouses, including Odes, the Blood Fury Fortress's garrison commander, his face among them. However, at this moment, his eyes held less arrogance and more obedience.

What made Odes, who came from the Wild Dwarf royal family, submit was certainly not the methods Guleit of the Gray Iron Dwarves had displayed in just a few days, but rather the dwarven general Prigge, who had been stationed behind the army to guard against unexpected events.

This demigod-level dwarven general came from a distinguished background, with dragon blood flowing in his veins. Although not all descendants of this family could awaken this bloodline, Prigge was fortunate enough to activate his dragon bloodline.

Prigge, who possessed the bloodline of a silver dragon, came with the army, willingly serving as Guleit's deputy. One reason was to coordinate the relationship between him and frontline generals like Odes, using Prigge's noble status in the Wang Kingdom to suppress this group of proud old fellows. The second reason was to observe and understand Guleit's true abilities up close, so that he could entrust him with important tasks in the future and change the kingdom's current predicament.

Of course, the deeper intention was still distrust of the Gray Iron Dwarves. With Prigge, a capable and powerful individual, the dwarven kingdom would have a chance to counter whatever methods the Gray Iron Dwarves might employ later.

"Rest assured, I've dealt with some rash little fellows in the fortress, and they're very well-behaved now!"

Prigge and Guleit had known each other for quite some time. Although there was a significant gap between their individual strengths, when it came to commanding armies and strategic planning, Prigge had great faith in this Gray Iron Dwarf.

Most dwarves are stubborn and inflexible, and Prigge is no exception. However, he was able to advance to demigod step by step, although his bloodline helped a lot, but more importantly, Prigge's talent and wisdom far surpassed those of ordinary dwarves.

Prigge's talent in military affairs was limited, but that didn't stop him from seeing the significant difference between the kingdom's dwarven generals and the Gray Iron Dwarf commander, Guleit, through comparison.

It was because he understood Guleit's excellent military capabilities that Prigge was more willing to let his talents be used in the right place, to regain the kingdom's lost face and give the abominable elves a heavy blow.

"What are the odds of our plan succeeding?"

"That depends on whether the elves' next actions are in line with our wishes!"

"Let's go back. A long slaughter is coming!"

Several dwarven generals returned to the mountains and landed in Blood Fury Fortress, less than a hundred miles away, quietly waiting for the elven army to arrive.

And as expected, two days later, the vanguard legion began to rectify and clear the open area at the foot of Blood Fury Fortress Mountain, and half a day later, the mighty elven main force arrived at their feet.

After resting for a day, the elven army began a fierce probing attack on the third day. Dozens of war trees, specially cultivated for war, transformed into giant catapults, sending roars echoing across the towering walls of Blood Fury Fortress.

The spellcaster team led by Garros was also single-minded, unleashing various powerful magics on the solid city forged from bluish-gray bluestone, melted with magic imprints and metal, causing violent tremors, even shaking the huge mountain slightly.

And the elven archers shot a sky-full of arrows, a continuous, dark mass that turned the entire mountain into a hedgehog.

The dwarves were equally unwilling to show weakness. From the mountain belly inside the fortress, they pushed out one huge stone ball after another, each weighing tens of thousands of pounds, and overturned them, rolling them down the city walls. The outside of the fortress, built against the mountain, did not have much flat open space, but rather a gently sloping mountainside that remained as it was. As the round stones began to roll down the mountain, anything they encountered along the way was destroyed and devastated by the heavy, ever-accelerating rolling stones, leaving a trail of destruction.

Even after rolling to the foot of the mountain, the rolling stones did not stop immediately, but continued to roll forward, many of them directly smashing into the elven camps. Even the accompanying elven powerhouses retreated in the face of these rolling stones, not daring to easily block or destroy them, let alone those ordinary soldiers in the army.

The initial probing between the two sides lasted for two days, with casualties on both sides. On the third day, the elven army began to increase the intensity of its attacks, sending more elite warriors to climb the hillside towards the fortress, obviously preparing to officially launch a siege.

Siege warfare was all too familiar to the dwarves. Occupying the geographical advantage and with ample supplies within the city, the fortress garrison calmly waited for the enemy's main force to arrive, and then another wave of rolling stones smashed down, creating trails of dust.

At least at this stage, the Gray Iron Dwarf commander Guleit's response was no different from that of ordinary dwarven generals, and it was impossible to see what high-level tricks he had up his sleeve.

The city walls were constantly being ravaged. One moment, ice magic froze the heavens and the earth, and the next moment, flames soared into the air, scorching every combustible nutrient on the ground.

Between the mottled walls, huge arrows shot from giant crossbows were deeply embedded, and excellent elven soldiers grabbed the fine steel arrow shafts and climbed up nimbly.

During this time, many soldiers were smashed back to the ground by the dwarves' flying axes, throwing spears, and other weapons from above, but it was difficult to stop the elven warriors' determination to climb up.

Half a month passed in this fierce battle. Countless excellent elven warriors fell before Shaunak and Garros, but under the cold orders, more fresh troops were driven to climb the mountains not far away.

Several times, elven soldiers had already gained a foothold on the fortress walls, but were then scattered by the heroic dwarven warriors at any cost, regaining their territory.

Above the dome of the sky, the monstrous tremors caused by the legendary powerhouses on both sides turned into storms, lightning, and thunder, attacking the ground. After the powerhouses on both sides fought their way into a frenzy, they even traded injuries for injuries, just to create an opportunity for their companions to kill their opponents.

The first unlucky legendary figure appeared, the second...

The dead legendary powerhouses were no different from ordinary soldiers, crashing to the ground and mixing in with the countless soldiers' corpses, unremarkable.

"It's time!!"

The Gray Iron Dwarf commander Guleit, who had been maintaining a deep, cold expression, glanced at the elven army, which had mobilized almost half of its forces at the foot of the mountain, and then looked at the dwarven warriors fighting fiercely on the fortress. A cold light suddenly burst out from his eyes as he murmured.