“This is bad! That's the signal for a Level 3 Alert!” Maela exclaimed in shock. “Does this mean the West Gate has already... We have to hurry!”
With that, the group followed closely behind her, weaving through the intricate alleys of Cinder City.
Given their strength, the distance of a mile or two was covered in an instant. When they ascended the western wall, the sight before them was breathtaking—
The entire stretch of the wall was packed with fully armed dwarven warriors, their heavy armor gleaming with a cold light under the glow of the magma.
Across the boiling lava moat outside the wall, countless tall figures stood in the shadows.
The massive bodies of the Stone Trolls resembled moving hillocks in the night. Their numbers, totaling in the thousands, made the entire cavernous space feel cramped.
“Captain Lagg! What’s the situation?” Maela’s gaze swept through the crowd, and she quickly spotted a familiar dwarven warrior, hurrying over to ask him.
“Oh, Maela! The Stone Trolls arrived incredibly fast this time. Less than an hour after we got word from the scouts, they appeared on the opposite bank. And... who are these people?”
The dwarf named Lagg spoke while warily sizing up the strangers behind Maela. His large, round eyes flicked between Starlight’s robes and Po Kong, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
“These are my friends. They’re here to help us fight; I can personally vouch for them.” Maela gestured for him not to be tense and to continue.
“Fine, I’ll continue then.” Lagg gave a slight nod to the group. “Those rock-spawn are terrifyingly quiet right now. They aren't shouting or roaring like they usually do. Based on my decades of experience defending this city, they’re definitely up to no good.”
“Of course they are, because they are being led by a king this time. They aren't just a disorganized mob anymore,” Maela said.
Lagg’s expression changed drastically at her words. “A Stone Troll King?! Maela, this is no time for jokes!”
“I would never joke about something like this. I swear it on my family name. We fought it ourselves not long ago, but it attacked before we could even report it to the Council,” Maela answered solemnly.
“If that’s the case, then the behavior of these Stone Trolls makes sense. But what exactly are they waiting for?” Lagg asked in confusion, looking toward the eerie silence on the other side of the moat.
Indeed, with the current combat power of the Stone Troll swarm, an attack on the West Gate—where the defenses weren't particularly robust—should have been straightforward. There shouldn't have been any major obstacles, which was why the dwarves were so anxious.
These dim-witted creatures surely weren't waiting for both armies to fully assemble for a fair duel. No matter how one looked at it, it felt unnatural.
“Cough, excuse me for a moment.”
Xia Duo suddenly interjected. Her slender finger was pressed against her chin as she stared into the distance. Her sharp blue pupils glowed slightly in the darkness, looking like two small lanterns.
“I just took a close look at the enemy formation... That Stone Troll King doesn't seem to be among them.”
“Hmm? Not there? Are you sure it isn't just hiding somewhere?” Po Kong also looked into the distance, following Xia Duo’s gaze, but with his vision, he couldn't see anything clearly in the dim underground light.
“I’m certain. That fellow’s aura is completely different from an ordinary Stone Troll. I remember it very clearly; I couldn't possibly be mistaken,” Xia Duo replied with absolute conviction, shaking her head slightly.
Moen leaned down slightly and sent a thread of natural power into the ground. As the mana traveled into the distance, her willow-like brows furrowed.
“This is strange. I just used the power of life to investigate, and there is indeed no special individual hiding nearby. It seems it hasn't arrived yet...”
Just as she was about to say more, the Stone Trolls on the opposite side suddenly moved.
Those thousands of stone bodies let out a grinding roar almost simultaneously, causing the very stones beneath the group's feet to tremble.
“Ready!” Lagg’s roar was instantly drowned out by the deafening sound of marching footsteps.
The front row of Stone Trolls approached the moat with synchronized strides, quickly reaching the edge of the churning magma.
Thanks to the early warning, the massive iron bridge connecting the two banks had already been retracted. The hundred-meter-wide lava moat lay before the wall like a natural chasm, its rolling lava emitting stifling waves of heat.
However, what happened next made all the defenders gasp—the front row of Stone Trolls leapt into the lava without the slightest hesitation!
Their massive bodies turned glowing red the moment they touched the molten rock, yet they silently spread their arms, using their forms to build a horrifying living bridge for the troops behind them.
Stone Trolls were unique creatures that fed on minerals, meaning their bodies accumulated large amounts of metallic elements, giving them extremely high resistance to heat.
Even so, the searing lava turned the bodies of the supporting Stone Trolls a brilliant crimson, making them look like blocks of red-hot iron.
Their stone skin began to crack and melt in the lava, yet they remained eerily silent. There were no wails, no struggles; like controlled puppets, they filled the lava one by one.
In the blink of an eye, this road paved with flesh and stone extended to the center of the river. The glowing red bodies of the Stone Trolls made a terrifying sizzling sound in the lava, and the rising steam was thick with the pungent smell of scorched minerals.
The dwarven warriors on the wall instinctively stepped back. This mad act, which defied all biological instinct, was more chilling than any battle cry.
“Are these guys insane? What are you all waiting for?! Prepare to attack!”
Lagg’s roar exploded on the wall like a thunderclap, waking the defenders from their shock.
The dwarves scrambled to man the ballistae and the few magic crystal cannons available to them.
But by then, the living bridge composed of hundreds of Stone Trolls was complete. The subsequent army of Stone Trolls began to advance steadily across the scorched bodies of their comrades, their violet-black eyes showing no sign of pain or pity.
“Aim for the center of the river! Don't hold back on ammunition! Fire!”
Lagg’s command instantly ignited the defenders' fighting spirit. Dozens of dwarven ballistae and magic crystal cannons roared simultaneously, and specialized explosive shells tore through the air, blooming into deadly blossoms of fire on the surface of the lava river.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosive shells detonated among the Stone Trolls, sending sprays of lava and stone fragments flying everywhere. Several trolls crossing the river were hit directly; their massive bodies were blown apart and fell into the boiling magma.
Yet, what was truly macabre was that even when blown to pieces, their violet-black eyes remained eerily wide open, staring fixedly toward the city wall.
Despite the impressive sound and fury of the volley—with the explosions lighting up half the sky—the West Gate's fortifications were nowhere near as formidable as the northern line the dwarves had spent so much effort perfecting.
Dozens of Stone Trolls fell in the rain of bolts, splashing lava like a rain of blood, but against an army of thousands, it was a mere drop in the bucket.
As the dwarven warriors began to reload their weapons, something even more alarming happened.
The Stone Troll legion actually displayed unprecedented tactical discipline. A row of exceptionally tall elite individuals stepped to the front of the line, unslung stone tower shields that were as thick as the battlements of the wall from their backs.
In just a few seconds, they erected a mobile barrier at the very front of the formation. The trolls behind them ducked in unison behind the shield wall, moving exactly like a troop of well-trained heavy infantry.
The second wave of bolts whistled through the air, but upon hitting those stone tower shields, they produced a tooth-grinding clatter.
The fire from the explosive shells splashed harmlessly against the shields, which remained motionless, leaving only a few shallow scorch marks on the surface.
“What in the hell! Since when did they learn how to use shield phalanxes?!”
Lagg spat on the ground, his shock plain for all to see.
Maela’s expression also became exceptionally grim. A chaotic brawl would have been one thing, but now these stone monsters understood sacrificial tactics and could adapt on the fly.
Just what kind of war machines had that Stone Troll King, still hidden in the shadows, turned them into?
Rate on N.U.
