Ember Dragon

If he were fighting the Red Dragon alone, Gruumsh was confident that even having consumed his divine source, he could still swiftly kill the opponent and return to his embattled divine kingdom.

But with a mid-tier god added to the fray, the balance of power now tilted toward the Red Dragon’s side.

Whether it was Cassius or Dumathoin, Gruumsh was sure he could slay either of them. But if the two fought together, they could just barely contend with his avatar.

The Orc God was quickly running out of time.

"Crack—"

Gruumsh hurled his spear, driving it hard into Dumathoin’s ore-forged giant shield. Fragments of rock exploded, but the spear couldn’t pierce it at once.

Cassius seized the opportunity, charging in from the side and unleashing a terrifying torrent of flame that instantly engulfed the divine spear.

Gruumsh could only manipulate his weapon with divine power. Gritting his teeth, he recalled the bloodstained spear and stepped back, standing off against the Dragon and Stone Dwarf from afar.

His expression twisted with fury and hatred. His lone eye burned with boundless rage, and his voice boomed like thunder across the wrecked battlefield: "Dwarf, to think you who claim righteousness would fight alongside a savage, greedy Red Dragon.

Just months ago, that Red Dragon slaughtered your kin and seized your city—and now you fight beside him. You shame the name of ’Shield Dwarf Guardian God’!"

Gruumsh’s intent was clear—to sow discord and fracture the alliance between dragon and dwarf.

Dumathoin remained silent. He stood still, his rocky face unreadable, as though deep in thought.

At last, he stepped forward and slammed his giant shield into the earth, causing the ground to collapse and cave in.

"Boom!"

Gravel and ore surged up from the ground, making the shield even heavier, and covering the Stone Dwarf’s body in an impenetrable suit of stone armor.

Brown divine light spread outward, forming a hemispherical divine field. Though struggling, it held against Gruumsh’s blood-red domain, preserving a small "safe zone."

Cassius looked toward the orc god in the distance and smirked mockingly: "If the dwarves still held Avenderdan, then yes, there would be irreconcilable enmity between us.

But now, Avenderdan has been renamed Wyvern Capital. The misunderstandings between the Ember Empire and the dwarves have been resolved. We have no need to keep fighting.

Now, we share a common enemy—you, old green-skin. Compared to me, you’re a far greater threat to the dwarves. Even if they must aid a former enemy like me, they’ll stop the orcs from expanding across the Material Plane.

Isn’t that right, my temporary ally—Lord Dumathoin?" Cassius smiled at his enemy-turned-ally and laid the facts bare.

Months ago, Cassius had sensed a familiar aura and guessed that Dumathoin had not left the Material Plane, but buried his divine essence deep within the earth.

The Shield Dwarf Guardian God had remained to complete his mission—stopping the orcs’ southern invasion.

This was why Cassius never fully withdrew from the empire. He knew the dwarf gods would never stand idle before the descent of the orc god.

Dumathoin said nothing. He stared silently at the orc god, his expression resolute—he had made his decision.

He knew the ideal outcome for the dwarves was mutual destruction between Gruumsh and the Red Dragon. Best if the dragon died and Gruumsh was left crippled. But the dwarf gods also saw clearly—Cassius lacked the strength to drag the orc down with him.

Thus, they could only aid the weaker side, to maintain balance and prevent the orcs from growing uncontrollably—lest Gruumsh’s domains of war and strength become too powerful.

Dumathoin was no fool. He hadn’t forgotten this Red Dragon had once slaughtered his kind.

But given the current situation, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and form a temporary "military alliance" with the dragon—to fight Gruumsh and halt the orc expansion.

Gruumsh, furious, raised his spear and roared: "Dumathoin, you’re a hopeless coward! One day, that Red Dragon will wipe out your people!"

Cassius shot back with cutting sarcasm: "Pointless speculation. If you had your way, the dwarves would be extinct already. Lord Dumathoin knows the stakes.

Old green-skin, stop your scheming. The orc expansion across Faenso ends here!"

The Red Dragon raised his head and unleashed a deafening roar. A sea of flame poured forth, painting half the sky red.

Gruumsh’s face darkened. His grip on spear and axe trembled slightly. "Fine. So that’s your answer?

But you’ve forgotten—there are levels even among gods. I’ll show you... what true divine power is!"

The Orc God’s divine domain expanded again. The blood-red light covered sky and land, growing more violent and unrestrained.

Whether Cassius’s Progenitor Dragon aura or Dumathoin’s divine field—both now barely withstood Gruumsh’s pressure, shuddering like boats in a hurricane.

"Swish—"

Gruumsh’s muscles bulged, veins popped. The bloodied spear surged with penetrating cone-shaped divine power and tore through the air.

One-handed, the Orc God charged with terrifying momentum, spear aimed at the dwarf.

Dumathoin slammed the ore shield before him.

The spear struck hard. Stone shards flew. Fragments of ore tumbled. This time, the rock-and-vein shield was pierced clean through!

The spear was stained with the blood of dwarf and elf gods, wrapped in blood-red light—it inflicted devastating damage to anything of "dwarf" essence.

"Dumathoin! I’ll destroy this avatar like I killed your brother—and kill your true form next!"

Gruumsh roared with savage glee, throwing his full force into the strike.

The spear drove deeper, aimed straight for the dwarf’s heart. Gruumsh, after millennia of war against dwarves, knew their weak points well.

Indeed, between greater and mid-tier gods lay an unbridgeable gap. In combat, Gruumsh’s divine power could easily crush Dumathoin’s.

At his words, anger finally flared on Dumathoin’s usually stoic face. Divine power surged. Stone peaks rose, blocking Gruumsh’s path.

But the Orc God was unstoppable. In a single breath, he pierced through peak after peak.

As the bloodstained spear neared Dumathoin’s chest, ready to pierce his heart—

"Roar—"

A furious cry rang out above. The Red Dragon descended from the sky, wings spread, and breathed fire infused with his essence, blasting toward Gruumsh’s head.

Gruumsh had been ready. He raised his left hand, holding the axe horizontally to block the flame. Even so, the fire burned and eroded his blood-red divine glow, charring his skin.

At the same time, his right hand drove the spear forward, murderously targeting the dwarf’s chest. The killing intent of a greater god silenced the world.

Dumathoin’s eyes gleamed with resolve. He no longer dodged. Instead, he gathered his divine power, making the earthen glow around him even denser. He swung his massive magma hammer at the orc’s face.

As the hammer fell, the earth split. Pillars of lava erupted, crashing toward the orc.

At that moment, Cassius also dove from the air. The dragon crystal on his chest flared like the sun, trailing a chaos of flame as he flew toward the orc’s back.

"Just the two of you—"

Gruumsh’s eye burst with dark light. His massive body radiated terrifying pressure. Blood-red divinity surged for miles.

"—dare to challenge me?!" His voice boomed like a volcanic eruption, like the end of the world.

In the storm of divine power, both Dumathoin and Cassius froze. In their eyes reappeared the ancient battlefield from millennia ago.

Dumathoin saw his brother again—skewered by Gruumsh’s spear, golden divine blood spraying into the sky.

This was the pressure of a greater god—it could even shake the will of a mid-tier god.

Gruumsh’s face twisted ever more viciously. Blood vessels burst in his lone eye.

In that instant, he swung the axe at the oncoming Red Dragon with his left, while stabbing at the dwarf with his right.

Just as the axe neared the Red Dragon’s head, Cassius broke free from the pressure. Seeing the incoming blade, he turned to shield vital spots.

"Slash—"

The blood-colored blade easily sliced his scales, ripping flesh, and buried itself deep in his shoulder.

"Aaargh!!"

Shattered scales flew, boiling dragon blood splashed. The Red Dragon roared in agony.

The wound nearly exposed bone. A few meters more, and it would’ve severed his wing—a grievous injury even for a Progenitor Dragon.

But the wound awakened the furious, combative Progenitor blood in Cassius. His golden pupils glowed with a faint red mist and erupted twin columns of flame.

With the axe still in his shoulder, Cassius lunged at the orc. He swung his massive claw at Gruumsh’s back, roaring, "I’ll kill you!"

Chaos, Order, and other primordial forces gathered at his claws—tearing through Gruumsh’s divine shield.

Faced with the maddened Red Dragon, Gruumsh didn’t dare slack. He ripped the axe free, spraying blood into the sky, then slashed at the dragon’s skull.

But just then, Dumathoin snapped out of his illusion. Enraged, he swung his magma hammer with volcanic force.

He burned his divine essence. The Stone Dwarf even coughed blood!

"Boom!"

Off guard, Gruumsh took the full blow to the head.

Earthen light burst out, forming a massive forcefield midair. Shockwaves of stone and dust spread for kilometers, and lava geysers followed.

The hammer strike sent ripples through Gruumsh’s blood-red aura, then cracks appeared.

And it wasn’t over. Cassius’s claws followed up, shattering the divine shield entirely!

With a dull boom, Gruumsh was knocked aside. Broken tusks and divine blood flew, leaving him disheveled and miserable.

The blood spear slipped from his grip, spinning through the air and embedding in the ground far away.

A mortal—or even a demigod—would’ve died instantly from such an assault. Their head would’ve been smashed to pulp.

But Gruumsh’s avatar was empowered by divine might. His body was beyond comprehension. Even that blow left only minor wounds.

"You’re courting death!! Red Dragon, you’ve enraged me completely! I’ll drag your soul to Mudshak and torture it for a million years!"

Gruumsh flew into a frenzy. He roared, burning his divine blood, and swung his axe again. Hundreds of blood-colored slashes filled the sky.

Dumathoin summoned the ore shield again to protect Cassius, while Cassius charged up. The chaotic, primordial forces gathered in his chest crystal.

The dragon crystal erupted in dazzling flames. The heat was immense, red and orange rays interweaving.

Countless specks of light burst forth. The flowing fire twisted together like threads, fluctuating wildly, releasing fierce light and radiation—forming a corona around the dragon crystal.

The sky turned into a scene of heat, turbulence, and majesty. A mighty ripple spread outward like waves...

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