Bjorn stumbled out of the tent in full armour, followed by Fjora. However, what he saw was terrifying and made him wish he was still unconscious for this. Bloodlust was thick in the air and was leaking from Ania. Bjorn felt as if she were ready to murder anyone at a moment’s notice.
His eye went to the gorgeous winged woman standing in front of Ania as others of her kind landed inside the camp. Bjorn grumbled as he realised who she was. ‘So this is Allyce. Exile’s latest Oracle.’ He had heard about the kiss she had shared with Exile, so naturally, he understood why Ania was on edge around the woman. He shook his head as he leaned on Fjora for support. ‘If she’s here, then our situation has just gotten better. As long as we can stop Ania from killing her.’
Bjorn shrugged as Fjora shot a glance at him. “Don’t worry about it. They’re allies.”
“Really?” Fjora asked in surprise as she glanced at Ania.
“It’s personal between those two. They’re both oracles of Exile.” Bjorn chuckled as he eyed Allyce. ‘I’ll need to get to know her better. She seems like an interesting one.’
Allyce smiled brightly at the gathering Skardians. “Lord Exile has asked my people to reinforce you as we wait for more Skardian troops. We will be providing aerial support against the elves until we can secure Skardia’s borders.”
The Skardians cheered at Allyce’s statement as Ania strained a smile while they shook hands. Bjorn grinned at the obvious jealousy displayed by Harik’s daughter. ‘Hopefully, some time spent with Allyce will make her more forceful in dealing with Exile.’
Meanwhile, the battle had begun in the deep chasms of the dwarven mountain. Harik’s forces held two of the winding pathways of bridges, and Skardia’s High King’s eyes went wide at the brutality of a dwarven war.
Harik’s troops reached over the short barricades to strike at the dwarves from above. However, their armour was thick with few gaps. The Skardians felt like they were striking against a block of solid metal.
Giant steel bolts whizzed through the air, landing among the enemy troops. Screams went up as those projectiles punched through the dwarven armour and pushed many dwarves off the side of the bridges. Harik winced at the screams of those falling into the abyss.
Now it made sense to him why the dwarves didn’t put some kind of barrier on the sides of the bridges. They needed them to be treacherous to deal with enemy armies like this. Harik could only guess how annoying a dwarven war on solid ground would be.
With the stamina of their race and their superior craftsmanship, it would take weeks and months to gain the slightest bit of ground. That was why Bargrux had chosen to meet the enemy here. It was the quickest way to cause a severe number of casualties to the enemy army.
‘He’ll hold this chasm as long as possible, then switch to attrition in the tunnels once the enemy numbers have been culled.’ Harik sighed as he roared at his troops to encourage them. ‘Our routes will be the first to fall. We can’t keep up with their stamina.’
The fighting was fierce across the latticework of bridges as dwarves continued to roar and fall into the darkness. Entire bridges trembled as siege projectiles crashed into them as they killed tens of dwarves at a time.
Harik yelled as he thrust his sword over the barricade as a dwarf happened to look up. His helm was an open-face one, which allowed Harik to deal a nasty wound to the dwarf. Harik silently congratulated himself as the injured dwarf retreated to the rear.
Suddenly, a large wolf leapt over Harik to land atop the barricade! Harik’s eyes went wide as he recognised Skalla. ‘Shit!’
“Get down!” Harik roared as Skalla’s fur burst into flames.
A wave of searing heat washed over the Skardians as a river of fire exploded from Skalla’s maw. The dwarves screamed as the heat ripped the oxygen from the air as their armour heated up. The smell of cooked flesh permeated the air as Skalla continued her assault to bring some relief to the Skardians.
Harik groaned as he became uncomfortable under his own armour. He took that moment to glance at the bridge across from his where other Skardians were holding another barricade. At that moment, Skovi’s giant figure appeared atop the barricade over there.
Smaller flames danced on his fur until they vanished. Lightning crackled as they replaced them before it shot forward to electrocute the dwarves fighting on that side. Harik inhaled deeply at the devastation the pair caused in but a moment.
He knew of their changes after speaking with them on the journey here. However, this was the first time he had got to witness their full might on display! Harik could only be grateful they were on his side, as hundreds of dwarves died during their joint assault!
Clay studied the flow of battle from the tunnel entrance high above the suspended pathways. ‘That should put a dent in their morale.’ He mused as Skovi and Skalla unleashed a devastating attack. ‘Now, to hit them while they’re down.’
A deep sound escaped his throat as several pathways shook. Two of the bridges collapsed beyond the barricades, sending thousands of dwarves to their deaths. At the same time, other bridges expanded across the abyss to link up with each other.
Dwarves roared as they charged down the new paths to strike at the exposed flanks of the shocked enemy army! Harik sighed in relief as Bargrux’s reserve forces charged among the wounded dwarves on the Skardian bridges.
They quickly put an end to them due to their miserable states before retreating for the new paths to collapse behind them. Harik gulped as he heard the screams from the dwarves below as the stone fell on them while they continued to march upward.
‘This battle will be long and bloody. It’s such a waste of life.’ Harik clenched his jaw in frustration. It would’ve been ideal if they could’ve brokered a peace treaty and brought the other dwarven kingdoms to their side. He had often found himself wondering why they hadn’t sent an envoy forward to discuss terms before the battle began.
However, he didn’t have the luxury to lose himself in those thoughts now. A fresh wave of dwarves rushed his barricade, and soon all of his concentration was reserved for finding whatever flesh he could with his blade.
Bargrux hummed as he pushed his way to the front of his forces on the main bridge. While the others could fit between one and three dwarves walking abreast of each other, this one could hold ten. It was also the one that hadn’t seen any combat yet, as the enemy advance was slower on its path.
Bargrux grinned sadistically as he caressed the head of his hammer while he stared at the dwarves in the lead. ‘Three heroes? They’re underestimating me.’ Bargrux chuckled as his eyes shone with power. ‘I’ll bring the might of a mountain down on top of them!’
Bargrux roared, startling the soldiers next to him as he sprinted forward! With his hammer firmly in hand, he raised his shield as he slammed into the middle hero! His opponent grunted as he received the blow with his own shield, but was still pushed back several feet.
An axe aimed to sever Bargrux’s head from his shoulders, but the latter stomped his foot. A fist-shaped chunk of the bridge exploded upward beneath the dwarven hero to strike his gut and throw him over the edge!
The third hero frowned at the strangeness of Bargrux’s prowess before backing off. However, Bargrux was not one to let his enemies regroup and understand what was going on. The two remaining heroes suddenly found Bargrux between them!
A metallic sound rang out as Bargrux’s hammer crushed the ribs of the first dwarf he had attacked while he spun to slam his shield into the other! The first dwarf grunted from the pain as Bargrux followed through with his shield strike from the second dwarf to smash it in the face of the first!
Before the second could react, Bargrux crouched down as he swung his hammer again. The dwarven hero screamed as Bargrux decimated his knee with the blow. As that dwarf fell to the ground, Bargrux charged the first one with his shield again.
This time, when their shields locked together, Bargrux used his strength as a pseudo demigod to keep pushing the hero backwards! The dwarf roared in frustration as he felt his feet sliding closer to the edge!
“It was nice meeting you,” Bargrux chuckled as he gave the final shove.
The dwarven hero on the ground cursed Bargrux as his comrade fell into the abyss. He roared for his god’s help as Bargrux calmly approached him. His gaze briefly went to the enemy army that had come to a halt. None of them wanted to risk his wrath after watching him dispose of three of their heroes!
Bargrux winced as he felt divine power strike at him. However, his own divine power countered the miracle aimed at him.
“Your god has no power here!” Bargrux declared loud enough for the others to hear him. He sheathed his hammer before grabbing the hero by the throat and lifting him into the air. “May your soul fuel the fires of Exile!”
Bargrux gripped the hero’s throat tightly as he slammed his shield into his torso. Blood splattered across the bridge as everything below the neck was thrown over the edge. The dwarf king stared into the hero’s lifeless eyes before setting his head on the bridge to stare at the enemy army.