If you want to enter Avendeldan, you must first pass through a long and narrow valley in front of Blackstone Mountain, which is called the Road of Glory by the dwarves.
The terrain here is steep, with towering rock walls on both sides, and a fault zone connected by a stone bridge in the middle. There are majestic stone statues standing on both sides.
They are Dumason, the god of minerals and gems, Clanjadine Silverbeard, the dwarf god of heroic war, Thad Harr, the dwarf god of hunting, and Gunder Guthin, the dwarf god of defense and guarding.
And deep in the Road of Glory, there is a goddess with a thick beard who is particularly beautiful in the eyes of the dwarves. She is the dwarf goddess of love and fertility, Sherindl.
As the gateway to Avendeldan, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
On the nearly vertical rock walls on both sides, there are tunnels dug by dwarves, fortifications built everywhere, and there are bunkers on the top of the cliff.
At the end of the valley is an extremely strong city wall, which the dwarves proudly call the "Orc Tombstone".
Over the past thousands of years, the northern orcs have invaded thirteen times southward, eight of which were blocked outside the "orc tombstone".
The walls are covered with old, mottled bloodstains. Although they have been repaired, it can still be seen that the tragic battles that took place here demonstrate its illustrious achievements.
The dwarf warriors wearing heavy armor, holding sophisticated crossbows and short spears were waiting on the city wall and lurking in the tunnels on both sides of the rock wall.
On the city wall, the dwarf general Tolu Aaron, wearing heavy armor of animal skins and a horn helmet, raised his head and drank the strong wine in the barrel.
He wiped the remaining wine from the corner of his mouth, his cheeks turned red, his eyes were about to burst out with fire, and he roared at the dwarf soldiers in front of him: "Brother, where are the brothers!
This time we have to keep them out of the wall so that these orc bastards can't even see the walls of Avendeldan!
Smash them! ”
The strong smell of alcohol permeated the city walls, but no one found it pungent.
It is perfectly normal for dwarves to drink alcohol before going into battle to keep their spirits high.
In response to their general's drinking, the dwarf warriors became even more motivated to fight. They raised their warhammers high and let out cheerful cheers.
"Long live King Ed!"
"Smash them! Evindeldan will never fall!"
"The mountain kingdom is eternal!"
The dwarves appeared on the hills, in the tunnels, and on the city walls. They were waiting for the orc army to appear.
The last time the orcs invaded was four hundred years ago, and only the oldest dwarf priests had experienced it personally, and the vast majority of dwarf warriors were not yet born at that time.
Despite this, the dwarves still have plenty of confidence. They firmly believe that the Alpine Kingdom has the best equipment and the most powerful warriors in the entire Fiantho.
"These damn bastards who believe in Gruumsh, if it weren't for them, I would still be drinking and having fun at the banquet."
Cursing, the dwarf general Tolu climbed up to the watchtower and looked into the distance, only to see a scene that made him wake up instantly.
"O great Moradin"
Countless crazy orcs were seen occupying the distant wilderness like a mottled wave, mixed with hill giants, ogres, goblins and other evil creatures.
Orc cavalry riding wargs galloped across the land, while in the sky, vultures and giant eagles circled, as well as many devil mercenaries from hell.
Looking at this horrific scene, his hands trembled slightly, and he couldn't even hold the wine glass firmly. The barrel that still contained some wine fell off the city wall and smashed to pieces.
Although he claims to be the number one warrior in the Alpine Kingdom, Tolu Aaron never thought that the orc army would be so menacing and powerful.
Compared with orcs, dwarves have an absolute advantage in individual strength. Although dwarves are not as tall as ordinary humans, their high-density muscles and strong body like wine barrels make them far heavier than ordinary people.
Dwarves are natural warriors. They have superb fighting skills and tenacity. They can endure physical and magical damage and crush their enemies with heavy hammers made by themselves. The shield dwarves of the Alpine Kingdom are the best among them.
But they also have a fatal flaw - they are scarce in number and have weak reproductive capacity.
Even the Alpine Kingdom, which is the most populous dwarf kingdom in Fiantho, has no more than one hundred thousand citizens, and most of the dwarves are scattered in the mountains.
In the capital of the Alpine Kingdom, Avendeldan, there are only more than 20,000 dwarves. Excluding the old, weak, sick and disabled, there are only 12,000 warriors who can resist the orcs.
On the desolate Ugo prairie, the orcs reproduced desperately, almost tearing up the turf in search of food.
For hundreds of years, dozens of orc tribes have attacked and killed each other according to bloody traditions, competing to find the strong one who can win Gruumsh's favor.
Until now, the powerful orc chief Batu Skullshatter has led the Red Fang tribe to conquer twenty-three large clans and one hundred and fourteen small clans.
He integrated more than one million orcs in the Ugo Grassland, gathered all his strength, and followed the will of the great father God Gruumsh to invade south again.
Coupled with the mercenaries of hell, as well as slave races such as goblins, ogres, and hill giants, the size of the orc army has reached dozens of times the size of the dwarves stationed in Avendeldan.
This is an extremely scary number! Most dwarf warriors have never seen so many orcs in their lives.
In the torrent of the orc army, the wasteland land dragon made a dull snort, and its high ridged back was covered with yellow-green weeds, like the hillsides on the grassland.
At the top of the back, there is a throne made of white bones, and on it is an extremely tall and strong orc.
He wore shoulder armor made of giant dragon scale horns, and his naked upper body was covered with bloody runes.
The face of this orc is also particularly ferocious. The huge dark yellow fangs are exposed, and there is only one eye full of murderous intent. The other eye is covered by leather, but the ferocious look can still be seen. scratches.
It is said that in a battle with a Titan descendant, the orc chief did not avoid stabbing his sword in the cheek and chopped the opponent's head with a battle ax, thus earning the name "Skull Crusher".
As a result, Batu Skullshatter lost his left eye forever - just like their father, the "one-eyed" Gruumsh.
After that battle, the orcs worshiped Batu even more, believing that he was the messenger sent by God the Father and a strong man who could lead the orcs to conquer the world.
Looking at the majestic fortress gradually revealed in the distance, Batu Skullbreaker slowly stood up from the bone throne, lifted the blood-stained ax at his feet, and showed a crazy smile.
"Hahahaha, we are finally here, Evandeldan, the city that will soon belong to us orcs."
Next to him, the orc shaman with a stooped figure and an old face looked excited and said in a low voice:
"Great, great, Father God is watching us, and the orcs' thousand-year wish is about to come true.
I heard the joyful voice of God the Father, He approves you!
Lord Batuu, you are the hero chosen by Father God. You will lead the orcs to conquer this continent and show the power of Gruumsh to the world! ”
The old shaman stepped forward, took out a handful of blood-red powder, smeared it on the forehead of the orc chief, and drew a one-eyed symbol between his eyebrows.
——That is the emblem of Gruumsh, the Unclosed Eye.
The moment One Eye drew it, Batu Skullbreaker felt a violent force filling his body, and the blood in his body was burning.
"Ah——"
The desire to kill, the ambition to conquer, and the flame of revenge instantly ignited his heart. The orc chief raised the giant ax in his hand, and the bloody light seemed to split the sky.
“It’s God the Father who appears!”
"Praise the great one-eyed god! Praise Gruumsh!" The orcs looked up at the bloody light in the sky, their cloudy eyes filled with fanatical faith.
Finally, their eyes focused on Batu Skullshatter. The orc chief was breathing heavily, adapting to this powerful force.
Soon, the runes all over his body glowed with a bloody halo, and the remaining bloodshot single eye was filled with fighting spirit and fanaticism. The extremely powerful aura overflowed and turned into a fierce hurricane.
Batu stood up like this, overlooking the tens of thousands of orcs below him, and raised the battle ax in his hand with one arm.
"Warriors, rejoice, I have received the words of the Great Father!"
"If you want to die early, show weakness. Those who are too weak to fight for your tribe should be speared!
The greatest gift given to the orcs by Gruumsh, the watcher and one-eyed god, was the ability to survive where weaker races would die.
Build your power in these lands and use them to defeat your enemies! ”
Batu wielded the giant ax again, and the chaotic blood tore apart the heavy clouds, creating scarlet scars in the sky, and his voice became more passionate, like a war cry from the wilderness.
"Look for opportunities to wage endless war against your enemies, to kill or enslave those who oppose you!
To gain territory, to gain living space. To destroy the elves, to destroy their homes, to destroy their lands. Go and crush the dwarves to pieces and take their caves and strongholds for yourself. ”
Finally, the orc chief puffed out smelly white smoke, raised his battle ax high, and roared at the top of his lungs: "Destroy the mountain kingdom and conquer Avendeldan!"
"Destroy the mountain kingdom and conquer Avendeldan!"
The orcs all over the mountains and plains roared in unison. Their voices frightened the sky and trembled the earth. They were far more ferocious than the dwarves.
"Attack!"
"Crush them!"
The dwarf soldiers stationed behind the outermost city walls and hills and rocks hurriedly responded to the battle and kept shooting arrows.
"Quick, stop them!"
"Too many, too many orcs!"
"Moradin, these ugly bastards are like rabbits on the grassland, there are countless of them!"
"Whoosh——whoosh——"
Sharp arrows were shot out one after another, directly piercing the orcs and even nailing them to the ground, but the orcs behind them stepped on the corpses of their own people without hesitation.
There were only three to five hundred dwarves on the outermost defense line, but there were tens of thousands of orcs crowding outside the city wall.
Like being thrown into a mottled river, those arrows sank silently into the crowd of orcs, causing only a tiny splash.
The leader of the orc tribe has begun to command the hill giants and half-giant orcs to pick up the heavy tree trunks and slam them into the wooden gate.
"Hey!"
"Boom—Boom—"
Dull sounds rang out again and again, and the dwarves on the city wall kept pouring arrows down the city, but to no avail.
Strong dwarf warriors carried wine barrels, emerged from the narrow tunnel next to them, and threw the barrels filled with spirits and gunpowder towards the orcs.
"Boom!"
The wine barrel suddenly shattered, creating a huge explosion. The overflowing fire instantly swallowed more than a dozen orcs, causing the orcs' offensive to be slightly delayed.
But soon, the dwarf warrior was hit by the arrows of the orc longbowmen. Just as he wanted to fight back, he was crushed by the gravel thrown by the hill giant.
Giant eagles and vultures hovered in the air, listening to the bone whistles of the orc trainers. From time to time, they swooped down from the sky and pecked out the dwarves' eyes.
There were even several giant eagles surrounding a dwarf warrior, flapping their wings, blocking his sight, and even causing the undisturbed dwarf to fall off the city wall.
"Tear this dwarf to pieces!"
"His head is mine!"
In an instant, dozens of orcs who were watching eagerly under the city wall swarmed up and tore the unlucky dwarf into pieces.
Blood splattered everywhere, and pieces of flesh flew everywhere. Under the tearing and snatching by the orcs, not even a single intact arm was left behind.
Under the fierce offensive of tens of thousands of orcs, the hundreds of dwarf warriors at the forefront suffered heavy casualties, and many retreated to the tunnels.
Batu Skullbreaker stood on the towering back of the prairie land dragon, pointing his giant ax at Avendel Dan in the distance. His heavy, hoarse voice spread throughout the countryside.
"Destroy their walls and crush the dwarves' fighting spirit!
Hahahaha, they will only be afraid of us! Fear the existence of orcs! ”
The hill giants and half-giant orcs carrying the tree trunks took over again, rushed under the city wall, and banged against the heavy oak door.
Along with the dull sound, more and more gaps and cracks appeared on the city gate, and the dwarf soldiers guarding the gate looked panicked.
"Click!"
A clear sound rang out, and the thick oak city gate was finally overwhelmed and completely shattered, revealing the hundreds of dwarf warriors who were resisting behind.
"Hahaha! Charge!"
"Crush these dwarves! Sacrifice their blood to the Father!"
The hundreds of dwarf warriors in Kai's armor swung heavy hammers and smashed the orcs at the front into meat pies, killing hundreds of orcs in an instant.
But the orcs came one after another and drowned the hundreds of dwarves in an instant.
"Children of Moradin, my brothers, never surrender!"
The dwarf warriors let out their final roar. He swung his warhammer fiercely and angrily smashed the head of an orc into pieces. However, he was stabbed by several short spears at the same time and fell to the ground.
In this way, fanatical war cries echoed in the valley, and the orcs, like a flood that opened a floodgate, poured madly into the "Road to Glory" of the mountain kingdom.
Their target is the capital of the Alpine Kingdom - Eldwindan. (End of chapter)