Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 465 The Illusory Battlefield: Legendary Dwarves
Upon receiving the order, the troops immediately sprang into action, maintaining a tight defensive formation as they surged toward the tomb gate opened by the female elf gravedigger, which led to the bloody battlefield outside.

As they passed through the dark tunnel, the pungent smell of sulfur, burnt smell, strong stench of blood, and deafening sounds of battle immediately assaulted their senses! They had returned once again to the solidified battlefield of the Long Beard Battle, which had been transformed from the Rock People's Stone Carving Square!

The scene before me was still breathtaking: the sky was dyed dark red by magical flames and smoke, and on the ground, the silver torrents of high elves clashed fiercely with the steel walls of the dwarves! Swords flashed, magic and arrows flew, and colossal war dragons fought against the phantoms of steel machines at the edge of the battlefield, unleashing deafening roars! Shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, explosions, and the dying screams intertwined to create a brutal and grand symphony of war, so real it seemed to transcend eternity, rushing right before my eyes!

However, this time, the situation is completely different!

As Su Li's group stepped out of the tomb entrance and onto the edge of this bustling battlefield, the expected cold, hostile gazes and deadly rain of arrows from the elven phantom guards did not come! The elven warriors, mages, and archers engaged in fierce combat with the dwarven phantoms seemed oblivious to them! Arrows whistled past their heads and sides, accurately striking their distant dwarven targets; charging elven warriors moved like phantoms along the edges of their formations, rushing towards the enemy on the opposite side; deadly arcane explosions erupted not far from them, kicking up dirt and rubble, yet not a single attack was directed at them!

The faded leaf of the Sacred Tree of Etherarion, held in Su Li's palm and pressed against the inside of his breastplate, was emitting a faint but steady silver-green light, like an invisible shield that separated them from this hostile elven memory space.

“It really…works!” A young Black Forest warrior watched in disbelief as an elven swordsman phantom rushed past him less than a meter away, without even glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

"The leaves worked! The elves won't attack us!" Durmst's voice was filled with the relief of surviving a disaster. Although his face was still pale, his spirits had improved considerably.

Gerson Grayrock's tense expression relaxed slightly. He snorted coldly and gripped his rune battleaxe tightly: "Hmph, it seems that old witch wasn't lying about this. Saves us a lot of trouble!"

Su Li breathed a sigh of relief. This leaf was the crucial first step in the plan; successfully passing the elven illusion barrier saved them from the most deadly war of attrition. He immediately ordered, "Stay alert! Although the elves won't attack us, the battlefield itself is still dangerous! Stray arrows, explosions, and collapsing giant objects can all be fatal! Target: Locate M'Hawa! Thranville, Eliria, sense necromantic energy and blasphemous fluctuations! Gerson, watch out for any anomalies in the dwarven illusion formation!"

The group moved swiftly, like a lone boat struggling through a river of boiling lava. They carefully avoided the fiercest battle zones, weaving along the chaotic edge of the battlefield. The illusory clashes of elves and dwarves unfolded all around them, as real as holograms yet untouchable. Shattered armor, broken weapons, burning banners, even the splattered "blood" were all within reach, yet seemed separated by an invisible membrane.

Thranville closed her eyes and concentrated. Her half-elf blood granted her a unique sensitivity to elven magic and the winds of life, while she also struggled to discern the discordant aura of death within them. Eliria's winds of life, like invisible tentacles, searched the chaotic energy field for the deathly stillness representing decay and desecration.

"This way!" Arielia suddenly pointed to a relatively chaotic area on the left flank of the battlefield, near the ruins of several destroyed dwarven rune turrets. "There's a strong stench of death! And... remnants of blasphemous magic! Very fresh!"

Everyone immediately looked in that direction. The illusions in that area seemed more unstable than elsewhere, the light and shadow flickering and distorting. Scattered on the ground were broken bones, emanating an ominous black aura, not belonging to this ancient battlefield; clearly left by the minions of the undead. A faint, nauseating stench of sulfur and decay filled the air—the very hallmark of Mhawa's death magic!
"Look there!" Orstein's massive form pointed behind the ruins to a shadowy corner obscured by a huge rock. At the edge of the rock, a deep, corroded mark, shaped like a heavy blunt weapon, likely left by the corrupted warhammer of the legendary embryonic dwarf warrior, was still fresh; the surrounding illusory dust hadn't completely covered it.

“The tracks are fresh! They’re nearby! And they just left recently!” Hilde quickly judged, her golden eyes sharply scanning the battlefield behind the rocks and further away.

"Chase them!" Su Li ordered without hesitation. "Follow the tracks! They can't have gone far! Gerson, get your helicopters ready to take off, low-altitude reconnaissance, but don't get too close! The rest of you, follow me!"

With the protection of the sacred leaves and a clear direction to follow, Su Li's team advanced swiftly along the blasphemous trail left by Mhava, like hounds drawn by the scent of blood. The lingering stench of death in the air served as a beacon in the darkness, guiding them through the chaotic, illusory battlefield.

The remnants of Gerson Grayrock's dwarven helicopters quickly took off, their rotors roaring shrilly through the smoke-filled air. They maintained low altitude, circling the battlefield like vultures, their sharp dwarven eyes piercing through the chaotic energy fluctuations and swirling dust, searching for their targets.

"My lord! Ahead! Three o'clock, that isolated hill surrounded by a river of lava!" A lookout on a helicopter shouted urgently through a loudspeaker, his voice still clearly audible amidst the chaos of the battlefield. "Large numbers of undead spotted! And... a massive energy collision! It's that Black Knight! And that monstrous dwarf! They... they're besieging a powerful dwarven illusion!"

Su Li and the others were invigorated! It was like finding a needle in a haystack! Their target was right before their eyes, and they had even found a legendary fantasy of a dwarf!
"Full speed ahead!" Su Li shouted, taking the lead and charging in the direction indicated by the lookout. The team followed closely behind, passing through an obstacle course made up of burning chariots and broken barricades, and suddenly the view opened up before them.

Ahead lay a solitary black hill surrounded by a slowly flowing, crimson river of lava. The hilltop, relatively flat, had now been transformed into a brutal arena!

Dozens of twisted, foul-smelling undead minions (ghouls, skeleton warriors, and carrion trolls) surged like a tidal wave, frantically attacking a figure in the center of the solitary hill. At the forefront of this undead tide, a colossal figure, covered in writhing black tumors and metallic growths, with bloodshot eyes and wielding a filthy runic warhammer, roared like a wild beast, relentlessly charging at its target—the very same legendary embryonic dwarf warrior!
And their target was only one person!
That was a dwarf's illusion!

His height wasn't particularly exaggerated, just over three meters, which was considered extremely robust for a dwarf. He wore a set of runic vibranium heavy armor that covered his entire body, as heavy as a mobile fortress! The armor's surface was engraved with ancient and intricate runes, and at this moment it shone with a crimson light like the core of a furnace, radiating astonishing heat and unparalleled defensive power!

The hammer he wielded was not an ordinary warhammer, but a massive, exaggeratedly shaped earth-shattering hammer with a head resembling a small battering ram! Each swing produced a muffled, thunderous sound as it pierced the air. Where the hammer head struck, the earth trembled, debris flew everywhere, and the violent shockwave instantly pulverized any approaching undead!
In his other hand, he held a massive rune shield with sharp serrated edges. The runes on the shield flowed, easily deflecting attacks from all directions, whether they were the claws of the undead or dark magic arrows shot from afar!
He stood alone, yet like an unshakeable mountain of steel! Unyielding amidst the sea of ​​undead and the relentless onslaught of the legendary embryonic dwarf! Each swing of his massive hammer was accompanied by a deafening roar and the screams of the undead; each shield block unleashed blinding sparks and ripples of energy! His fighting style was wild and precise, brimming with the dwarven's characteristic ferocity and honed combat skills! His overwhelming aura, the oppressive force like a collapsing mountain, clearly demonstrated his legendary strength!

"I am Baldek Ironank!" The solitary dwarven phantom roared deafeningly, his earth-shattering hammer once more smashing a charging carrion troll to pieces. Blood and bone fragments flew everywhere, yet nothing could stain his rune-gleaming heavy armor. "Mountain stronghold! Guardians of the Forge Gate! You filthy maggots crawling from your graves dare to desecrate the honor of the dwarves?! Wishful thinking!"

His voice was filled with timeless pride and rage, as if the fierce Battle of the Longbeard had just occurred yesterday, and he still stood before the Gates of the Forge, fighting a bloody battle for his people and homeland. He wielded his great hammer and shield with sweeping, powerful movements, full of the dwarven's characteristic ferocity and honed combat skills. Every attack was heavy and every block was as solid as a rock.

The filthy undead minions were harvested like stalks of wheat before him, and even the frenzied attacks of the legendary embryonic dwarf warrior were repeatedly repelled by his skillful shield parries and violent counterattacks.

"For our ancestors! For the mountains!" Baldek's battle cry echoed across the lonely hill, inspiring... perhaps only himself. Like a tireless war machine, he cleaved through the waves of the undead, his heavy runic vibranium armor covered with new scratches and dents, yet still shining with an indomitable light.

He seemed unaware that he was merely a mark on this memory space, unaware that the undead besieging him also came from another era of blasphemy. In his mind, this was still the bloody battle that determined the fate of the dwarves, and he was still fulfilling his final duty.

Mhava hid behind the horde of undead, the eerie green soulfire in his eye sockets flickering with cold anxiety. He continuously unleashed weakening and corrosive necromancy, attempting to erode Baldek's illusory body, composed of pure battle will and elven magic. Driven by him, the legendary embryonic dwarf warrior unleashed an even more frenzied attack, his tainted rune-wielding warhammer, glowing with an ominous red light, repeatedly slamming into Baldek's greatsword, producing deafening roars that caused fine cracks to appear on the runes on its surface.

"Give it your all! Tear him apart! Seize his power core!" Mhawa laughed triumphantly, "I can sense the dense death aura emanating from this illusion; it must have been transformed from the remains of a legendary dwarf. Once you obtain his remains, I'll grant you both legendary-level spirit and flesh, making you a true legendary dwarf warrior!"

He could sense Baldek's power slowly but steadily dwindling under the relentless erosion of necromancy and the onslaught of the embryonic dwarves. The scales of victory seemed to be tipping in his favor.

Su Li and the others, hidden in the shadows of the rocks at the edge of the isolated hill, witnessed all of this and were equally astonished. If Mhava truly obtained the remains of a legendary dwarven warrior, coupled with a legendary soul, then the legendary dwarven embryo in his possession would truly become a legendary undead unit!
They had to intervene in this battle; like patient hunters, they watched closely this brutal war of attrition. Orstein's massive body lowered slightly, Hilder's blazing sunblade hummed in its sheath, and the red dragon's aura flickered like breath at the tip of Su Li's spear. They were waiting, waiting for the perfect moment when the undead power was weakened to its limit and Baldek was also nearing his limit.

Time ticked by. Baldek's battle cry was no longer as loud as it had been at the beginning, and his movements showed a subtle sluggishness. On his seemingly indestructible heavy armor, where the embryonic dwarf's tainted warhammer had struck, the runic light had noticeably dimmed, and even a few small cracks had appeared, scattering golden dust. After all, he was just a mirror image, a puppet created from a fallen body; he couldn't possibly possess true legendary-level strength.

He was still fighting, still roaring, but that unshakeable aura, like a mountain, was being gradually eroded by the death tide of the undead and the power of blasphemy.

at last!

When the legendary embryonic dwarf warrior, stimulated by Mhawa's shriek, unleashed unprecedented power, a fierce strike, radiating a filthy red light, slammed into the center of Baldek's parrying shield!
"Boom—Crack!" A teeth-grinding cracking sound rang out! Baldek's massive rune shield was actually smashed into a dent in the center, and several thick cracks spread out. Most of the runes on the shield surface instantly went out! The huge impact caused Baldek's massive body to stagger backward for the first time, and his heavy footsteps plowed deep furrows in the rocky ground!

"Now!" Su Li's eyes flashed with a cold light!
"Kill!" Orstein and Hilder roared simultaneously!

Boom! Two divine warriors, each over thirty meters tall, suddenly rose from the ground! The giant rock hammer carried the power to crush mountains, while the blazing sun blade unleashed a light that purified all things, its target aimed directly at the legendary embryonic dwarf warrior who had just finished his burst of power and was in a brief state of shock!
At the same time, Su Li's figure shot out like an arrow, his red dragon bloodline coiling around his body, transforming him into a crimson meteor tearing through the air, his target—Mhawa! Gerson Grayrock, leading his most elite dwarven warriors, along with Thranville, Eliria, and others, pierced the core of the remaining undead like a sharp knife!

The sudden attack instantly disrupted Mhawa's plans!
The eerie green soul fire in Mhawa's eye sockets suddenly shrank to the size of a pinhead. Su Li and his team descended like divine warriors, precisely tearing apart the key point in his siege of Baldek. What horrified him even more was that the battlefield phantoms, which should have indiscriminately attacked any non-elf, completely ignored this mixed human and dwarf force!
"No! Damn Lord of the Blackforest—" Mhava's shriek was drowned out by the earth-shaking roar of Orstein's hammer and the scorching howl of Hilder's Sunblade. He saw his embryonic dwarf warrior, on whom he had placed so much hope, being smashed away like a rag doll by the two divine generals, his filthy tumors and proliferating metal shattering and scattering in pure power and light.

With their core fighting force instantly crippled, the remaining undead minions fell like harvested wheat under the precise strikes of the elite dwarven warriors led by Gerson Grayrock and Thranville and Eliria. The scales of victory were completely reversed in an instant!

"Don't even think about it!" Mhava's soul fire flickered violently with rage and fear. Without any hesitation, he slammed his right foot into the ground!
"Steps of bones! Wings of the dead! The Path of Nagash!"

Thick, inky negative energy erupted from his center, like a rapidly expanding black abscess. Countless pale, skeletal arms made of pure necromantic energy surged out from the black mist, grabbing nearby undead minions—ghouls, skeleton warriors, even the rotting troll heavily wounded by Baldek—and dragging them violently towards the center of the black mist. The moment these undead were dragged into the black mist, they emitted a shrill, silent shriek, as if metal had been thrown into strong acid. Their bones and negative energy were brutally decomposed and devoured, transforming into a driving force.

The black mist churned violently, swallowing over a dozen undead before suddenly contracting inward and exploding with a deafening roar! It wasn't an explosion, but rather the formation of a brief, dark energy passage leading to a corner of the battlefield obscured by chaotic illusions and smoke. Within the passage, countless twisted, tormented faces of the dead flashed by.

The moment the black mist exploded, Mhava's withered figure was seized as if by an invisible giant hand, transforming into a ghastly green light carrying sulfur and the stench of corpses. It shot out along the energy channel forcibly torn open by the life of his servants, at an astonishing speed! It only took away the legendary dwarf embryo.

"Coward!" Gerson Grayrock's roar was torn apart by the eerie winds emanating from the energy channel. Several dwarven crossbow bolts shot into the channel, but they were like mud buoys entering the sea, only creating a few ripples in the dissipating ghostly light. The channel rapidly collapsed and dissipated, leaving only a few wisps of ashes quickly covered by battlefield dust, and a lingering, nauseating aura of blasphemy in the air.

At the same time, Su Li's fatal blow, imbued with the power of the red dragon, only pierced through the afterimage left by Mhava and the lingering vortex of negative energy.

"We can't catch up." Su Li made a quick judgment and immediately changed his focus. "Take care of that legendary-level mirror image!"

All eyes were involuntarily drawn to the center of the solitary hill.

The dwarven legend's illusion, Baldek Anvil, remained in a defensive stance, his massive shield firmly planted on the ground, his Earthshaker hammer gripped tightly. But his body, composed of pure battle intent and elven magic, flickered violently, like a candle in the wind. Golden dust, like blood, continuously seeped from the massive dent and crack in the center of his shield, and the runes on his heavy armor dimmed to their lowest point. He slowly raised his head, his crimson, furnace-like eyes sweeping over Su Li and the others who had just finished their battle and were approaching.

His gaze first swept over the human and dwarf warriors radiating life, a deep sense of bewilderment in his eyes—how could there be humans on the battlefield of the Longbeard War? Then, his gaze suddenly fixed on Su Li's chest!

The faded leaf from the sacred tree of Atherarion, clinging tightly to his breastplate, was now emitting a soft yet blindingly bright silver-green light! In Baldek's mind, frozen in the War of the Longbeard, this light was like the most malevolent curse mark! It was the mark of the High Elves! It was the power of the enemy that brought betrayal, slaughter, and the fall of their homeland!

The confusion was instantly replaced by a raging fury that was enough to incinerate reason!
"Silverleaf!!" Baldek's roar, like the howl of a wounded beast, shook the entire Lonely Hill. His runic heavy armor, previously dulled from excessive consumption, suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, almost blinding crimson light, as if the core of lava had been completely detonated! The scattered golden dust was forcibly suppressed by this violent energy, even swept back into the cracks! The cracks on the shield seemed to burn in the red light!

"Traitors!! Lackeys!!" he roared, each word like a red-hot iron striking the air. "How dare you! How dare you, bearing the curse of the elves, step onto the dwarven battlefield! To defile this land watered with blood!!"

He violently pulled the Earthshaker hammer, which was deeply embedded in the ground, and flung away the massive runic shield, shattered in the center, as if discarding trash. The shield crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar, kicking up a cloud of dust. He gripped the battering ram-like hammer tightly in both hands, his bloodshot eyes filled with only the most primal, destructive desire directed at the "traitor" and the "elven accomplice"!

"For the betrayed mountains! For the blood debt of Karak Kadrin!!" Baldek let out his final battle cry, filled with endless grief and rage. His massive body no longer displayed any defensive posture; all his power, all his will, all his very essence, transformed into the purest and most violent attack!
"Boom!"

The rocky ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch under the immense force of his stomping! His entire figure transformed into a crimson storm of destruction, the earth-shattering hammer carrying the power to crush everything, accompanied by a violent shockwave, crashing down towards Su Li and Gerson Grayrock, who was closest to him! The speed and power far surpassed his previous performance in the battle against the undead! This was a completely self-destructive strike, burning away his very essence and disregarding everything else!

"Scatter!!" Su Li roared, unleashing the power of the red dragon and narrowly escaping to the side! Gerson Grayrock roared and raised his rune battle axe to block, but the overwhelming power far exceeded his limits!
"Clang—Snap!!"

The blade of the rune battle axe shattered instantly under the terrifying impact of the earth-shattering hammer! Gerson was struck as if by a heavy hammer, and was violently thrown away by the violent shockwave. He spat out blood and crashed heavily onto the rocks dozens of meters away, his rune armor emitting a piercing groan.

"Protect the Lord!" Orstein's massive rock hammer, imbued with the force of a mountain, slammed into Baldek's side, attempting to stop him from pursuing Su Li. Hilde's blazing sunblade, wreathed in purifying flames, also slashed towards the back of his neck.

"Get out of my way, you traitor's lackey!" Baldek roared, his earth-shattering hammer sweeping out at an incredible angle! The hammerhead collided violently with the rock hammer, producing a deafening roar, and the violent impact caused even Orstein's massive divine body to stagger backward! At the same time, his heavy shoulder armor, covered in crimson runes, withstood Hilder's blazing sun slash, blinding sparks and turbulent energy scattering everywhere, leaving a deep scorch mark on the shoulder armor, but failing to sever him!

He completely abandoned his defenses, his crimson eyes fixed on Su Li—the human leader bearing the "elf curse"! The earth-shattering hammer rose again, bringing a destructive storm, ignoring all incoming attacks, with only one goal: to smash Su Li and that damned silver leaf into a bloody pulp!

Thranville's Eye of the Arctic struck him, instantly vaporizing like a stone thrown into a furnace. Ariria's life winds attempted to bind and restrain him, but were brutally torn apart by the raging crimson energy. The dwarven warriors' crossbow bolts and throwing axes struck his heavy armor, leaving only shallow white marks before being deflected.

Baldek entered a state of utter, life-burning rage! Every swing of his hammer shook the earth, every roar dispersed the surrounding smoke. He was like an ancient lava behemoth, utterly enraged and on the verge of death, his sole purpose being to tear apart the "traitor" bearing the "mark of the elves" before he vanished completely!
Su Li dodged and weaved through the crimson storm, unleashing the full power of the red dragon. His spear deflected the deadly hammer blows, each collision leaving his arms numb and his blood churning. Ignoring their own injuries, Orstein and Hilder attacked relentlessly from both sides. A massive rock hammer slammed into Baldek's abdomen, while the Blazing Sun Blade slashed at his leg armor, attempting to disrupt his balance. But the enraged dwarf seemed oblivious to pain, merely swaying slightly before a backhand hammer strike forced them back.

"His core is in his chest! The place where the crimson light shines the brightest! Break it!" Arielia screamed in the chaos. Her life force keenly sensed that Baldek's source of power was rapidly depleting due to this reckless outburst, but it had also become unusually violent and unstable.

Su Li's eyes sharpened as he caught the moment when Baldek was knocked forward and lost his balance by Orstein's hammer!

"Hilde! Suppress him!"

"In the name of the blazing sun!" Hilde understood immediately, and the Blazing Sun Blade erupted with unprecedented light, like a miniature sun falling, carrying the power to purify all things, and slashed fiercely at the handle of Baldek's earth-shaking hammer, which he raised again!

"Boom—Zzzzz!"

(End of this chapter)