Steel torrents pioneering a different world.

Chapter 290 Even if you hide tens of thousands of pigs, it'll take days to slaughter them! Keep beating you up~ New mobilization! (Bonus Chapter)

The dwarven capital, the luxurious elders' office of the Mithril clan.

Malzahar's face was so dark it could drip water. He stared intently at the dwarf servant reporting the news, his eyes seeming to want to devour him alive.

"Pangule Fortress has been confirmed to have fallen, and the final agreement—was not activated! News of that has spread, and many clans already know," the servant's voice trembled violently, each word seeming to drain all his strength. "The last message the communications officer received said—that Rais is a Corruptor! Those humans before, they came—they came to rescue us. Because the humans were too powerful, Long Ears repeatedly questioned—"

"and then?"

"—Many clans may now be considering establishing contact with those humans."

The servants, being stared at by Malzahar, dared not look up at him.

"I—I estimate that they will soon inform all the clans in the kingdom of Rice's corruption."

"Hmph—announce this to all clans?"

Suddenly, Malzahar grabbed the rune battle axe beside him, raised his muscular arm, and swung it down hard at the desk made of luxurious fragrant wood!

"Bang!"

The first axe blow cracked the corner of the table, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

boom! boom! boom!

He went berserk, swinging the axe one blow after another, the heavy thuds echoing throughout the room.

Expensive decorations and all sorts of precious and beloved items were smashed to pieces, and the ink bottles of his favorite painting, "Redemption," left all sorts of colorful marks on the wall.

Documents were flying everywhere on the table as the raging Malzahar vented his frustration by hacking and smashing.

Malzahar only stopped when the entire table was reduced to a pile of broken pieces and there was nothing left to smash.

At this moment, his chest heaved violently, and his breathing sounded like a broken bellows.

He took out a bottle of magic potion and took a sip.

Recovery is achieved only after exhaustion caused by strenuous activity.

These healing potions, which are treasured by the lower-class dwarves, are as commonplace as cola for humans among the Mithril clan elders.

"Useless! Incompetent piece of trash!" he finally roared, spitting directly into the face of a distant servant. "That idiot Rice! Even if you penned the same number of pigs in the fortress, it would take humans several days to kill them all! Idiot! Idiot!"

It hasn't even been 24 hours!

They couldn't even last a day!

The impregnable Pomgrelle Fortress is gone just like that!

Most importantly, the final protocol that Rice guaranteed would definitely launch successfully failed.

What kind of monsters are those humans?

Ancestors above, is the great revival that the dwarf race has been planning for nearly a hundred years going to fail so ridiculously?

He shuddered at the thought of the possible actions that other clans might take against them.

No, absolutely not.

"Elder—elder? What should we do?" the attendant called out tremblingly.

"Get out! Get out!"

The servant, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, hurriedly fled the office.

The heavy door slammed shut, cutting off everything from the outside world.

Malzahar stood in the middle of the mess, his rage gradually replaced by a hint of confusion and fear of defeat.

He pondered for a moment, then rummaged through the undamaged box next to him and pulled out a magical communicator engraved with intricate runes.

This is his special communication tool, enabling him to contact others across vast distances.

Clinging to his last shred of hope, he stubbornly dialed Rice's number, deliberately not activating the magic projection function.

The communicator vibrated, and the call was quickly connected on the other end.

"Rice?"

He lowered his voice and asked in a deep voice.

"Ha, I'm not Rice." A somewhat awkward voice with a distinct foreign accent came from the other side, its tone full of mockery. "Heh heh, you're one of the dwarves' higher-ups, right? You must have been involved in the corruption, right?"

The other person spoke a rather broken, accented language.

Malzahar's heart sank to the bottom.

He obtained Rice's communication equipment, so it seems he's truly finished; his belongings have also been confiscated.

What a piece of junk! It can't even activate the final protocol.

[We must buy time! My arrangements must be accelerated! The relationship between the remaining King's Guard and the Ancestral Temple Guards hasn't been fully established yet—damn it, we haven't finalized the alliance of offense and defense.]

Malzahar thought to himself, then said, "Scum! It's too early to say who will win or lose!"

"Really?" The voice on the other end chuckled, seemingly pleased. "Oh, I forgot to tell you—your accomplice, the corrupted Rice, is currently a guest here!"

"Unfortunately, he didn't die! He's injured, quite seriously. But our medical skills are pretty good; he's awake now! He's just constantly cursing us! But don't worry, we're very patient and will continue to teach him what manners are!"

"You!" Malzahar was trembling with rage.

Damn it, something happened to Rice?

Why wasn't his final agreement initiated?

That's the number one armory! Even the kingdom's elite forces would need several days to destroy it.

Didn't Rice say he had already hidden in a secret armory?

Were those enemies really that powerful?

No, did Rice deceive me?

Did he actually surrender?

Malzahar frowned slightly at the thought of this possibility.

Rhys was an elder among the dwarves and a high-ranking commander in the clan.

These trustworthy colleagues, like him, possessed lofty beliefs.

They poured so much effort and endured unimaginable hardships for the sake of making the dwarves great again. How could they possibly betray them so easily?

It should be noted that Rice's body has defensive mechanisms against mind magic and memory magic, and his will cannot be destroyed in a short time.

What terrifying methods has the enemy mastered?

"You scum, just you wait!"

Like an elderly Hakimi, he bared his teeth at the enemy who threatened him, his heavy breathing echoing in the dilapidated room, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Our invincible army will arrive soon!"

"I'll skin you alive, dismember you, and use your head as a toilet!"

On the other end of the communicator, the voice with the foreign accent rang out again, still in that nauseatingly mocking tone: "Heh heh, anyone can talk big! I think you must be Malzahar, right?"

Malzahar frowned, his dissatisfaction with Rice growing stronger.

"Hehe, you must be wondering how we confirmed it was yours! Because when we were cleaning up the battlefield, we found letters from Rice's side that hadn't been completely burned yet!"

The voice on the other end paused, as if admiring his expression.

"There were quite a few names written on it —"

"Elder Malzahar, you are truly a loyal subject who strives to make the dwarves great again."

They have a list of all our colleagues?

Malzahar's fury and disappointment froze instantly.

After waiting a few breaths, he finally smirked, a sinister grin spreading across his face, and said defiantly, "Trash, don't be so arrogant!"

He pressed his thumb sharply on the communication device to terminate the connection, completely cutting off the communication signal.

He stood still for a dozen seconds before suddenly opening his eyes. There was no longer any confusion in them, only a desperate madness.

"Attendant!"

He let out a deafening roar at the door.

"Get in here!"

The door was carefully pushed open, and the young servant strode in.

"Arrange for Yax and Lato to secretly assemble the most elite guards!"

Malzaha's voice lowered, becoming hoarse and rapid.

"We need to take control of the kingdom's elders in the upcoming grand meeting! We need to control the dwarves' supreme power."

The servant's eyes widened in fear, and his lips trembled.

"Huh? This—"

"We don't have much time left." Malzahar slammed his hand heavily on the servant's shoulder, the force so strong that it made the servant's shoulder ache.

He leaned closer and said in a seductive tone, "My grandson, you don't want the dwarves' grand plan to fail, do you?"

His eyes burned with a fanatical light.

"The valiant attempt of the Kingdom's Guard led by the Great King, the sacrifices of countless predecessors, we—"

—Failure is absolutely not an option!

The attendant was intimidated by the aura, his body trembling involuntarily. In the end, he gritted his teeth and nodded heavily.

He raised his head and asked about the follow-up arrangements in a trembling voice.

"Grandpa, the news has been leaked. Our informant, who believes in the Blood Ancestor, tells us that the humans from the north, along with those long-eared ones, have arrived with some crucial evidence. The questioning will take place tomorrow."

Malzaha's gaze swept menacingly across the doorway and towards the window.

"You know this place is being watched by a lot of informants!"

"Therefore, the success or failure of this operation depends entirely on you."

Malzahar pulled the servant in front of him and made him put his ear close.

"I'm telling you, listen!"

He whispered his vicious and meticulous plan into the other person's ears in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"There's always been a secret passage here, a spell—you carry the token—first do this—you absolutely can't do this—you also need to do this—this—"

A few minutes later, the attendant's expression gradually became resolute.

"Did you hear me clearly?"

"Listen carefully!"

"Repeat it!"

The attendant quickly recited the contents, which were almost identical to those in the original text.

"I'm good to you, so this needs to be changed, and this can't be touched."

"Never mind, I'll write some letters, and you can give them to them."

"good!"

A short while later, the attendant left Malzahar's office.

The door closed. Malzahar glanced at the puppet guards around him and released them from their seals.

Then, he stepped over the mess and walked to the window next to the room.

Unlike most dwarves who live in caves that are almost completely dark and rely on magic stones, fuel, and naturally glowing minerals for light, they are different.

The dwarf elder's room was located on the side wing of the dwarf temple.

The temple is built against the mountain, its magnificent stone structure extending into the mountainside, appearing luxurious and solemn.

The view from the Mithril Clan elder's room is therefore excellent.

Through the huge and expensive natural crystal windows, he could overlook part of the view of the Temple Square below.

He held his wine glass, his gaze casually sweeping across the area below.

He noticed some dwarven guards wearing mithril clan armor, but whose eyes were darting around.

The activity square outside had many more unfamiliar servants; some were cleaning, and others were repairing the not-so-dilapidated roads.

All of this proves that Malzahar has been under surveillance.

"How can the dwarves regain their former glory by associating with these insectoid creatures who distrust their own kind?"

He muttered to himself, his voice filled with contempt and disdain for his fellow clansmen who held differing opinions.

"It's just a small sacrifice. For the glory of my people, I'm willing to give up my life. But why are there always people who don't choose to die?"

Thinking of this, Malzahar clutched his heart, his face contorted in pain and rage.

He pulled another bottle of magic potion from his pocket, unscrewed the cap, and gulped it down.

A crimson hue instantly emerged from the depths of his sclera, filling his entire eyeball.

He felt the surging, violent power within him and let out a beast-like growl at the world outside the window.

"Insects! They're all insects!"

"No one can stop us from leading our people to greatness again!"

"Nobody's here!!!!"

Unlike Malzahar's madness, several hundred kilometers away, the middle-ranking dwarf, Bellegas, who was in charge nearby, had a solemn expression on his face.

He stared at the steel bird that had come to rest in the distance, looked at the other strange birds circling in the sky, and then glanced at the dwarf's henchman who was running quickly towards him.

That guy was the person in charge of arranging for the human frontline envoys.

He gave a strict order: unless it was something important, you absolutely had to stay there.

Unexpectedly, the spy he sent to the front lines to buy time returned directly in a human-made iron bird.

In such a short time, did he betray the dwarves?

The sergeant strode up to him, trembling as he handed over the human's tablet and selected to play.

"Lord Bellegas, I have not betrayed my people! This is crucial evidence!"

Bellegas leaned closer and saw that it contained a horrifying image of the Pomgrelle Fortress.

"Lord Bellegas! Pomgrelle Fortress—has fallen! Lost in a single day!"

Bellergas and Lillers came closer, looking at what was on the screen.

Thick smoke billowed from the seemingly impregnable Pangulle Fortress, where countless dwarven warriors lay dead, their heads severed, their blood pooling together. A scene of carnage, a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood!

The one who presided over the killing ceremony was none other than his own people, who were wearing mithril clan armor!

The scene shifts to Rice's face.

The elder, whom I had once seen, who was somewhat extreme in his emotions and fond of war and killing, was now imprisoned and had lost his hands and feet.

He let out meaningless roars, clearly greatly agitated.

"Rice!" Bellergas's voice was hoarse.

The sergeant, his face contorted with grief, nearly knelt down: "Lord Bellegas, besides this, the humans also mentioned Tranquil Harbor. Oh, and they gave us this. They said it's a long-range magical communication device that will allow us to contact the survivors at Pangula Fortress."

Bellegas looked at the sentry, his expression uncertain: "Make contact."

Soon, the video request was initiated, and a communications aircraft circling in the sky transmitted the data back to the rear. The signal was then relayed through a signal amplification base station, establishing contact with the humans at the Pangula Fortress, more than 500 kilometers away.

"How come it's human?" Bellegas asked.

"Soon!" the sergeant said directly.

Soon, humans took these things to search for dwarves.

At this very moment, a large number of iron birds were dispatched from Pangule Fortress. As human warriors walked along the road, they used the same trick again, deliberately showing the living conditions of the rescued old and weak dwarves.

Until they arrived at Portlin and Northumbers' side.

"You can communicate now."

"Hello, I am from the Mithril Clan—"

[”

"Thank you for informing me! But leading humans there is like inviting wolves into the house, isn't it?"

"Are there any other members of our tribe who can save those innocent people?"

Bellergas's face darkened. "I understand! That's all for now!"

After the call ended, he looked down at the rune device in his hand, a device that could interfere with mental magic and detect magic.

Moreover, the perceptive Bellegas did not discover any coercion in the elderly dwarves such as Botlin and Northum.

His confidant said nervously, "Lord Bellegas, if the Fallen Ones of the Mithril Clan are driven to desperation, they will surely destroy the kingdom!"

"You should rest for a bit!"

Bellegas raised his head and looked at the human who was avoiding him in the distance.

"Your Excellency, how can I guarantee the authenticity of these items?"

The leading human envoy did not answer, but instead asked, "Dwarven envoy, what you should be considering now is how to prove these things are fake. Are you truly unaware of the Mithril Clan's problems?"

One sentence left Bellergas speechless, his chest tight.

Liers, standing nearby, reacted even faster. He grabbed Bellegas's arm and bowed slightly to the human envoy: "Thank you for informing us. If the news of our race's salvation is true, we will offer a generous reward! Your information is of vital importance to our race!"

The human envoy returned the greeting with impeccable manners, but his words were piercing to the heart.

"Honorable Dwarven messengers. Your ancestors, along with the forefathers of other races, sealed the rift in spacetime—a great achievement of the guardian deity of the continent. But now, traitors within your own ranks are sacrificing the lives of your innocent brethren in an attempt to reopen that rift."

"We are here to inform you that our department is about to launch an operation against Tranquil Harbor to purge the corrupters there and save hundreds of thousands of innocent dwarf civilians."

"You—!" Bellegas gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. "This is a war against the Mountain Kingdom! You have no right to interfere in our affairs."

"This is not war, Your Excellency!" The human envoy's voice remained calm. "It's simply that you are incapable of dealing with those madmen, and we had no choice but to make the right decision. Of course, do they also plan to sacrifice the lives of hundreds of thousands of dwarves in Tranquil Harbor?"

Bellergas opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

"Also, those guys in Tranquil Harbor are already making preparations. We predict they'll be carrying out a blood sacrifice tomorrow. For the safety of those innocent dwarves, can you deal with them within a day?"

Bellergas remained silent, and Lillers closed his eyes.

Within a single day?

Let alone a day, even if he were given three months, without knowing the enemy's true strength, he wouldn't dare say he could take down the impregnable Tranquil Harbor.

The human envoy stepped forward and said earnestly, "Dwarven envoy! Please send this message back to the capital as soon as possible, and have your superiors arrange for soldiers to quickly control the Mithril Clan and all those corrupted. If we detect that the seal is worsening, or assess that the situation is at risk of spiraling out of control, our army will immediately enter the dwarven heartland and completely eliminate all threats."

"Honorable dwarven messengers, this is not a discussion, but a most serious notification."

"We respect the dwarf race, but when your actions threaten the survival of all of us, that respect and patience has its limits."

After explaining how to use the tablet and how to charge the spare battery, he turned around decisively and led his men onto the helicopter.

With a hum, the massive steel structure rose into the air and quickly disappeared into the horizon.

The wind whipped up by the helicopter made Bellagas's beard fly wildly, and it also chilled him to the bone.

Humans—they had no intention of consulting with them at all.

Just like last time, humanity simply informed them to deal with the corruptors, and then they took action.

They came to inform them, just like before.

ha~

This is the tragedy of the weak!

Regardless of the outcome of the internal dwarf struggle—whether the corrupt or the orthodox faction wins—humanity has gained absolute initiative in interfering in dwarf internal affairs.

This is no longer a treaty of surrender; it's a direct threat to the very throat of the entire High Mountain Kingdom.

Seeing the distraught Bellegas, Lills urged anxiously, "Bellegas! Now is not the time to concern ourselves with human attitudes! If those madmen of the Mithril Clan are really going to do these things, we must save our people, save the kingdom."

Bellergas snapped back to reality and quickly took a deep breath of cold air.

The cold air rushed into his lungs, clearing his chaotic thoughts.

"Liers".

"exist!"

"Let's take out our emergency magical equipment."

"good!"

Meanwhile, in the modern world, in Shanghai!

Inside a basement rented by Lin Li, there is a large personal training and martial arts arena made of reinforced concrete.

Lin Lizheng, with a robust physique and an average build, stood in the center of the training ground.

He gripped a giant sword made with modern craftsmanship tightly in his hand.

This sword is made of alloy, with a wide blade, an astonishing length, an astonishing thickness, and a staggering weight of 150 kilograms.

This sword is much heavier than the 81-pound sword of Yang Guo, the Condor Hero.

This is the extreme fitness equipment that Lin Li customized for himself.

He took a deep breath, and suddenly exerted force in his waist and abdomen, causing all the muscles in his body to work together like a chain of gears.

He swung the massive sword, tearing through the air with a deep and terrifying whistling sound.

The gusts of wind whipped up by the sword even made the dust in the distance dance.

With each in-depth enhancement of his body, Lin Li had already surpassed the limits of ordinary humans.

His current raw power and explosive force have even surpassed those of some comic book superheroes.

For example, a small spider.

In the official setting, Spider-Man weighs only about 25 tons. Lin Li once tested his single-arm strength and found that he had already surpassed Spider-Man's. Although he did not reach the terrifying strength of pulling a trolley in the movie, he was only 1.85 meters tall but possessed such strength, making him a complete freak.

Because of his immense power, Lin Li now has to learn special methods to control it.

Otherwise, you might accidentally break the car while driving, and then you'll be in a real mess.

After being transformed by the spacetime source matter for a long time, Lin Li no longer has any obvious weaknesses.

He achieved a perfect balance in terms of strength, speed, resistance, and endurance.

In addition to his physical strength, he also awakened an extraordinary ability called the manipulation of special energy particles.

In the other world, as long as there are enough energy particles, he can conjure water and fire out of thin air, summon thunder and lightning, and even use superpowers to charm people and perceive thoughts.

These methods, which seem like magic to ordinary people, are as natural as breathing to him.

Some rune energy technologies from other worlds are very difficult for people with low inspiration to study, and require the help of various scientific instruments.

However, Lin Li's special sixth sense allows him to better perceive these energy fluctuations.

However, deep down, Lin Li is ultimately an armed mage who believes in power.

Yes, a powerful mage who can summon lightning and unleash all sorts of terrifying forbidden spells.

A powerful mage, wielding a staff in his left hand and a sword in his right, is proficient in illumination magic and relies entirely on his staff and sword in combat. All stat points are allocated to Strength, Speed, Stamina, and Resistance.

This is the noble mage.

Moreover, the mage's fist truly embodies the simplest and most effective truth in the world.

More than fancy spells, he reveled in using swords to cut down enemies, enjoying the sense of conquest brought by pure power, and sharing the joy of victory with his brothers.

As for anything else, Lin Li decided to ignore it.

This pursuit of power is also reflected in every aspect of his vitality.

In the past, when he participated in activities with two college students who were working part-time, he still needed to pay attention to some skills and rhythm.

I have to admire these two college students; they're young, take turns working, and have great stamina.

Lin Li even found it difficult to cope at one point.

Now, he can easily expand his sponsorship to more than ten people, and continue all day without showing any signs of fatigue.

Thirty minutes later, the raging steel whirlwind subsided, and the slightly sweaty staff members steadily and gently placed the giant fitness equipment back in its original position.

Today's workout is basically complete.

I had a good game today, and I need to relax properly after the big match.

Lin Li sat down on the recliner and, while recovering his strength, suddenly closed his eyes.

With a slight thought, a barely perceptible ripple appeared in the space in front of his palm.

The next moment, a beautifully crafted longsword with runic energy appeared out of thin air and landed steadily in his palm.

This was the dwarven relic he had previously obtained from Armory Number One.

At first, Lin Li only regarded it as an exceptionally sharp cold weapon.

But through continuous contact and various tests, he gradually discovered the true value of the sword and fell in love with it.

It is a powerful creation combining advanced technology with rune technology, a powerful runic weapon imbued with mysterious power.

Hidden inside the counterweight ball at the end of the sword hilt is a peculiar energy storage device capable of absorbing and storing massive amounts of various types of energy.

Free-floating electrical energy, light energy, radiation, and even magical energy!

Once fully charged and activated, the blade will initiate a disintegration force field similar to that of powered weapons in science fiction.

In this state, the relic longsword not only becomes extremely sharp, but also gains various special effects such as breaking through energy shields, disintegrating magical structures, and being burned by high temperatures.

Even without activating its internal energy field, the material and craftsmanship of its blade alone are enough to easily cut through ordinary steel, slicing through iron like mud.

After playing with it for a while, Lin Li put it back.

Then, Lin Li silently closed his eyes.

His gaze had already shifted elsewhere.

The first place we visited was Zhuhe's underground base.

Industrial Cthulhu is truly impressive. In just over six months, this area has undergone extensive multi-level development, with well-established underground tunnels.

The base is now bustling with activity, having become a massive transportation corridor for supplies.

After the Pomgr Fortress was purified, the dwarves brought back valuable resources, minerals, some broken weapons, and a large amount of supplies.

These materials will undergo a new refining process, and the precious metallic elements they contain will be transformed back into much-needed industrial catalysts, accelerating the upgrade of a large number of industrial equipment for the pioneering teams.

Not far from here, there are also various production lines for recycling, modifying, and reusing old ammunition.

This is a specially modified production line based on the work of frontline combat units.

After resolving the internal issues of Pangula Fortress, some weapons and ammunition are being produced at an accelerated pace or optimized and modified.

For example, antique equipment from decades ago doesn't perform well in some places and needs to be optimized again.

Some munitions, due to their excessive power, require cost reduction.

Anyway, there's a lot to do.

For example, the simplest example is the anti-tank mines, which make up a large proportion of the mines, which are currently being modified and upgraded by engineers and soldiers of various related specialties.

Although many of the modifications and upgrades to these older ammunition models involve hand-crafting, they have trained the engineers in professional skills and honed their ability to reinvent the machine.

War is always about using everything at your disposal to maximize its value.

In extreme environments, the soldiers trained by the pioneering teams will eventually become valuable professional and technical human resources.

The frontline is responsible for transportation, while the rear is responsible for the transportation and preparation of various supplies.

Although Harbour of Tranquility is quite close to Pomfret, it can be reached in an hour or two if there is a smooth highway.

However, the dwarves' coastal area is mostly mountainous with many narrow paths, which makes it easy for light mountain equipment to pass quickly, but not for transporting large quantities of heavy equipment.

This necessitates the latest unit combat equipment.

Another world, Pangula Fortress.

After 25 hours of work, the once crisscrossing landscape of the dwarves has now been flattened.

At the military airfield, various heavy transport helicopters are beginning to load various combat supplies onto the helicopters.

Several kilometers away, at the missile and rocket positions, the reloaded rockets and missiles were also activated.

It can provide support to combat troops at any time.

Besides the Pangule military fortress, the Time Gate is also urgently mobilizing resources to prepare for corresponding support!

A storm is brewing, the wind is howling, and dark clouds are pressing down on the city, threatening to crush it!

A new great war is about to begin.