Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"Drink!!!" "Ha!!!!" "Ah!!!" "Ya!!!"

Omro sat there, watching the kid yell and punch the air.

Marne played until he was exhausted and lay down on the ground, panting.

"It seems you understand the function of battle runes."

Ma En nodded. "Battle runes can enhance my power, but only during a roar. But why must I roar to gain power?"

Omro said calmly, "This is the price of gaining power. Shouting in battle can intimidate the enemy, boost morale, and also gain power. Isn't that wonderful?"

"But this is a bit tiring..."

"You won't be tired anymore once you're dead."

Mann couldn't refute it; Omro had indeed demonstrated his magic. This battle rune application was the most effective power the tribe could currently control, and it could be quickly converted into combat power. After all, shouting in battle was a habit for everyone.

“Omro, have you named this method? How should I introduce it to the clan chief?”

"This kind of battle marking has a name, it's called... slave battle marking. Because in my former tribe, this kind of battle marking was only painted on the entire bodies of wild beasts and slaves, it was a form of entertainment for us."

"...Painting your face with wild beasts, Omro, what kind of monsters were you from the tribe you once belonged to? Can this kind of battle marking be applied all over the body? Wouldn't that cause a massive increase in strength?"

"Yes, applying it all over your body will burn your brain and turn you into a bloodthirsty madman."

"...I've remembered the side effects."

Omro waved his hand and turned his back to Marne.

"If you understand, then get out of here. This battle rune is enough for your next hunt. Ma En, the task of drawing the battle rune is now yours."

"Huh?" Suddenly entrusted with this important task, Ma En was a little flustered. "You're leaving it to me? But, but I've only learned it once and succeeded. What if I make a mistake?"

"Then a poor, unlucky fellow will die, die because of your mistake."

Ma En shuddered.

“Why don’t you do it yourself, Omro? You’d definitely do it better than me, and that way, the tribesmen won’t speak ill of you, once they understand your role.”

"Speak ill of me? Only a fool would secretly slander me. The strong rely on their power. Don't tell me such nonsense again. I don't care what they think of me. They will kneel before me sooner or later. Don't come to me with this simple job of applying battle runes. I have more important things to do."

Ma En obediently squatted to one side.

"Is it more important to rot the food of your tribe and extract the souls of your children?"

“I left you enough food to fill your stomachs; too much food would only make you complacent. Now that your fighting spirit has been extinguished, I can only use survival as my means of coercion. As for extracting souls, that little guy is already critically ill; letting him be released early will save him from so much pain. By leaving the sick and weak to rot in the wilderness, I have simply simplified the process.”

"You'll understand later that what I'm reaping now is for our future."

Ma En lifted the tent flap and glanced at Omro before leaving.

“I don’t know what Omro is thinking. Even if you are going to sacrifice your people in a terrible ritual, you have indeed given my people hope for survival.”

“I only hope… Omro, if the next time it’s time to reap the lives of my people, you can start with me. I’m an orphan, no one will care.”

Marx and Engels are gone.

Omhead's gaze returned to the past.

……

The storm tore the earth apart, and young people climbed the mountain ridge in the torrential rain.

Lightning illuminated the monster's scales, and its golden snake eyes became the sun in the darkness.

The black dragon looked at the human in front of him with disdain in his eyes.

"You're the strongest warrior in your tribe? How laughable! You and your tribe dare to fool me!"

The small human stood motionless in the storm, facing the giant dragon.

"I have completed your trial! Therefore, I am naturally qualified to be devoured by you! Monster! Eat me! Remember your promise, you promised to protect my tribe!"

The black dragon was surprised. It crawled out of the cave, its ferocious body surrounding the man. The man and the dragon stared at each other in the torrential rain.

"You have the courage to be a warrior. But aren't you afraid? Your family will lose you forever."

“I am an orphan, raised by the tribe, and I will give everything for it.”

The black dragon spread its wings, and its roar drowned out the thunder.

"Hahahaha, this is hilarious, a perfect match!!!"

"Very good! You are a proud warrior just like me. You and I will be the most compatible comrades-in-arms."

"Brave one, you will become an ally of the war dragon Omhead! Become my dragon priest! Become family!"

"Join me and become the world's fury!"

Chapter 587 MacKenzie's Molten Core

The Red Dragon Priest walked out of the bronze door without a word; he had just had an unpleasant meeting with the other members of the Craftsmen's Council.

"Those lazy, good-for-nothing old fogies, half-buried codgers!" Freheimer preferred the flesh-and-blood disguise to the other dragon priests, for he had regained his proud beard, a dwarf's favorite, second only to forging, brawls, and fine wine.

"They won't listen to me! Their big butts are welded to that bronze chair! I'm ashamed to be associated with them!!!"

“Uncle, if a master craftsman can only receive such praise from you, my father and Mackenbert will weep.” A dwarf in his prime, with long, curly black hair and beard that blended seamlessly with his hair, secured with gold rings at his temples, emerged from behind the bronze door with a cheerful smile. His navy blue tunic accentuated his sturdy physique; he was a skilled blacksmith. His handsome face was adorned with a pair of bright silver eyes that shone brightly, mirroring the jewels on his crown; he was a wise king.

The Dragonkin tribe, currently ruled by the Molten Dwarf King, Vyselger Firehammer.

After Freheimer became the Dragon Priest, his brother became the second Dwarf King, and the throne has now passed to his nephews and nieces. The Dragon Priest, obsessed with forging, is indifferent to power, and the deep bond between him and his brother has been passed down to his nephews and nieces.

Faced with the dwarf king's self-deprecating remarks, the hot-tempered red dragon priest did not stop.

“They’re idiots! What a magnificent plan I proposed! Not a single person agreed! Not even you! You’ve all lost your will to fight! The Craftsmen’s Council! Your timid and hesitant behavior is absurd, absurd, and pathetic! And you too! You are the king! You are the chairman of the Craftsmen’s Council, why do you allow those good-for-nothings to dominate the government! Our nation has stagnated! Can’t you see that?!”

The red dragon priest's finger, almost poking Veselg's face, left the dwarf king somewhat helpless; his uncle seemed to have had a few drinks. "I am the king, of course I must stand with the people, Uncle. Besides, the outcome was already decided; my vote wouldn't have made a difference. The Craftsmen's Council is on par with the king—that was the established law. I can't very well contradict my father. Moreover, Uncle, personally, I don't want to agree to your point of view. What you're trying to touch is the Molten Core, the core of the Great Forge. To allow the nation to suffer losses for a chance at the resurrection of a superfluous dragon with an uncertain probability—if I agreed to that, I must have been drunk too. Our nation is very stable now; we have fully entered a stage of self-sufficiency. If we were to harvest the Molten Core as you suggest, it would surely lead to unnecessary chaos..."

“I won’t listen! I won’t listen!” The red dragon priest shook his head stubbornly. To be honest, it was a bit disgusting for an old dwarf to make such an arrogant statement. “Veselg, our people have lost their former enterprising spirit! They are content with the status quo and afraid of losing what they have, just like… just like we were back then… This is dangerous, it is a sign of impending doom.”

The dwarf king was persuaded by the red dragon priest, and his expression became serious.

"Uncle, do you really have to do this?"

The Red Dragon Priest was secretly delighted, but outwardly he pretended to be concerned about the country and its people.

"That's right, my king, we need your wise decision!"

“I understand, I will not agree. As a king, I will not agree to such an absurd decision.”

The red dragon priest's face turned bright red, as if the shame and anger of being mocked had set his beard ablaze. He threw his staff aside, spread his arms wide, and looked like a fiery lion ready to pounce at any moment.

“However…” The dwarf king’s tone shifted as he took the warhammer with a fire gem at his waist, the dwarf king’s hammer, “As your nephew, I will support your decision. Uncle, I can’t persuade you anyway, and at least after your failure, I can bear your guilt. If our kingdom is about to decay, then so be it.”

"Let the dragon priest ignite a new fire."

"Veselg, you brat." The red dragon priest picked up the beautiful warhammer, raised it high above his head, and flames instantly erupted, like a torch. "You won't regret your decision today, you monstrously clever dwarf king."

Wieselger laughed heartily, “I would much rather you praise my passion for my family and the royal family; the fire hammer will never be extinguished.”

Freheimer let out the typical hearty laugh of the Firehammer clan.

"Tell your people to take refuge, my king. Today, MacKembert will be very 'lively'."

The dwarven kingdom of Mackenbert lies deep underground, beneath which lies a vast, active lava lake. The dwarves forged their kingdom using this uniquely powerful firepower, making this region the world's largest furnace. The lava fields beneath Mackenbert are thus known as the Great Furnace.

The Molten Dwarves are not the only inhabitants of the Great Forge; there are other neighbors who are just as fiery and smelly as they are.

Fire elemental creature.

In the low-lying areas of the lava pool, there are countless pitted caves on the mountain walls. These caves are deep and long, but the temperature is actually higher than that on the surface of the lava pool, because these are the dwellings of elemental creatures.

To reach the Molten Core, the Dragon Priest needs the assistance of an elemental being, because the Molten Core is located deep within the lava pool, and without the protection of an elemental being, he would be burned to death.

Of course, there is another way, which is to have a blue dragon priest with fire immunity do it, but a red dragon priest can't afford to lose face like that.

Fortunately, he has an elemental friend.

Armed with the fire hammer, Freheimer found the deepest and largest cave.

Inside the cave, which is four meters in diameter, the rock walls have a waxy, oily texture. The distorted air makes them appear blurred in the dragon priest's vision, as if they are liquefying. A foul-smelling, rose-colored vapor hangs above the cave and extends into its interior.

"I'm in!!!" the red dragon priest roared as he walked inside.

He found his goal.

It was an elemental creature with only its upper body shaped by flames, two flaming arms as thick as a gorilla's, eight melting abdominal muscles on its inverted triangular body, and a wreath on its head made of sparks.

Baron Garden lay on a special sun lounger, his face framed by two crystal lenses, as he applied sunscreen to his pectoral muscles, even though the oil would evaporate into steam in the next instant.

The Garden Baron is the name of this high-ranking elemental lord. He is one of the earliest elemental beings born in the Great Forge and is the leader of the elementals there. He is called the Garden Baron because he loves to grow flowers, and as a result, all the Flaming Dragon Serpent Orchids couldn't stand the terrible temperature here and smuggled themselves to the Wandering City.

"What are you doing, Baron Garden?"

"I'm on vacation, can't you tell? My old friend."

"All I see is you polluting the environment." The red dragon priest didn't tell the truth and turned to leave.

"Then you continue to rest. I'll find other elemental creatures to help."

"There are no other elemental beings. I am the only elemental being in the Great Forge now."

"What?!" The red dragon priest was horrified. "What happened to the fire elementals? How could your race be wiped out? What happened while I was gone?"

The Garden Baron rested his hands on his pillow, his tone relaxed.

"Extinction? No, it's just that all my little brothers have moved. They come to me to report before they leave, so I can be sure that I am definitely the last fire elemental right now."

"Moving? Where did they move to?"

"Anywhere they want to go? The invisible zone of the City of Wanderers? A certain active volcano? Or any place where burning is not illegal."

The Red Dragon Priest was utterly perplexed.

"But why? The melting pot is your home. Isn't it good to live here?"

The Garden Baron rose from his sunchair, removed his two glasses, and stared directly at the Red Dragon Priest with burning eyes.

“Freheimer, I think you completely misunderstand. You dwarves have become quite boring these days. In recent years, the Molten Dwarves haven't been blacksmithing or running arenas, and we don't like drinking. We can't even burn anything in Mackenbert. We fire elementals are getting a bit tired of you. It's like... well... the Great Forge is our home, but our home isn't doing well. It's not wrong for us to find our own way out and go out to work, is it? We want to find something interesting to do.”

"Anyway, you dwarves don't need us anymore. It's boring to soak in lava all day. We can go to the Unseen Zone to find people for entertainment when we migrate to the Wandering City. If we want to burn people, we can go to the Black Abyss Arena. Besides, the Arcane Masters are currently recruiting elemental companions, any element is fine. They even give away water elemental female companions. How can you Mackenbert's benefits compare to theirs?"

"Why would you want a water elemental companion?"