Chapter 247: The City Falls

At this moment, the Dark Elves had arranged their troops in a circular formation within a common depression in the Underdark.

Right in the center of this camp, which was about one hundred meters in radius, stood a statue of the Spider Queen.

This statue was a slender Dark Elf woman wearing a light robe woven from spiderwebs, cast and polished from Abyssal Blood Steel.

Under the effect of magic, her silver hair flowed down like a waterfall, and her exquisite black face possessed extreme beauty.

A large number of graceful female Dark Elves surrounded this statue in concentric circles.

Although their lowered heads and masks hid their faces, this secret hidden behind the shadows gave a strange allure.

Perhaps to facilitate this special ritual, this large open space was left completely uncovered, even though it was deep within the camp.

Or perhaps the Dark Elf generals believed their secrecy was perfect, or that their power was so great they did not need to hide at all.

Based on the large number of Wax Golems that had appeared earlier, one could guess what ritual the Dark Elf Matrons were performing.

After all, the total number of Wax Golems on the Prime Material Plane was not as vast as the ones just seen.

This attack was not just a worldly war; it also reflected the will of that cruel Spider Queen.

In the distance, the black city walls of Blindstone City were clearly visible amidst the flames.

Countless giant stones fell one after another onto the city walls, raising clouds of dust.

The front wall was already a sight of ruin and destruction.

A dense rain of arrows, like swarms of locusts, completely blocked out the sky over the entire city.

Countless black dots moved on the city walls—those were the Dwarves and Gnomes fighting together to resist the Dark Elf attack.

The deafening roar of battle seemed to be heard even from the distant camp.

Different languages and tones met there, the clash of metal against metal, and the collision of metal against flesh.

Everything combined to form a unique symphony.

The long war horn of the Dark Elves sounded again, which sounded like funeral music to the Dwarves.

Because the defense line of their first city wall had already fallen.

With the threat from the city wall gone, the Minotaurs below swung their siege hammers faster, striking the Mithril gate in front of them with great force.

At the same time, the giant Siege Tower was pulled right up to the city wall, and the originally clumsy Bear Goblins and Ogres finally climbed onto the wall.

Although the Dark Elves had already controlled the situation on the city wall, they had not yet eliminated the resistance of the Dwarves and Gnomes.

Even as the battle turned against them, the Dwarves retreated in an orderly fashion while fighting, showing no signs of a rout.

“Moo! Moo! Moo!” the sound of cow calls echoed outside the city gate; it was the Minotaurs cheering.

This indicated that the most important defense line of the city—the Mithril Gate—had become history.

In their eyes, it was time for the main army to charge straight in.

However, very quickly, the cheering stopped abruptly.

Because the Minotaurs found that the back of the gate was blocked by a giant Obsidian wall, showing that the Dwarves had prepared for this moment long ago.

Although the Obsidian reinforced with runes was heavy, its strength was now greater than that of the Mithril gate.

Connecting the second and first city walls was a narrow long bridge where troops could not deploy in formation.

This was truly the best terrain for defense.

No matter how many troops the Dark Elves had, they could not bring their numbers to bear here.

A group of Dwarf defenders wearing Adamantine plate armor stood at the bridgehead.

But at this time, they formed a spear formation in an unprecedented way, blocking the long bridge with their three-pronged Spears.

To counter the charge of the large Ogres, this was probably the best choice.

On both sides of the bridge, the Gnome marksmen with excellent archery skills immediately raised their carefully calibrated Firearms.

On the defensive formation arranged by the Dwarf commander, only the very center was guarded by a squad of Dwarves holding Spears to defend the exit of the long bridge.

The other large groups of Dwarves served as reserves and could replace their comrades on the front line at any time.

On the open ground on both sides with good fields of view, five rows of Gnome marksmen were arranged front and back.

In this way, the entire long bridge was exposed to the crossfire of the Gnome marksmen.

This was a death grinder carefully prepared by the commander for the Dark Elves.

Unless there was a powerful force that was not afraid of ranged attacks, the enemy would have to fill this place with flesh and blood, no matter how many troops they had.

The Dark Elf frontline commander clearly saw this was a meat grinder.

Unwilling to let his people be consumed here in large numbers, he chose to send the Ogres to scout ahead before the Ogres arrived.

In the era of cold weapons, infantry in a spear formation could be said to be invincible from the front.

To break these hedgehog formations, a wise commander would usually choose to attack from the flank or crush them with powerful ranged firepower.

However, the Ogres obviously did not meet these two conditions.

The Dwarf army, assisted by Gnome marksmen, held absolute superiority in ranged firepower.

As for the flanks, they were protected by the Abyssal architectural terrain next to the sky bridge.

Unless there were flying troops, they could only sigh helplessly at the rock walls.

“Take aim, fire at will!”

Accompanied by the bang-bang-bang sound of gunpowder igniting, a barrage of fire descended upon the heads of the Ogres charging in the front.

Borrowing the dim light from the torches, the Dwarf warriors saw blood mist explode on the opposite platform.

Countless black shadows were shot to the ground amidst screams, never to get up again.

After all, the Dark Elves were not so wealthy that they could equip even the Ogres with fine gear.

The so-called heavy armor they wore was just roughly made iron armor.

Although it offered some protection against arrows, it was not much better than paper against the lead bullets of Firearms.

But the living beings in this world were simply too tenacious.

So it was often seen that Ogres with many bleeding bullet holes on their bodies still roared and charged.

However, a loss of less than a hundred men would not make the Dark Elf commander, who was supervising from behind, give up.

Under their command, another batch of Ogres surged onto the platform.

They threw the bodies of their comrades, which still retained body heat, into the Abyss without mercy, and then charged forward at the Dwarves.

This wave of Ogres lost about 300 men.

Unfortunately, in the end, only three Ogres managed to reach the other end of the long bridge.

Finally, these three unlucky guys were each hit by a Dwarf with a Spear and swept down into the Abyss below the bridge, turning into a pool of meat paste.

The Dark Elves on the city wall, who were suppressing with firepower, were not the professional archers below the wall.

The arrows from their light hand crossbows could not even reach the other side.

However, the Dark Elves did not intend to give up just like that.

This time, they made the small Goblins play a new trick.

A large number of Goblins used their agile bodies and strong limbs to climb along the sides of the long bridge, trying to avoid the bullets of the Firearms this way.

It must be said that this was a very stupid idea.

The Dark Elf commander must have had his brain squeezed dry by his Matron to make such a nonsensical decision.

So, after a burst of smoke, the cold and rough rock wall was dotted with many spots of foul-smelling blood.

The bodies of that group of Goblins still fell into the Abyss below.

Finally, just when the Dark Elf commander was about to go mad, the ones capable of serving as the main force for the assault finally appeared.

The Ogres, standing between 12 to 15 feet tall!

Wearing plate armor made specially for them, they appeared on the other side of the long bridge.

Although they looked ugly and stupid, when these big guys raised their spiked clubs high, roared, and charged forward with big strides, the sense of oppression was indescribable.

Running fast, they caused dust to fall from the long, narrow bridge under their feet, rushing towards the Dwarf army formation.

One wondered if those Dwarves regretted building the bridge so solidly at this moment.

Dense, rotating fire made the sound of Gnome Firearms ring out continuously.

Then came the sound of metal breaking and the teeth-grinding sound of bullets hitting flesh.

Although their armor could not completely defend against the attack of lead bullets, the thick skin and fat on the bodies of these Cave Trolls served as the best second line of defense.

They effectively resisted those lead bullets that had already been slowed down.

So the dense barrage only delayed the steps of this giant monster.

The creature, covered in holes in its armor, continued to move forward.

Another round of dense crossfire was fired.

Finally, the Cave Troll that had been targeted by hundreds of Firearms could not hold on.

Black blood gushed from the wounds in its huge body, which was full of holes like a honeycomb, dripping onto the sky bridge.

This corrosive blood reacted immediately upon touching the bridge surface, smoking and hissing.

Once happened, twice will follow.

Very quickly, the second Ogre fell down as well.

The Ogres behind pushed the body of the leading comrade, which was full of bullet holes, into the Abyss, and then continued to charge forward in silence.

The death of their comrade seemed to have no effect on them at all.

Although two Ogres were shot down, the Dark Elf army had advanced 30 meters.

In other words, before the eight Cave Trolls were completely shot down, the enemy would definitely be able to rush across this 80-meter-long sky bridge.

But what must come will come.

After shooting down four Ogres, the last Ogre, whose body was full of arrows, finally reached the other end of the long bridge.

A low growl roared from its throat, and it swung its giant iron spiked club, smashing it fiercely into the densely formed line of marching Dwarves.

The arms of an Ogre were about 5 to 7 feet long, and the giant spiked club in their hand was over 6 feet long.

However, the Spears used by these Dwarf defenders were as long as 15 feet.

Therefore, the enemy did not actually gain much advantage.

If heavy-armed Dwarves were faced with blunt weapons like spiked clubs or flails, which acted as can openers, then the extra-large spiked club used by the Ogres was the best can opener.

Moreover, the extra-long Spears held by the Dwarf defenders were made of Mithril alloy for the shaft, not just the Adamantine spearheads.

So, the situation where ordinary spear troops were broken because their wooden shafts snapped would not happen to them.

But this kind of luxurious behavior could only be done by Dwarves! Do you think they were forging Dragon Spears?

However, it seemed that only these elite warriors had enough arm strength and endurance to use such weapons.

Unlike other Dwarf warriors who fought in silence and focus, or liked to use wild shouts to increase their courage, the impression these extra-long Spears gave was the unified slogans they shouted.

In the rhythm of their unified slogans, they thrust their Spears into the lower abdomen of the Cave Trolls.

Then they withdrew after the second slogan, and thrust again during the echo of the third.

No matter how ferocious and huge the enemy was, they remained immovable like a mountain.

The sound of the Spear piercing the body of the Ogre and the “squish” sound as it was pulled out was their alternative war cry and rhythm.

With extremely small losses, they repelled this attack by the Dark Elves.

The entire long bridge was covered with the dirty black blood of the Ogres and Goblins, becoming incredibly slippery.

But the danger was not over; it had only just begun, because the enemy’s reinforcements had finally arrived.

Facing the huge number of Troll and Ogre troops, neither Firearms nor the extra-long spear formation could guarantee killing the enemy at a safe distance.

Twisted and deformed armor mixed with blurred flesh and blood, making it almost impossible to distinguish.

Seeing the situation turn into a bloody war of attrition, the commander had no choice but to order his troops to hold on as hard as they could.

Actually, when facing freak monsters like Trolls and Ogres, using a scattered formation to meet the enemy was the best choice.

A dense formation could not only fail to block the enemy but would also unnecessarily increase casualties.

However, the commander on the scene faced not only Cave Trolls and Ogres but also the large groups of Bear Goblins and Ogres following behind them.

If the formation was scattered, once it was broken, those lightly armed Gnome marksmen would be in trouble.

The Trolls and Ogres swung their giant spiked clubs in a wide sweep.

In the whooshing sound of breaking air, the shield of an Axe Shield Dwarf was smashed into fragments.

This Dwarf, who had lost his shield, let out a shout, and taking advantage of the gap between the attacks of the Trolls and Ogres, slid sharply to the front of the Trolls and Ogres.

With a swing of his great axe, he chopped at their swollen feet.

But facing the Goblin army that followed, this Dwarf warrior was directly tackled to the ground and then rolled down into the Abyss next to the sky bridge.

Suddenly, a flash of fire appeared in the defensive formation, followed by a loud explosion.

The whistling sound of the cannonball was even more terrifying.

The distant whistle grew closer and closer.

Finally, on the ground not far from the stone bridge, a large pit was smashed by a solid cannonball.

Rubble and dust flew up, then patted against the gray armor of the Ogres, covering them in a layer of dust.

The shock from the huge sound and the firelight caused the Ogres and Goblins, who had never seen cannons, new weapons, to show signs of unrest.

Even the Dark Elf commander began to pace uneasily.

The first shot was lucky.

The cannonball whizzed past their heads, leaving a hole in the wall top behind them, and then rolled away to who knows where.

But subsequently, the thick iron cannonballs, calibrated for speed, rushed wildly through the crowd at an extremely fast speed, plowing a bloody corridor.

In a straight line, four fully armed Ogres, along with the Goblins behind them, were cut down like fragile wheat.

Where the cannonball plowed, only bodies that could not even be called complete remained.

Eliminating these rear troops allowed the Dwarves in front to catch their breath for a moment.

However, due to the magic world, those Dark Elves and their slaves quickly adapted to the impact of the artillery fire.

Despite suffering heavy casualties, they launched another charge.

Similar situations occurred in two other places on the city tower.

Although the alliance of Dwarves and Gnomes relied on favorable terrain and pre-arranged advantages to inflict heavy casualties on the Dark Elves’ fighting force, they were still retreating step by step under continuous attacks.

Just as more and more Dark Elves climbed onto the city tower, the ground suddenly trembled, and dust flew in all directions.

Countless runes appeared on the entire first city wall.

The light shining from them seemed to expose this place to sunlight.

Intense bright light accompanied by a huge noise, and a massive explosion began.

The first city wall in front was completely destroyed, along with the large number of Dark Elf troops and a small number of the Spider Queen’s favorites.

Those Dark Elf Matrons had to stop their prayers.

Seeing the scene before them, the muscles on their faces kept twitching.

But now they were in a position where they had to go on.

If they suffered such great losses and still could not capture the city in front of them, they themselves would be sacrificed to the Spider Queen by the ambitious ones in their clan.

After about three days of battle, the 24-hour continuous offensive finally achieved the expected result.

“The Dwarves are about to give out,” a frontline commander said.

Because he clearly felt that the performance of these Dwarves today was not like before.

In fact, this was very normal.

The siege had already lasted for 8 days.

The alliance of Dwarves and Gnomes was fewer in number and could not rotate like the Dark Elves, so fatigue was normal.

Although Dwarves are known for their tenacity, they are still flesh and blood.

Except for a few, they are not the stones they speak of, nor are they steel.

From the ninth day on, the resistance of the Dwarves became weaker and weaker, and sections of the city wall fell one after another.

Finally, a group of Dark Elves rushed down from the city wall, opened the third city gate which had been deformed by the Minotaur, and the following warriors poured in like a tidal wave.

Although the defeat was inevitable, the Dwarves still refused to surrender and continued to resist desperately using the buildings.

The city had now entered street fighting, which did not fit the expectations of the Dark Elves.

In the past, this would have been fine.

But now, the Dark Elves, who had suffered heavy losses, continued to fight for Blindstone City.

One of their goals was to obtain a batch of Dwarf slaves to make up for the huge losses they had suffered before.

If they fought to the death like this, victory was expected, but there would be no slaves.

Dark Elves were not Vampires or Liches; they did not like to command the undead.

But when they finally captured the Temple of “Soul Forger” Moradin, the “Ancient Forge,” the Dark Elves found that the situation was even more out of their control.