Only God-Chapter 591 - 501: Buried in the Flames of War (Double Update Combined)
When Maxwell learned that the Dwarf army had already started arriving at the Kingdom Border, the first defense line of the Helong Mountain Range had already come under fierce attack.
The old Earl hoisted himself onto his horse, a cold sweat breaking out on his neck.
"Damn, how could those Dwarfs have gotten here so quickly!"
His eldest and second sons were hurriedly fastening the belts of their armor on horseback, clearly flustered. It was obvious that the marching speed of the Dwarfs had exceeded everyone’s expectations, including Maxwell’s.
"Make ready to respond," Maxwell said, "and may the Gods bless us. We depart immediately for the Ron area—that is our second line of defense."
As Maxwell spoke, he spurred his horse to a frantic gallop, followed by his two sons and the soldiers hastily marching in a single-file line. A month ago, upon hearing that the Dwarfs were mobilizing, the old Earl had issued a call to arms for the Nobles and Landlords to commit to the war. However, the Dwarfs’ mobilization had been too rapid, and the Nobles and Landlords had been almost completely unprepared for warfare. By today, they had only managed to gather a mere ten thousand men—just half of the total number needed.
"Father, shouldn’t we go to the first line of defense?" the second son asked, puzzled.
"The Dwarfs might still be at the Border!"
Maxwell turned his head and cursed angrily,
"Fool! Just follow orders; the Gods wish it as well!"
The second son immediately hung his head. His thoughts weren’t without reason; considering the Dwarfs’ naturally short stature, even slightly taller walls were advantageous in defense. Therefore, by all logic, even if the Dwarfs were assaulting the first line of defense, holding it should have been more than possible.
But Maxwell was not optimistic. The marching speed of the Dwarfs had already shocked him greatly. Who knew what further surprises they might bring? Therefore, Maxwell held no illusions of luck.
That afternoon, Maxwell led a few hundred members of the Cavalry to the second line of defense. By nightfall, the remaining ten thousand had also arrived at various strongpoints and fortresses along the defense line.
The next day, Maxwell received news that the first defense line had been breached, and the soldiers who had fled brought more reports.
"Those machines! Siege hammers belching smoke, the Dwarfs just feed in coal, and they smash through the city gates in a few hits!"
"And the Bed Crossbows, I’ve never seen such massive Bed Crossbows, as if crafted by Hiris himself!"
"Nearly every Dwarf was armored! Can anyone tell me how they came to have so much Armor!"
The situation described by the fleeing soldiers was one more grave than the next, with details making even Maxwell shudder.
"Smoke-belching siege hammers, immense Bed Crossbows, Armor on every Dwarf... and Steam Trains that travel further than horses, cargo Steamboats... what exactly has steam technology brought them?"
Maxwell couldn’t help muttering to himself, even though the Dwarfs lacked many new-style weapons, using spears, swords, and arrows, he still felt the massive disparity in productive capacity brought on by steam technology. The Dwarfs in front of him were no longer those that the Beastmen could repel time and again; they were a truly formidable army.
Even so, Maxwell still did everything in his power to reinforce the second line of defense, setting traps on the roads leading to the key passes, digging through paths on one hand, and on the other hand, arranging surrounding ambushes at secret locations—all these preparations were expected to take five days.
However, by the third day, the dwarves had already reached the walls of Ron Castle, and Maxwell finally witnessed the edge of Kaelonde’s forces.
As the thunderous sound of bronze drums filled the air, the dwarves began to shout out war cries, one after another. Towering giants in armor pushed siege hammers, billows of white steam like the scythe of the Death God. The dwarves formed one rank after another in a relatively sparse formation, pressing forward under the rain of Golan arrows. They started to advance towards the lowest part of the walls.
Maxwell commanded the garrison to resist with all their might. They shot arrows and hurled pots of oil and fire, and filled the trenches with mud, but none of it could stop the advance of the dwarves, who, armored and comprising Kaelonde’s elite and veteran soldiers, protected the giants pushing the siege hammers.
When those steam-emitting siege hammers reached the wall, they struck with a thunderous crash. The massive hammers hit the walls hard, sending the soldiers on top tumbling down from the shockwaves. When they got back up, their faces were etched with horror.
"The Gods... it’s like the sky is falling!"
Fear spread in an instant. The soldiers, like elephants who had never seen fire, began to panic, while the dwarves fought with increasing valor. The enormous siege hammer operated only five times before it shattered a corner of the wall. Instantly, earth and stones collapsed, falling onto the battlefield filled with gunsmoke.
Maxwell was equally panicked; his years of military experience told him that defending a city should always be the easier battle compared to a siege. Given a bastion with walls four to five meters high, even the best siege hammer in the world would not trouble the defenders, even after thirty days. This was Maxwell’s proud and practical view of war.
However, that steam-belching siege hammer now shattered Maxwell’s wartime philosophy alongside the walls, crumbling into the gunsmoke. This unprecedented war machine, along with the dwarves’ grand steam technology, would not only completely change warfare but would also revolutionize the entire era!
Maxwell suppressed his panic and observed the situation on the battlefield. The dwarves, now through the broken walls, had begun melee combat with the fortress’s garrison. Dozens of bodies lay on the ground, blood spraying across the battlefield, and without the protection of the walls, the fortress’s fall was just a matter of time.
If all the human soldiers in the entire fortress were like elephants who had never seen fire, then Maxwell was the calmest old elephant among them. He made a decisive decision to command the remaining soldiers of the fortress to start an orderly retreat. He personally stood at the rear of the main force, covering the retreating troops to maintain the army’s morale.
Under Maxwell’s command, the garrison slowly retreated from the fortress. The battle lasted less than half a day, and the dwarves gained the victory they had wished for. The only consolation for the Golan people was that they managed to preserve most of their fighting force.
For an entire defensive line, the fall of one point meant the collapse of the entire line. Moreover, the steam machinery brought by the Kaelonde dwarves far exceeded the imagination of the Golan people. In just five short days, several fortresses along the second line of defense had changed hands, and the dwarves already controlled half of the Helong Mountain Range.
Maxwell sat dejectedly in the conference room of the castle, surrounded by nobles and landlords with pale faces. Not long ago, they had sworn that the dwarves would never launch an attack, but reality had slapped their faces hard.
"It seems that our prayers to the Merchant God Rowley had no effect."
Maxwell surveyed the room, speaking coldly.
There was a silence among the attendees, no one dared to speak.
At that moment, Maxwell’s eldest son asked:
"The dwarves will reach us before long! What about those envoys we sent?"
Maxwell took a deep breath and said,
"The envoys met with the Dwarf King Kafu. You know what he said? He demands that we immediately withdraw from the Helong Mountain Range and pay a sum of money for reconstruction and consolation. And the money for the exchange of prisoners is not included in this."
Everyone present inhaled sharply; even without Maxwell mentioning a specific amount, they knew it would surely be an astronomical sum.
"Father, what should we do now?"
The second son asked in panic.
Maxwell fell into silence. Even with his vast experience on the battlefield, he did not know what to do with the situation at hand.
The dwarves’ onslaught had exceeded his expectations, and King Kafu had no intention of negotiating. They were determined to claim the Helong Mountain Range, and the letters he had sent to the king had gone unanswered. Reinforcements were nowhere in sight; even if everyone in the Helong Mountain Range held their ground fearlessly, they could not hold out for long.
"Damn it... We must evacuate this place!"
Maxwell slammed the table and declared with a firm voice.
The old Earl’s motion startled everyone present, and the content of his words filled them with fear.
"Evacuate? My lord Earl, I have three mines here!"
"How can this be possible? The gods would not allow us to do this."
"The place is teeming with trading hubs; how can we possibly evacuate?"
"My family is here, my village is here."
The nobles and landlords’ faces turned pale; the Helong Mountain Range was too important to them. It was not just a hundred-year home but also rich in mineral resources and bustling commerce. Who could surrender it so easily?
"We must evacuate. If we don’t, those dwarves will tear me to shreds,"
said Maxwell, his voice tinged with anger,
"If we leave now, we can take it back later. As soon as reinforcements arrive, we can drive those dwarves away at any moment!"
The crowd hesitated, murmuring to one another.
Seeing this, Maxwell suddenly stood up and bellowed:
"Do you want Golan to be enslaved again?!"
The roar seemed to shake the entire conference room. The enraged old Earl ultimately intimidated everyone. The room fell silent, and even though there were still dissatisfied murmurs, no one dared to question Maxwell’s decision.
The Earl acted swiftly; after making his decision, he immediately began withdrawing the remaining troops from the defense lines, preparing to leave the Helong Mountain Range. By the third day, the army had completed preparations and began to orderly retreat towards the heartland of Golan.
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"Just as I expected, the dwarf king has begun to move,"
the Dream God Laren said with a smile to the other divine beings,
"They will soon take Helong."
Storm God Utus then spoke up, asking:
"What shall we do now? Should we give Kafu the Sixth a divine revelation to continue his advance?
If Kaelonde halts, then all our efforts would be in vain."
Dream God Laren shook his head and replied:
"No, no, no, such conspicuous actions would surely alarm Hiris.
If we were to antagonize Him, we would be in big trouble."
The other deities nodded in agreement; the God of Mountains and Craftsmanship, Hiris, had forged divine weapons for every deity of the Celestial Kingdom since His birth, so no one wished to cross Him.
"In that case, what shall we do?"
Utus pressed on.
"We need do nothing,"
Laren paused,
"Mankind is always greedy. The king took the Helong Mountain Range so easily, almost without paying any price; hence, he will certainly not stop there."
The deities present nodded. The Dream God Laren, with his profound understanding of dreams, was especially adept at discerning the human heart.
"Let Kafu continue, let him go on.
He will not be satisfied with Helong, and even if he conquers the whole of Golan, he will not stop there.
Let the war rage on until he realizes... only when ruin is imminent.
But by then, it will be too late,
The entire kingdom will have been dragged into the abyss of war, and Belvan’s research on the divine Path, along with himself, will be buried in the flames of conflict."
