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Chapter 264: Stubbornness (2)

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The moment the Weapon Master appeared, the air seemed to freeze.

A look of extreme fear washed over the dwarves’ faces, making their anger and determination from moments ago seem like a lie.

“Achilles.”

Weapon Master spoke. Despite his slightly below-average build, his voice was incredibly deep and heavy.

“Why are you causing trouble?”

“I told you, didn’t I? The more materials I have, the more perfect this hearth will become.”

“Then why did you let them into the city when you could have had my subordinates subdue them?”

“They worked so hard to prepare, so I wanted to see it.”

“Are you telling me you let them cause all this chaos for such a trivial reason?”

“An artisan’s aesthetic is a complex thing. Please try to understand.”

Achilles said with a smile. Weapon Master clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Didn’t you tell me not to kill them?”

“Yep! Just bring them to me alive.”

The Weapon Master looked around at the dwarves.

His emerald eyes scanned them. They trembled like aspen leaves.

“You’re outnumbered.”

Weapon Master spoke directly to the dwarves.

“I heard you have a necromancer working with you. Victor the Woodcutter, was it? Where is he?”

“H-he’s not here!”

Kilo barely managed to muster the courage to speak. But as soon as the Weapon Master stared at him, his forced courage evaporated in an instant.

“Not here? Are you telling me you came alone? I don’t know what you’re thinking. Well, if he’s not here, I have no business with you.”

Weapon Master spoke to the dwarves.

“Those who surrender, kneel on the ground. Otherwise, I’ll cut off your limbs and drag you away.”

Killing intent emanated from the Weapon Master.

He was one of the closest to the pinnacle of Master Class.

The killing intent emitted by such a powerful being was a weapon in itself.

It was impossible to overcome the dwarves’ fear that caused them to froth at the mouth.

“…Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Surrender? Fuck you!”

“I will surely kill you here!”

However, not a single dwarf bowed to the Weapon Master.

Instead, they glared at him with determined eyes, as if they would rather die right there.

“This is getting annoying. It’s a thousand times harder to keep vermin alive than to kill them.”

The Weapon Master muttered, shaking his head from side to side.

Then, one dwarf raised an Ancient Sun and shouted.

“Weapon Master! My son died because of you! At least you… I will surely kill you with my own hands!”

The dwarf threw the Ancient Sun at the Weapon Master.

The Ancient Sun rocketed through the air.

It slammed into the Weapon Master, erupting in a deafening roar of crimson flame.

A dwarf contorted his face in a triumphant grin. But his victory dance was short-lived.

The flames danced around the Weapon Master, harmless as flickering candlelight.

He stepped out, brushing embers from his clothes with a nonchalant flick.

“Is this the ‘Ancient Sun’ you Hammerfell dwarves brag about? It packs a punch, I’ll give you that. But against me? Not even close.”

The dwarf’s grin evaporated, replaced by a look of sheer terror.

He fumbled for another Ancient Sun with shaking hands. Before he could throw it, a red streak sliced through the air.

Blood spurted – the dwarf’s wrist lay limp on the ground, still clutching the ‘Ancient Sun’. A guttural scream ripped from his throat as he clutched the bloody stump.

The Weapon Master shook his head, a hint of pity in his voice.

“You wouldn’t think I’d fall for the same trick twice, would you? Achilles, you just need them to be alive, right? Not like you need their limbs too…”

“Do as you wish, but do not kill them.”

Then another flash, another scream. The other knee of the now one-armed dwarf gave way, spraying blood across the dusty ground. He crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony.

Confusion and fear rippled among the dwarves. How? Why hadn’t the Weapon Master even moved?

“One down.”

Weapon Master muttered, striding towards the whimpering dwarf.

He grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, a cruel curiosity flashing in his eyes.

As he reached under the dwarf’s tattered clothes, his hand brushed against something strange – a vest woven from what seemed like hundreds of tiny iron pellets.

The dwarf, through gasps of pain, let out a chilling laugh. “Weapon Master.! To think I’d be the first dwarf to fuck you… what an honor!”

With a final burst of strength, he yanked on a hidden string beneath his vest.

A massive explosion occurred. Buildings crumbled, fire erupted skyward.

The force of the blast was unlike anything they’d seen – a hundred Ancient Suns detonating at once. Even the Weapon Master was thrown back, his sleeve smoldering.

“Now!”

A roar echoed through the dust.

“For our ancestors! For Hammerfell!”

With grim faces and a terrifying kind of resolve, the remaining dwarves charged forward.

Each one wore a similar vest, each one clutching a hidden string. They were ready to die, and take the Weapon Master with them.

Achilles who was witnessing the scene unfold, could only stare, speechless.

“Suicide? Are they insane?”

“Crazy?”

“Kill him.”

Kilo’s bellow echoed through the ravaged city. His remaining dwarven warriors, driven by a desperate loyalty, flung themselves at the Weapon Master.

The only resistance left here was Kilo.

“To confront a monster like the Weapon Master, we have to make this much sacrifice!”

Kilo knew it was a suicide mission.

These were dwarves, hardy and skilled but facing a Master Class warrior was a death sentence, especially one like the Weapon Master who had crossed many walls in Master Class.

Their only hope was a surprise attack.

That’s why they chose ‘suicide’.

“You idiot! The Weapon Master won’t die from an Ancient Sun! You’re just throwing your lives away!”

“It doesn’t matter! That was just a way to tie up the Weapon Master’s feet!”

He ripped off his outer garment, revealing a chilling sight. It was a vest woven from interlocking Ancient Suns. The dwarves’ plan wasn’t just stalling the Weapon Master; it was a diversion.

“Our real goal is to destroy that hearth! If we can only get rid of that, our lives are not worth anything!”

Kilo ran towards the hearth. A flicker of fear crossed Achilles’s face for the first time.

“Ah, no! Not the hearth!”

Achilles had no fighting ability.

There was no way for him to stop Kilo’s self-destruction.

Just as Killo reached for the string to detonate his vest, a flash of crimson ripped across the sky.

A swift and silent sword pierced into his abdomen.

“Ugh!”

Kilo collapsed to the ground in pain, his intestines bursting.

Kilo raised his head, clutching the hole in his stomach. He saw a sword floating in the air.

It was no ordinary sword.

He could tell by the blood-red blade and the eyeballs that stood out on the hilt.

“Demonic sword.”

-Kihihihet! It’s nice to know you!

The Demonic sword flew through the air, making a strange laughing sound.

-Master! I stopped it as you ordered! I stopped it, didn’t I? I did! I, Bendal, saved the day!”

“Indeed, you did well.,”

A voice came from the explosion site. The Weapon Master walked out through the flames.

The Weapon Master’s clothes were all burned. But the Weapon Master himself was unharmed.

Despite the fact that all the dwarves except Kilo had lost their lives, they had not been able to inflict any damage on the Weapon Master.

“The destructive power is considerable. If it hadn’t been for the Demonic swords, I would have been badly injured.”

Several Demonic swords were floating around the Weapon Master. It seemed that they had protected the Weapon Master from the explosion.

“Damn… this quickly…”

Kilo desperately tried to get up.

With all of his subordinates dead, he was the only dwarf who could destroy the hearth.

However, he couldn’t muster any strength in his body because the Demonic sword had pierced him in a bad spot.

He kept ordering his legs to get up, but they wouldn’t listen.

“Kilo, my foolish friend. This place is guarded by the Weapon Master. Did you seriously think such a method would work against such a monster?”

Kilo bit his lip.

He realized that even his earlier panic had been an act.

It was all just an act to satisfy Achilles’s lowbrow pleasure.

‘There must be… there must be some way. If I can just get close to the hearth… Maybe the dwarves at the gate… if they could just-‘

Even though he knew it was impossible, Kilo pinned his hopes on his remaining subordinates.

He heard footsteps from behind. The Weapon Master’s subordinates who were guarding the outside were coming into the city.

“My lord, we have captured the remaining enemy forces.”

Killo’s heart sank. His own men were in the hands of the Weapon Master.

“Well done. Hand them all over to Achilles.”

“Yes, sir!”

The subordinates dragged the dwarves and threw them at Achilles’s feet.

“The offerings have arrived again.”

Achilles looked at the dwarves with a loving expression.

“Ac… Achilles… you traitor…”

“To remain conscious despite these injuries, you’re quite tough. I choose you.”

Achilles grabbed a dwarf and muttered a strange chant.

Suddenly, multiple tentacles emerged from the hearth, wrapping around the dwarf and digging into his flesh.

“Argh!”

“This is just the beginning. The real pain is yet to come.”

The tentacles pulsed red as they ripped the dwarf’s body to shreds.

Every muscle in his body was ripped along the grain. All the nerves hidden inside were exposed. The dwarf’s bones were exposed to the air.

“Aaah!”

Another scream tore from the dwarf’s throat.

Even in such a state, the dwarf remained alive and continued to scream in agony.

The tentacles dragged the dismembered dwarf towards the hearth. The dwarf’s muscles and nerves began to connect to the hearth.

“Ugh! Aaah!”

The dwarf’s screams turned into a horrifying gurgle as the fusion took place.

It was a more horrible, painful scream than when his body was being torn apart.

“Achilles! Stop it! I said stop!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Kilo screamed in despair. But Achilles ignored him completely.

“Wait patiently. You’re next.”

Everyone was frozen, horrified by the spectacle. Even the Weapon Master and his subordinates were speechless.

Thus, no one saw…

That the darkness in the city was stirring.

The shadows of the city were rippling like waves.

“Huh?”

One of the Dark knights finally noticed.

“Wait, is this…?”

Green spears erupted from the darkness, impaling the Dark knights with deadly accuracy. Their armor offered no protection against the aura imbued blades.

“Argh!”

“Aaah!”

Screams ripped through the air as the Dark knights fell.

Dozens of Dark knights turned into pieces of meat in an instant.

“Skeletons?”

The Weapon Master shouted in astonishment as he looked at the skeletons emerging from the shadows.

Kilo’s initial surprise morphed into relief. A grin spread across the Weapon Master’s face.

“Could it be… has that cocky brat who dared to challenge me finally shown up?”

Darkness swirled around Kilo, solidifying into a figure.

When Kilo saw the figure, he shouted in shock.

“Victor…?”

A man wearing a mask stood before him.

Damien looked down at Kilo with an indifferent gaze that now felt oddly welcoming.

“Are you… here to help me?”

Damien slowly extended his hand to help Kilo up. Kilo hesitated but reached out to grasp Damien’s hand.

But just before their hands touched, Damien clenched his fist and punched Kilo in the face.

“You stubborn dwarf! What do you think you’re doing, messing up my plan like that?”

“W-wait…! Let’s talk this out!”

“Talk? Sure, but let me beat you first!”

Damien then began to mercilessly stomp on Kilo.

“Phew, now I feel a bit better.”

After a while, Damien finally looked at the Weapon Master.

The Weapon Master watched Damien with great interest.

“Weapon Master. It’s disgustingly nice to see you again.”

“Again? This is the first time I’ve seen you. Where exactly did we meet?”

“Don’t strain yourself. I’ll make sure you soon remember me.”

The Weapon Master burst into laughter.

“Interesting. Very interesting. I never thought a Dark mage would dare challenge me at this point…”

Damien, however, had already lost interest in the Weapon Master. His gaze fixated on the massive hearth in the square.

“…”

Damien’s expression hardened as he stared at the hearth.

“…Did you construct that monstrosity?”

“Oh, you recognized it right away. As expected from a Grand Dark mage, it’s something you can’t miss.”

The Weapon Master stroked the hearth like it was a treasure.

“This marvel is a testament to our ancestors’ wisdom. Crafted with very special materials: the flesh, bones, organs, nerves, and souls of living dwarves, all woven together.”

“You’re insane!”

At Damien’s condemnation, Achilles wagged his finger back and forth.

“It’s unfair to hear that from a Dark mage. Don’t you also use souls and corpses?”

“Yes, but I don’t torture them while they’re still alive.”

With his expertise in dark magic, he immediately understood the structure of the hearth.

Tens of thousands of living dwarves had been woven together while still alive.

Their muscles and nerves were all connected to function as a single entity.

The dwarves used to create that hearth were still alive and suffering in agony.

There were forcible connections between the bodies of the dwarves, so it was impossible for them to live normally.

“Why did you create something like that?”

“That’s a somewhat short-sighted question. By using this method, we can combine the talents of the dwarves used as materials. Imagine how extraordinary the weapons would be if we merged tens of thousands of dwarves into one.”

Damien’s lips contorted in disgust. As if he wanted to ask if that was the only reason for such cruelty.

“Kilo, did you know about this?”

Damien asked the dwarf at his feet.

“…I knew. I saw it while observing them outside the city. I saw the residents of the city turning into those forms.”

Kilo buried his face in the ground, suppressing his sobs as he continued to speak.

“Victor… I, no, we lied to you. We didn’t gather to reclaim the city! What’s the point of taking it back? Our families… our loved ones… tens of thousands of our kin are already gone!”

The dwarves weren’t trying to reclaim the city to survive.

“From the beginning, our only goal was to destroy that hearth and end our lives!”

Their goal wasn’t to retake the city but to find a place to die with some dignity.

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