Karnak, Monarch of Death

This was how the Black God’s cult, now in control of the capital, operated. The archmages Giyen Ren and Diogres Kolon, and even the martial king Batalok—though he had become undead—stood as the cult’s strongest. They guarded the grand cathedral with unwavering resolve. In doing so, they prevented Karnak’s party from sneaking in to scatter the Shadow of Doom.

Their subordinate forces were sufficient to hold the defensive lines, which allowed them to focus their efforts on guarding the grand cathedral. Given this, the cult anticipated that the empire’s strategy would proceed as follows:

The imperial army would create as many strongholds as possible within the capital, carving out a path toward the grand cathedral. Then, when the opportunity presented itself, they would send in an elite detachment of their strongest warriors, likely Karnak’s group, to strike and trigger the Shadow of Doom.

Considering their current predicament, the empire had no other viable option. But the imperial army’s movements defied these expectations. Just like the first day of the war, the empire continued to assault the capital, fighting fiercely to secure and hold strongholds. This was as expected.

The Black God’s cult responded by sending its forces to intercept them, at times repelling them, at times losing ground and conceding positions. But the unexpected move came afterwards.

When the strongholds were taken by the imperial forces, the two archmages made their move, just as on the first day. They swept away the strongholds with magic, then filled the space with surplus undead forces to reclaim the ground.

But then, the imperial army simply retreated without hesitation. They could not understand it. The empire was in a battle against time, not the cult. Time and ground were far more precious to the empire.

It was incomprehensible, yet there was no reason for the cult to alter their methods. After all, they held the advantage. Thus, the cult continued to reinforce its defenses, and the imperial army continued to attack and then retreat.

So it went, for three whole days. On the third day, the empire’s seventh regiment was once again assaulting the capital, locked in a fierce battle with the cult’s forces.

These were veterans hardened by countless battles against the undead, and while they might be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, they were confident in their ability to win a direct confrontation.

But today was different. Today, they faced the elves of the Berus Federation. They were opponents subordinate to Giyen Ren, and quite unfamiliar to humankind.

***

Elves, with lifespans far longer than humans, were better suited to becoming well-rounded and dug many wells instead of focusing on a single skill to master. Dwarves, however, despite their equally long lifespans, found greater advantage in mastering a single craft.

It was due to their unique physique and constitution. The dwarves were short, stocky beings with short limbs, broad shoulders, and thick torsos. They had small yet dense bodies, reminiscent of living stones. While their build was excellent for strength, it also presented a clear disadvantage. They were inevitably at a disadvantage compared to humans or elves in combat.

Many opinions and saying existed regarding martial arts. Some said that efforts could overcome talent. Martial arts were created so the weak could defeat the strong. They weren’t wrong.

The weak could indeed defeat the talented and the strong through training and mastery. But this truth relied on the assumption that the talented, strong individual had not trained to the same degree.

One’s natural physique was undeniably a crucial advantage in combat. How could the body not matter in techniques executed by the body? Between two individuals with equal skill, the one with the longer reach would naturally prevail.

No matter how long they lived, a dwarf’s limbs would never grow longer. Inevitably, their speed in mastering combat techniques was many times slower than that of humans or elves. Thus, trying to learn a variety of martial techniques, like the elves, was a poor fit for the dwarves. Dabbling would only lead to mediocrity.

They had to focus and master a single craft, just to stand on even ground with humans or elves. Even then, their physical disadvantage remained. However, the dwarves possessed a tremendous strength that no other race could match. Their bodies naturally developed muscle mass as easily as humans.

At first glance, one might wonder why matching humans in this regard was noteworthy, but it was a massive advantage when combined with their longer lifespans. What would happen if beings with lifespans three times that of humans gained muscle at the same rate? Firstly, they suffered significantly less muscle loss with age.

Given equal skill, their raw physical strength was several times greater than that of humans or elves. Most dwarves pushed this advantage and focused solely on improving and mastering pure strength. This was why the battles between the empire’s eighth regiment and the dwarves unfolded in a completely different manner than against the elven warriors.

***

The dwarves advanced through the streets in perfect formation.

”Push forward!”

”Advance! Advance!”

Short limbs they may have had, but dwarves possessed solid centers of gravity and immense strength. Thus, every one of them wielded polearms. It was the only way to overcome their disadvantage in reach. Moreover, the nature of the weapons favored maintaining formation, allowing them to adopt the phalanx, the charging formation ideal for them.

Clad in heavy armor and wielding polearms, the dwarves advanced in tight formation. They resembled nothing so much as a massive, moving hedgehog. The imperial knights dared not face them head-on and scattered in all directions, surrounding the dwarves from a wide perimeter to launch their assault.

”Form the encirclement!”

They struck quickly and retreated just as fast, trying to disrupt the dwarves’ dense formation. It was the complete opposite of how the imperial army had fought against the elven warriors. They had not opted for the light armor that the elves adorned. They still wore heavy gear. However, their armor was relatively lighter compared to the thick armor that the dwarves were clad in.

In other words, while the dynamics of the battle were the reverse of the fight against the elves, everything seemed to be proceeding in slow motion. The battle overall felt sluggish.

”Keep pressing!”

”Keep hitting and pulling back!”

Beyond the chaotic battlefield, the imperial archers prepared their arrows. ”Aim!” Countless bowstrings were drawn, all targeting the dwarven legion.

Unfortunately for the dwarves, their tight formation made for a very large target. Even a blind man could have hit them. ”Fire!”

In an instant, a rain of arrows poured down upon the dwarves, gripping their polearms. A polearm was something that had to be held with both hands. No matter how strong one was, it could not be wielded properly with just one hand. Thus, by any reasonable standard, using a shield was impossible. Yet this dwarven legion was equipped with shields.

”Defensive formation!” At the command, the dwarves in the front ranks simultaneously ducked their heads just as the rain of arrows pelted them. The sound resembling corns popping in a frying pan echoed as most of the arrows harmlessly bounced away.

It was thanks to the peculiar gear the dwarves wore. Every single dwarf in the legion was equipped with a wide steel helmet, nearly the size of an average shield. It was so large that a mere tilt of the head was enough to cover their entire bodies. The imperial archers shuddered as they watched their arrows rendered useless.

”What the hell is that?!”

”This is absurd...!”

It was a piece of gear used exclusively by dwarves: the helmet-shield. Their short limbs required them to use polearms to make up for their lack of reach, but using a polearm meant both hands were occupied, leaving no hand free to hold a shield. The dwarves had solved this problem in a uniquely dwarven way.

—If we need a shield, why not just wear one on our heads?

If a human or elf had heard this, they would have dismissed it as utter nonsense. Wearing a shield so large it could cover the whole body as a helmet? Wouldn’t that just snap your neck? Moreover, a shield was precisely where the enemy would focus their attacks. To put the most critical part of the body, the head, there of all places?

It was an idea that could work only with the dwarves’ unique physiques. All of the aforementioned weaknesses disappeared.

A shield large enough to cover the whole body? Dwarves didn’t need much to cover themselves in the first place, given their short height and stubby limbs. Their torsos were thick but not long, and their broad shoulders could be covered easily with armor, leaving the rest to be protected by a shield of reasonable size.

Additionally, dwarves had thicker necks and larger heads compared to other races, so wearing a helmet the size of a shield posed no significant burden. They had to wear larger helmets anyway.

Thus emerged a unique dwarven tactic: wielding a two-handed weapon while still maintaining the protection of a shield—something that sounded impossible at first but was perfectly natural for them. In this way, the dwarven legion continued to drive the imperial army back.

Blades of imperial knights slashed in from all directions. No matter. With both hands free, the dwarves could swing their polearms as they advanced without hesitation.

A rain of arrows from the imperial archers fell from every direction, but it posed no problem. They merely had to move their heads side to side to deflect them all. ”Charge! Charge!”

Dozens of massive shields shook in unison as the formation advanced. It was a head-banging phalanx. It was a terrifying sight for the imperial army, unlike anything they had ever seen. Screams and cries rose from every direction.

***

The commander of the dwarven legion, Jebat, charged forward with his helmet-shield and thrust and stabbed diligently with his polearm. He suddenly felt something was off. He sensed that their formation was starting to scatter for some reason. What’s going on?

Even this powerful dwarven dense formation had one critical flaw: they had absolutely no visibility. They already could not see forward well with their heads lowered during a charge, but adding the massive shield over their helmets only made it worse.

During the charge, it was impossible to grasp the surrounding situation. That was why this tactic was only useful when moving together in tight formation. Perplexed, some dwarves soldiers lifted their heads—and were horrified.

”What in the world is that?!”

A red-haired woman was crushing the dwarven phalanx. There was truly no other way to describe it. She was crushing them. Shrouded in blue aura, she soared above the phalanx. An opponent airborne like that was a perfect target. Countless polearms immediately targeted her. In that instant, a single sword slash cut through the air.

With one strike, dozens of polearms shattered like brittle sticks, and the dwarves, unable to withstand the backlash of their own broken weapons, all toppled in one direction. The entire massive formation wavered as a whole.

In that moment, the red-haired woman leapt directly into the front of their formation. Then she charged forward mercilessly, like a raging boar.

”B-Block her with your shields!” Startled, the first rank of the dwarven legion moved as trained, all lowering their heads and thrusting forward their helmet-shields, transforming themselves into a massive wall of stone.

Serati, the red-haired woman, lifted her right leg and kicked into the wall. With an earth-shaking boom, the entire formation was shoved backward. She had simply kicked the dwarf at the front, causing the rest to be swept away like a row of falling dominos.

Dwarf collided with dwarf, who collided with yet another dwarf. Groans and screams burst out from all directions.

”S-She’s a monster!”

And then came the relentless barrage of aura-infused sword strikes. Each time the blue aura flashed, the ground split open, and the air cracked with thunderous roars. It was a series of strikes purely and simply devoted to raw destructive power.

The imperial soldiers watching could only gasp in awe.

”Wow, Sir Serati...”

”She really looks so graceful, but what she’s doing is unbelievably brutal.”