Chapter 199: Where Else Can We Run, Your Majesty? The Treasury Weapon
Forging Minister?
Tang Zheng swung his magic greatsword, his eyes narrowing as he heard what the Grey Dwarf soldiers ahead called the high-ranking Grey Dwarf.
*So he's the Grey Dwarf who has mastered runic technology?*
A thought flashed through Tang Zheng's mind. He stared at the surging tide of Grey Dwarf soldiers before him and raised the hand gripping his magic greatsword.
"Mana Slash - Wind!"
A three-meter-long slash erupted from the tip of the magic greatsword, instantly slaughtering the dense formation of Grey Dwarf soldiers in front.
"Aaargh!!"
Screams echoed through the air.
The Forging Minister's limbs went cold. He trembled, about to turn and flee, but in the next moment, his body floated into the air against his will.
Tang Zheng had already dashed in front of him in a flash. He reached out and lifted the Forging Minister, looked at his panicked expression, and said coolly, "I have many things I want to ask you. Charm Species!"
The Forging Minister's body stiffened, and he stopped struggling.
***
At this very moment.
Led by Alar, three thousand humans were forming an encirclement, hunting down the Grey Dwarves fleeing from the oasis.
*Pfft!*
Alar thrust her spear, impaling a Grey Dwarf and hoisting him onto the shaft before flinging the corpse away with a flick of her arm.
"Will Lord Hero be in danger entering the green land alone?" Alar looked up toward the depths of the oasis, a hint of worry on her face.
However!
Alar was also aware of Tang Zheng's strength and understood that her current task was equally important. She could not let a single Grey Dwarf escape.
In the cave beneath the oasis.
The re-entry of the sandstorm elemental threw the entire underground into chaos. The once-stable passages became fragile under the erosion of the yellow sand.
The passages collapsed, and the ground shook!
Large numbers of Grey Dwarves scrambled out of the underground cave, fleeing toward the surface.
The lucky ones crawled out from other caves, while the unlucky were buried by collapsing passages or even ran into the sandstorm elemental and were killed!
In the center of the oasis.
In a cave near the water source.
A legion of fifty Grey Dwarves clad in full armor was protecting a middle-aged Grey Dwarf wearing a crown. They were hurrying through an underground passage, escaping toward the outskirts of the oasis.
"How could this happen!"
"The humans clearly don't have any Hero-rank powerhouses." The Grey Dwarf King's face was filled with terror. Compared to the robust Grey Dwarf warriors around him, his belly was round and wobbled as he ran.
He looked like a moving leather ball, an utterly pathetic sight.
However, the Grey Dwarf race was naturally endowed with excellent physiques. Even in such an obese state, the Grey Dwarf King's running movements still appeared somewhat agile.
"You bunch of trash, hurry up."
In the slightly narrow passage, the Grey Dwarf King saw the soldiers in front suddenly slow down and roared in frustration.
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
Violent tremors continuously echoed from the distance, causing the wooden stakes used to stabilize the sides of the underground passage to vibrate as layers of dirt fell.
The look of terror on the Grey Dwarf King's face deepened.
The soil in the desert was extremely loose and unsuitable for constructing underground caves. Therefore, all the underground caves where the Grey Dwarves lived were located beneath the oasis, where the soil was stable.
The lower a Grey Dwarf's position, the closer their dwelling was to the outer edges of the oasis where the soil was looser.
The Grey Dwarf invasion of the human-occupied oasis was, in essence, because their population had grown to the point that the oasis they occupied could no longer support them.
*Bang!*
The soldiers in front suddenly stopped.
The Grey Dwarf King, who was right behind them, almost crashed into them. His already anxious expression turned to anger, and he was just about to berate his subordinates.
"Your Majesty."
A tired, familiar voice was heard.
The Grey Dwarf King's panicked expression faltered, replaced by a look of pleasant surprise. He quickly pushed aside the soldiers in front and looked at the two figures blocking the passage.
One was an old Grey Dwarf with graying hair. The other Grey Dwarf stood behind him, wearing a strange vest and holding a long, tube-shaped weapon.
It resembled neither a hammer nor had any connection to bladed weaponry like swords or knives.
"Chief Steward!"
The Grey Dwarf King looked at the two with delight, then quickly said, "Come with me, quickly. If we stay any longer, I'm afraid this entire underground cave will collapse."
The Chief Steward's eyelids drooped. Facing the terrified and panicked king, he let out a faint sigh.
"Respected Your Majesty, where else can we run?" the Chief Steward's voice rang out, causing the air to fall suddenly still.
The panicked expression on the Grey Dwarf King's face froze.
Just like the human race, who fought to the death even knowing they couldn't resist the Grey Dwarf legion, everyone understood.
In this Despair Valley, to leave the oasis, to leave the water source, is still a dead end.
"We fled from the outside world to this Despair Valley, and now we must flee the oasis, all because of a single powerful enemy!"
The Chief Steward's expression was agitated, his eyes bloodshot as he stared intently at the Grey Dwarf King.
"When did our great Grey Dwarf race become so cowardly and weak!"
"Is it just because that human powerhouse is a being who has stepped into the Heroic Realm? We still have over ten thousand tribesmen, and he is only one person!"
"Your Majesty, can you hear the screams and wails of our people? They need you right now!"
The atmosphere in the dim passage grew quiet.
The Grey Dwarf King's hands trembled, a flush creeping over his rough skin. He could clearly feel the gazes of all the surrounding tribesmen on him.
"What… do I need… to do?"
The Grey Dwarf King's mouth opened and closed before he finally uttered a few words in a dejected tone.
"Those humans are no match for us. The only trouble is that one human powerhouse. As long as we can eliminate him, we can annihilate the humans again and take back their oasis."
The Chief Steward spoke quickly, striking while the iron was hot.
The Grey Dwarf King naturally knew that their real problem was that human powerhouse, but the question was how to deal with him.
That was a being who couldn't be defeated by sheer numbers. If he wanted to escape, they couldn't stop him at all.
"Astor," the Chief Steward said.
At his side, the Grey Dwarf in the strange attire, carrying the odd weapon, stepped forward.
"This is the weapon from the Treasury. It is also our hope for a comeback," the Chief Steward said to the Grey Dwarf King.
Treasury weapon?
The Grey Dwarf King looked again at the equipment in Astor's hands, a flicker of memory in his eyes. No wonder it looked somewhat familiar.
It wasn't his fault he had no impression of this weapon. In his memory, this weapon was completely unusable, serving more of a commemorative purpose in the Treasury.
To be precise!
Most of the items in the Treasury had far more commemorative than practical value. After all, when the kingdom fell, most of the treasures, weapons, and items were either used up or lost in the war.
As for what was left…
There were very few items of real value.
"I remember this weapon shouldn't be usable, right?" the Grey Dwarf King looked at the Chief Steward, now suspecting the old dwarf had gone senile.
"That fellow Piye has been researching it for all these years. A few years ago, he finally figured out a way to use this weapon with Rune Technology."
The Chief Steward's voice was excited. "And Astor is the only one who can unleash this weapon's power."
"As long as we have this inherited weapon, we have a chance to defeat that human powerhouse."
Piye was none other than the Forging Minister.
The Grey Dwarf King's spirits were lifted.
At the same time, the Grey Dwarf King was no fool. He understood that the Chief Steward was telling him all this for more than just proving they could defeat the mysterious human powerhouse.
"What do you need?"
The Grey Dwarf King looked at Astor with a fiery gaze.
Facing the king's stare, Astor's expression held a hint of nervousness. He knew the hopes of the entire tribe now rested on his shoulders.
"Please forgive my impudence, but Astor needs the ring on Your Highness's hand to increase his chances of victory."
Before Astor could speak, the Chief Steward bowed deeply to the Grey Dwarf King and made the request.
Hearing this, the Grey Dwarf King didn't hesitate. He reached out, took off a ring from his left hand that faintly pulsed with magical energy, and tossed it over.
"I'm counting on you, Astor!"
Astor hurriedly caught the ring and nodded with a solemn expression, then turned and quickly departed.
"Your Majesty, we must also provide Astor with support," the Chief Steward said, breathing a small sigh of relief.
"Then let's go, old friend!"
The Grey Dwarf King raised his hand, straightened the crown on his head, bit his lip with a serious expression, and turned back towards the passage they came from.
"Your Majesty!" Seeing this, the Chief Steward's eyes grew moist, and he hurried to follow.
*If we emerge victorious from this calamity, His Highness will surely become a truly worthy king!*
***
Above the oasis.
Tang Zheng tossed the unconscious Forging Minister aside. Now was not the time for interrogation.
He looked up!
Watching the Grey Dwarves fleeing in chaos in all directions, Tang Zheng's feet moved, and he vanished, rushing toward them.
Flashes of sword light!
One Grey Dwarf after another died in an instant.
Tang Zheng's face was expressionless as he continuously swung his magic greatsword. Wails and terrified screams echoed incessantly in his ears.
Was it cruel?
Perhaps.
Tang Zheng continued to swing his sword, his heart calm.
He didn't like to confine his actions to the concepts of "right and wrong"; that was, in fact, an invisible form of self-judgment.
To put it simply, it was a waste of mental energy.
Compassion?
In Tang Zheng's view, such an emotion stemmed from a sense of moral responsibility taught in his past life.
But the premise for all of this was that the humans of his past life existed as the apex creatures at the top of the food chain, so they could look down on other species as equals.
But what about the humans of this world?
An inferior race!
As far as Tang Zheng knew, on the central continent of this otherworld, there existed a nation of Ogres. In that nation, humans were treated purely as food.
In that nation, the best delicacy to serve a guest was a six-month-old fetus from a human mother's womb.
So, talk of compassion?
Don't be ridiculous!
For a group of weak humans to pity a race stronger than themselves wasn't a question of being a bleeding-heart or not.
Tang Zheng didn't actually like the Slane Theocracy, but that didn't stop him from believing that its doctrine was correct for humanity at its current stage.
"Human Supremacy"!
Only such an extreme doctrine could, on this continent, give humans a clear self-positioning that "we are not an inferior race."
"Hm?"
As Tang Zheng moved rapidly, with mists of blood blooming around him, his sword-swinging motion paused for a moment, and he raised an eyebrow.
He noticed that the sandstorm elemental that had infiltrated the underground seemed to have been restricted. Not only that, but the previously chaotic Grey Dwarves also seemed to be gradually organizing their forces and launching a counterattack!
But unfortunately!
The strength of this group of Grey Dwarves was too weak. Before Tang Zheng, they couldn't mount any effective resistance. The defensive line they had just established was easily torn apart by his magic greatsword.
"Mana Slash - Wind!"
Seeing that the cooldown for his [Magic Swordsman] class skill was over, Tang Zheng raised his hand and unleashed a slash at the dense crowd of Grey Dwarves in the distance.
A large number of Grey Dwarves were instantly minced by the Mana Slash!
The Mana Slash, infused with an element, had its attack power increased by a notch. Among the four elements, the wind element did not have the strongest attack power.
However, a wind element slash was more suitable for dealing with weaker opponents for its area of effect, whereas a fire element slash was better suited for stronger opponents.
As the Grey Dwarves began to gradually converge, Tang Zheng's range of movement had, without him realizing it, also been reduced.
And it was in this situation!
A Grey Dwarf held a long, tube-shaped weapon with both hands, his eyes bloodshot, staring with hatred at the figure in the distance slaughtering his comrades.
"Detestable human!"
This Grey Dwarf was Astor. Smelling the bloody scent that filled the air, his breathing grew ragged.
The nervousness he had felt when facing a Hero-rank powerhouse had vanished completely, replaced by the single thought of killing the human.
*Click!*
A mechanical sound echoed from the tube-shaped weapon.
Astor raised the weapon, closed one eye, and aimed at the human figure in the distance.
With the help of his people, the human's range of movement had been greatly reduced. He knew this was the limit of what his people could do!
"Precise Aim!"
Astor let out a low shout in his heart. The tube-shaped weapon he was aiming began to tremble slightly, as if it were rapidly locking onto the human.
The next moment!
A red light flashed on the tube-shaped weapon.
In Astor's vision, various parts of the human's body began to glow with different colors.
For example, the head glowed red, the arms blue, the chest orange, and so on.
The different colors represented the different effects his weapon would inflict upon impact.
Astor's gaze was solemn. He did not aim the muzzle at Tang Zheng's head, but at his legs.
The human was wearing armor. Although aiming for the head would cause more severe damage, it would also be blocked by the armor.
Therefore, Astor planned to attack his opponent's legs first to restrict his movement.
*Thump!*
A muffled sound rang out on the chaotic battlefield. Amid the screams of the Grey Dwarves, the sound wasn't particularly noticeable.
At this moment!
Tang Zheng, who was in the middle of slaughtering the surrounding Grey Dwarves, suddenly retracted his magic greatsword and thrust it down in front of his left leg.
*Clang!*
The crisp sound of metal colliding exploded against the flat of the magic greatsword, creating a loud bang.
*This is…*
A look of astonishment appeared on Tang Zheng's face. "A gun?"
(end of chapter)