Chapter 201: The Annihilation of the Grey Dwarves, Exceeding One Million Experience
Demonic visages and bodies constructed from earth elements—all of it indicated that the two pouncing dark figures were indeed gargoyles.
"Boring tricks."
Tang Zheng stood his ground, not even bothering to dodge, and simply swung his magic greatsword casually.
*Bang! Bang!*
The two terrifying-looking gargoyles were easily shattered into dust by the magic greatsword.
*Thump—thump—*
The sound of dense footsteps immediately followed from ahead.
A unit of Grey Dwarves, clad in full plate armor and wielding hammer-shaped weapons, surged forward all at once.
They tightly surrounded Astor, raising their iron shields one after another and aiming them in Tang Zheng's direction.
"Astor! Are you alright?"
"Your Majesty, let us protect you."
"Just let loose!"
"We won't let that human touch you until he kills every last one of us."
"Astor, you are the hope of us all!"
The shouts of the Grey Dwarf soldiers rang out continuously.
Observing the scene before him, Tang Zheng shouldered his magic greatsword and spoke in a flat voice, "What a touching scene. But I still have to ask, do you have any other tricks up your sleeves?"
"If not, then I won't be holding back either."
"Everyone, run!" Upon hearing his comrades' voices, Astor trembled and roared hastily.
His weapon was unusable for a short period because he had just used the skill *Muzzle Overload*.
"*Four Light Consecutive Slashes · Mana Slash · Fire!*"
Tang Zheng swung his sword, and four crimson slashes materialized in the air, hurtling forward.
*BOOM!*
The explosion from the fiery slashes instantly engulfed more than fifty Grey Dwarf soldiers, reducing them to ashes in a moment.
Astor's figure vanished again, reappearing several dozen meters away. He looked at where his comrades had been standing, only to see a pile of blackened, charred armor.
"Human!!"
With tears streaming from his eyes, Astor let out a mournful, furious roar. As the magic ring on his hand flashed with light...
*Whoosh!*
Astor appeared out of thin air behind Tang Zheng, heavily lifting the magic gun in his hands and bringing it down on Tang Zheng like a bludgeon.
Taking the initiative, Astor used the magic gun like a club, smashing it down on Tang Zheng's back with extreme speed.
Tang Zheng took a single step and easily dodged it.
"Aargh!!"
"Aargh!!"
Roaring, Astor relentlessly swung the magic gun and activated another skill: "*Firearm Heavy Strike!*"
This series of seemingly frenzied and powerful attacks was, in Tang Zheng's eyes, full of chaos. The movements were not only slow but also completely non-threatening.
"You must be the first person to use a Gunner's skill in close combat. That's not how you're supposed to use a magic gun."
Tang Zheng spoke faintly, a bored look flashing in his eyes.
"I thought you might have some other surprises for me. It seems this is all you've got."
A voice tinged with pity reached Astor's ears.
Astor only felt his body suddenly become much lighter. The figure of the human in front of him disappeared, and his vision was filled with nothing but the blue sky.
*What's happening... Why can't I muster any strength?*
*I see... my head has fallen off.*
*Your Highness, Chief Steward... Run...*
Darkness enveloped Astor's vision, and then he fell completely silent.
Ignoring the corpse on the ground, Tang Zheng picked up the magic gun, its surface shimmering with a metallic luster. A smile appeared on his face. "A decent haul."
He wasn't in a hurry to check the magic gun's attributes, so he stored it in his item box.
"This should be the Grey Dwarf Race's final resort."
"In that case, let's speed up the cleanup!"
Tang Zheng turned around. His figure had already vanished as he looked toward the Grey Dwarf tribe, which had once again descended into chaos due to fear.
Time passed, little by little.
From noon until nightfall.
The stench of blood filled the air above the entire Grey Dwarf oasis, and the sounds of wailing and screaming gradually died down.
On the outskirts of the oasis.
Alar and her tribesmen sat in the desert, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. They were surrounded by the corpses of Grey Dwarves, at least a thousand of them.
Compared to their own numbers, this wasn't many, but the dwarves had fled over such a wide area that most of their stamina had been spent on the chase.
"We actually defeated the Grey Dwarf Race."
"This isn't a dream, is it?"
"Hahaha, I finally avenged my Father!"
"So tired... I just want to lie down for a while."
"..."
Hearing her tribesmen's voices, Alar pursed her lips and stood up again. She understood clearly that their victory over the powerful Grey Dwarf Race was entirely due to Tang Zheng's power.
Throughout the entire war, they had only remained on the outskirts, cleaning up the Grey Dwarves who had lost all will to fight and knew only how to flee.
"I wonder what the situation is with Lord Hero."
Alar rested for a short while, then climbed to her feet and led a few tribesmen who still had some strength toward the oasis.
Upon entering the oasis.
The sight that greeted them was a dense sea of Grey Dwarf corpses. Thick blood flowed across the ground, dyeing the entire surface of the oasis crimson.
In some places, blood was even seeping out from underground!
Alar's silver-white pupils scanned her surroundings. Ignoring the Grey Dwarf corpses, she continued toward the depths, a hint of worry in her eyes.
The entire Grey Dwarf tribe had a population of over ten thousand, after all.
They had only cleaned up about 1,000 fleeing Grey Dwarves on the outskirts, while Lord Hero had to face more than ten thousand enemies alone.
Just thinking about it made Alar's scalp tingle.
Corpses!
Corpses!
Still more corpses!
Alar and her group waded through pools of blood, the shock on their faces growing more and more intense. Yet, they still hadn't seen Tang Zheng, not until they reached the center of the oasis.
Suddenly!
A black figure appeared in their line of sight, lifting everyone's spirits. They hurriedly ran over.
The black figure gradually became clearer.
It was Tang Zheng, who had removed his gray armor. He was sitting on a half-meter-high rock, his conspicuous magic greatsword casually stuck in the ground before him. He seemed to be in a daze.
"Lord Hero!"
Alar's cry was filled with excitement and joy.
[Experience: 1,001,202 / 260,000]
"*Phew~*"
Tang Zheng looked at his panel, saw that his experience points had surpassed one million for the first time, and let out a breath. Snapping out of his daze, he turned to look at the approaching Alar and her group.
"Alar."
"Lord Hero, are you uninjured?" Alar arrived before Tang Zheng, panting, and leaned over with one hand on her knee to ask worriedly.
"There's no one among the Grey Dwarves capable of injuring me."
"I just got a little tired from swinging my sword so much."
Tang Zheng looked at Alar, gave a calm smile, and with a flick of his arm, tossed a ring to her.
"What is this?"
Alar subconsciously caught the ring and asked, puzzled.
"One of the Grey Dwarf Race's treasures, a *Dimension Transfer* ring. It allows the user to vanish and reappear elsewhere, but it can only be used four times a day."
"With this ring, your power should increase by at least one level."
Tang Zheng said casually.
"Such a treasure..." Alar was startled and instinctively wanted to return the magic ring.
"It's useless to me."
Tang Zheng waved his hand and said nonchalantly.
He had already mastered the *Dimension Transfer* magic, so this magic ring was naturally meaningless to him.
"By the way, I deliberately left a few Grey Dwarf artisans alive. Have your people keep a close watch on them. These Grey Dwarves possess extraordinary weapon forging craftsmanship."
"Whether you have them forge weapons for you or learn the techniques of their forging craftsmanship from them, it will be of great benefit to your tribe."
"However, it will take you some time to tame them completely."
Hearing this, Alar finally noticed several unconscious Grey Dwarves lying next to the rock Tang Zheng was sitting on, their stomachs still rising and falling.
"I understand, Lord Hero," Alar nodded and replied quickly.
Tang Zheng leaped down from the stone, grabbed the Grey Dwarf Forging Minister, and shook him awake. "Let's go. Take me to your Grey Dwarf treasury."
Watching Tang Zheng walk toward the depths, Alar instructed the few tribesmen who had followed her, "You all watch over these Grey Dwarves."
After speaking, Alar hurried to follow.
The treasury of the Grey Dwarf Race was also hidden in an underground cave.
Under the control of *Charm Species*, the Forging Minister obediently led the way.
The situation in the underground cave was very complex.
Many areas had been destroyed by a sandstorm elemental, making some passages impassable. There were even large numbers of Grey Dwarf corpses gathered underground.
With a total population of over fifteen thousand in the Grey Dwarf tribe, it was impossible for Tang Zheng to execute every single one with his sword. Moreover, only about 1,000 of those who fled had been killed by the Human Faction.
Speaking of which, if the Grey Dwarf Race hadn't lived underground, Tang Zheng really wouldn't have been able to deal with so many people in one go.
Led by the Forging Minister, he made several turns before finally arriving in front of the Grey Dwarf Race's treasury.
To call it a treasury was a stretch. It was merely a somewhat larger underground cave. There was no sturdy gate, only a locked wooden door.
It looked rather shabby.
*BAM!*
No key was needed. Tang Zheng kicked out, shattering the wooden door. Illuminated by a torch, the contents of the treasury came into view.
There were no gold coins or jewels shimmering with golden light.
Nor was there any magic equipment pulsating with magical power as he had imagined.
Half the area of the entire treasury was filled with jars of wine, while another third held grain and cured meats.
The final section was the only thing that piqued Tang Zheng's interest, but only slightly.
It contained all sorts of broken weaponry and a pile of ores.
Seeing such a treasury, Tang Zheng couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, a look of disappointment in his eyes.
(end of chapter)