Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 674 - 625 Imelt Life Warlord

"Was it successful?"

"Has the Flame Hammer been enhanced, Your Majesty?"

All the Dwarf council members craned their necks in anticipation. To the artifact itself, a single enhancement’s light was not particularly dazzling. They couldn’t discern the effects from a distance; only the artifact’s owner, who had wielded the Flame Hammer for many years, the Dwarf King Visergg, could truly tell.

Visergg lifted the blazing hammer in his hands. It radiated a warmth that felt familiar, yet somehow different. The King of the Dwarves unfurled his cloak and removed his shirt, exposing his skin to the air. Steam rose from his rock-like muscles as the power within his body ignited completely.

"It has indeed become stronger, by roughly one-fifth," he said.

The Dwarves erupted in excitement. That was one-fifth of an artifact’s power!

Council members hopped down from their seats, hooked each other’s shoulders, and danced comically on the stage. Others shouted loudly, turning the highest seat of Dwarf power into a celebration. But most of all, there was the sound of applause—the flushed yet rational Dwarf council members transformed their uncontainable emotions into clapping, giving the roar of the Red Dragon through their applause.

A wave of jubilation swept them.

All but one person.

"Do you think that’s enough?" Lyle crossed his arms, squinting as if to hide his gaze, but the derision in his words spilled out like fresh, intoxicating, and decayed blood from a prey’s wound, and all Dwarves could feel it.

Visergg had a bad feeling, but like all Dwarves, the successive surprises had numbed their tightly wound nerves. They were all drunk with anticipation, helplessly waiting for the next words of this devil.

"What else is there? Mr. Lyle!" someone called out.

The Red Dragon Imelt, feeling the eyes of the Dwarves upon him, grew flustered, finding comfort only by standing next to Lyle. Holding onto the hem of the Dragon Priest’s robe didn’t seem out of place given their current heights.

Lyle patted the head of the Molten Dwarf, his shadow already touching the emblem above the Bronze Hall that represented the Craftsmen’s Council in the firelight.

"The third aspect of the Red Dragon’s power, Dwarves of Mackenbert, what do you think life is? Beings with souls and free will."

"The power of the Red Dragon possesses the strength to forge life."

"That’s right. Its ’Repair’ and ’Enhancement’ abilities work on living beings as well!"

"You like steel, but have you ever considered trying to become steel yourselves?"

"In this era, there’s a perfect force known as Holy Light. It not only transforms into roaring flames to punish enemies, but also warms and comforts allies as a radiant light. It heals wounds, repairs bodies, regenerates flesh and bone... and even staves off death."

"The power of the Red Dragon can do all these too, if you’re willing to try."

The medical capabilities of the Dwarves weren’t sophisticated; blacksmithing was their primary occupation. Even though Mackenbert surely had other magical professions, their specialty wasn’t enough to make their medical practices advanced. The flame therapy of the Mackenbert was their most distinct method of healing.

As the name implies, the unique treatments of the Dwarves involved heat and flames. They used high temperatures to disinfect wounds and pressed scalding hot iron against injuries to stem bleeding. These treatments were usually painful; it could be said that Dwarf warriors lived to their age through sheer toughness alone.

But now, they were about to embrace a new medical method.

"Was this your plan all along, Lyle?" Visergg, holding the Hammer of the Red Dragon, had already glimpsed Lyle’s scheme through the wisdom of a king.

"Your Majesty Visergg, this is a new experiment, and we must not take liberties with life. I just so happen to know a group of Dwarves who could very well demonstrate the power of the Red Dragon..."

"The Forge Fire Ladle."

Those warriors who look upon the world with humble form, who resist the Evil God with their frail strength. They are the embers of Mackenbert’s glorious past, flames waiting to be reignited. Marginalized by their kin, hiding in dimly lit corners to save their sparks, they stayed dormant under the oppression of reality. It was time for them to rise.

"You should have told me, Lyle, you have no idea how worried I’ve been these past days," Visergg said with a smile, conveying a slight reproach through his eyes.

"Would you have believed in the miracles I spoke of before I demonstrated the first two capabilities of the Red Dragon’s power, oh wise King of the Dwarves?" Lyle spread his hands. "A truly rational leader has their own insights and is not easily swayed. Rather than trying to persuade someone, I prefer laying the facts before them and letting them experience it for themselves..."

Lyle’s face grew stern, and he added another line.

"Your Majesty Visergg, understanding is one thing, but execution is another. Sentient beings have their own perceptions, yet these can easily be deceived by illusions. Go all out—the power of the Red Dragon is contingent on how much effort you put in. Even if you understand my point, do you have the courage to swing your hammer with full force against a beloved elder whose body is in ruins?"

"Would you really put all your trust in a human who has been despised by your kin and has been in Mackenbert for less than two weeks?"

"And this human is asking you to take up arms and attack your own subjects."

"For such a person, we usually refer to them as ’mad kings’."

Visergg closed his eyes amid Lyle’s relentless questioning. When Lyle’s voice ended once again on "mad kings," it was as if flames were burning in those dark green pupils.

The King of the Dwarves laughed.

"Such miracles are enough to drive anyone mad. Lyle, you truly are a terrifying person."

"Guards, summon the members of the Forge Fire Ladle to the Bronze Hall!!!"

After a long while, the gates of the Bronze Summit slowly opened. Mackenbert’s firelight stretched the strange silhouettes long. They stood together, maintaining discipline and solemnity, with Captain Paul leading all members of the Forge Fire Ladle, wearing tattered cloth robes patched all over, into the Bronze Temple.

"Fire Hammer Squad, assembled and ready, Your Majesty." Paul, throwing himself off the wheelchair with his arms and discarding his stiff prosthetics, knelt before the king with the help of his comrades.

Visergg had never asked for their respect, but this time, he did not stop them.

"Come to the stage, Paul."

"At your command."

Refusing the guards’ help, Paul climbed onto the dais using his own robust arms, seasoned from years of cooking. He puffed out his chest and looked up at the king with a smile.

Visergg flexed his muscles, and the Flame Hammer reignited the Hammer of the Red Dragon and his own body.

The warrior’s rage climbed higher, and Visergg Firehammer, the King of the Dwarves, was like an enraged lion, suppressing the fierce fire within his chest.

"Do you know, Paul, when you initially refused to let me join the Fire Hammer Squad as a royal family member, I was actually quite angry. I was furious I couldn’t fight alongside my uncle, I was furious I couldn’t have comrades like you. Are you ready to serve your new king?"

Paul laughed, looking at the raised Hammer of the Red Dragon.

"The Fire Hammer burns eternal, Your Majesty."

"I, Visergg Firehammer, as the son of the Fire Hammer, King of the Molten Dwarves, hereby declare! I will stir the magma to let the glorious fire of my forefathers burn in the hearts of my people."

"Reforge Mackenbert’s mighty warriors!"

"With the life force bestowed by the Red Dragon Imelt!!!!"

Boom!!!!

The explosion and flames erupted in the Bronze Temple, and the Dwarves ignored the discomfort in their eyes, staring at the intense light at the center. The altar was blasted into a crater, and a scorching figure slowly formed amidst the smoke and dust.

It was the body of a Dwarf, kneeling before the king, yet different.

The scorched body was riddled with cracks, from which firelight spurted, as if they bled hot magma instead of blood. The rocky bodies were tough and robust, and with each breath, scalding steam generated fierce winds around them.

It was a statue of the Dwarf made of molten fire and stone. Gradually, the flames began to die down, a line of fire spread through the magma, rock turned back to flesh, the burning flames back to thick hair and beards. The former Fire Hammer warrior, Paul, knelt on the ground, with his whole and muscular body.

"How do you feel, Paul?" The fire in Visergg’s eyes grew more intense.

"Strength and vitality, I feel reborn, Your Majesty. And I want to hit someone. Badly, very badly!"

The will of the king echoed in the Bronze Temple, all Dwarves turning themselves into gears, driving Mackenbert to carry out the king’s decrees.

"All members of the Forge Fire Ladle, promoted to the new squad of Molten Dwarves, the Life Warlord."

"By the joint decision of the Craftsmen’s Council and the Dragon Priest, all members of the Life Warlord are equipped with the Red Dragon Armament, acting on the will of the Red Dragon Imelt and the King of the Dwarves."

"Establish the worship of the Red Dragon as the state religion. All Molten Dwarves must follow the sole faith in the Red Dragon Imelt. Those who defy this will suffer the punishment of the Life Warlord. The Life Warlord, also the personal guards of the Red Dragon, will obey the orders of the Red Dragon."

"In addition, reopen all arenas! Reinstate Dwarf brawling, the fifth trait, as a way to address Mackenbert’s current state of chaos with added forceful persuasion!"

"The Life Warlord becomes the new city management army, with unrestricted weapon usage rights."

"Any Dwarf bold enough to reject the Red Dragon Imelt, beat them to within an inch of their life!"