Ashen Dragon

"What is that?"

"By Moradin, it's giant dragons! And a Gold Dragon at that!"

"I have never seen such a huge and beautiful dragon; it looks just like a statue cast in gold!"

"Is this our reinforcement?"

The Gold Dragon appeared on the horizon, with all the Dwarves on the city walls raising their heads in astonishment, even temporarily forgetting the Orcs' assault.

The Orcs also noticed this uninvited guest and were shocked to find that the Gold Dragon was diving towards them.

—The face with whiskers was especially majestic, like the pupil of a boiling golden pool filled with rage.

The Orcish officers, Shamans, immediately felt an overwhelming aura weighing on their shoulders, and they hastily shouted in panic.

"It's a Gold Dragon!"

"This guy must be the Dwarves' ally! Quick, shoot down this damned gold-scaled lizard!"

Upon hearing the order, the Orcs hastily raised their crude bows and arrows, shooting a volley of arrows at the Gold Dragon in the sky.

However, before this Gold Dragon clad in golden scales, the Orcs' inferior weapons seemed so weak and feeble, with most arrows wobbling down.

Even those that hit their target could not leave even a trace on those hard scales.

And the Gold Dragon looked down at the swarms of Orcs below, with its vertical pupils blazing even more fiercely with rage.

He slowly opened his mouth, and once again, light surged from his throat and chest as if housing a burning Sun within his body.

"Father God Gush, that, that giant dragon is coming over!"

"How can we stop it?"

"Get down!"

"Watch out, that's Dragonflame!"

Under the terrified gaze of the Orcs, the Gold Dragon spread its vast wings and dove down.

The giant shadow cast by the dragon enveloped the city walls, catching hundreds of Dwarves and Orcs within it, and with the wingbeats, a roaring hurricane swept in.

"Boom—"

The sound of air exploding rang out, a strong heatwave hit their faces, and flames billowed out of the Gold Dragon's mouth.

Almost in an instant, the Orcs crowded outside the city were engulfed by flames, and even the ladders laid against the city walls caught fire, with hundreds of Orcs screaming as they fell.

"No!"

"It's so hot! Damn it, I'm burning up!"

"By Father God Gush! Where did this Gold Dragon come from!"

The Orcs struggled and howled in the raging Dragonflame, their clothes and Leather Armor made from beast fur burning and charring.

"No, no... I haven't stepped into Aivendel yet; I haven't enslaved the Dwarves..."

"Father God, I don't want to die here!"

Under the scorching fire, the surviving Orcs were delirious, kneeling and begging towards the sky.

Yet, the Gold Dragon did not stop.

"Roar—"

The resounding roar rose, echoing between the mountains of the Black Stone Mountain Range, even drowning out the painful wails of the Orcs.

This dragon, akin to a god of death to the Orcs, glided along the walls of Aivendel, continuously spewing scorching flames.

Outside the walls of Aivendel, a sea of flames stretched for hundreds of meters emerged, ashes fluttered everywhere, wildfires spread, the heatwave distorted the air, and grey smoke enveloped the battlefield.

The Gold Dragon ascended, circled, and finally dove for hundreds of meters, spewing Dragonflame, until all the Orcs outside the city were turned to ashes.

In just a span of minutes, tens of thousands of Orcs were mercilessly devoured by the Dragonflame, with heaps of charred corpses accumulating like mounds.

"By Moradin..."

"The Orcs' siege troops have been annihilated just like that..."

"Such a relief, it seems this strange Gold Dragon is an ally of our High Mountain Kingdom."

On the walls, Dwarves who escaped death gazed at the Orcs consumed by the fire, feeling both vindicated and astonished by the overwhelming power of the dragon.

They looked up once more, as the blood mist and dark clouds conjured by the Orc Shamans had been incinerated by the flames, and the Sun began to reappear.

Beams of sunlight poured down, making the giant dragon's scales shimmer, coating it with a layer of divine radiance.

Even the typically brusque Dwarf Warriors were so struck by this sight that they opened their mouths wide, unable to speak, only uttering sounds of awe.

And the oldest and most learned Bjorn raised his head, his throat trembling with excitement, and even his white beard quivering slightly.

"My brethren, it is this noble, righteous guest who has saved Aivendel, who saved our High Mountain Kingdom!

He raised his Scepter high: "He is the light of dawn..."

"The Dragon of Dawn!"

"Praise this mighty Gold Dragon!"

The Dwarf Warriors followed Bjorn in raising their arms and shouting, cheering for this special reinforcement in the sky with a voice that shook the heavens.

The Gold Dragon in the high sky fluttered its wave-like wings, nodding slightly as if greeting the Dwarf allies on the walls from afar.

While on the battlefield beneath the walls, facing the spreading Dragonflame, those Orc Shamans became increasingly panicked, unable to concentrate.

And Ed, who had been bound, finally found an opportunity; he broke free from the Shaman's Divine Arts' shackles, his eyes bursting with a glint of determination.

"You filthy offspring of Guosh!"

The Dwarf King raised his Warhammer high, his voice sharp, thundering like Thunder, with numerous broken rocks gathering and hovering in the sky.

"Look, the Gold Dragon's flames burn brightly; your brutal army is reduced to ashes…"

The Orc Shamans shook their heads, their faces full of terror.