Inside a Forge Mountain in the Dwarf Territory of the Kingdom of Gaia, a brutal clash between two gods was unfolding with fierce intensity.
Forge Mountains were a concept invented by Rygar. In practice, they were basically mountains with internal volcanic veins that could be activated in a controlled way.
When that happened, the entire interior of the mountain turned into one enormous forge, capable of sustaining absurd temperatures for long periods without the structure collapsing.
Of course, the so-called "brutal clash between gods" was a somewhat relative term.
I mean, it was only as fierce as two stout dwarves trading punches, hammer blows, axe swings, and insults with complete sincerity could possibly be.
"YOU DROOLING OLD BASTARD! DIE IN A DARK DITCH!"
A hammer smashed into the Ore God's face with violent force, sending Godbard spinning through the air before he slammed into a wall of heat-blackened rock.
But he did not even flinch.
Grunting like an enraged bull, Godbard got back up instantly, spat to the side, bared his teeth, and hurled an axe at his opponent as he roared:
"YOU COCKY LITTLE BRAT, WHERE'S YOUR PRIDE AS A DWARVEN BLACKSMITH?! DID YOU DROP IT WHILE GRAZING IN THE CAPITAL?!"
The axe flew in a straight line, spinning as it cut through the air with a sharp whistle.
Rufus, the Earth God, dodged at the very last moment, using his own hammer to alter the blade's trajectory before it could split open his forehead.
The axe spun off to the side, slammed into a pillar of black stone, and lodged itself halfway in.
The two faced each other again.
Both of them snorting furiously.
Rufus shouted back:
"YOU DON'T SEE THE FUTURE, OLD MAN! THE FUTURE ISN'T JUST SWORDS AND AXES! A TRUE MASTERPIECE HAS TO BE MORE THAN A TOOL OF EXECUTION!"
Godbard shot back, kicking the ground so hard that cracks spread beneath his boots.
"BULLSHIT! A TRUE DWARVEN BLACKSMITH FORGES THE BEST WEAPON! WEAPONS SHAPE ENTIRE ERAS! THEY ALWAYS HAVE AND THEY ALWAYS WILL! JUST LOOK AT THE BEAST GOD'S DOOMSDAY SWORD, YOU STUPID BRAT!"
"WHAT A NARROW-MINDED VIEW, OLD MAN! SO NOW HE HAS A SWORD, AND THEN WHAT?! WHEN THERE ARE NO MORE BATTLES, WEAPONS WILL BECOME USELESS!"
"THERE WILL NEVER STOP BEING BATTLES!"
"THAT ONLY PROVES YOU CAN'T THINK BEYOND YOUR OWN BEARD!"
The argument kept going at the same pace as the punches, hammer strikes, elbow blows, and axe swings.
Neither of them seemed willing to listen to the other, but both appeared completely determined to keep talking over the fight.
Or fighting over the argument.
Maybe both.
Meanwhile, watching everything from the side, was one of the Beast Princesses of the Kingdom of Gaia, Pursena Adoldia, Kilian's companion.
She was sitting cross-legged, enjoying a golden chicken drumstick without caring about the noise, the insults, or the stones flying around.
Fights like these were very common among dwarves, especially between Rufus and Godbard. Every now and then Brightstone would show up in the middle of their arguments, but that happened less often than with these two.
In fact, it almost seemed as though the conflict between them had grown as Rufus became more skilled over the years.
He had slowly started to disagree with the way Godbard was leading dwarven civilization.
But to understand that conflict better, some context was necessary.
In truth, Rufus was already the successor Godbard had been preparing to eventually take over his position.
And together — Godbard with his experience and his genius knowledge of forging, and Rufus with his masterful control of Earth Magic and obvious talent for smithing — they had created the vast majority of the items used by the upper ranks of the current Kingdom of Gaia.
Swords. Armor. Magical tools. Special equipment. Custom commissions.
Practically everything that truly mattered had, in one way or another, passed through the hands of one of them.
And when Rufus eventually became an Earth God in Magic, his standing in the minds of countless dwarves grew even further as the natural successor to the title of Ore God.
But as his skill increased, Rufus also ventured into many other kinds of projects.
He was the one who got involved in the construction of a magic-powered ship, capable of operating independently of both wind and sea, something that ended up being a great success.
He also developed enormous structures and fortresses with his Earth Magic, fortifying the Kingdom of Gaia at especially vulnerable points, to the point where invading the Kingdom by land or sea had become practically strategic suicide.
He also dabbled in even crazier creations.
Magic-powered trains.
Something very similar to a balloon, even though his final goal was an airship.
Most of those ideas had obviously come from stories and tales Rygar told him when he was younger, and even after that.
Rufus, with his natural talent and creativity, borrowed those ideas and tried to bring them to life as best he could.
Of course, his actions greatly benefited everyday life in the Kingdom of Gaia.
Rygar encouraged him the entire time, and even gave him new ideas, going so far as to get involved in the creation of many of them.
Because of that, in many places, Rufus was called the God of Craftsmanship.
But it was exactly that approach that led to heated conflict not only with Godbard, but also with many, many other dwarves who viewed forging in a far more traditional way.
In their view, the supreme successor of their race should be a symbol that represented the forge exactly as it had been for thousands of years.
Dwarves had always been known for their fine craftsmanship in general, yes, but forging had always stood at the center of it, as their greatest symbol, their most striking face.
When someone thought of the dwarf race, they inevitably thought of blades, armor, and every kind of armament related to the forge.
That was how it should continue to be.
At least for the traditionalists.
In any case, the conflicts between them became so common that practically everyone gave up trying to interfere.
In a way, that dwarven stubbornness was part of what made them so good at what they did.
So Pursena was simply enjoying her meat while watching Godbard and Rufus beat each other up.
That was until Rufus started using Magic to trap Godbard's feet and gradually sink him into the heated earth floor.
Pursena let out a lazy sigh and said:
"That's enough, Rufus!"
She raised her hand and used the familiar Disturb Magic before Godbard was completely buried.
Even with his lower half still trapped, he did not stop cursing:
"WEAK BRAT! USING MAGIC IS EASY! JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET OUT OF HERE!"
Rufus looked at Pursena and snorted:
"Ha! Good luck doing that on your own!"
Then he stormed off, with steam practically rising from his ears.
Pursena jumped up and followed right after him.
Naturally bringing the rest of the chicken drumsticks along on a plate.
As she passed by, she merely gave a brief wave of her hand to remove the earth surrounding Godbard.
Although her appearance was relaxed and lazy, Pursena had become a Water King-level swordswoman last year. Adding that to her King-level Magic, Chantless Magic, Disturb, and Howling Magic, she was by far one of the most fearsome warriors in the Kingdom.
Though, of course, she had never had any interest in trying to join the Twelve Kings.
Pursena and Rufus walked through the mountain's interior until they reached something like a magical elevator, one of Rufus's many creations. The inside of that mountain was a volcanic area, so they were deep underground.
As they ascended, the red-haired dwarf's expression turned a little confused.
He cast a few glances at Pursena, as if trying to remember something very important that had completely slipped his mind. Then he finally asked:
"Aaah... what was it again? I wasn't paying attention!"
Pursena finished a drumstick, casually tossed the bone away, wiped her mouth, and said:
"Uh-huh! You've been summoned by the Acting Regent of the Kingdom of Gaia as a National Defense Force Measure! Miss Aisha will be leading a military campaign toward the Begaritt Continent soon, and you are to remain on standby in case of an invasion!"
Rufus looked confused.
"War? But Rygar isn't even around! Why would she do that?"
Pursena shrugged and said:
"I don't think that deeply about these things, I'm just passing along orders, man, don't take me too seriously."
Then she went back to eating without a care.
Rufus looked at that with disdain.
Who would have thought that woman had once been seriously considered a possible ruler of the Kingdom...
Well, at least she was pretty strong.
Rufus took out his communicator and started checking the messages.
It had not been long since he had modified Aisha's new sword, Undertow. The sword's basic ability was quite unique: it was capable of influencing the ambient mana.
It was also thanks to that ability that the Water God Reida Lia had been able to create her signature technique — though that was mainly due to her own talent, the initial step had been that golden blade now inherited by Aisha.
The modifications Aisha requested were all related to amplifying that ability and making it more versatile.
In any case, over the last few days he had also been tied up with forging, and ended up not seeing the messages, but there were many from Aisha, probably warning him about the current war situation.
He felt a slight headache at the thought that he was going to get scolded, but soon felt a little happier.
It was not a War Mobilization order, but one for National Defense.
Even though he was very strong, Rufus was not someone who really liked fighting dangerous opponents.
He could not hide his satisfaction and the small chuckle that escaped him at the thought.
"Hehehe!"
Pursena looked at him strangely, but said nothing.
Then, when they reached the edge of the mountain's exit, Rufus stomped his feet and shouted loudly:
"San Oiran!"
At that moment, several dozen meters below, a huge blue dragon woke up. First it slowly raised its head, looked at Rufus in a bad mood, and then let out a lazy complaint in his direction:
"Rawww!"
The veins in Rufus's forehead bulged immediately as he shouted back:
"Get over here, you lazy bastard! We're going to the capital!"
Pursena stretched and said:
"Go on ahead, I'll be right behind you, I've got other things to do!"
With that, she leaped across the mountains, moving surprisingly fast compared to the lazy pace of her speech.
"Hmph! Fine!"
Since his Blue Dragon was not the least bit willing to cooperate, Rufus was forced to climb down alone and teach it a lesson using his Earth Magic, something Dragon San Oiran was already used to.
After snapping back, taking a beating, and resisting for a while, it finally huffed in irritation and took flight toward the capital of the Kingdom of Gaia, Tinaver.
----
"Moore! Where are we!?"
A demon woman in Black Armor, with blue skin and long white hair, stood atop a mountain peak.
Beside her stood a short, sturdy, middle-aged man wearing the same Black Armor. The wind blew fiercely at that altitude, lashing clothes, hair, and cloaks without pause.
After looking around carefully, the assistant answered:
"We are on a mountain in the south of the Central Continent, my Lady."
The Immortal Demon King did not seem pleased in the slightest.
"Ah?! Weren't we supposed to be in Begaritt?! Did you mess up the route, Moore?!"
She was already about to punch him, but Moore responded at once:
"No, my Lady, the easiest routes of access were destroyed by the enemy. We came here to catch a ride by sea."
From atop the high mountain, he pointed into the distance.
To the south of the Central Continent, in the territory of the Kingdragon Kingdom, there was a vast sea separating that region from the Desert Continent of Begaritt.
A few years ago, there had been nothing in those seas worth mentioning.
But now, there were ports and docks built on a massive scale.
Hundreds of people could be seen hurrying everywhere, carrying goods, ropes, crates, weapons, and all kinds of cargo.
And most importantly: constantly anchored and departing were boat after boat, enormous ships of every size, from great caravels over five hundred meters long to small sailing vessels, all leaving in droves to cross the dangerous seas.
Atoferatofe watched that for a moment.
Then, seeing that large-scale movement, a savage smile spread across her face.
"Hohoho! HAHAHAHAHAH!"
The wind still lashed at her hair, giving her an even more intimidating appearance, making it seem as though nothing could possibly stand in her way.
----
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