The Battle of Steelforge City
Day Five, Dawn.
Steelforge City seemed to breathe with the very scent of rust and scorching heat. A gray, oppressive mist hung low, shrouding this grand dwarven metropolis. It was no natural morning fog, but a deathly veil woven from days of relentless combat: raised dust, lingering magical embers, and the invisible, chilling malice of the Doomsday Rebirth organization. It weighed heavily on every defender's heart. Along the battlements, dwarven, human, and elven warriors leaned against cold merlons, their armor dented and faces smeared with soot and exhaustion. Yet their bloodshot eyes remained fixed on the horizon. The brief hope brought by reinforcements had been almost entirely worn away by the ceaseless night assaults. The ever-expanding, writhing crimson shadow on the horizon was now the most despairing reality of all.
Secret Forging Titan, the dwarven king, stood like a mountain atop the highest point of the main wall. His lion-like beard and hair trembled slightly in the acrid morning wind. The great hammer "Core Rage" rested beside him, its runic head occasionally flickering with dim, slumbering crimson light like a dormant volcano. Through his spyglass, he could clearly see the enemy drawing inexorably closer: the traitor Wolfe, that stocky yet overwhelmingly oppressive figure, standing atop a massive war-chariot constructed of twisted runes and dark machinery. His signature shadow greataxe rested casually against his shoulder, its blade's flowing shadow runes seeming to devour light itself. Beside him stood Sist, silver-haired and blood-eyed, his pallid skin glowing with an unnatural sheen under the thin dawn light. Behind him, the blood elf magi chanted ancient, malevolent incantations as crimson energy writhed and gathered at their fingertips like living tendrils. And high above, WingSeris unfurled her pristine six wings in elegant grace. The holy halo surrounding her contrasted chillingly with the bone-piercing cold smile on her face. Tens of thousands of mutated winged ones swirled behind her like a disturbed swarm of locusts, their wing membranes beating together into a city-pressing, low droning roar.
"My king! The enemy… they're committing everything this time!" Ironbolt Marga's voice came from the side. This normally steadfast female commander now carried an unmistakable gravity in her tone. Her heavily modified heavy ballista was already loaded, its cold-gleaming sight locked firmly onto the three terrifying auras in the distance that could break any ordinary person's will.
Titan abruptly lowered the spyglass. His chest heaved violently, molten fury boiling in his eyes.
"Wolfe! You traitor! To dare collude with this filth and bring war to your own kin's walls! Today, with 'Core Rage' in hand, I will smash your polluted mind—together with all your ambition—straight into the deepest core of the earth!"
He whirled around, his voice thundering across the battlements:
"All forces—prepare to meet the enemy! Rune turrets to maximum charge! Energy ballista batteries, prepare saturation fire! All allied mechanized units, advance to the front line! Let these tin cans and twisted abominations witness what a dwarven steel wall truly means—what an unbreakable Steelforge City truly means!"
In an instant, the entire wall segment awoke like a steel behemoth rousing from slumber. Rune-driven war engines growled with deep roars; massive barrels gathered dangerous blue-white energy glows. Hundreds of heavy ballistae adjusted angles in unison, gears clicking sharply as specialized armor-piercing bolts filled the grooves, glinting with lethal metallic sheen. Human infantry raised shields high; elven rangers drew longbows; incantations and magical auras intertwined. Multiple overlapping protective barriers rippled into existence before the wall, forming semi-transparent energy ramparts.
Arya, Celestia, Rex, and TISK had already taken their assigned positions. Having been tempered in the Starfall Wastes, their presence had undergone a profound transformation. Their power had not only grown in quantity but had leaped in quality—now restrained yet profound, subtly resonating with some vast stellar origin in every gesture and movement. Their combat styles had transcended their former limits.
The Doomsday Rebirth legion's all-out assault finally erupted like a bursting dam!
Wolfe commanded endless waves of mutated soldiers and mechanical legions as the vanguard. Tens of thousands of combat automatons—joints screeching, bodies crackling with electric sparks—advanced in eerily synchronized, merciless steps. Layer upon layer of energy shields formed a silver-gray tide of death metal rolling steadily forward. Sist's blood elf magi raised their chanting to a fever pitch; crimson aura rings expanded rapidly outward from them. Any mutated soldier touched by the rings swelled in size, muscles bulging, eyes glowing red, howling like beasts as they entered complete berserk frenzy. With a casual wave of her slender hand, WingSeris sent her swirling mutated winged legion diving like a rain of meteors, hurling countless high-explosive energy bombs toward the battlements. Blinding flashes and deafening explosions instantly swallowed several ballista emplacements!
"They're here!" TISK growled. The "Earthshaker" warhammer in his grip hummed violently; the ice-fire runes engraved on its head flared to life as though lava and glacier surged together. Beside him, Flamefist Mark roared and slammed both fists into the parapet. Molten lava pillars erupted from the wall itself, weaving into a temporary wall of searing fire that halted the mechanical vanguard's advance.
Arya and Rex's Joint Operation
As aerial and ground offensives exploded simultaneously, the sector assigned to Arya and Rex became one of the main thrust axes of the Doomsday Rebirth mechanical vanguard.
"Rex, watch their fire distribution. Their energy shields are extremely strong—conventional attacks won't penetrate easily," Arya said calmly and steadily. Holding her Storm Bow, wind elements flowed lightly around her, long hair whipping backward. Her gaze swept the advancing mechanical tide, calculating optimal arrow trajectories while analyzing weak points in the enemy formation.
"Understood. Primary target locked: K-9 class heavy combat automaton. Energy shield operating at high-frequency micro-oscillation mode—standard energy attacks will be diffracted. Nano-drones switching to composite assault pattern." Rex's voice was flat, like the most precise calculator. With a metallic rasp, his hand transformed into an archaic yet highly advanced ion cannon, its muzzle flickering with dangerous blue light.
"We have to tear open a breach in their line so the dwarven and human rune tanks can charge through!" The moment Arya finished speaking, her Storm Bow was already drawn to full draw. A shaft glowing with deep azure light rested on the string. She perfectly fused the two elemental powers within her—light and wind—creating a miniature, highly compressed wind vortex around the arrow.
"Wind Spirit Arrow · Penetration!"
The arrow left the string faster than the eye could follow, a virtually invisible streak of light! Instead of flying straight at the foremost enemy, it took an extremely cunning angle, slipping precisely into the few-centimeter gap between two heavy automatons! A soft "bang"—upon contact, the arrow did not explode. Instead it transformed into an invisible ripple of energy, like a micro-drill, instantly disintegrating the overlapping energy shields of both machines. Arya's second and third arrows followed in rapid succession. Each struck different targets, yet every shot cleverly exploited the minute vulnerabilities where shields overlapped, breaking the surface from a single point. In moments, several hand-sized breaches appeared in the silver tide.
"Now!" Rex's voice rang out. Instead of firing the ion cannon, he reverted his hand and ejected two small metal cylinders from a hidden compartment in his forearm. "Buzz—" Countless pinpricks of glowing light erupted like a startled swarm of bees. They quickly formed a dense cone formation in the air, flashing with a ghostly blue light, and rushed toward the gap that Arya had torn open!
"Nano Storm · Frost Shear!" Rex commanded again.
The moment the swarm made contact with the enemy array, the tight cone formation morphed into a gigantic, spinning spiral drill! Each drone's body instantly coated itself in ice-blue frost. Every rotation unleashed extreme cold. Vibrating at ultra-high frequency, they sliced into the now-unshielded metal bodies with a piercing "screeeee"—one heavy automaton after another collapsed before it could react, joints severed, sparks flying, energy cores flash-frozen, then toppled with thunderous crashes!
"BOOM—" A massive rune cannon shell from a dwarven turret struck a paralyzed K-9 dead-center. A dazzling fireball erupted; the entire metal frame disintegrated, shrapnel shredding two or three nearby machines in the blast wave.
Yet Wolfe had clearly noticed the threat posed by Arya and Rex. He let out a short, shrill roar. Dozens of even larger "Earth-Eater" model mechanical spiders—each head dominated by an enormous main cannon barrel—lumbered forward from the rear, bypassing the main wave and charging straight toward Arya and Rex's section of the wall. Dark red energy gathered ominously in their cannon muzzles.
"Rex, careful! Their main guns can disrupt rune barriers!" Arya shouted in warning. Her instincts screamed that these posed a far greater danger to the defense line.
"Detecting high-energy particle convergence… analyzing waveform… Shadow Corrosion Ion Cannon! Immediate defensive jamming required!" Rex's tone grew grave. His ion cannon morphed again—this time into a huge satellite-dish-like emitter.
"Don't worry about me—focus on offense! I'll handle this!" Arya's voice brooked no argument.
She drew her Storm Bow once more, but this time she channeled both light and darkness magic into the string simultaneously! Two opposing forces clashed violently on the bowstring, generating an extremely unstable resonant shockwave. Arya took a deep breath and released—the unstable energy exploded outward as an invisible sonic pulse centered on her!
"Light-Dark Dance · Void Resonance!"
The moment the shockwave swept over the Earth-Eater cluster, the runes on their massive frames flickered wildly. Their energy shields descended into brief chaos and collapse! The dark red energy gathering in their cannon barrels destabilized; the ion beams veered wildly off-course, gouging smoking craters in the ground as they missed the wall's barrier entirely.
But the window was fleeting. Arya knew the attack couldn't inflict meaningful damage on these heavies. She stowed her bow, formed hand seals, and once again blended light and darkness—this time not for destruction, but for restoration.
"Ironheart Therapy!"
Gentle beams of light flew from her fingertips, precisely striking sections of the wall where rune barriers had been eroded and were rapidly fading from the Earth-Eaters' attacks. Miraculously, the corroded runes glowed anew under the nourishing light, as though being repaired. The wall's defensive barrier was restored and even reinforced.
"This is Ironheart Therapy—it heals not only wounded allies but damaged equipment as well," Arya said firmly. She nocked another arrow, this time infused with dense fire and wind elements. Wind fueled fire, fire amplified wind—explosive fiery storms erupted throughout the enemy ranks with every shot!
Seizing the opening Arya created, Rex completed his setup.
"Target lock: Earth-Eater model cluster. Ion disruption wave—fire!"
The massive dish emitter released an invisible electromagnetic pulse that perfectly enveloped the entire group.
"Zzzzt—!" The colossal machines' leg joints suddenly erupted with showers of sparks. Their movements became stiff and sluggish, as though bound by invisible chains!
"Mech Swarm, deploy!"
Another pair of tiny cylinders ejected from Rex's other wrist. Countless coin-sized metal insects poured out like a black tide, rapidly covering the disrupted Earth-Eaters. They crawled into every crevice, burrowing into once-precisely-engineered circuitry!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The next instant, the invaded Earth-Eaters detonated violently from within! While the explosions weren't enough to destroy them outright, they shredded joints, wiring, and energy cores, rendering the machines completely immobile.
"Nice one!" TISK couldn't help shouting when he saw the sight.
WingSeris vs Celestia
At that moment, WingSeris's gaze swept lightly across the furious battle on the wall and instantly locked onto Celestia, who had likewise unfurled six wings surrounded by wind and thunder.
"What a surprising metamorphosis, Celestia. I never imagined you could reach the realm of six wings. It seems I truly underestimated your potential back then." WingSeris's voice was gentle as a lover's whisper, yet carried an icy edge that scraped against the soul. With barely any movement, her wings fluttered—and countless blazing holy-light spears instantly condensed from the void around her, raining down on Celestia like a storm of meteors.
Celestia's ice-blue eyes flashed with cold fury. The six wings behind her—one pair of black angelic wings and two pairs of demonic wings—shuddered violently. Her figure blurred into a jagged streak of violet lightning, instantly evading every light spear.
"Indeed. I am no longer the naive fool deceived and used by your hypocritical radiance. Today, both I and Aelios have been reborn. WingSeris—everything you did to us in the past, today I will make you pay back tenfold!"
Before her words even faded, her form flickered. Her innate ability "Shadow Leap" activated! Space rippled like water—and Celestia reappeared behind WingSeris like a phantom. "Spear of Truth-Breaking" howled through the air wrapped in tearing wind and thunder, stabbing viciously toward the most vulnerable wing-root joint! WingSeris reacted with inhuman speed. Her pure white wings snapped shut, holy light condensing into a solid barrier that barely blocked the lethal strike. The violent energy clash staggered her slightly, scattering shards of light.
Two six-winged beings standing at the pinnacle of winged-kind power instantly engaged in a dazzling, high-speed aerial duel! With every beat of WingSeris's wings, holy light transformed into countless crescent-shaped razor blades that sliced through space with a teeth-grinding hiss. Celestia pushed her speed to the absolute limit, wind-thunder power coiling around her body, forming countless agile, ferocious lightning chains—sometimes blocking, sometimes binding, sometimes whipping like lashes—constantly attempting to restrict her opponent's movement. WingSeris suddenly unleashed a massive burst of holy light, the shockwave forcing Celestia back several meters. The pitying cold smile never left her face:
"Your wind-thunder power is indeed impressive—imposing in scope. But before true, pure holy light, it remains nothing more than a fleeting firefly glow—ultimately futile!"
Her twin wings fully extended. Vast holy light converged into a gigantic light sword dozens of meters long, carrying the terrifying might to purify all creation, and slashed downward at Celestia!
"Spear of Truth-Breaking · Thunder Pierce!"
Celestia met it fearlessly. All six wings thundered, pouring boundless power into the spear tip. Lightning compressed to an extreme, as though she held a miniature sun. She charged head-on into the colossal light sword!
BOOM——!!!
For an instant the world lost all color! Blinding radiance and deafening thunder swallowed everything! A terrifying ring-shaped shockwave exploded outward, instantly shredding every mutated winged one caught within dozens of meters into fragments! Those slightly closer were either charred to cinders by rampaging lightning or burned to nothingness by stray holy light. The remaining mutated winged ones recoiled in terror, frantically veering away from these two walking cataclysms and redoubling their frenzied assault on the ordinary defenders below.
"Hypocrite! The light you wield has long been tainted by sin—no longer pure, merely a self-deceiving illusion!" Celestia roared in rebuke. Her figure vanished once more amid the lightning. When she reappeared, the tip of Spear of Truth-Breaking was already aimed straight at WingSeris's heart! WingSeris barely twisted aside; the edge of her holy-light wings sliced like the sharpest blade, carving a deep, smoking gash across Celestia's pauldron. Yet Celestia seemed to feel no pain—her assault grew even fiercer. Wind-thunder power fully erupted, forming a localized storm of annihilation that temporarily caged WingSeris. The spear became countless lightning shadows, stabbing relentlessly from every cunning angle at the exact same point. The holy barrier protecting WingSeris shuddered violently, its light dimming rapidly! With an enraged growl, WingSeris was forced to detonate another massive surge of holy energy to break free of the storm. Both pulled back, breathing momentarily disrupted.
Wolfe vs Amber and TISK
Meanwhile, Wolfe posed an even more direct and lethal threat. He knew Steelforge City's defensive layout like the back of his hand; the traitor's shadow fell across every weak point on the wall. Leading an elite squad of dwarven turncoats, he sliced through the lines like a hot knife through butter. General Windstaff Amber swung her ancestral runic staff, trying to block his path. Whistling wind blades formed a dense barrier.
"Amber, after all these years your staff technique is still so flashy and impractical—like a dance that can't kill." Wolfe laughed madly. His shadow greataxe swept horizontally in a simple, brutal arc. The thick shadow energy clinging to the blade easily tore apart the wind blades, forcing Amber to retreat again and again.
"Wolfe! You traitor who should be completely melted in the furnace—take my hammer!" TISK's eyes blazed red. He roared as he leaped forward. "Earthshaker" combined perfectly with the symbiote "Flamevine." Ice-blue frost and crimson flames intertwined, carrying the endless fury of dwarven craftsmanship, and smashed toward Wolfe with mountain-splitting force! Wolfe snorted coldly, flipping his axe to meet it head-on. Shadow energy and blood-forged power surged in a direct clash.
CLANG!!! BOOM——!
Ice-fire and shadow energies collided and annihilated each other in a deafening explosion! The sheer force staggered Wolfe back several steps, cracking the ground beneath him. Yet he rooted himself almost instantly. Meanwhile, a hairline fracture appeared on the head of TISK's "Earthshaker" from the backlash and shadow corrosion!
"Kid, your strength has grown, and your technique isn't half bad! Unfortunately, compared to someone who's been honed on the edge of death for decades, you're still too green!" Wolfe licked his lips, cruelty flashing in his eyes.
Windstaff Amber suppressed the churning blood in her chest and attacked again. Her staff danced like a dragon—no longer clashing directly, but forming coiling azure tempests that targeted the fulcrums of Wolfe's axe swings, greatly restricting his wide, sweeping style. TISK moved in perfect sync, seizing every fleeting opening to hammer at Wolfe's flanks and lower body with ice-fire explosive force. Wolfe was suddenly forced onto the defensive. He roared in fury, fully activating his shadow runes. His axe danced in sweeping arcs of black tearing space, forcibly driving back the agile Amber. But TISK seized the critical instant—one crushing hammer blow finally landed squarely on Wolfe's shoulder pauldron! Dual ice-fire energies erupted inside. Scorching heat and bone-piercing cold detonated together. Wolfe grunted in pain; his shoulder armor was charred black and coated in frost. Enraged, Wolfe ignored the wound and swept his axe back at a bizarre angle. A dark blade aura sliced across TISK's barely-evaded arm, drawing a spray of blood. Amber's wind blades followed like shadows, cutting countless fine wounds at the joints of Wolfe's armor. TISK endured the pain and pressed the attack. Hammer blows rained down, ice-fire explosions unrelenting. Cracks finally began to spread visibly across Wolfe's battle-hardened shadow armor! The three descended into a brutal, bloody melee. Wolfe relied on experience and sheer savagery to hold on, but his advantage was rapidly eroding.
In the rear, Sist and his blood elves acted as a stable fountain of evil. Crimson aura rings continued to expand, empowering every Doomsday Rebirth force on the front line while all manner of debilitating and cursing blood magic snaked toward the defenders like venomous serpents. Under Arya's command, the alliance repeatedly attempted elite strike teams for decapitation attacks, but Sist was perpetually enveloped in a powerful blood-magic barrier. Long-range strikes were mercilessly deflected; ordinary soldiers couldn't even approach his casting range. The allied forces were forced into painful passive defense.
The battle was unimaginably brutal. Wolfe's frenzied breakthroughs, Sist's distant buffs and sinister curses, and WingSeris's absolute aerial dominance pushed the alliance's lines to the brink of collapse. Multiple sections of wall were blasted open by concentrated mechanical fire. Dwarven warriors and human infantry suffered horrific casualties. An atmosphere of despair began spreading among the defenders like a plague.
ight sword head-on!
**BOOM—!!!**
In that instant, the world lost color! Extreme radiance and deafening thunder swallowed everything! A terrifying ring-shaped shockwave exploded outward, instantly tearing to shreds every unfortunate mutated winged being caught within dozens of meters! Those slightly closer were either charred to cinders by rampaging lightning or incinerated to nothingness by stray holy light. The remaining mutated winged beings recoiled in terror, frantically veering away from these two walking cataclysms and redoubling their frenzied assault on the ordinary defenders below.
"Hypocrite! The holy light you wield, stained by sin, is no longer pure—it is nothing but self-deception!" **Celestia** shouted furiously. Her figure blurred again in the lightning, vanishing. When she reappeared, the tip of Spear of Delusion Breaking stabbed straight toward **WingSeris**'s heart! **WingSeris** twisted aside at the last possible moment; the edge of her holy-light wings sliced like the sharpest blade, carving a deep, smoking gash across **Celestia**'s pauldron. Yet **Celestia** seemed to feel no pain—her assault grew even fiercer. Wind-thunder power fully erupted, forming a localized storm of annihilation that temporarily trapped **WingSeris**. The spear transformed into countless thunder shadows, striking relentlessly from every cunning angle at the exact same point. **WingSeris**'s holy light barrier shuddered violently, radiance dimming rapidly!
With an angry growl, **WingSeris** was forced to unleash another surge of holy energy to break free of the storm. Both combatants pulled apart again, breathing momentarily disrupted.
Wolfe VS Amber and TISK
Meanwhile, Wolfe posed an even more direct and lethal threat.He knew the defense system of Steelforge inside and out.; the shadow of betrayal hung over every weak point on the wall. Leading an elite squad of dwarven turncoats, he cut through the lines like a hot knife through butter.
Wind Staff·Amber swung her ancestral runic staff, attempting to block his path. Staff-wind howled, forming dense wind-blade barriers.
"**Amber**, after all these years, your staff technique is still flashy but ineffective—like a dance that can't kill," Wolfe laughed madly. His shadow greataxe swept horizontally in a simple, brutal arc; the dense shadow energy attached to the blade easily shredded the wind blades, forcing **Amber** to retreat repeatedly.
"**Wolfe**! You traitor who should be burned to ash in the forge—take my hammer!" **TISK** roared, eyes blood-red, leaping forward. "Earthshaker" combined perfectly with the symbiote "Blazevine." Ice-blue frost and crimson flame intertwined, carrying the endless fury of dwarven craftsmen, and smashed toward **Wolfe** with mountain-splitting force!
**Wolfe** snorted coldly, axe reversing to meet the blow head-on. Shadow energy and blood-refined power surged. He chose to clash directly!
CLANG!!! BOOM—!
Ice-fire and shadow energies collided and annihilated in a deafening explosion! **Wolfe** was forced staggering back several steps, ground cracking beneath him, yet his feet seemed rooted, quickly regaining balance. But on **TISK**'s "Earthshaker," a faint crack had appeared on the hammer head from the backlash force and shadow energy!
"Kid, your strength has grown, and your combat skill is passable. Unfortunately, compared to me—who has been honed on the edge of death for decades—you're still too green!" **Wolfe** licked his lips, cruelty flashing in his eyes.
**Wind Staff·Amber** suppressed her churning blood and qi, charging again. Her staff danced like a dragon—no longer clashing head-on, but forming coiling azure storms that targeted **Wolfe**'s leverage points, greatly restricting his wide, sweeping attacks. **TISK** moved in perfect harmony, seizing every fleeting opening. His heavy hammer, wrapped in ice-fire explosive force, hammered at **Wolfe**'s flanks and lower body. **Wolfe** was suddenly forced on the defensive, roaring in fury. Shadow runes fully activated; his axe swung in countless tearing black arcs, barely driving back the agile **Amber**. But **TISK** seized the critical instant—a crushing hammer blow finally landed on **Wolfe**'s pauldron! Dual ice-fire energy surged in; searing heat and bone-piercing cold erupted simultaneously. **Wolfe** grunted in pain, his shoulder armor scorched and frost-covered. Enraged, he ignored the injury, sweeping his axe back at a bizarre angle. Shadow blade energy sliced across **TISK**'s barely-dodged arm, drawing a spray of blood. **Amber**'s staff-wind followed like a shadow, dense wind blades carving countless fine cuts into **Wolfe**'s armor joints. **TISK** endured the pain and pressed the attack; ice-fire explosions rained down relentlessly. Finally, **Wolfe**'s battle-hardened shadow armor began showing clear cracks! The three descended into brutal, close-quarters combat. **Wolfe** relied on experience and savagery to barely hold on, but his advantage was rapidly eroding.
In the rear of the battlefield, **West** and his blood elves acted as the most stable source of evil. Crimson rings of light continuously expanded, empowering every Doomsday Rebirth force at the front while various debilitating and curse-based blood magics shot toward the defenders like venomous snakes. Under Arya's command, the alliance repeatedly attempted to organize elite squads for decapitation strikes, but **West** was always surrounded by a powerful blood-magic barrier. Long-range attacks were mercilessly deflected; ordinary soldiers could not even approach his casting range. The alliance forces were forced into painful passive defense.
The battle was extraordinarily brutal. Wolfe's frenzied breakthroughs, West's long-range buffs and sinister curses, and WingSeris's absolute aerial dominance pushed the alliance's defensive line to the brink of collapse. Multiple sections of the wall were blasted open by concentrated mechanical fire. Dwarven warriors and human infantry suffered heavy casualties. An atmosphere of despair began spreading among the defenders like a plague.