The Red Anvil Tribe's Dawn of Fury
The Red Anvil Tribe's territory had been reduced to rubble.__
Collapsed homes lay everywhere, their roofs caved in like broken bones.__
Dark smoke rose from the fires that still burned, twisting into the sky.__
Wolfgang had lived beside flame for countless years, yet today it felt different.__
Greedy, almost demonic.__
“Kruuuugh...”__
Wolfgang clenched his jaw and glared at the skull-masked figures with pure murder in his eyes.__
After the mages had cast their last barrage, the bandits rushed forward again.__
Anyone watching could see they were enjoying themselves.__
Hiaaah! Mom, Dad!__
One hand locked around a young dwarf’s throat, he charged straight at the warriors.__
Pish! Pish!__
With terrifying speed, blades slashed shallow cuts across every exposed inch of flesh.__
Chaaang! Paooorak!__
And when the last dwarf fell, they stomped his chest and drove steel into his arms and legs.__
The sick smiles never left their faces.__
They were mocking and taunting the angry dwarf warriors.__
But their mockery was only the beginning.__
Black-robed figures harvested the blood of the wounded and the dead alike.__
That sight only fanned the flames of fury.__
“These demons! We’ll kill every last one of you!”__
“No matter what you do, you will die!”__
The surviving dwarfs, together with Grombal, howled with rage and swung their weapons like madmen.__
Wolfgang watched, breathing hard, chest heaving.__
His body was a map of wounds.__
His stamina and mana were empty.__
It had all been a futile hope.__
He let out a bitter smile and stared at the bracelet on his arm.__
Only one day.__
That was all it had taken to become friends with the man who had saved them.__
They had barely even been friends—Sybel had simply nodded when asked.__
If not for Sybel, they would have done nothing at all.__
No, they would never have even gone to the humans to ask for a house.__
How shameless, Wolfgang thought.__
He ground his teeth.__
He could not sit and wait any longer.__
They had to buy every second of time they could.__
There might still be dwarfs hiding in the underground shelters.__
As the chieftain, he had to protect every last soul with his life!__
“Hiaaah!”__
Wolfgang roared and slammed his axe handle against the ground, forcing his broken body upright.__
Agony shot through his shattered left arm, but he bit down hard and kept moving.__
The burning fury was stronger than any physical pain.__
Seeing his comrades mocked made his heart ache worse.__
“I am the chieftain of the Red Anvil Tribe!”__
He hurled himself at the skull-masked warriors and swung both axes with every ounce of strength in his right hand.__
Woooong!__
The lead skull-masked man met him with a sweeping blade strike.__
Kwaaaang!__
The axes ricocheted uselessly backward.__
“Grrk...”__
Wolfgang gritted his teeth through the pain of his dislocated shoulder and slammed his left arm into the follow-up swing.__
A skull-masked figure suddenly appeared right in front of him.__
Sssssss...__
Wolfgang saw the grin behind the mask.__
The blade came straight for him.__
He locked eyes with the attack and prayed silently.__
“By the Smith God Hephaestus who rules fire and iron—look down on your servant, the chieftain of the Red Anvil Tribe, Wolfgang! Turn me into your flame, your anvil, your hammer! Please spare my tribe!”__
He waited for death.__
Then—__
FLASH!__
A crimson flash streaked across his vision.__
Kwaaaang!__
The crimson light collided with the skull-masked man’s sword.__
Ssssss!__
The blade shattered.__
The skull-masked figure staggered back with a short cry.__
What...?__
Wolfgang’s eyes narrowed in confusion.__
A voice came from beside him.__
“Anyone who dares hit my friend... I won’t forgive them!”__
Dense, molten anger filled the voice.__
Wolfgang glanced sideways and saw Geunyuk-i standing there.__
“Y-You...?”__
“Don’t worry. We’re here.”__
“We?”__
“Yeah, us!”__
Geunyuk-i’s cheerful answer was proved by the leather-clad men who brushed past them and charged straight at the skull-masked warriors.__
“Where the hell did you even get those stupid masks?! You bastards!”__
“Who uses that garbage? It looks like it would make anyone fall asleep!”__
“Choke on this! You bastards!”__
“You look worse than us!”__
The bandits unleashed a storm of weapons at terrifying speed.__
Woooong.__
Kwaaaang! Bang! Bang! Bang!__
Distinguishing friend from foe was child’s play.__
The only ones left were the enemy.__
Bbakbbaki, leading the charge, stared coldly at the skull-masked men.__
That’s right. Enemy. That’s what matters.__
“The moment someone is called an enemy...”__
Bbakbbaki leaped over the skull-masked warriors and the dwarfs alike and slammed his greatsword toward the black-robed figures behind them.__
“We aren’t bandits—we are warriors!”__
Wooooong!__
Massive waves of dark aura flew through the air.__
The black-robed men tried desperately to cast spells.__
Then a voice rang out like thunder.__
“Anti-Magic Field!”__
The black-robed figures froze in pure terror.__
“Kruuk! My mana is frozen!”__
“They’re seventh-circle mages!”__
“Sword masters and seventh-circle mages?!”__
“Evacuate! All of you—evacuate!”__
“Collect the blood! We’re pulling back!”__
The black-robed figures scrambled backward in panic.__
Bbakbbaki’s aura slammed into them.__
Paaat! Pysh!__
The dark waves sliced straight through their bodies and exploded into the ground.__
Kwaaaaang!__
“Kyyyyaaak!”__
“Kyaaaak!”__
Screams of the black-robed men rose behind them.__
“Stop them! Kyyaaak!”__
“Kruuk! Where the hell did these monsters come from?!”__
The skull-masked figures joined the chorus of disbelief.__
And soon those cries turned into full screams.__
Bang! Bang! Bang!__
“Kyaaaak! They’re all expert level!”__
“Grrk! There’s no stopping them...”__
Even the skull-masked warriors were no match for the ruthless bandits.__
Once the tide turned, the black-robed figures on the mountain ridge began casting desperate spells.__
They were outside Bbakbbaki’s Anti-Magic Field.__
“Ice Cannon!”__
“Wind Blade!”__
“Flare!”__
The instant the spells left their mouths, a voice thundered from above.__
“Cloud Kill!”__
Kuguguguung.__
Thick green clouds rolled across the mountain ridge.__
“Seventh-circle Death Cloud!”__
“Barrier!”__
“Blitz...”__
The green clouds swallowed the black-robed figures in an instant.__
Screams erupted from inside the storm.__
Kyyyyaaaaak!__
The Red Anvil Tribe’s territory was filled with nothing but screams—both from the dying and from the sky.__
The dwarfs were no longer afraid.__
They no longer felt despair.__
They simply watched the bandits tear the black-robed men and skull-masked warriors apart.__
“You hurt my friend’s arm! Now I’ll hurt yours!”__
“Who broke my friend’s arm?! You?! You did!”__
“Short and old, and you still broke his arm! I won’t forgive this!”__
“Who are you?! Why do you keep appearing and disappearing right in front of me?! Get out of here!”__
Among the bandits, one man went completely berserk.__
He was the one who split the spirit-king spirits in half.__
That man was Geunyuk-i.__
Grombal swallowed dryly and walked over to Wolfgang.__
“Big brother... who exactly are those humans?”__
“The owners of the place Sybel brought us to when he asked for a house.”__
“As expected! Sybel would never have asked for a house unless he had a reason.”__
“Uuuuum...”__
Wolfgang let out a low groan.__
He never expected the other bandits to be this strong.__
He had thought the only hope was that single human who was the chieftain and Geunyuk-i.__
But now every single bandit was at least an expert.__
Even the only mage in the tribe was no exception.__
They had looked so carefree, yet they were actual high-level grand mages.__
What about that human called Bpaejuu?__
Wolfgang began to wonder who these people really were.__
Then—__
Kwaaaaang!__
The last explosion rang out, and the battle came to an end.__
“Separate the dead from the survivors. Crush the survivors completely.”__
“Yes, sir!”__
“How many of them escaped?”__
“Our job ends here. Take care of the captured ones.”__
The bandits answered Bbakbbaki’s orders and started moving again.__
Not one of them looked tired.__
They were monsters.__
When the dwarfs swallowed dryly, Geunyuk-i came running over.__
“Friend, are you okay? Did I hurt you anywhere?”__
“Uum, I’m fine.”__
“Really? Your size looks smaller... Did I cut off your heel?”__
“Hehe, as long as my arm is fine, I’m perfect.”__
“Phew, thank goodness.”__
Wolfgang sighed in relief.__
The worry he felt was thick, so he spoke slowly.__
“...Thank you. For coming to help us.”__
“Why are you thanking me? I had to come. You’re my friend.”__
“Because you’re my friend...”__
Wolfgang mulled over Geunyuk-i’s words and finally nodded.__
“The most believable words I’ve heard in my life.”__
“Hehe, friends are just like that, aren’t they?”__
Geunyuk-i gave Wolfgang’s shoulder a light punch.__
But the strength behind it was considerable.__
“Kyaaaak.”__
“Are you okay? Why are you so weak? Did you age?”__
“Kukluk.”__
Was he naive or cunning? Wolfgang groaned and changed the subject quickly.__
“Where is Bpaejuu? I want to thank him personally.”__
The man who made even the Gold Dragon Lord tremble had spoken to him.__
Wolfgang raised his voice out of habit.__
“Ah! Bpaejuu went somewhere else.”__
“Somewhere else?”__
“Yeah! With Samsaek-i!”__
Samsaek-i? Who was that?__
Wolfgang’s curiosity vanished the moment he remembered.__
He turned to the surviving dwarfs with a stern expression.__
“Quickly tend to the wounded. The brothers who went to the gods—bury their bodies in the smithy.”__
These were the ones who gave their lives for the tribe.__
He, as chieftain, could not skip the respect they deserved.__
“Yes... Chieftain.”__
The dwarfs returned to reality and began moving, grief and fury twisting their faces.__
They barely held back their tears.__
The bandits who had finished cleaning up the black-robed figures started helping the dwarfs.__
Everyone except one.__
Grombal, who was standing with his head bowed on the mountain ridge.__
“Kkheuk...”__
Geunyuk-i let out a short cry and trembled.__
He slowly lifted his head and shook harder.__
“I... I am a grand mage!”__
Arms spread wide, he screamed.__
He could not hold back his excitement and trembled again.__
“Kyaaaak! I am an eighth-circle grand mage!”__
He kept laughing even as he remembered the seventh-circle spells he had just cast for the first time.__
He would keep laughing even when he returned to the tribe.__
Until the day he almost got beaten by Jin.