The air over the Dragonfang Mountains was unnaturally still, the echo of the Shadow Crown's sudden retreat vanishing into the rocky peaks. The war had officially begun: King Borin Stonehead (Tier 2 God Seeker) against his eldest son, Zeron (Tier 3 Core), his brother Zevan, and his sister Leora. Logically, the King could finish this in seconds, yet the heavens had not yet torn open with his full power.
On the plains before Khazad-Dar, the colossal, ancient city gates remained untouched by the King's overwhelming might. Zeron, standing with his top lieutenants, observed the continued defensive posture and realized the flaw in their attack.
Why did the King still not attack us? Zeron pondered, his blue eyes narrowed. Then, understanding dawned like a shard of ice. The hostage.
Zeron turned to Zevan and Leora, his voice laced with the cold certainty of a serpent. "Aunt and uncle, we must adjust our focus. The King's delay is not indecision; it is a calculation rooted in fear. Morisa, my step-sister and his daughter, is our Trojan horse. He is waiting, paralyzed by the thought that we might harm her."
Zeron's tone deepened, carrying the spiritual weight of his Dominance. "If anything happens to her, we are utterly destroyed. If she dies, my father will enter a blinding God-Seeker Rage; in that moment, no one in this kingdom—no one in this world—can stop him. Be meticulous when handling her."
Zeron immediately commanded an impressive defensive detail: two Tier 5 and three Tier 6 Elemental Masters were ordered to form a perimeter. "You will serve as an absolute, unmoving guard around Morisa. Do not, under any circumstance, allow her to be taken away."
Miles away, within the dense, shaded safety of the Chronos Forest Sanctuary, the evacuation unit was finalizing the Impassable Border.
Jai (Arthur), his form disguised in standard Human who works as a teacher, his mind working with relentless speed, was focused on the next phase: the rescue. James (Clement), radiating the calm control of his Air and Space magic, stood nearby. Zayn, the Dwarf Prince and Morisa's elder brother, his own loyalties tested but now firmly fixed on his sister, paced with growing anxiety. Minister Brokk (Tier 6 Void Master), his eyes deep pools of shadow, and King Winston (Tier 5 Master), radiating subtle, steady Light energy, completed the circle.
"We need a plan to rescue Morisa," Jai stated, his gaze meeting Winston's.
Winston nodded, his expression serious. "I have crucial intelligence. Zeron has dedicated two Tier 5 and three Tier 6 Masters to Morisa's personal guard. He understands she is the Trojan Horse—the paralysis point for the King."
The news shocked the young masters. James immediately voiced the collective doubt. "Sir! With all due respect, how do you possess this specific information?"
Winston smirked—a light, knowing smile that implied vast, unseen power. "Do you truly believe I would enter a war of this scale without making preparations?" He reached to his ear, pulling out a small, metallic artifact, no larger than a grain of sand.
Jai's eyes widened in recognition. "Ah! I remember this! It is the same artifact you used to communicate with our allies in the Outer Towns! The Aetheric Whisper!"
Winston confirmed the artifact's function, affirming the intelligence.
Zayn immediately pressed the advantage. "If you have communication, why don't you ask your member to take my sister silently?"
Winston shook his head. "The moment is past. The concentration of Tier 5 and 6 Masters makes a silent rescue impossible. We must think of a direct, overwhelming diversionary plan."
Jai intervened, slamming his fist into his palm. "No. Let us focus on the immediate war. We must fight now. We stick together, and if any idea strikes, we communicate immediately." He took out five small, intricately crafted artifacts—miniature, glowing golden thunderbolts. "These are Spark artifacts—Tier 9 communication. They have a reliable radius of two kilometers. We fight within this range, always connected."
They attached the communication artifacts and, with a final shared nod of desperate resolve, the small group of high-tier defenders dissolved into the forest, heading toward the blazing war.
A minute later, the silence was violently ruptured. Zeron gave the hand sign, and the Shadow Ledger troops surged forward. Simultaneously, King Borin gave his own signal. The war began.
The entire area before the capital became a chaotic maelstrom. Dust clouds, kicked up by the thousands of marching and riding low-tier elemental masters, mixed with the acrid smoke of elemental clashes, creating a thick, choking dust fog. No one knew friend from foe; they only attacked, driven by primal fear and elemental instinct.
The dwarf loyalist troops divided, a brilliant strategic move: one half used artifacts to maintain the defensive perimeter and prevent the main entry into the capital, while the other half surged out of the gates, meeting the enemy outside the city walls. Our heroes—Jai, James, Zayn, King Winston, and Minister Brokk—plunged directly into the chaotic fray outside.
Jai's voice crackled through the Spark artifact: "Guys! If anyone needs help, please call for help! Do not let pride kill us!"
James immediately retorted: "First, you have to call for help! You always cling to prestige and hate asking for aid!"
The bond of the two human brothers, despite their disguises and the chaos, was clear to everyone on the channel. Jai simply replied: "Understood. I will ask for help if needed."
They spread out, keeping within the vital two-kilometer radius.
Jai, moving toward the West Side of the conflict, became a blur. Utilizing his Tier 8 Swift Artifact, he moved with such phenomenal velocity that he was literally a lightning bolt, his movements impossible to track even for Tier 9 or Tier 10 masters without highly specialized elemental sight. Due to his relentless training, Jai had achieved perfection in the Swift technique. He drew his Divine Golden Sword—the blade shimmering with the powerful Water/Ice Law of the Tide Weaver artifact—and moved through the low-tier masters like a god reaping insects. With every step, the earth beneath his feet seemed to shake, the air screaming in his wake.
On the East Side, James (Clement) utilized his specialized dual magic. He used his Space Magic to suddenly increase gravity around groups of enemies, crushing them to the ground instantly. Then, utilizing his powerful Air Magic, he lifted another group of masters into the air, holding them suspended like marionettes in a clear line of sight.
On the North Side, Zayn, watching the enemies suspended by James, prepared his specialized attack. His core surged with Ice and Storm energy. He cast the spell: "The Ice Bow." A magnificent bow made of pure, crystalline ice materialized in his left hand, looking like the weapon of a mythical Ice Guardian. His silver hair suddenly began to turn pure white, transforming his features to the aesthetic of a beautiful, looks like a terrifying Ice Elf. He unleashed a volley of Ice Arrows at the suspended enemies, raining destruction upon them. Furthermore, utilizing his formidable Ice Defense, he built a temporary Ice Boundary—a shimmering, towering wall of ice—preventing any further troops from entering his current combat zone while allowing him to shoot his arrows out from the safety within.
On the South Side, Minister Brokk (Tier 6 Void Master), whose eyes held the cold wisdom of a thousand skirmishes, found himself locked in a difficult engagement. He was encircled by five formidable Tier 8 Masters and a swarm of higher Tier 9 and 10 guards. Jai inquired over the Spark: "What is the situation, Brokk?"
Only Brokk and Winston remained silent for a moment. Finally, Brokk replied, his voice strained but calm, explaining his desperate situation. Jai immediately offered assistance, but Brokk refused.
The five Tier 8 Masters, utilizing a coordinated array of Ice, Fire, Water, and Wind magic, launched distracting, overwhelming attacks. Brokk, unable to fully protect himself against the sustained elemental bombardment, was already visibly injured.
Pushed to the brink, Brokk's composure snapped. He became pissed. He released his terrifying Void Magic. A massive, localized Purple Void erupted outward. All enemies within the Void's two-kilometer range were instantly trapped—a specialized illusionary effect where everyone's mind was subjected to intense, debilitating chaos and terror. In that moment of psychic paralysis, Brokk drew his Purple Void Sword and swept through the trapped troops. The Void only affected the enemy, as all members of jai's party were beyond the one-kilometer effective range. The Void's Fury had neutralized the threat.
In the Center, King Winston (Tier 5) remained utterly silent. Jai asked multiple times, even while fighting his own intense battle. Brokk, recovering quickly, explained: "He is silent because he has likely already finished the attack."
Brokk then revealed the King's brilliant overarching strategy that all Borin's ministers were using: "We create a Defensive Boundary the moment we enter the zone. We clear every enemy inside that boundary, using our superior control and elemental efficiency. Once the zone is clear, we remove the border, swiftly change position, create a new boundary, and repeat the process."
This strategy—a continuous sequence of high-efficiency, contained fights—allowed the smaller, higher-skilled loyalist force to make a huge impact on the war, killing enemies while preserving their own numbers.
In this chaotic, massive conflict, almost everyone was a Dwarf person; only the three combat leaders were of mixed heritage: Jai and James (disguised) and Zayn (son of King Borin, the dwarf king, and a human mother). Zeron also shared this mixed blood. Only Morisa (daughter of King Borin and Queen Morlin, both dwarfs) was fully of the Dwarf lineage. The war raged on, a beautiful, terrifying spectacle of elemental and familial destruction.