Translator: CinderTL
Deep within the tunnel, in a rocky cavern, the dim yellow light of a fire flickered across the rugged face of the dwarf general Mogdin. He crouched on a protruding black rock, his fists clenched, his eyes gleaming with a feral intensity. A scout knelt before him, fragments of tunnel wall clinging to his helmet.
"They've entered, my lord," the scout whispered. "The humans followed our retreat route and have advanced deep south into the Echo Path. They're currently halted near Three-Fork Pass, seemingly hesitant."
Mogdin slowly rose, a grin spreading across his face, revealing teeth stained yellow from tobacco. "Just a little further... just a little further. Once they're completely inside, we'll drop the iron gate. That gate was forged by our ancestors from refined iron—a hundred wild bulls couldn't breach it. Trapped inside, they'll be like rats in a jar."
He recalled the disastrous assault on Mountain Throat Fortress, where his forces had been decimated by cannon fire and volleys of muskets. Many brave dwarf warriors had fallen, and even his own weapon had been shattered by a cannonball. This humiliation was seared into his memory like a brand.
Mogdin roared, "This time, we won't be the ones fleeing—they'll be the ones dying! Either they kneel and surrender, handing over their weapons, or they'll rot in this underground hell, their bones picked clean by worms!" He slammed his fist against the stone wall, sending a shower of rubble cascading down.
He gazed into the impenetrable darkness at the tunnel's depths, as if already envisioning the human soldiers trapped in their sealed-off prison, their faces contorted with panic.
Just as Mogdin was reveling in the thought of parading human prisoners before the orc emissaries, his chest swelling with pride and his head held high, a deep, terrifying rumble suddenly erupted from the earth's depths, as if the Mountain God had stirred in its slumber.
Then came a second, a third—three consecutive, earth-shattering explosions, so closely spaced they nearly merged into one continuous roar.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The entire tunnel shuddered violently. The rock walls overhead trembled violently, and debris rained down like a torrential downpour. Torches flickered and died, plunging everything into instant darkness. The dwarves screamed and threw themselves to the ground, instinctively clutching their heads. The rock strata groaned with ear-splitting cracks, as if an invisible giant hand were tearing the mountain apart.
"Earthquake!" someone shrieked.
Mogdin bellowed, "Don't panic! Our tunnels are strong!"
A dwarf warrior suddenly noticed something amiss. A hairline crack in the tunnel wall, previously invisible to the naked eye, was now spreading at an alarming rate. His heart clenched, and he grabbed Mogdin by the arm. "This place isn't safe! We have to move now!"
The group scrambled frantically through a narrow side ventilation shaft, crawling and stumbling their way out. Only when they emerged from the mountain and stood on a rocky slope did they dare look back.
The mountain still trembled faintly, dust seeping slowly from cracks in the rock like the earth itself was gasping for breath.
They waited anxiously, but the earthquake subsided more quickly than expected. Soon, the tremors ceased altogether. Mogdin, panting heavily, ordered a young scout to return and investigate.
The scout cautiously re-entered the tunnel, winding his way through the undamaged side passages. Moments later, he came sprinting back, his face pale with terror, his voice trembling. "Sir... the entire main passage between Echo Valley and Three-Fork Pass... it's collapsed! We can't dig through it! And... and over thirty of our brothers... they're buried inside..."
Mogdin felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.
That very section of the tunnel was where he had planned to ambush the humans, to deliver a crushing blow. The trap doors hadn't even had time to fall, the ambushers hadn't even waited for their prey to venture deep enough, before the entire passage had collapsed from within, completely burying everything.
Mogdin personally returned to the tunnel to inspect the damage, his gaze fixed on the entrance sealed by rubble. With his years of experience as a dwarf, he knew that even if they spared no effort to dig it open again, it would take an impossibly long time.
His chest heaved irregularly. After a long moment, he slowly exhaled and muttered to himself, "As long as those humans are buried in there too... then our brothers didn't die in vain."
He turned to his surviving subordinates and waved them forward. "Let's go. Tell the Clan Chief we've annihilated the invaders. We've won this battle."
The dwarves trudged heavily along the narrow mountain ridge path, their footsteps dragging. A biting wind whipped through their dusty beards and battered armor, carrying swirls of dust. They lowered their heads, mourning their fallen comrades while forcing themselves to rally for this hollow "victory."
As they rounded a gentle slope, Mogdin was about to order them to quicken their pace when he suddenly froze in place.
Ahead on the mountain path, a column of figures was marching in formation—the very human army they had believed to be buried alive!
Not only were they alive, but their demeanor was calm and their ranks remained perfectly ordered, showing no signs of having suffered any losses.
Mogdin's pupils constricted sharply, his heart gripped as if by an icy hand. He abruptly raised his hand, signaling his men to take cover. The group swiftly crouched down, squeezing into crevices between rocks and thickets along the roadside, holding their breath.
Through the withered foliage, they watched helplessly as the human army marched past. An officer-like figure conversed with his companion, his voice carried by the wind: "...the blast achieved its intended effect. The passage will remain impassable for the foreseeable future. A highly successful demolition."
"Demolition?" The word seemed to trigger a sudden realization in Mogdin's mind.
The human army paused to rest on the mountain path, and Mogdin's group was preparing to seize the opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
But suddenly, a human soldier shouted, "Look! There seems to be an entrance over there!"
A cave entrance, half-concealed by loose rubble and withered branches, had been exposed—the very ventilation shaft Mogdin's group had hastily dug during their escape.
The explosion's tremors had evidently widened the narrow passage, making it far more conspicuous.
"Another entrance discovered!" The soldier who had rushed to inspect it called out excitedly.
The surrounding soldiers perked up immediately, some even laughing. "These dwarves really are addicted to digging," one quipped. "Everywhere you look, there are dog holes."
Derrick approached, crouching down to examine the scratches and footprints around the cave entrance. He stood up and commanded, "Find a dwarf dog hole, seal it shut. And make sure they never even think about digging it open again."
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded in unison.
Several Combat Engineers swiftly retrieved a crate of explosives from their pack mules. After connecting the detonator wires, they carefully carried the charges deep into the cave.
They chose the narrowest part of the tunnel to place the explosives, ensuring that the entire passage would collapse completely upon detonation. Once the charges were set, they retreated from the cave, pulling the long fuse wire behind them until they reached a rocky bunker fifty paces away.
"Get down!" Derrick ordered.
A soldier lit the fuse, and the flame raced along the thin wire into the earth.
A brief silence followed—then, BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion, far more violent than the previous ones, tore through the ground as if the earth's core had been ripped open. The ground shook violently, and shattered rock erupted from the cave entrance like cannon fire. A towering plume of smoke and dust billowed into the sky, lingering long after the blast. The cave entrance collapsed into a charred, gaping crater, and a wave of searing heat washed over the landscape.
Mogdin and his men, hidden in the bushes, froze in terror, their pupils dilating in shock.
They finally understood.
This wasn't an earthquake!
It was a human weapon—a force capable of shattering mountains from within and melting stone.
(End of the Chapter)
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