29: With the enemy at the gates, the Mohist stratagems shake the fortified city (Part 2)

With the combat orders issued, the Allied war machine immediately began to operate with high efficiency.

On the frontal battlefield, Bronzebeard Stonehammer led from the front, leading eighty Blackrock Clan Warriors and five Dwarf Rune Iron Guards. They formed a thick shield-and-axe formation and advanced slowly toward the massive dark iron gates of Furnace Fortress with heavy steps. Behind them, thirty crossbowmen of the Blackrock Clan and the Elf Rangers of the Hundred Schools Temple moved into firing positions, arrows notched and ballistae calibrated.

Atop the walls, the defenders of Furnace Fortress reacted immediately. Piercing alarms rang out as a large number of Gray Dwarves soldiers swarmed the battlements. Heavy crossbowmen took their positions at the embrasures, and Rune Priests began chanting, buffing the defenders with Stone Skin Technique and Molten Weapons. The dark red Furnace Barrier also became visibly more solid.

"For Furnace Fortress! For the Great Clan Chief! Shoot these traitors and invaders to death!" a Furnace Fortress officer roared from the wall.

"Swish, swish, swish—!"

Dense volleys of heavy crossbow bolts poured down from the walls like a swarm of locusts, shooting toward the advancing Allied ground forces!

"Raise shields! Immovable as a Mountain!" Bronzebeard bellowed.

The front-row Dwarf Rune Iron Guards and Blackrock Clan shield warriors immediately raised their massive shields. Earth-yellow light merged into a single sheet, forcibly withstanding the wave of arrows! The bolts struck the shields with a dense 'thud-thud' sound, but they struggled to penetrate this solid defense.

"Rangers! Suppressing fire! Target the wall crossbowmen!" Elwin commanded from the rear.

The elves' arrows immediately retaliated! Buffed by Fierce as Fire, their arrows were fast and accurate. Although their power was partially weakened by the Furnace Barrier, they still caused significant trouble for the crossbowmen on the wall, who fell one after another.

Meanwhile, at the rear of the Allied position, Tiangong Dwarf Engineers and Gnome Engineers were busily assembling siege engines. Huge wooden components were quickly pieced together, with gears and winches emitting heavy grinding sounds.

[Mohist Linchong Lu-Gong Siege Tower (Improved Type)]:

Specifications: Approximately twelve meters high, with wheels at the base for pushing forward. The top features a protective shed and a gangplank, capable of carrying ten warriors directly onto the city walls.

Traits: Outer iron plating for fireproofing. The base is equipped with a ram to assist in battering the gates.

Status: Under assembly (70% complete).

[Mohist Thunderbolt Trebuchet (Improved Type)]:

Specifications: Large-scale trebuchet using a torsion launch mechanism, with a range of approximately four hundred meters.

Ammunition: Specially made Burst Stone Shells (filled with gunpowder and iron fragments).

Traits: Long range, high power, area-of-effect damage.

Status: Under assembly (60% complete).

The defenders on the wall clearly noticed these large machines being assembled and immediately redirected more ballistae and archers to attempt long-range destruction. Several thick bolts whistled through the air, pinning themselves into the unfinished protective shed of the Lu-Gong Tower, sending wood splinters flying.

"Speed it up! Engineering team, raise shields for cover!" Elwin ordered.

The mixed group operating the ballistae and some Law Fishmen immediately raised temporary large shields to cover the engineers. Lightforged Gnomes attempted to use faint energy interference to deflect the incoming bolts.

While the frontal battlefield drew most of the attention, the underground operation also began. Glick personally led eighty Deep Tunnel Stalkers, using the Allied camp as cover to quietly dig several tunnels toward Furnace Fortress. Their goal was to destroy the geothermal pipeline nodes. Another twenty stalkers were attempting to dig a narrow tunnel directly to the base of the city wall, searching for potential structural weaknesses or drainage outlets.

Time slipped away amidst the intense offense and defense.

An hour later, just as the Linchong Lu-Gong Tower and the Thunderbolt Trebuchet were nearing completion and the frontal pressure was mounting, a muffled explosion and faint cries of alarm suddenly came from underground!

Immediately following, the dark red Furnace Barrier above Furnace Fortress flickered violently several times, its light visibly dimming! Some of the magical torches on the walls were instantly extinguished!

"It worked!" Elwin's eyes flashed in the command tent. The Underground Gnomes had destroyed some of the geothermal supply nodes!

The barrier was weakened! The opportunity had arrived!

"Thunderbolt Trebuchet! Target the watchtower and Ballista cluster on the left side of the wall! Fire!" Elwin ordered without hesitation.

"Voom—Boom!!"

The first massive Burst Stone Shell was launched, tracing a high parabola through the air, soaring over the wall and slamming hard into the base of a watchtower!

BOOM!!!

A violent explosion rang out! Rubble mixed with fire shot into the sky! The watchtower shook violently, and the ballistae and crossbowmen upon it were instantly consumed!

The immense power brought a momentary silence across the battlefield!

The defenders of Furnace Fortress, including that officer, stared dumbfounded at the ruins of the destroyed tower. They had never seen a long-range weapon of such devastating power!

"Hahaha! Good! Keep smashing them for me!" Bronzebeard bellowed below the wall, his blood boiling as he swung his battle-axe.

The Allied morale soared!

What terrified the defenders even more was the massive Linchong Lu-Gong Tower. Pushed by dwarves and Gnomes, it emitted a rumbling roar as it began slowly closing in on the city gate! Its tall silhouette and the gangplank at its top brought an immense sense of pressure!

"Stop it! Use fire arrows! Use boiling oil! You must not let it get near the gate!" the Furnace Fortress officer screamed at the top of his lungs.

The defenders on the wall frantically poured fire onto the Lu-Gong Tower. Fire arrows fell like rain, attempting to ignite it. Scalding hot oil was also poured down, but with the tower's outer iron plating and fireproof treatment, the effects were limited.

The first frontal collision between Mohist Mechanical Arts and the Gray Dwarves' fortified city showed its initial brilliance through its startling destructive power and engineering concepts far ahead of the era!

However, just as the Alliance seemed to have the upper hand, an even larger and more tyrannical aura suddenly awakened within the depths of Furnace Fortress, like a dormant volcano!

A pillar of dark red light suddenly shot into the sky from the tallest central spire of Furnace Fortress! A heart-palpitating pressure instantly enveloped the entire battlefield!

A voice, as piercing as metal grinding and filled with endless rage and the will to destroy, echoed through the heavens:

"Ignorant rats! How dare you invade my Furnace Fortress! Today, I shall let you witness what true... Furnace Wrath is!"

The true trump card of Furnace Fortress, the supreme leader of the Gray Dwarves—the Great Clan Chief—was about to take action!