Chapter 443: Fire Dwarf
At the peak of the Isdalia Grand Altar, Lanpu held a scroll in hand, bowing deeply before Kai Xiusu with solemn reverence.
"Your Majesty," he said, voice steady and respectful, "the interdimensional teleportation to the Elemental Plane of Fire has been successfully established."
"You will be transported to the outskirts of City of Iron, where the Empire’s pioneers have already set up bases—specifically, the Ember Empire’s Fire Elemental Plane Office."
Interdimensional Teleportation was a Seventh Circle spell, capable of transporting up to eight beings to another plane, though with a margin of error ranging from five to five hundred miles. The Empire of Ashen had not previously possessed such a spell. However, the Imperial Southern Continent Company had struck a deal with the Court Mage of the Thrace Kingdom, acquiring the spell scroll for a mere seventeen thousand Golden Nael.
Now, Thrace was a land scorched by gunpowder and war, its military funding desperately strained. Meanwhile, the Empire of Ashen—a wild, untamed realm born from a magical wasteland—was starving for high-tier magical resources. The two sides saw eye to eye.
Such was the power of money.
After months of research by Lanpu and the magi of the Ministry of Magic, the spell had been partially replicated. The only issue? The margin of error was still too large—sometimes reaching over a thousand miles.
"Master," Lanpu continued, "your strength is so immense that I have no doubt you shall return victorious. But to spare you the trouble and exhaustion, I’ve secured a native guide from the Elemental Plane of Fire."
"Our army has repelled the Fire Lizard raiders sent by the Fire Giants to invade our lands. They owe us a debt of honor."
"Green Cardoso!"
"You are bound by pact!"
Lanpu pulled forth a magical contract, its surface flaring with a pulsing, fiery light.
A figure emerged from the flame—tall, yet dwarfed by the altar’s scale. A humanoid being with hair and beard like living flame, skin gleaming with a bronze-like metallic sheen. Standing no more than four feet tall, he was stout and round, clad in a short skirt forged from copper, wielding a finely crafted iron warhammer, and bearing several small red-copper pouches slung across his back.
"Fire Dwarf?"
Kai Xiusu stared down at the tiny creature, instantly recognizing its status.
These were beings born of the Elemental Plane of Fire—humanoid dwarves famed as master forgers, whose very method of reproduction was extraordinary. A Fire Dwarf was not born, but forged. A second Fire Dwarf would craft the body from bronze, then inject it with the sacred Life-Fire—a spark of soul-forged flame.
Legend said the first Fire Dwarf had been created when a Dwarf God accidentally infused a soul-fire into a bronze statue during forging. Thus, they were known as "Copper-Forge Flame Spirits"—a name that reflected both their origin and essence.
Due to the intricate and time-consuming process, their population remained exceedingly small.
Green Cardoso, newly arrived in the Material Realm, blinked open his eyes—only to lock onto the colossal Red Dragon coiled atop the altar. His knees buckled instantly.
"Mo, Moradin above..."
"No way..."
"This isn’t a phantom illusion! A dragon of this scale... in the Material Realm? Larger than a Primordial Dragon!"
He trembled, eyes wide with terror, staring up at the dragon’s massive form.
"Rudeness!" Lanpu thundered, voice echoing like rolling thunder across the altar. "Is this how you greet your saviors? To stand before you is your greatest honor!"
"Before you stands the sole leadership of the Anzeta Great Wasteland—the one who shattered Silver Wings, the destroyer of Frost Giants, the sworn enemy of the Deep Abyss Demons, and the Emperor of the Ashen Flame—King Kai Xiusu!"
"Fire Dwarf! Is this how you repay those who saved your people?"
The voice reverberated through the air, jolting Green Cardoso from his panic. He had never imagined…
The Emperor of this empire, ruling over the Prime Material Plane, was a Red Dragon—larger than even a Primordial Dragon?
The Fire Dwarves lived deep within fire vents and magma rivers, hunting rare metals and gemstones. They knew little of the outside world. They had no knowledge of the newly risen Empire of Ashen.
Yet the Empire’s military might was undeniable. And now, this… dragon?
With a gasp, the Fire Dwarf turned, dropping to his knees in a deep bow. "Green Cardoso greets you, mighty Emperor of the Ashen Flame!"
"I… I apologize, King Kai Xiusu. I was simply… overwhelmed by your… enormous presence."
He lay there, a smoldering bronze statue of contrition.
"Interesting little creature," Kai Xiusu murmured, watching the Fire Dwarf with quiet fascination, exhaling a sulfurous breath.
To him, these Fire Dwarves were living treasures—master artisans whose craftsmanship in past lives had forged legendary gear. They could be invaluable to the Empire.
But for now, the matter at hand was the Fire Giants.
A year ago, he had sent Misha and an earlier expedition to the Elemental Plane of Fire. Their mission: to trade with the Fire Giant kingdom, securing rare metals and ores rich in flame energy—fuel for his next Deep Sleep.
Yes, fuel.
As a dragon whose bloodline neared Ancestral tier, Kai Xiusu required multiple deep sleeps during his growth from youth to adulthood—each one consuming staggering amounts of energy.
Ordinary meat was negligible to a dragon of his size. It barely sustained him.
Kai Xiusu nodded approvingly. "Good. Since all preparations are complete, let us begin the teleportation."
"Yes, Master."
Lanpu snapped to attention, raising his staff. The twelve skull-headed charms along its neck flared with faint, crackling auras.
"Ministry of Magic, all divisions—prepare the Large-Scale Interdimensional Teleportation Model for the King!"
"Unit One, acknowledged!"
"Unit Two, acknowledged!"
"Unit Three, acknowledged!"
All around the altar, spellcasters raised their staves in unison, their auras flaring like spines of arcane light.
The air trembled with enchantment. Arcane webs warped. The sound of spatial compression filled the chamber.
Whoosh—
A massive, intricate spellcraft model unfolded in the air—complex, vast, and radiant. A portal, towering thirty meters high, materialized above the altar’s peak.
For a being of Kai Xiusu’s Life Tier, common interdimensional teleportation spells were ineffective—too weak to contain such a powerful entity. The spell simply couldn’t hold him.
But this was different.
Led by Lanpu—an Intelligence 22 high-level mage—and augmented by dozens of elite Court Mages, the spell’s power now approached the Ninth Circle.
Boom—
The portal slowly opened.
Though unprecedented in scale, it still seemed narrow compared to Kai Xiusu’s thirty-six-meter frame. Yet it would suffice.
"Is that…?"
"Moradin above… Could it be that Your Majesty intends to go himself?"
Green Cardoso gaped at the portal, stunned.
Then—suddenly—he felt a massive, iron grip seize him from above. His body was enveloped in darkness, paralyzed, unable to move.
"Then let us depart, my guide," came the deep, rumbling voice of the Red Dragon, echoing from beyond the world.
"No—wait, King Kai Xiusu!"
The Fire Dwarf cried out in panic.
But the dragon paid no mind. With a subtle tightening of his wings, he gripped the tiny creature and plunged through the portal.
For years, due to the Demon’s Curse, he had not been able to unleash his innate nature—had not fought in true battle.
Now, the Elemental Plane of Fire awaited.
And he was eager to witness its wonders—Fire Giants of the City of Brass, the Lords of Flame lurking deep within the plane.
(End of Chapter)
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