The battlefield descended into utter chaos.

  Once the fighting reached a fever pitch and combatants were consumed by bloodlust, no one spared a thought for the mounting casualties.

  Among the slaves, humans accounted for less than one percent.

  The rest were of beast - related races.

  Their inborn ferocity was unleashed, and losing an arm was no deterrent to their charge.

  Moreover, the ogres leading the vanguard were incredibly fierce, and having such powerful allies on their side electrified the atmosphere.

  Only then did the dwarves realize that their contribution to the assault on the Hot Sand Consortium had been rather negligible.

  That triple - barreled machine gun alone had quelled the firepower of a large swath of their city walls.

  Rumble~

  The steam - powered tracked vehicle, concealed within the billowing dust, hurtled straight into the dwarves' city gate.

  The goblin hadn't been exaggerating.

  No one knew precisely how he'd managed it, but upon impact, the vehicle unleashed a colossal burst of energy.

  Surging white steam, combined with the explosion, engulfed the entire area around the gate.

  The dwarves above the gate, once immersed in the steam, were instantaneously cooked to a ghastly medium - rare state, their bodies hideously festering.

  The goblin, observing from the rear, danced with glee.

  “Heheha!!! Damn dwarf rats! Blow you all to smithereens!!!”

  The goblin was overjoyed. Previously, these dwarves had lurked behind the ogres and attacked their city from the rear.

  Now, with the ogres on his side attacking the dwarves, how could he not be elated?

  Gorgin was taken aback as well.

  This goblin might be incompetent in many matters, but when it came to explosives and bombs, he was truly a genius.

  However, to the goblin's dismay, the city gate remained standing, defying expectations.

  The dwarf leader privately rejoiced.

  Thanks to the abundant resources plundered from the Hot Sand Consortium, they'd been able to reinforce the city gate.

  The dwarf leader had witnessed firsthand the ogres smashing through the goblin gates with their massive bone hammers.

  Imagining himself in the ogres' position, he'd wisely fortified the gate's defenses.

  “Mom!!!”

  In times of crisis, Gorgin called upon his mother.

  Who in their right mind would engage in a protracted siege?

  As his mother, Horne could intuit Gorgin's intentions with a mere gesture.

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  She hefted her large bone hammer and swung it towards the air in front of the city gate.

  Flameburst with Focus!

  A searing fireball, larger than a millstone, hurtled towards the city - gate passage, right before the dwarf leader's horrified gaze.

  An explosion, far more violent than the previous goblin - vehicle blast, reverberated.

  The battlefield fell momentarily silent.

  Horne was perplexed. What had just happened?

  Why did this Flameburst Spell seem far more potent than usual?

  In truth, it was her subconscious belief that the spell would demolish the gate that had enhanced its power.

  Had she cast it bare - handed, the outcome might have been different.

  Her large bone hammer, serving as both a melee weapon and a staff, had, through her subconscious determination, triggered the “ Krummashaaar!” effect that ogres trusted.

  Since the ogres deemed it effective, how could a damaged city gate withstand the Flameburst with Focus of an ogre mage?

  The city gate, along with the adjacent section of the city wall, crumbled completely.

  “Hahaha!!! Charge in, all of you!!!”

  Gorgin's arrogant laughter caused the dwarf leader's face to flush red, then pale.

  In close - quarters and street - level combat, who could possibly best the ogres?

  “Personal guards! Follow me and hold them back!”

  The dwarf leader leaped from the city wall, and his two personal guards promptly followed suit.

  “For Giant Sand City!!!”

  The dwarf leader's body expanded rapidly, like a balloon, suffused with a silvery radiance. His two guards underwent the same transformation.

  It was the Dwarven Divine Transformation.

  Among the nearly ten - thousand dwarves in Giant Sand City, only these three could execute this powerful ability.

  Dwarves were the spirits of the earth.

  Forging, strength, and the Dwarven Divine Transformation were the gifts bestowed upon them by the earth.

  The Dwarven Divine Transformation not only increased their average height from around 1.45 meters to four meters but also conferred formidable physical defense and magic resistance.

  The dwarf leader brandished his large hammer and charged directly at Gorgin.

  “Ha~”

  Gorgin bared his teeth in a cruel smile and brandished his boning knife to meet the attack. However, Gorgin wasn't about to engage in a direct clash with the hammer.

  It was a matter of trading blows!

  The hammer struck Gorgin's bloated belly, and earth - yellow energy erupted.

  “Damn it!!! It hurts like hell!!!”

  Gorgin's eyes bulged in agony. He opened his mouth wide, fangs bared, and stabbed his knife into the gap in the dwarf leader's helmet.

  “Ah!!!”

  The dwarf leader clutched his face and stumbled backward three steps. Gorgin's boning knife drew a trail of blood.

  “Tui~~”

  Gorgin spat out a mouthful of blood, flecked with fragments of internal organs. He grinned maliciously at the dwarf leader.

  “Hehe~”

  “You're a madman!!!” The dwarf leader's pain - filled cry echoed.

  The knife had pierced his face. Without the Dwarven Divine Transformation, he would have perished instantly.

  A scarlet light bathed Gorgin, alleviating his pain significantly.

  There was no doubt this was his mother's blessing.

  “Come at me again!” Gorgin roared, his eyes ablaze with violence.

  The dwarf leader had no choice but to engage once more.

  At that moment, a dark - purple energy enveloped the dwarf leader.

  Bang~~~

  The hammer struck Gorgin's belly again.

  Puff~

  This time, the knife pierced the dwarf leader's neck.

  The strike felt smoother than the previous one.

  The succubus, Karin, standing at the rear, flexed her arm and hurled a Shadow Bolt at the dwarves on the city wall.

  Karin knew only three spells: Shadow Bolt, Hell Hound, and Corrosion Spell.

  It was she who had cast the Corrosion Spell on the dwarf leader, slightly weakening his defenses, even with the Dwarven Divine Transformation active.

  “Ugh~~”

  Gorgin vomited a copious amount of blood, expelling large chunks of internal organs.

  The dwarf leader, clutching his neck, eyes wide, dropped to his knees with a thud.

  “Hahaha... Heheha!!!”

  Gorgin wiped the blood from his boning knife with a tattered cloth around his waist, laughing maniacally.

  There was no room for elaborate maneuvers or displays of skill. The ultimate aim of battle was survival.

  The more complex the moves and the longer the charge time, the more disastrous the outcome. Countless races in this desert had learned this harsh lesson with their lives.

  The scarlet light bathed Gorgin once more.

  “How many more of my strikes can you take?”

  Gorgin sneered at the kneeling dwarf leader.

  Blood seeped from his armor, pooling on the ground like a sluggish stream.

  “He~~ He~~ Why... Why? Our Giant Sand City... was... was a customer of the Dragon's Lair Tribe...”

  The dwarf leader gasped, his hand still clasped around his neck. The Dwarven Divine Transformation was keeping him alive, for now.

  “You know the answer full well. Why send airships to spy on us and construct those massive heavy cannons?”

  The dwarf leader's pitiful state did nothing to soften Gorgin's heart. Instead, it filled him with a sense of satisfaction.

  Sympathizing with the enemy was a cardinal sin in this unforgiving desert.