We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 312 [Do you really want to...live?]

"Roar!!!"

Upon hearing such sarcastic words, his eyes immediately blazed with crimson fire, and he let out a deafening roar.

A scorching, burning power erupted from his heart and flowed throughout his entire body.

Immediately afterwards, the shattered gauntlets suddenly burst into fierce flames, colliding with the exaggerated giant hammer.

boom--

Scorching heatwaves rolled in, and dust flew everywhere.

The cave, already somewhat unstable due to the earlier explosion, began to sway precariously once more.

The Urals were relatively close to the battlefield, making them easier to see...

The fiery gauntlets collided with the giant hammer in a completely unadorned manner.

However, the flames on the gauntlets did not spread to the hammer handle and cause injury to Shane as they had done before.

Instead, it seemed to be under some kind of invisible suppression, causing the power of the flames to be greatly reduced.

"How is this going?"

"The hammer... there's something wrong with that warhammer! Wait, could it be..."

At that moment, Urals felt a jolt of fear as he considered a possibility.

"That's... the Hammer of War!?"

The Barbarian Axe Tribe and the Warhammer Tribe were originally one family hundreds of years ago, so Ural had naturally heard of the legend of the War Hammer.

It is said that the ancestors of these two tribes were among the dwarves who had the blood of the god of war flowing through their veins.

The [War God's Hammer] was the first weapon forged by the ancestor after arriving in the [Ghana World], using the corpse of a powerful [Fire Seed].

In legend, the Hammer of War is said to have a suppressive effect on most weapons forged by dwarves.

It's like the bloodline suppression between organisms.

In addition, the [War God's Hammer] also possesses miraculous effects such as strengthening the user and stimulating bloodlines.

For both tribes, this weapon was practically a divine artifact, holding a very special significance.

However, in the past few decades, no one in the Warhammer tribe has been able to recreate the glory of the Warhammer.

So much so that the Urals once thought it was a weapon that only existed in legends.

However, now, this magical artifact has actually appeared before his eyes!
"Who exactly is that dwarf?"

"Could he be Bronzebeard Warhammer, the genius warrior of the Warhammer Tribe?"

It wasn't just Ural; the other survivors of the [Barbarian Axe Tribe] on the battlefield also recognized [War God's Hammer] and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"【The Hammer of War】? Isn't that a weapon that only those with the blood of the God of War can use?"

"When did the Warhammer Tribe produce someone like this?"

However, before these survivors could think any further, they had no time to consider the matter further.

A deafening roar of battle cries erupted all around.

"Kill!!!"

In the blink of an eye, the dwarves of the Warhammer Horde rushed out of their hiding caves and confronted the survivors injured by the explosion.

Clearly, this is the second link in the trap.

The explosion just now didn't kill all the invaders, but it at least reduced their fighting ability by a level, and many of them were seriously injured and unable to fight anymore.

At this point, the Warhammer Horde launched another attack, and the situation quickly turned into a one-sided affair.

"Damn it, how could this happen?"

Ural's face was grim.

In his original plan, with the support of Burst and the [Sunflame Tribe], this operation should have been extremely simple and smooth.

However, the Warhammer Tribe somehow learned of their arrival in advance and, with great audacity, prepared a huge "surprise".

Most importantly, a powerful figure has emerged in the Warhammer Tribe who is capable of rivaling Burst!
The situation was already very bad, but Urals did not run away. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the center of the battlefield.

He was still waiting, waiting for the moment when Burst would defeat Shane.

Even now, he still doesn't believe that Burst will lose!

However, the Urals are destined not to live to see that moment.

In the arena, Xia En and Bao Lie's figures moved so fast that they almost left afterimages as they collided and bombarded each other repeatedly.

Each collision generated waves of air and radiated heat, causing the surrounding dwarves to retreat.

This level of intensity in the battle is beyond the reach of ordinary dwarves.

Each collision felt like a blow to Urals' heart, intensifying his thirst for power.

He both envied Burst and was jealous of that Warhammer tribe warrior.

If he possessed such power, not only the Warhammer Tribe, but even the Sunflame Tribe would be conquered by him!

Unfortunately, while Ural was still daydreaming, the white-haired dwarf Hope jumped out from behind him and knocked him unconscious with a hammer.

……

……

at the same time.

Xia En was also somewhat surprised.

Although he was belittling Explosion, the dwarf's strength actually exceeded his expectations.

After unleashing a special power, Burst's combat strength reached at least the level of a fourth-tier Mystic, almost one-tenth the strength of Xia En's original form.

Don't underestimate this one-tenth; Shane's "Bronzebeard Warhammer" is no match for him in terms of physical strength alone.

The reason why Shane was able to hold out for so long and even gain a slight advantage was mainly due to the special properties of the [War God's Hammer] and [Void Secret Power].

The Hammer of War seems to be able to suppress the bloodline within Burst's body.

[Void Secret Power] is a powerful weapon against secret power.

Xia En even suspected that Burst was the true awakener of the "blood of the God of War," otherwise his sudden surge in combat power would be inexplicable.

The boiling, magma-like blood within the body is a characteristic activated by the "Blood of the God of War".

However, despite this, Shane is still confident of defeating him!
With each collision, a wisp of [Void Secret Power] would invade the shattered body and lie dormant for a while.

Even boiling blood cannot eliminate it.

Moreover, Shane also has a stacking skill like [Touch of the Deep].

Once enough Void Power has accumulated within the body of the Explosive, it can be detonated directly, essentially acting as a "death strike".

boom! boom! boom!
Under the rapid and fierce bombardment, Shane and Burst's momentum grew stronger and stronger.

Like two small suns, they naturally attracted everyone's attention.

However, Xia En's physical body was ultimately much weaker than that of Explosion.

Under such violent stimulation, the muscles and bones inside the body began to show signs of collapse.

This means that the repair speed of [Void Arcane Power] is starting to fall behind.

"Ouch——"

Explosive combat instincts were exceptionally sharp. It let out another wolf-like howl and lunged forward with its hands like claws.

Just as Shane was about to swing his hammer to meet the attack, the muscles in his arm suddenly went limp, causing his movements to become somewhat distorted. This greatly reduced the power of his hammer blow, and he even veered off course!
Upon witnessing this scene, Hope and the dwarves of the Warhammer Tribe felt their hearts sink to the bottom, their faces turning pale.

Could it be... that Bronzebeard is going to lose?
So, who else can defeat Burst?
Just when Chief Hope was in despair, something happened that was hard for everyone to understand.

The burst was clearly already in front of Xia En, its sharp claws seemingly ready to tear his throat open at any moment.

But in the next moment.

His face suddenly changed, as if he had sensed some kind of deadly danger.

So instead of seizing this victory that was within reach, he retreated rapidly, disappearing more than ten meters away like a ghost.

"Huh? What's going on?" Hope asked, puzzled. "Why did Burst suddenly run away?"

But what surprised him even more was yet to come.

Even after retreating more than ten meters, Burst still didn't feel safe. Instead, it frantically darted and dodged in the cave, moving so fast that it left afterimages.

To Hope and the other dwarves, there was nothing around him at all, and Bronzebeard did not launch any attack.

At this moment, the scene undoubtedly looks very strange.

But Xia En felt a little bit of admiration for him.

He knew perfectly well what Burst was trying to avoid.

Half of the mistake was due to a loss of physical control, and the other half was because Xia En deliberately used himself as bait to lower Bao Lie's guard.

If the explosion gets close enough, the unleashed [Deep Touch] can instantly take his life.

Unfortunately, Explosive's intuition was sharp enough that he managed to suppress the urge to kill Xia En and retreat in time.

At this moment, Shane's [Touch of the Deep] was already on the verge of being unleashed.

The seemingly pointless dodges are actually attempts to avoid this sense of crisis that comes from nowhere.

However, despite his desperate attempts to dodge, the sense of crisis did not disappear; instead, it grew stronger.

Burst finally realized that this seemed to be some kind of combat technique that locked him down, and that he could no longer escape.

Realizing this, Burst stopped what he was doing, took off his boxing gloves, and threw them on the ground.

Then he said directly, "I'm not fighting anymore, I surrender."

“I... surrender to you.”

His tone was still strange, but his meaning was very clear.

"……what?"

Upon hearing this, Xia En's expression turned strange.

Based on his previous performance, he had always thought that Burst was the kind of berserker with a violent personality—the kind who wouldn't stop until the last drop of blood was shed.

How could someone like that surrender?
Shane initially thought Burst was going to feign surrender and launch a sneak attack, but after observing carefully for a while, he realized that Burst really offered no resistance.

After thinking about it carefully, Shane could barely understand the logic behind Burst.

His thought process is closer to that of a wild beast than that of a human.

In other words, survival is the most important thing.

He probably doesn't even understand what tribal belonging, morality, or emotions are.

Right now, Xia En has the ability to kill him directly, and since he can't dodge the explosion, he can only choose this seemingly shameless method to survive.

After a moment's thought, Shane said, "Accepting your surrender is not impossible."

"But in exchange, I want complete control over your life."

Burst hesitated for a moment, but still nodded and said, "Okay..."

"Survival is the most important thing..."

So, Shane walked up to Burst, placed his hand on Burst's head, and infused it with [Void Power].

He developed many new uses for this secret power.

—This method of controlling life is one of them.

The moment Xia En reached out, his shattered body clearly resisted, but he still restrained the urge to strike and slowly lowered his head.

This is also his way of expressing submission.

Upon seeing this, the dwarves of the Warhammer Tribe around them instantly erupted in excitement.

They didn't expect that Shane would not only defeat Burst, but also gain his submission.

It's unclear who shouted first.

"Bronzebeard!!!"

Immediately, everyone responded in unison.

"Bronzebeard! Bronzebeard! Bronzebeard!"

The dwarves shouted Shane's name, their faces filled with excitement, exhilaration, and adoration.

After this battle, no one could match Shane's prestige in the Warhammer Horde; he had become a hero in the hearts of the dwarves!

……

……

In a dimly lit cave.

"Ugh... my head hurts so much."

Ural awoke from his coma: "Where am I...?"

He paused for a moment, rubbing his forehead as he observed his surroundings, and quickly concluded that this place seemed to be a cage-like underground cave.

Clearly, he had been captured and imprisoned by the Warhammer Tribe.

What awaited them next was either becoming a slave or being killed.

Ural was extremely gloomy.

He never expected that this battle would end like this.

Just then, he noticed a piece of paper made of some kind of leather lying in a corner not far ahead.

"……This is?"

Urals carefully approached the leather paper.

Just as he was about to touch the paper, he seemed to hear a whisper in his ear.

Do you want power?

Do you want to truly...live?

Ural's body trembled, but he still reached out his hand without hesitation...

Not long after.

Sensing that another thread in his mind was connecting the [Rhine Realm] and the [Furnace Realm], Shane smiled.

After questioning and observing the prisoners, he ultimately chose Urals as his second "believer".

However, unlike Kur's "one-man show," Shane hopes that Ural can spread the word about the existence of the "Lord of the Rhine" among the prisoners.

After this attack by the [Barbarian Axe Tribe], Shane certainly wouldn't let it go so easily.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—that's his style.

After conquering the [Barbarian Axe Tribe], there will definitely be a considerable number of prisoners.

Hatred, anger, and despair are undoubtedly the best breeding ground for "cult members".

In this way, more "threads" can be established between the two [Secret Realms].

The existence of the Lord of the Rhine sounds far too suspicious.

Even with Shane's current prestige, if he were to promote His existence within the Warhammer Horde, Hope would likely see through his true nature as an "evil god" at a glance.

Therefore, Shane's decision was—

On the surface, he continued to conquer other tribes and established a large dwarf kingdom.

Behind the scenes, the name "Lord of the Rhine" was spread among prisoners and slaves.

Once the time is right, we will send the dwarves into the [Rhine Secret Realm] in batches.

In this way, he not only had a kingdom in the [Forge Realm], but also allowed the [Rhine Realm] to enjoy the technology and equipment support of the dwarves.

However, Shane's plan has only just begun.

The road ahead is still very long.

(End of this chapter)