The battlefield was a living, writhing spectacle of clashing forces and the raw power of divine entities.
From any rational perspective there was no winner or loser in this war anymore, there was only death and destruction as well as the reminder of the devastating abilities that each monarch possessed to be able to kill millions in a blink of an eye.
The Forger king who was Battered, injured, and depleted of energy, was now re-engaged by Memphidos and Kane as in his current state he began slowly losing ground.
Each parry, each counter-strike became more laborious as his strength waned. It was a grim struggle, one that he knew was slowly tipping out of his favour.
Meanwhile, the war raged on the other end of the battlefield. With the Forger King engaged, it fell upon the shoulders of Brokk and Eitri to lead the beleaguered dwarven forces.
Despite their stout bodies not being optimised for the rigours of a protracted battle, the dwarves fought fiercely, standing their ground against the overwhelming enemy forces. Their blows were mighty, each swing of their hammers and axes a desperate bid to fend off the attackers.
In the chaotic heart of the battlefield, the noble figures of Brokk and Eitri stood steadfast amidst the dwarven lines.
Their presence alone inspired the dwarves, fueling their will to fight, even as their numbers dwindled.
However, amidst the chaos, a menacing figure emerged from the enemy lines.
Ferox Blackfang, a rising star within Kane's faction, advanced with an unerring focus. His obsidian-black armour, adorned with menacing spikes, stood out starkly against the backdrop of devastation, and his eyes bore into Brokk and Eitri with ruthless intent.
Ferox made his way through the battlefield with terrifying efficiency. His godly sword cleaved through the dwarven lines, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. His path led him straight to the two stalwart defenders, Brokk and Eitri.
" COME FOLLOW ME FOR GLORY, COME FOLLOW ME FOR I SHALL CARVE OUT A PATH FOR US ALL " Ferox shouted as he rallied all the surviving troops under his command charging through the dwarven lines towards the disc.
The confrontation between him and the injured Brokk and Eitri was swift and brutal.
Ferox's strikes were relentless, his attacks fuelled by a cold, calculated ruthlessness that displayed his excellent skills in swordsmanship perfectly.
Despite their best efforts, Brokk and Eitri struggled against his onslaught. Their attempts to parry his attacks were met with vicious counterstrikes that gradually wore them down.
After a few exchanges a savage strike by Ferox's sword found its mark, cutting through Brokk's defences and piercing his heart as the dwarf god whose HP was already pretty low, dropped to 0 as he died a valiant death.
Immediately a roar of grief and rage erupted from Eitri as she witnessed her comrade fall.
She charged at Ferox, her hammer raised high. But Ferox was ready. With a swift sidestep, he evaded Eitri's charge and retaliated with a swift cut that severed the dwarf goddess's head from her body.
"GLORY TO THE SOVEREIGN KANE " Ferox roared as he hoisted the decapitated head of Eitri high to make sure that all the retaliating dwarves could see this scenery and feel fear and inevitability of the situation.
Just as he wanted, the demise of Brokk and Eitri sent a shockwave of despair through the dwarven ranks.
Their last beacon of hope had been extinguished, leaving them in a pit of desolation.
Ignoring the fallen dwarf gods at his feet, Ferox strode over their bodies and advanced towards the disc where he faced no resistance from the demoralised dwarves.
With a triumphant, final strike, he shattered the disc, dimming its golden hue, and scattering its debris across the battlefield like golden dust.
As the echoes of the disc's destruction rang across the battlefield, the Forger King could only stare in despair. His fortress was ruined, his kin slain, and the disc, their sacred duty towards the light faction, destroyed.
With a heavy heart, the Forger King made the painful decision. There was nothing left for him to protect, no reason for him to continue this hopeless battle.
Battered and bleeding, he turned away from the battlefield, regret etched deep on his face. He fled, leaving behind the ruins of his once-proud civilization, his heart heavy with the bitter taste of defeat and loss.
In the distance, Ferox Blackfang let out a triumphant roar, his figure silhouetted against the devastated battlefield. The Forger King could only grit his teeth, the image burning itself into his memory. This was a defeat, yes, but it would not be the end. His determination hardened, fueling his resolve to seek vengeance.
The battlefield fell silent, the once bustling, defiant dwarven forces replaced with the chilling quiet of defeat as the dark faction scored the first blow on the light faction.
The dwarves had failed to protect their disc.
The light faction had suffered its first big blow.
*******
( Rudra's POV )
Rudra had already predicted the outcome that the dwarves would lose this fight, but to see it come true was still painful for him.
When the Forger king used his destructive move and managed to kill millions of Kane's soldiers, even Rudra felt for a moment that maybe if fate favoured the dwarves they could turn the tide of the battle in their favour but it was not to be.
It was already a big slip up on the part of Kane and Memphidos to let the Forger king slip from their vicinity and give him enough room to launch a tier7 divine attack.
However, such slip-ups don't happen twice.
With the forger king suppressed the dwarves who were still fighting being outnumbered 1:3.5 slowly but surely crumpled with the final blow coming as their last god died under the assault of the enemy god.
There was no question the dwarves fought bravely, infact they fought much more fiercely than anyone expected a race like dwarves to fight, bringing a 52 million strong army down to only 6 million.
But in the end it was not enough.
In the end, the dark faction still managed to win the first raid.
