Age of Adepts

Chapter 525 The Underground Battle

The first round of the battle.

Minimal damage had been inflicted upon the dragonborn warriors, but the goblin's magical machine squad had been crippled!

As dragonborn soldiers slaughtered their way into the goblin army, the casualties among the magical machines rose exponentially! It was hard to even look at the numbers!

The goblins had indeed covered their flaws of weak strength and pathetic combat ability with their tough metal shells. However, the destruction that they could wield while piloting the magical machines hinged upon the magic energy weapons and explosives that the machines carried with them.

Even though these weapons could attack without stop, they also had obvious limitations regarding power.

The best example would be the metal bullets that were propelled by gunpowder. Attacks like these could never go above an upper limit of thirty points of physical damage, regardless of how well-crafted and well-designed the weapons were.

On the other hand, magic energy weapons mostly functioned by firing magical energy attacks through the activation of magic energy batteries. When violent magic energies accumulated to a certain degree, they were able to deal decent energy damage to planar creatures.

However, the magic energy weapons that the goblins invented were primitive products. The energy damage they dealt was only somewhere between thirty-five to eighty points. While attacks of such power were enough to wound the dragonborn, they could only inflict flesh wounds and non-lethal damage.

The dragonborn didn't retreat after being bombarded and scalded by the magic energy fireballs. Instead, they became even more aggressive and reckless. They waved the electric spears in their hands, stabbing and sweeping away the goblins in their path. Those that were not in melee range would use chain lightning to strike the goblins. Every close-ranged strike was accompanied by a tide of lightning that crackled in every direction.

The electricity that spread out clearly couldn't break through the excellent magical resistance of the dragonborn. They were all insulated by the indigo scales of the Dragonborn, unable to affect them whatsoever. However, the magical machines they were fighting against couldn't do that.

The magical machines couldn't compare in size, weight, or offensive power. Moreover, they were frequently being electrocuted. That was why the dragon soldiers almost wholly crushed the magical machines at the start of the fight.

As the line of magical machines was broken, the goblin chariots behind them were also attacked by the dragonborn soldiers. The goblin soldiers who had spread around the chariots became the victims of the berserk dragonborn rampage.

The weapons invented by the goblin engineers weren't useless; they just dealt too little single-target damage, making it hard for them to break through the Dragonborn's electric shields and the tough scales beneath. That was why the entire combat strength of the goblin army quickly plummeted the moment their formation was breached.

The goblin soldiers frantically escaped from the dragonborn. They couldn't even hold the perimeter, much less attack the enemies in an organized manner!

In less than fifteen minutes, the thirty dragonborn soldiers had routed this army of seven hundred goblins, and the goblins that died on the battlefield numbered over three hundred. No deaths had appeared on the side of the dragonborn. Even though most of the dragonborn had minor wounds and injuries, these injuries were healing and recovering at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Just this alone was more than enough evidence of the tremendous regenerative abilities of the Dragonborn!

As the goblins scattered, this vanguard formed of dragonborn scouts split into ten groups and started chasing after the goblins, slaughtering them by the lot. Each group had three dragonborn.

Given the usual style of the Dragonborn's rule, they would have to first commit a bloody slaughter before subduing the victims as their slaves. On the one hand, this allowed them to vent their violent tendencies. On the other, they could establish their image as a powerful and undefeatable race!

…………

A game of hunting and escaping began in the sprawling underground tunnels as the dragonborn chased the goblins.

A goblin chariot that had escaped from the battlefield creaked as it charged out. The metal wheels spun wildly against the stone floor, and two clearly defined swerve marks were left behind as sparks flew into the air.

The goblin chariot crashed from side to side, sending sparks flying as it ground against the walls of the tunnel. Meanwhile, the magic energy cannon at the top of the vehicle was rapidly charging and firing at the massive form stubbornly pursuing behind them. The revolver rifles at the back of the chariot were wildly firing bullets, cracking against the enemy's blue electric shield.

When enemy got too close, the chariot would shoot out a stream of fire, drowning the giant silhouette and everything around it in an intense blanket of flames.

Sadly, even if the goblin chariot had been operating at 200% combat capability, it still couldn't deal any effective damage to its pursuer. In fact, most of the time, the goblin chariot was creaking and drifting from side to side under the frantic control of the pilot. All this was to avoid the blinding electricity shooting from behind.

While the goblin chariot could only deal meager quantities of damage to the dragonborn with each attack, it was a pretty decent amount when accumulated. Still, without the protection of the magical machines, the goblin chariot had no choice but to fight while running and trying its very best to trip up the enemy.

The goblin chariot couldn't do anything to the dragonborn. On the other hand, the Dragonborn could easily pierce through the fifty-centimeter thick metallic plate if his attacks landed. The leather-armored goblin inside the chariot would instantly be vaporized.

Most goblin soldiers were only ordinary lifeforms. Their basic bodily attributes couldn't even compare to these dragonborn. They were no more than dust before the dragonborn without their chariots. The enemy only needed to exert a little strength, and they would be wiped out of existence.

The chariot sped away, the cannons fired, and roiling red flames filled the tunnel.

The dragon soldier didn't seem to be affected at all. It was still dragging its heavy body along and closely chasing after the chariot. He had already split up with his two companions due to the complexity and twists of the tunnel. However, the tiny rat that was frantically running from it had successfully ignited his rage. He recklessly followed the chariot down tunnel after tunnel, making turn after turn.

Just as they were about to run into a narrow tunnel, the furious and rampaging dragonborn scout stopped. His triangular dragon-like head quickly assessed his surroundings. Electricity climbed up the spear in his hands, occasionally releasing terrifying arcs of lightning.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

Four continuous clangs and four magical machines akin to the earlier ones appeared in front of the dragonborn's vision from the front and back. Two came from the front and two approached from behind, perfectly sealing all escape paths available to the dragonborn.

It was a trap!

The dragonborn scout figured out the truth without much guessing.

He might have fallen into the enemy's trap, but he was not at all fearful. Instead, he slowly cracked his neck and wrists before brandishing the electric spear and striking at the two enemies before him.

They were four Second Grade magical machines!

On the surface, the goblins seemed to possess the absolute advantage. They should have been able to take down these dragonborn scouts with few losses.

However, an embarrassing scene unfolded in front of them as the battle started.

The four-man goblin crew only sent a single Second Grade magical machine to deal with this First Grade dragonborn scout because of their confidence. The outcome of the battle exceeded their expectations. The First Grade dragonborn scout destroyed the Second Grade magical machine while only sustaining moderate wounds. Even the goblin mechanic hiding inside the magical machine had been torn out of the vehicle and crushed to paste.

The lifeform grade system held by the goblins as standard criteria had a massive difference when it came to different species.

The magical machines that the goblins hailed as Second Grade seemed to reach the standards of a Second Grade creature when every one of their specs were listed out. However, when put together, these machines still couldn't reach the level of a true Second Grade lifeform.

In fact, in the eyes of some powerful First Grade beings, these Second Grade machines of the goblins were no more than slightly troublesome toys. The frail bodies of the goblin mechanics couldn't unleash all of the might of the Second Grade machines, resulting in a waste of excellent resources.

That undoubtedly hurt the hearts of many goblin engineers, inventors, and alchemists who were hiding in a safe place and secretly watching the battle through long-distance lenses. This brutal one-on-one allowed the goblins to once again recognize the difference in power between them and the invaders with perfect clarity.

Otherworldly invaders of a higher plane weren't just stronger than them in a single aspect. They were superior in every single aspect. While they secretly mocked the Dragonborn as foolish and brainless idiots, they failed to understand a fundamental truth. When a species was sufficiently powerful, they no longer needed to resort to those so-called schemes and strategies.

It didn't matter who the enemies were and what they tried to do. The Dragonborn only needed to endure the enemies' bombardment and charge forward to smash them to pieces. Schemes had no place at moments like these. Even combat strategies were no longer as important!

It wasn't as if the Dragonborn were absolute idiots. They simply did not need to employ such tricks against the frail goblins.

The goblin leaders finally gave another order after the verification of the Dragonborn's combat abilities. The remaining three Second Grade magical machines swarmed forward and finally took down the dragonborn at a price. One machine was severely damaged, and the other two also suffered minor damage of varying degrees.

Then, this specially modified goblin chariot hauled this dragonborn prisoner away at its highest speed.

By the time the other two dragonborn arrived here by tracking the scent in the air, there was nothing left but scattered magical machine pieces and a large pool of blue blood.

The dragonborn were no idiots. They quickly discovered oddities at the scene of the battle.

The dragonborn scouts quickly reported the situation to all their companions through strange roars. Some long, some short, while others were high-pitched or low.

That also caused the ambushes that Gazlowe had prepared in a few other areas to fail due to the caution of the dragonborn!