Translator: AnubisTL
Securing the black oilfield would provide a stable energy supply. With enough energy, they could obtain alchemy golem blueprints and core components from the Gemstone Merchant Guild, then establish their own assembly lines to mass-produce standard parts.
In time, the Ironforged Tribe could possess their own alchemy golems, allowing them to more easily convert wealth and resources into military might.
With the golems destroyed, the remaining defensive weapons posed no further threat to the red-iron dragon.
The goblins at the steel spike outpost were in complete disarray.
Their innate cowardice in the face of death had been fully unleashed, sending them fleeing in all directions, desperate to escape.
Garos made no effort to stop them.
He killed the goblin warriors equipped with alchemical equipment, captured a few remaining goblin alchemists, and left the ordinary goblins to their own devices.
The Gold Tooth Tribe's strength lay in their accumulated golems and war machines, not the goblins themselves.
Alchemists were formidable when armed with golems and equipment, but correspondingly pathetic without them. Destroying the golems and machines had effectively captured the steel spike outpost, achieving his objective.
Moreover, Garos still had a use for the goblins.
His primary goal with the Gold Tooth Tribe was subjugation, not complete annihilation. To develop the Ironforged Tribe's alchemy industry, experienced goblins could serve as valuable assets.
Minutes later, the red-iron dragon soared skyward, departing from the steel spike outpost.
This crucial military stronghold of the Gold Tooth Tribe had been reduced to ruins, crushed by the might of a single dragon.
Garos returned to Dragon Valley.
As time passed, news of victories trickled in from various fronts.
Seizing the initiative, the Ironforged Tribe's surprise first strike yielded remarkable results. Nearly all the Gold Tooth Tribe's strongholds targeted by the Ironforged warriors were captured, inflicting heavy losses on the Gold Tooth Tribe.
By the time Gold Tooth reinforcements arrived, the Ironforged warriors had already withdrawn.
After capturing the Gold Tooth Tribe's strongholds, they didn't occupy them. Instead, they took everything they could carry, destroyed what they couldn't, and decisively retreated.
The flames of war ignited by the Ironforged Tribe's initial assault didn't die down with their withdrawal.
In fact, the Ironforged Tribe's retreat was merely a strategic maneuver to prepare for an even more devastating offensive.
After a brief rest, the Ironforged warriors resumed their attacks on the Gold Tooth Tribe's remaining strongholds. Under the command and coordination of the iron dragon, they strictly adhered to their core battle tactics, maintaining a guerrilla-style warfare, striking from multiple fronts, avoiding direct confrontations, and maximizing their advantages.
Employing their strengths to exploit the enemy's weaknesses.
Among them was the unstoppable red-iron dragon. Goblins who had narrowly escaped death after fleeing recounted his terrifying power:
When a mysterious red glow appears in the sky, it means he has come, it means death is about to descend.
So the surviving goblins described him.
Rumors spread like wildfire, casting a dark shadow over the Gold Tooth Tribe.
The Ironforged Tribe had seized control of the battle's momentum, driving the Gold Tooth Tribe into a series of crushing defeats and inflicting heavy casualties.
Several days later.
Black Iron Plains, goblin headquarters, council chamber of the Grand Artificer's Palace.
The atmosphere in the council chamber was heavy, the silence broken only by the rhythmic clanking of gears within alchemical automatons.
"Elders, let's review the current situation," the Grand Artificer began, his expressionless green face betraying no emotion, his voice carrying the characteristic shrillness of goblins.
"Our strategic stronghold, the Steel Spike Outpost, has been reduced to ruins."
"The quartz mine, fine iron mine, and Spikebeast Ranch defenses have all been breached."
"We've lost a significant number of golems, and our meticulously trained handlers have suffered devastating losses. Many alchemists have also been killed or gone missing."
"..."
One grim report after another poured from the goblin elders, each adding to the oppressive atmosphere.
"We should have launched a full-scale assault the moment we discovered the Ironforged Tribe and crushed them in their infancy!" the three-handed goblin elder declared in a grating voice.
Though he spoke these words, the Gold Tooth Tribe would have made the same choice every time, unless they possessed the ability to foresee the future.
Back when Garos lay dormant, the Ironforged Tribe remained dormant and posed no real threat. Moreover, the goblins' attention was primarily focused on other tribes, leaving them indifferent to the Ironforged Tribe's existence.
"Now that things have come to this, dwelling on the past is pointless," the grand artificer declared, surveying the assembled elders. "Our immediate task is to eradicate the Ironforged Tribe."
The mechanical arm goblin elder produced an image stone. "Let's begin by discussing the Ironforged Tribe's king—the evil dragon that has terrified so many of our people."
As he activated the stone, a holographic projection materialized, depicting the red-iron dragon's rampage at the steel spike outpost.
The goblin elders watched intently as the red-iron dragon effortlessly tore through the golems, its destructive power laid bare.
"Its final breath attack was... unusual," the eye-augmented goblin elder observed sharply. "The black scales turned crimson, and the heat radiated visibly." He paused the footage, zooming in on Garos's dragon breath. After careful examination, he mused, "This dragon breath is no ordinary flame. It seems to have been enhanced somehow."
Another goblin elder added, "The attack's signs were obvious, and its power was formidable, but it's still not enough to instill fear in us."
The iron mask goblin elder nodded in agreement. "The Ironforged Tribe's king—this red iron hybrid dragon—is undoubtedly strong. But if its capabilities are limited to what we've witnessed, it's not worth excessive concern."
The mechanical arm goblin elder shook his head slightly and said, "Its effortless destruction of the steel spike outpost proves it's concealing hidden power. We can't afford to underestimate it."
The goblin elder beside him agreed. "True, but the arrogance inherent in dragonkind explains why it hasn't directly attacked the Black Iron Plains. It fears us to some extent."
"Its hidden power has limits. We mustn't dismiss it, but we shouldn't overestimate it either."
After analyzing the Lord of the Crimson Wings for some time, the goblin elders shifted the topic to strategizing against the Ironforged Tribe.
"We can't let the Ironforged Tribe lead us by the nose."
"They're trying to wear us down with multi-front attacks and repeated raids."
"In a direct confrontation, the Ironforged Tribe is no match for us."
"Let's concentrate our forces, launch a frontal assault, shift the battlefield to the southwest, and seize back the initiative."
"..."
After consulting with the grand artificer, the goblin elders quickly reached a consensus:
Concentrate forces and break through with a frontal assault.
This strategy directly opposed the Ironforged Tribe's tactics, but it was precisely the approach that would best leverage the Gold Tooth Tribe's superior alchemical machinery.
Immediately afterward, the goblins, rallied by the elders and the grand artificer, began assembling their legions and marching southwest, their primary target being the Ironforged Tribe's vital stronghold—the Fertile Plains.
(End of the Chapter)
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