<h4>Chapter 456: A strange contraption</h4>


    As such, Eldrian was really looking for ways to increase his mana regeneration. And this little ne was a prime choice. It would nearly double his mana regen, though Eldrian was unsure how it would work when meditating. That, however, was not his biggest concern.


    Leaving satisfied, Eldrian searched for a nice inn and booked a room for the two of them. Where he then exined to Cephaphyr that he had to log out and that he would have to stay here alone.


    "Do you want me..." Eldrian had no idea how to say it, having his body stay while he went back to Earth. After a bit of stumbling over words, he felt he managed to say it in a none-creepy way.


    "That would be nice." Cephaphyr admitted, while it was strange knowing that it would just be Eldrian''s avatar, it would still breath and release warmth. Cephaphyr had never truly been alone, and the thought of being alone in a strange city frightened him a little.


    Nodding, Eldrianid down on the bed before logging out. Choosing to have his body not disappear.


    ...


    A few days before Eldrian and Cephaphyr left Avgi forest.


    A dwarf with a long gray beard carefully entered the newly constructed forge on the edge of the battle. It was the only building, outside of the walls covering nearly the entire cavern. Naturally, walls were only so effective in a cave when one could easily just dig around them.


    Easy being rtive, naturally.


    Regardless of this, they helped ensure that certain key junctions are secured. And a few arrays make it near impossible to break through behind them, though keeping them powered is far from easy.


    "Ah Firhin, how are the new recruits setting in?" Boran asked, stopping his hammering and turning to hismander.


    "They are getting situated, are you sure of this my lord?"


    Boran nodded, "Of course, we pushed them to the magmakes. It is near impossible to go underneath our walls in this area, and the same can be said to attempt going around them."


    "If we can hold this position, we should be able to cut down on at least half our mana crystal usage."


    "I understand that, but the kobolds are bound to also understand this. They are sure to push us hard within the next few days. Why would you have our seasoned warriors withdraw now?"


    "You are correct, but we can''t afford to lose another city while fighting on this side. The recruits will have to hold out, and besides... I am not leaving them without a means of defense."


    Saying this Boran patted the red hot metal next to him, almost as if the heat didn''t matter.


    "What is this?" Firhin asked, luckily Boran had not been needed on the battlefield for the past few weeks. This had allowed his mind to slowly heal and his creativity to return.


    All themanders had fought to their utmost to keep him from the field of battle. They all feared that the next fight might be the one that breaks their lord.


    "It is simr to a ballista, but instead of firing a bolt it will fire a disk."


    "I do not understand."


    Boran just smiled and got back to work instead of exining, "Just wait and see!"


    Back to the current time and date, a dwarf covered in grime from head to toe finally left his forge. Even his teeth hadn''t been spared from the dust and kes of metal.


    This dwarf burst outughing when he saw the others looking at him in utter confusion, "Hahaha! I need a bath!"


    Returning afterpletely cleaning himself, Boran found hismanders already waiting for him. Most of them were sweating thanks to the heat of the magma rivers. They had added some air filtration arrays to the walls, but not the surroundings too.


    "I can''t believe the kobolds still haven''t attacked." Boran said without any hint of worry, confusing hismander.


    "Our scouts have reported that they have been gathering a muchrger force than ever before. We have already confirmed that there are a total of 40 drakes in this army." Firhin said with a deep frown, the enemy numbers were concerning.


    Them only having a fifth of their army still here was worrying beyond words. The rest had all started heading back a few days ago. To both reinforce the remaining cities and also make sure the caverns weren''t invested by lingering monsters.


    "That''s no problem at all. The ballista bolts I crafted earlier will make quick work of them. Those handling the ballista just need to hit their targets." Boran said with the pride of a master craftsman.


    "Of course, that is why we have the most skilled operators on the ballistae." Vozer, themander of the siege weapon division said.


    "Well, you will need to pull at least 10 for this." Boran said as he led themanders into his forge. Inside, they saw two massive iron ballista arms, each nearly 10 meters long. Countless runes covered these limbs, and in the corner they could see a stack of massive ded disks(think sawdes).


    "This?"


    "Yes, this will be our main method of defense for this area."


    No one seemed to understand what Boran was getting at, a dwarf who couldn''t stop smirking as he exined for everyone to grab a side and start carrying the massive ballista arms to the wall.


    Near the bottom of the center of the wall, Boran had instructed them to make a ratherrge empty room. Finally, its purpose was going to be shown to everyone.


    After a few hours of work, the dwarves managed to get it set up. A massive t ballista appeared before their eyes. After which he instructed those who were going to be in charge of using the weapon, Boran exined to them how it was going to work.


    "The limbs are forged to be extremely resilient and stic, while these bands are made from the hide of the drakes we have in in our march. However, the true marvel are these disks."


    "I made each and everyone one of them with extreme care and each one took me nearly an entire day."


    Each of these disks was nearly the size of three dwarves stacked on one another, instructing the crew on how to load them, Boran then exined the most important part.


    "Each of the disks has 5 mana crystals embedded in them." This alone caused the crew to gulp as they realized not just how deadly the des must be, but also how expensive.


    "When firing, make sure to at the minimum activate the formation I inscribed on each one of them. If done properly, this is what should happen."


    Boran smiled as he took aim, in the distance a small group of kobolds could be seen scouting the walls. With a massive grin, Boran let loose his creation.


    The disk soared through the air with a roar that tore apart the very air. Its speed was beyond belief, cutting the kobolds in half before the dwarves even managed to realize what had happened.


    Yet, the most shocking thing was that the de continued on, and after a handful of seconds they could again hear the sound of the very air being cut in half.


    With disbelief, they all stared through the thin gap in the wall through which the disk had beenunched. They stared in disbelief as a bloodied disk mmed itself into the wall. Nearly disappearing from sight.


    Shaking the entire cavern.


    {AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support this novel on WN.}