Just as everyone stood ready for a fight, the horizon south of Cinder City was suddenly torn asunder by a brilliant golden light.
That light was like a sword swung by a god, piercing through the entire dome of the subterranean space and swallowing every bit of the rising crimson energy. It lasted for several seconds before gradually fading.
Starlight and Moen looked toward the south simultaneously, their tense nerves finally relaxing slightly.
They were all too familiar with that golden brilliance—it was Po Kong-Mars utilizing the Divine Artifact sealed within his body!
“That kid...” Starlight’s lips quirked upward. “He really doesn't hold back, does he? Using his ultimate move right at the start of the encounter?”
He knew the price of that strike all too well: it would drain every last drop of battle qi from Po Kong-Mars’s body.
Even a powerhouse like a Dragon King would take a heavy hit from such an attack, let alone a clone of the Stone Troll King.
Since the southern battlefield had been settled, the crisis facing Cinder City was mostly resolved. Now, they only needed to confirm that the clone before them was truly powerless.
The group cautiously approached the fallen Stone Troll King clone.
By now, it had lost its former ferocity. Its massive body was covered in cracks, and the blood-colored crystal on its forehead was completely shattered, leaving only an empty socket. Red-black energy continuously seeped out from the wounds all over its body.
“It seems it has completely lost its ability to fight.” Moen released a sprout of emerald light from her fingertips to carefully probe the monster’s condition. “The crystal serving as its core has been totally destroyed.”
The Silver-Beard Patriarch stepped forward, his beard still stained with dust from the battle. He gave Starlight a rough slap on the shoulder and said in a booming voice, “Good job, kid! I didn't expect a mage who hasn't even reached the Saint Rank to have this kind of capability!”
The Gold-Palm Patriarch silently gathered his broken chains, his expression grave as he looked toward the Great Furnace in the city center. “Why does the energy fluctuation near the forge feel a bit strange?”
“Maela said earlier she was going to the temple to see if there was a way to repair the dome. Things should be fine for now, right?” Starlight quickly explained to the two.
“The temple? This change in energy doesn't look like the temple’s repair formation has been activated...” The Gold-Palm Patriarch stroked his chin, looking toward the city with suspicion.
Before he could say more, the Stone Troll King clone behind them—which was supposed to be incapacitated—eerily stood back up!
“It’s still not dead?!” the Silver-Beard Patriarch roared. The lightning on his chain hammer crackled again as he prepared to charge.
However, the crystallized Stone Troll King remained eerily still, only letting out a series of hair-raising, raspy laughs from its mouth.
“Heh... heh... so... that’s... how... what a... surprise.”
Its tone was bizarre, but it sent an inexplicable chill down everyone’s spine.
Its massive, crystallized eyes locked onto Starlight, his reflection mirrored in the purple-black depths.
Despite the lack of pupils, everyone clearly felt the terrifying sensation of being “watched.” A message beyond language was being transmitted through this uncanny gaze.
“Information... learned... Crea... tion... I...!”
The moment the last words fell, the Stone Troll King’s body turned into a crystal statue and shattered violently.
Countless shards flew in all directions like a rainstorm, each one reflecting Starlight’s startled face.
The Silver-Beard Patriarch’s chain hammer swung through empty air, striking only the phantom afterimages of the scattering crystals.
A chill crawled up Starlight’s spine. Just now, through this clone, something... had seen through every secret within him!
“What in the world is going on? Old Goldie, have you ever heard of a Stone Troll King speaking the Common Tongue?” The Silver-Beard Patriarch lowered his weapon, his face full of shock as he looked at his companion.
“Never... this is definitely not a naturally evolved Stone Troll.” The Gold-Palm Patriarch slowly shook his head.
Moen looked at the shattered crystals littering the ground and couldn't help but frown, feeling that something was deeply wrong.
“Wait! Starlight, didn't you say there were four clones in total? Now that all the Stone Troll King clones have been destroyed, where is its original body? Surely it didn't just fail to show up?”
These words struck Starlight’s ears like a thunderclap.
Indeed, why would the Stone Trolls bring their entire race to attack? Could it really be just to perish along with the dwarves?
He immediately pushed his mental power to the limit and activated his elemental vision once more.
Looking back toward Cinder City, he noticed that the elements drifting in the air were slowly floating toward the Great Furnace.
Even so, he didn't see any clues related to the Stone Troll King like before—until he lowered his gaze to the ground. He discovered that deep beneath the earth, a crimson pulse had appeared at some point, leading directly to the heart of Cinder City.
“Something’s wrong! That thing’s true intention is—” Before Starlight could finish his sentence, the entire subterranean space began to vibrate violently.
Boom—!
Following that explosive sound, the group looked toward the central furnace in shock. A hideous crack had split across the surface of the giant furnace that had burned for thousands of years!
Crimson lava erupted like a millennium of suppressed rage, and a pillar of fire shot straight toward the dome, completely shattering the already cracked rock layers.
A rain of fire poured down from above. Each drop of lava trailed a long tail of flame in the air, crashing into every corner of Cinder City like doomsday meteors.
The rock layers of the dome disintegrated under the impact of the lava, and massive stones fell alongside the torrents of fire.
The entire city was instantly engulfed in a sea of flames, the interweaving red lights staining the sky a grotesque color.
“Maela! She’s still in the city center!” Starlight and Moen spoke almost simultaneously as they looked at each other.
“I’m going in now to see if I can get her out!” Starlight said.
Moen quickly shook her head. “It’s too dangerous, and you don't know her exact location!”
“Who said I don't know?” Starlight gave a slight smile. “If I’m saying this, I naturally have a way. Having hung around the Rift Dragon King for so long, I’ve picked up a few of his tricks.”
He snapped his fingers lightly, and a spatial mark appeared in his palm.
“This is?”
“Remember Yserazor’s spatial markers? I secretly left one on Maela when we separated. While I can't ignore distance like the old dragon yet, I can lock onto her position as long as I get close enough.”
Sensing his confidence and resolve, Moen didn't say anything more. She only gently took his hand. “Then be careful. If anything goes wrong, retreat immediately!”
“Of course, I’ll do my best!” Starlight felt the familiar green light wrap around his body from her palm, and his heart warmed.
“I’m off! You be careful too.”
Starlight let go of her hand. As spatial ripples emanated from him, his figure completely vanished into the distorted space.
...
Alone, Starlight pushed his space magic to its absolute limit. Each blink crossed a distance of over a kilometer, and in just a few breaths, he was approaching the core area of Cinder City.
By now, nearly the entire city was swallowed by the overwhelming fire, with thick black smoke and the heavy scent of sulfur everywhere.
Fortunately, the dwarven houses were built from hard stone blocks. Except for a small area near the Great Furnace, the lava eruption hadn't caused extreme damage to the city yet.
Starlight’s figure suddenly appeared on top of a bell tower, and he immediately felt a scorching wave of heat hit his face.
Looking down from there, the furnace that stood in the center of the city like a steadfast pillar was now unrecognizable. The upper half of the structure had almost completely collapsed, revealing a massive crater nearly a hundred meters wide. Boiling lava surged out like an angry beast, turning everything within several hundred meters into a purgatory.
“Where is the temple Maela mentioned?” Starlight squinted his eyes, which were stinging from the heat, as he scanned the scene ahead.
His elemental vision had become somewhat blurred under the interference of the violent fire elements. However, one thing was certain: the spatial mark he had left on Maela was still intact.
Rate on N.U.
