8mi Chapter 181 Heading to Molten Core
Chapter 181 Heading to Molten Core
Chapter 181 Heading to Molten Core
He paused, his brow furrowing slightly, and continued, "However, we encountered obstacles during the interrogation. Their astral bodies were damaged, and they lost their memories of when they were conscripted."
He gestured to Celia, who was sitting quietly to the side, intently filing her nails.
"This time, we owe it all to the sorceress Celia. It was she who managed to uncover the hidden truth and confirm the following points."
"First, the conscription order was indeed issued by the new regent, Ernesto," and its purpose was precisely to manufacture that special drill bit carrier.
"Secondly, after Ernesto came to power, he increased taxes and forcibly conscripted artisans, which caused great resentment among the people, but neither the king nor the regent Groon stepped in to stop it."
He lowered his voice, revealing a hint of doubt and confusion: "In addition, we also dug up a crucial piece of information from a craftsman. According to what he overheard, Ernesto originally planned to kill all the craftsmen after the mission was completed to prevent future troubles, but this was strongly opposed by Regent Groon and His Majesty the King. In the end, the two sides compromised and only erased their memories."
Hearing that her father and uncle Gronn still cared about the safety of the dwarves and had not completely colluded with the dark witches, Sandramea's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
A hint of relief flashed in her emerald eyes, and she let out a soft sigh: "Thank goodness—Father and Uncle Bronzebeard—"
However, this intelligence caused Li Ang to frown deeply.
He tapped his fingers unconsciously on the table and said in a deep voice, "Judging from the situation of the King and the Regent, they are not completely under control and can still influence the course of certain events to some extent."
"Moreover, manipulating a celestial being to erase specific memories—this is something that cannot be done by ordinary means. It seems that Regent Ernesto is very likely a wizard himself, and of a high rank."
He looked around at everyone and continued his analysis: "In this way, the general outline of the matter becomes clear. The dark sorcerer Ernesto somehow infiltrated the upper echelons of the dwarf kingdom, and then, using his status as regent, conscripted craftsmen to complete the drill vehicle, which was used to attack Lelita, claiming to be aimed directly at the [Primordial Fire]."
"The key point is," Li Ang emphasized, "that after he went to great lengths to achieve his goal, he didn't leave immediately, but instead continued to lurk in Ironforge. This shows that he has even bigger plans here."
His radiant light met Celia's golden eyes, which seemed to see through fate, and both of them instantly understood. They both realized the reason: "Combined with Celia's prophecy of 'July 7th'—I suspect he's planning an unprecedented sacrificial ritual."
"Back in the Stormwind Mountains, they sacrificed eight hundred villagers from Langkawi Village to summon the remnants of the evil god. And the entire Ironforge has a population of over one hundred thousand—"
Li Ang didn't say anything more, but a chilling aura permeated the entire room. If they were to succeed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Based on this assessment, Li Ang proposed the following key points for the next stage of the investigation to Eric's team:
1. Why did His Majesty the King not send a distress signal to the Wizarding Alliance after being infiltrated by the Dark Wizards and possibly controlled? Given that they could still influence Ernesto's decisions, they should have had at least one chance to ask for help.
II. What exactly is Ernesto's next goal? Besides the possible sacrifice, is he looking for something else?
3. Why was the Dark Wizard so determined to steal the Primal Flame at such great risk? And what was his relationship with the slain Undead?
After the operational meeting, everyone returned to their rooms to rest, carrying heavy thoughts, to prepare for the next day's operation.
The following morning, Gwen used Shadow Clone again, creating lifelike illusions that replaced Eric's team.
The two teams nodded in tacit agreement and then split up again, just like yesterday.
Led by Maya, Li Ang's team and five shadows headed towards the venue of the second trial.
According to Maya, the Trial of Strength takes place in the Molten Core, the deepest part of Ironforge.
The name of "Molten Heart," one of the two great treasures of wine, comes from this.
They arrived at the entrance to a huge mine tunnel leading underground in the lower area.
Sure enough, just like the library yesterday, this place was packed with dwarven people who had come to cheer for Maya after hearing the news.
The enthusiastic blessings and expectant gazes transformed into an invisible force, propelling them into the deep mine tunnels.
After everyone used the runestone to open a heavy stone door, the deep path leading to the second trial appeared before them.
The group walked along the path that continued downwards for about half an hour, and the air in the passage gradually became scorching hot.
After walking down for a while, even the surrounding rock walls began to faintly turn red.
Later, the scorching heat even made it difficult for everyone to breathe.
Apart from Olivia, who was born in a high-temperature environment and remained calm, all the other team members looked troubled.
Li Ang had to keep the [Gentle Breeze Barrier] active and supplement it with water-making techniques to finely regulate the temperature and humidity of the microenvironment within the barrier, which made the team members feel a little better and prevented them from being wiped out before even reaching the trial grounds.
Finally, after more than two hours of arduous trekking, the view suddenly opened up before them.
They arrived at a vast underground space, where a wide river of lava flowed slowly beneath their feet, radiating suffocating heat and a blinding red light.
In the middle of the lava river, six huge floating slabs connected by thick black chains form an irregular circle.
On the opposite bank stands a stone statue holding a sword.
Upon seeing the statue, Maya explained, "That is the statue of the Titan of Power, who is said to have led the people to defeat the evil god and bring order to the world."
As Maya finished speaking, a deep, resonant voice, seemingly originating from the depths of the earth, echoed directly in everyone's hearts:
[This is a trial of strength. The trial will summon guardians of similar strength based on the number and power of the challengers. Defeat them to pass the trial.]
As soon as the words were spoken, a feeling of being completely spied on rose from the depths of everyone's body.
Li Ang felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that their approximate strength and Olivia's inhuman nature had likely been sensed by this ancient trial ground.
Immediately afterwards, the circular lava river surface in the center of the pontoon began to churn and swell violently.
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar and splashes of scorching lava, a colossal figure broke through the lava and slowly rose.
Standing over twenty meters tall, it is composed entirely of a unique type of stone that has been scorched red and shiny by lava, its massive body resembling a small, moving volcano.