8mi Chapter 131 The Forge Guardians
Chapter 131 The Forge Guardians
Chapter 131 The Forge Guardians
A massive earthquake struck!
At the edge of the square, the tallest and largest furnace, billowing thick smoke, suddenly had its surface runes glow with a blinding red light!
The furnace no longer spewed out black smoke, but instead a torrent of intense, condensed, crimson flames that seemed almost tangible!
The torrent of flames swirled and coalesced in the air, quickly forming the silhouette of a blurry giant, ten meters tall, composed of pure flames and lava.
The giant had no clear facial features, only two empty eye sockets burning with white flames, and held a huge warhammer made of flames and metal debris in his hand.
The Forge Guardians are war creations formed by combining the energy core of the Forge in Radiant Rock City with the city's defensive array. They are usually dormant and only awaken when the city faces a crisis of destruction or when they are activated by specific permissions.
Clearly, the Prophet Mog activated this last defensive measure immediately after Karug's death.
The fire giant roared silently to the sky, raised its warhammer, and smashed it down on Sares and Lisdra with the force of burning mountains and boiling seas!
"What is that?!"
Sares's expression changed. Ignoring the three of them, he quickly waved his staff and, together with Lisdra, erected a thick, dark red energy shield.
boom!!!
The flaming warhammer slammed heavily onto the shield!
The raging fire energy and shockwaves swept across the square once again!
The shield dented and flickered violently, and Sares and Lisdra were forced back, their faces drained of color.
The power of this furnace guardian has reached the peak of the second ring, and relying on the city furnace, its energy is almost inexhaustible!
"Destroy that furnace first!"
Lisdra screamed, pointing her staff at the massive furnace spewing flames in the distance.
Sares nodded, and the two of them began chanting incantations while fending off the fire giant's ferocious attacks. The unsettling dark purple energy once again condensed at the tip of their staffs, aimed directly at the city's furnace!
The figure of the Prophet Mog appeared atop the fortress, his bone staff gleaming brightly, its shifting soulfire locked onto the two Ash Ring wizards, as he chanted rapidly, seemingly guiding the Forge Guardians or preparing other spells.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the three of them immediately reunited and ran towards the rear of the fortress, where there were relatively few people, without looking back.
It's close to the city walls; perhaps there's a chance to escape there.
"We can't go through the city gates; they're definitely blocked." Nightingale spoke rapidly. "The city walls have protective runes, but there are gaps in the energy fluctuations. Find a weak point and climb over!"
"East of the city! The city wall near the Burnt Market is old. I saw signs of repair a while ago. The runes might be unstable!" Rowling recalled.
He had paid attention to the surrounding environment when he went to the market before.
The three changed direction and made their way through the chaotic streets.
The city was in chaos, with panicked indigenous residents everywhere, their cries, running, and the sound of things collapsing all mixed together.
Occasionally, small groups of Ash Ring apprentices or first-ring wizards can be seen looting or slaughtering in the chaos, creating even more disorder.
Luo Lin and his group tried to avoid it, and if they couldn't avoid it, they dealt with it quickly.
Every second is crucial now.
Finally, they approached the eastern city wall.
The city walls here did indeed appear more aged, with many repaired scars on the dark red rock surface and the lines of the protective runes carved on them somewhat blurred.
Luo Lin concentrated and used the echo unit to quickly scan for the most stagnant and weakest points in the energy flow.
"There!"
He pointed to a section of the wall where the runic lines were broken in several places and the energy reaction was weak.
Without saying a word, Flame Shield stepped forward and smashed the wall with the edge of his tower shield!
boom!
The already old rock cracked open, revealing a small gap.
Nightingale emerged first, followed closely by Roland and Flame Shield.
Just as they jumped off the city wall, before they could even catch their breath, two earth-shattering explosions and an even more violent and evil burst of energy came from the direction of the city center behind them!
Boom! Boom!
Accompanying the deafening roar were the mournful cries of countless natives before their deaths, which merged into a surge of resentment that soared into the sky!
Immediately afterwards, a massive, chaotic, dark purple energy beam filled with destructive and sacrificial intent shot into the sky from the city center, staining the eternal dark red clouds in the sky with an ominous purplish-black hue!
"They're... offering sacrifices?!"
Rowling looked back, his eyes filled with horror.
The wizards of the Ash Ring are using the life energy and resentment generated from the slaughter of the residents of Obsidian City to carry out a large-scale evil sacrificial ritual!
Within that towering dark purple pillar of light, a much larger and more distorted phantom of flame was vaguely struggling to coalesce, radiating a terrifying pressure far exceeding that of a second-ring cultivator!
"The Spirits of Ash—they are forcibly summoning a higher-level 'Spirit of Ash'!"
Flame Shield's voice was dry as he recognized the essence of the ritual, which was exactly the same as the one he had seen at the watchtower, but on a scale that was more than a hundred times larger.
How terrifying must the monster be if the lives and souls of tens of thousands of natives in a frontier city are sacrificed?!
"Hurry! Get as far away from here as possible!"
Nightingale's voice tightened as she pulled the two away.
But at that moment, another unexpected event occurred!
Almost simultaneously, distinctly different energy fluctuations emanated from the eastern and southern horizons!
From the east, several powerful auras were approaching at an extremely fast speed. Those auras were scorching, explosive, and full of order, very similar to the energy characteristics of the Indigenous Empire, but even more powerful and pure!
The leading aura was as blazing as a walking sun, its oppressive power even faintly overshadowing the ashes spirits that were gathering in the city!
From the south, several more concealed but equally powerful auras rapidly approached, carrying the unique magical fluctuations of the Shadow Raven Tower, a mixture of elemental and various attributes!
One of the auras seemed familiar to Roland; it appeared to be—the wizard Horn?!
There are a few others that are equally strong, at least at the second ring road!
Reinforcements from the Molten Empire's Royal Court!
Infiltrators or support teams of Shadow Raven Tower!
They were all drawn to the terrifying energy fluctuations and sacrificial ritual erupting from Obsidian City!
Three powerful forces are about to collide violently on this burning wasteland!
The situation of Luo Lin and his two companions instantly became extremely delicate and dangerous.
They are now outside the city, but not far from the battlefield.
If either party discovers them, it could lead to unpredictable consequences.
Mistaken for deserters or spies by the Imperial reinforcements, or exposed by their own people in the Shadow Raven Tower, they no longer look like their own and are easily mistaken for enemies, or killed off by the remnants of the Ash Ring.
"Find a hiding place! Now!"
Flame Shield acted decisively, his gaze sweeping over a rugged area not far away, formed from cooled lava and riddled with holes and fissures.
Like startled rabbits, the three rushed into the lava landscape at top speed, found a deep enough fissure with a complex internal structure, and crawled inside. They held their breath and focused their minds, trying their best to suppress all their aura and energy fluctuations, like three lifeless stones.
Almost the instant they hid, the eastern sky was illuminated in a fiery red!
Five figures streaked across the sky like meteors, descending upon Yaoyan City!
The leader was not particularly tall, but his entire body was shrouded in a layer of condensed, almost white, blazing flames, making it impossible to see his specific features. Only a pair of eyes burning with golden flames could be seen.
He wore magnificent dark gold armor, its design ancient and adorned with emblems of flames and crowns, and held in his hand a long spear that also burned with golden flames.
Simply by standing in mid-air, the oppressive aura emanating from him made the burning city below seem to dim for a moment!
Behind him stood four equally powerful natives: a giant clad in heavy rune-encrusted plate armor, an old man wielding a flaming staff with soul flames blazing, and a man and a woman dressed as wandering knights, each exuding a sharp aura. These five were all clearly second-ring level experts!
Especially the golden-flame figure at the head, is definitely at the peak of the second ring, and may even have touched the threshold of the third ring!
"The Molten Royal Court, Garrosa, the Blazing Sun, has been ordered by the King to vanquish the invaders from beyond the realms and save the people of the Empire!"
The golden-flamed figure, Garrosa, spoke with a voice like a resounding bell, echoing throughout the heavens and earth, carrying an undeniable majesty and fury.
He clearly saw through the evil sacrifice taking place in the city at a glance.
Almost simultaneously, four figures appeared in the southern sky.
The leader was none other than the wizard Horn, whom Rowling knew. He was still wearing his dark blue wizard robes, his face was serious, and he held a dark blue staff in his hand.
Beside him stood a tall, thin wizard in a gray cloak, whose face was obscured and whose aura was chilling; a burly man wielding a two-handed greatsword, whose physique was as robust as a bear; and another—it was Ella, the second-ring red-haired wizard who had served as the team leader in the Iron Wasteland quest!
The four second-circle wizards from Shadowraven Tower have also arrived!