Chapter 1184: Fierce Battle

At first, the strange, flame-like scent lingering in the air didn’t raise any alarms among the adventurers. After all, this wasteland—scarred by the godslayer wars—was saturated with countless odd odors that had long numbed the senses of outsiders. Synthetic chemicals seeping from underground factories, pipelines, and industrial raw material pools, along with the ever-burning gas wells and storage tanks, constantly emitted smells that kept Lola and her companions on edge. But after so many false alarms, their initial reaction was simply to suspect another industrial leak nearby.

Yet as the peculiar scent grew stronger and more distinct, the adventurers’ vigilance finally snapped awake. Instinctively, Lola halted, her enchanted shortbow’s surface suddenly etched with countless delicate, dark red runes. A one-handed swordsman walking beside her raised his blade in a defensive stance, quietly warning their comrades, “Something’s not right… I feel something gathering.”

“Stay alert!” The temporary leader, a seasoned two-handed swordsman, raised an arm ahead. He had already caught the scent of danger approaching. “The elements are concentrating… There’s an invisible rift nearby!”

Elements?

Lola’s gaze immediately sought out Modir, the party’s most powerful spellcaster. While all the transcendent adventurers could sense the flow of magic and elemental forces, only a mage was truly an expert in the elemental realm. This experienced old gentleman could be their greatest asset right now.

But as her eyes landed on Modir, she saw him standing there, dazed and vacant—seemingly lost in some kind of trance again.

“Damn it… Modir!” Lola’s heart raced. Forgetting all formalities, she called out sharply, “Snap out of it! Something’s wrong!”

Startled, the old mage blinked awake. His eyes snapped open as he immediately sensed the turbulent elemental energy swirling in the air. He gasped under his breath, “By the breath of the founding king! Don’t you see that elemental rift opening right in front of us? And we’ve walked straight up to it?!”

With that, Modir waved his hand, unleashing an invisible wave of magical force that surged forward. The adventurers’ eyes widened in shock as the unseen elemental shadows suddenly took shape. In the solid material world, a glaringly discordant rift appeared—a towering, crimson fissure resembling a monstrous vertical pupil, hundreds of meters tall and over ten meters wide, standing just dozens of meters ahead of the party. From that fiery, eye-like crack, sparks and scorching mist sprayed out, nearly brushing the very hair on Lola and her companions’ heads.

The young huntress’s heart skipped a beat. A single glance into the rift revealed rivers of molten lava coalescing in another world, living flames dancing and leaping through the air, and grotesque pure-energy creatures gathering with hostile intent on their side of the rift. In all her adventures, she had never witnessed such a terrifying sight—but she quickly understood what she was facing.

She was staring straight into the realm of fire elementals, the most violent and dangerous domain of the elemental planes.

“Find cover!” The temporary leader’s voice trembled as it came from the front. Despite his shaking tone, his command breathed vital life into the stunned party. Lola and her comrades snapped out of their paralysis and dashed with lightning speed toward the nearest massive crystal pillar, slipping into the shadow at its base.

“What do we do?” a druid asked nervously. “This thing… it’s way beyond what we can handle. We can’t fight it. Our only option is to retreat and warn the dragon clans.”

“The creatures on the other side of the elemental rift have spotted us,” the leader replied rapidly. “There are Flamewalkers in there. We can’t outrun those monsters in this terrain.”

Lola’s eyes fell on Modir, who had also taken cover with them. She instinctively wanted to ask the party’s sole mage how to get through this crisis, but the scene before her left her momentarily speechless.

She watched in stunned silence as the old mage rapidly pulled out countless small items from his robes—homemade talismans, incense to boost mana, tiny crystals, powdered metal ores. These rare and common spellcasting materials were swiftly transformed in his hands into intricate runes. Flash after flash of light accompanied Modir’s activation of dozens of magical effects. He simultaneously wove hand gestures and chanted dual incantations at a dizzying speed—Lola had seen many mages in her life, but never one who could cast spells with such efficiency and frequency.

What on earth was this old man doing? Were these really the kinds of spells modern mages used?

Lola’s eyes widened, unable to decipher the meanings of the magical symbols swirling around Modir. Nearby adventurers finally noticed the old mage’s frantic preparations, their faces as puzzled as hers. Then, Modir finished a phase of his spellcasting and looked up at the burly temporary leader, his tone urgent and brisk: “We must proceed carefully—so I’m going to shield you first.”

The two-handed swordsman blinked, about to ask what he meant, when an overwhelming pressure suddenly surged from the direction of the elemental rift. One brave adventurer peeked out and immediately recoiled in horror.

The rift had fully opened.

A colossal fire giant, as tall as a city watchtower, stepped through the crack into the real world. Endless waves of heat radiated from its molten body. Countless jubilant fire elementals flowed, leapt, exploded, and reformed around it. The giant paid no mind to the tiny creatures buzzing at its sides. It simply surveyed the desolate wasteland with a grotesque, menacing grin.

“Damn! We’re done for!” The swordsman’s face went pale. “That thing… even a dragon wouldn’t stand a chance!”

“Quiet! I’m casting!” Modir’s voice came sharply from behind the swordsman. The old mage scolded him while rapidly tracing dozens of glowing runes beside the warrior. “We must be cautious—I’m adding twenty layers of flame protection and twenty layers of lethal defense… wait, now sixty-two layers of damage reduction shields…”

Before he finished, the swordsman’s body began to glow brighter and brighter. He felt as if a fortress wall was being built around him. But the growing sense of dread forced him to speak up: “Wait, wait, sir, what exactly are you—”

“To keep you safe,” Modir interrupted quickly, pushing the swordsman forward. “Alright, you’re a melee fighter. Once the fight starts, protect me—I’m a fragile mage. What are you waiting for? You’re empowered! Go!”

The swordsman barely managed a startled “Huh?” before stumbling out from behind the pillar. At the same time, a deafening, volcanic roar erupted from the fire giant—a sound filled with joy and malice, dripping with menace:

“Ahaha! So this is the headquarters of the Mithril Vault? These arrogant scaled beasts finally have their day—The mighty Elemental Lord has returned! I want to see who stole my shield, the one I earned by strength. Hopefully, they’re still alive so I can enjoy… hmm?”

The fire giant suddenly stopped its rambling, staring in surprise at a small, dazzling figure stumbling out from behind a nearby crystal pillar. The glowing human froze, eyes wide with shock and terror, staring up at the towering inferno. The two caught each other off guard, locked in a stunned gaze.

The fire giant was the first to react.

“Interesting… I think these little meat cans are called dwarves… or humans? Or elves? They all look the same to me—crispy when roasted…”

Muttering to itself, the giant took a step forward. Its molten, fiery body radiated terrifying heat, ready to crush the glowing swordsman like an ant. But just then, a sudden flash tore through the polluted clouds above the wasteland. The blinding light halted the giant’s movement. Moments later, a bolt of lightning, thick as a bell tower, struck the fire giant, scattering molten rocks and lava in all directions.

Hiding behind the crystal pillar, Lola stared in horror at the unfolding scene. She saw the temporary leader pushed forward, wrapped in over a hundred layers of protective spells, like a fully armored, magically fortified human fortress. She saw the eccentric old mage nervously concealed in the middle of the group, his body shimmering with amplifying magical ripples. Then, she saw the old man raise his arm—and like divine wrath, a colossal lightning bolt descended from the sky, engulfing the fire giant completely.

It wasn’t so much a strike as a crushing blow.

But the battle was far from over. The fire giant’s magical resistance was astonishing. Though half its body was shattered in an instant, it struggled free from the crackling electric storm, shaking off the lingering magical assault and roaring skyward in fury:

“Who dares to ambush the great—”

“BOOM!!!”

Another arcane orb, glowing like a tiny sun, descended from the sky. The mighty elemental lord hadn’t even managed to utter his name before he was sent soaring upward in a towering mushroom cloud. His severed half-body spun wildly through the air, and the shockwave from his ascent blasted the nearest two-handed swordsman clean off his feet—yet the layers upon layers of protective spells left the swordsman completely unharmed. He flipped midair and landed on his feet just in time to see the flaming giant’s other half crash violently to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the fearsome old wizard crouching behind a massive stone pillar nearby, furtively weaving a forbidden spell while quickly glancing his way—and then giving him a thumbs-up.

“Damn…” the swordsman muttered, his hometown accent slipping out in his excitement. But his words were quickly drowned out by the fire giant’s lingering wails and the deafening roar of a second mushroom cloud erupting.

What followed was a relentless barrage: colossal lightning bolts tearing through the sky, arcane orbs capable of spawning mushroom clouds, frost novas that froze even living flames solid, and meteor fragments crashing down from above. Amid the earth-shattering thunderclaps, the fire giant’s agonized cries faded swiftly until silence fell. His final utterance was a furious roar, laced with such venom that a polite translation would hardly do it justice.

The heart-pounding battle was finally over. The formidable fire elemental lord had been obliterated under seventeen consecutive legendary spells. His elemental minions had been absorbed into Talrond’s complex atmosphere during the initial attacks. The elemental rift itself vanished, no longer a source of fresh peril for this war-torn land. Yet, Lora couldn’t help but wonder which had wrought more destruction—the elemental rift or old Modir’s seventeen magical bombardments.

The air hung heavy with the acrid stench of scorched earth and the sharp tang of residual magical energies. Dizzy and disoriented, the adventurers emerged from behind their stone pillar shelters, still struggling to process what had just transpired. Lora’s expression was blank as she glanced back at their hiding spot. The old wizard was the last to crawl out, his black robes steaming faintly from the dissipating energy of hundreds of amplification runes. The magic crystal embedded in his black cap had dulled, drained from overuse. He still looked tense, hardly the image of a triumphant sorcerer who had just vanquished an elemental lord—instead, he resembled a thief caught red-handed in a granary.

Modir glanced around cautiously, finally satisfied that the area was secure. He exhaled deeply, then spotted the two-handed swordsman standing not far off. The man was impossible to miss—his body radiated the glow of over a hundred protective spells, making him look like a blazing torch even in broad daylight.

Seeing this “human torch,” the old wizard finally smiled. He strode quickly toward the swordsman, who immediately wore a horrified expression, as if ready to back away. But Modir was faster than any seasoned swordsman; he grabbed the man’s hand firmly, his aged face breaking into a sincere grin.

“Son, I can’t thank you enough! A fragile mage casting spells without protection—who knows what might have happened!”

The lead swordsman blinked in confusion. “…?”

Modir held on tighter, his enthusiasm growing. “What a magnificent fight! Truly magnificent. It’s been centuries since I’ve had a companion who could work so seamlessly alongside me. Your skills are truly impressive!”

The swordsman remained utterly baffled. “…?”

(End of chapter)