Chapter 329: Chapter 234: Molten Beast
That day, while Long Yi was in class, a dwarf suddenly burst in, shouting at Morton, who was engrossed in his studies.
"It’s bad news, the Molten Beasts are back again!"
"Now?" Morton frowned.
"Yes, they’ll probably be at the base of the Furnace Fortress in an hour!" The dwarf yelled.
"All operations in the Furnace Fortress must cease immediately and all lava gates shut off. All the dwarves capable of fighting, put on your fireproof suits and come to the main lava gate with me!" roared Morton.
"I’ll help!" Long Yi immediately volunteered bravely. He didn’t know what the Molten Beasts were, but it was clear, it was time for a fight.
"Little brother Long Yi, I know you’re a Dragon Knight, but these Molten Beasts are not like your regular opponents. They’re truly very dangerous. Even our Guardian Dragons don’t have complete confidence in defeating them," Morton said.
"No worries, the more dangerous, the better." Long Yi spoke cheerfully.
Yes! The more dangerous, the better! Long Yi was lamenting not having a suitable adversary! Ai Lin, who had been listening by the side, also perked up. Truth be told, she was not interested in the mechanics at all. Maybe it was due to Long Yi’s strong influence, but what she was looking forward to now was finding a worthy opponent. And these supposedly very dangerous Molten Beasts were clearly good candidates.
Seeing Long Yi and Ai Lin both approaching eagerly, Morton knew, there was no stopping these two. He didn’t insist anymore, and started describing what these so-called Molten Beasts were.
As it turns out, the dwarves, despite their constant vigilance, were not always safe. Their continuous mining brought them metals and gems but also threats from beneath the Earth. Some evil creatures blocked by the earth’s crust arrived on the surface through the dwarves’ tunnels, and the ones to face them first were the dwarves.
Among all kinds of evil creatures, the Molten Beasts were the ones causing the most headaches to the dwarves.
Molten Beasts, as the name implies, are monsters formed from molten lava. They are not actual living beings, but they do have a molten core within them. Destroy the core, and the Molten Beast will perish. The core, however, is extremely fragile and can be destroyed quite easily.
It sounds simple enough.
But, the biggest problem is.
Firstly, no one knows exactly where the core of a Molten Beast is located.
Secondly, the number of Molten Beasts is just too high.
In the previous invasion, the dwarves killed nearly three thousand Molten Beasts of varying sizes; and the time before that, two thousand. The Furnace Fortress only has around three hundred permanent dwarf warriors. That means, even if each one fought and killed a beast, each dwarf would have to kill at least five Molten Beasts.
This is the real problem.
At this point, mentioning the dwarf’s Guardian Dragon, the Iron Dragon, is unavoidable.
The Iron Dragon is almost entirely made of metal. Though not very large, it is extremely heavy. Correspondingly, its defense is top tier. However, this high defense is almost useless in the face of Molten Beasts. Since these beasts mainly use lava attacks and the Iron Dragon simply cannot withstand such high temperatures for long.
So, in the early stages of the fight, the Iron Dragons can lend a hand, but once they overheat, the dwarves are left to fend for themselves.
Truth be told, the problem with the Molten Beasts was primarily caused by the dwarves themselves.
The Furnace Fortress is built inside a mountain which is a dormant volcano. The dwarves drilled through its base, directing the lava into the fortress for a constant source of heat. However, some Molten Beasts managed to follow the lava into the fortress and were killed by dwarf warriors. And so, the war between the Molten Beasts and the dwarves began.
Up till now, the dwarves had always won. But victories were gradually becoming more difficult.
The dwarves thought of blocking the Molten Beasts, but they couldn’t hold out for long. After all, the dwarves didn’t have an infinite water source, and what could genuinely stop the ceaseless flow of lava?
While walking, Morton was earnestly explaining to Long Yi. Along the way, they ran into Golden Hammer. At that moment, Golden Hammer was wearing a dark suit of armor with a thermal insulation layer inside, making him look like a ball.
"Long Yi, you rascal, are you also going?"
"Yes, Uncle Golden Hammer, Ai Lin and I are going to help."
"Stop messing around! These Molten Beasts are not to be trifled with! You and that lass Ai Lin better find somewhere to hide! Morton, you idiot! Why didn’t you stop them!"
Golden Hammer angrily scolded Morton.
"Because I believe that they just might be able to help us," Morton answered.
"Help, my ass! They are here to teach a lesson!" Golden Hammer roared.
"Now, now Uncle Golden Hammer, I insisted that Uncle Morton bring us. Don’t worry, in dealing with these Molten Beasts, I might have more experience than you. Isn’t that right, Bajie." Long Yi patted Bajie on the shoulder, who immediately croaked in response, expressing disdain for the Molten Beasts.
"Damn! You little rascal, you’re really putting me in a tight spot!" Golden Hammer sighed and didn’t say anymore. He didn’t want Long Yi to go, but apparently, he sincerely thought that Long Yi could help out.
The path of the Molten Beasts remained fairly fixed. They would definitely move along the underground lava. Hence, the three lava channel gates of the Furnace Fortress had been defined as heavily defended points.
Long Yi and the Golden Hammer defend the first gate on the left.
Despite the dwarves’ primitive understanding of mechanical research, Long Yi was impressed by their skill in harnessing natural forces. He watched as the now stagnant magma quietly flowed past from a wide channel, then was scooped up by a huge bucket, sent to a conveyor belt, and transported to every furnace that needed it. Meanwhile, the cooled magma was redirected from the other side back into the wide body of magma and flowed back into the ground.
This simple way of harnessing natural power alone was sufficient to demonstrate the ecological consciousness of the dwarves. They might even contribute to combatting global warming.
However, at this moment, a strange hissing sound came from afar.
Soon after, a small creature, similar to a rat, darted out from the gate ahead.
"It’s the Molten Beast sentinel! They’re coming! Everyone, prepare to resist the flames!"
The Golden Hammer, standing at the front line, shouted in a loud voice.
Roar!
Out of the lava passage came a low growl, followed by a surge of heat. The heat was the precursor to a burst of blazing flames!
Roar!
Bajie roared, transforming into a giant adult dragon. His massive body fell into the magma, spreading his wings to shield everyone behind him.
When the Blazing Impact hit, everyone only felt a wave of heat but didn’t suffer any harm.
When the flames died down, Bajie unfurled his wings. A mocking smile played on his wide, open mouth. Bajie was a Demon Abyss Dragon, a purebred who had lived in a sea of molten iron since he was a young dragon. Bajie might not have this experience, but his Demon Abyss Dragon genes didn’t fail him. Half his body was in the magma, and he’d withstood a sudden burst of flames, yet he was unharmed.
This level of attack was, for Bajie, merely a tickle!
While the dwarves were brave, they feared fire as any ordinary creature would. This was why they suffered great losses in their battles against the Molten Beasts.
But now, the dwarves found that someone in their midst was impervious to fire! This changed the situation drastically.
The dwarves first reacted with shock, followed by a resounding cheer!
Perhaps sensing that its attack was blocked, a furious growl came from inside the lava passage. Then, the magma began to roil. Suddenly, a gigantic claw thrust out from the passage, grasping hold of Bajie’s neck. Following that, a massive body squeezed out of the passage.
Yes, it squeezed out.
This humanoid creature, composed entirely of magma, tried to straighten its immense figure, but its lower body kept collapsing under its weight, causing it to repeatedly sink down.
"What the hell is this!"
The Golden Hammer roared. In previous attacks, he had never seen this kind of lava giant. Frankly, although the dwarves were courageous, they had no way to deal with such a creature.
Bajie wouldn’t tolerate being grabbed by the neck. With a loud roar, he slapped the creature, smashing the giant’s hand made of magma. The creature’s body had the soft characteristics of molten rock. However, in a place filled with magma, losing a mere arm couldn’t hurt this giant monster.
The space here was vast, large enough for two massive creatures to battle. For a while, Bajie and the lava giant engaged in combat. Bajie had tremendous strength and completely unafraid of the hot magma. The lava giant had an extremely fast regeneration ability. Although it was said that destroying the Molten Core would kill it, where was this Molten Core?
Although Bajie wasn’t afraid of fire, his iron dragon breath didn’t seem to have any special effect on this lava giant. For a time, Bajie and the lava giant were locked in a stalemate.
However, for the dwarves, this was already enough. They were genuinely helpless against this kind of monster.
A strange, four-legged creature began to flood in from behind the lava giant. These creatures had no discernible head or body. They were simply lumps of magma with four legs sprouting out. They swam in the magma, then suddenly jumped ashore. Their only method of attack was to rush at their enemy, latching onto them with their legs and burning their enemies to death with their molten bodies.
Simple, but effective. Though the dwarf warriors’ armor provided some heat resistance, it couldn’t hold out indefinitely. Moreover, the magma was naturally fluid. If care wasn’t taken, the flowing magma could seep through the cracks in their armor, and rookie dwarf warriors would be instantly wounded.
Several battle-hardened dwarves charged forward, smashing the entire magma crowd with their massive hammers, simultaneously destroying the cores within. Higher-ranked dwarf warriors could even summon their Fighting Aura to rip apart a large number of magma creatures!
Long Yi, holding the Crystal Dragon-slaying Sword, began his reaping spree. Against these molten monsters, the Dragon Tooth Strangulation was the most suitable Fighting Aura technique. Vast Fighting Aura quickly tore apart the magma, exposing the Molten Cores within. Then, they were shattered under the Dragon Tooth Strangulation.
Ai Lin was somewhat restrained at this time. As a Magic Fighter, she could only exert her full strength in close combat. Faced with a horde of magma, Ai Lin appeared untilted for a moment.
Little Zi, on the other hand, was the happiest. All molten creatures composed of magma had one thing in common: they feared the cold. As a natural ice-type Mage, Little Zi had no trouble defeating them. With a wave of her hand, she unleashed frigid air, not only bringing a touch of coolness to the unbearably hot space, but also turning the Molten Beasts charging at them into stone statues!
The Golden Hammer laughed heartily, unleashing his Platinum Fighting Spirit and shattering mass stone statues, revealing the incredibly hot cores within. Regular dwarf warriors immediately charged forward, crushing all the Molten Cores with a single hammer blow.
"These don’t seem too bad," Long Yi said with a smile.
"Don’t be impatient; these are only meant to wear us down. The real enemy is yet to come," said the Golden Hammer. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it and recommend it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. For mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com.)
