Chapter 331: Chapter 236: The Mystery of the Molten Beast
After a while, there was still no other Molten Beast wandering out of the alleyway. Then, a dwarf responsible for watching the movement of the Molten Beasts ran over.
"Elder Golden Hammer! The Molten Beasts have retreated! We’ve won!"
"We’ve won?" Golden Hammer murmured.
"We’ve won!"
There were no cheers. Golden Hammer, who was already nearly exhausted, fell to the ground with his war hammer slipping from his hand.
Xiaoyou and Bajie returned to their rest state. Bajie didn’t change much, but Xiaoyou had two faint marks of injury. The Shadow Dragon, known for its speed and agility, has a fairly low defense. But for the Dragon Clan, these marks are merely scratches.
As a result of the battle, the biggest gain for Long Yi was naturally the friendship of the dwarves. For the dwarves, they will wholeheartedly appreciate a companion who can fight alongside them. This was different from how they held Long Yi in high regard when he was just a mentor, they respected not his knowledge but him as an individual.
It took a full day and night for the dwarves to recover their strength after the intense battle.
Long Yi, not as exhausted as the dwarves, was pondering a new problem.
That is, where exactly did these Molten Beasts come from?
This question dated back to when he first came into contact with the core of the magma.
At that time, he touched the magma core out of curiosity. It almost burned his claws, but he could sense a minute and familiar power from within that core.
The power of the Giant.
This was enough to make Long Yi extremely puzzled. Is there another Giant hidden in the magma?
That would not seem likely, right?
So, Long Yi who quickly recovered his strength, proposed that he wanted to see the magma core acquired from this battle.
Of course, Morton immediately granted permission.
In fact, almost all of the large magma cores obtained from this battle were retrieved by Long Yi. Not to mention if Long Yi wanted to take a look, even if he wanted to take them away, Morton would not object.
Although Morton was an elder, he held a civil position and was not good at fighting. So during this battle, he was in charge of directing and dispatching. Although he didn’t go to the battlefield, he witnessed Long Yi’s fight, thus his trust in Long Yi reached an unprecedented level.
As the dwarves say, this was the close bond between iron and fire.
As strong as steel, as warm as fire.
This was a special metal room where water constantly flowed past to cool the metal. In the room were boxes containing magma cores.
Morton brought Long Yi here and then retreated. He was not worried that Long Yi would do anything.
Here, Long Yi immediately spotted the magma core he had touched before.
Partly because the core was incredibly huge, and also because there were traces of his handprint on it.
Has the mark not faded after such a long time?
"Bajie, Dragon Breath Armor."
Long Yi extended his hand; Bajie instantly exhaled a mouthful of Dragon Breath. The scorching molten iron turned into an armor coating Long Yi’s hand. The Dragon Breath Armor could prevent Long Yi from being affected by high temperatures.
He raised his hand and pressed it onto the core.
Feeling the touch, the core immediately became even hotter, causing all the cores in the room to become hotter.
Yes, it was the power of the Giant! Although it was so minute that it was almost undetectable, it was indeed the Giant’s power.
It was the Giant’s power that maintained the shape of the magma core, and it was also the Giant’s power that directed the core to condense into Molten Beasts.
This was strange, where did the Giant’s power come from then?
Wait, since there is the Giant’s power here, what about my own Giant’s power?
With that in mind, Long Yi converted his Fighting Aura into the Giant’s power and injected it into the core. Initially, the magma core resisted the outcoming force, but once it detected the Giant’s power, it followed willingly. As the Giant’s power kept pouring in, the magma core gradually stabilized, eventually becoming compliant.
Long Yi felt that the magma core was now completely under his command!
At this moment, Long Yi truly understood that this core was a creation!
Yes, these Molten Beasts were not born naturally; they were created!
Who could it be? Who can utilize the Giant’s power and also create these Molten Beasts just to annoy the dwarves?
As Long Yi turned to leave, the magma core levitated and floated after him!
"Eh? You want to follow me?" Long Yi was startled.
Of course, the magma core had no means to communicate, but it was apparent that it wanted to follow Long Yi. It was instinctively attracted by Long Yi’s Giant’s power.
Well...
Long Yi appeared at the doorway sheepishly, informing Morton.
"Uncle, for some reason, this core wants to come with me."
Morton burst into laughter: "Take it if it wants to go with you! If you like them, all these cores are yours!"
"No, no, I didn’t really want to take it..." Long Yi found it difficult to explain, he couldn’t just tell him that he was a giant.
"No problem, no problem. Now, did you find anything?" Morton was more curious about why Long Yi suddenly wanted to examine these cores. If it was just to take one away, it would be quite strange.
"Yes, that’s what I wanted to say." Long Yi stated, "These Molten Beasts, they seem to have been manufactured."
"What?" Morton was startled, apparently unprepared for this revelation. "Someone created them? So this isn’t because we accidentally encountered a Molten Beast’s nest and provoked retaliation. Instead, someone is deliberately making enemies with us, Dwarves?"
Dwarves tend to be straightforward and see things in black and white. Being besieged by low-IQ beasts is one thing, being the target of deliberate malice is quite another.
"I can’t make that judgement. All I can say for now is that these Molten Beasts were created. But whether they were created by a certain ’individual’ or some happenstance, I dare not assert just yet."
Although Long Yi said this, the power of the giants inside him wasn’t fake. In the end, this matter was related to the giants, but would they be so bored as to make trouble with the Dwarves?
Obviously not.
"I see." Morton nodded, he could discern the caution in Long Yi’s voice, it was clear that Long Yi himself was not entirely certain about the origins. Although Dwarves always have a frank temperament, not everyone has the volatile temperament like Golden Hammer, Morton’s thinking was rather flexible.
Morton said: "We need to convene an Elder’s meeting to discuss this matter, if it is really true, we may need to start preparing sooner."
Long Yi said: "Okay, Uncle Morton, I will also help in finding a way to uncover the truth behind this."
Morton nodded, then strode away.
Long Yi trailed behind, looking at the lava core tagging along with him, deep in thought but without any clue. Long Yi sought Ai Lin and told her about the matter. Even with her knowledge, Ai Lin couldn’t discern who would create and control so many Molten Beasts to attack the Dwarves.
After pondering, Ai Lin suddenly asked: "Brother Long, if these Molten Beasts were created and controlled by someone to attack the Dwarves, then there must be a corresponding magical trace on them. Little Zi is an expert in spirit-based magic, why not let her take a look?"
"Right!"
Long Yi immediately called Little Zi, who emerged from his body yawning. The recent battle had left Little Zi a bit tired, so she had been resting inside Long Yi’s body. Upon hearing Long Yi’s question, Little Zi immediately perked up and reached out to touch the lava core.
"Huh?" Little Zi looked at the fusing core with confusion.
"What’s the matter?" Long Yi urgently asked.
"This lava core doesn’t contain any traces of spiritual control, instead, it holds a complex array of spells." Little Zi said as she recorded the spells within the core. "This array grants the lava core the instinct to absorb magma and shape its body. Other than that, there are no other traces."
"No other traces?" Long Yi approached, "That’s strange, why would the Molten Beasts, idle as they are, constantly attack the Dwarves?"
"Maybe, it’s just a defensive instinct?" Ai Lin suggested.
"Instinct?"
"Exactly, didn’t the Dwarves mention that these Molten Beasts always move underground following the flow of magma? If the Dwarves happened to build their tunnels on their path, each invasion of the Molten Beasts might just be some beasts passing by this place by accident..."
Upon hearing Ai Lin’s speculation, Long Yi couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly: "Although the probability is low, we can’t rule out this possibility. If this is true, the Dwarves are really unfortunate."
"If we could trace back the magma flow to find out where the Molten Beasts originated, it would be great." Long Yi said.
"That’s impossible... even if it’s water, let alone magma..." Ai Lin can’t think of a way. Even Bajie wouldn’t be able to do this. Although Bajie isn’t afraid of this temperature, once submerged in magma, navigation would be a problem. Furthermore, it would be impossible to breathe in magma. Being a member of the Dragon Clan allows one to hold their breath for an extended period, but they cannot stop breathing forever.
"Maybe, we really can go!" Little Zi, who had been studying the lava core, said. "This lava core can take us there. Plus, we don’t have to worry about the lack of air."
As it turned out, the construction spells inside the lava core were extremely intricate, even Little Zi, a master of spell casting, couldn’t fully fathom them at first. However, after a deep and thorough analysis, she couldn’t help but marvel at the spells embedded within the lava core.
Inside, hidden underneath layers of complexity, there was a set of spell combinations that were so intricate they even surpassed Little Zi’s comprehension. Nine arrays intricately arranged together in an incredibly profound combination. By adjusting the arrangement, they could create distinctive combinations, which granted the lava core the most basic ability to decipher.
Simultaneously, through these array combinations, the lava core was also equipped with abilities to solidify and shape the magma. At first, the lava giant took form from this lava core simply because of the lack of giant’s power, so the array finished its transformation in a single usage. But as Long Yi supplied sufficient giant’s power to the lava core, it gained more capabilities.
At the same time, the lava core acquired the ability to transport anyone to the depths of the magma.
Of course, merely these weren’t enough.
The most important thing was, based on the information retrieved from the lava core, their place of birth had no flames at all, instead, it was a serene place underground, just like a paradise lost.
This was simply inconceivable.
In the beginning, it was simply a speculation of Long Yi. But after listening to Little Zi’s words, a dilemma appeared.
To go, or not to go?
If they decided to go, it would definitely be extremely dangerous. Long Yi liked adventures, but he didn’t fancy throwing his life away. If they decided against going, it would be quite regrettable to miss an opportunity right before their eyes.
No, they needed to evaluate!
Long Yi and Little Zi began a more thorough research on the lava core and finally, after a day and night. By the time Morton came looking for them, he saw Long Yi smiling from ear to ear.
"I have some bad news," Morton reported.
"And I have some good news," Long Yi said. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome your recommendation votes and monthly votes on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. If you are using the mobile version, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
