Chapter 693: Chapter 341: The Silent Furnace
"Keep pushing forward! The guardians of this relic can’t keep up anymore. Defeat these last ones, and it will be ours to control!"
The next day at noon, enduring the flames spewing from the Mechanical Creation Furnace, the group arrived at the closest point to the giant metal sphere so far.
The Mechanical Creation Furnace was re-calibrating its reserve materials and components to construct metal guards to bolster its defensive strength. These new guards, without the manipulation of the Island Founder Undead, were much less flexible, but their bodies remained robust and firm, requiring time to dismantle each one.
Prolonging the battle would diminish the progress made previously, so necessary rest periods were short. After a brief night, the team began a high-intensity continuous assault from early morning.
The fierce advance was draining everyone’s energy, while the giant mechanical sphere overhead, growing larger with the advancing frontline until it shone like the sun, was exerting pressure. Whether it was the awe of this complex and giant artifact of civilization or its incomparably scorching core.
The group had almost entirely lost the protection of the Water Element, the battle entering its final phase. Even with the rebirth of the Sea Dragon Ancestor and the incarnation of the Water Dragon, the power of the Ocean Bubble had reached its limit.
After all, they were not in full form nor directly descended, their powers limited. Even though the essence of the Ocean Bubble in the Mechanical Creation Furnace had already diverged greatly from the ordinary bubbles produced by Dorothy’s Mermaid Robe, the Mechanical Creation Furnace was also grounded in the Legendary Law.
In this underground facility, reaching near the Mechanical Creation Furnace truly gave the illusion of standing before the sun, without protection from the Water Attribute’s Legendary Power, its emitted heat nearly evaporating the Ocean Bubble completely.
Li Ang, it’s so hot!
Just hold on a little longer, we’re almost there.
Leviathan had expended a lot of energy due to sustained full-force combat, appearing somewhat languid, compounded by the discomfort from the uncontainable water temperature inside the bubble.
While calming her in the Mind Link, Li Ang gripped the Orichalcum tightly to channel magic, directing the Sea Serpent Familiar’s intersecting water streams to sweep across the last three guards in front, applying soaking weakening.
"Watch out!"
A shielder guard of the Order Flower Sword Corps, softened by fatigue, almost had their shield knocked away by a furnace guard’s arm hammer. Without the shield, his standard-issue equipment would be as fragile as if unarmored against the giant metal.
To cover a teammate, a nearby heavy shield guard shifted slightly, immediately creating a gap in the line. Another furnace guard lifted its leg to stomp down heavily, with force comparable to massive construction machinery splitting islands, a strike as if delivering destruction from above.
Li Ang raised the front end of the Magic Staff, gathering scorching light, while his left hand rapidly inscribed a Curse Rune on himself, completing the release of Spiritual Activation instantly.
The previous high pressure made him spread several potent skills across different times, Acceleration Technique, Slow Spell, the domains of both, Divine Wisdom Transcendence, Spiritual Piercing...
This entire restraint and conservation of energy was for the comprehensive effectiveness of completing the final Chapter with Spiritual Activation.
Whole body spirituality surged into activity as if boiling, reaching the limit of magic power manipulation and exertion capacity, the light at the front end of the Magic Staff rapidly intensified, ultimately converging into an extremely radiant ray.
This beam wasn’t bright in itself, but the rule contained within it was inversely decomposing everything it touched into more fundamental units; matter was divided into elements, magic power was extracted and diffused, in its presence, nothing could maintain its original form.
The Decomposition Light Wave lingered on the surface of a Mechanical Creation Furnace Guard for less than half a second before penetrating through, as the team members in front quickly cleared space, having witnessed the ray’s power several times, they dared not approach it.
Li Ang pulled the Magic Staff horizontally, the Decomposition Light Wave swiped across two furnace guards within its duration, their central bodies spilling reverted molten metal splitting in two, and thereafter the decomposition continued until their bodies turned into molten metal.
The mindless Sea Serpent Familiar swiftly spiraled around Li Ang, like an extension of his will, in contrast with Leviathan’s frequent weakness post-rebirth, it merely functioned as a launcher converting Li Ang’s magic into the Sea Dragon Race’s attack form.
The spirituality of the Orichalcum was also activated, releasing Ethereal Torrent, filtered by the Sea Serpent Familiar, transformed into torrential water flow, the Water Element quickly penetrated the last golem’s surface, generating a soaking effect, with ensuing water bursts acting like a steel saw slicing grooves into its surface.
The Order Knights regrouped, exerting their final forces in attack, causing the staggering furnace guard to stagger backward before turning into countless fragmented remains under the sword light of an approaching female swordsman.
Meluna sheathed her sword as the loud metallic crash echoed, the surroundings devoid of heavy footsteps and metallic scraping sounds, and no longer filled with cries.
Compared to the previously intense noisy battlefield, now the muffled mechanical operation of the Mechanical Creation Furnace and everyone’s breathing could only be considered minor background noise.
Silence lingered for a long while, finally giving way to cheers.
Different from yesterday’s exuberance, today’s cheers were more a relieved "finally free" sigh.
Though the overall battle duration wasn’t long, the energy expenditure was immense, in this hellishly hot underground space, everyone’s endurance was pushed to the limit.
