Chapter 47: Battle in the Walls

“I hate this damned place!”
William, walking silently beside Eirith, muttered, “Seventy-third time!”
The temperature was too high; the undead flesh tissue would easily rot and deteriorate. Moreover, the fire element carried a purifying force of destruction, second only in intensity to light. That’s why many fire mages often mentioned the “Flame of Purification.”
Thanks to his dictatorial nature, Eirith could do as he pleased. Using the highly toxic miasma in this Molten Fire Abyss, he had corrupted all his evil subordinates with evil fire, turning them into beings that resembled basalt by lava rivers—covered in colorful, sulfurized patterns that looked like some kind of natural tattoo.
Even so, Eirith wasn’t satisfied. At least four more people here were “delicate”: him, William, Stodo, and Bado.
“Faster! Go faster! That damned Nio actually dares to come to such a crappy place!”
“One hundred and first time!” William thought Eirith was truly old—talkative, repetitive, moody, and his words lacked any novelty.
Huh! The Dark Heather Thorn leading the way ahead finally couldn’t bear the scorching flames and caught fire. Eirith ignored it, letting it burn like a lit stick, sputtering and crackling. After releasinga large amount of of poisonous smoke and shedding ashes, it turned into a skeletal dog monster, wrapped in dark red flames, its blood-red eyes looking sinister.
“Hehe! My little dog has been reborn!” Leaning back in his ivy chaise, Eirith unconsciously started fiddling with the hairs on his head.
Protected by the Water Guardians, Nio became even harder to track. But still, Eirith’s group managed to find where Nio was fighting the fire dwarves, even locating the area Nio considered to be chimney-like.
“Chrysotile backpacks? The craftsmanship seems dwarven. Bring them here—I want to see them!” Eirith spotted three large backpacks in the corner. Chrysotile itself was an expensive fire-resistant material, shiny as if woven from silver threads, very noticeable.
When he saw the raw minerals inside, Eirith immediately sat up excitedly. He quickly picked one up, then put it down and took another. After several times, he burst into laughter. “This is the favor of the Dark Lord! It must be! Praise the darkness…”
Mages generally had an ordinary love for money. What came first in their lives was always powerful energy. Just by looking at these gemstones, it was clear their quality was excellent. With these gems, Eirith was confident he could raise his overall strength by two levels. Happy—he had to be happy!
“Lord, could these things…”
Eirith stopped laughing, glanced at William, and nodded. “Hmm, you’re wise. You’ve thought of everything. These things indeed have tracking spells cast on them.”
William seized the opportunity. “It seems someone is about to lose their wealth for nothing!”

“What force in this world can withstand the desecration of darkness?” After speaking arrogantly, Erulus stretched out his right hand, which trembled in the air as three dark green orbs of light formed. He threw them into three backpacks. Smoke mixed of black and green spread everywhere like heavy vapor. The raw minerals touched by this smoke immediately lost their luster, becoming dull and porous, just like coke after burning.

Boom!

Three large bursts of sparks emerged from the backpacks. These sparks formed a roughly shaped human figure in midair and emitted a magical voice: “You’re dead, bug!”

“Bug? Hmph! A lowly sorcerer dares to show off in front of me!” Erulus, who came from an academic research faction, hated sorcerers who used strange methods to cast spells. He always believed that sorcerers were insulting this great and highly technical discipline. As his neck twitched, a mass of substance surged from his body, thickening his neck, and could be seen moving upward before turning into a foul-smelling venom. Once it entered the air, it immediately became toxic. The human figure made of sparks was contaminated by this venom and instantly turned into eerie green flames.

“Ah!” The green-flamed human figure adopted a painful posture with both hands on its head before exploding and collapsing with a loud noise.

“You brought this on yourself!” Erulus leaned back in his seat with contempt. But he soon lost his joy. The magical shields cast by the boiling water elements around Neo were extremely powerful. Disturbed by them, the Skeleton Rhododendrons could no longer detect Neo’s location and kept spinning in circles.

“Damn it! Who dares to oppose the great forces of darkness?” After roaring a few times, Erulus had no choice but to order Stdo and Bado to lead the Evil Orcs in a search—the simplest method: sending people along every path.

The search lasted over three hours. Neo wasn’t found, but the Evil Fire Sorcerer arrived instead.

“Bug!” The Evil Fire Sorcerer, with a dark green scar burned on his right cheek, roared in fury. His fire dwarven followers then launched an attack.

Most fire dwarves had average combat abilities. Apart from their innate talents in fire control, heat conduction, and area burning, they were not much different from shield dwarves. However, they inherited the dwarves’ skill in crafting metals and stones. Years of war against fire giants had made them outstanding in developing weapons for battle. Under the leadership of the Evil Fire Sorcerer, this strength was amplified beyond normal levels, becoming their main weapon.

Like this time, the fire dwarves used a type of 30-shot war chariot-style scorpion crossbow called a rocket chariot. Three such chariots fired flame arrows at once, while brass catapults behind them launched molten rock packets. The resulting onslaught of destructive flames turned Erulus’s location into a sea of molten fire.

Except for Balmerga, Medusa, Destruction Simon, William, and Erulus himself, all the Evil Orcs melted in that sea of fire.

“Let’s get out of this suffocating place!” With no safe area to hide in, it was extremely difficult for Erulus to protect himself and his trusted subordinates. The five of them fled desperately deep into the cave.

Behind them, the Evil Fire Sorcerer commanded his troops to pursue relentlessly, while the fire dwarves armed with flame-powered cannons fired shots from time to time. The projectiles they used were low-quality pieces of fire crystal, but once activated, their power was no less than that of a level 2 fireball spell—any single one could destroy and ignite an ordinary thatched cottage. As Eirithus retreated, evil poison orcs began to converge from various passage branches, only to be halted by the fire dwarves due to their scattered forces. Nearly 40 of them were killed one after another. Seeing their opponents so easily defeated, the evil fire orcs grew complacent. Eventually, in a large cave, within the destructive killing array created by Simon, a bloody massacre ensued. Even with powerful killing machines like bronze war puppets, the casualties were severe. Under such circumstances, the role of the spellcasters on both sides became increasingly important. Eirithus, being highly knowledgeable, employed cunning and sinister spells, while the Evil Fire Sorcerer, though limited in spell variety, had powerful and fast-spelling abilities. As the battle raged on without a clear winner, it was the Evil Fire Sorcerer who first called for a halt. “We don’t need those gem ores anymore. Let’s end this damned battle!” Faced with the evil fire orcs’ concession, Eirithus refused to back down. Having lost many of his men, finding Nio became even harder, and he was unwilling to let Nio slip away right under his nose. “If you want to end the battle, then help me find a werewolf. You must be familiar with this area and know where it’s suitable to camp and rest.” “Familiar? Of course we are. We can act as guides, but I can’t guarantee we’ll find the person you want.” Eirithus smirked darkly. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. Go to the most dangerous places, wander around, and end up at the Melted Pit Fire River. Hmph! If you’re giving up, show some respect—swear an oath.” Swearing an oath was even crueler and more suited to those who preferred unconventional methods. Hearing this, the Evil Fire Sorcerer sighed. “I never expected to meet such a shrewd person. Impressive! Well, since that’s the case… next time we meet, I’ll make sure you die!” His tone and expression suddenly became ferocious. He waved his hands, and with a roar, flames erupted. When the smoke and fire dissipated, all that remained on the ground were corpses and broken weapons. “Not bad for running away so fast!” Eirithus laughed dismissively at the Evil Fire Sorcerer’s threat and ordered the cleanup of the battlefield. In his mind, although his side had lost most of its evil poison orcs, they had gained nearly a hundred evil fire dwarves along with a pile of weapons. These evil fire dwarves were both warriors and skilled craftsmen. After this battle, his military strength had reached a new level—getting stronger with each fight. Yet when he tried to use the Dark Evil Resurrection spell, he discovered that these fire dwarves were nothing but shells, their souls having been silently stolen by the Evil Fire Sorcerer during their earlier conversation. What use was reviving a bunch of low-level undead? It wasn’t like they were going to slaughter civilians—creating zombies was simply blocking their own path.

Eirith cursed the Evil Fire Sorcerer countless times, then sat atop the pile of corpses in confusion—Nio was nowhere to be found, his hands clenched tightly, and he didn’t know what to do next.
“Lord, perhaps we should change our approach,” William said cautiously, observing Eirith’s changing expression.
“How so?”
“There must be more than one way to satisfy Lord Fad…”
“You’re right,” Eirith nodded. “But I won’t give up just like that!” He selected four of the strongest Venom Orcs as porters and used dark magic to transform the remaining 30+ Venom Orcs into vengeful spirits. These energy entities could survive for 72 hours before completely dissipating or being destroyed. They had no combat ability but were tireless, moved quickly, were not restricted by terrain, and were hard to detect. They were the searchers Eirith sent out out of desperation—just as trying to find a needle in a haystack, but still worth trying.
Afterward, Eirith chose a route and set off on his journey back to camp. He knew there were many fierce and terrifying creatures in the Dark Regions, and returning to the surface via the original path might seem clumsy, but it could actually be the most convenient route. Yet William was right—he needed to plan ahead. If he couldn’t capture Nio, how could he calm Fad’s anger? A magic wooden flute plus gemstone ore—Eirith believed these would suffice, but he was reluctant to part with them, as he might need them all, especially the magic wooden flute. With it, surpassing Fad seemed only a matter of time. Medusa’s Magic Fir Bow was also a valuable treasure, but just one bow wasn’t enough. Eirith thought he needed to find more! After all, with Destruction Simon as his primary guardian, he could at least escape unscathed. As for the others, they could be sacrificed when necessary…
Meanwhile, Nio was also preparing to leave. By reviving the Rainbow Forest for the Boiling Water Elements, he not only gained long-term benefits like improved treatment for his family but also substantial immediate advantages. He would likely laugh himself to sleep in the days to come. Fire crystals were needless to say—with their powerful burning piles, fire crystals became a backup energy source for the Boiling Water Elements. Nio not only built a Fire Element Monument but also reached the 4th layer in one go. If he could push the Water Element Monument to the 4th layer as well, building the Wind Element Monument would become easier. Water and fire balanced each other, while wind and earth complemented one another—this was the wonderful interplay of the four elements.
The Crystal Rainbow gifted Nio a small crystal core. Now, he had gathered all three core forces: water and earth (crystals), water and fire (given by the Boiling Water Elements), and water and wind (Ice Spirits). As a result, water-based powers became dominant, rising to become the most powerful elemental force, giving rise to the strongest water-type ability: Water Lightning, or lightning balls.
The treasures possessed by the Boiling Water Elements were all natural treasures related to their environment, with fire crystals and earth crystals being the most abundant. Nio took some of them. Before reaching the 5th layer monument, it was most cost-effective to use pure elemental core forces to advance, so Nio naturally took the opportunity to stock up while conditions allowed.

Next were the totem materials that Neio had originally sought when descending into the Chasm Abyss—materials for wind and water totems. Instead of choosing the best ones, Neio picked those that suited him best: Hollow Wood and Soft Wood. In terms of special powers, Neio’s greatest reliance was the Building Tree, so plant-based materials were clearly more suitable for him—they were not easily damaged, could be repaired easily, and even if completely destroyed, he could regenerate them by saving seeds.

The third type of loot was crystals and gems. While these items were far less useful for shamans compared to mages or sorcerers, even a small piece was extremely valuable. Naturally, Neio wanted to take some with him. With just a few pieces, the financial difficulties of Thures and Mathuya, as well as the costs of rebuilding their homes, could be addressed. Additionally, he thought of Melian, Liz, and Valentina—he had made a fortune down there, so it only made sense to bring back some small gifts. After all, it was just a small bag about the thickness of an upper arm, not a burden at all.

The Boiling Water Elementals only knew about the passages within dozens of kilometers, information Neio had already obtained from their elder. After some thought, Neio decided to return the same way, but the Boiling Water Elementals insisted that one of their elders accompany him.

So Neio left Boiling Water Street under the escort of the elder. Along the way, they encountered three vengeful spirits one after another. Although all were detected and destroyed in time by the Boiling Water Elemental elder, the crucial information still fell into Erulus’s hands.

“Hmph, the rat can’t stand it any longer and wants to leave this place of trouble. Look at the route he’s taking—such a careless creature; it’s easy to guess his plans. Let’s go! To the Chasm Abyss, full speed ahead!”

Neio also passed by the battlefield where the Dark Claws and the Fire Dwarves had fought.

He was very interested in the various war machines created by the Fire Dwarves, while Nancy was more focused on the structure and working principles of the war puppets.

These war puppets, created by the Fire Dwarves, were low-level constructs that combined mechanics and magic. They had an artificial intelligence similar to that of dogs, were powered by fire elemental energy, stood 3.2 meters tall, and were designed to resemble an enlarged version of a dwarf—except without beards, with only eye holes as a face.

After observing and thinking for over 10 minutes, Nancy asked Neio, “Well? Are you interested in adding two temporary workers? With my intelligence and your hands-on skills, fixing them shouldn’t be a problem.”

Neio agreed. He was interested in the bronze firearms left behind by the Fire Dwarves. He had seen military gun teams before, with three rows of shooters, which left a deep impression on him. If he could bring back those firearms and make some modifications, he could arm a gun team of 60 people. It was quite attractive, indeed.

Five war puppets were used one after another, and in the end, two were repaired. It took Neo nearly an hour in total. During that time, Neo warned the Elder of the Boiling Water Elements, saying that seeing these war puppets gave him a vague idea of the Fire Sorcerer’s ambitions. The Fire Sorcerer’s goal was likely very clear: to conquer the Ash-Burning Tribe and gain access to a large number of craftsmen capable of creating war puppets. If he could take control of Boiling Water Street and Rainbow Forest, he would have enough high-quality materials to make key components for war puppets, such as power cores. It wouldn’t take long to build a powerful army of war puppets, accumulate raw power, and begin a campaign to dominate a region. Therefore, it was best for the Boiling Water Elements to secure the support of the Water Elements as soon as possible, so as to better ensure the long-term stability of Boiling Water Street.

The Elder of the Boiling Water Elements listened to Neo’s words, strengthened defensive measures upon returning, warned his people to reduce travel, and used Neo’s method of creating flame energy channels to dig a shaft-like water passage from bottom to top. This ability to apply knowledge flexibly was beyond Neo’s expectations.

After bidding farewell to the Elder of the Boiling Water Elements, about an hour after leaving the battlefield, Eirith rushed back with his subordinates. Upon seeing the situation at the battlefield, he became furious and kept regretting why he hadn’t destroyed those war puppets again. He had no expertise in golems or constructs, suffered heavy losses, and yet Neo took advantage of the situation—his anger was understandable.

Reciting spells and casting magic, evil beasts were revived. Eirith spared no effort to awaken a group of monsters from the bodies of fire dwarfs. These monsters resembled a mix of wild boars and lizards in appearance and behavior. They had low intelligence but good speed and endurance. In terms of overall combat strength, they weren’t much better than elite zombies. Eirith used them as hunting dogs to hold back, harass, and drive away enemies—having such fearless beasts at his disposal was highly beneficial when pursuing targets like Neo.

By now, Neo had already started climbing. Two war puppets led the way, while the Water Guards climbed up through the holes carved by the war puppets. At first, Neo was worried that the war puppets might not be good at climbing and fall, causing him to perish along with them. But thanks to Nancy’s modifications, although their intelligence hadn’t improved much, their movements had become much more precise—every action was flawless, almost a model of perfection—and they maintained a high standard throughout. Neo gradually relaxed, letting the Water Guards repeat their simple and monotonous tasks while taking another short nap.

Building the Fire Element Monument had consumed a lot of mental energy, and considering the time, he hadn’t had proper rest for 19 hours straight—he was already extremely tired.

In terms of endurance alone, Neo had no advantage over the Dark Claws. Climbing wasn’t like sprinting through the jungle, which required many techniques and skills. Especially since both sides had “pathbreakers,” there was no room for clever tactics—this was a straightforward competition of speed and stamina.

“Chase after them, Medusa! You lead the pursuit! Be careful not to kill them!”

Medusa used her magical wooden flute to gain three servant spirits—water, stone, and wood—which granted her strange abilities, such as scaling cliffs at 90° angles or even steeper. Her movement was much faster than mere climbing. The evil beasts were also skilled climbers; they could slither swiftly like geckos and even launch sudden charges every 2 or 3 minutes, making them ideal as vanguards for Medusa. Thus, a chase atop the cliff ensued quickly.

After about two hours, Medusa and her companions caught up and gradually approached Neo. Neo freed one of his hands, extended the body of a water guardian, and grabbed a bronze firearm to defend himself. The powerful crystals in the bullets struck two of the evil beasts, sending them flying. The height from the bottom of the chasm exceeded 7,000 meters—enough to shatter even rocks, let alone flesh. Though her power had dropped by two levels, the corrupted Medusa still possessed a level 6 strength. Eirwen forbade her from using the petrifying gaze, but her arrows remained a serious threat. With her mighty bow and combat arrows, along with the protection of the heavy water shield, Neo’s defenses were insufficient, and evasion was nearly impossible. Desperate, he took out a brass combat skirt obtained from the fire dwarves from his backpack and folded it into a shield. Even so, he needed to channel combat energy to withstand Medusa’s sharp arrows. After a few shots, half of his combat energy was depleted, putting him in a very precarious position.

Under Medusa’s command, the evil beasts flanked from both sides and attacked the war puppets leading the way. One might not succeed, but with several attacking in turn, they could knock the war puppets off the cliff. To be safe, Neo had to free one of the war puppets’ hands for combat. Even then, it could only barely hold off the attacks, greatly slowing down their progress. Medusa moved swiftly along the cliff, protected by her combat energy, leaving Neo no chance of quickly eliminating this greatest threat. He could only focus on the evil beasts. By giving orders to the war puppets, Neo seized opportunities to use tricks, such as “turn left in 5 seconds, hang suspended!” The war puppet dodged to the side, causing Neo’s firearm to reflect the shot. The evil beasts, previously blocked by the puppet’s body, were now hit by the bullets. With a well-placed shot, one could take out one of them.

Of course, Medusa’s dark minions didn’t spare Neo either. She would never miss an opportunity to attack when he was vulnerable. Neo could only respond using his imperfect tentacle-like senses to dodge arrows, which carried great risks. After several attempts, Medusa successfully hit him in the right shoulder, causing him to drop his firearm. Despite the healing touch, it severely weakened his combat strength in the short term.

“Gah!” Delighted by the sensation of Neo’s blood dripping onto her body and face, Medusa let out a shrill, excited laugh. The evil beasts around her also grew restless; several of them took the opportunity to charge at the war puppets with their charging skills. The sounds of collisions echoed continuously, and after hitting their targets, they could flip backward and firmly cling to the cliffs, as if performing acrobatics. If not for Neo’s quick reflexes and Thetis’s help, one of the war puppets would surely have crashed to its doom.

“Dig!”
At Neo’s command, the two war puppets began to vigorously chisel at the cliffs. Rocks fell, and holes were dug. There were frequent dangers along the way, but they eventually managed to get through safely. In the process, Neo’s upper arm was scratched by Medusa’s arrows, causing blood to flow freely.

Seeing Neo in such a dire situation, Medusa redoubled her efforts. Her arrow quiver and arrows were also extremely special—through her unique abilities, thorny arrows could be generated endlessly. This idea came from the Thorned Heather, whose skills included throwing thorns, rapidly forming thorny spikes on its hind legs before breaking them off and throwing them.

Relying on her high mobility, Medusa kept launching remote attacks to drain Neo’s strength. Meanwhile, bold evil beasts would occasionally launch surprise attacks on him or suddenly perform acrobatic flips to cancel their charges, drawing attention and covering up attacks by other beasts. This series of feints and real attacks left Neo exhausted and constantly in peril.

Bang!
His battle skirt was knocked away by an evil beast due to a failed grip. Although Neo took the chance to sever one of the beast’s legs, killing it and sacrificing the battle skirt, his situation became even more dangerous and passive—undoubtedly so.

Medusa and the remaining 20+ evil beasts became even more aggressive. Soon, two of them managed to land solid blows on Neo with their claws. Even with Thetis’s protection, several deep wounds appeared on his body.

However, Neo defended himself fiercely against Medusa’s arrows. Wielding his left-hand sword, he created a flurry of slashes, preventing Medusa from scoring even a single hit in 13 attempts.

“Ah!” Medusa growled viciously and closed the distance between them, reducing Neo’s time to react further. 10 meters closer—still not enough. Another 10 meters—still not enough. 30 meters! By now, Medusa was less than 30 meters away from Neo. Finally, Neo could no longer hold back. An arrow hit his left chest, and another hit his left arm. His blue steel sword spun, reflecting the magical light trails left by Medusa’s arrows as it plummeted toward the abyss.

At that moment, Medusa was overjoyed. In her eyes, Neo’s defensive capabilities had been completely shattered; he was now a completely defenseless lamb ready to be slaughtered.

Yet, a sudden gust of wind blew. By the time Medusa realized something was wrong, Neo was already less than 2 meters away. There was no time to dodge.

Losing his battle skirt was meant to distract the enemy, the wounds on his body were also meant to distract them, and the loss of his blue steel sword held deeper meaning. Medusa’s single eye was drawn to the sword’s perfect landing spot, preventing her from seeing that at the moment the sword fell, Neo had quickly separated from Thetis and shot downward like an arrow, aiming straight at Medusa. If he succeeded in hitting her, it was over; if not, death was certain.

Medusa truly was a battle-hardened warrior; even in critical moments, she remained calm and composed. With four arms, she used one pair to hold a bow and arrows, while the other pair seized the perfect moment to deftly block Neos’ thrust from his right hand wielding a flying knife. The immense force of the impact caused Neos and Medusa’s upper bodies to plummet downward. Out of instinct to survive, Medusa’s snake body instantly covered its scales like thorns, sticking tightly to the cliff face. Even Medusa, who had previously avoided using the forbidden petrifying gaze, ignored that rule now, her single eye flashing with light. Unaware of this, Neos had remained with his eyes closed from the moment of the impact. Touch-sensitive perception became his only “eyes,” and his true killing move wasn’t in his right hand but in his mouth. With the flying knife still in his mouth, at the moment of collision as they fell together, he sharply twisted his neck to deliver the most difficult slash at Medusa’s neck. Medusa’s neck was cut in half, and dark red blood gushed forth. She tried to cover it with her hands, but to no avail. With a hiss, the flaming flying knife, imbued with combat energy, pierced into the cliff face, leaving a several-meter-long deep groove before finally stopping. Neos’s teeth were bleeding, yet he managed to suspend himself on the cliff face using his injured left arm. Above him, Medusa, deprived of strength, crashed downward. Yet, her survival instinct drove her to grasp anything she could at that critical moment, so half of her snake body wrapped around Neos’s body. “Ah…” Neos let out a pained scream, his face contorted in agony. Just in time, his werewolf transformation had begun, and he had already used Life Wave and Life Touch. Even so, with an injured arm, his own weight, and the additional burden, Neos felt as though his body might be torn apart. With a grating sound, Medusa’s snake body tightened its grip even more, showing signs of wrapping around him in reverse. It turned out that corrupted creatures also had extremely high self-healing abilities. In just a short time, the wound on Medusa’s neck began to heal, and the blood flow lessened significantly. “Even if… we go to hell… we’ll go together…” Medusa’s vocal cords were damaged, but Neos still heard her magnificent “speech.” “No! You won’t get that chance!” Now fully transformed into a wolf, Neos swung his sharp right claw, glowing with dark combat energy, and plunged it deep into Medusa’s snake body, absorbing life force. “Ah…” Medusa let out a cry that blended pain and ecstasy. “Petrify… gaze!” With her last petrifying gaze—the most powerful one—Medusa cast it upon herself. A grayish-white color rapidly spread across her body and, like an infection, spread toward Neos. Instantly, Neos was enveloped in a layer of white mist. Letting go with his left hand, Neos and Medusa tumbled further into the abyss. With a bang, the petrified shell shattered, and Neos’s right claw dug deep into the cliff face, causing more rocks to explode and sparks to fly. His body hovered again. In that moment, Neos saw Medusa’s peaceful, now-stone face pass by before his eyes, heading straight into endless darkness. With plops, Neos caught the quiver and the Magic Fir bow with his hands.