Chapter 340: Hell of Flames

Wayne felt apprehension toward Bloody Hawk and discomfort being around these members of the Forbidden Prison who had lost their normal human emotions. After all, these people were once heretics who later converted to the Lord of Dawn, but they weren’t as devout as the ordinary believers. Each of them was a psychopath with cruel methods.
This made Wayne want to leave as soon as possible. After giving a few final instructions, he quickly left the hill under their gazes and headed east.
“The troublemaker’s gone. Let’s get started! Just to make it clear, that magic ship is already mine. Whoever dares to damage even a single plank will be sent to Prison Number 9 to spend time with those abyssal creatures!”
Hearing this, the other men in black trembled beneath their cloaks—Prison Number 9 was clearly no desirable place.
Although they were jailers responsible for guarding prisoners in the Forbidden Prison and capturing other heretics, they still didn’t want to come into close contact with the beings in that prison.
When the twelve men in black turned into black smoke and disappeared from their original positions, Donald, who was controlling summoned creatures to monitor from afar, was astonished.
“How do these people seem to use the power of the Dark Faction? Could our assumptions be wrong? Are they not sent by the Church of the Three Radiant Gods?”
No one present knew what was going on, except for the Grand Duke of Sirens, who said thoughtfully, “Dark power? It’s possible these people are also agents of the Church of the Three Radiant Gods!”
“What do you mean, Your Grace?” Adolf explained, “The Church of the Three Radiant Gods has a secret organization called the Forbidden Prison. Unlike the well-known Hand of Justice, this organization is even a taboo within their own church, rarely mentioned. Only the royal families of various nations and other godly churches know something about it. It is said that this organization gathers heretics from the dark and evil factions. After they switched their allegiance to the Lord of Dawn, they couldn’t get along with other believers, so they were placed in a separate department. Over time, the Forbidden Prison came into existence!”
Hearing the serious tone in the Grand Duke of Sirens’ voice, along with a hint of apprehension, Donald said, “I’m afraid this organization isn’t as honorable as the other ones under the surface of the Church of the Three Radiant Gods!”

“Not bad! It is said to be an organization dedicated to secretly arresting and dealing with those so-called heretics who hinder the growth of the Church of the Three Radiant Gods. Those of value are imprisoned in the Forbidden Prison, while those of no use are dealt with on the spot. Their methods are extremely cruel. Yet, the Church of the Three Radiant Gods has never acknowledged the existence of this organization, and neither the Godly Churches nor the various kingdoms can do anything about them!”
Chris, who had a relatively rigid personality, asked in confusion, “The Church of the Three Radiant Gods is always on the side of justice. They surely wouldn’t tolerate such an organization, right?”
Elder Mage Messeur shook his head. “There is no absolute light or darkness in this world. In the eyes of those fanatical religious followers, anyone who hinders the spread of the glory of the Great Three Radiant Gods is an evil heretic. Naturally, they won’t consider themselves at fault!”
Duke Siren continued, “It is rumored that the Forbidden Prison is dominated by the forces of the Lord of Dawn, unlike the Hand of Justice and the Council of Judgment, where followers of the God of Justice and the Approver hold dominance. Although other godly churches are dissatisfied, they cannot change the existence of this dark organization. If they truly use dark powers, it’s very likely they come from the Forbidden Prison. So we need to be even more careful—those guys are absolutely ruthless!”
As an ancient family descended from the Gardrel clan, the Kardoch family naturally didn’t have a good impression of the Church of the Three Radiant Gods. The news that the two major kingdoms of Gardrel and Polin intended to ally with other neutral nations to resist the expansion of the Church of the Three Radiant Gods had been circulating across the continent for hundreds of years. There’s always a reason behind rumors, and it’s clear Duke Siren knew some of the ins and outs.
Upon hearing such secrets, everyone present was shocked. The situation on the continent was indeed complex, far more intricate than just their own affairs in Celt!
Just then, Donald frowned and interrupted their thoughts. “Alright, our guests are almost here. Everyone, get ready. I wonder if they’ll be satisfied with our arrangements!”
Before his words faded, strange black smoke appeared not far from the camp, gathering into a figure in black robes. “You’re quite alert. Did you know we were coming? But how foolish! If you knew we were coming, why stay here to die? I don’t know whether to call you arrogant or ignorant…”
As he spoke, black smoke appeared in other directions around the camp, and eleven figures in black robes surrounded the people in the camp tightly.

To prevent the upcoming battle from affecting the construction of the mage tower, Donald and his group chose to camp on a high ground five miles away from the construction site. However, this made it easy for them to be surrounded by enemies. Yet none of them showed any fear, as if they weren’t surrounded by hostile foes but rather by prey who had come to their own deaths! “What, still not convinced? Do you think this tiny defensive spell can stop us? That’s rather naive…” “Runi, stop talking nonsense!” Before the man in black could finish speaking, he was interrupted by another hoarse voice. Yet the speaker was nowhere to be seen. If Donald hadn’t already known that twelve people were involved, he would have thought it was one of the eleven, as all of them covered their faces to hide their identities. But now he knew it must be that unseen figure. To Donald’s surprise, even his divine vision and the knowledge-granting powers of the Eye of the Demon Hunter failed to reveal where the person was hiding, indicating that their hiding method surpassed ordinary invisibility spells. This made him think more and become even more cautious. Due to this unexpected enemy in hiding, Donald gave subtle signals to his teachers and mages like Chris before the men in black attacked the camp’s defenses. Then, suddenly, he shouted, “Boom!” With several loud explosions, a light red liquid, slightly thicker than wine but thinner than jam, burst forth from the ground around the camp. The impact hit most of the eleven enemies, while the remaining few were only slightly affected. As they panicked, they realized these explosions weren’t harmful explosives but rather that liquid. When it touched them, it didn’t cause any corrosive or toxic effects, nor did it have any strange smell, leaving the men in black puzzled. But why would Donald and his group go to such unnecessary trouble? If it was a prank, it wouldn’t be directed at enemies who were ready to kill them. Just then, Kaelthas, who had remained motionless until now, suddenly surrounded himself with flames like a fire god, sending countless sparks spreading outside the camp.

Those seemingly harmless liquids would ignite like gasoline the moment touched by a spark. The speed at which the flames spread was such that even eleven highly skilled enemies couldn’t dodge in time. Only two of the enemies—golden-ranked warriors who had been exposed to less of the liquid—and one lucky silver-robed man managed to escape the threat by tearing off their cloaks and clothes promptly. The remaining eight men in black, with their clothes soaked in the liquid, couldn’t escape the instantly erupting flames even after stripping naked; they were all burned beyond recognition on the spot, turning the area outside the camp into a hell of flames.

This was the tactic Donald and his team had prepared in advance—a trap that was simple yet highly effective.

After all, they were the targets of these people, so they calculated that the invaders would surely approach the camp. By pretending to be weak first and using defensive magic arrays to block attacks, most of these enemies would gather at the edges of the arrays to surround them. Moreover, they didn’t choose magic traps that were powerful but also produced strong fluctuations, making them easy to detect.

Generally, unless an enemy’s actions were predicted in advance, such magic traps mainly served as early warnings and for protecting important locations. Using them for ambushes would easily alert the enemy’s spellcasters.

Thus, they simply used basic gas explosion traps controlled by the mages. Even if the enemy sensed the fluctuations from the traps, these low-level spells, not exceeding level three, wouldn’t raise suspicion among these enemies, most of whom were at the silver rank or above.

Furthermore, the several barrels of light red, flammable liquid buried in the traps had no magical fluctuations but were more flammable and durable than traditional fire glue, with greater destructive power. Once it touched skin, it would melt flesh and bones, and without a strong odor, it could confuse the enemies, delaying their reaction. At that moment, just a single spark could trigger a massive fire outbreak, not to mention when ignited simultaneously on a large scale by a blood mage skilled in controlling flames using sparks dispersed in the air.

This alchemical product was an accidental discovery by Jerm, a half-blood dark elf mage, during his experiments in the Darklands. Initially, it was used to assist in refining highly fire-resistant materials, with no intention of using it for other purposes. Later, after discovering its power, he began using small amounts in battles, where it proved quite effective. It became his unique alchemical secret, which he named “Blood of the Flame Demon.”

Legend has it that when the mighty Abyssal Flame Demon is wounded, the blood that flows from it burns with intense flames; just one drop can pierce gold and shatter stone, and even melt an entire cartload of iron ore. Though this description is somewhat exaggerated, it still suffices to demonstrate the Flame Demon’s prowess in the realm of fire. The fact that such an alchemical product can be named after the Flame Demon’s blood speaks to its immense power. If not for its low production rate—only about ten barrels can be accumulated in a few years—using it as a large-scale strategic weapon would be incredibly powerful, surpassing even crossbows and trebuchets in effectiveness! In Donald’s view, this pollution-free alchemical fuel, which decomposes into water and most of the components of air after burning, would be an ideal natural, eco-friendly alternative to petroleum energy if brought to Earth!