Molten Fire and Thunder

God! God! God!

Brax fled in a sorry state, pursued by hundreds of bear-men.

But at this moment, he had only one obsession: to find Ornn, God of the Forge, because only he could fight against Volibear, Lord of Storms, and save Yuri.

He ran with all his might to the edge of the cave entrance, looked at the dark, unfathomably deep cave before him, glanced at the pursuers who were about to catch up, and finally looked at Yuri, who was locked in a fierce battle.

"So be it..."

Brax gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and leaped off.

The bear-men chasing behind them braked abruptly when their target disappeared. They dared not pursue them into the area, for it contained beings even the Stormbringer feared.

The wind howled as we plummeted, and golden light shone from a distance.

Brax felt a glimmer of hope, not even having time to consider why he hadn't been injured after landing.

They went straight to the source of the light.

"God... God, great Ornn, God of the Forge, please save my friend," Brax pleaded, panting as he approached Ornn.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Ornn ignored Brax beside him and continued forging the weapon he had promised Yuri.

He has spent the last five days working on this Impact Steel, which is indeed a top-tier material.

Even he, known as the God of the Forge, is only now almost finished.

As for Yuri's life or death... that's none of his business.

He was just a blacksmith, only responsible for forging things he had promised.

Seeing that the god still did not respond, Brax disregarded all etiquette and pleaded anxiously again, "Great Ornn, God of the Forge, please save my friend."

"..."

Ornn still did not respond.

Brax was so anxious he was on the verge of tears. He repeated his words over and over again, but the only sound that echoed in the space was the crisp clanging of metal.

"God, please..." Brax pleaded again, tears streaming from his eyes, and knelt down directly before Ornn.

The clanging of metal suddenly stopped. Ornn glanced at him and said sternly, "Stand up."

Brax had never imagined that he would one day defy the will of the God of the Forge. He remained kneeling on the ground, pleading, "Please, save him."

Ornn fell silent for a moment...

Because the child knelt down not out of fear, nor out of a sense of power.

He just wanted to save that friend he'd known for less than a week.

Friend...

What unfamiliar words.

For two hundred years, he had become completely accustomed to loneliness and had always believed that he did not need friends.

But now, for some reason, I'm inexplicably moved.

"I can't save him." Ornn shook his head again.

"Why?!"

Brax shouted in bewilderment, almost questioning, "Only you can stand against the Stormbringer, why won't you save him?!"

Ornn didn't reply, and continued to shake his head.

Brax was utterly disappointed; he knew that he alone could not change God's decision...

The tears evaporated from the intense heat of the rising lava, Brax slowly stood up from the ground.

"If they stay here, they won't dare come in," Ornn said, anticipating Brax's thoughts.

Brax kept his head down and didn't reply, slowly pulling a horn from his clothes.

This was something he once treasured, something he valued more than his own life.

But at this moment, Brax placed it in front of Ornn, as if to discard it.

"I'm sorry, God, perhaps I'm no longer worthy to be your follower," Brax said, and walked alone into the dark cave behind him.

"What could you possibly do there? With your abilities, you'd only be a hindrance to that kid."

Perhaps in an attempt to persuade Brax to change his mind, Ornn's voice came from behind, revealing the harsh truth.

Surprisingly, these words not only failed to influence Brax, but instead made him even more determined.

A golden-red light gradually began to emanate from his body, as if it were a projection of magma.

Without turning his head, Brax said, "I know, but I don't want to be trapped in the furnace anymore."

This moment is just like that moment back then.

This enormous lava cavern is like the furnace that trapped him three years ago, with the underground magma being the unlit fire of that time.

It was constantly scorching his heart.

Brax couldn't bear to watch his friends die before his eyes any longer, so even knowing it was suicide was better than doing nothing.

Watching Brax's retreating figure, Ornn remained silent in place.

After a long silence, he finally shook his head and sighed, "Fine, you win..."

Having said that, he picked up the horn that Brax had discarded to the side...

"Yuri, Godspeed Mode isn't enough to fight that guy. We need to think of something else." Griffon's voice echoed in Yuri's mind.

"I know..."

Yuri breathed a sigh of relief; his body was covered in wounds of all sizes, and his trench coat was tattered from the electric shocks.

Meanwhile, Volibear on the opposite side was still in good condition and didn't look like he had just gone through a major battle.

He sneered with the air of a victor, "What's wrong? Is this all there is to mortals?"

"Hmph!" Yuri snorted coldly, dispelling the purple lightning around him. "I said we'd eat bear paws tonight, and that means we're having it!"

Having said that, he suddenly clenched his fist and slammed the Devil Bringer into his left palm.

The next moment, a blindingly bright azure light appeared between his palms and fists, and a terrifying sense of oppression suddenly descended upon the summit of Hearthhome.

All the bear-men present wanted to kneel down, and even Volibear felt a tremendous threat.

But just as Yuri was about to draw Yamato, a rousing horn sound suddenly came from underground.

Before he had fully exited the cave, Brax turned back and saw a molten lava goat with enormous horns leaping out of the lava and charging towards Ornn as Ornn blew his horn.

Ornn himself turned red in the horns and gradually became white-hot.

He first gently tossed three unknown orbs of light over, which merged into the Molten Goat's body. Then, he suddenly rammed the Molten Goat with his horn, sending it hurtling into the sky.

With its enormous horns, the Molten Goat smashed through layers of restraining cages and soared into the sky amidst the awe of the crowd atop the mountain.

"Ornn! I will never lose to you again!!"

Upon seeing this, Volibear's eyes turned red with envy. He disregarded Yuri in front of him and roared as he leaped into the air.

The gale and cumulus clouds propelled him forward, and Volibear's figure appeared ten times larger in an instant.

Its 100-meter-tall form dominated half the sky, charging towards the molten goat with rolling thunder.

The Molten Goat also grew rapidly in the wind, becoming increasingly enormous, until it was large enough to rival Volibear.

"Boom--!"

The goat, imbued with the power of molten lava, and the giant bear, wielding the power of thunder, clashed violently, unleashing a devastating magical impact.