The three mages scrambled back, with Du'an lazier than them. He was almost covered in splashing lava, but thankfully his magical shield protected him. Otherwise, his beautiful purple robes would have been burned with several large holes.
The mages retreated, Unas led his men to the front. The Flamewaker, now several inches away, was much larger than the previous one. After leaping up, it didn't rush to attack but stood still, swinging its heavy trident, which made a whistling sound as it scraped against the air. Its muscular, thick arms were on full display, seemingly in a show of defiance.
This pointless action is baffling. Unas couldn't possibly be intimidated by its circus performance; perhaps it's just stalling for time?
Just as they were about to launch an attack, the Flamewaker looked up at the sky and then roared in human language, "Ignorant mortals, hand over the Fire Source Stone, or the wrath of the Firelord will reduce you to ashes!"
The Fire Source Stone it mentioned must be referring to the Crimson Diamond, but this meaningless threat was even less effective, and its purpose of stalling for time was becoming increasingly obvious. Unas didn't waste words on it and charged forward with his Firekiss raised.
With a clang, the sword and halberd clashed violently. The Flamewaker twisted its body slightly and remained motionless in place, while Unas was knocked back several steps. The strength of the two was almost equal, with the Flamewaker only having the advantage of weight.
Unas gripped his sword tightly, secretly alarmed. His current strength was 120, and with the bonuses from the Blessing of Might and the Blessing of Kings, it reached 144. Even the strongest Ogre in the stronghold couldn't match him.
The Flamewaker twisted its body in place, seemingly surprised by the strength of the humans before it. At that moment, the ranged attacks from the others in the cave finally arrived, with bullets, arrows, and darts swarming towards it.
The Flamewaker roared and spun its trident rapidly, as if a propeller was blocking its way. Almost all ranged weapons were knocked away. One of the Dwarf's bullets slipped through the net, but it couldn't penetrate the Flamewaker's thick chest armor, only causing it to cry out in pain.
The mages didn't make a move because the Flamewaker had extremely high fire resistance; Fireballs were like tickling it. Du'an and Huoye's spell attacks were mostly wasted, and Angela was still in a weakened state after her ultimate attack, so they couldn't count on her for the time being.
It still came down to the most primal, head-on clash. Unas put away his Firekiss, took out two Silver Hammers, and stepped forward again to fight the Flamewaker. The Dwarf brothers and four young men also rushed up to help.
The Flamewaker fought seven opponents against one, yet it held its own. In fact, it completely ignored the attacks of the four young men, thus suffering many superficial wounds. However, as long as it could defend against the heavy hammers of those who could truly harm it— Unas and the Dwarf brothers—it could even find an opportunity to counterattack. Being struck by the heavy trident was no joke.
But this situation began to reverse with the arrival of the two female Elves. Both Nightmoon and Perella were confident that their silver darts and arrows would not accidentally injure their comrades in the melee, and they specifically targeted the Flamewaker's eyes, ears, and thinly scaled neck.
Seizing fleeting opportunities in the midst of a chaotic battle is no easy feat; only Elves possess such superb skills. The Flamewaker was increasingly irritated by the constant harassment. A Silver Marker pierced its left ear, the greatest injury it had suffered so far. Although its neck wasn't pierced, it was already bleeding profusely, severely impacting its ability to fight head-on. Unas seized the opportunity and brutally broke several of its ribs.
The injury was compounded, and the fire demon only grew weaker. Defeat was inevitable if things continued this way. Instead, it aroused the Flamewaker's bestial nature. With a roar, it completely abandoned its defense and focused its trident on Unas, frantically thrusting it, seemingly determined to take this human who appeared to be its leader with it.
Unas, having just finished a few powerful blows, was caught off guard and struck twice in the chest and shoulder by the halberd. His shoulder armor was shattered, and he heard the sound of bones cracking. His entire right side felt numb, as if it had ceased to exist. His right hand involuntarily loosened, and the Silver Hammer slipped to the ground. Hot blood surged from his throat, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The Flamewaker also paid a heavy price. The Dwarf brothers' continuous hammer blows almost shattered its waist bones, one eye was blinded by Perella's arrow, and the joints of its arm were almost severed, but it still did not fall. Instead, it mustered its last strength and pounced on Unas on the ground.
Ashina standing beside Unas. He suddenly stepped in front of the Warden and thrust his sword at the enemy's forehead. The Flamewaker tilted his head and used the curved horn on his head to block the sword, while simultaneously sweeping out his trident.
With a thud, Ashina's head was struck directly, and his entire body fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string. Blood seeped from his helmet like a fountain, and he lay motionless, his fate unknown.
A piercing scream came from behind. Perella frantically tried to rush over to check on him, but was held down tightly by Nightmoon.
The Flamewaker, blocked by this obstacle, could no longer advance. As if it had exhausted its strength, it barely managed to swing its weapon a few times before turning around and fleeing towards the lava pool.
The Dwarf brothers immediately dropped their Warhammers and pounced on it, grabbing its long tail. The others followed, and six or seven weapons hurled at the Flamewaker's back, adding several more wounds to it.
The Flamewaker, disregarding everything, only wanted to escape, but it couldn't move forward even with all its might. The strength of the Dwarf brothers was beyond its current ability to break free. It turned around, raised its trident, and prepared to deliver the final blow to the two dwarfs who were grabbing its tail.
Suddenly, the lava pool began to tremble, and fiery red lava splashed everywhere. A red shadow flashed before everyone's eyes, and another Flamewaker leaped out of it. This Flamewaker was much smaller than the previous two, and an oval shield emitting red light enveloped its entire body. It held a thing that looked like a staff in its hand.
Upon seeing the miserable state of its kind, it immediately raised its staff and emitted a red light that connected with the besieged Flamewaker. This seemed to be some kind of healing or inspirational spell. The enemy, who was originally at its last gasp, was suddenly energized and seemed to regain its strength in an instant. It swept its trident wildly, not only forcing away the attackers, but also forcing the Dwarf brothers to let go and dodge, watching helplessly as it swung its tail and fled to its kin.
After the two Flamewaker met up, they chattered away for a while, then jumped back into the lava pool one after the other, which relieved everyone present.
Unas got up from the ground. Since he fell, the two Priests behind him had been casting healing spells non-stop. The injury to his right shoulder would be very serious for an ordinary person, but his constitution was as high as 123 (+24), and his body's toughness and self-healing ability were extremely strong. After treatment, his condition had stabilized. However, the broken bone would not heal so easily, and his right hand was temporarily completely unable to exert any force.