The Stone Cocoon expands and contracts, as if breathing, and releases light and heat from its surface patterns that are difficult for others to bear.
Huoye was engulfed in flames, but fortunately he had prepared beforehand, and even his hair and clothes were unharmed, so his body was not burned.
But his face was flushed, veins bulged on his forehead, and it looked as if tiny insects were crawling under his skin, making him look quite terrifying. This was probably Bael'Gar's bodily fluids tormenting him.
Angela slowly released freezing air into Huoye, not daring to be too forceful. Her freezing air had previously caused Rendaen was in high temperature, to crack and almost die, which had already taught her a lesson. If Huoye were to suffer the same fate again, Unas would not be able to save him.
But she didn't need to worry about the Lava Monster. She attacked the Stone Cocoon with her maximum ice rays, creating a balance with the heat emitted by the monster. Ice and fire consumed each other, and neither could do anything to the other for the time being.
"Ready, Unas," Darian held up his Libram, "I'm about to begin the spell."
The two sat side by side behind Huoye. Two golden beams of light shot out from Darian, connecting with the Blood Elf and the Warden respectively. They then extended from the latter two, connecting the two as well, forming a triangle of golden light.
Unas immediately felt as if a heavy shackle was tightly binding him, and a constant pressure and pain came from Huoye, Darian also felt.
The damage is split 50% between the two, with each person bearing only 25% of the actual damage, but the mental pressure is shared by all three. The Blood Elf's expression quickly softened, indicating mental relaxation.
Knowing that his comrades were supporting him, Huoye had no more worries and focused all his attention on the incantation.
The process of casting this ancient spell was like weaving a net. The original target was Bael'Gar's soul, but when he used bodily fluids as a medium to peer into the other's spiritual world, he discovered that things were far more complicated than that.
The inner world of the Molten Core Monster is very "lively," containing nearly a hundred different consciousnesses. The most powerful one is naturally Bael'Gar himself, represented by a large ball of purple flame. Three smaller flames of different colors are attacking him together, while most of the others are scattered and insignificant, wandering around aimlessly.
This scene is reminiscent of the creatures previously devoured by the Molten Core Monster — Geddon, the Flamewaker Ambassador, and Thaurissan, as well as numerous Fire Dwarves.
That most vibrant red flame was almost a miniature replica of Geddon; it must have been his soul consciousness. At the time, the fire giant was practically swallowed whole, so Geddon's soul was preserved the best, making him the strongest in combat at that moment.
The white one should be the Flamewaker Ambassador. The souls of flesh-and-blood creatures are usually this color. When he was smashed away by the Storm Bolt and was devoured, he was already in a dying state, but his soul had not yet dissipated.
The black one is Thaurissan. The Dark Iron King died on the spot, and most of his soul dissipated. What remains here is just a collection of his lingering thoughts, the weakest of the three flames.
The scattered dots around them were naturally the many Fire Dwarves that had been devoured.
The resistance from these soul forces was already enough to give Bael'Gar a hard time. Add to that Thaurissan's "divine body" and so many different sources of energy, and he simply couldn't digest so much in a short time. That's why he had no choice but to transform into Stone Cocoon.
This is the bitter fruit of his excessive thirst and hasty approach, but it is also a gamble. If he succeeds, he can complete the first and most difficult step of evolution in one fell swoop, laying a solid foundation for returning to his peak strength. If he fails, he can simply start over.
Given enough time, he could very well succeed, but would Huoye give him that time? The answer is, of course, no.
The giant web of spells woven by the Blood Elf mage had covered the entire body of the Molten Core Monster. Countless strange magical runes appeared on the surface of the Stone Cocoon. The glowing runes were connected together, like chains binding the Stone Cocoon.
The runes' tentacles simultaneously reached into the opponent's mental world, and the dazed Fire Dwarves were immediately bound by the runes and brought under Huoye's control.
He temporarily refrained from attacking the three spiritual flames, instead gathering the Fire Dwarf's soul together to besiege Bael'Gar.
The scattered points of light coalesced, and suddenly the purple fireball had one more enemy. It also had to contend with the constantly harassing and entangled spell chains. Bael'Gar was overwhelmed and was immediately bitten several times.
But retribution followed immediately. Huoye threw his head back and screamed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Unas and Darian also suddenly felt a tearing pain in their bodies, and all three suffered internal injuries at the same time.
Bael'Gar's bodily fluids suddenly became scalding hot and condensed into several sharp spikes that darted around inside Huoye's body. The Blood Elf screamed incessantly, blood seeping from its nostrils, eyes, and ears.
The two who shared the damage were also in bad shape; this was the most dangerous moment. Unas immediately activated his Invincible, and a silver shield appeared in front of him, absorbing all the transmitted damage.
The other two weren't having it so easy. Darian gritted his teeth, remaining silent, as blood slowly seeped from between his teeth. Natasha frantically cast healing spells on them, greatly mitigating the damage they had suffered.
At this moment, Huoye suddenly stood up and almost screamed out several incantations. The flames on his body suddenly trembled, and his body began to become ethereal, merging into the flames.
Now, he is the flame, and the flame is him; in this form, bodily fluids minimize the harm to him.
This is the ultimate application of fire magic. Huoye could only be maintained for a brief moment, but now it was a moment of desperate struggle. He couldn't care less about the backlash he would suffer afterward and immediately launched a counterattack.
Unas and Darian's minds were simultaneously pulled apart. Just as they were about to resist, Huoye's voice rang out. "Don't resist, come with me."
Both chose to trust the Blood Elf, allowing the other to pull their consciousness into a fiery red world.
Unas was no stranger to the environment before him; he had previously invaded the Undead Mage's mental world.
"Attack that purple flame together; it's the core of the Molten Core Monster's soul."
Huoye's voice came from beside him. He was a red Fire Elemental, much like Geddon's soul fire, while Darian was a semi-transparent humanoid soul, like Unas.
The purple fireball was already on the verge of collapse under the siege; runic chains had entangled its tail, making it an inescapable nightmare. The arrival of the three immediately turned the tide of the battle.
This pure clash of souls was the most brutal. The purple fireball shrank continuously as Darian and Unas gradually became familiar with the attack methods of mind, carefully protecting themselves while inflicting maximum damage on the enemy.
The spell chains finally completely covered the purple fireball. No matter how much Bael'Gar struggled, it was useless. Faced with overwhelming power, he had no chance of turning the tide.
Huoye finally gained complete control of the monster, and the bodily fluids immediately stopped attacking it. But the battle was not over yet. The three of them immediately turned around and, together with the newly controlled Bael'Gar, attacked their former comrade.
Picking the softest persimmons and following the order of Thaurissan's remnant soul, the Flamewaker, and Geddon, the enemies were bound one by one by the spell chains, and Huoye unified the entire mental space.
With the objective accomplished, the Blood Elf let out a loud shout, and the surrounding scenery changed, returning the three to reality.
Huoye's body returned to normal, and the flames on his body were extinguished. The three of them looked at each other, gave each other a thumbs up, and the people around them immediately knew that they had succeeded. Applause and cheers immediately rang out.
"What? You really got this big guy under control?" Erigor exclaimed incredulously.
Darian and Huoye were both too exhausted to speak. Unas, who had been protected by Invincible for a while, was the most relaxed. He got up from the ground and said, "How could it be fake? This big guy can evolve. It's a divine pet. Huoye, congratulations."
The Blood Elf collapsed to the ground. Although he didn't know the meaning of "divine pet," he understood it was a compliment. He nodded and said, "Thank you all for your great help."
"Don't be so formal, we're all brothers," Erigor said, eager for a good show. "Hurry up and wake this big guy up so we can see what it's like."
Huoye shook his head. "He hasn't finished fusing yet; he won't wake up for a while longer."
Under his command, the four consciousnesses in the spiritual world were rapidly merging, with Bael'Gar still in the lead, after all, he was the master of this body, and having him as the master would preserve the greatest fighting power.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't excited to have acquired such a powerful battle servant. Huoye felt that his severe injuries had lessened considerably. He stood up, walked forward, and stroked the Stone Cocoon, feeling its hot and sturdy body.
As its master, he could sense the condition of Bael'Gar's entire body simply by touching him. The core of the Molten Core Monster and the corpse of Thaurissan were violently merging, and a black object stuck in the Stone Cocoon caught his attention.
He directly asked the several merging consciousnesses in his mind and immediately received the answer: the black square object was the terminal controller of the Iron Golem.
It turns out that when Bael'Gar swept up Thaurissan's corpse, he also fused the controller that had fallen to the ground into his body. He had planned this all along. After devouring Thaurissan's remnant soul, he might be able to become the new master of the puppets by combining it with the controller.
Huoye couldn't help but admire his shrewdness, but now, everything Bael'Gar had done had benefited someone else.
Pulling a few core members aside, Huoye shared the good news, immediately reigniting everyone's excitement.
Everyone has witnessed the power of the Iron Golems. Although only seventy or eighty intact ones remain in the hall, they still represent a considerable force.
"If it really works, that would be fantastic! With these samples, we might even be able to reverse engineer the blueprints and build new ones ourselves!" Erigor exclaimed excitedly.
"That's wishful thinking," Unas bluntly poured cold water on his idea. "Let's not even talk about how difficult it is to reverse engineer the blueprints. Even if we had the blueprints, how many could we build? The King of Thaurissan has only accumulated three hundred units over the years. We have neither technical personnel nor money. How are we supposed to build them?"
"We can find technicians, and as for money... don't you have money?"
"The little money I stole is utterly useless. Two million yuan could last a generation for several generations, but if it's used to build these high-level puppets, it'll be gone in the blink of an eye..."
"You robbed over two million!?"
The group stared at him, dumbfounded. They only knew that Unas had robbed a lot of money, but no one had a precise figure, since a certain amount of money was simply uncountable.
Damn it, I accidentally let it slip and revealed my total assets. Luckily, everyone here is on my side.
"I suddenly feel so poor," Erigor said, feigning a pitiful look. "The Brotherhood of the Light needs to collect membership fees. Could you, my wealthy brother, spare a little something?"
"Recent magical research is also lacking funding," Angela said thoughtfully. "I wonder where we can get sponsorship."
Natasha even joked, "I really want to marry you, sir. Even if we divorce, I could get a lot of money."
Having just solved a major problem, everyone was in a relaxed mood and started teasing him. Unas could only smile wryly and explain, "I'm just temporarily holding onto the two million. This money is everyone's spoils, and I'll spend it on everyone."
Nightmoon snorted coldly, "Money is only needed when you have enough; having too much is useless."
The conscientious Huoye chimed in, "Let's not veer off-topic. Let's get back to business. Even if Bael'Gar can control the puppets, do you think the Dark Iron Dwarves will allow us to take these precious weapons of war? I think it's highly unlikely."
Unas quickly replied, "A puppet that can't be activated is just scrap metal to them. Besides, Rendaen owes me a life. As long as I explain the situation to them, I think it'll be fine."
I hope so.
Erigor said, "After all this talk, it's still uncertain whether this monster can control the puppet. Let's quickly find a way to wake him up first."
That makes sense. Unas took out the Crimson Diamond. "Let's use the energy here to infuse him; it'll speed up his evolution."
The energy within the Crimson Diamond is the purest and most perfect, making it the ultimate delicacy for the Molten Core Monster. This is why it's fixated on Huoye.
The abundant energy infusion allowed Bael'Gar to abandon the chaotic energy that he had indiscriminately devoured and enjoy top-level energy support. After digesting the other souls, he quickly completed the body fusion and began to evolve into a Molten Giant.
The Stone Cocoon trembled violently, and the obsidian was stretched and deformed on its surface, as if an invisible hand was kneading dough. It quickly transformed into a tall stone giant radiating red light.
Huoye's first instruction to him was to control the Iron Golems. Bael'Gar secretly activated the controller embedded in his chest, and with a "beep," the golems were indeed activated!
The remnant soul that had been devoured by Thaurissan actually came in handy, as the puppet commander obeyed orders without hesitation to reorganize the troops.
The puppets' unusual movements caused a stir among the prisoners, especially the puppet designers, who were extremely excited, thinking that Thaurissan had returned.
When he saw the puppet commander pledging allegiance to Bael'Gar, he realized that everything was over, and once again collapsed to the ground in despair.