Chen Yi's Plan

Chen Yi spent an entire night digging out a huge hollow beneath the castle.

After restoring his Mana through meditation, he immediately began casting Flame Swords.

Three Flame Swords pierced the soil. As the resonance began, Fire Elemental Particles from almost everywhere were drawn in.

The temperature around the Flame Swords rapidly rose, and the soil turned into magma.

Chen Yi's goal was simple: he wanted to simulate a volcanic eruption.

The first step was creating a massive amount of magma. When solid soil turned into liquid magma, its volume would increase to a certain extent. That was why Chen Yi had dug out the hollow. (Does anyone know if this is true? I couldn't find any information, so let's just go with it.)

This process required a very long preparation period. If the enemy sensed something was wrong and dug down underground, all his efforts could easily come to nothing.

It was the enemy's carelessness that gave Chen Yi this idea.

At the same time, Chen Yi had no intention of staking everything on the enemy's carelessness. To conceal his actions, he arranged for Fire Dragon to use fire-type skills such as Fire Blast high in the sky, creating the illusion that Chen Yi was still airborne.

Fire Blast was different from Chen Yi's modified fireballs.

That distance from the sky was enough for the flames to lose their cohesion, making them basically incapable of hurting the enemy.

But they could still bluff people and set buildings on fire.

The burning buildings could conceal the abnormal temperature.

Even if none of Chen Yi's preparations worked, he was confident that he could earn some War Merit before fleeing from the hollow filled with magma.

By now, the underground magma stretched a hundred meters long, dozens of meters wide, and dozens of meters deep.

The magma had filled the entire hollow. There was no breathable oxygen, nor was there a temperature suitable for Human survival.

Chen Yi, transformed into a Flame Demon, was now at the bottom of the magma. He maintained the Flame Swords below by feeding them Mana while controlling the magma and keeping it as stable as possible.

The first time Chen Yi transformed into a Flame Demon in the game, it was actually so he could survive in the magma he had created.

The transformed Flame Demon stood less than three meters tall, with a humanoid build. Its entire body seemed to be made of scorching magma.

Standing in the magma caused him no discomfort, and no relevant data appeared on the Damage Panel.

If I encounter an enemy like a Flame Demon, how should I deal with it...?

The thought flashed through Chen Yi's mind.

Simulating a volcanic eruption.

The second step was to simulate the necessary pressure!

After the magma filled the space, Chen Yi did not stop. Instead, he continued having the Flame Swords draw in Fire Elemental Particles to create magma.

Slowly, the Flame Demon in the magma began taking damage.

Player Yi took 2 points of crushing damage.

At this point, the underground magma's effect on the surface began to intensify.

The most obvious issue was naturally the temperature. It could no longer be summed up as merely hot weather. It felt as if they were inside an oven, with someone constantly feeding it more firewood.

Carrol's sixth sense went wild inside the castle. He did not even have the mood to taste the blood he had just taken from a soldier.

"Damn it! Why do I smell death?"

"Have I been surrounded?"

He turned into a pool of blood and slipped out through a gap in the room. He did not encounter any enemies along the way, so that clearly was not the reason.

Even after escaping into another room, his sixth sense was still screaming wildly.

Carrol viciously kicked over a chair in the room.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

"Even the weather is working against me."

The excessive heat caused much of the blood to evaporate as it moved.

"Wait... was this temperature really caused by the weather?"

Carrol was unwilling to give up. The number of Defenders around the Magic Turrets had increased severalfold, leaving him with no chance to get close.

"No, I have to retreat. If this continues, I feel like I'll die."

No matter how much money he made, it was useless if he was not alive to spend it. Carrol trusted his sixth sense.

Carrol was not the only one who noticed the strange temperature. Nearly all the mages in the castle had sensed something was wrong long ago, and as the temperature rose further, they no longer intended to stay here.

The three princes in the Command Center were growing impatient. Was fighting a war really this exhausting?

"You there, get someone to bring some ice over. What kind of damned weather is this?"

"Guard, don't all crowd in here! It's unbearably hot!"

"And has that mage throwing fire above us been dealt with yet?"

"What is wrong with the Magic Turrets? If they keep missing, replace the operators. Do I need to teach you something this simple?"

The General patiently tried to persuade them. "Your Highnesses, this temperature is becoming increasingly abnormal. I hope you will reconsider the underground investigation I mentioned earlier. The Magic Turrets can only be used effectively under the control of powerful Mental power..."

"Shut up!"

The oppressive heat further lowered the princes' intelligence.

They had enjoyed wealth and privilege from the moment they were born. They never needed to work hard or train.

Everyone told them that noble Royal Bloodline flowed through their veins.

In truth, they were still ordinary people.

The General could still endure the heat, but they were nearly dehydrated from sweating alone.

"Get some ice here now! That is an order!"

The only remaining General could only sigh helplessly. He suddenly regretted not fleeing with the other two.

Darius looked in surprise at the mages who had fled back. His expression turned solemn. "In Noxus, cowardice shall never be tolerated."

The mages hurriedly explained, saying that the temperature beneath the castle was abnormally high. Just escaping from there had cost them half their lives.

They even suspected that the castle had been built atop a volcano, and that the volcano had now awakened.

From the mages' reports, Darius gained a rough understanding of the situation inside the castle.

He suddenly thought of that player who had not returned last night, as well as the dragon that had been gesturing nonstop.

So... this was his plan?

At that moment, the ground suddenly trembled. (Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are inseparably linked.)

The tremor was not particularly strong. By the time it reached here, it was already barely noticeable.

After pondering for a moment, Darius ordered a ceasefire and left the stage to that young mage.

"By Lord Darius's order, retreat!"

"Lord Darius..."

Upon receiving the order, the Noxus army quickly stopped advancing and rapidly withdrew from the battlefield.

The joy of victory briefly helped the princes overcome the heat. They excitedly climbed onto the City Wall to admire Noxus's rout.

This would be a battle in their lives worth being proud of.

Then the second tremor arrived.

"Why is it happening again?"

"Y-Your Highness, the ground on the lowest f-floor..."

A Guard rushed over in a panic. The situation was so urgent that he could barely speak without stuttering.

"What happened to the ground?!"

Cracks appeared in the floor that had once been neatly paved with stone bricks. Those cracks even trembled faintly, as though they were breathing.

Chen Yi had already tried very hard to suppress the magma, but as more magma accumulated, the pressure grew greater and greater.

Now, Chen Yi was no longer controlling the magma. The magma was pushing him instead.

Player Yi took 52 points of crushing damage.

Player Yi took 57 points of crushing damage.

Player Yi took 65 points of crushing damage.

The Flame Demon's health was nearly depleted.

"This time, I've really reached my limit. If this continues, I might die in here."

"Then let's begin."

Chen Yi loosened his suppression of the magma. It was like the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The ground shook with unprecedented force, and the soil above could no longer contain the magma.