The Ghost Guardian Knights were too far from Bruce to be affected by the "Fanaticism" Spirit Qi Aura, which left their attack power very weak.
Likewise, the Hell Knights were ranged spellcasters, so their melee abilities were not strong either. Thus, the Ghost Guardian Knights and Hell Knights traded blows sword for sword, reaching a stalemate.
On average, two Ghost Guardian Knights fought one Hell Knight, but they could only hold the Hell Knight back.
Abel was already quite satisfied with this. The Hell Knights' ranged spells were simply too powerful. Without the Ghost Guardian Knights holding them back, how could he cast his spells so easily?
He casually cast a "Decrepify" curse on Hephaestus, then directed the eleven Ghost Guardian Wizards with his mental power to help attack the Hell Knights.
With the Ghost Guardian Knights' assistance, the battle on the Hell Knights' side began to tilt toward Abel.
Next, they only needed to kill Hephaestus. After losing his minions and numerous Hell Creatures, Hephaestus's fate was already sealed.
With the "Decrepify" curse, the "Fanaticism" Spirit Qi Aura comprehensively weakened Hephaestus. With Grizzly and Bruce attacking him in melee, especially Bruce's powerful Holy Knight combat techniques, every strike rapidly reduced Hephaestus's Life Force.
Abel and Frankenstein, meanwhile, focused on casting various spells from the side.
After ten minutes, all five Hell Knights had been killed, and the eleven Ghost Guardian Knights and Ghost Guardian Wizards joined the siege.
Hephaestus collapsed to the ground with a miserable howl. Beside its corpse lay a dark-gold iron hammer.
Abel's attention was drawn to the dark-gold iron hammer. He failed even to notice the soul and golden ability orb flying out of Hephaestus's corpse.
"The Hellforge Hammer!" He reached out, picked up the dark-gold iron hammer, and softly spoke its name.
The Hellforge