Dark and dense clouds shrouded the sky, and thin and long raindrops fell from the sky, swaying in the howling wind, soaking every inch of the wilderness.
With the abandoned mine as the center, Molten Iron Tribe established several simple sentries here.
Surrounded by fences and high walls made of solid rock, guards wearing rainproof cloaks stood like sculptures in the rain.
Their sharp eyes penetrated the rain curtain, scanning all directions vigilantly to prevent any possible danger.
suddenly.
The sky, which was already dark due to dark clouds, darkened again, as if something huge had blocked the already sparse skylight.
The guards' pupils suddenly shrank, and they raised their heads in unison, looking high into the sky.
I saw a huge dragon shadow hovering under the clouds. The rain fell on his steel-like scales, which were instantly smashed into pieces and turned into finer water mist that spread out.
It's Iron King Sorog.
After recognizing the identity of the figure, the guards relaxed their tense nerves slightly and returned to their respective posts, but they still had awe in their eyes and glanced at the sky from time to time.
At the same time, Iron Dragon Sorog was slowly hovering in the low altitude.
His huge wings stirred up the wind and rain, bringing up whistling air currents, gradually lowering his altitude, and finally landed calmly on the edge of the abandoned mine.
He lowered his head and scanned the rugged mine below with his sharp eyes, looking thoughtful.
Sorog actually has doubts about whether Legendary Artifact really exists here.
After all, Garos just accidentally got a map clue from a low-level adventurer. Its authenticity is really open to question. It may be just part of a lame scam that they cannot completely believe.
However, with the actual discovery of the underground city ruins of Malnes, and the gradual advancement of exploration work.
Some unusual discoveries gradually raised Sorog's inner expectations.
Those historical records about the destruction of Duergar because of the treasures it created do not seem to be groundless. The possibility of the existence of Legendary Artifact is getting higher and higher.
Moreover, in order to explore this ruins and search for the exact clues of Legendary Artifact, the tribe has invested a lot of manpower and material resources, and spent considerable time and energy.
These sunk costs themselves also prevent tribes from giving up easily.
Now, it's finally time to harvest.
"Dear Iron King."
A Snake-man leader, who had been waiting here for a long time, glided up to Iron Dragon, spitting out his slender tongue from time to time, making a hissing sound.
"We explored a hidden area deep in the dungeon, but were attacked by spirits there."
"I'm absolutely sure, hiss... those are the spirits of Duergar, and they are not like ordinary undead souls. Instead, they show considerable intelligence and cooperation ability, and even have emotions."
"There are not too many of them, but they seem to be able to resurrect and regenerate constantly. They are very difficult to deal with."
Snake-man leader reported the situation in detail.
"Malnes Dungeon was originally one of the main cities of Duergar. According to rumors, they were destroyed precisely because they created a powerful Legendary Artifact."
"Now that these strange spiritual beings with intelligence and the ability to resurrect have been discovered, is there some kind of connection between the two?"
"Then the effect of Legendary Artifact is reflected here?"
Iron Dragon Sorog narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking deeply in his heart.
At the same time, the leader of Snake-man lowered his head and said, "Due to the tenacious resistance of these Duergar Spirits, our exploration progress has been temporarily suspended and we need stronger support."
Sorog asked directly, "What was the specific situation of the previous battle?"
Leader Snake-man immediately responded, "The troops responsible for exploring the dungeon and those Duergar Spiritss are about equal in strength, and the battle was at a stalemate."
"If there are no other unexpected factors to interfere, based on the judgment of my subordinates, just sending an additional team of elite support will be enough to break through their defense lines and defeat them."
Iron Dragon nodded its huge head, and the thick scales rubbed against each other, making a dull sound.
He didn't say anything more, but turned his gaze back to the deep mine, waiting quietly under the thin curtain of rain.
Time passed by, and rainwater flowed down the gaps in the dragon's scales. About half an hour later, the ground began to tremble slightly.
Accompanied by the rustling sound coming from the surrounding bushes, under the leadership of Dragon-blooded Werewolf Russell, a mixed elite force of several hundred people passed through the rain curtain and arrived at the sentry post of the abandoned mine.
This team is composed of Gnoll, Kobold, Werewolf and other races.
They have fierce eyes and are well-equipped. They are obviously not the most ordinary warriors, but elites who have gone through many battles.
"Russell, relax your spirit."
Iron Dragon's voice sounded directly in Werewolf's heart, and an invisible force began to build a spiritual connection between the two.
Werewolf showed no resistance and the connection was quickly achieved.
"You personally lead this group of elites to the dungeon to support the exploration team."
Sorog issued the order and said, "Everything that happens in the dungeon, I will personally observe through your eyes."
At first, out of concern for Legendary Artifact, Sorog considered entering the dungeon himself.
However, considering that the underground spaces built by Dwarf are usually low and narrow, his huge dragon body is difficult to display and may become a burden.
Moreover, the injuries he suffered previously have not fully recovered. If he encounters a strong enemy, rushing into a restricted environment may not be effective.
After weighing the situation, he dispatched Dragon-blooded Werewolf Russell, who was strong and more suitable for underground combat.
He himself is sitting above the mine, with a condescending position. If any unexpected changes occur below, he can react in time and adapt accordingly.
"As commanded."
Werewolf Russell took the order in a deep voice.
With a low roar, he led the elite soldiers, filed in along the passage that the tribe had previously opened in the mine, and headed deep underground to support the exploration team.
Iron Dragon Sorog took up residence on the spot, its huge body lying on the edge of the mine.
He closed his eyes slightly and relied on his spiritual connection with Russell to sense the situation underground and waited patiently.
Several hours passed quietly in the sound of wind and rain.
Suddenly, Iron Dragon became energetic.
Through Russell's vision, after walking through a long and dark corridor, the ruins of an abandoned city buried deep in Underworld suddenly appeared before his eyes.
This is an extremely huge underground cave.
above.
The thick rock formations are like an upside-down sky, and countless stalactite pillars are staggered and staggered, like the fangs in the mouth of a giant beast.
below.
On the irregular surface, there are buildings with ancient and rough styles. On the stone walls, forging hammers, furnaces and other relief patterns representing the Duergar civilization can be vaguely seen. However, they are now covered by various fungi and strange underground plants, making them look desolate and dilapidated.
It is worth mentioning that although these buildings appear to have gone through a long period of time and are full of cracks and signs of weathering, the overall structure is surprisingly complete.
They do not seem to have suffered war or catastrophic damage, but rather were abandoned by their inhabitants at some point.
The interior environment of the entire closed huge cave is extremely dark, with only some strange fungi emitting a faint blue or pale green light providing some illumination.
In addition, there are pairs of eyes that shine brightly in the darkness.
Including Werewolf Russell, most of the monsters he brought were born with good dark vision and were able to see the surrounding scenes clearly.
"Stay in battle formation and follow me closely!"
Russell roared low, and the sound echoed in the empty underground space.
After identifying the direction, he led the elite soldiers and quickly moved towards the location where the exploration team had sent the signal before.
They did not have a smooth journey along the way.
In this forgotten dungeon, there are still many underground ferocious beasts and monsters living there, such as the huge Cave Lizard, the bat-winged monster that screams ear-piercingly, as well as some skeletons and zombies wandering aimlessly.
However, the Life Level of these existences is generally not high.
For this elite force led by Russell, they were quite weak and did not cause any substantial obstacles. They were quickly cleared away.
After a while, the rapidly marching team stopped.
They came to the entrance of a particularly grand underground hall.
Although the interior of this hall is full of signs of dilapidation and dust accumulation, the huge stone pillars and dome have not collapsed as a whole and still maintain their complete outlines. This is evident from Duergar's outstanding architectural skills.
Hundreds of Molten Iron Kin who had previously fought here are resting outside the hall.
Most of them had scars on their bodies, and there were some corpses of their recently deceased companions scattered around.
Seeing Russell arriving with the support troops, these tired family members immediately cheered up and stepped forward to greet them.
"Sir Russell, deep in the hall ahead is most likely the core area where Legendary Artifact is stored."
A Kobold leader who was in charge of commanding here quickly stepped forward, pointed at the entrance of the hall and said.
"Whenever we try to approach the center of the hall, a group of heavily armed Duergar Spirits will emerge from it and attack us."
"We have seen with our own eyes that many spiritual bodies that have been completely torn to pieces by us will regroup and fight out of the hall again soon. They seem to be able to be resurrected infinitely!"
"However, since you have come in person, my lord, with the number and individual levels displayed by those spiritual bodies, they will certainly not be able to stop us."
Werewolf Russell nodded slightly and ordered in a deep voice. The voice spread throughout the entire team. "All soldiers, prepare to fight with me!"
He took a deep breath of the cold underground air, took the lead in moving his strong legs, and steadily approached the silent and mysterious hall. The other warriors followed closely, unsheathing their weapons and making a clanging sound.
Sure enough, when they crossed an invisible boundary, something changed suddenly.
Inside the originally silent hall, bursts of roars mixed with anger and determination were immediately heard!
"Intruder! Get out!"
"Protect our holy land and never retreat!"
"For the glory of Malnes! For the glory of Dwarf!"
One after another, the spiritual figures wearing thick illusory armor and holding various weapons such as swords, axes, hammers, etc., solidified quickly as if emerging from the water, roaring and killing Molten Iron Warriorss.
Although they were only spirits, their charging momentum was like a thousand troops.
Russell looked intently and saw that these figures were all in a highly solidified spirit state, with a faint shimmer emitting from their entire bodies. They were generally only about one meter tall.
With their thick bodies, thick beards and facial contours, they have a typical Duergar appearance.
In the blink of an eye, the two sides met hand to hand, and a fierce battle broke out.
Tear!
Russell's sharp claws tore through the air, with a harsh sound of breaking wind, and blew the head of the first charging Duergar Spirits.
He originally planned to tear it apart from the waist, but Dwarf was not tall enough, and the attack finally targeted its head.
After the spirit body lost its head, its entire body exploded and turned into countless tiny points of light that floated away.
"Don't stop! Keep going! Destroy them!"
Werewolf roared, its strong body like a fearless chariot, slamming into the enemy formation.
His claws were as fast as lightning, and each swing contained powerful power. He could easily scatter the spirit body of a Duergar warrior. However, Russell soon noticed that the spirit bodies that were scattered into light spots did not completely disappear. Instead, they quickly floated back to the depths of the hall as if they were being pulled.
Immediately afterwards, in just a moment, the fully recovered spirit body rushed out of the hall again, as if it had never been defeated.
As previously reported by the exploration team.
These spirits seem to possess some kind of immortality.
However, this does not change the absolute gap between the two sides in the battle.
A newly resurrected spirit body rushed up, waving an illusory war hammer, trying to smash Werewolf's knees.
But before his attack hit, his head was smashed to pieces by Russell's extremely fast claws again.
Around Russell, other Molten Iron Warriorss also let out bloodthirsty howls.
The sharp blades, heavy axes and sharp claws drew deadly arcs in the darkness.
This Molten Iron Tribe elite is like a tiger rushing into a flock of sheep, tearing one Duergar Spirits into pieces one after another.
The battle situation showed a one-sided situation.
As the Molten Iron Warriorss continued to approach the entrance of the hall, the Duergar Spiritss seemed more and more anxious and angry.
They launched even more frenzied attacks, even committing suicide to try to stop the intruders, but to no avail.
However, just when Russell thought victory was in sight, another change occurred suddenly.
The Duergar Spiritss who were still fighting frantically suddenly stopped all their movements, with expressions of extreme shock and anger on their faces.
They no longer paid attention to Molten Iron Warriors who was so close at hand, and instead, like a tide, they all quickly retreated towards the interior of the hall.
"What's going on?"
Iron Dragon Sorog, who observed this scene through his spiritual connection, had a doubt in his heart and immediately ordered Russell.
"Don't worry about why they retreated, follow them and enter the hall immediately!"
Roar!
Russell let out a deafening roar, and the muscles in his whole body tensed up like steel wires. He almost fell to the ground on all fours, and rushed towards the entrance of the hall like an arrow from a string.
However, just as his front paws stepped over the broken stone steps, he seemed to have slammed into an invisible and tough wall.
Bang!
With a muffled sound, Russell's forward momentum came to an abrupt end, and its entire huge body was thrown back by a huge reaction force, falling heavily into the dust.
"Uh..."
Werewolf shook his head, which was a little dizzy from being hit, stood up again, and looked at the empty entrance in front of him in bewilderment.
"What? It seems like there is an invisible barrier blocking the way."
He and the other family members who gathered around him approached again, stretched out their hands to touch, and sure enough they felt an invisible but extremely tough barrier, firmly covering the entire entrance to the hall.
Several strong Molten Iron Warriors tried their best to chop with their weapons, but only a dull sound was heard, and the invisible barrier did not move at all.
"Everyone, get out of the way!"
Russell roared and signaled the surrounding soldiers to retreat.
He took a deep breath, his chest swelled like a bellows, and a fiery light lit up deep in his throat.
Immediately afterwards, he suddenly opened his mouth and spit out a blazing Dragon Breath that was a mixture of thunder and flames, originating from Iron Dragon Bloodline.
Boom!
Dragon Breath, intertwined with thunder and fire, hit the invisible barrier hard, erupting with dazzling light and scattered energy turbulence.
However, like the previous physical attack, Dragon Breath, which was enough to melt rocks and even steel, was also firmly intercepted and could not even cause the slightest ripple or fluctuation in the invisible barrier.
Just when Russell was breathing heavily and was about to try other methods.
"Stop, you can't break through this layer of defense."
Iron Dragon Sorog's voice sounded directly from the bottom of his heart, with a hint of solemnity.
Based on his knowledge, if he is not mistaken, the characteristics displayed by this invisible barrier are very much like a field.
This means that there is probably a Legendary Realm level expert who has already arrived first.
As if to confirm Sorog's guess.
Just as his thoughts flashed through his mind, a jackal Werewolf Warrior, who was almost lying on it, biting the invisible barrier with his teeth, suddenly staggered forward and fell to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust.
The invisible barrier blocking the entrance disappeared.
Immediately afterwards, under the suspicious gazes of many Molten Iron Warriors, a figure wearing a plain white robe slowly walked out of the dilapidated and deep hall with light steps.
This is a woman who looks very young.
She does not have any gorgeous accessories on her body, her face is as delicate as a doll, her eyes are as clear as water, and there is a faint smile hanging on the corner of her mouth. Her overall temperament appears friendly and harmless.
She didn't have any strong energy fluctuations emanating from her body, and she looked like an ordinary human being who entered this place by mistake.
But.
Being able to appear deep in this dangerous underground city means that she is anything but ordinary.
Moreover, in the palm of her right hand, there was an energy sphere that emitted soft white light floating quietly.
Inside the light ball, countless tiny spiritual figures can be vaguely seen rising and falling in it. They are the Duergar Spirits who fought fiercely with them before!
"Who are you?!"
Russell suddenly took a step forward, opened his mouth wide, revealing a mouth full of white fangs, and a fierce breath rushed towards his face.
He stared intently at the ball of light in the woman's hand and realized that this object was probably the ultimate goal of Dragon Lord sending them to explore this dungeon.
"Hand over the ball of light in your hand!"
Russell growled, with a fierce look in his eyes. "That's what belongs to us Molten Iron Tribe!"
Facing Werewolf's fierce questioning and the unkind looks of many monster warriors around her, the woman in white robe still seemed calm and calm.
"Hello, please don't be so nervous."
She smiled slightly, looked straight at Russell calmly, and said calmly, "I am not your enemy."
She seemed to be answering Werewolf's question, but at the same time, her voice sounded clearly and directly in the heart of Iron Dragon Sorog who was far above the mine pit.
"My name is Alya, some people also call me--Lucky Messenger."