Before long, the Sandstone Tribe on the cliff behind Eagle Nest Gully was completely massacred.
Thousands of corpses of mountain dwarf warriors lay on the ground.
Many more bodies were buried underground by the wide-scale collapse caused by the Earthquake Technique.
Upon closer inspection, the majority of the mountain dwarves' corpses did not die a normal death. Within their heavy armor, the withered, decrepit bodies looked extraordinarily eerie.
The dwarves appeared to have had their lifespans drained away, all desiccated and withered in death.
In the midst of the bodies, the "Forbidden Nun" Jonabel Marsha stood alone with her eyes closed in ditation, her face showing the bliss that cos after a successful harvesting. The magic staff in her hand emitted a sinister glow that seed to twist the space around it.
Within a hundred ters around her, no one dared to approach the range of the glow.
After a long while, Jonabel's eyes snapped open, sparkling with energy.
She seed to greatly enjoy this sensation and murmured to herself, "Mountain dwarves truly are worthy of their heritage from the mythological dwarves' long-living bloodline, a race blessed by the gods. Each one provides such a rich essence of life to draw from..."
After the great battle, she did not feel weakened at all; on the contrary, she was brimming with vitality.
Observing the ouroboros totem on the clan leaders' armor of the dwarf tribes, she had received the information she wanted.
"With such an exaggerated 'space-ti rift,' it seems likely that a part of the Divine King's Divine Artifact, the [Urobolos Space-Ti Ring], might well be here. Great Lord, you have heard my..."
Jonabel thought of sothing, her gaze toward the sky turning ardent.
After a long ti, as if a mysterious prayer ceremony had concluded, her gaze returned to normal.
"Inform the adventuring parties to attack the various dwarf tribes. Formation mbers, prepare for the legion's arrival!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Suddenly, everyone beca busy.
...
Simultaneously with the battle at Eagle Nest Gully, several dozen adventuring parties had already reached their designated areas.
Su Lun and No. 19, along with the mbers of the Iron Shield Adventuring Party, had arrived last night in a dense forest and were setting up camp to rest.
Large-scale pioneering required waiting for collective action orders. Since they were getting paid either way, the adventurers were not in a hurry to move out.
All around were trees a hundred ters tall, the canopy reached for the sky, with little sunlight reaching the forest floor.
Just a few kiloters away from the campsite, atop a dense canopy of hundred-ter-tall trees, a crow flapped its wings, surveying the terrain from its high vantage point.
The mountains were stacked and the view was not very clear.
After watching for a while and discovering nothing notable, a transparent figure teleported to a kiloter-high point in the sky, where the view instantly opened up.
Now that the team had stopped, Su Lun knew that those beings from the divine planes might be about to act.
He always felt that those people recruiting so many adventurers were not just for pioneering purposes.
His all-seeing eye in his left eye could see very far., The sword-like Celestial Mountain dozens of kiloters away was also clearly visible.
In the map provided by the Moses family, [Living Silver] was on the western side of that mountain range. At this mont, Su Lun's eyes saw that dark crack resembling a sword mark.
He focused and identified it, and the na [Dwarf King's Grudge Space] directly appeared.
"So it turns out 'Howling Abyss' really is a T-level cursed space. The mountain dwarf race was once enslaved by a malevolent dragon, transford into a space of grudges... Were there truly dragons in these Monster Mountains?"
After identifying it, Su Lun found much interesting information.
"This doesn't differ too much from the information we received,"
However, upon seeing that exaggerated fissure, Su Lun's mind also showed contemplation.
This was the most exaggerated cursed space he had ever seen in terms of coverage area.
To form such a wide-ranging cursed space and maintain it for so many years, the required energy must also be extrely exaggerated.
"It seems that there must be so divine treasure maintaining the operation of the space. Could it be that there really is a god's tomb underground?"
Su Lun had experienced a number of cursed spaces and had figured out so of the patterns.
Moreover, upon closer examination, he felt increasingly certain that the legend was true—the one about two gods battling with one dying here.
Furthermore, because he had stripped away so of the abilities of the "Grave Digger," Su Lun could now understand many tomb-related traces.
If a powerful corpse were buried underground, the leaking of the corpse energy would inevitably have an impact on the surface's terrain, wildlife, vegetation, and spiritual energy.
Overlooking from a high vantage point, the trend of the mountains near that Celestial Mountain Range looked like they had been affected by so special type of corpse energy, which resulted in their current shape.
However, this sign was already very weak, appearing as if too much ti had passed, and everything had returned to silence.
A myriad of thoughts flowed through Su Lun's mind as he shifted his gaze to a ravine a dozen kiloters away, where wisps of black smoke were rising.
Although the mountain dwarves lived underground, the waste gas produced when they forged equipnt and slted ores would still be expelled to the surface.
"That must be the mountain dwarves' 'Blackstone Tribe'..."
Su Lun guessed in his mind. Their Iron Shield Adventure Group, setting up camp nearby, was very likely to co into conflict with that dwarf tribe.
But it seed not enough.
The mountain dwarves, who even the Mafa military found troubleso, could definitely not be easily subdued by so reckless adventurers.
Su Lun felt that the people from the Celestial Plane probably had other plans as well.
After completing his observation, Su Lun landed back on the ground.
He removed the shroud and walked back towards the camp.
Upon his return, Number 19 was roasting at over the campfire.
The aromatic venison was grilling to a golden brown on the flas and was overflowing with a delicious scent.
Seeing Su Lun return, Number 19 handed over a skewer of at, smiling as he said, "The at's just done, give it a try."
Su Lun smiled as he took it, biting into it and getting a mouthful of juices—he had to admit, it tasted really good.
He remarked appreciatively, "Mmm, the flavor is fantastic."
Hearing this, a smile graced the corners of Number 19's mouth.
Over the past ten days, neither of them had done anything remarkable in the adventure group.
Apart from the necessary watch and scout duties, they did not take part in any other activities.
In the eyes of others, they were just freeloaders after the reward for the mission.
As temporary recruits, they were inevitably marginalized mbers of the team, and both of them had no intention of mingling with others, preferring their own peace and quiet.
The grilled at was mainly for Su Lun to eat, as Number 19 eating was rely for show.
The two of them chatted while eating.
"Those mages haven't co out of the tent the whole ti; it looks like they're preparing so major spell. I've observed them earlier with an energy detector, and there have been constant magical fluctuations..."
"Hmm. I also think they're getting ready to make a move. To the northeast is the Dwarf's Black Stone Tribe, and they probably have a considerable amount of people. When I was observing earlier, there were unusual bird movents, which could indicate that so Dwarves sneaked over to scout. If a conflict arises, we'll try to stay out of it,"
"So are we just going to wait for them to act now?"
"Yes. I suspect that the Holy Army's 'Forbidden Nun' Jonabel Marsha is nearby, and I'm not confident that I could definitely defeat her. So if we act rashly now, not only will it not have a good effect, but it will also expose us and put us into danger prematurely. Plus, Mages have mind control thods like the 'Soul Capturing Technique' and 'Faith Enslavent.' The Vice President of the Adventurers' Guild, Poe, who is so eagerly organizing rcenary bounties, is almost certainly a pawn of the Celestial race. And I reckon that the Iron Shield Squad's Captain Brook has been influenced by magic as well. Be cautious when it cos to action..."
"Alright!"
"..."
Su Lun had roughly guessed the enemy's sches too, most likely using adventurers to wear down the mountain Dwarves.
If they struck now, it would an that the two of them would not only have to face the Celestial race's Mages but also possibly all of the rcenaries gunning for them.
And perhaps the Dwarven Tribe as well.
Even if Su Lun was confident, he had no plans to make enemies on all sides.
They could only wait for an opportunity.
The best ti to act would be when the adventurers and the mountain Dwarves clashed.
As for the outco of the conflict between the Dwarven Tribe and the adventurers, Su Lun and his companion did not care.
Their goal was consistently to foil whatever it was the Celestial race intended to do.
...
After dining, the two sat in their tent, ditating.
Through the communicator, Captain Brook had already sent out a notice to prepare for the mission, telling everyone to rest well as the action could happen at any ti.
The rcenaries were also sharpening their blades, excitedly preparing for the battle.
However, before long, Su Lun suddenly sensed sothing and abruptly opened his eyes from ditation, "They're here!"
Number Nineteen also beca serious, the power boiler began to accumulate energy, and the cha on her body clanked as it transford into battle mode.
With the black umbrella in hand, Su Lun's Soul Perception spanned a large area of the surrounding forest, detecting thousands of people who had just appeared, rushing towards the camp at great speed.
"Whoosh," "whoosh," "whoosh,"...
Before the people even arrived, a succession of whizzing sounds cut through the air.
Just by the sound, Su Lun knew that countless arrows were coming.
Just then, an arrow pierced a hole in the tent, and with quick reflexes, he reached out and caught it. The arrow was enveloped in spiral airflow.
Runes glowed brightly along the entire shaft of the arrow, emitting a blue and white magic sheen, identified as a level three "Sharpness Rune" and a level three "Gale Rune." However, it wasn't from the common alchemy system.
Looking at it, Su Lun muttered, "The Dwarven Tribe's rune mastery is indeed high."
Next to him, Number Nineteen observed and then said after so thought, "Looks like the half-elves are involved in the battle too."
Su Lun frowned upon hearing this, for such a large-scale attack seed like an all-out assault. If it were just a probe, it wouldn't make sense.
He quickly made a judgnt, "It's probably other Dwarf tribes that have been attacked, this is retaliatory. Prepare for battle."
Number Nineteen nodded, her chanical combat armor's spatial fluctuations arose, clanking as it transford, readying her fully into ard combat state.
Though they'd been laying low these days, it wasn't as if they did nothing. Su Lun had been working on his Gargoyle Legion while Number Nineteen's combat cha had also seen a significant upgrade.
The War Workshop in Su Lun's mini void realm boasted a top-notch cha production line from Mafa, which spared nothing to equip Number Nineteen thoroughly. Although it did not reach the level of a seventh-level upgrade, it was nearly there.
And with no constraints of bodily limbs, Number Nineteen could attach nearly any chanical equipnt. Her combat power now was not to be underestimated.
It was after this volley of feathered arrows that the people in the camp finally noticed sothing was amiss, and the sentries burst out, "We're under attack!"
Then ca the rattle of gunfire, the sounds of various steam boilers charging, and the clanging of full-armored bodies entering combat mode.
Su Lun lifted the corner of the tent flap just in ti to see, on a massive tree in the distance, figures that looked almost translucent, nocking arrows and taking aim.
These were the "half-elves" of the jungle.
Legend has it they are the descendants of the mythic elven race, gifted with exceptional archery skills and stealth abilities, inherently beautiful in appearance.
Although the Mafa Empire had abolished slavery, the trade in slaves of other races was not restricted.
These half-elves, hidden deep within the Monster Mountains, were also one of the adventurers' favorite prey.
But now, those half-elf archers had transford into Reapers of Death, their feathered arrows raining down on the camp with the intensity of droplets in a downpour.
The penetration power of these magic feather arrows could easily pierce through ordinary steel plates, and even within the camp of the Iron Shield group, which had armored defense panels, many adventurers were pierced through.
Wails of pain resonated non-stop throughout the camp.
And right after the rain of arrows struck, the jungle erupted with the dense sound of horse hooves.
Upon closer inspection, one could see dwarves clad in thick armor riding equally heavily armored large-horned rams charging over. So held massive hamrs, while others wielded strangely shaped magic firearms.
Those firearms, when fired, belched thick white smoke, resembling ancient hand cannons yet with a power similar to that of cannons, blasting the camp, causing earth and mud to splatter and chanical warriors to fly about chaotically.
However, the Iron Shield group, an experienced old-guard team of adventurers, had plenty of field combat experience and was equally fierce in counterattacking.
The heavy-armored chanical warriors entered the fray, and fierce battle ensued in the jungle.
Even with the camp outside embroiled in chaos, Su Lun and his companion had no intention of going out to assist.
After a glance, he let the tent flap fall back into place.
Those magic energy arrows and bullets posed no threat to them.
Su Lun sensed for a mont that there was no movent from the five mages in the central tent of the camp; he was not in a hurry to show himself. He sent out a black crow to observe from above the treetops, and not just from their location, but all around the forest, sounds of battle and explosions ca from various directions.
Seeing this scene, Su Lun grew even more puzzled, murmuring to himself, "Strange, what exactly are those mages up to..."
If it was just about using adventurers to wear down the dwarves, they should have waited a few more days, amassing more adventurers before making a move.
But now, the timing seed premature by any asure.
...
The battle grew more and more intense, with explosions echoing all around the forest; nearly the entire ring of jungle around "Giant God Mountain" had erupted into flas of war.
It seed like a large-scale, preditated counterattack by the mountain dwarves.
Although Su Lun was not an adventurer, he had heard that the bearded dwarves were short-tempered fellows; any offense by adventurers would spark a retaliation in full asure.
Such a temperant was easy to exploit. Kill one, and a whole lot more would surely co.
Just the thought of this made Su Lun sll a whiff of conspiracy.
But... what benefit would the Celestial tribe have in deliberately provoking the dwarves, letting them decimate the rcenaries?
At this thought, Su Lun's attention was completely drawn to the central tent in the camp.
The five mages that ca with the Iron Shield group had not acted yet, clearly plotting sothing.
As expected, it wasn't long before the black crow on his shoulder suddenly cawed, issuing a warning of danger.
Su Lun's gaze turned sharp.
He didn't hesitate for even a mont, hugging the steel waist of number 19 tightly and instantly retreating several hundred ters.
It was the next instant when a trendous surge of magic energy erupted from the tents in the camp!
Before the several hundred adventurers and mountain dwarves in the camp could react, that magical white light enveloped everyone.
However, a strange scene imdiately unfolded.
Those bathed in the white light didn't understand what was happening as the life quickly faded from their faces.
Adventurers are usually in their pri, but after being shone upon by this magical white light, their faces visibly aged, and their hair turned dry and white. In just a few monts, everyone seed to have aged by ten or twenty years.
Moreover, this trend of aging showed no signs of slowing down.
It was as if a mysterious power was extracting their life force.
When the adventurers realized sothing was wrong with their bodies and tried to flee, they found they couldn't even move their legs.
While the machinery had auxiliary kinetic devices, they required the body to provide a certain amount of power and issue commands.
The physical condition of chanical warriors was already poor, and aging by several decades all at once created a huge gap in muscular strength, making it very difficult for them to operate their chanical skeletons.
Even the few who still had the strength to drive their chas moved like decrepit old n, struggling to activate their jet furnaces to escape. But as the aging accelerated, they couldn't outrun the range of the white light no matter how hard they tried.
It wasn't just the adventurers; the mountain dwarves were likewise affected, showing clear signs of aging on their faces.
But dwarves have long lifespans.
Though they don't live to eight or a thousand years old like in the myths, mountain dwarves normally live for two to three hundred years, far longer than an average human.
And they were less affected by the white light due to the magic inscriptions on their armors.
Even after having several decades of life extracted in a single encounter, they still retained the ability to move.
The clan leader of the attacking Dark Stone Tribe dwarves realized this and shouted, "Retreat!"
However, while they could hold on, their mount, the gazelle horses, succumbed to their prestige instantly.
These magical beasts, with only one or two decades of lifespan, had no reaction to the white light and aged to death on the spot.
Out of the thousand dwarves who partook in their breath, a few hundred escaped the range of the light, but the vast majority fell to the ground, their lifespans drained away.
....
Witnessing this scene, Su Lun's eyes trembled uncontrollably, and he muttered to himself, "Forbidden Curse: Life Forbidden Zone!"
He understood all too well and was shocked, "What a grave oversight... I thought he was planning to use rcenaries to exhaust the dwarves. It was about extracting the power of ti all along!"
After identifying the white magical brilliance just now, Su Lun figured it out instantly.
The beings from the Celestial Plane never planned any indirect killings; in their eyes, all creatures from the Alchemy Plane were "nourishnt"!
Indeed, the adventurers were bait to lure out the dwarves from the start!
It wasn't entirely Su Lun's negligence.
It was just that the thod being used was sothing he had never encountered before.
The Ti Law is one of the rarest high-level laws in the world, and he had never seen anyone with such an ability.
Even among the information he had available before, no mage had ever encountered soone skilled in "ti magic"!
"Ti? Is death not also the end of a creature's tiline?"
Su Lun's mind flashed with sudden enlightennt as if he had grasped sothing.
However, he didn't have ti to savor it, as another thought suddenly struck him, "Could it be that Jonabel Marsha, the 'Forbidden Nun' of the Holy Army, is a Ti Mage?"
While his head ached, he was simultaneously relieved that he hadn't acted rashly.
Otherwise, with these sinister tactics, if he really encountered them, he wouldn't have any chance of victory.
However, this was clearly just the beginning!
The worst was yet to co!
Just then, as if drawing on the energy of ti itself, a nine-pointed star magic circle suddenly lit up on the ground in the center of the camp, and a beam of light shot up into the sky.
The beam gathered in the sky to form an enormous magic formation that covered the entire mountain range near Celestial Mountain.
In the sky, a terrifying spatial fluctuation surged out, as if a giant hand behind the firmant was about to tear open the sky itself.
Looking again, the sky was full of silhouettes, creating a mirage-like scene.
The figures were densely packed, all wearing the distinctive long robes of mages, and legion upon legion of ten thousand mages each had already assembled, just waiting to descend into this world.
Others might not understand what this was, but Su Lun saw it and knew imdiately that this was the assembly of the Celestial Plane Mage Army!
He secretly cursed, realizing with alarm, "Damn it! Could it be that soone has harnessed the powers of space and ti from the 'Cursed Space' in an attempt to forcibly open an interdinsional gateway?"
Although he didn't know how those people managed to do it, all the signs pointed to the worst possible outco!
"This is terrible...!!!"
Seeing the magnitude of the situation, Su Lun was ready to flee for his own safety.
But if he allowed the massive mage army to arrive, the imminent demise of the Alchemy Plane could co sooner.
It was at that mont that Su Lun caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of the five mages still casting their spells in the camp, and with a flash of cold light in his eyes, his intent to kill was decided.
Although he did not know if it would stop them, it was the only thing he could do!
However, as soon as Su Lun thought of taking action, a fiery rune hamr wrapped in heat waves hurled itself at him with great speed.
The murderous intent made his scalp tingle, and he glanced over from the corner of his eye.
[Fire Dragon Scale Pattern Short-Handle Storm Hamr]
Description: A sacred item passed down by the mountain dwarves, one of the twelve epic heavy hamrs; it is an artifact that has witnessed history; made of Zabil alloy, one of the hardest and most heat-resistant tals in the world, it carries an aura of primal matter; a hamr favored by fate, its forging success rate is significantly increased; only those of dwarven blood can fully utilize its power;
Su Lun had seen this hamr before; it was the weapon in the hands of the dwarven clan leader.
Thrown, it was like a cannonball, bolstered by the power, storm, and fla trifecta laws, extrely deadly. It was a lethal threat to any sixth-tier professional.
There were no fancy tricks with this flying hamr, and seeing it hurtle toward him at high speed, Su Lun instinctively reached out and grabbed the handle of the hamr.
For a mont, a massive force struck him, making the muscles in Su Lun's arm instantly tense and swell.
"So heavy!"
Su Lun's pupils shrank sharply, as if he was gripping a struggling ferocious beast in his hand.
He had no ti to waste here, and the imnse strength provided by [Isaac's Giant Strength] instantly burst forth, veins standing out on the back of his hand as he squeezed and seemingly killed the beast in his grip.
Once the montum had dissipated, Su Lun firmly held the hamr in his hand.
Just the weight of the hamr alone was tens of thousands of pounds!
This scene left even the dwarves stunned.
Because this hamr, symbolizing the dwarf lineage, required not only imnse strength to be lifted but also could only be wielded by those who harbored no malice towards the dwarf race!
The human who had invaded their lands, was he actually able to lift the hamr?
Su Lun glanced over; naturally, the one who had thrown the hamr was from that group of dwarves who had survived the effects of the ti magic.
It was normal for the dwarves to be hostile towards him, considering he had co with the adventurers.
But right now, he had no interest in explaining himself to these dwarves. Disregarding the hamr he had dropped, a black field appeared around his body, and he vanished from the spot.
"Thud!"
A heavy, dull sound rang out as the hamr hit the ground, blasting a deep pit into it.
The group of dwarves froze for a mont upon seeing this.
Then they saw that the figure had already charged towards the five mages in the distance!
...
Su Lun was extrely fast!
In the blink of an eye, he was already upon the five mages.
He had observed earlier the rate at which the rcenaries aged under the magic light and had calculated so data in his head.
He had thought that even if he were to force his way over, he might lose several years of life in just one second.
The only option was a quick battle; there was no room for hesitation!
Initially, Su Lun had planned to "one-shot" the five mages, and even if it ant losing so life, it wouldn't be much.
But to his luck, he discovered that his death field completely stopped the flow of life from passing!
"Indeed, this 'Forbidden Curse: Life Forbidden Zone' is still a spell of the aura type. If the field is strong enough, it can completely resist it!"
Thoughts flashed through Su Lun's mind in an instant, as he understood sothing.
His death field was very special, and while it hadn't yet ford a domain, it was no less powerful than most 7th-level domains.
Now, however, was not the ti to ponder!
As thoughts flickered through his mind, more than thirty gargoyles had already appeared beside Su Lun.
The craftsn of the warti workshop had been working overti for the past ten days, finishing the gargoyles just for an ergency like this!
He hadn't expected they would be used so soon.
The gargoyles, being lifeless, wouldn't be affected by the aging spell.
Su Lun wielded a black scythe in his left hand and a dragon-slaying dagger in the right, while dozens of gargoyles simultaneously swung their space-distorting fists toward the five mages.
He had just been thinking of "one-shotting" these individuals, at least to disrupt their magic, and now he erupted with all his force.
In an instant, the energy burst forth like a volcanic eruption, heading straight for the mages' magic shields.
The few individuals were well-prepared. Their constructed magic shields could block attacks from most 7th-level enemies.
But now!
The gargoyles made by Su Lun were of near 7th-level combat power.
This was near 7th-level power from the alchemy plane!
This was more than a match for a 7th-level magic conductor from the Celestial Plane.
Usually, a 7th-level mage's magic shield is designed to withstand up to 1.2-1.5 tis the energy of an enemy of the sa level.
One reason is that it's sufficiently powerful, and the second is the cap of the magic shield spell itself.
The combined magic of five people, with the barrier's reinforcent, roughly amounts to about ten tis the defense power of the sa level.
So what about the attack from thirty-one nearly 7th-level beings?
These five probably never imagined they would face over thirty enemies of the sa level attacking simultaneously!
A barrage of punches fell, and the magic shields of the five mages held for only an instant before shattering like bubbles.
The five mages, their shields broken, were like lambs to the slaughter as Su Lun's scythe and dagger had already silently arrived.
"Swoosh," "swoosh," "swoosh," "swoosh," "swoosh"!
A flash of cold light.
With five consecutive slashes, the magic conductors, who were maintaining the rotation of the magic circle, had no chance to react. Their heads fell to the ground, and blood gushed forth.
Without any delay, Su Lun gathered the bodies of the five magic conductors and all the materials of the magic circle around them into his pocket dinsion. At the sa ti, the nine-pointed star formation at his feet also instantly dimd.
...
The enormous formation in the sky also lost an essential beam of light, showing signs of collapse.
Su Lun watched and let out a heavy sigh of relief.
After all, it hadn't been in vain.
And just then, coincidentally, as he had just killed this group of mages and extinguished a beam of light, another beam of magic light far away also went out.
Looking at the signs, it was clear that the five-person magic group there had also been killed?
"Huh... Who else could have broken through that magic formation? Could it be the top combatants from the Mafa military?"
Sothing flickered through Su Lun's mind.
He had been able to one-shot these five mages primarily because he understood the enemy well.
But for others to kill a five-person magic group so quickly, their thods, judgnt, and strength couldn't be underestimated.
No ordinary 7th-level professional could do it. If it were a chanical soldier... maybe it was 8th-level!
This was definitely not the work of adventurers; it must be soone from the Mafa military.
But considering the magnitude of the commotion they had caused this ti, it wasn't surprising for Mafa's experts to arrive.
Moreover, Su Lun breathed a sigh of relief as the disappearance of those two beams of light stopped the tearing trend in the sky, and the space fluctuations ca to a complete halt.
"Phew..."
Su Lun exhaled deeply.
It seed like it had been prevented.
However, he didn't feel the slightest bit relieved. Instead, a chilling sense of deadly danger made his heart skip a beat.
The crow on his shoulder cawed loudly, causing Su Lun's eyes to twitch violently.
He knew that by disrupting the magic circle set up by those people from the Celestial Plane, the enemy's top expert would surely co for him.
Now was the most dangerous ti!
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