Kapitel 187: Chapter 187: Stone and Fire
Garon, currently in the magma demi-plane, is oblivious to the recent events within the Bone Wasteland.
He curiously gazes at the sky.
In Garon's view, countless pebbles are falling from the sky.
The extremely rich earth elemental environment causes a small rain made of stones.
Countless stones of varying sizes fall from the leaden clouds, accelerating under gravity's pull and heavily hitting the ground, creating numerous indentations and cracks with loud thuds.
Some pebbles hit the dragon scales of true dragons soaring in the sky.
The stones shatter upon impact with the hard-as-iron dragon scales, leaving no marks.
The fire elemental army, having just crossed the Blazing Flame Mountains and entered the territory of the Earth Giant, is also baptized by this stone rain.
The stones of various sizes and shapes fall upon the fire elementals.
They pass through their bodies, falling to the ground red-hot.
The fire that makes up their bodies flickers briefly but otherwise shows no significant effect.
Some stones that pass through the body of the Lord of Flamesteel City melt before they even hit the ground due to the stone rain.
The collision sounds of stone rain are incessant.
Flesh and blood beings without shelter in this environment would suffer greatly.
"This environment is indeed unsuitable for the survival of flesh and blood clans."
Garon retracts his gaze.
When stones fall on the silver dragon, they are repelled by an invisible force field attached to the dragon scales before they even touch.
This is a simple third-level protective spell, the Deflecting Force Field.
With Garon's mental and magical power, the effects of his third-level spells are much stronger than those of ordinary casters.
Stones directly hitting him, like the Red Dragon and the Frost Wyrm, have no effect on Garon.
However, he doesn't want to be covered in stone dust.
Besides the stone rain from above, the air is filled with thick stone dust, creating a grey-white fog that envelops the territory of the Earth Giant.
Through the stone dust fog, one can see the surrounding craggy stone forests and giant stone walls.
Compared to the fiery domain of the Fire Giant, the Earth Giant's territory features endless rugged rocks.
As time passes, waves of fire gradually invade this grey-brown land.
"Is the Earth Giant just letting the fire elemental army advance without any resistance?"
Garon wonders.
The earth elementals should not be too afraid of the fire elementals.
The two sides are evenly matched, in a stalemate.
Now, the fire elementals have abandoned their most advantageous environment and stepped into the Earth Giant's territory, which should be advantageous to the earth elementals.
Garon can clearly see that the flames on many fire elementals weaken after crossing the Blazing Flame Mountains, including the Lord of Flamesteel City. The strength of elemental beings is largely related to the density of their corresponding elemental energy.
In the Earth Giant's territory, fire elemental energy still exists and is much more abundant than in the material world, but the air temperature is not low.
The so-called scarcity is relative.
Compared to the earth elemental energy, the fire elemental energy here is only about a quarter.
The journey is uneventful.
No traps, no attacks, and hardly an earth elemental being in sight.
The surging flames advance another several kilometers.
At this point, huge, orderly, and intricately arranged stone walls enter Garon's view, not indicating the proximity of the Stone City Labyrinth but seen through the true dragon's extended vision.
There's still a distance to go.
But being visible means it's not too far.
Both sides have legendary beings, and such distances cannot hide from legendary vision.
"Concentrating forces in the Stone City Labyrinth, hoping to rely on its vast complexity for defense?"
The Lord of Flamesteel City narrows his eyes.
The Stone City Labyrinth is not like Flamesteel City; it's a complex domain formed by countless tall stone walls, covering a vast area, and essentially, only the Earth Giant can completely remember the routes in and out of the Stone City Labyrinth during wartime.
The outer Stone City Labyrinth serves as the best defensive line.
The fire elemental army has some flying members, but they are few compared to the total number of fire elementals, with ninety-nine percent of the fire elemental soldiers having to enter the Stone City Labyrinth from the ground.
Meanwhile, the sky suddenly darkens significantly.
An invisible force gathers in the high sky, attracting the surrounding earth elemental energy.
Garon's gaze shifts, looking up.
The stone rain continues, with pebbles falling from the sky, originally harmless to the fire elemental army.
However, at this moment, the stones, originally no larger than a fist, seem to be controlled during their fall, actively attracting surrounding stones and becoming one under the adhesion of earth elemental energy.
In an instant, giant stones with diameters ranging from one meter to over ten meters appear above the fire elemental army.
In the howling wind, numerous giant stones, like meteors, descend rapidly with oppressive force from above.
"The Earth Giant is not to be underestimated."
This attack, although sudden, does not cause much expression change on Garon or the Lord of Flamesteel City's faces.
The Earth Giant could not always endure inaction.
Striking was just a matter of time, and they were prepared for this.
Meanwhile, the formidable giant stones hit the ground, releasing their kinetic energy upon contact, creating shockwaves that destroy the surface.
Boom, boom, boom. It's like stones being thrown into a red sea.
The splashes are all flames.
Countless fire elementals are either directly hit by the giant stones or scattered by the impact of their landing.
Fire wolves, fire lions, and fire dogs explode upon impact.
Fire elementals directly hit disperse into flames, swirling in the air, while those affected by the shockwave are like being blown by a strong wind, their flames flickering and twisting.
A giant stone with a diameter of about ten meters rolls violently towards Garon.
But before Garon can act, a dark green sinister figure flashes in the sky.
The Frost Wyrm swings its tail, shattering the giant stone with brute physical strength.
Such widespread attacks generally have little effect on beings of great individual strength. The Red Dragon and the Frost Wyrm circle in the sky, smashing giant stones and dispersing the debris, clearing the area above Garon.
The Lord of Flamesteel City glances up.
Being close to Garon, it too is unconcerned with the giant stones.
After a brief look, the Lord of Flamesteel City turns its gaze away, murmuring, "Are these all the followers you brought?"
Two Red Dragons, one Frost Wyrm, two high-ranking casters, and Garon himself constitute all the non-elemental beings present.
Garon nods calmly, "They are my loyal followers, sworn to serve me. Though few in number, they are not weak and can hold their own. You can trust them."
In fact, Balton is also present.
Balton, being half an undead, is hard to detect when concealing its aura and hiding in a very concealed location, unnoticed by the Lord of Flamesteel City.
"Of course, just as I trust you, my friend."
The Lord of Flamesteel City often uses the word "friend."
Whether it truly thinks this way is another matter.
"The Earth Giant's tricks cannot stop the advance of our fire elementals."
"The spectacle is grand, but that's all there is."
The Lord of Flamesteel City surveys the surroundings calmly.
Such physical attacks, countless giant stones falling from the sky, would be disastrous for most beings.
But fire elementals are part of that small exception.
They are immune to a great extent of physical damage.
Indeed, after a round of giant stone rain, with a pause before the second wave, on the shattered land, scattered flames are drawn together by an invisible force.
Quickly, ninety percent of the fire elementals crushed under the giant stones rebuild their forms.
Aside from their flames becoming dimmer and the flames on their surfaces slightly weaker, there are no other effects.
Moreover, these reformed fire elementals rapidly absorb fire elemental energy from the air to replenish their weakened bodies.
The stone rain creates ripples in the sea of flames.
But when the ripples subside, the flames surge unabated.
Very few fire elementals truly perish in this assault, mostly low-level ones hit repeatedly, their elemental forms destroyed multiple times in short succession, leading to their true destruction.
Unlike flesh and blood beings with many weaknesses, elemental beings are hard to kill completely.
They have no clear vulnerabilities, such as hearts or heads.
"In our struggle against the Earth Giant, although we are at a stalemate, we have always had the upper hand."
The Lord of Flamesteel City speaks softly.
"However, without your help, it would be difficult to completely annihilate them."
"My friend, your arrival is a gift from the heavens to the Fire Giant."
After glancing at the calm silver dragon, the Lord of Flamesteel City adds warmly.
Garon nods and responds casually.
Despite the hindrance of the falling giant stones, the fire elemental army steadily and orderly advances towards the Stone City Labyrinth, with only limited weakening.
Soon, towering walls appear before them.
The grand walls, at least thirty meters high, remind Garon of the Frost Giants' City of Extreme Cold, with similarly majestic walls.
But here, the walls are numerous, silently standing on the grey-brown land, intertwining and winding, leaving only narrow pathways, forming a deep maze not fully visible even from the sky.
Here, the fire elemental army pauses briefly.
The Lord of Flamesteel City ignites a surging flame, its already large body gradually swelling.
Gradually, a hundred-meter-tall pillar of fire emerges, illuminating the surroundings in red.
The temperature rises, and the air distorts.
Like a firestorm incarnate, the Lord of Flamesteel City looks forward, lowers its gaze, and utters in the thunderous language of the fire tribe.
"My children, my brave warriors, the city of the earth elementals is ahead. With your flames, with your fury, destroy them! Drown them!"
"All glory to the fire elementals!"
After a moment of silence, a hissing sound like wind fanning flames echoes non-stop, forming a surging chorus.
"Fire elementals, prevail!"
The sea of flames suddenly intensifies.
Listening to the special intonation of the fire tribe language, Garon roughly understands their response, echoing the Lord of Flamesteel City's words, like "Victory for the City of Flamesteel."
Garon has learned some fire tribe language from the Lord of Flamesteel City.
With his excellent linguistic talent, he understands some of it.
However, speaking it is more challenging, as the unique intonation and pronunciation come from regular fire twists and waves, difficult for flesh and blood beings to mimic.
"Attack!"
At the Lord of Flamesteel City's command.
Fire Giants positioned at various nodes of the fire elemental army simultaneously respond, further ordering the rest of the fire elementals, issuing the command for a total assault.
Suddenly, the previously paused sea of fire moves again, with an even more tumultuous and surging momentum.
The red flame surge enters the Stone City Labyrinth.
Facing such a maze, the fire elementals adopt a simple and violent approach to solving it.
Led by the fire elemental elders, continuous high-temperature flames emanate from them, melting wall after wall into magma-like material. The originally empty Stone City Labyrinth ignites with flames as the fire elemental army enters, turning areas into seas of fire.
Wherever the fire elemental army passes, it becomes a sea of fire.
"These walls of the labyrinth are made of ordinary stone materials, unable to withstand the burning of fire elemental life."
Garon's gaze flickers.
The silver dragon, reflecting flames, vibrates its wings and swiftly ascends, overlooking the battlefield from high above.
The Lord of Flamesteel City has returned to its twenty-meter-tall form.
It glances at the silver dragon in the sky.
Then, flames surge from the Lord of Flamesteel City's lower body, quickly forming a tornado of fire, enveloping its entire body.
The fire tornado ascends, howling to the sky, following the silver dragon into the high air.
Whoosh! The flames disperse, and the Lord of Flamesteel City, now in the sky alongside the silver dragon, looks at each other, flames blazing on its body.
"Let the warriors of the City of Flamesteel and your subordinates act freely."
"We'll conserve our strength until the master of the Stone City Labyrinth can no longer hold back, then take action against it."
The Lord of Flamesteel City looks at Garon, saying.
Clearly, it does not trust Garon as much as it claims.
To this, Garon simply smiles calmly, "We shall see."
He pays no attention to the nearby Lord of Flamesteel City, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield.
From high above, the view becomes broad and clear, with the high walls of the labyrinth unable to block such vision.
Garon clearly sees the Stone City Labyrinth breached, the fire elemental army flowing in like water and rapidly expanding the gap, turning areas into seas of flames.
Giant stones still occasionally fall from the sky, but to little effect.
Moreover, while the view is clearer, not a single earth elemental being is visible.
The vast Stone City Labyrinth seems empty, devoid of any earth elemental presence.
But this is just an appearance.
Garon's dragon eyes sparkle with insight.
Beneath the Stone City Labyrinth, countless earth elemental lights gather, seething with agitation.
"Hmph, these earth-loving moles, turning to ash and merging with the earth is their destiny."
The Lord of Flamesteel City shows disdain for the earth elemental army underground, looking down on their racial habits.
Different elemental natures and personalities are starkly different.
They naturally see each other as mortal enemies due to irreconcilable living contradictions.
As the Lord of Flamesteel City speaks, almost simultaneously, the ground suddenly begins to tremble violently, as if a fearsome beast below is rolling, the ground undulating like the sea, with soil and rocks churning and the surface cracking, loud rumbling sounds endless.
Boom! A rough stone hand emerges from the ground, grasping a fire wolf and squeezing it tightly.
Hiss. A wisp of black smoke bursts from the fingers.
The fire wolf is completely crushed, its elemental form unable to reassemble.
At this, the earth elementals officially begin their counterattack.
Stone tigers, stone lions, and stone statues made of mud, rock, marble, granite, and various materials rise from the ground, led by the Earth Giant, suddenly dispersing the wave formed by the fire elemental army.
Unlike the fire elementals made entirely of flames.
Earth elementals possess extremely heavy bodies, larger and more formidable than fire elementals.
Their every move can influence the surrounding soil and stones, with heavy attacks crushing many fire elementals.
However, under the enveloping and burning flames, the bodies of earth elementals gradually melt from the outside in, showing signs of lava burns, covered in high temperatures.
Earth and fire intertwine at this moment.
Every second, flames are dispersed, and rocks melt, with the battlefield situation heating up.
Vote for us... Daily goals are tough, and self-discipline is hard.
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