Elven cultivators

On a protruding rock wall at the edge of the basin.

Gustu hovered in mid-air, his dark purple central pupil fixed on the battlefield below, his gaze extremely gloomy.

The dwarf elder and the rock beast leader stood on either side of him, their faces equally gloomy.

Their original plan was to launch a surprise attack after the entire elven army had entered the basin, and then annihilate them with overwhelming force.

Who would have thought that the other side would be so alert, realizing something was wrong only halfway through the advance and decisively ordering a retreat?

As a result, they had to launch the attack prematurely, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of the ambush.

What surprised them even more was the strength of this elven army.

"Everyone's at the Iron rank..."

The dwarf elder Dilo's single eye was filled with disbelief.

He had initially thought that the elves he had encountered before were just elite troops, and that the ordinary soldiers were far weaker than them.

But then he suddenly realized that every soldier in this army had the strength level of the Black Iron rank.

Black Iron Legion!

A single word flashed through the minds of the three leaders present at the same time.

Could it be that the elven forces called Nine Nether City control a Black Iron Legion?

If that's the case, it's absolutely terrible news for them.

In the brief moment they observed and hesitated, the situation had already clearly shifted.

Even with the advantage of a surprise attack, they failed to gain the upper hand and instead began to show signs of being unable to withstand the onslaught.

"Take out their commander first!"

"Elder Dilok said in a deep voice, a fierce glint flashing in his single eye."

The leader of the Rock Beast Demons nodded in deep agreement.

His gaze swept across the battlefield, quickly locking onto three figures.

A silver-haired elven girl wielding a battle axe, a gray-robed spellcaster waving a staff, and an elven warrior dressed in scale armor, resembling an officer.

These three elves all possess Gold-rank strength, and are most likely the command structure of this army.

If we take down these three guys and lose their leader, the elven soldiers will fall into chaos, and we'll still have a chance to turn the tide.

The three leaders exchanged glances and quickly reached a tacit understanding.

The next instant, Gustav's central giant eye suddenly lit up, and a dark purple ray as thick as an arm shot out from the pupil, crashing towards Roman.

At the same time, the elder of the Dilo dwarves leaped down from the rock wall, his warhammer, held in both hands, crashing down on Darion with a dull thud.

The leader of the Rock Beast Demons leaped into the air, like a moving hill, and crushed towards the captain of the Dark Flag Team.

Roman, Darian, and the flag captain all met the attack head-on.

The two sides' gold-tier combat power clashed in the blink of an eye.

She gripped the axe with both hands, using her waist and back to generate power, and the Thunderstrike Axe drew a dazzling arc from bottom to top, striking the incoming ray fiercely.

The lightning-infused axe and the ray collided heavily in the void, instantly unleashing a blinding light. Visible energy ripples erupted outwards from the point of impact, sending rubble flying everywhere.

The dark purple ray, powerful enough to dissolve refined gold, was actually cleaved into countless tiny specks of light by the Thunderstrike Axe, scattering and disappearing in all directions.

Gustav's central pupil suddenly contracted.

Its dissociation rays were actually cleaved apart by the opponent with an axe?

Before it could recover from its shock, Roman had already rushed forward and brought the Thunderstrike Axe down again.

On the other side, Darian cast a spell to force back the elder of the Dilo dwarfs, and in a moment of distraction, he glanced up at Gusdu, his brows immediately furrowing.

The Elder's Eye!

Bewitching are a race known for their numerous variants.

The Elder Eye is the most common variant of the Eye Demon, not only having a lifespan far exceeding that of ordinary Eye Demons, but also possessing spellcasting abilities far surpassing the latter.

In addition, there are even rarer and more powerful variants such as the Eye of the Nest Mother, the Eye of the Warlord, the Eye of the Dead Tyrant, the Eye of the Death Kiss, the Eye of the Abyss, and the Eye of Gauss.

Each variant possesses unique abilities and fighting style, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

Although the Elder's Eye ranks last among the many Eye Demon mutants, it still possesses at least the power of the Gold Peak level.

The Elder Eye before us is clearly at the peak of the Gold Realm, and most of the awakened laws are likely related to disintegration, making it difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, Roman was no pushover either.

Darian's gaze fell on the pale golden phantom on the elven girl's body.

Those blurry, golden, wheel-shaped outlines, like reflections in water, slowly swirled around him.

With each rotation of the golden wheel, fine arcs of electricity shot out, traveling along Roman's body and radiating a powerful aura that blended sharpness and weight.

Golden Wheel Thunder Body!

Darian remembered that this near-divine technique focused on defense, allowing practitioners to condense a layer of lightning power on their body to resist external attacks.

When cultivation reaches its deepest level, a golden wheel protects the body, and the wheel rotates, generating lightning. The defensive power is inexhaustible, and the physical body alone can withstand attacks from legendary-level opponents.

Judging from Roman's performance at this moment, she clearly has not yet fully mastered this near-divine technique, and can only apply it at a barely proficient level.

However, when combined with the lightning power of the Six-Armored Thunder Armor, its defensive capabilities have reached an astonishing level.

Even if Gustav's disintegration rays were not directly cleaved by the Thunderstrike Axe, and occasionally landed on Roman, they would be weakened layer by layer by the protective lightning of the Golden Wheel Shadow and the Six Imperial Thunder Armor, and would eventually fall on her already exceptionally strong body due to her cultivation of the Eight Desolate Prison Suppression Scripture, causing negligible damage.

In contrast, consider Gustav.

The defensive force field surrounding its body was violently distorted under Roman's continuous heavy blows, like a canvas being repeatedly torn apart by a gale, emitting a hum that could not bear the burden.

Each time the axe blade strikes, a large section of the force field caves in, almost touching its body.

It had to frantically channel its magic to maintain the stability of the force field while desperately drifting backward, trying to create distance.

Roman clung to it like a leech, the lightning axe striking again and again, weaving a dense net of lightning that enveloped Gustav, giving it no chance to escape.

For a moment, the Elder's Eye, who was clearly stronger, ended up in an even more disheveled state.

Seeing this scene, Darian couldn't help but feel a complex mix of emotions.

Unbeknownst to him, the elven girl who carried a battle axe and whose mind was only focused on chopping trees had already far surpassed him in strength.

The talent gap is too big.

With a sigh, Darian banished his distracting thoughts and focused his attention back on his opponent.

This Dilo dwarf is a Gold-ranking being, one minor rank higher than him.

However, on the battlefield, the difference in rank is never the only factor that determines victory or defeat.

He possessed two extraordinary magical artifacts personally crafted by Anton: a staff and a robe. When used together, they were enough to compensate for the difference in their rank.

On the other hand, the captain of the Dark Flag Team was in a less optimistic situation.

He was merely a lower-tier Gold-rank warrior, and even with the enhancement of rune-enhanced equipment and talismans, there was a noticeable difference in strength compared to the upper-tier Gold-rank Rock Beast Demon Leader.

Each attack from the Rock Beast Demon Leader was powerful and heavy, and the shrieking sound as its claws tore through the air was chilling.

The captain of the Dark Banner team was forced to retreat step by step, and his shield had several deep claw marks on it. The runes on the shield surface were flickering, indicating that it was seriously damaged.

Fortunately, he was experienced and fought while retreating, so he was not afraid of being defeated for the time being.

Time is still on their side.

Whether the Dark Banner Army wipes out the subterranean creatures first and then turns to support them, or the reinforcements from Primordial City arrive, victory will be assured. They just need to hold on a little longer.

Although Gustav was unaware that the elven army had reinforcements, the stalemate made it uneasy.

He was eager to quickly defeat his opponent and support his people, but the elven girl in front of him, despite not having fully awakened her power of laws, managed to fight him to a standstill with her strange combat skills and powerful equipment.

This made Gusdu feel extremely frustrated.

Just as the battle was becoming increasingly intense, an unexpected change occurred.

Suddenly, an incredibly dense crimson light surged from the depths of the cave.

The light was so thick it was almost tangible, like a reversed waterfall of blood cascading from the cave entrance, spreading rapidly in all directions like a tidal wave, swallowing everything in its path.

Rocks, moss, corpses, bloodstains... everything it touched was stained with an eerie scarlet.

Within a few breaths, the crimson light spread to the edge of the basin, eventually enveloping the entire basin and the dome like an inverted crimson bowl.

The sudden turn of events immediately drew everyone's attention.

The battle came to an abrupt end at that moment.

Whether they were elves or subterranean creatures, they all stopped what they were doing and looked around in surprise and uncertainty.

The intense blood-red light surrounding them gave them an extremely unsettling feeling.

Their instincts were giving them a frantic warning.

Just then, a piercing scream suddenly rang out.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a Deep Rock Ratman who had been lying heavily injured on the ground visibly shrivel up.

Not even a trace was left.

This scene changed the expression of everyone present.

Upon closer inspection, they were horrified to discover that their life force was rapidly draining away.

It was as if something unseen was draining their life force from their bodies.

At the same time, a violent killing intent also arose from the bottom of his heart, spreading like wildfire, making him want to swing his weapon and tear everything in front of him to pieces.

Some of the already irritable subterranean creatures began to have bloodshot eyes, heavy breathing, and their knuckles turned white from gripping their weapons so tightly.

Something's not right!

Roman reacted quickly and immediately gave the order.

"Everyone, take the muscle-regenerating and calming potions immediately!"

The elven soldiers immediately took out the potion, uncorked it, and tilted their heads back to drink it down.

The warm medicine slid down his throat into his stomach, turning into a warm current that flowed into his limbs and bones.

The feeling of life force draining away had noticeably slowed down, the inexplicable killing intent was temporarily suppressed, and consciousness returned to clarity.

The Scale Clan and the Cat People hurriedly took out the medicine and drank it, their faces filled with relief at surviving the ordeal.

But those underground creatures without available potions were not so lucky.

In just four or five breaths, some of the already severely injured and weak subterranean creatures could not hold on any longer and turned into blood, disappearing into the crimson light.

"Damn it! What the hell is this thing?!"

"I don't want to die!"

"Get out of here immediately!"

Someone shouted first, and the subterranean creatures seemed to wake from a dream, rushing towards the edge of the basin, brandishing their weapons and desperately smashing the blood-red barrier in front of them.

No matter how they attacked, the crimson barrier remained unmoved.

"Get out of my way!"

Elder Dilo, the dwarf elder, kicked away several earth giants blocking his path, roared fiercely, gripped his warhammer with both hands, and slammed it down hard on the blood-red barrier.

At the same time, Gusdu and the leader of the Rock Beast Demons also made their moves.

The giant eye in the center of the former suddenly lit up, and dark purple dissociation rays shot out.

The latter's claws also tore through the air, and five visible vacuum trails crashed onto the barrier.

The combined attacks of the three struck the crimson barrier simultaneously, creating ripples of scarlet red.

However, the ripples quickly subsided, and the crimson barrier remained standing there, unmoved.

The subterranean creatures present all changed their expressions.

Even with the three leaders working together, they couldn't break through this barrier.

On the other side, Roman and Darian also tried to attack the blood barrier, but to no avail.

"What kind of magic array is this? The defense is incredibly strong!"

Roman looked at Darian, but the latter also shook his head.

He had never seen such a bizarre magic array.

Just then, a series of heavy footsteps suddenly sounded.

Everyone turned to look and saw a huge figure slowly emerging from the depths of the cave.

It was a humanoid creature that resembled a golem.

It is described as a suspected one because its size is more than four or five times that of a normal adamantine golem, resembling a mobile fortress.

Ordinary adamantine golems are already enormous among alchemical golems, but compared to this golem, they are as insignificant as a child standing next to a giant.

Its entire body is made of some unknown metal that flows with a deep, dark light. The joints are not simply riveted together, but connected by starlight-like rays. Its form perfectly blends the power of life with the precision of machinery.

The enormous head wore an ethereal and majestic mask, and its eyes had no pupils, only bottomless energy vortexes, like two miniature black holes.

At the core of its chest cavity, thick armor unfolds in a spiral shape, revealing a pulsating ball of incandescent light.

It holds a giant sword in one hand, the blade made of the same material as its body, with dark light and patterns flowing across its surface.

His other hand held a tightly condensed force field, distorting the surrounding light.

Everyone was taken aback when they saw the enormous creature that had suddenly appeared.

When we explored the cave before, we didn't see any living creatures at all. So where did this big guy come from?

But soon, they realized something.

The appearance of the crimson barrier is clearly related to the strange golem in front of us.

The elder of the Dilo dwarves was the first to react.

The corrosive power of the blood-red light made him, whose personality was already twisted and crazy, even more irritable. His reason was almost completely swallowed up by the killing intent surging from the bottom of his heart.

"What a charlatan!"

He roared, gripped his warhammer with both hands, and launched himself out like a cannonball, charging fiercely towards the golem.

The warhammer, carrying immense force, slammed down towards the golem's head.

The golem responded to the attack from the elder of the Dilo dwarves.

Its fist, enveloped in a force field, suddenly slammed out.

Despite its enormous and bulky body, its movements were unexpectedly swift, faster than lightning.

The dwarf elder Dilo didn't even have time to react before he was struck by the giant fist.

A muffled explosion suddenly erupted in the basin.

The warhammer of the dwarf elder Dilo, along with his arms holding the hammer, his head, his torso... in that instant, as if being torn apart from within by an invisible force, exploded and turned into a spray of blood mist that filled the sky.

The moment the blood mist landed, it was completely swallowed up by the bloody light on the ground and disappeared without a trace.

The basin fell into a deathly silence.

All eyes were fixed on the golem, its face drained of all color.

Elder Dilo, the dwarf elder... a powerful figure of the upper gold rank... was actually killed with a single punch?

Even at the pinnacle of gold, one cannot do something so effortless.

"legend……"

The leader of the Rock Beast Demons had a hoarse voice that was almost inaudible, and intense horror and fear appeared in his beastly eyes.

In all his years of life, he had never heard of a legendary alchemical golem.