Elven cultivators

In the northern part of the mainland, at the heart of the mountains.

At the heart of the fortress city stands a colossal furnace, as large as a hill.

Inside, raging flames burned fiercely, and endless fire elemental energy surged forth, causing the air within a radius of a hundred meters to visibly distort violently.

The air was even tinged with a dazzling golden-red.

Creatures below the Golden Peak level would likely dehydrate and turn into charcoal if they stood here for even a short while.

This is the First Flame Furnace, the origin of all casting furnaces in the heart of the mountains.

It is also the energy core of the entire fortress city.

Igna had been standing in front of the Primal Flame for several hours.

The violent elemental energy and extreme heat around him had no effect on him, like a gentle spring breeze.

A moment later, the furnace door of the Primal Flame Furnace opened, and a short, stocky figure slowly walked out.

A scorching liquid, like magma, slowly flowed down his body, running down his ankles to the ground, hissing and emitting thick white smoke.

It's fortunate that the ground here has been enchanted, otherwise it would have been burned through in an instant.

"king."

Igna rushed forward and reached out to help Sorin, but the latter waved his hand to stop him.

"I'm fine."

Thorin Fireforge, the current Dwarf King, stretched his body, a smile spreading across his rugged face.

"My injuries have healed a lot and are not serious. I will be fully recovered after a few more rests in the Primordial Furnace."

At this point, Thorin couldn't help but sigh.

"Demigods are indeed terrifying. I can't even remember the last time I suffered such a serious injury."

Igna's expression also became extremely complicated.

Hamilton was a close observer of the entire battle between Hamilton and his many saints.

Before this, he only knew that demigods were strong, but he never imagined they would be that strong.

Even with their king and several elders joining forces, they were completely suppressed and beaten badly. In the end, they had no choice but to retreat to the fortress city, where they barely managed to stop Hamilton's advance thanks to the array defense system there.

Dwarves are known for their indomitable spirit.

But this battle completely shattered their morale.

As a result, the Heart of the Mountains has been in a semi-closed state for the past few decades, with greatly reduced communication with the outside world.

Fortunately, Thorin's injuries are almost healed. As long as their king emerges from the First Flame and takes charge, the Heart of the Mountains will be much more at ease.

Seeing the change in Igner's expression, Thorin patted him on the shoulder and grinned, "This incident may not be without its benefits for us. I learned a lot from the battle with Hamilton, and I might be able to cross that threshold soon."

"When that time comes, I will definitely find Hamilton and have a good fight to avenge my defeat."

Igna was overjoyed.

If a demigod could emerge from the Heart of the Mountains, their position on the continent would undoubtedly be even more secure.

Thorin encouraged his most promising young leader before asking, "Did anything happen while I was recovering?"

"...There is one thing."

Igner frowned and recounted how Bloodhowl Fortress had declared war on the Silvermoon Clan.

Upon hearing this, Thorin's smile vanished, and he let out a cold sneer.

""

"Those orcs are still bullying the weak and fearing the strong as always. If they really want revenge, they should go straight to the Emerald Court. What kind of behavior is it to bully a vassal race?"

"The Emerald Court is a bunch of cowards. Their own vassal races are being bullied, yet they cower in the City of Ten Thousand Trees like turtles, without making a sound. I knew those pointy-eared people couldn't be trusted."

Thorin was intolerant of dissent and immediately launched into a tirade against both factions.

Igna, standing to the side, could only manage a wry smile before quickly interrupting, "Your Majesty, what should we do?"

Thorin stopped his grumbling, gave Igna a deep look, and said with a sneer, "What can we do? What can we possibly do? Even the Emerald Court doesn't want to get involved, so why should we?"

"I know you and Anton are good friends, but personal relationships are personal relationships, and we can't let that harm the interests of the fortress."

Igna quickly shook his head: "Your Majesty, I have no such intention."

"That's good." Thorin changed the subject. "However, if the Silvermoon Clan is defeated, we can take them in and make them our vassal race."

Upon hearing this, Igna couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

To put it nicely, they were actually after the Silvermoon Clan's fleet technology.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Ever since the Silvermoon Clan first introduced the Soaring Cloud Flying Boat, they have been eyeing that unique and powerful airship technology.

However, the Silvermoon Clan has consistently refused to trade technology, leaving them with no way to proceed.

If the Silvermoon Clan is defeated this time, it might be a good opportunity.

In this way, the friendship with Anton can be preserved, and the Heart of the Mountains can also benefit.

Win-win!

Although Igner had confidence in Anton and the Silvermoon Clan, their opponent was Bloodhowl Fortress, one of the five major powers. No matter how much he favored the former, he really didn't think the Silvermoon Clan could defeat Bloodhowl Fortress.

The gap in military strength between the two sides is still quite significant.

"Oh, right," Thorin remembered something else, "Any results from the investigation into the Ring of Annihilation?"

Upon hearing this, Igna frowned and shook his head.

"We captured some people from the Ring of Annihilation, but those guys are tight-lipped and we can't get anything out of them."

Thorin was not surprised, a cold smile playing on his lips: "A bunch of death-worshipping lunatics who don't value their own lives. It's no wonder we can't get any information out of them."

He paused, then added, "Since we can't get any intelligence, there's no need to leave any survivors. Let's intensify the search and wipe out all the rats on our territory."

"Yes, I understand." Igna nodded emphatically.

Although the dwarves are not good at reconnaissance and hunting, fortunately the forces of the Ring of Annihilation in the Heart of the Mountains are not large, and they have now been mostly cleared out.

The few remaining escapees are nothing to worry about.

After this period of searching, Igna had a feeling that the Ring of Annihilation's activities in the northern part of the continent seemed to be more concentrated in the territory of Bloodhowl Fortress.

......

The northern wilderness.

The narrow Wind-Weeping Canyon stretches across the entire wasteland like a crack cleaved by an axe.

The wind whistled through the canyon, creating a low, mournful echo that lingered for a long time.

French stood on the rock face, looking down at the busy figures below.

Through the figures of people moving back and forth, one could vaguely see the outline of an enormous magic circle taking shape at the bottom of the valley.

"The ritual array is three-quarters complete."

The voice of the fourth seat came from behind.

French didn't turn his head, and said in a low voice, "The progress is still too slow, we need to speed it up."

The fourth seatman walked up to him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Is there a need to rush? It's true that the news of the opening of the Netherworld has been leaked, but judging from the actions of the five major powers, they don't seem to care much. I think we have plenty of time."

He paused slightly, a strange smile appearing on his face.

"Speaking of which, I have some good news to tell you."

"Not long ago, Bloodhowl Fortress suddenly declared war on the Silvermoon Clan. Once these two forces start fighting, Bloodhowl Fortress will have even less energy to pay attention to things here, allowing us to prepare the ceremony more calmly."

Upon hearing the words "Silver Moon Clan," a flicker of emotion finally crossed French's expressionless face.

This is undoubtedly good news for the Ring of Annihilation.

It wasn't just because Bloodhowl Fortress was focusing its energy on the war, but also because once the war broke out, Anton's energy would inevitably be diverted, leaving him with no energy to attend to other matters.

Although French was confident that Anton was unaware that they were preparing to open the Abyss in Windwail Canyon, he couldn't completely put his mind at ease given Anton's past behavior was so eerie.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

Hearing that the Silvermoon Clan was about to go to war with Bloodhowl Fortress, even he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Send people to closely monitor the war situation."

French gave one last instruction and then dropped the matter of speeding up the process.

If you have enough time, the more thorough your preparation, the better.

This concerns the final plan that the Ring of Annihilation has been plotting for hundreds of years, so it cannot be treated with the utmost care.