The Mythical Path of a Princess from a Destroyed Kingdom

As Maginus ventured deeper into the workshop, the scorching heat intensified, and the dwarven blacksmith's strength and aura increased with the rising temperature.

Ding ding ding ding ding...

Low-level, mid-level... high-level.

As they approached the deepest part, only a few high-ranking dwarves remained, constantly forging weapons, each weapon imbued with their aura.

Suddenly, the blank in someone's hand broke completely with a loud bang. The blacksmith stared at the broken weapon blank in disbelief and casually threw it into the rubble.

No one paid any attention to Maginos walking among them; everyone was focused on their own business.

After entering the higher-level area, she finally understood where these temperatures came from.

A river of lava flows beneath the workshop, the molten lava bubbling and bursting intermittently, splashing onto the crystal floor beneath before dripping back down.

No wonder it's so hot. The entire workshop is built on lava, of course it's going to be hot. The outside isn't affected, probably because magic has been used to lock all the heat inside the workshop.

Leaving the high-level area, a terrifying heat wave swept over them. Before Maginus stood an obsidian bridge spanning a river of lava. Here, the river was not protected by crystals, and the lava fell directly onto the bridge.

On the other side of the bridge was a workshop that looked quite ordinary. A tall dwarf, about 1.75 meters tall, waved to Maginus, signaling her to come over.

Stepping onto the bridge, Maginus frowned slightly, brushing away the lava that had fallen on her face; her skin was only slightly red.

Her body wasn't afraid of lava, but her equipment was; these leather armors weren't fire-resistant.

Reaching the other side of the bridge, Maginus approached Godseef, who didn't resemble a dwarf. This legendary master, dressed in blacksmith's clothes and looking like an ordinary person, took a sip of strong liquor, stared at Maginus, and asked:

"Hey kid, your name is Tirenie, right?"

"No, her real name is Maginus Imperius, and this is my alter ego."

Maginus decided it was best not to hide it from the legendary blacksmith, in case his true form used a weapon forged by him later, the blacksmith might still think Tyrene was dead.

"Oh, avatar, you spellcasters are all wrong, aren't you? You're a barbarian, aren't you?"

The drunken dwarf looked at her with surprise, unable to see through her. Clearly, news from the surface had not reached the underground, or rather, Godesifer's information was relatively closed, so he did not know about Maginus.

"Well, it's a long story. In short, I was able to create a clone with roughly the same strength as my original self to come to you. I hope you can repair this weapon and make it a mid-tier or even high-tier weapon."

"What, you want me to repair weapons!?"

Godesifer shouted loudly, looking quite aggrieved, and waved his hand to refuse Maginus's request: "No, I never repair weapons for others, I only forge them myself."

The blunt refusal made Maginus frown slightly, rub her temples, and sigh: "Alright then, do you have any other blacksmith recommendations?"

Unexpectedly, Godesifer was unwilling, but Emerald City had no shortage of blacksmiths, so Maginus didn't necessarily need his help with forging.

Severus, who had refused, was momentarily stunned, then gritted his teeth and began to think about who he could recommend to Maginos.

To be honest, as an awkward dwarf, he really didn't want to admit the forging skills of his peers, but he really didn't want to do the work of repairing weapons, so he would rather recommend someone else.

"Flint Gold, he's a legendary blacksmith. Although his forging skills are a little worse than mine, he's definitely better at repairs. I'll write you a letter of recommendation."

In the end, Godesifer revealed his recommended candidate and handed the letter to Maginus.

Opening the unsealed letter, Maginus looked at the letter written in the dwarven language and decisively tore up all the few sentences Goethe had written, leaving only his name.

If another legendary blacksmith, Flint Gold, had read his letter, he might have been furious and kicked Maginus out.

Upon reaching the other side of the city, a place identical to the previous workshop came into Maginos's view. She called out the dwarf blacksmith's name again, and the legendary blacksmith here also beckoned her to come over.

Do you all have the same aesthetic sense?

While mentally complaining, she found a blond dwarf in the deepest part of the cave. Compared to Goethe, Flint Gold's height was more in line with Maginos's stereotype of dwarves, being less than 1.5 meters tall.

The blond dwarf spoke to Maginus while tapping the anvil: "So, Lady Imperius, you were introduced by that bastard Siphna?"

"Yes, although he said his forging skills were better than yours, your repair and modification skills were far superior to his."

Upon hearing this, Flint coldly snorted and struck the final blow:

"Hmph, what are you saying! It's obvious that my forging skills are better than his! This guy doesn't even dare to repair or modify the weapon fragments, yet he says that weapons made by others are not worthy of being repaired. It's ridiculous."

"Oh, are you really better than him?"

Maginus continued her questioning along the flint, and the dwarf blacksmith immediately showed a proud expression, recounting his deeds incessantly, while Maginus listened attentively, nodding in agreement from time to time.

Once Flint had stopped speaking with satisfaction, his gaze toward Maginus was much more approving: "Tell me, what weapon do you want to reforge?"

"A long sword."

Maginus explained that when he noticed Flint looking at the standard weapon at her waist, he quickly said it wasn't that one, and then took out the sword box containing the fragments of the Guardian Angel.

"Well"

Seeing these fragments, a hint of heartache flashed in Flint's eyes. He took the box and placed his hand on the blade, but took a few steps back in surprise as soon as he touched it.

Such heavy negative emotions—killing intent, hatred, and despair—entwine the sword. If it were reforged, regardless of whether it was evil or not, it would absolutely slaughter countless creatures.

Every legendary blacksmith possesses unique abilities, and flint gold can fully unleash the potential within weapons and ores by touching and sensing their properties.

What kind of compensation are you prepared to offer?

Flint Gold looked at Maginos curiously and asked in return, "Whatever you want, as long as it's within my power, I can do it."

Chapter 549 The Decreasing Temperature of Magma

Upon hearing Maginus's question, Flint Gold stroked his chin, his gaze instinctively drifting towards the underground mountains not far from the capital. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pointed in that direction, saying:

"I happen to have a request that you can handle. You see that mountain over there? There's something wrong with the lava flowing into the city. I don't know why the temperature has dropped, and none of the adventurers sent out by the capital have returned."

"No, even the high-level teams have fallen?"

Maginos's eyes widened, and seeing the dwarf nod, she couldn't help but ask, "Don't any of you legends plan to go and take a look?"

"It's just a few high-level beings dying, it's not a big deal. The lower temperature of the magma hasn't affected our blacksmithing or daily life too much, so even the legendary ones don't bother to care."

"Doesn't the mage intend to cast a spell to test it out?"

“No rush,” the dwarf said matter-of-factly. “The temperature drop only happened a year ago. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re broke, I wouldn’t have thought to ask you to do this kind of thing.”

These are incredibly powerful long-lived beings! Their concept of time is truly absurd. But perhaps that's why so few of them commit suicide due to their long lifespan.

Maginus recalled the two legendary mages she had met, who chose to give up their lives, probably partly because their sense of time hadn't been corrected.

"Alright, it seems my king isn't worried while my sycophants are. I don't understand you legendary long-lived beings. What if something really happens inside and destroys Emerald City?"

“How could that be?” Flint curled his lip. “Not to mention all the legends here, let me tell you, kid, there are quasi-gods in Emerald City, and the entire city is under the protection of the Soul Forgers.”

Maginus couldn't help but shake his head, only able to say that with such strength, they certainly had the confidence to remain inactive.

"Alright, I'll go take a look."

"Well, don't blame me if you die in there. If you find out anything, come back quickly. Even if it's just intelligence, I can give you a discount on the processing fee."

"What if we actually solve the problem?"

"I'll repair this sword for you for free, and make it even stronger, okay?"

Flint waved for Maginus to leave, assuming she was a high-ranking person and that her mission would be dangerous.

After resting briefly at the inn, Maginus set off alone toward the mountain indicated by the flint.

Leaving the main road, she followed the pervasive smell of sulfur and ash in the air, gradually moving away from the forest of fungi and ferns, where the surrounding plants and fungi became fewer.

The air was filled with a large amount of smoke and dust that was harmful to the human body. The further we went, the thicker the smoke and dust became, eventually reaching a point where it could even obscure our vision. The temperature was also rising sharply.

Finally, Maginus arrived near the lava river on the surface of the earth. There were still many clusters of fire elementals moving in the flowing lava. She avoided these monsters and followed the lava river through the ashes, heading towards its source without looking back.

As she approached the mountain, she saw some skeletons that hadn't been completely burned, along with some dwarves, who were probably from the same adventure team.

When Maginus spotted them, they also sensed his approach and immediately raised their weapons, watching the smoke with great tension.

"I am human, sent by Flint Gold to investigate the magma problem."

Maginus shouted, and once she was within sight, the dwarves confirmed her human identity and then relaxed and sheathed their weapons.

“My name is Tirenie. Did you just arrive too? Have you found anything?” Standing with the dwarves, Maginus asked curiously.

The dwarves, though a bit dusty and unharmed, shook their heads. A high-ranking warrior stepped forward to speak with her:

"No, at least everything is normal near the lava river; the temperature difference hasn't changed much, which means the problem isn't there."

The dwarves introduced themselves, exchanged a few pieces of information, and then went their separate ways, not intending to act together.

Watching Maginos leave alone, the dwarf's expression turned serious. When his teammates asked why he was so serious, he simply replied:

"She's not someone to be trifled with; she dares to walk alone in dangerous areas."

Following the ever-flowing river of lava into the mountains, one finds numerous fire-immune monsters and magical beasts roaming the dark wilderness. Sulfur bats occasionally swoop down from the sky, attempting to attack Maginus.

Poisonous volcanic smoke spewed from their mouths. Maginus kicked up a stone, held it in her hand, aimed at the demon bat that was spitting at her, and threw it, smashing its entire body. She then drove away the monsters surrounding her and continued to observe her surroundings.

Bending down to pick up the body fragments from the ground, Maginus examined them closely. He could tell that they were remnants of a dwarf's body, and such body fragments were everywhere in the wasteland, some already carbonized.

That's interesting. What happened to them?

Finding few clues, she continued deeper into the lava river, eventually arriving at a massive canyon.

All the magma tributaries converged to form an incredibly wide river that churned below, with falling rocks causing violent explosions.

All the lava flows out of this canyon, either connected to the ley lines or to the fire elemental plane, so there are probably plenty of monsters inside.

Tearing open a spell scroll to cast a fire empowerment, cooling her clothes which were about to catch fire, Maginus stepped into the canyon and advanced along the extremely narrow cliff.

The sulfur bats flying in the air had been eyeing her for a while. Taking advantage of her immobility, they pounced on her, only to be killed by Maginus with the ordinary longsword at her waist.

Having safely reached the open area, an inexplicable pressure pressed down on me.

Like a dragon's might.

Could a dragon have appeared here? That would make sense considering why high-level professionals have perished here.

Raising an eyebrow, Maginos reached out and gripped the greatsword. She had only taken a few steps forward when a slight tremor came from her side.

boom!

A giant four-legged lizard suddenly crashed through the rock wall, stretched out its claws and lunged at Maginus, while opening its huge mouth and biting down hard on her head with its sharp teeth.

This lizard's thick, scaly skin resembles cooled lava, while its obsidian claws and bright, deep red eyes reveal its lethality.

Red dragon? No, that's not right. It should be a magma dragon.

Although it wasn't a real dragon that appeared, the appearance of the dragon beast confirmed for Maginus that there was probably a real dragon absorbing fire elemental energy at the end of the lava river, which was causing the temperature of the lava to drop.

Chapter 550 Fire Dragon

True dragons and dragon beasts are not closely related by blood. Elemental dragon beasts are ferocious creatures, distant relatives of pterosaurs, but they have bloodlines originating from the elemental plane.

As its name suggests, the Magma Dragon is a hybrid of fire and earth elements.

Those from the Prime Material Plane typically live in deep caves or craters, especially near lakes, rivers, or lava fields. They often ally with fire giants or salamanders.

In addition, the five-colored dragons, especially the red dragon, as well as some other rare evil dragons, are all objects of its service.

Although magma dragons may not be entirely willing, there is a very high probability that they will succumb to their own bloodline and the power of the true dragon that enslaved them.

Yes, strength is the most important thing. The fundamental reason is that the magma dragon beast can't beat the enslaver. Sometimes the giant spirit also breeds and enslaves dragon beasts.

Maginus's mind worked quickly. After figuring out the situation, he used his right arm to slow down his thinking.

Time accelerated, and the greatsword, though arriving late, struck first, breaking free of its binding sheath and slashing down at the dragon's head.

The head was split in two, and the blood, as hot as magma, fell onto Maginos's body, causing an explosion of flames. Had she not cast the spell of Fire Empowerment beforehand, her clothes might have already caught fire.

She brushed off the flames and ignored the minor explosions, then walked deeper into the canyon, making no attempt to hide herself. She slammed her greatsword against the hard rock wall, creating a loud noise to attract the attention of the dragon hiding in the canyon.

However, the main character did not come out to greet her. Instead, a large group of monsters followed the sound, their red and black bodies indicating their elemental attributes.

Salamanders, Magma Dragons, Sulfur Bats, Fire Elemental Clusters, Slag Clusters, Mummified Corpses...

Swinging her greatsword, Maginus pressed her neck and looked up, shouting across the distance, "Hey, you don't really think this little minion can take me down, do you?"

Activating the magical effect of the greatsword's spreading power, she slammed the sword into the ground and then swung it upwards. The earth beside the lava river instantly cracked open, and a terrifying shockwave, accompanied by a large amount of debris, fell on all the monsters that tried to approach.

Every single one of them was shattered into pieces if their defenses weren't strong enough; only the Magma Dragon Beast managed to survive this attack.

Drawing her longsword to deliver the final blow, Maginos leaped over the chasm she had blasted open, finally leaving the lava river and arriving near a lake filled with lava.

Several recently deceased corpses lay nearby, burning with flames. Judging from their number and size, they were the dwarves she had encountered earlier.

Looking up and gazing around, she focused her attention on the lava lake. Before she could make a move, a spell was suddenly unleashed.

Dominate humanity!

A powerful surge of magic rushed to her brain, attempting to control her for a moment. At the same time, the lava lake began to churn, and a pair of thin wings, made of ash and covering most of the lava lake, lifted the lava and exposed it to the scorching air.

The dragon roared and flew out of the lava lake. Its mottled scales were composed of four colors: red, orange, black, and gray, making it look like broken obsidian and molten lava.