Whoosh!
Nephalian gripped her rapier, her body turning into a fierce streak of light that seemed to merge with the sharp sword light as she lunged forward.
The wind whipped up by the Sword Qi around her body cleaved through the incoming Forbidden Fire.
The two mages seized the opportunity to use water-attribute magic, creating a defensive layer to ward off the Forbidden Fire.
They then realized that this Forbidden Fire seemed unable to penetrate the defense of the water.
Logically, the Forbidden Fire should not have been suppressed by elemental attributes.
In previous battles, the mages in Caiman's knight order had also tried to use water-attribute magic to suppress the Forbidden Fire, but it had been useless.
The Forbidden Fire could use even water as fuel to burn.
Because Dalun Li had infused the Forbidden Fire with the attributes of plant life, it possessed the characteristics of a plant and could absorb the water element to grow.
The Forbidden Fire before them did not seem to have that characteristic.
Upon closer inspection, the color of the fire before them was relatively pale, lacking the rich, oil-painting-like texture of the true Forbidden Fire.
“This isn't the real Forbidden Fire; it only has some of its traits!”
The mage who noticed this quickly shouted to Nephalian at the front of the team.
Upon hearing this, Nephalian felt slightly more at ease as she tore apart a human torch that was crawling toward them like a beast.
Sure enough, although this fire clung to her blade and continued to burn and grow with a mad light, it lacked the overbearing, frenzied vitality of the true Forbidden Fire.
Even if it wasn't the real thing, as long as it shared the traits of the Forbidden Fire, Nephalian did not dare to be careless.
“Continue defending with water magic!”
She shouted loudly, and the two elven mages quickly waved their staves, summoning more flowing water for protection.
The defensive barrier of flowing water floated around the team like silken ribbons, precisely intercepting every ball of Forbidden Fire thrown their way.
The elven heavy warrior, carrying Eomer, also quickened his pace, following closely at the rear of the formation.
Just then, among the Forbidden Fire, the elves noticed a peculiar figure.
The figure was not burning with Forbidden Fire but was instead huddled in a corner, carefully watching for the Forbidden Fire falling from above.
He wore traveler's clothing that looked weathered by time, and he appeared to be middle-aged, with a pair of horns like wooden branches atop his head.
A monster merchant!
The elves were all stunned. Why would a monster merchant appear here? And from the look of it, he was currently trapped by the Forbidden Fire.
At the same time the elves noticed the monster merchant, he seemed to notice the group of elves advancing through the fire.
He waved his hands frantically.
“Elven guests over there! Can you lend a hand to an innocent merchant in distress?!”
Nephalian made a split-second decision and quickly changed the team's direction, intending to save the monster merchant.
This was a walking treasure trove—a neutral monster of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
Moreover, no adventurer had ever encountered a monster merchant in trouble before.
Nephalian was quite expectant. Could saving this merchant in distress trigger some treasure or even clues about the Forbidden Fire?!
The other elves in the team did not question Nephalian's actions, following her judgment without hesitation.
Flowing water turned into a barrier, blocking the space overhead!
The iron cages above creaked and swayed as the burning mummies let out crazed murmurs. They used the Forbidden Fire to melt their shackles and cages, pouncing toward the elven group below.
They then smashed into a pulp against the barrier the elves had deployed, with splatters of Forbidden Fire burning against the water barrier.
Nephalian swung her sword, tearing a path through the human torches lunging from the front, quickly approaching the monster merchant.
As the elven team rushed up to the monster merchant, Nephalian spoke quickly.
“Get in here quickly! This area is too dangerous; we can't hold out for long!”
To the surprise of Nephalian and the other elves, the monster merchant before them shook his head firmly.
“I can't!”
“I have something important that I must take with me, or I'd rather die here!”
Hearing the monster merchant's infuriating words, Nephalian almost stabbed him with her sword!
Brother, can you look at the situation we're in?!
If that's the case, then why the hell did you call for help in the first place?!
Even these elves, filled with hatred, would not utter such crude words aloud.
“What is it?!”
Veins bulged on Nephalian's forehead as she struggled to calm herself and asked quickly.
“This stone slab. This slab records very important things involving the secrets of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.”
“But it's too large; it's difficult for me to move it alone.”
The monster merchant revealed a giant stone slab three meters long behind him.
The slab was already wrapped tightly in a layer of cloth, seemingly something the monster merchant had dismantled from somewhere in this prison.
“We'll help you!”
Nephalian was unwilling to give up an opportunity to help a monster merchant and quickly made a decision.
“That's wonderful! You truly are a group of kindhearted elves.”
The team now had one more burden.
The two mages could only wave their staves, disregarding their mana to expand the water magic protection once more.
Human torches pounced from the air from time to time, using their bodies as fire bombs to crash toward the group.
Nephalian held her sword in one hand, unleashing streaks of sword light toward the sky, slicing the falling human torches into pieces beforehand.
“When the candelabra was knocked over back then, a splash of residual embers from the Forbidden Fire actually landed in the prison.”
“I originally thought all the residual embers of the Forbidden Fire had been taken to the desert above by that mad guard.”
“However, this cluster of Forbidden Fire, having lost the candelabra as its Forbidden Fire container, has seen its power constantly fade over time.”
“It should have gone out with time. Why would it suddenly flare up like this?”
The monster merchant spoke with confusion as he followed the elven team.
The group of elves quickly began to process the precious information from the monster merchant.
The candelabra was knocked over?
The mad guard took the Forbidden Fire to the floor above... was it the Desert Sword Attendant who took the candelabra?
The Forbidden Fire here suddenly flared up?
Could it be because they had taken the power of the Forbidden Fire Blessing, causing the Forbidden Fire to burn intensely one last time before being extinguished?
“Who knocked over the candelabra, and why was it knocked over?”
The sudden voice startled the elves, but they then looked back in surprise.
“Captain, you're awake!”
The one who had asked was Eomer, who was still leaning on the heavy warrior's back in a weak state.
“Yes.”
Eomer simply nodded.
He should have remained unconscious, but the commotion was so great that it had forcibly jolted him awake.
However, because his injuries were so severe, he was still unable to move.
“The person who knocked over the candelabra was shackled and exiled forever to the desert under the night sky.”
“He is the descendant of a prisoner; his father once tried to steal the Forbidden Fire and ultimately became its fuel.”
“As for him, within his body flows the blood of the fire of sin, scorched by the Forbidden Fire.”
“It is quite shameful, but he is one of our own from the Mane family.”
The monster merchant seemed very willing to share precious information with the elves out of gratitude.
Rate on N.U.
