32~Gold Mine
Fingers like charred twigs slowly emerged from the molten lava, their tips hardened like solidified magma. In an instant, lava erupted, shattering the distant Sleeping Black Mountain into pieces with a thunderous roar that seemed to want to drown the world in this fiery inferno.
Countless fiery red demon claws burst forth from the molten lava, clawing madly like drowning people trying to grab the edge of the shore to escape the cold waters.
The burnt limbs, heads crowned with flames, resembled a heap of burning firewood, their eye sockets erupting with flames—whether fury or resentment, it was hard to tell.
Standing at an average height of about three meters, these Fire Giants towered over humans and Elves like ants, easily able to crush them with a single hand.
The surrounding temperature soared to a terrifying degree, sweat beading on everyone’s skin until they were drenched.
Princess Filisia hefted her massive sword, Aistride drew~ her sabers, and Tillysha’s bowstring was notched with five glowing arrows, ready to let fly.
Princess Filisia swung her giant sword with immense force and wind pressure, cutting down on a Fire Demon that dared approach. The blow merely sent it stumbling back, leaving behind a deep crevice that oozed molten lava, the strike doing naught but enraging it further.
Aistride unleashed silver flames that, oddly, only seemed to fuel the Fire Demons’ fiery rage.
“These Demon Race bodies are filled with molten lava, and they lack organs,” Tillysha remarked while plucking her bowstring. “Normal physical attacks won’t faze them much.”
The five Dawn Arrows she fired dispersed, piercing through the chests of five Fire Demons. These demons, now realizing their chests had gaping holes, tumbled backward into the molten lava.
Tillysha gracefully bent her bow, her slim waist swaying as she shot an arrow skyward. It exploded like fireworks, scattering countless small arrows that fell like a rainbow rain.
[Divine Combat Decision: Shower Burst]
These arrows avoided the central area, falling on the Fire Demons at the edge of the circle. Most melted because of the heat but many still managed to hit their targets, inflicting real damage.
Limited but for their density and duration, the Shower Burst impeded the demons’ progress, their steps halted by the rainbow-like rain of arrows.
Furious, the Fire Demons spewed molten lava at Tillysha and the others.
In a flash, Tillysha materialized three sprouts clinging to the black rocks.
Unfortunately, due to the extreme heat, before the verdant aroma could germinate, the seeds were roasted.
In the nick of time, Aistride plunged her sabers~ into the ground, conjuring a silvery moon halo that acted as a barrier, stopping the molten lava in its tracks.
Tillysha conjured another arrow and fired it upward.
These Fire Demons’ vitality far exceeded Tillysha’s expectations. She’d thought a single [Shower Burst] would defeat them.
Rain-like showers of [Shower Burst] heavily pummeled the Fire Demons’ shoulders and foreheads.
Finally, the attacks took effect, the Fire Demons’ eyes dimming as they fell back one by one into the molten lava.
“Pant, pant…,” Princess Filisia wiped her sweat, about to speak when she saw yet again those charred fingers emerging from the molten lava.
These Fire Demons, like a tide, surged ashore, their previous injuries fully healed.
“Fire Demons of the Demon Race can regenerate rapidly in molten lava. Theoretically, Fire Demons living around the molten lava are immortal,” Yimi casually said after finishing her lollipop, the stick melting as it hit the ground.
“Well, well, what do we do now meow?” Wenfu asked, clearly rattled.
Tillysha exchanged a look with Princess Filisia, who immediately understood.
In the next moment, Princess Filisia grabbed the unsuspecting Wenfu, while Tillysha’s Flower Song transformed into a life-sized willow wood kite shield.
With Wenfu in tow, Princess Filisia took advantage of the Fire Demons’ surprise, circling around them and running to the front. Tillysha guarded the rear, holding the willow wood shield to fend off the pursuing demons.
The Fire Demons let out howls, their faces contorted like creatures vomiting as molten lava spewed from their mouths and noses, raining down on the willow wood shield.
“Sizzle, sizzle…,” from the first spray, the willow shield began to smoke, nearly burning up.
Clearly unwilling to let Tillysha and the others escape, the Fire Demons relentlessly chased after them, spewing molten lava.
Under the powerful molten lava attacks, the willow shield caught fire. If not for being forged from the branches of the Elf Sacred Tree, any other wood would have ignited immediately.
“Snap!” Tillysha tested her empty hands, the shield now broken.
Looking at the relentless Fire Demons, despite their towering figures, they moved with surprising speed.
They were almost upon her.
However, the one thing they should never have done was destroy her weapon.
After regaining her memories, Tillysha’s [Broken Bow] ability was no longer limited to just the bow itself. Any weapon’s destruction could trigger it.
She summoned the Flower Song, pulling two obsidian blades from the ground. In that moment, her eyes and demeanor changed, and twin blades of blue flame lit up her weapons.
In an instant, her golden figure darted among the pursuing Fire Demons, reaching them in a single breath.
The demons froze, motionless.
Tillysha turned around, sheathed her blade, and in the next instant, the heads of the Fire Demons tumbled to the ground like fruits being harvested.
Even as tough as Fire Demons were, they were no match for the blade coated with blade-flame.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t over yet. The dead bodies of the demons rolled back into the molten lava.
It was clear that these monsters would soon revive and continue their pursuit.
Tillysha sheathed her blades and quickly rejoined the group.
Sure enough, in the moment she turned around, the Fire Demons erupted from the molten lava again, howling furiously after Tillysha.
Tillysha didn’t look back, continuing to run forward, even hearing them cursing her name venomously behind her.
After only a few more steps, she noticed her teammates had stopped ahead.
“Why aren’t we running?” Tillysha asked, realizing the answer the next instant.
The volcano in front of them erupted.
Countless streams of molten lava flooded the land, leaving only a narrow path leading to the volcano, the rest swallowed by the fiery flames.
“Meow meow!?” This sight seemed to have fried Wenfu’s CPU. Whether from a seizure or burnt feet, Wenfu bounced around in place, looking absurdly comical.
“There’s no path forward.”
“But we still have to try!” As Tillysha prepared to take the lead, a new Fire Demon appeared on the narrow path ahead, sandwiching them between the front and rear Fire Demons.
Aistride and Princess Filisia stood guard, wary of the Fire Demons emerging ahead, while Tillysha turned around, the Fire Demons behind already catching up.
The molten lava continued to rise, their time was running out.
Though the expressions on the Fire Demons’ faces were indistinct, Tillysha interpreted their increasing ire from the flames atop their heads burning even brighter.
Both front and back demons lunged toward Tillysha and the group.
Yimi gritted her teeth, standing with Wenfu in the center. Looking to the side, the molten lava was already at their ankles!
Just as the two sides were about to clash, the Fire Demons hesitated.
“???” Princess Filisia, ready to counterattack, was surprised by the sudden halt of the enemy.
The Fire Demons’ bodies produced a bizarre, gooey sound and then, the towering figures wailed, like they’d hit some kind of boundary, melting into molten slag that flowed back into the lava.
“???” Yimi was equally baffled, a look that asked who could explain this.
Everyone stayed vigilant, confirming this wasn’t some Demon Race trick.
“These Fire Demons, what happened to them? Why’d they retreat now when things were so good?”
“What if they can’t remain outside their designated area for too long?” Tillysha hypothesized. “The Fire Demons pursuing us, or the ones appearing ahead—they were too far from their original position.”
“Some mysterious force detected their imminent departure from its control, forcing their recall,” Tillysha explained, though uncertain why she felt this way—it wasn’t the time to discuss it now.
The path behind was submerged in molten lava, so they could only move forward.
But the path ahead clearly read “blocked,” the other side leading to the erupting volcano.
“Looks like we have no choice,” as the molten lava approached, engulfing the remaining narrow path, the intense heat causing cracks in the Realm.
Now, they could only trust Tillysha’s judgment, making a mad dash forward. Aistride carried Yimi, while Princess Filisia had Wenfu on her back. The trio charged toward the erupting volcano, embracing life and d*ath.
Sweat drenched their hair from their foreheads as they approached, their instincts screaming that the destination ahead was forbidden.
Yet, Tillysha had a strong intuition: this volcano was the gateway to the next level.
Aistride trusted Tillysha’s instincts implicitly, while Princess Filisia, gazing at the bold duo ahead, chose to follow.
Their feet burned from the molten lava, scorching Princess Filisia’s high-heel boots. Moving at their fastest, they made it safely to the base of the volcano.
The moment they passed, the molten lava engulfed the path behind them.
They had no retreat.
Unspoken, both Aistride and Princess Filisia sought Tillysha’s counsel—it was as if Tillysha had always been the team’s leader and tactician.
Tillysha looked up at the constantly erupting volcano. Her resolve hardened. “We climb up and jump into the volcano.”
Saying this, Tillysha stepped forward.
As the one proposing this daring plan, she had to lead by example, confirming whether this was truly a dire strait.
Sweat clung to her golden hair, her weapon shattered, her Realm damaged due to battle. Yet Tillysha’s movements remained nimble, rushing to the spewing molten flow with determination.
A miracle occurred. Near the rim of the volcano, the temperature paradoxically dropped, the unbearable heat replaced by a sudden chill, like plunging into an ice cavern.
Indeed.
“Follow me,” Tillysha climbed to the edge of the volcano, not sparing a glance at the molten flow and jumped right in.
Her figure disappeared without touching the erupting molten magma, as if they were mere illusions, not physical reality.
Seeing this, Aistride and Princess Filisia hesitated no longer, carrying Yimi and Wenfu with them, they followed Tillysha into the crater of the volcano.
“Bang!” Tillysha felt like she plunged into a coal pit, pitch-black around her, the temperature cooling. Clearly, this wasn’t the volcano’s interior.
They, had they successfully accessed the next level?
“Aistride?” Tillysha instinctively called out for her companions, when suddenly, something heavy crashed onto her.
“…I’m here,” a somewhat cold reply came from Aistride, surprised at Tillysha’s silence. “Tillysha?”
Thinking about it, why was there a cushion beneath her?
“…Aistride, are you eating too well? Heavy much?” came Tillysha’s sarcastic voice.
“Eh? Tillysha? Why are you under me?” Realizing the situation, Aistride, her face red, quickly got up from Tillysha.
“Sorry, are you okay?”
“Ah, yes, no harm done. Thankfully Aistride is soft, not too burdensome on me. You even smell pleasant too.”
Upon hearing this, Aistride’s face turned even redder, but the darkness concealed her blush from Tillysha.
“Everyone, all clear?” Wenfu’s soft voice emerged, this girl seeming genuinely afraid of the dark.
Fear of darkness wasn’t confined to her either.
Tillysha had felt a hand clutching hers the entire time she had landed, and it didn’t need guessing who that hand belonged to—probably the knight princess scared of ghosts.
“Good news: we’re out of the previous peril. Bad news: I don’t know where we’ve landed.”
Suddenly, moonlight illuminated the surroundings.
Aistride raised her Elf Moon Blade, acting like a torch, lighting up the cold brick walls.
The tightly built brick walls confirmed they’d escaped the molten lava and the volcano.
It seemed they’d fallen into some kind of round well. Looking up, they couldn’t see the end, while the familiar ‘sandy’ sound came from beneath their feet.
“Is this… gold?” Yimi noticed the first issue, crouching down and poking at the ‘golden sand’ beneath them.
Aistride faintly saw an inscription on the wall, moving closer to decipher it.
“Fill this well with gold??”
Indeed, as others looked closer, they realized the floor was laden with gold coins, and they were currently standing atop these coins.
(This book is likely to be completed within two months, perhaps even sooner)
(Reflecting on it, I’ve been writing for six years, almost seven. Because of health reasons, I’ll expedite the main storyline. After completion, it might be the appropriate moment for farewells)
