The Goddess must be protected!
Jack stared at that terrifying cave entrance, which looked like a giant beast ready to swallow people whole, and hesitated to enter.
Even though he was constantly pumping himself up…
The Kostershka Mountains were too far away.
He had been cautious throughout his journey, and whenever he saw The Strange, he didn’t even dare to stop for an extra second!
His heart thudded violently in his chest, and every breath he took carried the characteristic cold and metallic tang of the Black Mist.
He clutched the clothes over his chest tightly; two warm Bright Stones were tucked against his skin, gifts bestowed by His Holiness Muxuan.
That faint but steady warmth was the only thing giving him the confidence not to turn and run right now.
‘His Holiness protect me! Goddess protect me!’
After taking a deep breath, Jack suppressed the fear in his heart and slowly began to grope his way into the cave.
Even the slightest sound made him stop and wait nervously for a long time, only daring to move forward once he was sure there was no sign of danger.
The knights from the outpost had pursued a figure to this cave, which had led to the discovery of that mage.
Although it was uncertain whether Roman was actually here, it was the only lead he had.
Jack could only grit his teeth and search inside.
‘What if he is?’
Moreover, he had brought plenty of food.
Even if he found no trace of Roman, he could continue searching the Kostershka Mountains for a while — as long as he didn’t encounter The Strange or goblins.
Muttering to himself, Jack became even more cautious.
This cave was even darker than the Outsider world shrouded in Black Mist.
If he didn’t have the Lightforce within his body, which provided extremely weak night vision, he certainly wouldn’t have dared to enter…
—
“Dispose of the corpses quickly…”
Morlun’s deep voice echoed out, and two Dwarf warriors immediately stepped forward to drag away the goblin corpses littering the ground.
With a *whoomph*, a cluster of red flames ignited.
Morlun took a bundle of dried leaves from the cloth pouch at his waist, tied them into a roll with hemp strips, and wrapped them in a large dry leaf.
He pinched one end and extended the other toward the rolling flames.
The fire greedily licked the edges of the dry leaves, instantly sparking two small clusters of bright, steady flames that eventually turned into a faint dark red glow.
Withdrawing his hand, he stuffed the end he was holding into his mouth and took a deep breath of smoke.
Only then did the worry on his brow fade slightly.
Recently, there had been more and more goblin movements.
The continuous fighting had left them exhausted.
Even though golden light had cleared some goblins out not long ago, there were still a large number that they had to deal with personally.
“Lord Morlun… there has been another change at the underground palace Theodore was handling…”
Looking at the flickering, swaying flame in the Black Mist, Morlun felt a persistent sense of foreboding.
As if to confirm it, a Dwarf warrior rushed over to report a second later.
“Three hours ago?”
Morlun’s voice was low, carrying a hint of exhaustion.
“Rushing here from there… it did take about three hours…”
The Dwarf warrior paused, then spoke hurriedly.
Morlun sighed, pinched out the grass roll, and tossed it into the fire behind him.
“What kind of change?”
“That underground palace connects to The Prison on the surface. The captain originally intended to destroy the underground palace first, just in case… but…”
The Dwarf warrior’s voice trembled slightly, and his eyes held an unmistakable fear.
“Everyone who touched that underground palace… was suddenly cut in half. Their upper bodies simply vanished…”
Morlun froze, then took a Crimson Stone from his belt pouch.
“Where is your captain?”
Normally, such demolition projects were directed by the captain, who wouldn’t make direct contact.
“The captain… for some reason… suddenly lost her mind and charged into the underground palace…”
“And then?”
“And then… The Prison on the surface shot a beam of black light into the sky…”
Morlun’s broad palm patted the Dwarf warrior’s shoulder, giving him an encouraging look.
He could see the fear on the other man’s face clearly.
“Are you the only one who came back?”
“Yes… a massive amount of The Strange appeared there…”
Morlun understood the final outcome without needing another word.
This matter was far more serious than he had imagined.
He signaled for the Dwarf warrior to deal with the goblin corpses first, then suddenly crushed the Crimson Stone in his hand.
However, the expected response from the Great Artisan God did not appear.
Instead, a wisp of Black Mist as thick as asphalt surged out, accompanied by a sharp, ear-piercing screech — like countless fine needles scraping against metal!
The sound bored into their eardrums, causing the surrounding Dwarf warriors to groan in unison as they clutched their ears in pain.
Simultaneously, a large number of The Strange emerged from the surrounding Black Mist, some writhing and some twisting, as they surrounded Morlun’s position.
Morlun’s expression changed drastically, and he immediately roared:
“Teams three, six, and seven, take the underground tunnels and return to Molten Heart at full speed!”
“All of team eight, break out to the east! Keep heading east and find Theodore!”
“The rest of you, follow me to destroy that goblin palace!”
Almost instantly, he realized that something had happened to Molten Heart, and it was likely related to those goblin palaces.
Having dealt with goblins for so long, they had destroyed more than a hundred palaces.
But Morlun had never imagined these palaces could actually affect Molten Heart.
No matter how long the goblin race planned, they couldn’t possibly know its true location…
The Inteck Tribe…
The thought made his heart sink, but his orders remained firm.
The moment they received their orders, the three teams turned and ran toward the nearby cave entrance.
Heavy footsteps thudded against the black corridor leading deep into the earth, the sound of iron boots striking rock quickly swallowed by the roiling Black Mist.
Team eight raised their war hammers and charged eastward, the clanking of armor and suppressed roars echoing one after another.
Gravity filled Morlun’s eyes as his thick palm tightly gripped the war hammer engraved with the flame crest of the Watercan Tribe.
The hammer head was cold, but his palm was burning hot.
He scanned the warriors who remained — the brothers who had followed him the longest.
Only they were truly willing to take this risk with him.
There was no fear on any of their faces, which were covered in coal dust and sweat.
There was only a molten battle spirit and cold killing intent.
The goblin race… leaving them in this world is nothing but a curse!
Morlun’s muscles suddenly bulged as he stopped holding back.
He swung his war hammer high and was the first to charge into the pack of The Strange.
He couldn’t delay any longer.
That goblin palace had already begun to emit that beam of light that looked even darker amidst the Black Mist.
The war hammer fell, smashing one of The Strange to pieces.
Behind Morlun, the roar of battle erupted.