Chapter 147: Level 41 Mage! Battle for the Flame Above the Lava!

FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH!

The middle-aged mage moved his staff, directing the six fireballs suspended in the air toward the western side.

From their perspective, Victor had been forced onto a rocky path with no escape route.

As long as they maintained their blockade, they could easily drive away this arrogant young man who did not know his own limits.

What they failed to notice was the subtle rhythm of Victor’s movements.

He kept his speed carefully controlled, neither too fast nor too slow. Whenever the lava at the center of the basin fluctuated, he would slow slightly before accelerating again, as though waiting for a particular moment.

Before long, Victor arrived at the western broken rocks.

Beyond this point, the previously continuous path had disappeared.

Several black rocks hung above the lava, separated by gaps several meters wide. More than ten meters below them, dark-red molten lava churned endlessly.

"No road left, huh?"

The Level 35 swordsman caught up, while his companion approached from the side, blocking Victor’s route back.

Across the basin, the middle-aged mage raised his staff.

The six fireballs began rotating.

"Young man, I’ll give you one final chance," he said in a deep voice. "Put down your weapon and leave this place."

Standing at the edge of the broken rocks, Victor glanced down before breaking into a smile.

"Do you really think you’ve already won?"

The Level 35 swordsman’s expression darkened.

"What other tricks are you trying to pull?"

"Nothing much." Victor raised the Crimson Flame Fang. "I just think you seem to have forgotten something."

"What?"

"This is the Inferno Prison Secret Realm."

The instant his words fell...

Rumble!

A deep vibration erupted from the depths of the basin!

Beneath the previously calm black stone mound, large amounts of lava began rotating, and a pale golden glow emerged from the depths once more.

This was precisely the moment Victor had been waiting for!

Almost simultaneously, the dense fire-element mana in the surrounding area underwent a noticeable change.

The fire-attribute energy permeating the air seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, rapidly converging toward the center of the basin!

"What?!"

The middle-aged mage was the first to notice the abnormality.

His head snapped upward.

The flames on the surfaces of the six fireballs under his control had begun leaning toward the center of the basin, while their previously stable mana structures showed signs of disorder.

Although the disturbance was not enough to cause the spell to collapse outright, it was already dangerous for advanced magic that required precise control.

"Something’s wrong!"

The middle-aged mage’s expression changed drastically.

"Retreat! The earth veins are about to erupt again!"

His warning came a step too late.

Victor had already made his move!

Shadow Blink!

Buzz!

His figure vanished from the edge of the broken rocks!

The Level 35 swordsman’s vision blurred, and the young man who had been standing directly before him somehow appeared on a section of black rock several meters away!

"How is that possible?!"

Churning lava flowed directly beneath that rock.

Under normal circumstances, no one would dare step onto such a dangerous surface without preparation.

Yet Victor seemed to know in advance that the rock could support his weight. After landing, he showed no hesitation, immediately leaping toward another protruding rock ahead!

Through his High Level Fire Element Affinity, he had already detected that whenever the golden flame absorbed surrounding energy, the temperature and flow of certain nearby sections of lava would change briefly.

These changes created an extremely short interval of stability for several rocks that were otherwise being continuously battered by molten lava.

Of course, that did not mean they were actually safe.

The slightest hesitation would allow the earth veins to erupt again, causing the lava below to swallow those rocks once more.

But Victor only needed a few seconds.

"Stop him!"

The middle-aged mage finally realized Victor’s intentions.

He had never intended to escape! He planned to use the changes in the earth veins to cross the western broken rocks and reach the black stone mound ahead of them!

"Damn brat!"

Cursing, the mage swung his staff violently.

The six fireballs suspended in midair gathered together, merging into a gigantic crimson wheel of fire!

"Crimson Flame Wheel Slash!"

Boom!

The enormous flaming wheel, several meters in diameter, shot forward!

Its terrifying heat distorted the air along its path, causing even the nearby black rocks to rapidly turn red!

Victor had just landed on the third rock when his Combat Intuition issued a powerful warning!

He whipped his head around.

The enormous wheel of fire was approaching rapidly above the broken rocks, practically sealing off every route he could take to continue forward!

A full-powered attack from a Level 41 mage!

Even with his High Level Fire Element Affinity, Victor could never withstand such an attack with his physical body.

Furthermore, the rock beneath his feet could collapse at any moment.

If he recklessly attempted to dodge, he might fall directly into the lava instead.

With the attack closing in, Victor stopped advancing and turned to face it, tightening his grip on the Crimson Flame Fang.

The fire-attribute mana within his body surged toward the blade as he slashed forward.

Swoosh!

Crimson fire elements compressed densely along the sword’s edge. Rather than aiming at the center of the flaming wheel, Victor swung fiercely toward the most prominent point along its side where its mana converged!

Clang!

When the blade collided with the flames, it produced an explosive sound resembling metal striking metal!

Boom!

Violent fire elements erupted in every direction!

An astonishing force traveled through Victor’s sword, nearly sending his entire body sliding backward. A corner of the black rock beneath his feet shattered outright!

But the flaming wheel that had been charging straight toward him veered off course after its mana structure was disrupted from the side!

Rumble!

The enormous wheel of fire grazed the rocky platform before crashing into the lava beside it!

A massive spray of scorching molten rock shot into the sky!

Numbness spread through Victor’s right arm, while a burning pain stung the palm gripping his sword.

He had no time to examine his injuries.

At the very moment the flaming wheel exploded, the golden flame at the center of the basin began another round of energy absorption!

Buzz——!

An extremely peculiar fluctuation spread from beneath the black stone mound!

The constantly churning lava came to a brief standstill.

Immediately afterward, the crimson lava near the mound rapidly dimmed, as though a tremendous amount of its fire-element essence was being forcibly extracted by some mysterious power.

A sharp glint flashed through Victor’s eyes.

The opportunity had arrived!

Ignoring the three opponents behind him, he pushed off with tremendous force and rushed along the final stretch of black rock!

A few meters! Only a few meters remained!

Just as he was about to reach the side of the black stone mound, an enraged roar sounded behind him.

"Brat! Stop right there!"

The Level 35 swordsman had actually followed him!

Unwilling to let Victor reach the treasure first, he had risked stepping onto the rocks that were already beginning to heat up again.

Victor merely glanced back before ignoring him.

He had already sensed that the next earth-vein eruption was about to begin.

Sure enough...

Rumble!

As the swordsman took his second step, the black rock beneath his feet began trembling violently!

The lava that had temporarily receded surged back, its scorching glow almost instantly surrounding several nearby rocks!

"What?!"

The swordsman’s expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly stopped.

Before he could retreat, a fissure in the rock behind him began spewing crimson lava!

Boom!

A scorching pillar of molten lava erupted!

"Ah!"

The swordsman activated his mana defenses and leaped backward in a desperate scramble.

Unlike Victor, however, he could not sense the changes in the surrounding fire elements in advance.

In his panic, he misjudged his landing position and stepped directly onto a rock whose edge had already loosened!

Crack!

His body sank!

Just as he was about to fall into the lava below, a crimson chain shot over from the distance and wrapped around his waist!

"Get back here!"

The middle-aged mage roared.

With a violent backward pull of his staff, he forcibly dragged the swordsman back to safety.

Bang!

The man crashed heavily onto the rock, his face pale and most of his protective mana already exhausted.

"Captain..."

"Shut up!"

The middle-aged mage’s face was gloomy.

"Did I tell you to chase him?"

The swordsman opened his mouth but ultimately did not dare argue.

After all, if his captain had not intervened in time, he would probably already be a corpse floating in the lava.

While they were occupied with this unexpected incident, Victor successfully crossed the final stretch of broken rock.