Chapter 131 - 103: Attack and Secrets of the Divine Artifact

Chapter 131: Chapter 103: Attack and Secrets of the Divine Artifact

The panel flickered again.

[Mythical Resonance conditions met!]

[The Samadhi True Flame can fuse with a new fire seed: Red Flame Domain Stone Fire (Blue). Current Samadhi True Flame completion rate is 7%. Fusing with the Stone Fire will increase the completion rate. Proceed with fusion?]

Chen Shang suppressed his excitement and silently willed it to fuse!

The bright golden speck of the Samadhi True Flame rotated slowly on the panel. The newly acquired Stone Fire transformed into a stream of dark red light, surging from the depths of the panel to coil tightly around the golden speck, wrapping around it ring by ring.

A few breaths later, the dark red faded. The bright golden speck was noticeably more radiant, now encircled by a faint dark red halo.

The fusion was complete.

The Samadhi True Flame’s completion rate jumped from 7% to 13%. The enhancement brought by the Red Flame Domain Stone Fire was significantly higher than that of the Magma Giant’s Stone Flame.

Chen Shang took a deep breath and deactivated his Eye of True Sight.

The forging assembly continued in full swing. Five giant melting furnaces burned relentlessly day and night, their flames turning half the sky a deep crimson. The clanging of hammers striking anvils rang out from dawn until dusk. The Iliet artisans took turns stepping up to the anvils. Forging, quenching, engraving runes, and sharpening edges—every step was executed methodically.

This forging system differed quite a bit from a Wizard’s study of Alchemy, and each tribe had its own distinct focus. For instance, the Sunshine Tribe excelled at crafting heavy weapons. The spears and greatswords they forged were taller than Chen Shang himself, perfectly tailored for their tribal warriors. The Crown Tribe specialized in intricate details, while the Flame Hammer Tribe’s craftsmanship was wild and rugged.

The Iliets’ weapon grading system was also completely different from that of the Wizard World. While a Wizard’s Witch Artifact was categorized simply by Apprentice Level and Official Wizard ranks, the Iliets divided their work into seven levels: Mortal Grade, Good Quality, Masterwork, Master, Grandmaster, Epic, and Divine Artifact. Mortal Grade items were everyday tools, Good Quality items were standard equipment for ordinary warriors, and Masterworks were already worthy of being displayed at the forging assembly.

A Master-level piece required at least a full epoch of accumulated skill to forge, while a Grandmaster-level piece was incredibly rare, a stroke of serendipity. As for a Divine Artifact, that was something legendary enough to be recorded in Iliet history.

Fascinated by the Iliet forging techniques, Chen Shang observed from the sidelines for a long time. Using his Eye of True Sight, he analyzed the rune structures of dozens of finished pieces, gathering a wealth of data on the interaction between flames and metals.

During breaks in the forging, the various race leaders took turns coming over to exchange pleasantries. The Sunshine Race Leader clapped Chen Shang on the shoulder and asked if he had any interest in trying his hand at forging a sword. Chen Shang politely declined. He simply wasn’t proficient in Alchemy; Wizard Alchemy was a massive, complex discipline that required systematic study. Recklessly trying his hand at it would only result in embarrassment. The Crown Race Leader also wanted to discuss matters regarding the Wizard World’s Alchemy with him, and Chen Shang could only do his best to answer.

However, following these exchanges with the race leaders, the Iliets clearly felt more trust toward Chen Shang. He planned to wait until the assembly concluded before formally requesting permission to explore the depths of the Molten Lava Lake.

At noon on the third day of the forging assembly, amidst the sweltering heat, the center of the Molten Lava Lake suddenly began to churn, as if something was frantically stirring beneath the surface.

"Something’s wrong!" Chen Shang quickly spotted the anomaly and alerted his teammates to get ready.

Sure enough, just a few breaths later, the lake’s surface exploded. A blinding white fireball shot out of the magma and launched straight into the sky. Then came a second, a third, a fourth... The fireballs burst mid-air, scattering into countless tiny, fiery meteors that rained down around the tribe.

Upon hitting the ground, the meteors didn’t extinguish. Instead, they rapidly expanded and morphed, condensing into humanoid figures, beast-like shapes, and even formless aggregates of Energy.

These were Fire Elemental Spirits!

"Enemy attack! Everyone prepare for battle!" The race leaders reacted swiftly, immediately rallying their people to counterattack. The Sunshine Race Leader slammed his fist against an anvil, the dull THUD echoing throughout the entire camp.

"Sunshine! Form up! Counterattack!" Pulling a massive hammer from beside the melting furnace, raging flames enveloping its head, he was the first to charge head-on against the leading Fire Elemental Spirit.

The Crown Race Leader stood on higher ground, his fiery mane whipping wildly in the scorching wind. He raised both hands, summoning a crimson barrier of light in front of the furnaces to shield the young blacksmiths inside.

The Flame Hammer Race Leader led his people to block the eastern breach, the Ashes Race Leader defended the west, and the Molten Core Race Leader took a high vantage point to command the battlefield.

Having retreated a bit further away, Chen Shang and his team were largely unaffected by the initial shockwave.

As he scanned the battlefield, he suddenly noticed something strange: the Fire Elemental Spirits’ attack seemed to have a very clear objective. "This doesn’t look like an ordinary attack. These things seem to be organized," Chen Shang whispered to Ella and the others, quickly forming a conclusion. "How strange... Who could coordinate such mindless creatures?"

Ella chimed in, "High-Tier Elemental Spirits should possess at least some Spiritual Wisdom, no matter how stupid they are. Otherwise, their Spiritual Power wouldn’t be able to sustain their powerful bodies."

Evelyn nodded thoughtfully. "But why would Fire Elemental Spirits attack the Iliet? Are they trying to steal the forging materials?"

The group had no time to discuss it further; a Fire Elemental Spirit was already charging right at them, blinding white flames coalescing into a blazing spear in its hand.

Chen Shang raised his hand, conjuring his One-Element Heavy Water into a Water Shield before him. The spear crashed into the shield, erupting into a thick cloud of steam. The Fire Elemental Spirit was knocked back a few steps by the steam explosion, but it quickly lunged forward again.

"Perfect timing. If we help them defend, it’ll be much easier to ask for permission to visit the Molten Lava Lake later," Evelyn suggested. Then, forming a highly compressed Fireball in each hand, she hurled them at the charging spirits, blasting two Elemental Spirits more than a dozen paces back.