"It's Noorodon!" Dinora exclaimed as she rushed to help the heavily injured Lord Rolingel. Ge Zheng was taken by surprise, wondering how such a situation had occurred. They hurried to the nearest temple to seek treatment for Noorodon's injuries.
Noorodon had numerous wounds, some clearly old, indicating that he had been pursued and attacked all the way back. Ge Zheng was puzzled, wondering why someone would be so persistent in chasing a student from Dongsheng Academy with such a meager domain.
While treating Noorodon, Ge Zheng asked about the significance of his estate, prompting Noorodon to explain that his distant cousin would inherit Rolingel City if he died. Understanding the situation, Ge Zheng decided it was necessary to visit Noorodon's territory.
With the help of the temple's healing magic, Noorodon quickly recovered. Meanwhile, Ge Zheng had made all the necessary arrangements.
Dean Aquina didn't object to Ge Zheng's leave, as it was clear that Ge Zheng was not enthusiastic about the "Super Soldier" plan. However, Sorcerer Solskjaer was not pleased with Ge Zheng's lack of commitment and even confiscated his thesis, assigning it to someone else. Despite feeling upset, Ge Zheng prioritized helping his friend Noorodon.
Ge Zheng pushed past Solskjaer and left the alchemy department. He then visited Count Delmont, who readily agreed to lend two hundred well-equipped knights. These soldiers were a significant help, especially considering the challenges faced by a remote city like Rolingel.
With everything in place, Noorodon had recovered and was already putting on his new armor. Dinoira was pleasantly surprised by the transformation in Noorodon's appearance, remarking on the reliability and deceptive appearance of his previously 'honest' demeanor.
The knights were gathered and prepared to set off when Ge Zheng was pleased to see Sorrgevin return, providing a significant boost to their forces. Additionally, Sinelle, Emma, Powell, and Duke—all members of the adventure team—had returned with several mercenaries.
Sinelle declared their agreement, but requested time to rest. However, Ge Zheng urged them to join immediately, emphasizing the urgency of the situation. He then instructed the mercenaries to return and personally arranged for the adventurers' supplies before setting out on the journey.
The team marched out of the West City Gate of the Delson Royal City with great momentum, passing by the Royal Guard camp to the west of the city and showing relevant documents, without disturbing each other, and continued their journey westward.
As there were no infantry, the team's marching speed was fast. Ge Zheng's team entered the range of Rolandgar City within five hundred miles, and there were already pairs of eyes secretly watching them, sending specific information to certain places.
In the valley, the fierce and arrogant profane artifacts sat quietly on the ground, with its huge body sitting high even when seated, astonishingly tall. Rong Chong stood on the shoulder of the profane artifact, furrowing her brows slightly, "This alchemist has disrupted our plans several times, and this time it is of great importance. We cannot let him go back alive."
Xiao Sa said, "But the strength we have near Rolandgar City is no match for two hundred knights." "I know," Rong Chong said, "but we have this lovely creature. With it, who can be our opponent?"
Between her crystal-clear slender jade fingers, a dark gold runestone appeared out of thin air, engraved with strange magical characters. Rong Chong lightly traced her finger along the magical characters, and the profane artifact beneath her feet trembled slightly.
In the desert of the western empire, on the way west, the team often passed through some wind-eroded valleys, where the strong winds carried sand grains rapidly, wearing down the ground over years, forming huge mushroom-shaped mounds in the valley.
As they traveled, Norodon was preoccupied, but the four adventurers took on the role of narrators, having traveled extensively and sharing interesting stories about the western empire with Ge Zheng.
Although Solgweilenn was known for his wisdom, he had never really ventured into the back garden forest, but he listened with great interest.
The last adventure was to search for the original ancestral emblem lost by a noble family in the desolate marshes, which was the first emblem of the family when it was initially established. This item had far greater commemorative significance than practical use, but for nobles, it was a matter of honor and dignity. The reward was thirty thousand gold coins. However, Ge Zheng was more interested in their gains during the adventure.
There were many magical beasts in the desolate marshes, and they were of types not seen elsewhere on the continent. The gains for Senir and the others this time were not small, and Ge Zheng roughly scanned through them and found several rare materials. However, the matter of "sharing the loot" would have to wait until after their visit to Rolandgar City.
Norodon, who had been at the front of the team all along, suddenly stopped his warhorse. Under a yellow cloud in the distance, on the dark slope, a vast city appeared.
It was built against the mountain, settling most of its body on the gentle slope, and greedily climbing up the low mountain. Although commendable, it was clearly inadequate, only conquering a small part of the mountainous area. From a distance, it looked like a woman in black sitting on the slope leaning against the peak.
"We have arrived," Norodon said. Ge Zheng dismounted his Fire-tailed Horse King and approached, with Dinora at his side, riding a nine-level magical beast, the Split-eyed Thunder Lion, which was obtained in this adventure with great effort, complementing each other quite well.
"We are just going to wait here?" Dinora asked outside the city gate as she drew out and sheathed her Tiger Shark Blade repeatedly, itching for action.
Ge Zheng shook his head, "This is Norodon's own business; we shouldn't interfere." Dinora understood that he had a point, but her hand and blade were really itching.
They didn't have to wait long. A head was raised on the flagpole inside the city. Dinora sighed disappointedly, "It's over."
"Is this their purpose in pursuing you?" Dinora stood on a steep mountain peak, looking at the round smooth stone eggs in the valley below in surprise.
"Exactly as Hesfield said before he died," Norodon said. He looked at Ge Zheng, hoping the master could make a discovery.
Ge Zheng sighed. Although the weather had started to warm up in the Delson Royal City, it was still freezing cold in the northwest. Climbing with hands and feet made him recall his experience with Dunk climbing the peak outside the Watchtower City.
"I can't be certain. Let's go down and take a look," he said.
Dinora led the way, with Solgwilen at the rear, Ge Zheng and Norodon in the middle, and Senir and the others guarding around. The steep cliff was difficult to climb, and it took some effort for everyone to reach the bottom of the valley.
Looking down from above, these round stone balls were only the size of a basketball, but when they reached the bottom, they found that each one was as tall as a person. The surface of the stone balls was covered with uniform and delicate undulating patterns, and some of them had a grayish-blue color on their surface.
"What exactly are these things?" Dinora asked.
After careful inspection, Ge Zheng was already certain. He patted one of the stone balls beside him and said, "These are energy gold ore."
"These ore can be refined into a metal called 'energy gold', which contains powerful energy and is a superior material for making magical devices and alchemical works. It is said that this type of ore is the egg of ancient exotic beasts, buried underground, and transforms over thousands of years. When there are earthquakes or landslides, they will reappear."
Dinora exclaimed, "So, does that mean that each of these stone balls was a beast egg thousands of years ago—there are so many beast eggs here!"
Ge Zheng continued, "That's why this ore bed is very rare. Most energy gold ore appears individually, and it is rare for them to form ore beds."
Solgwilen interjected, "Clearly these ancient giant beasts are group creatures, and this is probably their collective hatching place." Everyone looked at him, and Solgwilen shrugged, "I am a beast tamer, so I know something about these things." In fact, he was just guessing based on the habits of giant dragons. Excluding solitary dragons like Solgwilen, dragons living on Dragon Island usually lay their eggs in the same volcanic crater.
"No wonder they wanted to eliminate you completely. The value of this ore bed would be envied even by some powerful empires," Ge Zheng said.
As they returned to the mountaintop, Solgwilen suddenly asked, "What is that sound?" Other than him, no one had heard anything. They all perked up their ears, but after a while, everyone wore a puzzled look. A faint rumbling sound, like the muffled thunder before a summer storm.
A fire meteor rolled in from the sky, and Ge Zheng yelled, "Not good." Before everyone could understand, the fire meteor had swooped past a mountain peak, shattered the rocks in the sky, and crashed down on a nearby hill in front of them with a loud boom.
"Boom!" A column of blood flame soared into the sky, causing the surrounding mountains to visibly tremble, and the people felt a sway under their feet.
A massive body stood up, appearing not much shorter than the adjacent mountains. Ge Zheng took a sharp breath: "Recently, luck has not been on my side, with a series of misfortunes!"
Solgverin frowned deeply. He considered himself the most intelligent dragon, and his wisdom told him that this enemy was extremely formidable. He feared that even if he were to restore his dragon form, he would not be assured of victory in battle. To win, the only option was for the divine dragon to intervene. However, for some reason, deep inside Solgverin, there was an inexplicable fear of this enemy. He did not want his loved one to confront it, so this time he felt not joy, but deep concern.
"Boom, boom, boom..." A wolf-shaped giant monster advanced rapidly, causing the ground to shatter into pieces. In no time, it stood before Ge Zheng and others.
"Roar!" A ball of blood flame meteor spurted out, creating a deep crater with a "boom" on the ground, prompting the crowd to gasp in shock and fly in all directions.
Ge Zheng threw out a badge, summoning the treant warrior, hoping that the hulking figure could withstand the wolf-shaped giant monster.
The treant warrior's size was indeed massive, but compared to the wolf-shaped giant monster, it seemed like a dwarf. Despite the treant warrior roaring and charging at the monster with great courage, the wolf-shaped giant monster, wielding a bone-chilling winter blade, cut the treant warrior in half at the waist!
"Boom... swoosh!" A whistling sound, the treant warrior's severed body split into two green lights ascending into the air, leaving behind two broken summoning badges.
The treant warrior, who could entangle even a python crocodile, was defeated in just one round. Ge Zheng had no time to lament the damage to the summoning badge. Fully armed, he stood before the divine punishment, wielding the alchemy flying sword in his left hand, and holding the eternal cleave in his right hand, with the matrix shield automatically protecting his body.
Dinora drew her tiger shark blade, and the azure blade light framed her slightly discolored face. "How could this happen..." she muttered inwardly, "I may itch for a fight, but I don't need to face such an unbearable opponent."
Solgverin summoned three magical beasts, looking somewhat grim. This scene today was something he had not anticipated when he stepped out of the forest. It turned out that even dragons could face danger.
The others present realized the insignificant roles they played in this battle and sensibly sought places to hide, not wanting to get in the way.
A white sword energy several hundred meters long descended from the sky, shattering dozens of matrix shield barriers, causing Ge Zheng to end up in a sorry state. Where he had just stood, a deep bottomless crack was left behind! The giant monster had cleaved open the entire mountain with just one strike!
Glancing back, Ge Zheng was immediately drenched in sweat: This was a level of power beyond what humans could attain.
"Be careful!" Dinora shouted, as a brilliant red light enveloped Ge Zheng, emanating from the left eye of the wolf-shaped giant monster, casting the gaze of the demon god!
"Boom!" Ge Zheng's entire body ignited, leaving Dinora and Solgverin stunned. Both of them threw themselves at the wolf-shaped giant monster without hesitation. Solgverin gritted his teeth: "Let's go all out!" He forcefully increased his strength, exerting seventy percent of his power in human form, and with a punch, the dazzling dragon combat energy seemed to be a cannonball, forcing the wolf-shaped giant monster to step back.
"Chi" The red light of the demon god swept across the ground, leaving behind a scorched trace!
"Ah!" Ge Zheng roared, realizing that if he hadn't used his true elemental power to protect himself at the critical moment, he would have been turned into a human barbecue. He had never been so severely reprimanded since arriving in the Starforge world.
The alchemy flying sword suddenly enlarged, with a blade as wide as a door. Ge Zheng leapt onto the flying sword, emitting a fierce roar as the divine punishment drew a black and red flame tail. Ge Zheng wielded the eternal cleave with both hands as he charged at the head of the wolf-shaped giant monster.
The wolf-shaped giant monster countered with a swipe that was larger than Ge Zheng's body, but he managed to block it with the eternal cleave, using an immense force. Ge Zheng didn't even grunt, as he and the sword were sent flying and crashed into a mountain.
"Boom..." A shower of shattered rocks fell, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Solgverin was about to rush over when the wolf-shaped giant monster smashed its gloved hand onto the ground, causing the mountain to crack and fissures to spread like snakes in all directions. Solgverin exclaimed, "This is bad!" He had no choice but to stop attacking the wolf-shaped giant monster and lightning-fast rescued Norodon and Sanil.
"Dinora, take care of yourself. Remember to come back and fight for lunch with me..." Norodon was left stunned: What does that mean?
Before she could comprehend, stones began to spew from the ground, and before she knew it, she was soaring into the sky, doing somersaults. Peering down, she saw the mountain she had just been standing on had been completely shattered, and rubble filled the air. What was once a complete mountain had been reduced to half. Dinora felt a sharp pain and cursed under her breath: Damn you, Solgverin! I should be thanking you for your size!
Solgverin wasn't much better off, having just moved to the nearby mountain. He was astonished by what he saw: a horde of undead emerging from the valley, heading towards the mountain where he was.
Solgverin exclaimed in horror, "That punch just now was clearly the power of the solar thunder. These undead are... Oh my, the rest in peace ring – it can continuously borrow undead soldiers from the Netherworld's rest in peace valley!"
Solgverin sighed and said to the five people behind him, "Hey, guys, it looks like we're in for some trouble..."
"Pa" In the midst of flying debris, a boulder the size of a person suddenly exploded, and Ge Zheng emerged from the rocks, appearing above the head of the wolf-shaped giant monster.
He roared, clenching the eternal cleave with both hands, driving the radiant sword towards the head of the wolf-shaped giant monster.
The red sword light pierced smoothly into the top of the wolf-shaped giant monster's head. Ge Zheng knew that the eternal cleave could break the defense of the wolf-shaped giant monster, but he had not expected it to be so easy.
To protect himself, Ge Zheng had kept the sonic cannon unused until now, just for this final strike.
He released his grip, surprised to see the eternal cleave sinking into the head of the wolf-shaped giant monster as if it were entering water.
The undead soldiers suddenly stopped in their tracks near the mountain. Some held strange poses, while others were still climbing up or holding bone swords. Some had emerged from the ground, their lower bodies still trapped below the ground.
Solgverin scratched his head and said, "What's going on?"
"Clang, clang, clang!" Ge Zheng felt the wolf-shaped giant monster struggling beneath him, then suddenly relaxing.
"Rumble, clang, clang..." A series of metallic rumbling, the alchemy flying sword arrived from the sky, catching Ge Zheng from the head of the wolf-shaped monster. As soon as he departed, the wolf-shaped giant monster shrunk, tucking its limbs and burying its head deep into its body, turning into a glowing red iron ball!
Dinora climbed out from the rubble, asking, "Weirdo, how did you do that?" Ge Zheng shrugged, "This..."
...
"Hiss" A surge of electricity radiated from the runic stone, causing Rongchan to yelp in surprise and drop the stone. "Hiss, hiss" black and red electrical currents flowed across the surface of the runic stone. Little Sa asked, "Miss, what happened?" Rongchan's face turned extremely ugly, "That damn sorcerer, how does he have the soul of the profane god's artifact?"
Volume VII Storm in the Royal City