Man on the ark, forced to become king

The suppressed whispers of pain reached Mudrock's ears through the firelight. Mudrock was slightly startled, then lowered his arms. The rock giant standing in the sea of ​​fire lost its magical support and began to rapidly disintegrate, returning to soil and rock.

This woman is terrifyingly strong.

So, all those previous battles were just the other side playing around?

Just standing on the edge of the inferno, Mudrock could feel the intense heat that made his skin slightly burn through his homemade armor, as well as a chill that went deep into his soul, as if the flames could burn his soul away as well.

If the opponent had used such power to attack her from the beginning, she would have had absolutely no chance of withstanding it, and even ancient witchcraft would have been useless.

Human strength has its limits. The extent of her control over her own bloodline and what she could do was limited, and even sacrificing her life could not buy her more.

Even if all her life force were drained and merged into creation, how long could she endure this flame of destruction?

One minute? Or two minutes?

Rocks would be scorched to dust, and soil would be burned to crack. Magic was the best fuel for that flame. It was an absolute power that completely surpassed her abilities, something she could not fight against no matter how hard she tried.

So powerful, it's terrifying...

Of all the people Mudrock had ever met, this woman was undoubtedly the strongest. Even the legendary rulers of the royal courts were probably no more than this.

boom! ! !

Just as she was lost in thought, the surging sea of ​​flames suddenly erupted, the endless flames filling the entire field of vision, plunging the whole land into indiscriminate destruction, the flames flowing within, leaving no gaps.

What happened inside is unknown to those outside.

Mud Rock quickly retreated a distance before he could barely see the entire battlefield.

The orange-red flames rising from the earth shot into the sky several meters high, covering the sky and the earth. They seemed to be rolling around in a disorderly manner, but in fact they were forming a circular area centered on a certain position, which was gradually collapsing inward.

"Run, aren't you a very good runner?"

Inside the unfathomable sea of ​​fire, W, now a human torch and almost one with the surrounding flames, extended an arm burning fiercely like firewood. The surging ash fire became an extension of her will and body, tearing and dragging the distorted form closer, pulling it into her palm.

The spell was destroyed and rendered ineffective, the flowing form was fixed again, and the intertwined tentacles pieced together a bizarre body that could not even be formed into a human form. W's hand gripped the pale, bony skull, and his fiery eyes were filled with madness and mockery.

Abandoning the fragile human body in pursuit of ancient bloodlines and powerful witchcraft sounds plausible, but in this sea of ​​fire, it's nothing but a joke.

No source stone can survive the burning of the Ash Flame. Without the support of magic, the Blood Demon, having abandoned its old body, is nothing but a pile of rotten flesh, unable even to move.

As for those things used to resist the burning flames, they were no different from a drop of water thrown into a high-temperature furnace; they were completely destroyed.

"@＃%%……"

Holding its head in its hand, the Blood Demon seemed to be saying something, but because it couldn't control its body, it could only utter some indistinguishable syllables, unable to form a complete language, and W had no interest in listening.

Without even listening, it's obvious that it's mostly the ravings of madmen. It's impossible to expect these fanatics, who are already dominated by so-called ancient forces, to surrender. They won't reveal any information at all.

The only way to get valuable information from it is to find it yourself—in the Golden Tree, the dead can talk, and they talk more than the living.

"I'm in a bad mood today, so you're out of luck. Therefore, with your foolish ambitions, go and destroy yourself."

Grabbing the bone and shaking its head twice, W exerted force with his palm, causing the sea of ​​flames enveloping the area to suddenly shrink and converge towards the Blood Demon.

From tentacles to bones, every inch of the Blood Demon's body was enveloped in flames representing destruction. The flesh and blood were quickly burned away, and even the remaining ashes were reduced to wisps of smoke. Only the pale skull remained, held in W's hand and stained with large patches of charred black.

Amidst the raging flames, a faint golden light flashed across the skull, from which a strange roar could be faintly heard.

In a mere ten seconds or so, the fiery hell situated on the earth vanished into thin air, leaving behind a scorched earth covered with a thick layer of debris, the scorching heat still swirling above the ashes.

Sand, sand, sand...

Mudrock looked up and heard a sound like treading on sand coming from the ashes. A figure carrying a charred skull walked over on the embers, its appearance no longer discernible from its exterior.

Or rather, the fact that 'she' can still walk at this moment is like a miracle in Mudstone's eyes.

His body was covered with dense, scorched marks. It was less like a person and more like a piece of burnt charcoal. With each step he took, fragment-like things fell off. The only thing that remained unchanged was his pair of eyes that seemed to be filled with firelight.

"Hey, big guy, how about I borrow your armor? I didn't bring any spare clothes with me when I came out."

Yes, it did exist, but it was burned to ashes in the fire earlier.

W emerged from the ashes-covered battlefield carrying the remnants of the Blood Demon's skull, waving towards the mudstone not far away despite the searing pain that pierced his very bones.

She wasn't worried about exposing herself, since there was nothing to see in her current state. She was practically burned to a crisp, what was there to see? Even if she dressed properly, it wouldn't be as concealing as the charred remains on her body.

This time she was really fighting desperately. In order to end the battle as soon as possible and prevent that stubborn fool from being worn down by the Blood Demon, she directly used the forbidden power that she could not fully control. The fact that she could still move was entirely due to the blessing of the Golden Tree within her body.

Without the life force of the golden tree to sustain him, this body would be declared dead in any hospital.

However, the power of the blessing has weakened to its limit after the outburst just now, and it will probably be difficult for him to even move around. He is so badly injured that it will be difficult for him to recover in less than a day.

"You, you mustn't move! I'll think of something right away!"

Upon hearing W's request, Mudrock hurriedly waved her hand, threw the hammer to the ground, and cautiously approached. She even had the illusion that a gust of wind could blow away the barely human-shaped piece of charcoal in front of her, so she dared not make any big moves.

The reason why the other party was in such a miserable state was entirely because of her. Mud Rock's guilt had reached its peak. What did a mere piece of armor matter?

'My armor is filled with magic; putting her inside will stabilize her current condition with magic, then I'll go find a doctor…'

With his mind in turmoil, Niyan stopped about two meters away from W, not daring to go any further.

She pressed her hands against the sides of the helmet, and the bulging armor deflated as if it had lost its support.

The helmet seemed to be attached to the armor. As Mudrock moved, the clothes on his entire upper body were taken off, and what finally appeared in front of W was a girl whose appearance was completely different from that of the armor.

Two slender black horns extending from the back of her head to near her forehead and pointing towards the sky; long white hair hanging down to her waist; and bright red eyes filled with worry and self-blame.

She pursed her lips tightly, her expression full of guilt. She was only wearing a black vest that exposed her belly, and her slender body was much smaller than the armor she was wearing.

The armor on her upper body came off, and the girl stepped out of the armor standing on the ground like a chick emerging from its shell. She was only wearing black shorts, and her two straight, fair legs were exposed to the air, which was very cool.

Several black bandages were wrapped around her right arm, and obvious Originium crystals could be seen on her upper arm and lower right abdomen, revealing her identity as an Oripathy patient.

"Wait a minute, I'll lay the armor on the ground, fill it with magic, and then put you inside. I... I'll get you to a doctor as soon as possible..."

The girl spoke softly, her voice quite different from when she wore armor; it was slightly hoarse and gentle.

"No need for all that trouble. Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm actually still—hiss!"

W gasped, not daring to move his body any further. His bright eyes darted up and down, taking in the figure of the girl in front of him.

This result was unexpected. She had thought that the person who could wear this equipment must be a simple-minded, muscle-bound brute, but the reality was quite the opposite.

Let alone her, who would have thought that such a large suit of armor contained such a small girl?

Judging from her height, she seems to be about the same height as him, not very tall or strong. The contrast is too strong.

"Stop talking!"

Mudrock was slightly startled. He wanted to reach out and touch W, but didn't dare to actually touch her. He seemed to be in a dilemma, unsure of where to start.

W looks horribly terrible right now, like a piece of charred charcoal, full of cracks and still shedding bits of wood, as if it could break into a pile of pieces at any moment. It doesn't feel right to try to support it from any angle.

"Don't be afraid, just come over and help me up normally. Let me lie down in your armor and rest for a bit until she comes... Okay, no need, she's here now."

W tries to make the slightest sound to avoid aggravating her physical pain.

But she stopped halfway through her sentence, her eyes darting in a certain direction.

Swish!

A ghostly shadow appeared out of thin air, a corner of a white cloak fluttered in the wind, and a Sarkaz woman with purple horns on her forehead suddenly appeared behind W, supporting her with her body.

"open--"

Mudrock clenched his fists nervously, instinctively wanting to attack, but was stopped by W's urgent voice.

"Don't be nervous, she's my teammate."

W offered a reassuring remark, then turned his neck at a very slight angle, complaining, "You came really fast, Ascalon, appearing precisely right after I finished the battle."

"If I were you, I would shut up now to avoid the pain that makes me gasp for breath."

Behind W, Ascalon rolled her eyes, pulled her free arm behind her, and the white cloak slipped off her body and wrapped around W's charred body.

Then, she turned to look at the somewhat bewildered girl standing there and asked in confusion, "An unexpected gain?"

"I guess so. If you had come a little earlier, I wouldn't have had to risk my life."

W leaned against Ascalon's body, glancing sideways at Mudrock, complaining as he explained, "She's been targeted by the Blood Demon, who says it's some kind of bloodline from the Filthy Soil, which should be useful."

Chapter 217 Gold and the Royal Court

A gentle breeze swept through the ashes, raising a hazy dust cloud. Mudrock used Originium Arts to manipulate the earth and stones to build a semi-circular earthen house on the spot, like a bowl turned upside down on the ground. It wasn't very refined, but it was enough to provide some shelter from the wind.

Inside the earthen house, Mudrock hugged his knees against the wall, pursed his lips, and cautiously looked at the center. W lay flat on the ground that had been smoothed by Originium Arts, still looking like a charred corpse. Ascalon squatted beside him, holding a bottle containing a faintly glowing golden liquid.

"Don't move around. I don't have much dew on me, and I'll lose more than half of it here."

With one hand on W's neck, Ascalon's actions could be described as rough; he directly pulled off the stopper of the bottle and poured it into W's mouth.

Blood Demons are difficult to kill with their blood magic, and members of the Golden Tree can achieve a similar effect, especially when they carry Golden Tree Dew. As long as they drink it in time, unless they are instantly crushed into pieces, even a pierced heart is not a fatal wound.

W's condition looked terrible, but it wasn't actually life-threatening. Her flesh and blood were charred, but the golden power that hadn't been completely burned out was still flowing out from the blessing, maintaining the life force inside her body.

Even if no one takes care of her and just puts her on the ground, she can bounce around again in a day.

"Gulu~"

The dew that flowed into my mouth was swallowed with difficulty, and the effect was immediate.

The dewdrops, brimming with vitality, not only provided ample energy to the remaining flesh and blood, but also replenished the Golden Tree's blessing, which had burned away most of its power, allowing it to quickly resume its operation. The combined effect of the two was greater than the sum of its parts.

To Mudrock's astonishment, a faint golden light, visible to the naked eye, seeped from the crevices of the charred flesh covering his body, which resembled charcoal.