Chapter 38: Forging Armor in the Furnace, the Embers of Earth's Fire, and the Elf's Blessing

The thunderous rumble of the "Scavenger" mobile fortress rolled in from the east like muffled thunder, the earth trembling faintly. For that steel behemoth, a distance of fifty li was nothing more than half a day's march. The shadow of death had never drawn so close.

Inside the hollow, tension had reached its peak. Wrench, like a man possessed, roared orders as he directed Xiang Lingna to finish the last of the trap placements. A massive "mine plate" was buried deep underground at the main entrance; "piercing cheval-de-frise" were cleverly concealed behind the ruins; several bucket-sized "magnetic shock bombs" were placed at key positions, their fuses wired to pressure sensors Wrench had built himself. The entire perimeter of the hollow had become one giant, deathly inventive beast-trap.

Lin Mo, meanwhile, brought Sister Ai Li once more to the side of that erupted ley-line fissure. The fissure's edges were still scalding, the air thick with the smell of sulfur and ozone, and deep within the fissure a dull red glow flowed through the cracks in the rock—the still-not-fully-cooled embers of the earth's fire.

"What are you going to do?" Sister Ai Li stared at the bottomless fissure exhaling its scorching breath, her cold eyes carrying a question.

"Forge armor! Armor that can resist spatial tearing and withering erosion!" Lin Mo's eyes blazed with a wild light. He pointed at the dull red lava flowing deep within the fissure. "Use this! Use the embers of the earth's fire! And also…" He produced several palm-sized special alloy plates, gleaming with a ghostly blue sheen, that he had found in the wreckage of the Viper command platform—the base material Black Scorpion used for the high-temperature coating of their energy weapons!

"Use this alloy as the base! Smelt it with the high heat of the earth's fire's embers! Infuse it with the natural aura of 'Starlight Moss' and the power of the Seed of Life!" Lin Mo laid out his mad plan. He remembered Priestess Liyana saying that moonlight power had a restraining effect on the withering mist, while 'Starlight Moss' contained natural force, and the Seed of Life was even more so the source of life itself. Combining the Black Scorpion alloy that could resist the high heat of energy weapons with the violent power of the earth's fire—perhaps it could create a temporary protection!

Sister Ai Li silently looked at Lin Mo, then again at the earth's fire deep within the fissure. She did not question him, only nodded. "How?"

Time was short—no furnace, no tools! Everything had to be kept brutally simple!

Lin Mo used a heat-resistant metal rod he had found to thrust a ghostly blue alloy plate deep into the fissure, close to the flowing dull red lava! The terrifying heat instantly burned the tip of the metal rod a glowing red!

"Hiss—!" The alloy plate, touching the edge of the lava, instantly turned crimson and let out a shrill sound! Lin Mo gripped the metal rod in a death grip, enduring the scorching waves of heat, while the power of the Seed of Life was driven to its utmost to shield his arm.

"Sister Ai Li! Sprinkle the 'Starlight Moss' powder on it!" Lin Mo roared.

Sister Ai Li moved at once. Xiang Lingna had earlier dried a few leaves of 'Starlight Moss' and ground them into a pale golden powder. Sister Ai Li carefully and evenly sprinkled it over the crimson alloy plate!

"Fsss—!" The moment the powder touched the high heat, it instantly transformed into wisps of pale golden mist that, as if alive, coiled around the crimson alloy plate!

"Now!" Lin Mo gathered every ounce of his will and communed with the Seed of Life! A stream of pure, emerald-green life energy flowed down his arm, into the scalding metal rod, and on into the crimson alloy plate!

Emerald energy, pale-gold natural mist, dull-red embers of the earth's fire, and ghostly blue alloy base—under the terrifying heat, an unpredictable fusion reaction was taking place! The alloy plate trembled violently, its color flashing at breakneck speed between crimson, ghostly blue, pale gold, and emerald green, emitting a deep, resonant hum!

The process was utterly draining of spirit and stamina! Lin Mo was soaked through with sweat, his arm trembling violently from the heat and energy output, his vision going black in waves. Sister Ai Li stood guard watchfully at his side, continually handing him fresh 'Starlight Moss' powder.

He did not know how long it had been when, just as Lin Mo felt he could barely hold on any longer, the alloy plate's trembling and hum finally ceased! Its light drew inward!

Lin Mo summoned the last of his strength and pulled the metal rod out of the fissure!

A "piece of armor," now cooled, lay before his eyes! It was only the size of a breast-mirror, its entire body a deep and dense dark gold, its surface covered in fine, lava-cooled crackle-like patterns, through which faint threads of emerald and pale gold light flowed. To the touch it was warm and smooth, yet it contained a restrained, violent power.

【Item: Guardian Fragment Forged in Earth's Fire (Temporary)】

【Effect: Infusing energy can activate it, forming a brief energy shield (Strength: Medium), with notable resistance against spatial tearing force, energy erosion, and withering/decay-attribute attacks. Duration: Extremely short (approx. 10–15 seconds). Uses: 1.】

【Description: A miracle wrought with earth's fire as furnace, life as guide, and nature as covenant. It bears the hope and will to protect of two worlds.】

Success! Though it was only a crude, one-use piece of armor, it was their one and only hope!

Lin Mo solemnly handed this warm, dark-gold fragment to Sister Ai Li. "Take it! Sister Ai Li! Go to the elven world! Only you can reach the Moonlight Crystal or sacred relic in the shortest time! Xiang Lingna will guide you to the coordinates through 'Starlight Moss'!"

Sister Ai Li looked at the fragment in her hand, imbued with violent and life-force power, and a flicker of complex emotion passed through her cold eyes. She did not ask why it had to be her, only pressed the fragment tightly against her chest and nodded heavily. "Coordinates?"

Xiang Lingna at once focused her spirit and communed with the best-growing 'Starlight Moss'. Its leaves shimmered again in the faint light, projecting a hazy image of Moon Shadow Lake. Xiang Lingna strove to transmit the image's details and sense of spatial direction to Sister Ai Li.

Sister Ai Li closed her eyes, carefully feeling the information Xiang Lingna transmitted and the pull of spatial coordinates coming from the fragment in her hand. Her body subtly adjusted its orientation, like the most precise javelin, locking onto its target.

"Ready." Sister Ai Li's voice was calm and even.

Lin Mo at once focused his spirit and communed with the Thorn-Pass node deep in his consciousness! He poured the energy of the Seed of Life and the spatial power that stabilized the passage, in a frenzy, into the dark-gold fragment in Sister Ai Li's hand!

"Hum—!"

The dark-gold fragment erupted with a blinding light! Streams of emerald, dark gold, and pale gold wove together, forming a cocoon of light that enveloped Sister Ai Li's entire body! The cocoon rippled violently, radiating an intense sense of spatial distortion!

"Coordinates: Moon Shadow Lake! Teleport!" Lin Mo bellowed in his heart!

"Whoosh!"

The cocoon of light, carrying Sister Ai Li's figure, vanished from the spot in an instant! All that remained in the air was a ring of rapidly expanding spatial ripples and a faint smell of burnt char!

Teleportation successful!

Lin Mo collapsed to the ground in utter exhaustion, gasping for breath. Xiang Lingna stared tensely at the spot where Sister Ai Li had vanished.

Just then!

"Rumble rumble—!!!"

The engine roar from the east suddenly swelled! On the horizon, a colossal steel silhouette, like a moving mountain, rolled over the ruins and came into view! A pale-blue energy force-field shield glittered with a cold sheen in the sunlight!

Black Scorpion's "Scavenger" had arrived! It was faster than expected!

The massive triple-mounted plasma turret slowly swiveled, the ghostly blue glow at its muzzle beginning to gather as it locked firmly onto the center of the hollow!

"Wrench! Xiang Lingna! Prepare for battle!" Lin Mo struggled to his feet, seized his shotgun, and a flame of resolve unto death burned in his eyes!

Sister Ai Li had set out on her journey to save the elves, while the wasteland's doomsday cannon-mouth had already taken aim at their home! The final defense of Hope Outpost erupted with a thunderous crash beneath the shadow of the "Scavenger"!