Chapter 138: Dwarf Help! Ancient Ruins!

It's the Master!

Fura used her last bit of strength to slowly open her eyes.

She saw Rocco's face, which was full of anxiety and concern.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Rocco's voice was low and powerful.

He had just been using the "First Saint's Tear" in the secret chamber to purify his Battle Qi,

but suddenly his heart moved, and he sensed the violent energy fluctuations coming from Fura's side.

He rushed over immediately.

He hadn't expected to see this incredibly dangerous scene.

Battle Qi going out of control, ice and fire backlash.

This situation was several times more dangerous than when he fused the power of Holy Light before.

If he were even slightly careless, it would result in shattered meridians and death by explosion.

Rocco didn't have time to think.

He immediately poured his own Bronze Peak flame Battle Qi, which had been purified to the extreme, into Fura's body continuously.

He didn't try to forcibly suppress the ice and fire powers rampaging in Fura's body like an ordinary person would.

Because he knew that doing so would only be counterproductive.

Blocking is not as good as diverting.

He remembered his experience of fusing the power of Holy Light back then.

Since he couldn't eliminate them,

then he would make them one!

Rocco cautiously used his own Battle Qi as a guide, as a bridge,

slowly pulling the two ice and fire powers in Fura's body—which were like mortal enemies—together.

This process was incredibly dangerous.

If he were even slightly careless, it would detonate the energy in Fura's body and turn her into dust.

Fine sweat beads also seeped out on Rocco's forehead.

His spirit was highly concentrated.

He could clearly feel the stubbornness and brutality of the two powers in Fura's body.

They repelled each other and devoured each other.

Every collision made Fura's body tremble violently.

Guiding alone wasn't enough!

He also needed a powerful, neutral catalyst capable of reconciling everything!

A flash of determination crossed Rocco's eyes.

He didn't hesitate to take the "First Saint's Tear," which emitted a soft holy light, from his space ring.

He mobilized a wisp of the purest and holiest energy from within the holy relic.

Then, he cautiously injected it into Fura's body.

The moment that wisp of Holy Light power entered Fura's body,

those two powers that had been incredibly violent miraculously calmed down.

They seemed to have found a new balance point where they could coexist.

It worked!

Rocco's heart was filled with joy.

He seized this opportunity and operated the 【Flame Griffin Breathing Method】 at full power.

Using his purest Battle Qi to wrap around that wisp of Holy Light power, he began to forcibly fuse the ice and fire powers.

"Hum!"

Fura's body suddenly emitted a strange sound.

A brand-new, powerful aura erupted from her body!

It was a strange energy that carried both the scorching heat and explosiveness of flame, and the extreme cold and gloom of frost.

A cyan Battle Qi, like frost,

and a red Battle Qi, like flame,

surged out from her body simultaneously.

Then, they fused perfectly together.

She had broken through!

Bronze Rank Knight Peak!

Moreover, a unique variant Battle Qi had been born!

Rocco slowly withdrew his hand.

He looked at Fura in his arms, whose aura had completely stabilized and who had fallen into a deep sleep, and let out a long sigh of relief.

A gratified smile appeared on his face.

This silly girl.

She had finally turned a misfortune into a blessing.

The next morning.

When the first ray of sunlight shone into the room,

Fura slowly opened her eyes.

She felt her body was better than ever before.

Filled with explosive power.

She sat up and extended her right hand.

With a thought,

a wisp of cyan Battle Qi, emitting a chilling cold, condensed at her fingertip.

She switched to her left hand.

A wisp of red Battle Qi, emitting scorching heat waves, danced in her palm.

Then, she brought her hands together.

The cyan and red Battle Qi instantly merged together.

Forming a more powerful and mysterious Frostfire Battle Qi.

"This—is my power?"

Fura's heterochromatic pupils were filled with unbelievable joy.

She stood up and picked up the longsword used for practice.

She walked slowly to the center of the room.

She closed her eyes, feeling the brand-new power in her body.

Then, she slashed out with her sword violently.

"Frostfire Dual Blades!"

A strange sword qi, half frost-white and half crimson-red, shot out from her blade.

It slashed silently at the refined steel dummy in the corner of the room.

There was no earth-shattering roar.

Not even a single sound was emitted.

The moment the strange sword qi touched the dummy made of hundred-refined steel,

the upper half was instantly frozen into a crystal-clear ice sculpture.

And the lower half was burned into a pool of bright red molten iron.

Ice and fire.

Two completely opposite destructive powers were perfectly displayed on the same object.

This was her, Fura's, unique power!

"Great..."

Fura looked at her masterpiece, so excited that her eyes were a bit moist.

With this power, she could finally truly help the Master.

Just then.

The door was pushed open gently.

Rocco walked in, carrying a bowl of meat porridge that was still steaming.

"Awake?"

He looked at Fura, who was in high spirits, and smiled.

"How do you feel?"

"Master!"

Seeing Rocco, Fura hurriedly put away the sword and lowered her head somewhat awkwardly.

"I—I'm fine."

"Thank you, Master, for saving me again."

Rocco placed the meat porridge on the table.

He walked to the strangely shaped refined steel dummy and examined it carefully.

"A very good ability."

A look of approval appeared in Rocco's eyes.

"Your 'Frostfire' Battle Qi combines the control of ice with the explosiveness of fire."

"It happens to complement my 【Blazing Slash】, which is purely for destruction."

"In the future, if we join forces, we will have the power to fight even against true Silver Rank powerhouses."

Hearing Rocco's words, Fura buried her head even lower.

But the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

Being able to gain the Master's approval

was the thing that made her happiest.

"By the way."

Rocco seemed to have remembered something.

"Your power seems to have a great attraction for Tain."

He said, placing the little beast Tain, who was sleeping soundly, on the ground.

Sure enough.

As soon as Tain landed, it moved its four short legs and ran to Fura's feet.

It raised its head, its obsidian-like eyes filled with curiosity.

It stretched out its nose and sniffed Fura.

Then, it actually stuck out its tongue and licked Fura's finger lightly.

"Meow?"

Fura looked at the furry little guy at her feet in surprise.

She could feel that Tain was releasing a very close goodwill toward her.

She tried to condense that newly born "Frostfire" Battle Qi at her fingertip.

Seeing that cyan-red energy, Tain was not afraid, but even more excited.

It opened its mouth and bit Fura's finger lightly.

A wisp of faint dark red flame power was transferred from its mouth into Fura's body.

Fura felt that the Frostfire Battle Qi in her body was like it had eaten a great tonic.

Instantly, it grew a bit stronger.

And it became even more solid.

"This—"

Seeing this scene, Rocco also raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Tain's innate flame could actually promote Fura's Frostfire Battle Qi?

Could there be some special connection between the two?

Rocco thought of Fura's unusual cat ears and heterochromatic eyes.

Could her bloodline also not be as simple as it appeared on the surface?

It seemed he would have to pay more attention to ancient legends about the "Cat-kin Race" or those related to "Frostfire" in the future.

Perhaps he could find some answers there.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

The reconstruction work of Vanguard Valley hit a bottleneck.

Martina held a stack of thick documents, her snow-white brows tightly furrowed.

"Rocco, our supplies are not enough."

Her voice carried a trace of fatigue that could not be hidden.

"The last city defense battle consumed almost all of our strategic reserves."

"Especially high-quality stone and metal, which are very scarce now."

"Craftsmen and manpower are also seriously insufficient; at the current speed, just repairing the city wall will take at least three months."

"And that's assuming there are no enemies harassing us."

Rocco looked at the shocking huge gap in the city wall of Vanguard Valley on the map and nodded.

What Martina said was the truth.

War is about logistics, about resources.

Although Vanguard Valley won, it was a tragic victory, and the family foundation was almost exhausted.

"What about money? Isn't it enough that we captured all the assets of the Temple Knight Order?"

Rocco asked.

"Money is not the problem."

Martina shook her head.

"The problem is that you can't buy things even with money."

"Now the entire Xin Feng Province is in chaos because of the civil war in the Royal Capital."

"Trade routes are blocked, prices are soaring, and those nobles are holding their supplies tightly, unwilling to sell to anyone."

"They are all waiting and watching, waiting to see if Vanguard Valley can survive the next wave of attacks."

A flash of cold light crossed Rocco's eyes.

These fence-sitters.

"It seems that relying on ourselves is indeed a bit slow."

Rocco pondered for a moment, and a smile suddenly appeared on his mouth.

"I have an idea."

"Perhaps we can invite some 'professional' friends to help."

Three days later.

A strange team marched into Vanguard Valley in a grand manner.

They were sturdy, with beards braided into various styles, wearing heavy leather armor, and carrying huge mining picks and battle hammers.

It was the dwarves of the Stone Hammer Tribe.

Leading them was none other than the Patriarch, Bagelumu.

"Lord Rocco!"

As soon as Bagelumu saw Rocco, he gave him a bear hug enthusiastically.

"You needed help, why didn't you say so earlier!"

"We dwarves value friends the most!"

"Your business is our Stone Hammer Tribe's business!"

Rocco smiled and patted his back.

"Patriarch Bagelumu, this time, I have to trouble you."

"As for the reward, don't worry, I will definitely make you satisfied."

"Haha, what reward!"

Bagelumu waved his hand.

"Being able to drink your exclusive Vanguard Spirits is the best reward!"

"However, if you can give us some more of those alchemy potions that can increase land yield, that would be even better."

The dwarf construction team officially moved into Vanguard Valley.

Their arrival immediately raised the efficiency of the entire reconstruction project by more than one grade.

These natural engineers had an almost instinctive understanding of rock and metal.

What they brought was not only sufficient manpower, but also a special stone material Vanguard Valley had never seen before, called "Obsidian Rock."

This stone was pitch black, incredibly hard, and carried a

"This is a treasure we dug out from the depths of the mountains."

Bagelumu introduced it to Roko with pride.

"Using this to repair the city walls, even the magic of a Silver-grade mage won't be able to easily blast them open!"

The ingenuity of human craftsmen and the sturdiness of dwarf engineers were perfectly combined.

The gaps in the city walls were being filled in at a speed visible to the naked eye, and they were even taller and thicker than before.

Of course, this process was not all smooth sailing.

Some ill-intentioned spies tried to sneak into the construction site to secretly cause some damage.

But they soon discovered that they were terribly mistaken.

Those seemingly simple-minded dwarves had frighteningly high vigilance.

Any unfamiliar face could not escape their sharp eyes.

One spy, just as he was attempting to tamper with a cornerstone, was picked up with one hand by a passing dwarf engineer as if he were a chick.

"Kid, the oil on your hands is not something that should be on our construction site."

The dwarf said in a muffled voice, his large, fan-like hand directly crushing the spy's wrist bone.

Several sabotage attempts failed completely under the dwarves' simple and brutal methods.

No one dared to come here to make trouble again.

Half a month later.

The brand-new Vanguard Valley city wall rose from the ground.

It lay on the earth like a black behemoth, exuding a heart-palpitating sense of oppression.

But this was not all.

At Bagelumu's suggestion, a ferocious gun turret was built every fifty meters atop the city wall.

"Master Roko, look at this!"

Bagelumu pointed excitedly at a newly completed turret.

On the base of the turret, complex dwarf runes were inscribed, and a thick metal barrel shimmered with a ghostly light.

"This is called a 'Runic Magic Cannon Tower'!"

"It's the best stuff we dwarves have hidden away!"

"As long as you fill it with Magic Crystal Stones, it can fire an energy cannon blast comparable to the full-force strike of a Bronze Peak mage!"

"The only drawback is that it's a bit expensive."

Roko's eyes lit up.

This was simply a weapon of mass destruction for war!

With this thing, Vanguard Valley's long-range strike capability would be elevated by several levels!

"Not only that."

Bagelumu pointed to his feet again.

"According to your ideas, we have also dug through complex defensive works beneath the city walls."

"Just like our dwarf cities, even if the surface is breached, we can retreat underground and continue to fight."

A three-dimensional, super-defensive system combining surface and underground was thus formed.

Vanguard Valley was no longer an ordinary pioneer territory.

It had become a true military fortress, the sturdiest stronghold in the Xin Feng Province.

On the night the project was completed, Roko held a grand banquet.

The dwarves drank the strongest liquor and ate the most delicious roasted meat; the entire Vanguard Valley was immersed in an ocean of joy.

"Master Roko, this is our Stone Hammer Tribe's most sincere gratitude to you."

"This is a secret passed down through generations of our dwarves: a map pointing to an ancient ruin deep in the mountains."

"Legend has it that the lost treasure of our dwarf royal family is buried there."

"But that place is also full of unknown dangers."

"Our Stone Hammer Tribe has limited strength and dares not go deep."

"But you are different."

Bagelumu's eyes were full of awe.

"I believe that only a powerhouse like you is qualified to explore the secrets there."

Roko took the map, his heart stirring slightly.

Ancient ruins?

This seemed to have triggered something extraordinary again.

The peaceful days did not last for many days.

A blood-soaked Red Leaf Forest hunter, riding a warhorse that was about to collapse from exhaustion, charged into Vanguard Valley.

"Emergency—emergency call for help!"

The hunter dismounted, and after saying just one sentence, he collapsed to the ground and passed out.