Chapter 117: The Legendary Warhammer

Luo Jie and Zuo Ertan both looked over.

In fact they also noticed that Lei En seemed not tired at all, but they assumed it was due to his steel body and strong stamina, so they didn't think further.

"Let's try to move faster and not stop in place."

Halfway through speaking, Lei En heard a large group of Night Goblins approaching and quickly said, "I'll take the lead in the fight behind us; you conserve your stamina and don't strike unless necessary."

"Master Luo Jie, lend me your steel sword."

Lei En excels at using a war hammer, but his killing efficiency is still higher with a longsword, and his own speed can also be faster that way.

Luo Jie did not hesitate and immediately handed over the steel sword 'Wolf's Fang.'

The moment he took the exquisite enchanted longsword, hundreds of Night Goblins appeared, charging forward under the command of a dozen leaders riding Bite Beasts, their momentum fierce.

"Follow me."

Lei En said, sheathed his war hammer into his dragonhide belt, and turned to face the enemies.

Ahead was a narrow tunnel, less than two meters wide but over twenty meters long; Lei En stood at one end waiting, not rushing to act.

Soon the tunnel filled with a massive swarm of Night Goblins, like a can of sardines.

A chaotic chorus of cries filled his ears.

Lei En's shoulders dropped slightly; when the foremost Night Goblin surged to his sight, about to emerge from the tunnel, he launched a charge.

Whoosh!

A towering figure barreled into the tunnel like a steam locomotive, crushing forward with ruthless force, accompanied by a series of bone‑cracking sounds that made teeth ache, mixed with the Night Goblins' screams.

With a single charge, Lei En tore through the tunnel, leaving dozens of Night Goblin corpses behind.

Luo Jie and Zuo Ertan, behind him, exchanged a glance, surprised by Lei En's highly efficient killing method, yet also a little puzzled.

A charge consumes a lot of stamina; how long can Lei En sustain it?

When they emerged from the tunnel, they saw bodies strewn everywhere.

Most Night Goblins were killed outright by the impact, and some were split in two, their wounds looking as if scorched by flame, a charred black.

Dozens of Night Goblins remained alive, scattered about, firing long arrows from rusted iron bows.

Lei En let the long arrows strike him, then bounced them away.

He activated the enchantment of the steel sword Wolf's Fang, drawing soul energy; the blade glowed as if red‑hot, each swing spawning a burst of flame and a long arcing blade that slashed the surrounding Night Goblins.

Whether ordinary Night Goblins or leaders riding Bite Beasts, each was cut in half with a single sword.

Lei En's figure darted back and forth, red sword light flashing everywhere; in less than ten seconds, not a single Night Goblin remained standing.

Luo Jie and Zuo Ertan were left staring in shock.

After wiping out the Night Goblins, Lei En determined the direction and moved forward, only to find the two had not followed.

He turned back, saw their expressions, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"You always surprise us," Luo Jie flashed forward, gently reminding, "But even with your stamina, you can't waste it so casually, or we won't get far."

Zuo Ertan also nodded.

Lei En smiled lightly, offering no explanation.

He killed so many Night Goblins in one breath, absorbing souls to gain nearly ten units of energy, while consuming less than five; each intake and output raised his energy, so killing like this would never deplete his stamina.

Not far after stepping out, another batch of Night Goblins surrounded them.

Among this group of Night Goblins was a strange fellow, not wearing leather armor but a cloth robe, much older than the others, wielding a curved wooden staff, and surprisingly capable of casting spells.

Zuo Ertan shouted, "Watch out, that's a Night Goblin shaman."

Shamans are also spellcasters who commune with natural forces; aside from humans, most intelligent races have shamans.

Among the low‑intelligence Night Goblins, shamans are especially rare.

Several Bite Beast riders guarded the Night Goblin shaman, clearly holding high status in the tribe.

Lei En used his Soul Eye to observe; the shaman knew only three spells—Bloodthirst, Healing, and Lightning Arrow—none exceeding the second circle.

It raised its staff to cast Bloodthirst; the surrounding Night Goblins let out a howl, muscles swelling, eyes bloodshot, becoming even more fearless, shouting and charging forward.

Lei En shook his head, raised his sword, and charged.

In less than half a minute the battle ended; the Night Goblin shaman made little impact and met the same fate, cut down by a sword.

On the shaman, Lei En found a crude map.

According to the map, the sixth level had collapsed halfway, the seventh level also had partial collapse, and on the eighth level there was a path that could bypass the blocked cavern, rising from the other side to above the fifth level, even reaching the topmost first level!

This made the three rejoice greatly.

Lei En quickly noted the map and pressed onward.

Groups of Night Goblins kept coming to their deaths; each battle only raised his energy by a few units, and the Level‑4 Power progress bar advanced slowly.

At first, Luo Jie thought Lei En couldn't hold out long, but later he noticed Lei En seemed increasingly vigorous, showing no sign of fatigue.

"This monster."

Luo Jie muttered to himself, already numb.

Along the way, he and Zuo Ertan rarely had a chance to act; Lei En handled everything alone.

During the fights Lei En never lost his bearings, unaware of how many Night Goblins he had slain; when he emerged from a downward passage, the view cleared, no longer a cavern.

Zuo Ertan followed from behind.

He saw a vast expanse of magnificent architecture and exclaimed, "We've reached the seventh level!"

Lei En looked toward the distant glimmer; within those structures were countless Night Goblins—at least several thousand on a quick glance—all swarming toward his position, the cavern in chaos, filled with Night Goblin cries.

Even he felt his scalp tingle at the sight of so many foes.

When will this killing end?

And this is only the count in one cavern; other caverns hold even more—tens of thousands, even a hundred thousand!

After a few breaths of thought, Lei En decisively abandoned the idea of killing all Night Goblins to charge himself, turned back and said, "We'll charge straight through, not tangle with them."

Luo Jie and Zuo Ertan both nodded with solemn expressions.

Having reached this point, they could not turn back; if Lei En fell, the chance for the two of them to break through the encirclement would be very low, almost certain death.

Lei En drew a deep breath and launched the charge.

The three sprinted through cave after cave at top speed, finally witnessing the sheer number of night goblins; wherever they went, night goblins were everywhere, and the entire fortress was comparable to a medium-sized city.

After half a day, Lei En led the way and successfully broke into the eighth level.

This level is where the Iron Beard clan stores relics, and it also contains many mines; the terrain is rather complex, the number of night goblins has decreased, but their strength is rising, with more and more fang‑toothed beast riders and frequent appearances of shamans.

According to the map, the eighth level is the core area of several night goblin tribes.

Lei En recalled that several roads on the eighth level converge at a point, marked on the map with a symbol resembling a throne; it is a mandatory route.

After a frantic killing spree of unknown length, the pressure around them suddenly eased, and no night goblins surrounded them any longer.

Lei En looked up and discovered they had entered a strange cavern.

The cavern was nearly a hundred meters tall, its interior a cylindrical space less than fifty meters in diameter; the floor was paved with whole boulders, each side had an exit, and the rocky walls were covered with countless exquisite murals and abundant dwarf script describing mythic heroes from dwarf history.

Zuo Ertan scanned the area and said, "This is the fortress treasury."

"However, it seems the night goblins have taken it as the tribal chief's throne."

Lei En looked over and saw, on one side of the cavern, a stone seat crudely made, resembling a five‑year‑old's craft—just a groove chiseled into a rock, treated as a throne, starkly out of place with its surroundings.

At that moment, only the throne was present, but no night goblin chief could be seen.

Behind the throne stood a massive stone door over ten meters high, etched with countless dwarf runes, and flanked on each side by a towering dwarf statue.

Lei En stared at the stone door and asked, "Is the treasury behind this door?"

"Yes." Zuo Ertan nodded, "Shall we go inside? The night goblins use this as a throne; there may be dwarf treasure behind the door."

Before Lei En could answer, Luo Jie said, "We've come this far; of course we should go in."

He hadn't gained much on this trip, but at least they couldn't return empty‑handed.

Lei En hesitated, "Could this be a night goblin trap?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he let out a self‑deprecating laugh; given the night goblins' intellect, if they knew how to set traps, they wouldn't rush in so recklessly.

After killing for so long, he had already figured out the nature of this race: they were hardly an intelligent species, their logic chaotic, acting purely on instinct.

Zuo Ertan examined the stone door carefully.

"These runes are incomplete and many are damaged; the rune seal is broken, so we can enter without a spell. Let's just push the door."

He stepped forward and pushed hard, but the stone door did not budge.

"All together!"

Lei En unleashed the Dragon Power Technique three times in succession, empowering everyone; the three of them strained together, and the heavy stone door emitted a muffled thud, slowly opening a slit inward.

"This door is way too heavy!"

Zuo Ertan's face turned red with strain, and Luo Jie fared no better; a Demon Hunter does not excel in raw strength, and even a legendary one, after augmenting with the Dragon Power Technique, cannot exceed third‑level power.

The main force pushing the door was still Lei En.

Having fought their way here, the fourth‑level power gauge was already over ninety percent, about to reach the fifth level.

Finally, the stone door was pushed open enough for a single person to slip through.

A faint glimmer seeped from beyond the door, and silence reigned.

After confirming there was no danger, Lei En slipped through the slit and was the first to enter the treasury.

The first thing that caught his eye was a long, wide passage nearly a hundred meters long; at its end lay a vast space. There was no treasure as imagined, nor any traps, but the most striking feature was a circular rune formation painted on the floor.

In the center of the formation stood a forge platform, upon which a war hammer was slanted.

Lei En's eyes fell on the war hammer, and he was instantly stunned.

(PS: On the first day of the new year, the main storyline of this book is coming out—please give recommendation votes and monthly tickets!)

(End of chapter)