Chapter 120: Mutual Slaughter

Lei En stands on the iron anvil platform, motionless.

He lowers his head to look at the Thunder God's Hammer at his feet, feeling some regret; indeed, a Legend Grade weapon is not so easy to obtain.

Zorutan rushes over, concerned, and asks, "Lei En, are you okay?"

At this moment Lei En looks disheveled: only a dragon‑skin strap remains at his waist, his upper clothing reduced to ash, his trousers barely holding on, his exposed skin drenched in blood, not a inch unscathed, his face and neck stained red and forming clotted scabs.

He looks as if he were just pulled from a blood pool; anyone else might have died on the spot.

Lei En, however, wears a calm expression, seemingly unfazed.

It's only frightening to look at; they're just superficial wounds that will recover quickly as his energy drains.

He shakes his head and replies, "I'm fine; a short rest will do."

Zorutan and Roger both exhale in relief, then regard Lei En's physique with new respect. The lightning released by the Thunder God's Hammer is no weaker than a Four‑ring spell lightning storm, and Lei En managed to endure it for so long—truly astonishing.

"You're terrifying like this; wipe the blood off quickly," Zorutan says, pulling a towel from a crate, dampening it with a water‑gathering rod, and handing it to Lei En.

"Thank you."

Lei En takes the wet towel and wipes away the blood.

His gaze returns to the War God, and, with a hint of resentment, says, "Without a Lightning Form, is it really impossible to obtain it?"

"I'm afraid it's impossible; you should know better than we do," Zorutan replies, also regretful.

He knows he has no hope of lifting the Thunder God's Hammer and has given up, but Lei En still has a great chance, and he welcomes it.

Lei En lets out a long sigh.

Zorutan is right; in fact, he knows exactly what to do.

He possesses a metallic sense, highly attuned to metal's structural properties; when he lifted the warhammer earlier, he sensed its interior condition.

Deep within the hammerhead's core lies a cavity about the size of a pigeon egg.

Embedded in that cavity is a gem‑like object, encased in Void Meteoric Steel, perfectly fused, using runes as a conduit to the outside.

The lightning energy emitted by the warhammer all originates from that gem.

Because the gem is invisible, Lei En does not know its origin, but it must be extraordinary and exceedingly rare and precious.

The core key to obtaining this warhammer is that gem.

After dispelling the spatial lock with a spell, one must endure the gem's lightning, while also generating Lightning Power, channeling energy through the warhammer into the gem to form a current loop, then imprint one's soul.

Lei En can withstand the lightning's damage, but lacks Lightning Power.

Yet to gain Lightning Power, the only way is to fuse the Lightning Affinity Element, and the Thunder God's Hammer requires an ultra‑high affinity, namely a Lightning Form.

Lei En feels helpless, but had long anticipated this.

The warhammer's first two masters, Emperor Elfah and the "Usurper" Valden, were legendary strongmen wielding Lightning Power.

Clearly, they first merged the Lightning Form Element, then obtained the warhammer.

That means both entered the Iron Must Fortress more than once.

The teleport array of the Iron Must Fortress activates only every sixty years; they could not wait that long, so there must be another exit.

Lei En grasps this, and no longer feels tangled.

"A Legend Grade warhammer is a matter of chance, not pursuit; since it has found me, I must claim it."

"We must find that exit."

"Once we exit the fortress, perform the Soul Transformation ceremony, ascend to Fourth-level Wizard, then seek the Lightning Form Element, or fuse a magic soul with Lightning Affinity; even if it costs much time and effort, we must strive, and never miss the Thunder God's Hammer!"

Lei En makes a silent resolve.

At this moment Roger, looking at the rune formation beneath his feet, suddenly says, "Since you can lift the warhammer, let's destroy this array; you take the warhammer away, and after we leave figure out a plan, otherwise returning will be difficult."

Zorutan's eyes light up, "That plan seems feasible?"

"Useless."

Lei En shakes his head, pats the massive iron anvil platform, and explains, "The rune array on the ground is merely a coordinate; this is its birthplace. The platform has a fragment of Void Meteoric Steel, drawing the warhammer through space back to this vault."

"The warhammer locks with the surrounding space, preventing anyone from lifting it and releasing lightning at its holder; that's the warhammer's own rune effect, unrelated to the array."

"Moreover, this array is too large to destroy easily."

The Iron Must clan must have anticipated this, carving the entire array onto a massive stone nearly a hundred meters in diameter, using sturdy alchemical materials that seem to self‑repair, allowing the array to function for millennia and remain intact today.

Roger rubs his chin, shrugs, and says, "Then there's nothing we can do, what a pity…"

Lei En lets out a sigh of regret.

A Legend Grade weapon lies before him, the famed legendary warhammer, a perfect match, yet unattainable instantly; saying it's not painful would be a lie.

Zorutan touches the warhammer, sighing continuously.

The three rest on the spot, drinking water and eating.

For some reason, the vault's doors are open, yet not a single night goblin has entered; the outside cavern is quiet, as if the night goblins have vanished.

Hours later, Lei En's stamina recovers, and the lightning‑inflicted wounds have largely healed.

He feels little attachment, stands, and says, "Let's go."

Zorutan and Roger both nod silently.

They pass through the passage to the vault's entrance; Roger leads, slipping out through the doorway, while Zorutan lingers, gazing at the Thunder God's Hammer before following.

Lei En is the last; before exiting, he casts a deep glance at the warhammer on the iron anvil platform.

"I will definitely return."

Outside the vault, not a single night goblin is seen.

In Lei En's all‑things sense, no night goblin sounds are heard; their whereabouts unknown, the entire Eighth Layer feels empty.

"What's going on?" the three are all bewildered.

Actually, before they reached this throne‑filled cavern, the night goblins besieging them had been steadily dwindling, as if drawn away by something else, allowing free passage through the Eighth Layer.

Lei En looks back at the vault's doors and says, "Let's close the doors."

If we don't close the gate properly, when the night goblins return later and rush into the treasury, they certainly can't lift Thunder God's Hammer, but given the night goblins' unhygienic habit of being stinking all over, the treasury might turn into a cesspit the next time they come back.

Thinking of this, Lei En felt a private relief.

The night goblins are weak, and the space outside the stone gate is limited; even dozens of them pushing together can't open the door, so Thunder God's Hammer remains unspoiled.

The tall stone gate has indented marks that serve as a handle.

Lei En cast Dragon Power Technique on the three of them, exerted all his strength, and after ten‑some minutes gradually pulled the stone gate outward, closing it again.

Leaving the throne cavern, they continued on according to the crude map.

They passed through several caverns, all night goblin dwellings; most night goblins were gone, only a few remained on guard, and when they saw the three, they rushed chaotically and were easily cut down.

Lei En was somewhat unable to make sense of the situation.

Previously the eighth layer teemed with countless night goblins—at least seventy or eighty thousand, attacking in waves—but now they had vanished.

Compared with fighting his way in, this ease made Lei En feel a bit unaccustomed.

The lack of night goblin attacks meant no soul charging.

Zuo Ertan said as they walked, "Looking at this, the night goblins must have encountered a stronger enemy, so the whole tribe mobilized."

"A stronger enemy? Someone else inside the fortress?" Lei En's eyelids twitched.

"I'm just speculating," Zuo Ertan admitted, "Most night goblins are brainless and don't think; besides eating, sleeping, they just fight. Rather than besieging enemies, they prefer killing each other, splitting into tribes, seizing mushrooms and territory, endless fighting, which conveniently culls excess population."

"Night goblins reproduce faster than mice; in just three years they reach adulthood. If they didn't kill each other, their sheer numbers would have already flooded all of Ai Lun E Si."

"This fortress contains several night goblin tribes, each occupying a few patches of territory."

"I reckon that because we broke into the fortress, we startled these night goblins, causing chaos; they fled too fast, and with no enemy left, they turned on rival tribes."

Lei En was speechless; this race was truly bizarre.

Shortly after, the three arrived smoothly at a fork.

This was the fortress's traffic hub: two wide stone stairways, one upward leading to the sixth layer, the other downward to the deeper ninth layer.

Zuo Ertan did not hesitate and said, "Upward."

His purpose for entering the fortress was to seek lost rune knowledge, possibly stored in the fourth‑layer Mola Ding Temple, so they could only go upward.

Lei En hesitated for a moment.

He heard a faint water sound rising from below the ninth layer, and was instantly surprised—could there really be an underground hidden river beneath the tenth layer?

If water flows, it could very likely lead outside the fortress, perhaps hiding an exit.

"Lei En, what's wrong?" Luo Jue noticed his hesitation and asked.

Lei En shook his head lightly, deciding not to mention the hidden river, and to first check the Mola Ding Temple above, perhaps there was a better way out.

They ascended the stone stairs to the seventh layer.

After a short walk, night goblins began to appear, still few in number, and Lei En promptly cleared them.

Amid the sounds of all things, a noisy clamor came from far ahead; countless night goblins were shrieking, more than any Lei En had ever faced before.

Lei En's complexion shifted slightly as he led the way into a massive cavern.

When the three emerged from a passage, they were shocked by the cavern's scene.

The cavern lay in the core of the seventh layer, an irregular oval with a dome over thirty meters high; it was once a dwarf forge, with endless stone structures and crisscrossing streets, resembling a small city.

At this moment, hundreds of thousands of night goblins were fighting; the entire cavern was a battlefield.

The sound of killing thundered, blood streamed like a river!

Night goblins, tooth‑claw beasts, shamans, leaders, archers, and several tribal chieftains all had blood‑shot eyes, no longer distinguishing friend from foe, attacking anything that could still move.

Lei En stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

The cavern was strewn with corpses; every second countless night goblins fell, their souls flashing from the bodies and dissipating in the air.

"That's all soul power!"

Lei En let out a sigh of lament, his heart aching, wishing he could absorb all those souls.

How many charge slots could so many souls fill?

Absorbing only a tenth would be enough to raise his power and steel body several levels.

Zuo Ertan, unaware of Lei En's thoughts, watched the battle for a while and said, "We'll take a detour and avoid this battlefield."

"Can't we go straight through?" Lei En suggested.

"If we rashly appear on the battlefield, we could be surrounded by all the night goblins; it would save time but is too dangerous," Zuo Ertan shook his head in denial.

Lei En thought to himself, what he wanted was to be besieged.

It would be best if all night goblins stopped, ceased their infighting; anyone with the guts should come at me!

But that was only a thought; he couldn't say it out loud, lest it arouse the others' suspicion.

Taking another route around the battlefield, the three quickly found a passage to the sixth layer. The sixth layer was a mushroom‑growing cavern, once patrolled by many night goblins but now empty; after a short time, they entered the fifth layer.

The journey went smoothly, yet Lei En felt as if he wanted to cry but couldn't.

Almost every night goblin took part in the great war; when it ended, fewer than one in a hundred survived, the population plummeted, requiring decades of breeding to regain prosperity.

He had originally intended to return later, when the chance arose, to enter the fortress and harvest souls.

What was once a perfect monster‑grinding upgrade spot had vanished…

The three searched the fifth layer for most of the day, eventually finding the upward passage collapsed; however, at the collapse site stood a cliff over a hundred meters high, its wall nearly vertical, and climbing it would lead straight to the fourth layer.

Standing at the base of the cliff and looking up, Lei En felt fine; the climb didn't seem too difficult.

Beside him, Luo Jue's face showed hesitation.

"Do we have to climb up from here?"

"Of course." Zuo Ertan produced a set of climbing picks and rope, began scaling the cliff, and in a few minutes reached the top, tossing the tools down.

Lei En, having observed, quickly followed up.

After lingering for a long time, Luo Jue finally climbed the rope to the cliff top; Lei En noticed his complexion had turned pale, as if greatly frightened, even unwilling to look back down at the cliff below.

"The legendary demon hunter who's afraid of heights, haha…" Lei En muttered to himself.

The fourth level of the fortress is the dwarves' living area; because of the sheer cliff, the vast majority of night goblins can't climb up, so there are no traces of night goblins ever having lived here.

Everywhere is pitch black, as if an ancient tomb that has lain silent for thousands of years.

After two hours, Zuo Ertan, following the map's guidance in the ancient text, finally located the cavern that houses the Mola Ding Temple, which is also the ruling center of the Iron Beard Clan, the largest underground space in the entire fortress, the area where royal family members reside, called the Throne Hall.

However, the moment he stepped into the Throne Hall, Lei En sensed something abnormal.

In the darkness ahead, there is a beam of light!

(End of chapter)