Chapter 127: Book of Hatred

After the Strength advanced to the Supreme Element, it barely increased a little more.

Lei En carefully compared and found that at least six to seven units of charge are needed for the progress bar to advance one notch. With such a huge consumption, even Haerken's clone's soul power, no matter how great, is insufficient to continue strengthening.

At the same time, the charge's rising speed also slowed, nearing its end.

So Lei En poured the remaining charge into the Charge Element, strengthening it to level five, slightly extending the charge distance by a few meters.

Finally, the charge stopped rising, and his mind calmed.

Lei En silently exhaled; this time absorbing a soul made his heart race, mainly because his profession rank was too low—being a level‑3 Wizard daring to absorb a legendary soul. If he couldn't strengthen the Element, a tragedy might truly have occurred.

He looked at the several Element icons on his phone screen, feeling very excited.

Steel Body level 3, Strength level 7, Charge level 5;

Dragon Power Technique rank 2, Rainbow Beam rank 2;

Metal Touch and Truth Willpower cannot be strengthened.

Except for Charge, the other Elements have basically reached the current Wizard rank cap; without undergoing Soul Transformation to advance to Mid-stage, absorbing more souls is useless.

Lei En closed the phone interface; at that moment Zuo Ertan had already packed the metal box and slung it back on.

Before leaving, he hurriedly offered a few prayers to the statue of Mo Lading.

The three walked out of the temple, and Luo Jie suddenly said, "Wait."

He took a bottle of potion from his waist pouch and splashed it on himself and his two companions, "This is a deodorizer; it can erase one's scent. Some shadow warriors and Tricksters have scent‑based Element, allowing them to track by smell, so we must be cautious."

Lei En nodded.

Luo Jie's own sense of smell is extremely strong, possessing the "Elephant Trunk Technique," making him an expert in scent; he knows how to use scent for tracking and how to defend against it.

After sprinkling the potion, Luo Jie sniffed his nose and nodded, "All right."

The three identified the direction and left quickly.

The Throne Hall Cavern is the core area of the fourth level, even the most important spot in the entire Iron Must Fortress, with passages in all directions and over a dozen exits.

Luo Jie deliberately chose a route opposite to the previous one.

However, just as the three reached the edge of the cavern, before they could enter the passage, Lei En heard a sound coming from deep within the cavern.

He abruptly turned back, listened for a few seconds, and whispered, "Haerken is coming."

"That fast!"

Zuo Ertan was very surprised and a bit nervous.

Luo Jie remained expressionless, "He shouldn't have gone far earlier, which is why he arrived so quickly." He scanned the surroundings, thought for a moment, and said, "Leaving now is a bit late; the noise is too great, let's find a place to hide first."

On a rock wall not far from the passage, there was a carved stone house.

Half of the stone house had collapsed, leaving only half a room intact, and it was high enough above the ground to observe the entire cavern from above.

The three quickly slipped inside, held their breath, and peered out through a small window in the wall.

Several silhouettes appeared on the other side of the cavern; they seemed to know the location already, rushing straight to where Haerken's clone had been slain.

Lei En, to avoid direct eye contact that might trigger a reaction, observed them with his peripheral vision.

There were four of them, each dressed differently.

One was a tall man, wearing heavy, fine armor, bearing a two‑handed greatsword, with steady steps, clearly a strength‑type melee Superbeing.

Judging from the Elements in his soul, this is a Greatsword Master!

Greatsword Masters, like Steel Knights, are advanced professions of the Iron Guard; however, Greatsword Masters excel at offense, while Steel Knights excel at defense, both focusing on melee.

The other three: one a female Element archer wielding an enchanted longbow; another a Wizard clad in a black robe, a rare Dark Mage, i. e., a Shadow Wizard; the last a middle‑aged man dressed as a shadow warrior, ordinary‑looking with a cold gaze, who was Haerken himself.

Lei En instantly recognized him as Haerken's true form, a legendary Mid-stage Trickster.

The three companions were actually Haerken's trick spirit clones, each simulated into a different form, each possessing legendary early-stage power.

It was like a carefully arranged adventuring party.

The Greatsword Master charged at the front, handling melee; the Dark Mage dealt magical damage; the Element archer attacked from afar; the Trickster and shadow warrior coordinated in the dark, launching surprise attacks.

Moreover, they were essentially the same person, cooperating seamlessly with clear roles.

Lei En deeply felt the power and terror of a legendary Trickster.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Luo Jie beside him.

"One Trickster equals an entire squad; several legendary clones teaming up to besiege, and Master Luo Jie still managed to escape calmly—truly impressive!"

On the cavern side, Haerken and his clones quickly located the previous battlefield.

The three clones spread around, and his true form picked up a strangely broken short sword from the ground, examined it intently for a long time, saying nothing.

Sheathing the damaged short sword, Haerken followed the footprints on the ground, looking toward Mo Lading's temple.

A moment later, four legendary Superbeings arrived at the temple and entered.

After Haerken entered with the clones, they did not emerge for a long time, and the cavern was silent.

Lei En and the other two stared at each other, unsure of the situation; aside from rune knowledge, the temple left no clues.

Zuo Ertan was very anxious, staring intently at the temple entrance.

This is one of the few temples remaining after Mo Lading's fall; he does not want it desecrated by the evil god's followers.

Just as the dwarf was about to lose patience, Haerken and the clones finally emerged.

They left the temple and, on the outer plaza, suddenly all turned back together.

Lei En sensed something wrong; before the thought fully formed, a massive explosion rang out from the cavern.

Boom—

Amid the blast, the towering Mo Lading temple collapsed with a thunderous crash, stones scattering, dust billowing, and a shockwave generated by intense magical flux swept across half the cavern, turning the temple in an instant into a vast ruin.

Zuo Ertan stared at the scene, his gaze vacant, about to shout and charge out.

Luo Jie, quick-eyed and swift-handed, slashed the dwarf's back of the neck with his palm, knocking him unconscious.

Lei En also reached out to steady Zuo Ertan's body, preventing a fall that might make a sound and be noticed by Haerken.

They destroyed the Mola Ding Temple; Ha Erken did not linger, and the Dark Mage's duplicate unfurled a magic scroll, causing a teleportation portal to appear in the square.

Ha Erken led the duplicates one by one into the portal, and they vanished.

The portal closed as well.

But Lei En and Luo Jie said nothing and did not rush out, instead silently fixing their gaze toward the direction of the temple ruins in perfect sync.

A quarter hour later, a faint light glimmered in the darkness not far from the ruins.

It was an oddly shaped short sword, as if held by an unseen hand, hovering above the ground for a few seconds before being hurled forcefully.

The short sword turned into a dim streak of light and in an instant flew two to three hundred meters away.

Just as it was about to land, a silhouette emerged from the hilt, catching the sword. The figure, in a half‑shadow evasion state, grasped the hilt and threw it again, then vanished.

After several successive relays, the short sword flew out of the cavern.

Lei En and Luo Jie exchanged a glance and both sighed in relief.

As a Mid‑stage Legendary Trickster, Ha Erken could be called exceedingly cunning; unless he has other trickster duplicates, he has certainly already left.

At least Lei En's True Willpower no longer detected any stealthy target.

Obviously, Ha Erken abandoned the plan to hunt the enemy; the space of Tie Xu Fortress is comparable to a city, and without clues, trying to find a few people inside is like searching for a needle in the sea.

Even if his number of duplicates were ten times greater, it would take months without any result.

Thus, Ha Erken chose to destroy the Mola Ding Temple.

Without the rune formation in the temple to supply energy, those outside cannot use the teleportation array to enter the fortress, and as long as the first‑level passage is held, those inside cannot get out.

At that moment, Zuo Ertan woke up, sat up as soon as his eyes opened, and upon seeing the temple ruins, tears instantly streamed from beneath his mechanical goggles, soaking his beard.

Lei En didn't know how to comfort him, so he merely patted the dwarf's shoulder.

After a long while, Zuo Ertan wiped his tears, pulled an archaic volume from the chest, began writing with a brush, and in a deep voice declared: "In the name of Ha Ma Er! This hatred I will not forget, my clan will not forget, nor will my descendants, and unless my bloodline is cut off, we will avenge Ha Erken and the Shadow Blade for eternity!"

Lei En sighed; this was the dwarf's "Book of Grudges".

Every dwarf, every household, every clan possesses a Book of Grudges, recording their enemies or the events that forged a feud, swearing vengeance.

If one fails to complete the revenge, the Book of Grudges will be passed down to descendants.

Zuo Ertan recorded the matter in his Book of Grudges; upon returning, if the clan acknowledges it, it will be entered into the clan's Book of Grudges, and may even appear in the dwarven "Great Book of Grudges", obligating all dwarves to avenge.

Only when the dwarves deem the enemy has paid sufficient price will the entry be removed from the Book of Grudges.

After writing, Zuo Ertan put away the Book of Grudges and regained his composure.

Lei En looked at Luo Jie and whispered, "What's the situation on the first level, is there a chance to sneak out?"

"Very difficult."

Luo Jie shook his head and replied, "The Shadow Blade and Dark Sun are cooperating; several Black Wizards have laid numerous magical traps outside the passage, and a Legendary guard is on watch at all times. Unless we force our way in, there's no other way."

Lei En felt helpless.

A single Ha Erken is frightening enough, and there's also a Legendary High‑rank Black Wizard Ti Nuo Si, plus a massive group of Luo Xi devotees, all of whom are supernal beings.

Even Luo Jie, with his strength, wouldn't dare to force his way in; going himself would be courting death.

Luo Jie fell silent for a moment and said, "Ha Erken hasn't found us; if he wants to avoid mishaps, he may launch the plan early, so we must hurry."

Lei En nodded; it was almost certain.

He didn't hesitate further, took out the communicator, checked the time—it was evening, and the sky outside likely wasn't fully dark yet.

Lei En pressed the button and said, "Captain, where are you right now?"

Within half a minute, the communicator vibrated lightly, and Bo Luoke's voice rang out: "I'm resting at home, about to have dinner. Lei En, do you need something?"

Lei En thought for a few breaths and replied, "I have a very important, urgent matter to attend to, but I'm not in Longshande. Could you, Captain, go for me right away to Wei Ge Manor and find Ms. Viola, and have her speak with me?"

"Understood." Bo Luoke replied immediately.

(End of chapter)