The bone blade of the leader of the Sinister Fabbro scraped with a grating sound against Fang Senyan’s finger bones, yet it met immense resistance. Though his nature was fierce and savage, upon encountering Fang Senyan’s gaze, which burned as if intensely alight, the leader couldn't help but be momentarily subdued by the sheer desperation in that gaze, the willingness to fight to the death and collapse.

Although the Sinister Fabbro leader’s strength surpassed Fang Senyan’s, it was not a gap large enough to constitute crushing dominance. His bone blade grew directly from his upper arm bone, meaning he couldn't simply discard it like a normal weapon. Thus, Fang Senyan managed to hold him pinned for two crucial seconds here.

Even though the ultimate outcome saw Fang Senyan kicked flying by the creature, at that precise moment, Daldanian and the others completed their chant. The Seed Sprout power and Chain Lightning exploded simultaneously on the leader’s other fleshy tumor, battering it so violently that its center of gravity shifted, threatening to send it tumbling into the five or six-meter ravine beside them.

But precisely at this juncture, a composite spell unleashed by Pokan began to take effect.

This composite spell was a combination of the Magma Spell and the Instant Solidification Spell.

The Magma Spell was cast by Stoneblade Razel, instantly creating a one-meter diameter pool of lava beneath the enemy’s feet, causing them to sink and suffer intense magma damage.

The Instant Solidification Spell, on the other hand, was a lower-tier spell. Earlier, when attacked by aquatic creatures in the river, Pokan used this spell to instantly create large swathes of dry land in the water, stranding the ferocious water beasts. What was raised from the riverbed was entirely composed of ** thick sludge. This sludge required Instant Solidification to turn into solid ground.

The composite spell Pokan engineered was utterly malicious.

Consider the scenario: a warrior fighting fiercely suddenly loses footing, stepping directly into a knee-deep pool of magma. The soul-piercing agony need not be elaborated upon. And just as flesh and blood begin to scorch and melt, that pool of magma rapidly solidifies... Unquestionably, this transformed into a formidable area control spell!

Naturally, the mana drain for a composite spell was astonishing. If the Magma Spell cost 20 mana and the Instant Solidification Spell cost 5 mana, the total cost wasn't a mere 20 + 5; it was 20 X 5, equating to 100 mana!

Pokan’s greatest predicament was, of course, his chronic scarcity of MP. This issue was exacerbated particularly after he replaced his symbiotic elemental creature with Stoneblade Razel!

While Stoneblade Razel was powerful, that power inherently implied an extra drain on spiritual energy... It was akin to demanding the off-road capability of a Toyota Land Cruiser 4.0L while insisting on matching the fuel efficiency of a practical 2010 model Smart Car 0.8L—an impossibility.

This time, they were greatly indebted to Aldaris for using Enemy of Mages to unleash the Spirit Torrent ability, which absorbed the enemy’s MP and transferred it to Pokan, barely solving Pokan’s MP shortage. This is why Pokan immediately cast such a vicious spell!

Thus, the Sinister Fabbro leader found himself in extreme peril. His center of gravity was already lost, sending him plummeting towards the adjacent ravine, but his left leg was scalded first. Then, it became cemented to the earth!

Consequently, the Sinister Fabbro leader faced only three possible outcomes:

First, he would be suspended mid-air, impaled by his own trapped leg. Second, his leg would shatter the solidified lava, and he would fall through. Third, his leg would snap with a crack, remaining behind while the rest of his body plummeted.

As the Sinister Fabbro leader fell, one could clearly hear a crisp "crack" from the leg trapped by the congealed magma, yet it held, hoisting him in mid-air.

However, Fang Senyan and Ronnie, though drenched in blood, seized this opportunity and lunged forward frantically. One brandishing a dagger, the other swinging a long blade, they hacked mercilessly at the leader’s already ravaged thigh!

The Sinister Fabbro leader shrieked hideously. His other foot slammed violently against the nearby ground, scattering earth and stone with a deafening roar, finally sending his body plummeting towards the ravine below. Yet, his trapped left leg was a shocking crimson and notably smaller, blood gushing forth. Because the solidified lava had fused with the flesh of its left leg, the leader’s desperate exertion actually tore away a significant portion of flesh from his limb, much like shedding an outer layer of skin!

Undoubtedly, though the Sinister Fabbro leader’s leg hadn't fully detached, it could be deemed severely crippled...

By the time he lumbered back to his feet, he discovered that the group of enemies had silently reformed their circle, their eyes bearing the famished, savage glare of wolves—a sight that instantly conjured a bone-chilling cold.

After yet another round of frenzied assault, despair and madness flickered in the Sinister Fabbro leader’s eyes. He knew if this continued, he would certainly die here, slowly consumed by these fiends.

But just then, the enemy—bloodied yet possessing a resilience that recalled towering mountain ranges—stepped forward, fixing him with a stare, and slowly spoke in a language the Fabbro leader understood:

"Do you wish to die, or live?"

The Sinister Fabbro leader certainly did not wish to die, but he clenched his teeth, refusing to speak. Fang Senyan continued calmly:

"My conditions are simple; I only wish to see your sacred ground. We know the Holy Land possesses marvelous power capable of granting new life. We are all afflicted by terrible latent diseases and require the Holy Land's power to heal."

The Sinister Fabbro leader finally reacted. Clearly, the terms offered by Fang Senyan were entirely beyond his expectation, yet well within his scope of acceptance. Panting, he began to communicate with Fang Senyan in a serpentine hiss:

"How do I know you speak the truth?"

Fang Senyan replied with placid detachment: "If I had ulterior motives, why would I stop fighting you to waste time talking? If I killed you now, your tribe would lose its leader, and with internal chaos brewing, conquering your territory and home would be effortless."

Undoubtedly, though the Sinister Fabbro people were sentient, they retained primal instincts, much like wild beasts regarding their territory. Hearing Fang Senyan's explanation, the leader largely believed him. He rasped hoarsely, "You truly will only leave after healing your diseases?"

Fang Senyan stated coolly, "We will stay for no more than a day and a half!"

Though the Sinister Fabbro leader had two eyes blinded, his remaining two darted around restlessly. After a pause, he nodded slowly: "Fine, I will take you."

Fang Senyan abruptly changed his tone: "However, Leader, your abilities are overwhelmingly powerful. Had we not launched a surprise attack, we would certainly be the ones dead. To avoid any unforeseen incidents, you must wear a suit of heavy stone armor."

The Sinister Fabbro leader’s eyes flickered. Yet, he possessed a fearsome last resort: self-destruction! Once detonated, its power could even surpass the bombs carried by a Predator, enough to take all these people down with him! Therefore, facing Fang Senyan’s condition, the Sinister Fabbro leader actually agreed.

Thus, under an eerie atmosphere, both sides struck an agreement. However, the Sinister Fabbro leader secretly surged that explosive power within his body a few times, allowing Fang Senyan and the others to sense it, before permitting Pokan to forge an immensely heavy suit of stone armor upon him.

Fang Senyan never anticipated that the Sinister Fabbro leader would never take off this stone armor afterward! Because he was inherently inclined toward casting, this stone armor, while slowing his movement speed, invisibly added incredible defensive power. Coupled with his naturally overbearing nature, having been pushed to the brink of death by Fang Senyan’s group this time, he cherished his life doubly, treating the stone armor as a treasure and valuing it immensely.

Consequently, after donning this reinforced version of the stone armor, the creature gained a rare sense of security. Despite its immense weight, he showed none of the expected distress Fang Senyan had calculated; in fact, he appeared remarkably proactive.

The group followed the heavy tread of the Sinister Fabbro leader to the deepest part of the valley. The leader guided them into his cave—a space remarkably spacious and bright, entirely devoid of dirt or squalor.

About twenty meters inside the cave, they entered a main hall where a considerable hoard of Kurut ore was stacked. The Sinister Fabbro leader picked up a handful and began crunching it incessantly, like someone eating shelled sunflower seeds.

It was at this moment that Fang Senyan felt a stir of awareness, spotting a piece of ore in the corner, at least the size of a millstone. This ore was naturally ordinary sandstone—quite soft. To put it plainly, it was stone formed by the prolonged accumulation of river sand over millennia, incomparable to granite.

Sandstone itself was common, but... but the glittering specks within the sandstone were the very target Fang Senyan had been tirelessly searching for: Tear Stones! The Tear Stones embedded in the sandstone seemed to be growing directly out of the mineral mass.

Without waiting for Fang Senyan to call out, the liquid metal lifeform manifested on its own, instantly conjuring large, silvery-white, parachute-like films in the air, greedily enveloping the sandstone mass tightly... (To be continued) RQ