Chapter 576 - 310: Incineration Explosion!_2
He certainly understood that Elder Grenum meant well, but as a top-tier Demon, the Balrog Flame Demon was exceedingly rare, and what was more, it very likely possessed exactly what he currently lacked—Flame Resistance, perhaps even Flame Immunity.
....
A corner of the castle square.
"Bang! Bang!"
Meredith’s smooth forehead was now covered in fine beads of sweat; the Curved Sword in her hand slashed aside two incoming Fireballs in quick succession, and she once again fell back into the corner of the wall.
She had just been trying over and over to see if she could break through the encirclement of the Balrog Flame Demon in front of her, but unfortunately, under the intermittent Magic interference from that Red Dragon Mage, she had failed every time.
Time was extremely limited for her.
Because out of the corner of her eye she had already noticed that the Fallen Paladin wielding the Great Sword was rapidly breaking through the obstruction of Princess Leonore and the other two High-tier Mages.
Once he arrived, she would have no chance of survival.
The reason she could keep the Balrog Flame Demon tied down on the side was, on the one hand, thanks to Leonore’s occasional Magic support, and on the other, mainly because she relied on her own agile mobility to circle and stall the Flame Demon.
But that Fallen Paladin named "the Unclean" Hagen was in no way slower than her, and in terms of strength, he was far above her.
Once he closed in....
Meredith could see this clearly, and since Harold and Chandler were High-tier Mages, they naturally saw it as well.
Harold, looking slightly anxious, gripped the yellow crystal Pendant at his chest with his left hand, while rapidly chanting; his right hand held a dull gray stone Staff, which he pointed straight at "the Unclean" Hagen, who was charging forward without pause.
"Stone Wall!"
The Stone Wall, a Sixth Level Spell, under the support of the "Earth Element Pendant," was actually completed by Harold within a single second.
One after another, massive stone walls, half a meter thick and about five meters tall, rose from the ground and blocked Hagen’s path.
"Chain Explosive Fireball!"
Chandler, meanwhile, had already turned into a man of fire.
This was precisely the effect of the Seventh Level Spell "Avatar of Elements: Flame Element Incarnation."
Besides granting a significant boost to the might of Fire Spells, it also further accelerated Fire Spell spellcasting time.
Chandler raised his hand toward "the Unclean" Hagen, and three millstone-sized, blazing white Fireballs, burning fiercely, lined up in a straight line and blasted toward him.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Facing one defensive and one offensive Magic from the two of them, the Great Sword in Hagen’s hands swept out; his speed didn’t decrease but instead increased, and as the Great Sword, gleaming with black light, slashed at high speed, the stone walls were sliced apart like tofu.
At the same time, a fiery red Shield suddenly appeared around his body.
Advanced Flame Protection!
This protective Spell on Hagen came from the nearby Red Dragon Mage, Felmer.
Leonore was currently locked in fierce combat with the Plaguebringer White Mann, and from time to time she would throw a disruptive Spell at the Balrog Flame Demon; she simply had no hands to spare to focus fire on "the Unclean" Hagen.
Watching Hagen about to join the Balrog Flame Demon in encircling Meredith.
The faces of Leonore and the other two all grew grim.
Once Meredith fell, the entire situation would truly topple like a line of dominoes...
As Hagen sprinted at high speed, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes beneath the pitch-black faceplate as he looked at Meredith; an icy smile, unseen by anyone, spread across his face.
He slanted the Great Sword in his hand, just about to gather strength to unleash some kind of Advanced Combat Skills.
Suddenly!
The Great Sword gripped in his hand trembled slightly.
His movement stalled for a heartbeat!
"Bang!"
A blurry black mass moving too fast to make out, at an extreme speed, dropped from the third floor of the castle like a cannonball, smashed into the ground first, then bounced up again, and slammed directly into the abdomen of the Balrog Flame Demon.
With some kind of vast, overwhelming Power, it flipped the Balrog Flame Demon—whose towering frame stood over ten meters tall and whose melee prowess surpassed that of an average adult Giant Dragon—straight onto its back!
What?!
Noticing this astounding scene, the pupils of the Red Dragon Mage Felmer constricted sharply!
The Fire Spell "Ring of Burning" he had just been casting shuddered twice in his hands and then dissipated into the air.
Spellcasting failed!
For him, this was an almost never-before-seen low-level blunder!
The Plaguebringer White Mann, who had just been dodging one of Leonore’s Tidal Waves, suddenly widened his eyes; his body froze, and the hem of his black Magic Robe was blown to tatters by the lingering force of the Tidal Wave.
In contrast.
A hint of joy flashed in Leonore’s lake-blue eyes, and a bright smile lit up her dignified, beautiful face.
Harold and Chandler exchanged a glance and saw astonishment and shock mirrored in each other’s eyes.
"Who is this person?"
"It seems to be an ally, but this strength is just too...."
"He actually managed to knock the Balrog Flame Demon flying???"
When Meredith saw Raine for the first time, her heart instantly relaxed.
She knew she was safe!
...
"Clang!!"
At the same time.
Elder Grenum’s heavy Two-Handed Warhammer smashed violently against the Great Sword of "the Unclean" Hagen, sparks spraying in every direction!
"Not bad Power." Elder Grenum gripped his Warhammer tight and looked at the repelled Hagen.
"A Dwarf?" Hagen stared in some surprise at the Dwarf who had suddenly appeared before him; to block his attack, this Dwarf’s strength and status were clearly anything but ordinary.
Meanwhile, after flipping the Balrog Flame Demon over, Raine had no intention of letting up his assault in the slightest.
His figure flickered as he once again closed in, tanked a lash of the Flame whip head-on, then circled around the demon’s left leg, Warhammer swinging in rapid succession.
"Thump thump thump!"
The muffled booms echoed across the battlefield like dozens of leather war drums being struck at once.
"Roar!!"
In just two seconds, the Flame Demon howled and dropped to one knee.
Under everyone’s stunned gazes, they saw that the demon’s left knee had already been shattered by Raine’s repeated high-frequency Hammer Strikes.
"So this is the young man named Raine you mentioned."
The Red Dragon Mage Felmer stared carefully at Raine, then turned a questioning, furious, and scrutinizing gaze toward his old friend White Mann.
"You said his weakness was extremely low Flame Resistance?"
How high the Flame damage of a Flame Demon ran needed no explanation.
The problem was, this human youth before them was actually able to endure such intense, sustained Flame damage and still deal a grievous blow to the Flame Demon; his Flame Resistance was clearly off the charts, beyond dispute.
And his overall strength was downright absurd.
Knocking down a Flame Demon?
That had to be at least Quasi-Legendary level strength, didn’t it?!
White Mann wasn’t angered by Felmer’s doubts. After a brief glance, he said steadily:
"Felmer, the Plate Armor he’s wearing appears to be Dwarf-style Fire Resistance gear. Doesn’t that precisely indicate that he’s naturally weaker against Flame, and has to rely on equipment?"
"This..." Felmer nodded.
Looked at from this angle, White Mann’s words did have a certain logic to them.
"If we count this youngster and the Dwarf Elders, this sacrificial ritual should be enough to draw our lord’s personal attention and blessing."
"Felmer, go all out." White Mann said in a deep voice.
"Alright!"
But just then.
Raine had already leapt high into the air, landing at the back of the single-kneeled Balrog Flame Demon’s skull, his Warhammer dropping like a pair of twin meteors!
"Damn! How is he this strong!" The Red Dragon Mage Felmer’s face changed drastically, and he growled, "Burning Self-Detonation!"
"Raine, move! The Balrog Flame Demon is about to use Burning Self-Detonation!"
Leonore’s urgent shout had barely reached his ears when Raine saw the Balrog Flame Demon—its brain already pierced, body on the verge of collapse—suddenly flare with intensified Energy Fluctuations, its whole form radiating a scarlet glow like a blazing sun.
"Boom!!!"
Like dozens of tons of TNT detonating at once, the Balrog Flame Demon turned its entire body into a gigantic bomb.
First came a blinding flash of light, then a visible shockwave swept out in all directions.
Then came the deafening blast and the roaring surge of air!
A mushroom cloud blossomed over the central plaza of the castle!
Even the castle’s main structure, built from meter-long stone blocks, shuddered and shifted; of the four corner towers, two collapsed and two were left crooked.
And Raine, less than a dozen meters from the heart of the blast, took a hit and shock that could easily be imagined.
The violent clash of Energy first destroyed the Flame Guardian set of armor Raine was wearing.
Even as a top-tier Fire Resistance Set, when faced with the impact of Erosion Energy—especially one on par with a Ninth Level surge of Erosion Energy—it was scarcely more durable than a well-crafted Plate Armor set.
Forged mainly from black iron and etched all over with Flame Resistance runes, the Flame Guardian set warped and corroded in just a few seconds.
Next, it was directly stripped from Raine’s body, while a membrane of Energy suddenly formed over his skin—clearly visible, as fine and dense as Dragon Scale.
This was his newly acquired defensive technique, "Multi-Colored Dragon Scale lv4"!
...