The misunderstanding was quickly resolved. The delegation's team of around a hundred people was sandwiched among the fire elementals, making them quite conspicuous.
"The rumors about Duke Alama's daughter controlling an elemental army... were actually not an exaggeration!"
Duvalin Blacksteel, who had been entrusted with the heavy responsibility of retaking the dungeon, held a significant status in the Kingdom of Mountains. The intelligence in his hands was naturally detailed and comprehensive.
However, regarding the records of the "Battle of Dragonroar Valley," his reaction had been just like that of most dukes within the Empire: certain parts of the intelligence were simply too bizarre, leading people to subconsciously believe they were misinformation or exaggerations.
Especially the line "Alama's daughter Inanna commanded an elemental army." The first reaction of the vast majority of people upon seeing this was denial; it went against all common sense.
Therefore, when replaying and deducing the battle, they were more inclined to interpret "elemental army attacking the demons" as humans using tools or stratagems to divert trouble toward the enemy, rather than a display of one person's pure ability.
It wasn't until he saw that group of abnormally docile fire elementals clustering behind Inanna with his own eyes that Duvalin realized—the intelligence was actually one hundred percent true?!
And the moment he processed this, Duvalin realized that Inanna could provide immense help to the dwarves in retaking the dungeon!
However, Duvalin did not directly request Inanna to cooperate in the operation.
She was, after all, the representative of the delegation, the daughter of Duke Alama, and a war hero of the human side. She was not someone he could dispatch at will.
If he wanted to seek her assistance, it would probably have to wait for negotiations at the formal table later.
Since there might be a possibility of cooperation later, Duvalin naturally wouldn't make things difficult for the delegation regarding their passage.
However, a disagreement arose between the two sides regarding how to handle this batch of fire elementals.
Duvalin's idea was direct: exterminate them on the spot to prevent future trouble.
But Inanna firmly disagreed.
These fire elementals had revealed themselves because they felt close to her. If she turned around and betrayed them, she would not be able to find peace, either emotionally or logically.
Back when she led the storm elementals to attack the demons to save the old man, she had felt down about it for a long time afterward.
In the end, Duvalin made a concession, allowing Inanna to lure this group of fire elementals back into the Molten Dungeon.
When Inanna arrived in front of the dungeon entrance, the fire elementals that were originally fighting fiercely with the dwarven defenders seemed to sense something, and their offensive gradually ceased.
Inanna released an illumination spell toward the depths of the dungeon. In the next moment, the fire elementals gathered nearby turned around one after another, chasing after the ball of light.
The dwarves did not let this rare breathing room go to waste; they moved swiftly, retaking and reinforcing several key defensive strongholds.
After Inanna retreated, dull impact sounds and the explosions of magic soon came from the entrance again. The battle continued.
Inanna had no further solution for this; the conflict between the two sides was not something she could mediate right now.
Duvalin ultimately spared two small squads to escort the delegation away along the logistical route they had already repeatedly cleared.
However, as they were leaving, Inanna asked with some confusion in the mycelial network: "Where is Knight?"
Knight was still sitting on the carriage roof, but in the perception of the mycelial network, there was no Puchi there.
Ading's answer came through the mycelial network: "Miss Inanna, Knight has other important matters to attend to. That is a phantom I created, please do not expose it."
Inanna glanced at Ading, who had been mixed into the accompanying warrior squad disguised as an ordinary soldier since their departure, and nodded imperceptibly.
To be honest, if not for the existence of the mycelial network, Inanna would have even suspected if this person was also a fake.
Inanna couldn't distinguish Ading's illusions relying solely on her own abilities.
Meanwhile, the real Knight Puchi, after taking a tour of Golden Flame City which had been destroyed by the elementals, quietly drilled into the Molten Dungeon.
The Stone Fort Dungeon also had a rift leading here. Unfortunately, not only was the exit buried by ruins, but the rift itself was extremely unstable. After a brief expansion, it continuously contracted and had now shrunk by half.
If the rift had opened in Dungeon No. 13, Lin Jun could naturally rely on his control of the dungeon to maintain the rift's existence.
But Lin Jun only had usage rights for the Stone Fort Dungeon in the Northern Territory; this was also the reason Lin Jun hadn't launched an exploration targeting this side earlier.
No matter how many results were achieved, once the fungal mat was cut off, it would all be in vain.
The first sensation upon entering was heat.
Of course, a Puchi wouldn't be affected much just because the environment was a bit hot.
With Knight's resistances, coupled with a layer of rock armor, he could even move around in lava for a period of time.
However, if this scorching environment were placed on the human side, it would likely block the vast majority of adventurers outside the dungeon gates.
It had to be said, dwarves were indeed the race with the highest comprehensive resistance aside from trolls.
The invisible Knight Puchi relied on the mucus on his feet to crawl along the dungeon's ceiling.
Below, various types of fire and earth elemental spirits, under the influence of waves of mental fluctuations, were rushing toward the dungeon gate in batches.
Among them, Lin Jun also discovered the type of elemental spirits that could create fire seeds. The opponent was of the type possessing a core, which was undoubtedly good news for Lin Jun.
However, the enemy was currently numerous while he was alone; it was not the time to strike.
As his [Inspiration] level reached LV8, Lin Jun could already observe abstract things like mental fluctuations.
Clearly, something was ordering these elemental spirits. It was highly probable to be that elemental lord.
Lin Jun was actually quite interested in this elemental lord.
Judging from the information he had obtained, this fire elemental lord actually possessed intelligence and could communicate!
The two elemental lords Lin Jun had fished out of the abyss, while powerful in strength, actually felt no higher in intelligence than ordinary Chill Spirits. They couldn't communicate, and their behavioral patterns were similar to wild monsters, relying purely on instinct.
Of course, this might be because they came from the abyss and were incomplete.
Unfortunately, the water elemental lord in the Tidal Sanctuary, who was also a dungeon elemental guardian, disappeared into the mist before Lin Jun could even meet it. He didn't know if it had died or been taken away, otherwise, he could have made a comparison.
The most critical point was that Lin Jun wanted to know if this fire elemental lord had a soul!
So far, Lin Jun had never seen a true soul on any elemental spirit.
In the vision of [Inspiration], they, like the vast majority of monsters and plants, were composed of a gray substance.
This substance also existed on true souls. Lin Jun's [Greed] would keep these gray substances, while tossing the naked soul back to the world.
Therefore, when Lin Jun decomposed flowers, plants, and monsters, the decomposition was a true all-you-can-eat; nothing was left behind.
Lin Jun guessed that these gray substances should be related to skills.
The scale of the Molten Dungeon was much larger than anticipated. Its internal structure was like a natural maze stacked layer upon layer inside the mountain body, winding and twisting, its style following the same lineage as the external mountain ranges.
During the exploration, Lin Jun also discovered some wreckage of metal rings scattered in corners or embedded in rock walls. Lin Jun recognized this thing; they were fragments of "Slave Rings," a cheap and not-so-secure control item.
Obviously, the rumors that dwarves once enslaved elemental spirits to work for them were not groundless.
Lin Jun didn't feel there was anything wrong with this. After all, elemental spirits didn't even have souls. However, the dwarves clearly lacked the ability sufficient to suppress a total slave riot.
After a day and a half of cautious groping in the scorching maze, Lin Jun finally approached the bottommost layer. The temperature here had climbed to a terrifying degree. The air was filled with heat waves visible to the naked eye, distorting vision, and even the rocks faintly revealed a dark red hue.
Even the Knight Puchi, possessing [Heat Resistance LV10], began to show negative status effects.
"Who? Who is nearby?"
Before he even saw the elemental lord, a roar mixed with rage and mania echoed throughout the massive space. "A bug drilled in! Find him, tear him to pieces!"
Terrifying mental fluctuations spread out. In an instant, the elemental spirits nearby, which were originally quietly enjoying the scorching environment, rioted collectively. Their flames surged several times higher, and their magma bodies churned violently.
They couldn't precisely locate the hidden Knight Puchi, so they adopted the most primitive and violent method—an indiscriminate wide-range attack!
(End of Chapter)
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