Chapter 512: Sanctuary
The northern half of the Blazeforge Realm, though only about the size of the Andalusia Kingdom in the Northend World, contains resources at least ten times richer than all of Andalusia combined.
It is foreseeable that once the Merlin Family and Black Tower have fully digested the spoils of this victory, their overall strength will leap forward, granting them a tremendous advantage in future battles for control over the Blazeforge Realm.
All of these benefits come from the destruction of the Forgefire Clan...
Half an hour later, the group arrived at the summit of the Sacred Mountain without any obstacles. The journey was peaceful, but the environment here was even more perilous—scorching currents swirled everywhere, saturated with intense fire elemental energy.
"Archmage Merlin, look—quick!"
After walking for a while atop the Sacred Mountain, Weiss, who stood beside Lin Yun, wiped the sweat from his brow. Suddenly, his face lit up with delight as he pointed ahead and called out in a hushed, excited voice.
In fact, from the moment they arrived at the Sacred Mountain, Weiss had never let his guard down. He constantly controlled several Wizard's Eyes to scout the surroundings, worried that the chieftain of the Forgefire Clan might escape. After all, the Black Tower's campaign against the Forgefire Clan was largely motivated by the Prime Soul Relic.
Although the Black Tower gained plenty from annihilating the Forgefire Clan, compared to the Prime Soul Relic, it was still lacking.
At this point, he absolutely didn’t want his own carelessness to cause the Black Tower a massive loss...
"Hm?" Leon was momentarily stunned, then released a Wizard's Eye. Instantly, the scene a kilometer away appeared before his eyes: a sprawling clearing filled with countless tents. Without a doubt, this was where the Blazeforge Orcs lived—in other words, the main camp of the Forgefire Clan.
A smile tugged at Leon's lips. These weren't ordinary tents—they were made from the hides of fire-type magical beasts, able to withstand flames and extreme heat. Though considered only average alchemical material, the sheer number of tents—nearly ten thousand—was staggering.
The Blazeforge Orcs, as a race, were practically blank slates when it came to magical civilization. Those beast hides were barely processed before being used as tents. If these hides ended up in the hands of the Gilded Rose, they could be turned into a massive supply of armor, enough to cause a stir in the entire Andalusia alchemical market.
"Heh, Archmage Merlin, your Gilded Rose could probably use these, right? How about this: we'll send all the tents made from fire beast hides to the Gilded Rose. Once the armor is crafted, sell half of it to us at market price for the Black Tower. How's that sound?" Weiss gritted his teeth, making a difficult decision. He knew full well this was basically handing money to the Gilded Rose, but Lord Heron had instructed him to use this opportunity to forge a strong bond between the Black Tower and the young mage.
"Sure..." Leon's expression was a little odd as he glanced at Weiss. He certainly wasn't going to refuse such a good deal...
Soon after, the whole group arrived at the clearing packed with tents. Because these tents were made from fire beast hides, the area was saturated with intense fire elemental energy. After about ten minutes of walking, a massive tent finally came into view.
It was practically a palace...
Faint magical light shimmered, as countless mysterious runes churned across its surface, radiating a subtle magical aura. From afar, it looked absolutely magnificent.
"This must be the tent of the clan chieftains through the ages..." Even the well-traveled Weiss was surprised at the sheer scale. The Forgefire Clan's heritage was far richer than he'd imagined.
Standing outside the tent, Leon could sense an ancient, weathered aura—one that had been tempered and preserved through countless years.
Maybe... the thing I need is hidden inside.
"Let's take a look inside..." Leon felt a sudden urge and walked straight into the massive tent. Inside, he found a spacious interior, with ancient orcish script carved into the walls. With a wave of his hand, more than a dozen Wizard's Eyes appeared and darted into every corner.
"Any luck?"
Weiss and the few other strong mages arrived as well. After more than ten minutes, Weiss, standing next to Leon, couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing..." Leon dispelled the dozen Wizard's Eyes and gently shook his head, his disappointment written plainly across his face.
After a thorough search, he had checked every corner, but found nothing of value—and certainly no sign of the chieftain.
"How could this be..." Weiss's face fell, clearly upset. Compared to Leon, he cared even more about the chieftain of the Forgefire Clan. According to the Black Tower's top-secret report, the Prime Soul Relic was always held by the clan chieftain—which meant only by finding the chieftain could they hope to obtain it.
But now, there was no news of the chieftain at all.
He couldn't help feeling a bit anxious...
"Don't worry, it's not like we're out of options." Leon glanced at Weiss, finding the situation a little amusing. Then, using the Soul Contract that linked him to the Dragonblood Orc Hubert, he sent a message to the orcs outside. It wasn't long before Hubert swaggered in, dragging a slaughtered beast weighing several thousand pounds.
But Hubert wasn't the only one who came in—he was dragging a young Blazeforge Orc behind him.
"You—what do you want now?" The orc being dragged in was Ash, the young prodigy of the Forgefire Clan. At this moment, Ash's aura was faint, his body covered in wounds, looking utterly miserable. As soon as Hubert dragged him in, Ash let out a hysterical roar, his eyes filled with boundless terror as he stared at Leon.
The past half month had been a nightmare for him. When he was first captured, Ash still held a shred of hope, believing that his teacher—one of the clan's six great seers—would surely find a way to rescue him.
But now, all hope was gone...
Everything that had happened recently was simply too shocking. The Forgefire Clan, which had flourished for tens of millions of years in the Blazeforge Realm, had actually been wiped out by human forces.
"I want to know where your clan chieftain is..." Leon stood before Ash with a smile, his tone calm. At this point, the chieftain was his only lead. The legendary item said to be hidden in the Sacred Mountain—the one that could unleash the demons of Specter Valley—still hadn't been found. Maybe the chieftain knew something secret.
"Heh... you want to know?" Utterly broken, Ash had lost all the composure of a young prodigy. His face twisted with madness and hatred as he laughed maniacally: "You damned humans will never know! Even if you torture me to death, I won't tell you..."
"Heh, I'm not planning on killing you just yet..." Leon frowned, a faint smile on his lips. He ignored Ash lying on the ground and instead gently rubbed the ring on his finger: "Lord Shaun, I've got a job for you..."
At that moment, the ordinary-looking ring suddenly burst into dazzling light, and the spectral form of Lord Shaun—the ghost wolf—appeared, flickering in and out of sight.
Now, having fused with the Evil Dragon's Eye and become a mid-tier Prime Soul Relic, Lord Shaun was even more arrogant than before. As soon as he emerged from the Soulwalker, he couldn't help but sneer: "Merlin, are you hoping Lord Shaun will help you torture a confession out of him again?"
I hope this gentleman lying on the ground will answer my questions honestly. As for payment, you needn't worry—how about three magic crystals above level twenty-five?" Leon squinted, pointing at Ash.
Deal!
For the sake of magic crystals, Lord Shaun, now a mid-tier Prime Soul Relic, had no concept of dignity and specialized in torture. In his ghost wolf form, the vertical eye on his forehead was tightly shut, radiating an evil aura as he lunged straight at Ash lying on the ground...
In an instant, Lord Shaun's figure vanished without a trace.
Ah...!
Ash, who had been lying on the ground with a twisted face and a sinister grin, suddenly froze, his whole body trembling violently as he let out a piercing scream. At this moment, Ash truly wished he could die—the pain he endured was indescribable, as if a brutal hand was tearing at his soul.
It went on like this for four or five minutes before Lord Shaun's flickering form reappeared before Leon, then he staggered off to the side.
At this point, Ash had no new wounds, but his spirit was completely broken. He lay motionless on the ground, his eyes empty and lifeless.
"Shaun, you didn't kill him, did you?" Leon couldn't help but look at Ash with sympathy. The young Blazeforge Orc still had some use; if he died now, things would get complicated.
"Relax, Lord Shaun knows what he's doing—he won't let him die. You can ask whatever you want now, and if he's still not honest..." Shaun's prone body suddenly twitched, radiating a strange energy.
But before he could finish...
"I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!" Ash, lying stiffly on the ground, shook violently as if he'd been shocked, and cried out in agitation: "Actually, I don't know where the chieftain is, but I can confirm he hasn't left the Sacred Mountain. There's a place you haven't searched yet—the Sanctuary of the Forgefire Clan..."