Volume One: The Hell-Level Lord’s World Chapter 69: The Fire Element Strikes

Nearly an hour after Chen Gu left, the forces of the Black Mercury Knights finally approached the area near Helm Valley.

Along the way, they had already investigated Chen Gu's methods thoroughly.

Fire Spirit Crows, Venomous Hive Grass, Black Holes.

Blood Shadow Wolves, Hungry Wolves, and even the Corpse-Eating Vines moving underground—none of these escaped the notice of the Black Mercury Knights.

They had deduced Chen Gu’s tactics, the number of troops he had with him, how far he could travel.

They even estimated how much magical power Chen Gu still possessed.

With such detailed intelligence, they felt completely confident in dealing with him.

In their eyes, Chen Gu was nothing more than a fish in a barrel.

This time, they were determined to bring him back, to use his head as a sacrifice for the fallen Black Mercury Knights.

Upon entering Helm Valley, they did not pause.

Instead, they pressed forward along the main road.

Chen Gu, seated in his vine carriage, required no rest, and as undead, neither did the Black Mercury Knights.

Yet, as they reached the middle of Helm Valley, the leading knight suddenly raised his longsword.

The entire company halted at his signal.

“What’s happened?”

As all the knights stopped, a voice echoed from the center of the group.

It was the commander of the Black Mercury Knights—the very one who had led the force to hunt down Chen Gu.

“Commander, someone is watching us.”

“That fellow intends to ambush us here?”

As he spoke, the Black Mercury Knights shifted to either side, opening up a path.

The commander rode his warhorse to the front.

“Sam, you know if you make another mistake, your position will be forfeit.”

“Commander, rest assured. The reason I was chosen as the vanguard is because of my exceptional scout abilities. My senses are the sharpest, and my intuition never fails.”

“Very well. Everyone, be cautious. Pei Ping, lead your men to the left. Annu, take yours to the right. Find the enemy lurking here.”

Obeying their commander’s orders, two knight heroes moved forward with their squads.

One of them adjusted his weapon, saying, “Commander, there’s no need for this. Sam has already verified—it’s just a few wild wolves and some crows.

Even if he knows a bit of magic, we Black Mercury Knights have nothing to fear.”

“That’s only because you’re careless—hurry up…” The commander was speaking when he suddenly sensed something amiss.

He looked up toward the southeast of Helm Valley.

“Commander, have you noticed something?”

The other heroes sensed their leader’s unease and likewise gazed toward the southeast, though none saw anything unusual.

“I feel uneasy. Withdraw.”

The commander instantly issued the order.

He was undead, yes, but not a fool.

To command a Death Knights regiment, one must possess a nimble mind.

This time, he had found an excuse to come out for a little relaxation.

If one or two knights died, he could explain it away.

But if too many perished, he’d be in trouble.

If he failed to catch Chen Gu, so be it.

However, his order came too late.

A thunderous rumble erupted from the southeast of Helm Valley.

“It’s an ambush!”

Several knight heroes cried out.

Their subordinates swiftly drew their weapons and turned toward the southeast.

In their minds, there was no enemy they couldn’t cut down.

Even if faced with thousands or tens of thousands, they would charge without hesitation.

This was their track record—confidence forged by blade and spear.

Yet as they looked southeast, every knight was stunned.

Countless creatures, blazing like fire, surged forth.

At a glance, the knights recognized them as fire elementals.

This unit was a level four elemental troop—their high rank owed to their explosive self-destruction upon death.

Without that trait, they’d be little different from water elementals.

Their self-destruct power wasn’t formidable; Black Mercury Knights could easily cut down swathes of them.

When the fire elementals appeared, the knights raised their weapons, eager to charge.

Sam, especially, declared, “See? I told you, that fellow is a summoner—this must be a level two spell, summoning fire elementals.”

“Kill!”

The commander of the Black Mercury Knights scoffed.

You fled all the way, setting traps—I was troubled.

But now that I’ve stopped, it's over for you; your head will be my trophy.

With that, the commander raised his blade and charged forward atop his steed.

But after only a short distance, they sensed something was wrong.

The fire elementals before them were not a mere hundred or thousand—they numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

Packed together like a tide, they surged forth, painting the southeast of Helm Valley a fiery red.

These elementals were released by Holy Rock.

Upon seeing the Black Mercury Knights enter Helm Valley, Holy Rock activated the Altar of Blazing Fire.

Before leaving, Chen Gu had warned him that the altar might be inactive, but it could still function.

It might release a great number of fire elementals, and if so, it was best to hide beneath the magma after activating it.

At the time, Holy Rock had dismissed the warning, doubting how numerous the elementals could be.

He never imagined Chen Gu’s prediction would come true to such an extent.

When he activated the altar, the surge of fire elementals nearly knocked him flying.

If he hadn’t immediately submerged himself in the magma, he would have been crushed to dust.

Only after all the fire elementals had left the altar did Holy Rock emerge from the magma.

The elementals did not attack him.

As long as no hostility was shown, they would not initiate aggression.

Those who did, however—like the Black Mercury Knights charging midway—were met with the wrath of hundreds of thousands of fire elementals.

The knights turned to flee, but by then, the elementals had already surged forward, breaking through the ruins and descending upon the knights from every direction.