The Ancient Dragons' Lightning completely submerged the Fire Giant.
He was bathed in electric currents from head to toe. Already wounded by Ranni's magic-breaking attributes, he was now in agony under the full-force bombardment of Frieren's magic. The fiery hair that had been protecting his body evaporated, turning into a scorched, shriveled black mass.
Crack!
The final bolt of thunder, like a blade, left a gaping wound on the giant's chest. Blood dripped profusely, the cut deep enough to see bone; he was nearly pierced through. Even with his physical constitution, he could not withstand it and collapsed to one knee with a thunderous crash.
It was too strong. He had been caught completely off guard before he could even react. Clearly, his movements should have kept up with the lightning—no, it was this silver-haired girl's elemental manipulation that was superior, surpassing even the Ancient Dragons.
Pain assaulted his nerves. The Fire Giant propped himself up with one hand, attempting to stand, but the attacks from the sky were not yet over.
Sorcery: Founding Rain of Stars!
Brilliant blue glintstones shrouded his body vertically, slapping against his flesh and blood with a crackling sound, thoroughly disintegrating his physical defenses. In an instant, the target was bathed in blood, which mixed with his red hair, making the extent of his injuries unclear. However, one thing was certain: his life force was plummeting rapidly.
In just a moment, the Fire Giant was gasping for air, his heartbeat leveling off and his eyes gradually dimming.
After a series of fierce attacks, Frieren finally put away the Incantation: Aspects of the Crucible: Wings. She breathed a sigh of relief only after her feet touched solid ground again, then followed up with Ash of War: Golden Vow and a series of other buffs.
"Is it not over?" Ranni asked in surprise, looking at the silver-haired girl's actions, but she immediately realized something was wrong.
"Watch your safety. I don't guarantee the range of the battle next."
Before her voice had faded, the Fire Giant began to move again. He gripped his own left leg tightly, and with a crisp snap, forcibly twisted and pulled it off. He then held the severed limb high, crying out to the sky, offering a pious prayer.
Everyone in the Lands Between understood this scene: it was a sacrifice. Sacrificing to the Fell God, in particular, would bring about terrifying power.
Gurgle!
A giant eye slowly opened on the giant's abdomen. The pupil seemed to contain smaller pupils within it; flames lingered around it, releasing mana of the ultimate evil. The well-traveled group felt their hearts pound.
In a sense, they were now facing the god of the Giant race. Although He had been hidden for many years, the offerings made to Him in the past were enough to support a powerful force. Now, the fruits of those offerings were being cashed in by the last Giant, trading a sacrificed leg for death-defying power.
"Evade quickly."
Hearing the warning, Ranni hurriedly flew a distance away. Immediately after, the giant thrust out his belly, and that large eye instantly sprayed out countless raging flames.
At this moment, it was as if a bundle of fireworks had risen from the Mountaintops of the Giants.
But this was no beautiful festival celebration; it was destruction filled with curses, bringing death to all living things. Amidst his maniacal laughter, wisps of raging flame shot straight into the clouds, dyeing the vast sky blood-red. Countless motes of dust and ash drifted down, melting everything in the vicinity.
Whoosh!
An avalanche poured down from the mountain peaks, turning into a rushing flood before it had even flowed a hundred meters. The snow-capped mountains, frozen year-round, were now flooding. What was more terrifying was that water could not extinguish these flames. Or rather, they burned within the water, in the air, in the clouds; there was nothing that could not be used as firewood. The world was to be sacrificed to the Fell God of Fire.
Things having reached this point, Frieren could no longer hold back. She ascended into the sky again to refine her magic. She released a halo of pure mana single-handedly, containing no attributes and no impurities, simply dispelling more than half of the Fell God's flames. It was simply extravagant! Anyone else would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
The reason Frieren adopted such a seemingly thankless method was that the Fell God of Fire was clearly expanding His range to infiltrate all directions, and His target was the Forge! He was attempting to link with the stronger flames inside the Forge; once successful, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Dark Moon!
On the other side, Ranni timely laid down frost to intercept part of the flames. At the same time, Melina activated Incantation: Blessing of the Erdtree, Incantation: Barrier of Gold, and a series of other incantations to dispel and suppress them together.
With the three of them acting together, they quickly suppressed the assault of the Fell God of Fire. Even the large eye on the giant's abdomen revealed a trace of fatigue; confronting a Would-be Lord and a Demigod simultaneously was too strenuous.
At the same time, Frieren cast down a meteorite. It blocked the path between the Forge of the Giants and the battlefield firmly. It contained the chaotic fire attribute capable of absorbing flames; don't even think about bypassing it.
The unconvinced Fell God of Fire immediately tried, but how could He bypass the obstacle Frieren had meticulously arranged? Furthermore, Melina and Ranni had tacitly understood and actively intercepted the path in between; they would ensure the safety of the Forge of the Giants.
Damn it.
Clearly, He had exhausted all His strange moves, yet they were always countered one by one. Why?
The sky pointed a finger, and brilliant golden light pierced the firmament. The burning clouds were all blown away, replaced by a pillar of light protruding from the nine heavens, aiming at the ground.
What a terrifying scale!
The entire Mountaintops of the Giants was clearly visible, and the remaining living beings all prostrated themselves under this power. The neighboring Haligtree naturally saw it clearly, exclaiming in stunned stupefaction: "It is Lord Miquella's incantation!"
Now, it had reappeared and was even enhanced in the hands of the Soul Cinder King.
The Volcano battlefield also fell silent. Because of the higher terrain, they could see it more clearly than the Royal Capital; that power was heart-palpitating.
"A bunch of rotting trash. Did you see Mother? That will hit you next."
The Mimic Tear, looking down from above, laughed loudly, making Serosh's face grim.
The two sides were fighting repeatedly around the volcano cliffs, trading blows back and forth, inextricably involved. A single defense line had changed hands several times. It was precisely the time when morale was needed, yet Frieren shining so brilliantly and inspiring people now was truly troublesome.
Royal Capital.
Godfrey, standing on the palace watchtower with arms crossed, murmured, "The Thorns of Rejection must eventually be burned. The time is fast approaching."
He witnessed a scene that would be recorded in history forever: a Golden River hanging upside down. Compared to the explosive power of Miquella's pillar of light, this move used by Frieren leaned more towards an endless torrent, hanging upside down in the sky, pouring the water of the heavenly river from the great hollow above the clouds. possessing more mana, she naturally released a stronger move, like a bursting dam.
Boom!
The figure of the Fire Giant could not be seen at all; one only knew that a golden flood was washing over the Mountaintops of the Giants. The bit of glacial meltwater he had melted with the Fell God's flames just now paled in comparison. That was merely relying on elemental power, while Frieren relied entirely on her own energy.
One force to break ten thousand spells; it was unstoppable.
The Fire Giant's roar could be faintly heard, but it was to no avail. Soon, in the perception of Melina and Ranni, the aura of the life force, originally full of evil nature, vanished rapidly, withering in the golden river until finally, not a trace of activity could be felt.
The God was thoroughly dispelled and nowhere to be found; this move was extremely thorough. From beginning to end, they didn't even see the target clearly.
Frieren clasped her hands together, putting away Miquella's Light. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she could no longer sense the Fire Giant. It was done. Nothing was more suitable for dispelling and purifying purposes in the Lands Between than the Holy attribute, which was why she chose this move as the finisher. If it were purely to deal with the Fell God of Fire, there were plenty of ways, such as neutralizing it with Chaos Fire, but the risk was too great.
Don't forget the Forge of the Giants was right next to them; it would be easy to lose control and cause a world-class accident. To be safe, she used this move to finish off the enemy.
When the [Remembrance of the Fire Giant] appeared, she finally set her mind at ease. He was dead as a doornail, clean and tidy.
The silver-haired girl let out a long breath and slowly descended from the sky. Her body was inevitably a bit more exhausted; to ensure safety while defeating the Fire Giant, she had adopted a strenuous method, increasing consumption in vain. Moreover, her fatigue was not just his contribution, but also due to the hindrance of many enemies before.
So tired.
Frieren stretched and yawned. Originally, she was the type who would meditate and rest more.
"Mr. Alexander, are you alright?"
Looking around, she saw the Warrior Jar planted headfirst in a small snowy hill. The latter rolled over, touched his head, and replied, "Rest assured, Lady Melina healed me. I also thank Your Majesty for the help. Otherwise, I wouldn't have escaped this calamity and would certainly have died here."
"Being able to hold out until we arrived is already very impressive. Your martial arts have improved."
"But I must rest a bit. Let's talk later." The considerate Warrior Jar pointed to two figures trotting over from the distance.
"I am perfectly fine."
Seeing the silver-haired girl smiling and waving, the stones in their hearts finally dropped. Such a massive offensive just now must have consumed a lot, as evidenced by the touch of fatigue on Frieren's brow.
Even a body of iron could not withstand continuous high-intensity campaigning; it was indeed time to rest. Thus, the two practically pressed her down to rest, and Frieren took the opportunity to teleport back to exchange the Remembrance:
[Giant's Red Braid]
[Hefty whip woven from the flame-red hair of a Fire Giant.]
[Every giant is red of hair, and Radagon was said to have despised his own red locks. Perhaps that was a curse of their kind.]
Frieren cracked the whip. The feel was unaccustomed. Thinking about a weapon woven from giant hair felt strange and uncomfortable; sure enough, she wasn't suited for whip-type weapons. Moreover, the description was inexplicably comical; so Radagon's red hair was associated with giants by others.
That was quite despairing.
The dignified second Elden Lord of the Golden Order had so many politically incorrect elements on him, and was even scornfully called a "mere consort" by everyone—it was truly a pity. However, someone identified by the Queen of the Full Moon as a "loyal hound of the Golden Order" probably didn't care about reputation.
Frieren put away her speculations about her theoretical father-in-law and turned her attention to the weapon skill:
[Unique Skill: Flame Dance]
[Imbue the braid with the flame of a giant, then perform a wide-range attack while dancing like a flowing stream.]
Plain and unadorned, with no highlights. Go collect dust in the storage. Frieren had a pile of means to completely replicate a similar Flame Dance; there was no need to use an ordinary, handy-less weapon, especially since the power was likely inferior to what she could unleash herself.
The other reward from the Remembrance was an Incantation. Hopefully, it was worth it.
[Burn, O Flame!]
[One of the incantations that draws directly from the power of the Fire Giants.]
[Raises a series of pillars of flame around the caster. Charging increases the number of pillars.]
[The Fire Giants borrowed from the power of a fell god, and still they were defeated.]
[Yet their failure released them from their solitary curse: to serve as keepers of the Flame for eternity.]
Frieren nodded in satisfaction. Not bad. The Fell God's flames rising from the ground possessed wide-range destructive power, fitting her consistent style. The evil nature within it was no longer a problem; substituting it with the various flames she possessed would be even more suitable.
Her right index finger lit a wisp of flame, flickering in the wind yet standing tall. The giant's flame just now had become loot, but it couldn't compare to this:
The Forbidden Flame.
The silver-haired girl gazed at the Forge of the Giants in the distance. That was the destination of this journey.
Whether the burning of the tree succeeded or not, and the various unexpected situations that might arise, would decide the plans thereafter. If any accident occurred, there would be no need to go to Farum Azula; they would have to hurry to salvage the situation.
"Mr. Alexander, do you want to go together?"
"I won't disturb you for now." The Warrior Jar swayed his body, sighing with emotion. "Actually, I kept moving forward because I wanted to give it my all at the end of my life. I'm almost finished."
"Do you need my Grace? This level of damage to a jar body isn't hard to repair."
Before, Frieren wouldn't have dared to guarantee it, but now, possessing the mighty power of six Great Runes, what heavy injury could she not heal?
"I beg of you."
"Alright. And if it goes smoothly, the Forge will leave a flame teleportation channel; you can arrive just the same."
As she spoke, the silver-haired girl lit up a golden Great Rune shard in her hand. A warm energy enveloped the Warrior Jar. The latter fell into a groggy sleep amidst the healing; the broken wounds recovered rapidly, and his declining vitality was restored.
After filling himself with the corpse fragments of the Fire Giant, he would be even stronger.
Frieren exercised her muscles and bones, saying, "Let's set off. After all, there's still some distance to the Forge of the Giants. I contacted Florisaxx through the contract; she will rush here."
"That is good. If it goes smoothly, we will ignite the Forge first, then let the Ancient Dragon carry everyone to Farum Azula."
Ranni agreed.
Melina, however, was silent, her thoughts running wild. She was nervous. She didn't know what would happen next. What if an accident happened? It was already a grave sin; if it didn't succeed, wouldn't it be a heinous crime? The condemnation of her conscience made her wish she could commit suicide...
Suddenly, her two companions patted her shoulders separately.
"Don't worry, Melina. I once usurped the flame that maintained the world's existence in a possibility of choice, claiming it for myself. I have experience, so let me do it. I will bear the sin of burning the tree."
"It is publicly recognized that the Night of the Black Knives indirectly caused the shattering of the Elden Ring, leading to the collapse of order in the Lands Between. By that calculation, I have long been a great sinner."
The two comforted her one after another, almost making Melina lose her composure.
I'm lagging behind?
The things her teammates had committed were bigger than the last, without exception being world-destroying disasters. Burning the tree indeed paled in comparison. Besides, this was just a step; Destined Death hadn't even been unleashed yet.
She nodded, letting out a long breath, and set off first, walking at the front of the team to lead the way to the Forge of the Giants.
To tell the truth, she had felt a bit like she was going to the execution ground just now. But after Frieren and Ranni's half-comforting, half-joking persuasion, she felt much better. At least she wasn't so nervous anymore.
With them here, Melina was fearless.
_____
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