The Paladin in the Abyss

"Elemental creatures?" Bruto's expression changed, "What are you talking about..."

The Dwarf immediately realized the answer to his own question. Four red figures emerged from behind the obsidian that blocked the heat of the volcano. They looked like blurs of flames with vague human shapes, spreading towards the four of them like a wildfire.

"They're Fire Elementals!"

Olul's Priest was the first to shout out the name of the enemy. As a Priest of the Frost Goddess, he naturally had no fondness for these creatures, and the impulsive Bruto was the first to launch an attack. The Dwarf immediately threw his Magic Warhammer, targeting the foremost Elemental.

However, the hammer passed straight through the fire creature and heavily struck a boulder. The Fire Elemental was not affected in the slightest; a huge hole appeared where the hammer hit, but after staggering for a moment, the leaping flames promptly filled the gap in its body.

"What the hell?" Bruto was momentarily stunned, "How am I supposed to fight this?"

"Ordinary physical attacks are quite ineffective against elemental creatures," Old Reap explained by his side. He had already transformed into a half-werewolf state, his neck adorned with a fierce black and white wolf's head, "You have to do it like this..."

The Werewolf smeared a bottle of purple ointment on his short sword, making the blade emit a bright purple light. He then charged at the enemy, neatly dodging an oncoming fist with a roll, and with both short swords he swept upward, severing an arm from the side of one of the Fire Elementals.

This blow evidently inflicted effective damage; the attacked Fire Elemental let out a loud roar of rage, swiftly spinning to attack Old Reap with its other arm, which Reap again deftly avoided.

But the Werewolf was still somewhat affected as his clothes began to burn from being too close to the living flames, and even the fur on his face gave off a charred smell. He awkwardly rolled several times on the ground, finally extinguishing the flames on his body and also retreating to a safe distance.

"Seems pretty effective,"

The Werewolf squatted on the ground, squinting his eyes to assess the impact of his attack. The Fire Elemental he had attacked grew back its arm, which was no surprise to him; however, it was markedly smaller than before—an encouraging sign.

Old Reap adjusted his breath, once again flourishing his sword and approached his opponent.

An unexpected member also joined the battle—Lancelot's summoned Nightmares. The Abyssal Warhorse was naturally immune to flame damage, which rendered the Elemental creatures' most significant weapon powerless. The great black horse, like a Knight without a rider, unflinchingly rammed into the enemy, then fiercely trampled the humanoid flames lying on the ground with its hooves.

Its hoof strikes, just like Bruto's warhammer, were not very effective, but the advantage was that its opponents couldn't counter-attack at all. As it wildly stomped, the flames on the trampled Fire Elemental gradually dimmed.

Unfortunately, Bruto couldn't vent his anger as freely as the horse could. Although he was also very agile, there was still a gap between his movement technique and that of the Werewolf, who could 'dance' in the flames. Thus, the Dwarf could only throw his hammer then promptly run, waiting for the hammer to fly back before launching another attack. But the Fire Elementals were much faster than him, continuously closing the distance, and it seemed the Dwarf was about to be caught up to.

"Feel the power of the frost!" roared Tiflin's Priest from the other side of the battlefield. With a point of his fingers toward the Dwarf, a pale blue circle of stance appeared around Bruto. The circle exuded a cold air, making the flames of the Fire Elementals seem less intense.

"Thanks!" Bruto, seeing that the stance seemed to partially resist the damage of the flames, immediately stopped and turned around, roaring furiously, "You even set my beard on fire, prepare to die!"

After reaching out to help the Dwarf, Tiflin's Priest bowed his head in prayer once again. A snowflake-shaped scar on his lower back began to glow brighter, and Lancelot, who had been closely observing the battle, felt a familiar wave of magic, just like when Alamir channeled Divine Power.

"Olul!!!"

As Mohoi shouted the name of his deity, the snowflake emblem emitted a blinding light, and a massive Ice Battle Axe appeared in his hand. The Priest of Olul raised the battle axe above his head and charged with an almost insane momentum.

The Fire Elemental targeted by him released two fiery punches, but Mohoi, the Tiflin Barbarian, showed no intention to dodge. The Ice Battle Axe and the fiery fists hit their targets almost simultaneously, Mohoi was knocked back flying, while the Ice Battle Axe 'stuck' into the body of that humanoid flame.

The Elemental creature let out a piercing scream, its glow intensified in an instant, but the Ice Battle Axe was clearly not an ordinary creation, melting only at a very slow pace under the lick of the flametongue. Meanwhile, a thin layer of frost appeared on Mohoi's body, minimizing the damage from the fire fists, and judging by the Priest's frenzied look, any sensation of pain was likely ignored.

He summoned many floating ice javelins around him again, firing them consecutively like a heavy crossbow defending a castle, completely extinguishing the struggling humanoid flame on the spot.

After killing his enemy, Mohoi's rage seemed to have not subsided. He let out an almost insane roar and pounced on the Fire Elemental that was entangled with Bruto. Ice quickly condensed on his fists...

A moment later, the three men and horse had worked together to dispose of the Fire Elementals that had suddenly emerged. Unfortunately, these pure Elemental creatures left them with some wounds but no spoils of war, yet their goal was still achieved—Lancelot wasn't disturbed, and the Formation that created fog was operating at full capacity.

When they regrouped around Lancelot, they were astonished to discover that they could no longer see the ground at the foot of the mountain. Thick fog completely enveloped the Shattered Mountain Range, making them feel as if they were in a sea of clouds, with the edge of the fog still spreading outward.

"I should be able to expand this fog a couple of miles further, then the speed at which it dissipates will catch up to the speed at which it's growing," said the Human Knight as he closed his eyes again, yet he still knew the location of Tiflin's Priest clearly, "How long will it take for you to prepare your spell?"

"I'm on it!" exclaimed Tiflin's Priest, leaping up and rushing to his backpack, "Just a moment!"

They then found out what was in his heavy backpack—a special kind of water. Mohoi first dug a small pit in the ground, then poured all the water he had carried up the mountain into it, creating a small pond. Next, he knelt down in front of the pond and began to pray devoutly.

"Great Frost Goddess Olul, your faithful follower begs for your response, let the people of this world fear your power..."