The Dwarf King took the lead, flanked by some of his clansmen guards.
Lu Ran and his group followed behind.
They arrived at the canyon entrance.
Lu Ran looked to both sides. Although the cliffs were winding, their height was simply staggering!
They were like an insurmountable natural chasm.
At the far end of the canyon lay the entrance to the cave.
And the only path there was this very Sea of Sand and Stone Forest before them.
This also answered the question Lu Ran had earlier.
He had previously wondered, since the Sea of Sand and Stone Forest blocked the way, why not just go around it directly to the entrance?
Now, it was clear that going around was impossible!
With cliffs like these, even Lu Ran wouldn’t dare climb down without his Elf Wings. One fall would probably mean death!
For the Dwarves, with their naturally limited stature, it was even more impossible.
“This is the Sea of Sand and Stone Forest. The monsters roaming inside are Titan Stone Statues, of various levels, the lowest being level seventy,” the Dwarf King said solemnly.
Lu Ran looked out.
So-called Titan Stone Statues weren’t just simple stone constructs.
They were indeed made of rock, and their shapes all differed from one another.
But embedded in the chest of each Titan Statue was a fist-sized crystal emitting a dull yellow light.
That was probably the core power source driving these Titan creations.
The Dwarf guards beside Barun all turned pale, clearly terrified by this place.
But in Lu Ran’s eyes, these weren’t monsters at all; wasn’t this just a field of high experience points everywhere he looked?
So he grinned and said, “Easy to handle. Once we deal with these Titan Statues, we should be able to reach the cave entrance, right?”
The Dwarf King hadn’t expected Lu Ran to say that.
He looked at Lu Ran in surprise, then smiled wryly, saying, “It seems you still don’t understand what I mean, or just how exaggerated the defense and attack power of these Titan Statues really are.”
He did, however, finally answer Lu Ran’s question directly, adding gravely, “At the far end of the Sea of Sand and Stone Forest is the entrance to the Dwarf Cave. But the entrance is just the beginning. To get the Eternal Flame, there are even greater challenges ahead.”
Lu Ran wasn’t surprised at all. ‘Greater challenges’ clearly referred to the subsequent quests.
Given Lu Ran’s current abilities, forget him, even Liu Xinxin couldn’t think of anything that could stump him.
Lu Ran nodded.
“Alright then, let’s begin. We’ll head to the cave entrance first,” he said.
With that, he stepped forward and pulled out the Calming Sea Trident.
The Dwarf King was startled.
He hurriedly said, “Don’t be so reckless! The Titan Statues inside are all aggressive, and they’re very high level! With your level, you might be taken out in one encounter…”
The Dwarf King hesitated to continue.
But his meaning was clear.
With your low level, going in would just be feeding them kills!
Lu Ran waved his hand dismissively, saying, “I’m not rushing in. I’ll grind some monsters first. These things give a lot of experience.”
With that said.
He hesitated no more.
Gripping his staff firmly with both hands, he thrust it suddenly into the ground beneath him.
Then his eyes focused.
This was the first time Lu Ran was using ‘A World within a Sleeve’ to fight monsters on such a large scale!
Liu Xinxin and the others realized this and watched excitedly; this was also their first time seeing Lu Ran use the storage space from that ability!
Of course, the storage space wasn’t the main point; the main point was the 200,000-strong undead army inside!
The Dwarf King, however, was puzzled.
His improved impression of Lu Ran came from the Elf Wings, from gaining the recognition of Elf Queen Tina.
But Lu Ran himself was just a level-thirty-something Necromancer.
He wasn’t optimistic about this.
But now, with Lu Ran’s level-sixty companions not lifting a finger, and Lu Ran himself stepping up to strike a pose, what was he doing?
The next second.
Rip~
A massive tear opened in the sky before them, and thick black smoke billowed out menacingly.
As it scattered across the land, a massive horde of skeleton soldiers, along with ancient golems mixed in, and even the Carp Spirit, appeared beside Lu Ran, looking around dazedly.
This dry environment clearly wasn’t to the Carp Spirit’s liking.
In an instant, the entire Sea of Sand and Stone Forest was filled to the brim with the undead army!
The dense, seething mass was enough to make anyone’s scalp crawl!
Liu Xinxin and the others watched, thrilled.
“Yes, yes, this is the spirit!”
“Wow, this is way more exaggerated than I imagined.”
“And this is without Lu Ran even summoning the Elves to help. If they joined in too, it would really be…”
…
As for the Dwarf King, he was dumbstruck.
“An undead army… You…” The Dwarf King looked at Lu Ran.
He didn’t know much about Necromancers, but he understood the basics, and he had never seen a Necromancer act so arrogantly!
Strike one pose, and a 200,000-strong undead army marches forth!
“Start the slaughter! Let’s move!” Lu Ran commanded firmly.
Then he took the lead, walking forward into the Sea of Sand and Stone Forest!
At the same time.
He continuously waved his staff.
Skeletal Storms stacked infinitely, constantly blanketing the entire Sea of Sand and Stone Forest ahead!
He also used Touch of the Undead to restrict the movements of the Titan Statues.
Every Titan Statue was surrounded by countless skeleton soldiers hacking away at it. When some of those skeletons’ health dropped low enough, they would self-destruct, dealing one final wave of damage!
The Titan Statues, which would have required the Dwarf King leading his troops to slowly push through, were now being wiped out in massive numbers!
Lu Ran’s undead army was capable of tearing through anything!
As for the ones that died or exploded, Lu Ran didn’t mind; he could just replenish them later whenever he had time.
These things had unlimited uses!
And ahead.
As Lu Ran walked forward.
The crowded undead army even parted to make a path for him, leading straight to the cave entrance at the far end.
It made the Dwarf King and his group feel less like they were in a perilous Sea of Sand and Stone Forest, and more like they were strolling down a wide street, relaxed and at ease.
Of course.
During this process, Lu Ran constantly received notifications of Titan Statues being slain. The level 70 ones gave over 8,000 experience!
The level 80 ones even gave tens of thousands!
His experience bar was shooting up rapidly. Thinking about the 30 million experience promised for reaching the cave entrance, Lu Ran nearly laughed out loud with excitement.
At this rate, he had a hope of reaching level forty by the time he got to the entrance!
And then.
New skills and traits would also unlock!
Beside Lu Ran, Silulu watched their surroundings, occasionally glancing sideways at him.
Her ownership belonged entirely to Lu Ran.
She understood his power well, but this was also the first time she had seen him deploy the undead army.
It was terrifying!
As for Annie, who had never seen such a grand spectacle, she trembled, looking up at Lu Ran with a somewhat dazed expression.
This human she had casually approached possessed such terrifying battle power!
The Dwarf King, however, after his initial shock, had his eyes gleaming with extraordinary excitement.
With this kind of power.
Maybe Lu Ran really could complete the mission and obtain the Eternal Flame.
And the Hill Dwarves, who would regain the Eternal Flame, would rise again!
The more the Dwarf King thought about it, the more excited he became, barely able to contain his restless heart.
