Just as Anvil rushed out of the hut, he saw Kane, along with two other successfully promoted believers, confronting Hammerbone.
[Block]
The warrior believer, wielding a longsword seized from a Goblin, roared as he took the front line. Relying on his suddenly enhanced strength and fearless stance, he actually managed to block Hammerbone's heavy hammer blow.
Though he was shaken back repeatedly, his tiger's mouth split open, he ultimately held his ground.
Kane, meanwhile, flitted around Hammerbone's side like a ghost. Each cunning slash of his broken blade left deep marks on Hammerbone's Leather Armor, providing deadly interference.
Further away, the mage believer, protected by other followers, raised his hand missing a ring finger. Chanting twisted incantations, he gathered negative energy into a sickly green ray that shot toward Hammerbone.
[Ray of Enfeeblement]
Hammerbone raged, forcibly enduring the Ray of Enfeeblement while fighting both Kane and the warrior.
"Roar! Annoying insects!"
"CLANG!!!"
With a terrifying crash, the warrior believer's longsword shattered instantly. The man flew backward as if hit by a catapult, vomiting blood and crashing heavily to the ground, unable to get up immediately.
Almost simultaneously, Hammerbone's seemingly clumsy giant hand shot out with speed belying his size, catching Kane's arm as he tried to seize the opportunity for a sneak attack.
"Got you, little rat!"
Hammerbone sneered, his other hand reaching to grab Kane, seemingly about to tear him in half.
"Close your eyes!"
At the critical moment, the mage believer in the distance shouted hoarsely, purple light blazing in his eyes.
[Blindness]
Purple mist surged forth. Hammerbone felt his vision suddenly go dark, seeing nothing.
Seizing this precious opportunity, the injured warrior struggled to his feet and rushed over to rescue Kane from Hammerbone's grip.
But even blinded, Hammerbone remained terrifying.
He madly swung his massive morningstar wildly, creating frightening gusts of wind, demonstrating the ultimate deterrence of absolute power. Through his frenzied swings, he created a literal death zone.
No one dared approach anymore.
Kane retreated, clutching his nearly broken arm, face pale, feeling a surge of helplessness.
He knew they couldn't defeat this monster. The absolute power gap couldn't be bridged by their newly acquired strength alone.
Just as he wondered what to do, Anvil rushed to his side.
"Anvil? Why haven't you left yet!" Kane was both anxious and angry.
As he spoke, the magical effect on Hammerbone's eyes began to fade. Shaking his head, his vision gradually returned. Though still somewhat blurry, he could roughly see his enemies' positions and began stomping forward with heavy steps.
"No time to explain. Trust me."
"Envoy, take care!"
Anvil muttered silently. Under Kane's utterly astonished gaze, using the standard posture for throwing a hammer, he forcefully hurled the soft Slime in his hand toward Hammerbone.
"What is that?!"
Hammerbone, his vision not fully restored, grew wary. Seeing something flying toward him through the blur, he instinctively thought it was some kind of Alchemical Bomb or magical item. But as it approached, he barely made out that it was actually a... Slime?
The absurdity made him pause momentarily, followed by rage at being mocked. Without hesitation, he swung his morningstar, intending to smash the disgusting mucus creature to pieces.
But just as Hammerbone swung his hammer, his gaze met that of the Slime flying through the air.
[Chaos Preach]
Chen Yu immediately used his newly acquired title effect, targeting Hammerbone directly.
Thud!
Hammerbone's hammer-swinging motion instantly froze, as if someone had pressed pause. He stood rigidly in place, a flash of confusion appearing in his fierce eyes.
It seemed like some voice in his mind was fiercely contesting with his inherent chaotic nature.
He allowed the Slime to land with a soft "splat" right on top of his head.
This bizarre scene left all the humans and Goblins stunned.
"This... this is a charm control spell?"
Kane looked particularly surprised. He seemed to sense Morgul's chaotic power emanating from this Slime.
Could it be that this Slime belonged to the mysterious force that had been secretly supporting them all along?
As everyone stood frozen, the struggle in Hammerbone's eyes intensified. It seemed he was about to break free through sheer willpower.
Chen Yu calmly drained the last bit of spiritual energy from Nanny Brother's body, gathering his essence, energy, and spirit, pouring it into Spiritual Feeding.
[Beast Dementia Technique]
Transform!
Golden light instantly overwhelmed Hammerbone's last shred of resistance.
Chaos Preach takes effect!
In that instant, this fearsome Goblin leader's originally fierce and savage eyes became completely bewildered, sorrowful, and even filled with remorse.
With a "clang," he dropped his massive morningstar. His huge body actually slowly knelt to the ground. Using his thick arms to hold his head, he let out a cry full of regret:
"Boo hoo... look at what I've done!"
"Harming the innocent, oppressing the weak... I, I actually became an accomplice to these filthy Goblins. I truly deserve to die!"
This dramatic scene left all the slaves present, including the Goblins, utterly dumbfounded, their jaws practically hitting the ground.
What... what kind of move was this?!
"Um... Ha-Hammerbone, sir?"
A Goblin squad leader cautiously approached, poking Hammerbone's thigh with his finger.
"Get away!"
Hammerbone suddenly looked up, tearful yet filled with utter disgust.
"You filthy scum who only follow that hypocritical order of survival of the fittest, don't touch me with your dirty hands. Let these oppressed poor souls leave."
The Goblins looked at each other, completely baffled.
"But... but the Army Commander's orders..."
As they tried to speak, they saw Hammerbone suddenly pick up his morningstar from the ground, immediately swallowing their words and fearfully making way, opening a path toward the fortress exit.
The crowd remained bewildered and hesitant, looking toward Anvil, who in turn looked at the Slime on Hammerbone's head.
They saw the Slime bob slightly up and down, indicating a nod. Then Hammerbone said in a buzzing voice, "This weak and helpless little creature on my head tells you to rest assured and leave this place quickly."
"It says my current state won't last long, and I'll soon revert to my previous evil self."
Just thinking about this, he slapped himself hard across the face.
"I truly deserve to die!"
Seeing this, although feeling absurd, their survival instinct overwhelmed everything else.
Anvil took the lead, Kane pulling Little John close behind him. The other believers and slaves quickly followed, nervously passing through the watchful Goblin ranks, fleeing toward the fortress gate.
The defensive line they couldn't break through even with desperate fighting was actually breached in this unimaginably bizarre way...
While everyone felt an overwhelming sense of unreality, they also felt a glimmer of relief.
When Hammerbone reluctantly saw them off to the fortress entrance, Chen Yu, crouched on his head, curiously asked, "What exactly happened deep in the mining area that has the army so panicked?"
Hammerbone sniffled and said in his buzzing voice, "I don't know how it happened, but an unstable planar rift suddenly opened near the main shaft yesterday. Lots of Earth Elemental creatures came out, and even more troublesome things."
"The army is scrambling to deal with them, which is why the defenses here are so thin."
"So you successfully sealed the rift?" Chen Yu pressed.
"No..." Hammerbone shook his head. "They should be about to break out by now."
As soon as he finished speaking.
BOOM!!!
The Obsidian Mining Area shook violently. The ground of a nearby mining field suddenly bulged upward.
A giant Earthworm burst through the rock layer, letting out a hoarse shriek, then dove back underground, leaving only a deep pit.
For a moment, dead silence hung over the pit.
Then, under countless horrified gazes, dense clusters of stalagmite creatures, Earth Elementals, even larger stone sphere monsters, and even a few clumsy but terrifyingly powerful Stone Giants... surged forth from the pit and surrounding cracked ground like a bursting flood.
"Ahhh! Monsters!"
The Goblin troops bore the brunt, instantly scattered and torn apart by these violent earth elemental creatures, suffering heavy casualties as they screamed and fled in all directions.
Chen Yu immediately bounced from Hammerbone's head back onto Anvil's shoulder.
"Stop looking, run!"
The group of slaves snapped out of their daze, letting out terrified shouts as they desperately rushed out of the fortress, fleeing the mining area that kept spewing monsters.
Warm air brushed their faces. Though still in the underground world, it meant they had finally left the prison that had confined them for years.
Many collapsed on the spot, weeping uncontrollably, or looked up to the sky laughing wildly, too excited to contain themselves.
But Anvil and Kane, knowing from Chen Yu that the crisis was far from over, forcibly suppressed their excitement and urged everyone to keep moving.
However, they hadn't gone far when the ground ahead of them began to writhe unnaturally.
"Eeeek waaah!!"
Countless small Earth Elementals emerged from the earth. They quickly combined and piled up, their rocky bodies merging and growing. In the blink of an eye, they formed a nearly three-meter-tall Stone Giant, blocking the group's path.
Everyone looked up in despair at this rocky form radiating heavy pressure, their newfound joy instantly frozen.
But before they could react.
BOOM!!!
The Stone Giant exploded without warning, reverting to dozens of small Earth Elementals that panicked, squealing, and burrowed back underground to escape.
Immediately after, from the darkness of the tunnel ahead, came the heavy, war-drum-like stomping of a massive creature, along with the terrifying buzzing of a swarm.
The first thing to enter everyone's view was a giant boar, tusks bared menacingly, snorting puffs of white air like a small battering ram.
Strangely, perched atop the giant boar's head was a perfectly round Slime and a haughty-looking crow.
Behind the giant boar, the Slime, and the crow, shadows loomed in the darkness—a vast number of various Magical Creatures.
The army of Magical Creatures had finally arrived!