The raging flame spread across the Settlement.
Casting down a warm hue, the fire which was born around the Southern regions of Iron Mountain Quarry Settlement had reached the central regions.
Districts crumbled into a slurry of smoke and cinders. Plumes of smoke choked the air, rending all in its embrace to suffocate.
As heat distorted the air, the winds fanned the flames further north. That is to say, the fire began to stretch their hands towards the Settlement Lord's Complex.
Intense bubbling could be heard, as well as the thunderous crack of lightning.
Iron Mountain Quarry Settlement's Lord and Silver Extreme battled fiercely.
A whip of molten iron was formed, slashing at the ground where the latter stood.
Using the broken terrain to his advantage, Silver Extreme evaded the whipping and retaliated with a bolt of lightning.
Raising a wall of iron, the lightning struck and dispersed. Pushing his hands forward, the Settlement Lord sent the wall flying forward.
Prompting Silver Extreme to dodge yet again, he leapt to the side as the wall of iron smashed into the building behind him.
"You look quite stiff, Silver! Why don't you stand still and let me end this!"
"I will not give up. Your hands will not claim my life!"
"Look at yourself, you still bear injuries from your core detonation. You can not win against me! You are merely prolonging the inevitable! You should just lie down, like the fool you are!"
Rising above was a pillar of iron; the top of the pillar burst and spread outwards.
Like rain, droplets of iron fell to the ground with violent power.
Tiny holes were punched into the ground, filling the terrain with a myriad holes. They tore through soil, stone, and wood; the entire street was being decimated.
Dao Art — Festive Rainfall!
Watching the cascading droplets, Silver Extreme conjured a thin veil of electricity around his body.
The droplets of molten metal bounced off and slid down this veil, like rain on an umbrella.
"Settlement Lord, since you can not see through the Dao Art barrier which counters Immersion, I will tell you this now: your ambush has failed. Heart Tethering Maiden is currently en route to our location. Dawn and Wolf King Lan have defeated your aids, even Life Taming Monarch has fallen."
"..."
Gritting his teeth, the Settlement Lord's gaze was filled with quiet rage and heat. His gaze was as hot as the fire approaching them, or the heat of his molten iron.
"I would offer you the chance to join us, but you have committed such a great sin that I can not overlook. Let us leave with the denizens of this Settlement, and we will allow you to die here, alone."
"If I do not bring your head, Silver, then I will not be accepted by the Demonic Faction; therefore, I must kill you here!"
"To throw away your life, your righteousness, to submit your very being to the Demonic path for this mountain! This Iron Mountain is worth your entire life... no... everyone's lives! To stake everyone's life for your ownership, is this what you believe?!"
"Of course! My heritage, my bloodline, my Iron Mountain, I refuse to give everything up!"
Saying so, he raised the iron pillar further up.
Because of his initial attack, Dao Art — Festive Rainfall — ineffective prospects, the Settlement Lord prepared another attack.
Silver Extreme pre-emptively ran from his spot, but it was pointless.
Like the branches of a tree, the iron pillar fractured into a myriad of paths, spreading like hungry roots in the sky, before falling down.
Like spears, the roots of iron struck the ground, creating a forest of iron.
Silver Extreme evaded and moved between the iron poles, but due to his injuries, it was a painful and difficult task.
The Settlement Lord struck pre-emptively, seeing that his efforts were ineffective once again, he prepared another attack.
"Don't think about it!"
"...!"
Raising his hand and tightening it into a fist, Silver Extreme twisted his body painfully.
Dao Art — Duke's Arrow!
Throwing his fist forward with an exaggerated motion, lightning was 'thrown' forward. Its movement should have been impossible, at least unnatural, as it moved around the iron poles.
Stunned, the Settlement Lord raises a wall of iron to block, but his shock had delayed his thoughts, causing his actions to be delayed by a moment, which allowed the lightning to strike.
Grunting, the Settlement lord felt the lightning surging through his body, and sparks danced on his skin as his muscles convulsed.
Staggering, he writhed in place before falling to his knees.
Marks were burned into his skin, his hair slightly charred, and his eyes bloodshot.
Worst of all, the lightning had fried his brain, causing his thoughts to become disarrayed.
The iron controlled by the Settlement Lord fell apart, covering the ground with a blanket of molten metal.
A faint sound, similar to the shattering of glass, echoed through the air.
Falling to his knees while clutching his abdomen, Silver Extreme's physical condition further deteriorated due to his excessive movements.
"It is finished... Settlement lord. Give up now, and accept your fate...!"
"As if... As if...! I won't die here! Not by your hands!"
"Lie down, you damn fool."
That last voice rang hoarsely through the air.
A figure with red strings embedded within her skin made its appearance. The tattered and charred robes suggest that she was engulfed in flames.
Heart Tethering Maiden had arrived.
Although her state was similarly disfigured and terribly injured, she was in a much better position than the other two.
"Maiden..."
"Rest easy, Silver... I will end it here."
Saying so, she mercilessly struck the Settlement Lord with a bundle of strings.
They slapped him across his chest, sending him flying into a nearby building.
"I—... aghh....! I refuse... to lose everything..."
Crawling out of the building's rubble, the Settlement Lord knocked his head on the ground, then lifted himself and screamed towards the sky.
"I refuse to let every be taken from me!"
At his call, a deep pressure began to build in his stomach, chest and mind.
Qi surged and bundled within his body.
This act was well recognised by Silver Extreme, who wanted to call out, but it was too late.
"Ah..."
With blood spilling from his lips, the Settlement Lord looked down at his chest, where a thick bundle of strings had found itself.
It struck through his chest and burst out of his back, and before he could speak another word...
"Die quietly, you old fool."
Another thin bundle of strings rapidly swung towards him.
With a quick motion, Iron Mountain Quarry Settlement's Lord was felled, with his head flying from his shoulders.