The surrounding ground turned into magma, and the grass and trees that fell into the pond instantly turned to ashes, with the air permeated by the smell of burning.
Some small animals hurriedly emerged from their hiding burrows, running frantically in different directions. Whether mice or snakes, former enemies were now escaping together.
However, not all animals were so lucky; some were too late.
Su Ming saw an animal resembling a raccoon trying to escape by hiding in a tree, but the roots were swallowed by lava, causing the tree to fall.
It fell into the fire pit, let out a horrifying scream, and what happened next was terrifying.
The gray and white fur turned into a fireball, and the next second, emitted a burnt stench, turning entirely into a heap of black ash.
Su Ming: "The temperature is around 3000 degrees Celsius, carbon-based life forms will instantly vaporize."
"This is Surtur's power, which likely means this planet has already been changed from within. My magic can't oppose a Lord of Hell."
Monac explained to Su Ming that many people using flame abilities would also borrow Surtur's power, as the Fire Giant is a source of magic flame, far surpassing ordinary mages in strength.
"Move back a bit and set up a magic array to counteract the heat and burning." Su Ming signaled the two to retreat while he floated up to follow.
No matter what ability he displayed, he didn't have to worry about being seen by Heimdall, since Odin is the all-powerful god after all.
Monac took a deep breath, said nothing more, riding a horse to run a kilometer away, dismounted, and began setting up the magic array on the ground.
"Don't look for Ice Demon God Excorion, use Emperor Vishanti's power directly, transfer the extreme cold and vacuum of the cosmos here." Su Ming added.
Even though he couldn't cast any magic himself, he still possessed theoretical knowledge.
Excorion's dark magic had too high a price, and Su Ming didn't want Monac to be trapped in a time-freezing extreme cold hell for thousands of years, tortured by the Demon God into madness.
It's better to resolve it using white magic if possible.
"The scale of the magma is too large, I can't afford the cost." Monac responded.
The preparation of the magic array was completed quickly, with Monac directly using blood to draw complex runes and symbols on the grass. But when he pressed his hand on it, preparing to recite incantations, his face turned grim.
Su Ming pondered for a brief moment, Warnerheim has its uses, and the Nine Realms don't need two flame worlds.
If anything happened to Warnerheim, the agreement between Gullveig and Su Ming would also lose its foundation, and the previously agreed benefits would disappear.
"Transfer the cost to me, I'll pay with my lifespan."
He immediately made the decision.
"Lifespan? You might die directly." Sweat dripped down Monac's forehead.
"Let's see if Emperor Vishanti agrees to the deal, I have plenty of lifespan." Su Ming confidently landed next to the Law God, removed his glove, and sliced a cut on his arm.
The blood flowed, merging into the magic array, which emitted a faint white light.
"Are you really sure?"
"Quit stalling, do it."
Monac exhaled, seeing the red line in the distance grow larger in his vision. He grabbed Su Ming's hand, pressing it against the array, and began rapidly chanting incantations.
The incantation was surprisingly long, and not a single syllable could be understood.
"Emperor Vishanti accepted the cost; it's beginning!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Ming felt something invisible being drawn from his body and dissipating into the surrounding air.
However, the magic array in front of him grew brighter and more dazzling.
It expanded at an extremely high speed, spreading towards the flames.
Su Ming activated the X Metal within him, ceasing the aging of his appearance instantly and began to restore his lifespan. However, Monac was noticeably affected, with his temples gradually turning gray.
"The spread of the magma has stopped." Gin, riding on a horse, flew higher to get a better view: "Their surface is frozen."
Su Ming couldn't respond to Gin's words, though conscious, the feeling was like having a straw stuck in his stomach, a sensation of having his soul extracted prevented him from even opening his mouth.
The same went for Monac; as the caster, even though the cost was transferred, he couldn't entirely avoid the magic's effects.
Ten minutes later, Gin delivered more good news; the expansion of the entire lava pool had stopped, magic successfully countered it.
The lava had cooled completely, becoming a stretch of black rock, appearing as a black basin from the sky.
Monac withdrew his arm, sitting on the ground, gasping for air.
"You've been drained of 500 years of lifespan, yet you don't look any older. I understand why Master Ancient chose you now."
"I couldn't cast a single spell unless I had a telegraph to contact Emperor Vishanti. Otherwise, I still wouldn't know how to reach him." Su Ming also breathed heavily, slightly unaccustomed to the first-time cost payment: "How are you holding up?"
"Lost 5 years of lifespan, it's nothing. I've lived for hundreds of years, and five years is just a few short days." Monac feigned a lighthearted smile, closing his eyes slightly, bowing his head to catch his breath.
Su Ming patted his shoulder, stood up, touched his belly, confirming there was no literal thick straw inserted, and then looked at the distant lava pool.
That direction was now shrouded in smoke, with the intense clash of heat and cold creating thick fog in the vicinity.
Fortunately, Emperor Vishanti's power outweighed Surtur, the Flame Demon God was left with no choice but a retreat. Warnerheim was safe until he thought of a new tactic.
"When the company's new hair dye is out, I'll send you some." Gin landed beside them.
"No need, it's fine like this." Monac adjusted his sideburns, touched his beard and then his face: "Just a few strands of white hair, now I look more authoritative, don't I?"
Su Ming wiped a drop of X Metal off the Nightfall Greatsword and tried it on the mage, but this metal couldn't restore the lifespan of Marvel characters.
There was nothing Su Ming could do about the limitations of X Metal, so he thought about seeing if he could get the 'Fruit of Youth.'
The longevity of the gods in the Immortal Palace comes from it; the Mother of Gods, Qitong, is the Goddess of Youth, and she has a basket from which she can take out endless fruits that can extend one's lifespan.
Although it doesn't extend life infinitely, a few thousand years is enough for humans.
Unless you're like Odin, who is at the end of his life, or like the Ancient One, who owes too much, then it won't work.
Su Ming extended his hand, first helping the mage onto the horse: "If you want authority, you should shave all your hair."
Remembering what the Ancient One looked like, Monac shrugged: "Stop with the cold jokes, let's continue looking for Hydra. Why does Surtur have to interfere here too? We won't run into Serator, will we?"
"Besides Earth, all of the Nine Realms are now a mess. The Netherworld and Warnerheim are temporarily stabilized by me, but we need to act faster."
The Flying Horse flew over the frozen lava pool, and Su Ming answered the mage behind him, but the fog around them was too dense for Monac to see his expression.
Listening to Deathstroke recount the events, Monac was overwhelmed and didn't know how to interject.
Mephisto was just temporarily held up, and they still didn't know who the ally of the Lord of Hell was.
Laufey might be ready to break the jar, and declare war on Asgard again.
The Immortal Palace was filled not only with soldiers but also Light Elves who had lost their homeland, looking like oversized goblins.
The Great Serpent was still lurking somewhere, watching for an opportunity.
"Should we deal with Zemo first?" After thinking for a long time, Monac gave up thinking and let Deathstroke make the decision. The last action had already proven his planning reliable.
"Deal with Zemo first," Su Ming confirmed the question once more: "After he gains power, he's sure to use it on Earth, which poses the greatest threat to us."
As he spoke, Strangulation secretly wrote on the mage's leg.
Su Ming gave him a priority list.
First is Earth, which must be preserved. Next is the Golden Palace, its treasures, and few key individuals need to be retained, and then Warnerheim, which relates to future plans.
Apart from these three locations, Su Ming doesn't care if other places are turned into cosmic dust.
From these three targets, analysis becomes easier; whoever has designs on these places is the enemy.
Whoever poses the higher threat and shows more traces should be dealt with first.
Of course, Su Ming had a subtle feeling that there was a mastermind lurking, and he kept an eye out for it.
However, before they could fly far, countless red magic arrays suddenly blossomed below, followed by a dense barrage of fireballs rushing up into the sky like fire rain.
"Enemy attack! Flame Demons, numbers... over a hundred thousand."
The Celestial Horse dove to evade numerous fireballs aimed at it, but in the next second, more fireballs quickly rose from the ground.
In an instant, Su Ming assessed the situation: it seemed like Surtur was unwilling and planned to spread fire by primitive means.
He didn't have teleportation ability himself; he must have struck a deal with someone, directly teleporting his army to Warnerheim.
The Celestial Horse is extremely agile and battle-hardened, able to weave through narrow gaps in the rocket barrage no matter how dense the fireball attacks.
But as the demons continued to pour out from the magic array, the fireball density increased, making it nearly impossible to advance, forcing it to dodge constantly up and down.
"This won't work. I'll go deal with the demons and buy you some time to regroup in Warnerheim's capital."
Without waiting for Gin and the mage to comment, Su Ming jumped off the horse directly.
The cloak pushed him towards the ground at high speed, and the demons filled his vision, drawing closer; he could even see the brains of these creatures.
They had crimson skin, walked upright, but their heads were a burning iron cage, with flames seemingly serving as their brains and life, holding fireballs in one hand and various burning weapons in the other.
Such monsters could only be seen in Hell.
"Godslayer, lengthen!"
The Godslayer, transformed into the Eternal Spear, instantly stretched from its original two-meter length to over ten times that. Su Ming pulled out the Nightfall Greatsword from his bag and wielded it in his other hand.
He plunged headlong into the enemy ranks.
Due to the high temperatures among the enemies, Strangulation was of little help, so Su Ming could only rely on the speed of the cloak to fight.
However, his aim wasn't to kill many enemies but to delay and pierce through the enemy's formations, creating an opening for Gin and the others above.
With a glance of his one eye, the entire environment appeared in his mind, every enemy's movement and intent, location, and terrain, all comprehensively clear.
The plan formed instantly, and the two weapons moved even faster than thoughts.
The spear cleared the path ahead, while the greatsword provided close combat defense; when the enemy attacked him from behind, he used the greatsword to block and counter, advancing quickly whenever there was an opening.
Golden and black light shot forth as severed limbs flew through the air, yet Deathstroke's steps remained steady, utterly unstoppable. The demons' screams and the sizzling of blood touching flames constantly battered his eardrums, but Su Ming's expression remained unchanged.
Advance, keep advancing, breaking through flames and blades, he swiftly moved through the dense crowd.