contemporary romance
The elder's reasoning seemed a little farfetched, but the mammoths finally noticed the immediacy of their situation as the elder shouted again, "What are you all standing there for? Leave! Flee!"
The ground trembled far more intensely than before, and the volcanoes began spewing out ash and boulders once more.
This time, three volcanoes erupted in succession. Waves of heat buffeted the mammoth herd, and burning boulders arced down from the sky. Three headed straight for the mammoth herd.
While the mammoths gaped at the boulders in shock, the golden mammoth rose into the air, punching at the boulders with such force that they crumbled into pieces.
As the golden mammoth landed back on the ground, he shouted, "Quick! Run!"
No one was able to stop the eight volcanoes from exploding. Lava began pouring out of their craters as the entire sky turned a fiery red color.
The three volcanoes to the left, as well as the one in the center, had all begun to erupt.
Faced with the huge patches of lava, the mammoth elder's face turned white. "Our herd is done for..."
Even so, the golden mammoth had no intention to give up. He grabbed onto one of the other mammoths and shouted, "Lend me your sword!"
"Here!"
The golden mammoth turned around and grabbed a blade from the air, only to find his froststeel sword thrown by Li Feng himself. Li Feng had taken the blade upon defeating the golden mammoth, and he was returning it to him now.
The golden mammoth bowed in respect before turning back to the boulders, waving the plain, unadorned sword with his trunk.
The simple strike had been honed by endless repetition, leaving a long furrow in the ground which was quickly filled by the lava. The golden mammoth struck again and again, carving out strokes that formed a '#' in the ground, a makeshift seawall that would ideally divert the flow of lava.
The golden mammoth had come up with this idea after learning about how humans would build such seawalls to prevent the tides from ruining their sand sculptures.
The mammoth world possessed no sand or beaches, but in a moment of inspiration, the golden mammoth realized that this knowledge he had picked up from the humans could apply directly to this scenario.
The lava was indeed diverted, and didn't directly overwhelm the mammoth herd.
The golden mammoth turned and shouted, "There's no time to pack up! Run!"
The elder agreed. He too shouted, "Your lives are more important!"
Just then, the volcanoes erupted again—all five remaining. As huge quantities of rock and lava emerged from the volcanoes, the entire sky grew crimson, as though it had been lit on fire.
"[Dance of the Incandescent Wyrm]!" Li Feng summoned hundreds of serpents, flaring with blinding light, forming a lattice in the air that disintegrated the rock and lava. Li Feng, like a god descending from the heavens, was defending the mammoth herd alone against the eruption.
The mammoths stared at him from the ground, unable to believe that a human would be willing to help them out.
Li Feng shouted without turning back, "What are all of you doing? Run!"
Only then did the mammoths finally begin to flee.
The golden mammoth bowed his head again in gratitude. "Thank you."
He continued to divert the freely flowing lava.
The mammoths were absurdly strong. Li Feng saw one particular mammoth dig up the foundations of his igloo and run off with it on his back—and doing so at a pace comparable to those of the other mammoths as well.
As the eight volcanoes all erupted, the lava swamped the mammoths from all directions, and the golden mammoth's seawalls lost their effectiveness.
The remaining mammoths were trapped by the lava and unable to flee.
The golden mammoth cried out, "Is this a punishment from heaven for betraying our allies?"
"[Light's Bulwark: Draconic Fist]!" Radiant light gleamed, and the redness of the sky was drowned out with white. An illusory dragon of light descended from the heavens and tore a path out of the lava, allowing the remaining mammoths to flee.
The lava slowly consumed that path and the dragon itself, but Li Feng summoned it once more.
The golden mammoth's eyes were bright as he charged forward with his froststeel blade. "Let me help!" He struck forward with a simple blow, but one that had enough strength behind it to split mountains.
The lava was diverted to either side of the strike.
"Follow me!" The golden mammoth led the way as he continued waving his sword to split the lava and rock blocking their path. "Warriors of the herd, get into our defensive formation!"
The warriors hurriedly pulled up their shields and built a defensive perimeter around the mammoth herd. Meanwhile, the non-combatants gathered in the interior of the protective circle.
"We'll prevent the lava from reaching us!" the golden mammoth commanded.
The lava was slowly creeping over the path the golden mammoth had created with his sword, and all the mammoth warriors used their own techniques to defend against the incursion. Some kicked at the ground with their legs, while others summoned rocks with their genetic energy. As the warriors protected the women, children, and elderly, they finally made it out of the vicinity of the volcanoes.
The mammoths began to tear up as they looked back at their territory, which was now quickly being swallowed up by lava. That was where generations of mammoths had made their home.
Before them were boiling-hot patches of lava, with a shocking temperature that made them feel as though they were overheating, but their hearts were icy cold.
The mammoths had lost far too much—not just their territory, but also countless material possessions and life.
Although the golden mammoth had tried his best, there were some mammoths who had steadfastly refused to leave their homes.
Some of the older mammoths were content to die where they lived, and knew that they wouldn't be able to make it far without dragging down the rest of the herd. Of course, there were also some who were remarkably foolish, believing that their herdleader would come back and save them at the last moment...
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