Goblin Civilization

This time, the Black Tide directly brought countless skeletons buried underground for tens of thousands of years to the surface, causing huge cracks to appear in the earth, and countless Skeleton Monster crawled out from underground.

No one expected to encounter a "legendary" skeleton, and everyone dared not be careless anymore.

After clearing the "Cold Wind Temple," the Flying Dragon Patrol carefully patrolled the area within a radius of more than ten kilometers again. After finding no more threatening undead, they began to pay attention to the area where the shield Skeleton Monster were densely packed.

Although these shield skeletons are of high rank, mostly above Fourth Tier, their strength is too weak.

Aside from a shield, they had no other means of defense and no martial arts skills. To the "spearhead team," whose members were all at the fifth-tier Transcendent, their small, fragile skeletons could be shattered into pieces with a single blow. Compared to the previous "vine-armored skeletons," their combat power was a hundred times weaker.

The reason these shield skeletons are of such a high rank is probably purely because of the high rank of their bloodline in their previous lives.

Following the cracks in the ground from which the skeletons crawled out, the group descended into the underground.

Then, as expected, they found traces of iron ore layers about a thousand meters underground, as well as an ancient mine pit that was like a maze with interconnected passages.

The mine leads to even deeper underground, and over countless years, countless sections have collapsed. Naturally, it's impossible to explore each path manually. Elder Imyu's insects once again proved invaluable, saving them a great deal of effort in the exploration.

After releasing countless tiny insects and receiving feedback, he drew a rough map of the mine.

The insects also confirmed that there were a large number of Skeleton Monster underground, and that there was another huge space about three thousand meters deeper.

Having obtained this intelligence, Rein and his team naturally decided to go down there.

However, the mine shaft is only about 1.5 meters high, which is not ideal for Kolman Warrior who are generally around 3 meters tall.

Finally, Kolman Warrior remained on the surface to keep watch, while Rein, Bazel, Tuster, and Ymir and her men went into the mine.

The air in the mine was thick with the earthy smell and slightly murky. Everyone wore gas masks and dared not use open flames, instead lighting up magical light sources.

Along the way, we encountered quite a few Skeleton Monster and some cave lizards and other magical beasts, but they weren't much of a threat.

The High-tier Extraordinary responsible for clearing the way also easily cleaned it up.

Apart from the occasional skeletal hand suddenly emerging from the hard mud on the ground and grabbing someone's ankle, giving them a fright, there was nothing else that could be called an accident.

The magic lamp illuminated a corner of the dark mine, reflecting a metallic sheen onto the walls—it was a rich iron ore deposit.

There are still some traces of mine cart tracks on the ground, but due to the passage of time, they have been corroded and only two deep indentations remain.

The underground was eerily quiet.

There were fluorescent markers left by scouts in the tunnel, and all threats and obstacles had been cleared away.

The deeper they went underground, the lower the oxidation level of the little skeletons became. Rein collected some complete skeletons, intending to take them back to his teacher, Ilubeck, for research.

Tuster descended the mine, constantly tapping and knocking on the surface, taking samples of the ore, hoping to find something.

Everyone had grown accustomed to the clear, ringing sound—a sound crisper than striking rock, yet slightly duller than striking metal. It echoed far and wide in the utterly silent underground mine.

Suddenly, as he walked along, Old Man Tuster noticed something while tapping off another piece of ore sample, and he exclaimed softly, "Wait!"

"What's wrong, Grandpa Tuster?" Rein asked.

Both he and Ymir turned to look at Tuster behind them, and when they saw the old man's eyes burning with what seemed like a raging fire, they vaguely guessed what was going on.

Grandpa Tuster held a piece of ore in his hand and examined it carefully with a magnifying glass. His expression grew increasingly excited. "Hahahaha! Sure enough! This is no ordinary iron ore layer, but 'Godblood Ore'!"

Upon hearing this, Rein and Ymir exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with joy.

They were right; there was a "Godblood Ore" in the Karatva Basin!

Tuster couldn't hide his excitement. He shone a light source on the ore in his hand and excitedly introduced it, "Do you see that? It really is 'Godblood Ore'! Legend has it that the blood streaks on it are formed by the blood of gods staining the iron ore layer."

When Rein looked, he saw that it was indeed the case.

On the dark iron ore reflecting a metallic luster, one could actually see red veins that looked like capillaries, which looked rather eerie, as if the ore were the petrified flesh and blood of some kind of creature.

"This piece of ore is only about 'Grade 2' in purity, and can yield approximately two grams of [Angelas Black Iron]. But on the black market, it will definitely be a hot commodity among alchemists!"

Tuster, his face flushed, said, "And this is just a piece I randomly chipped off from the mine wall! Do you know what that means?"

Rein had never seen the old man so excited before.

Before anyone could answer, Old Master Tuster, as if he had discovered a priceless treasure, exclaimed urgently, "This also means that this is still the surface layer of inferior ore, which is why those ancient civilizations didn't mine it! Somewhere in this mine, there must be a 'rich ore layer' with even higher purity!"

"This!"

Upon hearing this, both Rein and Ymir became excited.

The old man had already explained to them the super performance of the [Angelas Black Iron]. Not to mention its incredible value, if it were used to forge their Black Dragon City Steam Airship, it would definitely create a super airship!

Along their journey, they collected quite a few black iron shields, but even with so many shields, they couldn't meet the enormous demand for forging a mechanical airship.

But if there were a "Godblood Ore," it would be a different story!

The fact that ancient humans could use this metal so extravagantly to forge shields means that the reserves of "Godblood Ore" in this mine reached an astonishing level!

Before, it was just a suspicion, but now the ore is right in front of us. How can this not be exciting?

Looking at this dark mine now, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a pure gold mine. Even the inferior ore with high impurities is worth far more than you can imagine!

As he spoke, old man Tuster could no longer contain his excitement, urging, "Let's go! We need to go down and take a look; the blood vessels on the ore below will definitely become denser and denser."

Upon hearing this, the group decisively increased their speed of descent.

As they descended, they encountered more and more fragments of the skeleton.

Rein was also very curious about what race these little skeletons, which looked a bit like the big-headed aliens from his previous life, were.

As he walked, he kept asking, "Grandpa Tuster, have you identified the race of these ancient civilization's remains?"

"Look at this skeleton. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a 'goblin' from a mythical civilization."

Tuster's tone also sounded slightly uncertain.

He then explained his reasoning for this conclusion, "Dwarves in mythology are skilled in forging and possess great strength, so their bones would be very large. If they were dwarves or hobbits, their bone proportions would be similar to humans. But the skulls of the skeletons in this mine are disproportionately large, which would probably only fit the description of the wise and cunning 'goblins' of legend."

Upon hearing this keyword, the Mind Core Rein projected various descriptions of "goblins" from different ancient texts.

Goblins: A unique race in mythology, short in stature, greedy, cunning, and extremely intelligent. Legend has it that they used their wisdom to create the two great disciplines of "engineering" and "alchemy," and prefer to live in dark, sunless mines.

Seeing this, Rein also vaguely felt that Tuster's guess, all the signs indicated that these shield skeletons might really be "goblins"!

He asked in surprise, "You mean the goblins, the founding race of alchemy, from the post-mythological era?"

Tuster nodded, but then corrected him with the meticulousness of a mechanic. "It's unlikely to be goblins from the mythical era. After all, that time is too far removed, and even if there are ruins, they couldn't be preserved so well. The most likely possibility is that they are a lineage of goblin bloodlines that have survived in this wasteland, just like us."

After a pause, the old man continued, "In the realm of ancient alchemists, the revered founder of alchemy, 'Ajitai,' was indeed a mythical goblin. Moreover, judging from the current situation, this shield might truly be forged by a goblin! Because [Angelas Black Iron] cannot be refined using ordinary smelting methods; only Ancient Alchemy can melt this special metal."

Listen, Rein seemed to be deep in thought.

The farther away from the ground, the better the ancient ruins underground are preserved.

Decaying mine carts began to appear in the mine pit, and the two dents on the ground gradually turned into complete rusted tracks.

As if to confirm Tuster's conjecture, more and more complete artifacts appeared on the skeletons: shields, pottery jars, weapons, ornaments, and even tattered animal skin clothing.

These ancient artifacts feature a large number of symbols, totems, and characters characteristic of ancient civilizations.

All signs indicate that this truly is a Goblin Civilization has vanished into the dust!

Ding, ding, ding

He chipped another piece of ore from the rock wall, estimated its purity and reserves, and Tuster's laughter echoed throughout the mine.

"Hahaha, just as I thought. The deeper we go, the higher the purity of the 'Godblood Ore,' and it's already reached 'Grade 20'—an ultra-high purity ore that's never appeared in the black market before! The reserves in this layer are definitely enough for us to refine enough [Angelas Black Iron] to forge the armor of our mechanical airships. We can even... build a batch of super single-soldier mechs!"

The old man looks like he's "gone mad".

Throughout the journey, the excitement on his face never faded; he was as exhilarated as if he had been given a stimulant.

If this were before the poison hadn't been neutralized, Rein would have been afraid that the old man would just laugh it off.

But now, even the city lord, Rein, is incredibly happy!

Even Ymir, standing beside him, never lost the joy on her pretty face.

This expedition not only yielded her exclusive "Divine Power Crystal," solidifying her advancement to Legendary status, but also led to the discovery of a massive "Godblood Ore," crucial for the future development of Black Dragon City.

And an even bigger surprise is yet to come!

Just as they descended to a depth of three thousand meters, the thieves clearing the way ahead suddenly brought good news: the huge space that the insects had previously detected was actually a complete Goblin City!