Annihilation (1)

In the days that followed, Ang continued to disguise himself as "Serl" and integrate into life in the canyon.

The canyon's climate was cold and damp, with enormous temperature differences between day and night. The air was perpetually filled with a faint scent of ore and fluctuations of magic power.

Every day, he patrolled and trained according to routine. There was not the slightest flaw in his behavior, and like the other Dark Knight Reserves, he lived a dull but orderly life.

He did not devote all his energy to keeping up appearances.

Instead, Ang took every opportunity to gather intelligence, constantly watching for abnormal movement in the canyon.

He paid particular attention to the hooded mages in black cloaks—they came and went frequently, always silently disappearing into the mine tunnel at the Northern End of the Canyon.

After several attempts at probing, Ang finally slipped into the mine tunnel at night to investigate.

The mine tunnel was deep and narrow. The mineral veins along the cliff walls were silver-gray, gleaming with a soft blue light beneath the illumination.

Ang pinched up a small amount of mineral dust with his fingers and sniffed it lightly, confirming that it was precious mithril.

After roughly estimating the reserves, he concluded there were no more than fifteen thousand pounds. That was not much for a large organization, but for an underground organization like the Black Magic Society, which desperately craved rare magic materials, it was an extremely valuable strategic resource.

No wonder those hooded mages came and went as frequently as marketgoers.

Not long after, Steven Brill fulfilled his promise—the Dark Knight positions were finally settled.

That day, dust swirled at the Canyon Entrance as a team of six mages entered the valley.

They wore Deep Purple Robes, and the patterns on their