74 Mine
Upon hearing that the news was about the Dark Descendant, Qiyana's eye twitched slightly.
For Qiyana... or rather, for the scholars of Ixialia, the Dark Descendant are not some mysterious legend.
The royal archives contain records of the rise of the Ascended over six thousand years ago and the rebellion in Icathia three thousand years ago. In this context, although the Darkin War took place before the Classical Age, it is only a little over a thousand years ago.
Not only in books, but even in some well-preserved record crystals, one can see the terrifying scene of the Dark Descendant fighting each other, a scene that blots out the sky.
Mountains collapse, rivers flow backward...
And now...
Even Qiyana couldn't help but retort, "Why do I feel like you're a little too dangerous?"
"What's wrong?" Yuan Chen looked at Qiyana with a puzzled expression.
In response, Qiyana crossed her arms and said warily:
"When you first arrived in Ixialia, you dared to attempt Dragon Hunt. And now, less than two days after leaving Yishuaoken, you've already found a Dark Descendant Crystal, the remnant soul of an ancient warlord from the Rune Wars era. Now you're even eyeing another sealed Darkin Harp."
"If this isn't considered dangerous, then those Noxus barbarians are practically the Peacemaker of the world, deserving of welcome and cheers from all nations."
Noxus doesn't steal oil...
Well, it's hard to say. The main issue is that Noxus's industry hasn't taken off yet, and once it has, they can't afford to ignore it.
Thinking about it, Yuan Chen chuckled and then said easily, "So it's not bad, but what can we do? Even without me, someone else will activate them. Rather than passively waiting for those unexpected events, it's better to take the initiative and control it ourselves."
"You really are dangerous." Qiyana narrowed her eyes, speaking with a hint of sarcasm, "For the sake of Runeterra, leaving you in the isolated Ixialia might be the best option."
"Hey, hey, hey, this joke isn't funny at all."
"I rarely joke." Qiyana didn't answer directly, but changed the subject. "About Ne'Zuk ... what are you going to do with that Dark Descendant Crystal?"
Upon hearing Qiyana's question, Yuan Chen nodded thoughtfully.
"The Dark Descendant... or rather, the Ascended, may possess power far exceeding that of humans, but their essence remains life. If physical contact is made, even in a state of slumber, Ne'Zuk's power will seize control of the body that comes into contact."
"Activating it under the current circumstances is unlikely. Let's keep it for now and try to awaken Ne'Zuk's consciousness separately when the opportunity arises."
Yuan Chen shook his head helplessly. "Otherwise, even if Ne'Zuk's power is reduced to less than one-tenth due to the initial revival, his powerful magic would still be enough to teleport him beyond our sight and perception..."
Upon hearing this, Qiyana nodded in agreement.
Despite her pride, assertiveness, and even sometimes inappropriate arrogance, one thing is undeniable: Qiyana is a true master of Elemental Magic.
In addition, having read extensively, Qiyana was well aware of the danger posed by the Dark Descendant... In the corners of history, there have been several horrific massacres caused by the awakening of the Dark Descendant.
"So where do we go next?"
"Mining area."
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Qiyana's eyes flashed with disgust. "That's perfect... Piltover's nouveau riche need a lesson from the elements of nature!"
With that, Yuan Chen, Qiyana, the Road Protector, the accompanying scholars, Milio, and others set off in a grand procession toward the Piltover mining area.
Although it's called a mining area, it's actually the Primordial Jungle located on the Kumungu Mountains behind Ixialia. During the Shurima Empire era, the Kumungu Mountains were Ixialia territory.
However, with the subsequent Darkin War and a series of other calamities, Ixialia shrank its territory.
This land is now jointly developed by various factions including Piltover, Zaun, and Noxus, making them the de facto owners. But that doesn't matter, because legally, Ixialia has enough grounds to say to them, "Since ancient times."
Well, Yuan Chen didn't actually plan to bring Milio along at first, but Milio's life had been really miserable lately.
Unlike Yuan Chen, who is Milio's nominal teacher, and whose remarks about reform and opening up the country have put Yuan Chen and Qiyana in the eye of the storm, debating with scholars of all ages every day, receiving both praise and refutation.
But Milio is completely different, as a walking, talking figure with a large number of SCI papers. Milio is considered by almost all schools of Yuan Chu Axiom thought to be a wedge that expands the boundaries of Yuan Chu Axiom to include more possibilities.
Because Milio has successfully made the flame exhibit properties that are completely different from, even diametrically opposed to, those in the Yuan Chu Axiom.
Although this made Milio feel fulfilled, after a month of this, the boyish Milio was exhausted... Compared to academics, at only twelve years old, the young Milio longed for magical adventures.
Unable to resist Milio's persistent pleading—mainly because he recalled the frustrations he had experienced in his previous life while struggling in the sea of knowledge— Yuan Chen took Milio with him to Piltover.
As for scholars and such... needless to say.
In the original storyline, Qiyana pleaded with her parents to drive out the invaders who were destructively exploiting natural resources. After King Yuen refused, Qiyana went alone and slaughtered everyone in the mining area, leaving only one survivor to return and deliver a message.
Well, Qiyana has never been one to show mercy. If it weren't for Yuan Chen's intervention, given Qiyana's strong personality, the nine sisters who stood in her way to becoming queen might have ended up like Azir's nine brothers.
It becomes a tragedy, nine unexpected events, and a miracle called the ascension of the last son to the throne.
But for Yuan Chen, killing and fighting are always the least efficient and most uncontrollable means and methods. Since he knows so much secret information, not making good use of this information gap would be a waste of his talent and ability.
On the other side, in the mining area.
Miners from Piltover are working hard at the intersection of the Kumungu Mountains and Kalduga Mountains.
It's not entirely accurate to say they were miners in Piltover, because while Piltover explored, established, and transported and sold the mined materials, they weren't the ones who actually collected them.
In reality, the miners who actually engage in mineral mining, or rather, the miners who go down into the mines to perform dangerous and exhausting labor, are all from the lower classes of Zaun.
Right now, inside the mine, tunnel foreman Hewitt is angrily pounding on the stone wall in front of him with his mechanized prosthetic limbs.
The stone wall was enormous, as if it had been carefully restored. Despite its smoothness, the rough surface of the wall had a warm feel to it, and the color of the rock was a strange tea-brown, completely different from the other mine stones.
Accompanied by the clanging of metal from the mechanical prosthetics, Hewitt, somewhat annoyed, shouted in his distinctive Zaun dialect:
"What the hell is this? It wasn't here yesterday, how did a wall suddenly appear?"
As he spoke, Hewitt looked behind him at the miners sitting on the ground, who seemed to have just finished a round of work.
The dusty, disheveled miners simply sat down on the ground, their faces weary.
Beside these miners were numerous gold-refining rigs, pneumatic picks, and boxes of Hextech explosives.
Under normal circumstances, they should be busy breaking through the soil and quarrying the Hextech Gemstone hidden within the vein.
Hextech Gemstone can be refined to produce Hex Crystal, and the refined Hex Crystal are of higher quality and purity than synthetic Hex Crystal.
Of course, Hextech Gemstone is Hextech Gemstone, and Primal Hex Crystal is Primal Hex Crystal. The former is a large accumulation of solidified magic, while the latter is a rare treasure that can affect time and space under certain circumstances. The two should not be confused.
Hextech Gemstone appear in areas with abundant mana—and in terms of mana abundance, only eastern Shurima in the entire Runeterra can rival Ixialia in this era.
Inside the tunnels, the miners had no work to do; they just sat there, utterly exhausted, as if they didn't even care about their wages.
"It's no use, boss!" A man from Zaun wearing a crudely made breathing filter shouted in a voice already hoarse from the poison:
"We've tried! We've already worn out three drill bits from the alchemy drill! And this stone wall doesn't even have a scratch! The explosives too, and I still have tinnitus!"
Hearing the words of the man from Zaun, the foreman Hewitt, said with some envy, "Damn it! This lousy tunnel! My prosthetic loan is still outstanding!"
With that, Hewitt turned and walked out. "I'm going to find the Piltover guys and get a prospector. You guys wait a minute..."
Before Hewitt could finish speaking, the work bell hanging above the tunnel, connected to a pulley system by a rope, suddenly rang urgently.
The work bell rings to signal the start and end of the workday. But the work bell for starting work just rang recently.
"Damn it! Something's happened!" Hewitt spat on the ground and roared, "Something's happened at the mine! Get out of there! The mine might collapse!"
Upon hearing this, the miners, who had been resting wearily on the ground, disregarded everything else and scrambled to their feet, running outside—for miners anywhere, a mine collapse is the most terrifying nightmare.
However, they did not find anything unusual about the mine until they arrived at the entrance.
Instead, upon reaching the ground, they immediately saw Piltover's security officers gathered together in terror, a dozen of them aiming their rifles and other firearms at the gate.
Standing outside the door, Yuan Chen calmly maneuvered his blazing flying blades, slicing the iron door into pieces.