The Magic Crystal Mine

"Captain, you're right."

Once he had calmed down, Yasuo felt a little discouraged. He had only started training his body at sixteen, yet by twenty-one he had reached the strength of a Level 2 Warrior. If he had started cultivating as a child, he might have reached Level 4 or even Level 5 by now—but that was only an ideal scenario.

The reality was that he was just an ordinary Level 2 Warrior.

Even if he filled his coffers with gold and silver, if he couldn't leave the Sky Wind Kingdom, then no amount of wealth would mean anything.

An annual expense of ten or twenty thousand gold coins might seem small, but an ordinary family spent only a dozen or so gold coins a year. He was just one person, so his expenses were even lower.

"Reporting!"

"Your Excellency, a Magic Crystal vein has been discovered in the northeast of the kingdom."

"Has the report been confirmed?"

"Rest assured, Your Excellency. After the Geological Survey Team reported it, we sent a small number of troops to verify it. It has been confirmed: it's a large Magic Crystal vein."

Inside the City Lord's Mansion, Luo had grown a little plump. A few years of life in power had completely transformed his status. Luo was a sensible man who knew the true source of it all, and his reverence for the king, who rarely showed himself, had only grown.

"Lord Luo, since this is true, let me report it to the king."

A burly man beside Luo quickly spoke up.

"How can I let Brother Kevin run this errand? I'll go instead," said a blond man standing beside the burly Kevin.

The two men were now the commanders of the Sky Wind Kingdom's two great legions. They were also Level 9 powerhouses who had defected from the Chaotic Territory over the past few years.

The burly Kevin and the blond Arthur had both once been renowned Level 9 powerhouses. They were both mid-Level 9 Warriors.

Their reason for joining the Sky Wind Kingdom was simple: they wanted protection.

People had different levels of talent. Some reached mid-Level 9 at the peak of their lives and could still progress further. Others spent more than a century after reaching Level 9 just barely making it to the middle stage. Kevin and Arthur both belonged to the latter group.

Saint Realm powerhouses could gain eternal life, but Kevin and Arthur had already been at Level 9 for over two hundred years. Perhaps they had still harbored such ambitions a century ago, but now a peaceful life mattered most.

"I should go. After all, you're in charge of the City Guard." Kevin naturally wasn't about to pass up the chance to run this errand. There was only one level between Level 9 and the Saint Realm, but the difference in status was like night and day. Opportunities to meet a Saint Realm powerhouse were rare, and Kevin wasn't about to let this one slip by.

"This... All right." The blond Arthur had wanted to insist, but then he remembered that he was in charge of the City Guard while Kevin commanded the Pioneer Army. Their positions in the military were different, and he had no compelling reason to claim the chance to go.

As for Luo, he hadn't spoken since receiving the news. In recent years, he had become the person closest in status to the monarch, but his strength was only at Level 4. Even if he had been given the chance, he wouldn't have been confident he could safely deliver the news to the monarch.

On a mountain thousands of meters tall, Kevin was hurrying along a mountain path. He crossed dense woods and followed a river for an entire day before finally reaching Carl's cultivation retreat.

"Your Majesty." Kevin knelt on one knee, his voice filled with respect.

The cultivation retreat was a lake at the end of a stream. In the middle of the lake stood a small stone house on a raised patch of rock. Carl was sitting cross-legged outside it. He only opened his eyes when he heard Kevin's voice.

"Kevin, what is it? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Carl had sensed Kevin's presence with his Mental Power from far away. The fact that he had arrived so quickly meant he must have run here at full speed.

"Your Majesty, good news. A Magic Crystal vein has been found in the northeast of the kingdom."

"A Magic Crystal mine?" Carl's eyes lit up. He quickly stood, and in the next instant he was beside Kevin.

"Get up first. Tell me how large the vein is," Carl asked.

"Your Majesty, it's a large vein. Based on the survey so far, it covers at least nearly a thousand meters. That's only from surveying the surface; if we keep digging, the vein could grow by several dozen percent."

Kevin answered plainly. He was just a messenger, and after several hundred years in the profession, he had learned a thing or two about the art of speaking. From what he knew about Magic Crystals, a vein could only form where pure magic power gathered, and it also required a long-term energy supply to temper ordinary stones into Magic Crystals containing magic power.

But Carl knew far more about Magic Crystals than Kevin did. Their formation required the accumulation of the energy of various elements over countless years. Magic Crystals were the embodiment of elemental energy. Even discovering a vein stretching just over a dozen meters would be a considerable fortune. When Kevin said it was at least a thousand meters long, Carl couldn't help thinking that he had finally found the right place.

Guided by Kevin, Carl found that his cultivation retreat was only a little over four hundred li from the Magic Crystal discovery site. For Carl, a Peak Saint Realm powerhouse, covering that distance would take less time than drinking a cup of tea.

Carrying Kevin, Carl soon arrived at the Magic Crystal vein, where troops had already set up camp.

After news of the vein reached him, Luo, the kingdom's chief steward, had immediately taken control of those who had carried the message. Everyone from top to bottom had been confined in the Royal Palace. Only after the news had been sealed off did he send three thousand elite soldiers to guard the site.

Carl hadn't even landed yet when he saw a leader in armor hurry out from the heavily guarded area below.

"Your Majesty, Lord Kevin."

The leader was only a Level 6 Warrior and served as the commander of this elite unit. Though his men were elite, his Level 6 strength was clearly not enough to earn him an audience with Carl, so he didn't recognize him. But if someone could carry his immediate superior's own superior in his hand, and that superior didn't resist at all, then who else in the entire Sky Wind Kingdom could do that?

The leader might have lacked strength, but he was quick-witted. He immediately bowed.

"Get up. Take me to the vein."

Carl waved his hand.

With the leader in front, everyone present recognized that the two men behind him included one of the kingdom's legion commanders, one of the two most powerful figures in the kingdom. As for the other, he was the legendary founder of the kingdom, the Saint Realm powerhouse Karl Talos.

At the edge of the vein, Carl saw clear signs that it had been concealed. The elite troops' training camp was set up around the perimeter. They were obviously using the excuse of guarding the site to train the army. Otherwise, the sudden appearance of three thousand elite soldiers here would have posed a threat on par with a Level 7 Warrior.