To the Great Mine

Most of the people who had been there earlier had already left, though a few vagrants and prospectors still remained.

Some had already known Jing Yan, while others stayed because they figured they had no reason to hold a grudge against anyone present.

"What happened? Mr. Svarog was defeated by him?"

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

Another person chimed in, "That guy... Why do I remember him as a doctor from Natasha's Clinic in Boulder Town?"

"When did he get so strong?"

Jing Yan said nothing.

"Let's go check on the mine." Jing Yan gave an order to the Mechanical Vanguard from the Robot Settlement, led by Svarog.

Next, aside from those who already had vagrants as their owners, the rest followed Jing Yan toward the mining area southwest of Boulder Town.

Beside him, March 7th and Stelle were also stunned.

Dan Heng had only just arrived, having gotten lost while following them from Boulder Town. He reached the entrance to the vagrants' main camp in the Robot Settlement.

When he saw Jing Yan, March 7th, Stelle, and Svarog and the other mechanical creations beside them, he froze.

"What is this...?"

Dan Heng was momentarily at a loss. He couldn't understand why he had only spent a while wandering around the Underworld, yet had returned to find this scene.

Had they already formed a rebel army?!

But when he looked at Jing Yan, he felt that the mysterious aura around him had grown even deeper. His confusion gave way to a sudden realization.

Jing Yan noticed something unusual about him and froze as well.

After thinking it over, he more or less understood what was going on, but didn't say anything.

Clara asked, "Sir, what's wrong? Do you have a headache?"

"I'm fine." Dan Heng shook his head.

Jing Yan knew that Dan Heng had once been Imbibitor Lunae in a previous life. Imbibitor Lunae had been a member of the Vidyadhara and the previous general of the Xianzhou Luofu.

It was only after reincarnating that he lost his dragon-like features.

But it was entirely possible that he would awaken his powers again in the future.

So it was only natural that his senses were sharper, bolstered by the power and bloodline from his previous life.

"All right, this is still pretty efficient." Jing Yan glanced at the Mechanical Vanguard behind him.

In the current situation, the most important thing needed to stand against Cocolia was strength.

In other words, divine power.

Stelle had relied on the power of the Stellaron inside her, as well as the power of the Preservation, to defeat Cocolia.

And even so, no one aboard the Astral Express—not even Herta, the manager of Herta Space Station and a member of the Genius Society—had found a better way to deal with the Stellaron than sealing it away.

But Jing Yan aimed to devour it, transforming its power of Destruction into his own.

So right now, he needed even more strength.

At the very least, he needed a day to take care of the relevant matters.

But...

Before that, he had other ways to gain strength.

One was to increase other people's favorability toward him; the other was to obtain Belobog's treasure chests and other resources.

In this world's power system, there was an item called a Relic. Anyone could gain a boost in power by wearing one.

There were also some valuable supplies in the city, materials from Fragmentum Creatures, and Warp Trotters that could produce Stellar Jade.

As for whether he could devour the Stellaron, Jing Yan wasn't sure yet. That was something he would try after defeating Cocolia. For now, he wanted to make use of everyone he could to solve the problem and obtain the resources he wanted.

Natasha, the leader behind the Underworld Fire; Seele, the Underworld Fire's strongest fighter; and the Robot Settlement—all of them now counted as forces under his command.

And now, he was heading for the Great Mine.

Of course, there was another reason he was doing this: he wanted to become something like a leader.

If everyone recognized his central role in what was happening, it would help increase their favorability toward him.

Naturally, this wasn't ordinary favorability, but something on another level.

The Great Mine.

Seele was fighting a Stagnant Shadow.

It was a strange phenomenon formed after the Fragmentum invaded.

The shadows of powerful Fragmentum Monsters had appeared, frozen on the ground.

If left alone, they wouldn't move.

But if someone touched one, the Fragmentum Monster within would awaken.

Compared with Fragmentum Monsters elsewhere, the creatures inside the Stagnant Shadows seemed even stronger. The surrounding area had a bizarre, dreamlike quality—the energy of the Fragmentum.

When fighting them, one could feel the Fragmentum energy empowering them.

There was another problem, too. Even if someone managed to defeat the Fragmentum Monster inside the Stagnant Shadow, unless the area was secured and sealed off, another Fragmentum Monster would still emerge the next time someone touched it.

At that moment, in the Great Mine,

Seele had just blocked an attack from the Fragmentum Monster known as the Burning Wanderer with her scythe. But its massive blade fragments of red crystal, radiating scorching heat, struck her and burned holes in her clothes, leaving a series of small wounds.

Seele still refused to back down and fought on with all her might.

But several other Fragmentum Monsters charged at her as well. One, a Fire-Burning Disaster Shadow that looked like a Silvermane Guard engulfed in flames, swung an axe with a blade like glowing magma toward her back.

Relying on her keen hearing, Seele swiftly dodged with a burst of speed. But then a Thunder-Echoing Creature appeared, flapping its wings as it darted toward her.

Seele turned her body into a quantum form and passed straight through, evading the attack.

"Damn it!"

"What the hell is this place?!"

Seele couldn't help cursing.

She normally wouldn't have feared fighting so many monsters at once. But the strange Fragmentum energy in the area was making her dizzy and uncomfortable while also empowering the monsters. As a result, the battle wasn't going smoothly; what should have been an easy fight had dragged on for several extra minutes.

By then, Jing Yan and the others had arrived at the entrance to the Great Mine.

Things were just as chaotic here.

The Fragmentum invasion, along with the discovery of a small, previously unknown vein, had made this a potential gold mine for whoever claimed it.

But the mine had been discovered by a miner who had little influence, so the vagrants who came here wanted to take it over.

As the Underworld Fire was busy dealing with the Fragmentum disaster, its people hadn't come to intervene, leaving the area temporarily lawless.

But when the people saw Jing Yan appear, they all froze.

Jing Yan turned to look down into the enormous mine and spotted Seele fighting a Stagnant Shadow.