Chapter 76
The mine number seven was a Blood Stone mine that was located deeper than the deepest mission site.
The most abundant resource in that place was a unique mineral called a ‘Blood Stone’. By itself, a Blood Stone didn’t have much use, but it was frequently used as a catalyst in all kinds of magical experiments. The powdered form of Blood Stone was highly sought after in the black market, since it purified and extracted magical medicine.
However, apparently, the training camp wasn’t looking for Blood Stones. The ambush planned by Kevin’s team was actually for the gem that accompanied Blood Stones: the Blood Garnet. As a kind of gem, once Blood Garnets were given to Master Jewelers, they were modified into all sorts of magical accessories. The jewelers did everything possible to draw out the mysterious energy contained inside of the gem, which provided the magical accessories with marvelous power.
For example, the Resuscitate Earring which Greem had found previously was crafted from Deep Peridot, which was another kind of magical gem.
Blood Stone, even if it was only the elementary Blood Stone that went through the initial extraction, would sell for 10 magic crystals per kilogram in the black market. In order to become rich by trading it, the elite apprentices of the training camp would have to hire a large group of underground merchants. Only then could they carry them away.
The accompanying gem, Blood Garnet, was only the size of an egg, but was sought after by swarms of merchants and Adept families, who were willing to purchase it at the price of 200 magic crystals per kilogram. So, after evaluating the profit, Hulk decided to launch an ambush to the mine number seven and set their goal as looting the Blood Garnet supply, which had been stockpiled for nearly half a month, but not the overly heavy and cheap Blood Stone.
In the past, the battle of the Underground World was more like a chess game.
The resource sites and mines occupied by both parties were almost fixed, and both parties had a clear understanding of each other’s overall strength. Therefore, it was like ‘you brought your team and ambushed one of my resource sites today, tomorrow I’ll bring my men and ambush your team on their way back.’ The roles switched sides every time and both parties fought savagely in the dark underground tunnels, shedding blood like water.
The rest of Kevin’s team members hadn’t arrived, so working together, Greem and Mary started to put their capabilities to use and investigate the situation surrounding the mine.
Greem worked as transportation by using Demon Alligator Hunter’s ability to travel under the ground and send Mary into the mine. Mary transformed into a bloodsucking bat that flew without noise and surveyed the entire mine without alerting anybody. Surprisingly, Mary, who flew around openly, even noted down every single tunnel, miner, and the position of every defending team of Fallen Apprentice Adepts, and she stored the information into a crystal ball.
When Kevin and the other five team members arrived at their secret rendezvous point, they were greeted by this extremely accurate three-dimensional image of the mine.
The miners were all comprised of Ratmen, and there were more than two hundred of them within the entire mine number seven. Meanwhile, the defending force was made up of seventeen underground mercenaries and six Fallen Apprentice Adepts. During the battle, the Ratmen would never get involved, so they only needed to consider the defending force in their plan.
After all, for the Ratmen, no matter who controlled the mine, would always obey commands. So long they were provided with sufficient food every day, they didn’t care who they served!
Staring at the panoramic image of the mine pit provided by the two new recruits, Kevin couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his back.
Greem’s ability was a total cheat. In the Underground World, so long as a place wasn’t protected by any magical arrays, he would be able to infiltrate it in a way that was nearly impossible to guard against. Mary’s ability of Bat Morphing made her able to come and go like a shadow, as no one could be on guard against a cold-blooded creature who could roam freely on the cavern ceiling. Through the infrared vision and life force sensing ability of the vampire, any arrangement of the enemy was transparent.
With these two new recruits in a team, if the opponent didn’t have a way to guard against them, they could even find out what color underwear their opponent was wearing!