Chapter 109: Mithril Ore

Chapter 109: Mithril Ore

Though liquid silver stone was highly toxic,

for iron-eating ants it served as a precious resource that accelerated their growth.

The golden anteater, which fed on these ants, feared no poison of the silver stone.

Yet the golden anteater could not directly consume the ore itself.

Li Wei gazed into the distance. The liquid silver stone emitted a faint white glow, casting a dim luminescence across the cavern.

His vision stretched about ten meters ahead.

Beyond that lay only darkness, impenetrable and deep.

Occasional flickers of magical radiance signaled the presence of others nearby.

He stepped to the edge of the stone platform and looked down.

Five or six meters below, a lake of piled-up liquid silver stone shimmered like molten mercury.

A fall would mean certain doom.

No wonder few traveled this path—there was no way forward in the end.

Li Wei climbed onto the back of the golden anteater, gripping tightly to the wiry fur along its sides.

His Shadow Servant extended part of his power, anchoring Li Wei firmly in place.

The golden anteater extended its hook-like claws and began scaling the nearly vertical rock face.

Slower than walking on flat ground, yet as steady as a mountain,

showing no sign of slipping or falling.

Li Wei could have flown, but unless absolutely necessary, he would not reveal his flight ability so easily.

Flight via telekinesis was his trump card, his ultimate secret.

Besides, in an underground mine like this, aerial advantage was greatly diminished.

Flying offered little benefit here.

After climbing dozens of meters along the cliffside, the golden anteater finally spotted solid ground.

Thud!

It leapt down. Li Wei shook himself, then rolled off its back.

Shh-shh-shh!

Several iron-eating ants detected his presence and approached.

Whoosh!

The golden anteater’s tongue lashed out, snatching all the approaching ants in one sweep.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

Crisp and crackling—tastes like chicken!

Li Wei had heard that iron-eating ant corpses could be sold for good coin.

Their bodies contained a special biometal, several times stronger than ordinary iron or copper,

ideal for forging high-grade weapons and armor.

But it required vast numbers—an army of hundreds, even thousands.

If he possessed a spatial ring, he might consider gathering them.

Now, better to let the golden anteater devour them all.

Shh-shh-shh!

More and more iron-eating ants emerged around him.

Li Wei watched as they crawled out from within the silvery lake of liquid silver stone.

The golden anteater swung its tongue ceaselessly, swallowing ant after ant.

Even elephants fall to swarms of ants.

Li Wei ordered the Shadow Servant to clear a path—they needed to leave this perilous zone.

They were too close to the silver stone lake; beneath it might lie the very nest of the swarm.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ahead, torchlight flickered into view.

A group advanced together, hunting iron-eating ants.

The ants were small, making them difficult prey.

Shh-shh-shh!

"Watch out! First-rank iron-eating ant!"

Li Wei turned. From the shadows emerged a blackish-red ant over half a meter long.

Fist-sized ones were zero-rank.

This first-rank ant charged toward the group, trailed by a horde of smaller, irregularly sized zero-ranks.

Clang!

Swords and blades struck the ant’s body, sending sparks flying.

Its shell was as hard as forged steel.

But the first-rank ant was far more terrifying!

Snap!

Its mandibles clamped shut, shearing through a fine steel sword.

The warrior with the broken blade hastily retreated.

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

Arrows flew, striking the first-rank ant.

Arrowheads scraped against chitin, showering sparks.

The attacks barely left a mark.

"Move aside!"

"Mountain-Splitting Slash!"

A burst of battle aura erupted.

Weapons infused with qi unleashed astonishing force.

One mighty strike severed half the ant’s fang.

The blade plunged into its maw—blood gushed, splattering in crimson arcs.

The iron-eating ant let out a miserable shriek. "Chichi-chih!"

The crowd pressed their advantage, surrounding it and launching personal assaults from the flanks.

Clang, clang, clang!

Under the joint siege of the group, the first-tier iron-eating ant was gradually dismembered.

Crack!

A sharp magical longsword pierced the iron-eating ant's skull, killing it once and for all.

Joining forces in a bitter struggle, the group had finally slain the first-tier iron-eating ant.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

The rustling sound of moving iron-eating ants echoed through the air.

The crowd turned their heads to look, their faces turning pale with shock.

Three first-tier iron-eating ants approached, already encircling the group.

To deal with just one first-tier iron-eating ant, several of them had already exhausted all their strength.

Faced with a siege by three iron-eating ants, they were on the brink of death.

Just as the group prepared to abandon their spoils of war and flee.

Suddenly, one of the first-tier iron-eating ants collapsed.

With a whooshing sound, it was dragged back into the darkness.

Immediately afterward, the sound of crunching and chewing echoed from the shadows.

The crowd looked toward the direction of the noise, their faces filled with horror.

What kind of creature could instantly kill a first-tier iron-eating ant?

Thud, thud, thud.

A golden anteater emerged into the group's field of vision.

In its mouth, it held a first-tier iron-eating ant whose head had been crushed.

The crowd showed expressions of panic.

"A second-tier magical beast!"

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

The golden anteater devoured the iron-eating ant's head and tossed the corpse onto the ground.

As it looked toward the group, they instinctively took a step back.

A figure stepped out from behind the golden anteater.

"Hello there," Li Wei greeted them.

The group stared at him, their faces filled with utter disbelief.

How did this person dare to stand beside a magical beast? Was he not afraid of death?

One person in the team suddenly spoke up, "I remember now, I think I saw you back at the camp. Are you a summoner?"

Li Wei nodded and said, "I am a summoner traveling the world. My name is Teemo."

Hearing this, the crowd finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Scared me to death, I thought we were done for!"

"Brother, you are truly amazing, to actually be able to control a second-tier magical beast!"

"Stop chatting, it seems the iron-eating ants around us are increasing in number!"

Li Wei turned his head to look, and several more blurry silhouettes of first-tier iron-eating ants appeared in the distance.

At that height, they could certainly not be mistaken.

"Brother Teemo, let's move quickly. Something is wrong here today, the number of first-tier iron-eating ants has increased!"

The group hurriedly retreated.

With Li Wei by their side, they were no longer worried about the first-tier iron-eating ants nearby.

Seeming to perceive that the golden anteater was a natural enemy of the iron-eating ants.

The remaining two iron-eating ants stopped not far away, refusing to draw any closer.

Seeing this, the golden anteater extended its long tongue, piercing into the dead iron-eating ant's body.

The hollow tongue sprayed a super-acid, dissolving the iron-eating ant's internal organs.

With a slurping sound, the golden anteater sucked the iron-eating ant's organs completely clean.

Compared to the outer shell, the iron-eating ant's internal organs contained far richer and more nutritious elements.

Li Wei saw seven or eight first-tier iron-eating ants approaching, followed by a dense swarm of hundreds of tier-zero iron-eating ants behind them.

"Let's go."

The Shadow Servant controlled the golden anteater's body to turn and leave.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Brandishing its long tongue, it swept away the iron-eating ants blocking the path ahead.

Thud, thud, thud!

The sound of flowing silver stone hitting the ground echoed in the distance.

Li Wei turned his head to look, and saw a swarm of iron-eating ants carrying a massive boulder out from the flowing silver stone lake.

One corner of the ore gleamed with a deep silver light.

Straining his eyes to look closely, it was a piece of mithril!

A massive piece of mithril ore had appeared amidst the ant colony.

Li Wei was not the first one to discover it.

Someone else was even closer to the flowing silver stone lake than he was.

Blade was profoundly shocked when he saw the massive mithril ore inside the ant colony.

Snapping back to his senses, he shouted without a moment's hesitation, "Charge!"

(End of Chapter)