Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Chapter 26: The Competition
Everything in the territory belonged to the lord. Although his newly promulgated decree had already amended this point, the mineral resources were entirely his as the king.
Xi Wei was not displeased by Groin’s words.
Those with ability had the right to be arrogant. Just because he was a Master Blacksmith, even if he only forged a Semi-Artifact with the blessings of the gods, he could still be arrogant.
Similarly, arrogant people were easily provoked.
Xi Wei smiled slightly, placed the dazed Nina in front of him, and pressed her shoulders. He said to Groin dismissively:
“Respected Dwarf Master, this maid under my command can find ore veins extremely quickly. Perhaps I can really help you?”
“Her?”
Groin’s tone gradually rose.
His face became increasingly ugly, like a sky filled with dark clouds. The anger in his heart brewed like lightning, and the slightest good impression he had of the human lord before him vanished.
A mere maid helping him find ore—what was this if not an insult?
It was as if a brat had run up to him and told him his forging skills were crap, that even a child could do it.
Seeing that he had successfully stirred the dwarf’s emotions, a faint smile appeared on Xi Wei’s lips.
“Please don’t be angry. I have no intention of insulting you. Although what I said is indeed unbelievable, it is a fact.”
“How about this, shall we make a bet?”
Groin, with a somber face, remained silent, quietly watching the human lord’s performance. He had already tightly gripped the Eternal Hammer in his hand.
“If you find the ore vein before my maid, I will give you this ore vein. If my maid finds it first, you will serve me, and you can take whatever mineral resources from the ore vein you want. How about it?”
“Heh,”
Groin chuckled coldly, his thick gray beard twitching. His large nose, illuminated by the sunlight, resembled a reflective tomato.
“Human lord, is this your ultimate goal? But I will never serve humans. Besides, what does it matter to me whether your maid can find ore veins?”
“But I will still bet with you, for the honor of the dwarf race! Human!”
“If you lose, then take your ignorance and get out of my sight! If you win, I can forge a hero-grade weapon for you for free, and I’ll provide the materials!”
Xi Wei nodded upon hearing this and agreed.
This was already the dwarf’s bottom line. Too much or too little was not good; everything had to be done step by step.
Without any hesitation, in front of the dwarf, Xi Wei signaled Nina to use her ability.
Nina obediently complied. She placed her hands on the ground, closed her eyes, and frowned slightly. A yellowish-brown aura lit up on her body. A visible earthen halo spread out from her center and extended outward at an extremely fast speed.
In less than ten seconds, Nina opened her eyes and stood up, her small face showing a hint of joy. She reported with a desire for praise:
“Master! Nina has found the ore vein!”
Groin: “……【・_・?！】”
Xi Wei was also surprised by Nina’s efficiency. He had originally thought that activating the skill would take a while to see results, but he didn’t expect it to be so fast.
“Nina, where is the ore vein?”
“There are two locations: one underwater and one by the lake. I’ll take you to the one by the lake first. Master, please follow me.”
Nina said, then skipped ahead to lead the way.
Xi Wei and Ruo Yi followed closely behind her. Groin, with a look of contempt and doubt, also followed.
He had seen the yellowish-brown halo, but he did not believe it had anything to do with finding ore veins.
He followed to see what kind of tricks this human lord was up to.
Nina led everyone around Winter Lake for more than half a circle, finally arriving at the foot of a tall rock wall. Traces of gunpowder explosion were still present beneath this rock wall.
Before Nina could speak, Groin spoke first:
“Could it be that the ore vein you found is here? Then I’m sorry, I’ve already investigated this place. Do you see those traces of gunpowder? I blasted them, so there’s no way there’s an ore vein here.”
The dwarf shook his head, his tone full of certainty. He was now completely convinced that the human lord and his maid were just playing house.
Nina walked to the foot of the rock wall, in front of the traces of gunpowder, and observed carefully for a moment. She discovered that the dwarf had only blasted the surface of the rock and had not continued the explosion. If he had persisted and blasted another seven or eight meters down, he would have discovered the ore vein.
“This ore vein is at a depth of 16 meters underground. It’s not an open-pit or shallow ore vein, so you’ll need to dig deeper to find it.”
Nina explained.
However, she was not explaining this to the dwarf. Did it matter to her whether the dwarf believed it or not? Nina also had no good feelings for this arrogant and rude dwarf.
She had even heard before that dwarves, although stubborn, were a lawful and friendly race.
Now, it seemed they were just like that.
“16 meters? Impossible!”
Groin’s beard trembled as he questioned:
“After blasting through the surface, I observed the rock texture here. It’s very dense, and it’s all one type of rock stratum, clearly layered, with no signs of stitching or fracture.”
“This indicates that the rock stratum here formed at the same time. Therefore, even at a depth of tens of meters underground, it would still be such rock strata, and there couldn’t possibly be an ore vein.”
Xi Wei glanced at the dwarf and thought that perhaps this rock stratum hadn’t formed naturally but had fallen from the sky—it was a meteorite.
However, it was normal for the dwarf not to know this. After all, he had traveled from the South Continent across the Death Desert. He was unfamiliar with the place and naturally wouldn’t understand the story of Winter Lake if he didn’t deliberately inquire.
Xi Wei firmly believed his maid, Nina. Her skill was precisely for finding ore. The dwarf’s experience-based assertions were ultimately flawed.
Since the dwarf didn’t believe him, he would have to, regrettably, slap the dwarf’s face.
“Master Dwarf, please step back a bit. Whether my maid is telling the truth or not, I believe her, so let’s verify it.”
Groin pouted upon hearing this and took a few steps back indifferently. He felt that this human noble must have spent too much time among his maids, making him foolish.
Xi Wei signaled Ruo Yi to protect Nina and back away. Then, he drew the Conqueror’s Longsword from behind him. He poured all of his Qi into the sword body and gripped it with both hands, smashing it fiercely at the spot where the dwarf had previously blasted.
With a loud “boom,” crushed stones flew everywhere, dust billowed up, and the ground trembled slightly. The sound of falling rocks “crackling” could be heard all around.
Xi Wei used piercing force in this sword strike. The Qi Slash was directed downwards and concentrated, so it instantly carved out a deep pit. Only Qi and Flame Burst could achieve such an effect.
If a warrior were called to do this purely by brute force, it would take a considerable amount of time.
As the dust gradually dispersed and the rock stratum was blown open, everyone stepped forward and curiously looked inside.
They saw that besides the irregular sword marks created by the Qi Slash, a clear fault line appeared within the deep pit.
The rock stratum gradually changed color at the fault line, from gray to a white-gold with a slight metallic luster, accompanied by faint arcs of lightning.
Before Xi Wei and the others could speak, the dwarf beside them gasped in disbelief:
“Thorium Ore? Impossible!!!”
