Within the defeated remnants of the Beastmen, there are unlikely to be any powerful figures. With this group of slave creatures as protection, the safety of Duke and the others would be greatly increased.

Duke and the five Wizard Apprentices then returned to the surface, and more than sixty slave creatures were divided into five ten-man squads, following these few Wizard Apprentices.

Some slave creatures were left on the surface to stand guard.

The strongest among the slave creatures, Reed, followed Merrick, as he could tell that Merrick was the highest-ranking among this group.

However, Merrick directly ordered, "You go with Duke; I don't need your protection."

He seemed extremely confident, displaying a nonchalant attitude towards Reed's protection. After speaking, he took a group of slave creatures and set off in a chosen direction.

Duke did not say much either. He looked around and randomly chose a direction to explore.

This place was exceedingly vast, located in a mountain area with a complex terrain.

Previously, Duke had not learned any knowledge related to alchemy, and was completely clueless on how to prospect for veins, unlike the others who at least had some relevant knowledge.

He could only rely on luck, hoping for an unlikely stroke of fortune.

Even if Duke discovered a vein, he planned to attempt absorbing the ore himself, intending not to report it.

With the Yellow Sand Crystal, he could absorb a large amount of ore, and the rewards would far exceed the contribution from reporting the vein.

Duke then proceeded with Reed and the other slave creatures, walking on the mountain paths.

A wolfman with blades growing under his arms led the way, belonging to a race called Night Wolf with incredible speed.

Night Wolves are born with something similar to blades growing under their arms, which are essentially mutated bones but much harder and sharper than most creatures' bones.

This creature is a natural-born killer and warrior, making it an extremely excellent slave creature.

Duke was already considered tall among humans, but among these slave creatures, he instantly became a shorty.

Reed was close to three meters, and the Night Wolf reached two meters; only up close could one feel the power and imposing pressure of these slave creatures.

Duke felt that even in a solo fight, he couldn't defeat a Night Wolf, let alone Reed at the Level 1 Peak.

A Kobold like Reed with such strength could easily crush him with a single slap.

The Night Wolf cleared the path upfront, removing all the obstructing shrubs and branches, creating a clear path for Duke.

Duke searched within this area for about two hours and still hadn't found anything.

Looking at Dog-man Reed, he suddenly had an idea, and taking out a piece of ore from the Space Ring, he said, "Reed, can you find nearby ores based on the scent of this piece of ore?"

Reed nodded and then sniffed the ore, looking in a certain direction.

The Kobold's sense of smell is extremely keen, and they can easily detect whether there are nearby ores based on the scent of ore.

Reed was particularly honest and would not do anything unless it was asked of him, reducing the chance of making mistakes.

For slave creatures, this was a kind of survival wisdom.

There was basically no reward for doing well, unless it was for some battle merit, but if a mistake was made, punishment was certain.

Reed had already figured this out, so he absolutely would not take initiative on matters he wasn't asked to do.

Subsequently, under the guidance of Dog-man Reed, Duke proceeded deeper into the mountainous area and gradually arrived at a valley.

There were obvious signs of excavation, and roads had been carved out by people.

However, these roads were quite narrow, nowhere near as spacious as the previous mining site.

Duke followed the road forward, reaching the inside of the valley, and found a very small mine, surrounded by many scattered stones and piles of soil, evidently dug out from inside the mine.

He observed beside the mine for a while, feeling certain this was a small mining site, or more accurately, a secret one.

The mining sites near Moon Shadow City all belonged to Moon Shadow City, and private mining of veins was not allowed—one would face severe punishment otherwise.

However, profit tempts the heart, and this is the same regardless of which Plane one is on.

There will always be Beastmen risking it all for profit, creating small mines in vein-distributed areas and extracting ore to sell, thus earning large profits.

Due to wartime conditions now, naturally, no one was secretly mining here.

Dog-man Reed sniffed and said, "There is some Beastmen scent here, but it's very faint."

Previously, at the mining site, the Kobold had also detected leftover scents from Beastmen.

The faint scent indicated no recent Beastmen presence, just some lingering trace from before.

Duke noticed Reed's sharp sense of smell there and then got the idea to find veins using this method.

He thought for a moment and said, "Stay at the entrance, I'll go down to take a look."

"I'll follow you," Reed said.

Duke shook his head, "No need."

Naturally, he hoped Reed would accompany him down, just in case he ran into danger.

However, Duke planned to use the Yellow Sand Crystal to absorb the ore below, and he didn't want others to see.

These slave creatures fundamentally did not belong to him nor were under his management; they merely temporarily protected his safety.

Duke had every reason to believe that once Reed returned, he would surely report what happened here accurately.

For slave creatures, deception is not allowed; they cannot deceive wizards under any circumstances.

Even if Reed wanted to help Duke cover things up, it would be impossible due to the restrictions of the Slave Mark.

Moreover, Reed had no reason to cover things up; Duke couldn't offer him anything beneficial.

After weighing it, Duke decided to go down by himself.

Before going down, he summoned a large amount of yellow sand to surround his body as protection.

This way, even if there was a collapse later, Duke would not be too endangered.

A collapse was not frightening for him; he could entirely rely on his abilities to climb out from underneath.

Duke then entered the dark mine, with his Spiritual Power highly concentrated, ready at any moment to handle potential dangers.

He knew going alone here was risky, but there was no choice for the sake of consuming Magic Metal.

The underground mine was very winding. After taking two turns, he found himself engulfed in darkness, as light from the surface could no longer reach here.

Occasionally, he spotted a mining cart at the side of the mine, partially filled with ore.

Directly, he began to use the Yellow Sand Crystal to absorb these ores. The Yellow Sand Crystal pattern on his left arm faintly glowed, emitting a strong attraction that drew in the ores from the mining cart.

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