Duke chose this mining site near the smelting factory. It was a relatively large mine, and the traces at the scene indicated that it had recently been in operation.

He directly entered the mine shaft and went down along the mine tunnel, encountering a few green-skinned Orcs trembling in the corners, staring in terror at Duke as he sped past, carrying a swirl of yellow sand.

Duke ignored them and continued downward. As soon as he passed, those Orcs immediately scrambled out, as if they'd just avoided a disaster.

Duke could have easily killed them, but there was no need to waste time. Killing them here wouldn't gain him any contribution points, and he'd have to cut off their heads as evidence, which was too troublesome.

When he reached the lower mining tunnels, he found indeed it was rich in mineral resources.

Duke wrapped himself in a sphere of yellow sand and began violently absorbing.

He no longer concerned himself with the terrain conditions here, nor worried about a collapse, as he wildly absorbed the Golden Scale Celestial Iron Ore from the surrounding rock walls.

Out of a ton of Golden Scale Celestial Iron Ore, the content of the Golden Scale Celestial Iron is only about one pound.

If Duke continued to cautiously absorb slowly, it would take a vast amount of time to gather enough Golden Scale Celestial Iron.

Once he started absorbing freely, the Golden Scale Celestial Iron from the surrounding rock walls continuously extracted from the ore by him, causing many network-like pits to appear on the surrounding rock walls, making the structure increasingly unstable.

After a few minutes, a massive collapse occurred here, continuously breaking and tumbling down the rock structure.

With yellow sand automatically protecting him, Duke was entirely shielded, and the collapse did not affect him at all.

Even as he was buried by these collapsing rocks and soil blocks, he continued absorbing the surrounding ores and even started slowly moving.

Once the ore in one area was absorbed cleanly, he moved to another region to continue absorbing.

As Duke violently absorbed, a large amount of Golden Scale Celestial Iron entered the Yellow Sand Crystal, and the collapse here became increasingly severe.

After absorbing about thirty tons of Golden Scale Celestial Iron, this mining area finally caved in thoroughly, creating a large sunken area on the ground.

In the sunken area, a mound of earth began to rise slowly, and Duke, encased in a yellow sand sphere, emerged from within it.

He could no longer remember how many tons of ore he'd absorbed, but he emerged once sensing there was around a hundred tons of Golden Scale Celestial Iron in the Yellow Sand Crystal.

Floating in mid-air after coming out, Duke clicked his tongue as he saw the extensively sunken ground around him, not expecting to have caused such a significant commotion.

He quickly left the area while there was still no one around, feeling like a hit-and-run.

In the following few days, Balage Highland underwent consolidation and rest, then set out for the next destination.

...

Albi City was the largest Beastmen city in the Seventh War Zone. As the surrounding cities of Albi City gradually fell, the Black Sail forces from all sides gradually converged around Albi City.

When Duke arrived on the wilderness outside Albi City, he could see this imposing giant city from afar.

Towering city walls housed millions of Beastmen, with flags constantly waving on the walls, indicating the Beastman Legion inside had not yet fallen.

Albi City had held out for nearly half a month, and by today it was challenging to continue.

For Black Sail forces, having resolved the surrounding cities and strongholds, had all converged here and were poised to launch a final all-out assault.

No negotiations occurred between both sides; the war erupted directly after a slave creature roared.

By now, both sides understood negotiations were pointless.

The Beastmen would not retreat, and Black Sail did not need to negotiate with them. They were confident in crushing the Beastmen with sheer force.

Positioned at the west gate of Albi City, Duke watched as the slave creatures surged forward like a tide, repeatedly attacking the city gate.

The Orcs stationed here were already exceedingly weary; Black Sail had given them no respite, launching harassment attacks even at night.

Black Sail's slave creatures were abundant enough to allow shifts for rest, but the Orcs were not so fortunate.

The Orcs' forces continuously dwindled, and many were often forced to the walls immediately after one or two hours of rest to replace fallen comrades.

This attack against Albi City persisted for a full three days. When the city gate fell, countless slave creatures poured into Albi City.

Having learned from the Balage Highland incident, Duke did not rush in like the other wizards.

Although the possibility of Albi City choosing mutual destruction was low, it couldn't be ruled out entirely.

With millions of Orcs inside Alber City, if they chose mass suicide, the loss would be unimaginable for the Orcs.

Even now, with the city gates breached, the war wasn't over. The Orcs still had hope; the battle had merely spread from outside the city to inside.

The west gate of Albi City was utterly lost, and the Orc defenders began to retreat. Simultaneously, the south and east gates also fell consecutively, sealing Albi City's doomed fate.

Duke quickly received orders to enter Albi City starting from the west gate.

He entered Albi City accompanied by Dog-man Reed.

Dog-man Reed's task was to assist Duke in combat, ensuring Duke's safety and sacrificing himself if necessary.

His strength was approximately that of a first-level Crystalized Wizard, reaching the pinnacle among first-level beings, even surpassing Duke.

Duke had observed that once Dog-man Reed entered a combat state, his physical power was so immense that Duke's yellow sand would likely struggle to harm Reed.

If his yellow sand couldn't damage the enemy, Duke would essentially be forced into a passive defense, enduring the attacks, as the power gap was immense.

Upon reaching the top of the west city wall, the scene was in chaos.

Fleeing Orc civilians, Orcs and slave creatures killing each other, and wizards carelessly harvesting Orc lives created a scene filled with roars and screams at every moment, with countless lives lost continuously.

Duke looked at Dog-man Reed and asked, "Can you sniff out any treasure around, including items like Magic Metal or Energy Crystal Stone?"

Dog-man Reed nodded, carefully distinguishing the scent of treasure from the chaotic mix of odors, executing Duke's order faithfully.

Duke lacked any understanding of Albi City, and a thorough search for valuables would have been too time-consuming.

Reed's sense of smell was extremely acute, perfectly suited for this task.

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