Chapter 107: Ore [1]
Nearly two and a half hours later, the three horses came to a gradual stop at the foot of a rocky hill.
The murky grey-black fog had taken over, making things harder to see.
Unlike the southern plains, the northeastern part of the territory was dominated by stone and hardy trees.
Steep cliffs stretched across the landscape, broken only by scattered pine trees that somehow managed to grow from narrow cracks.
Large boulders lay everywhere as though they had rolled down from the mountains long ago.
Patches of moss clung stubbornly to the rocks, while small shrubs had taken root wherever enough soil had gathered.
Edgar dismounted first, looking around and noticing the familiarity. "This is the place."
Gordon climbed off his horse and looked around curiously. "...It doesn’t look any different."
Andrew gave a firm nod. "Most people would think the same."
His sharp eyes wandered across the cliffs surrounding them. "There isn’t much game here, and the ground is too rocky for farming."
Gordon casually kicked a loose stone aside. "That’s why almost no one bothers coming this far."
Edgar silently listened while focusing on the Soul Network.
He decided to call the other Soul Guardians that were nearby and the one who was guarding the hill.
One after another, his commands spread through the invisible network connecting every Soul Guardian.
And in just a few minutes, heavy footsteps echoed throughout the forest.
Andrew instinctively turned around.
Five towering skeletal warriors emerged from between the trees without making the slightest attempt to hide themselves.
Their black bones glimmered faintly beneath the light, while pale azure flames burned steadily inside their eye sockets.
Within seconds, they had surrounded the area.
Andrew still couldn’t stop himself from swallowing nervously. "No matter how many times I see them..."
"They’re unsettling," Gordon finished with a small laugh.
Edgar smiled faintly before walking toward the exposed rocks.
The Soul Guardian waiting atop the hill silently stepped aside.
Half-buried beneath broken stones was a thick vein of dull grey metal stretching deep into the cliff itself.
Edgar crouched down. He reached out and picked up the chunk the Guardian had collected earlier.
The ore felt surprisingly heavy for its size. "...Do you recognize this?"
He tossed it toward Gordon.
The veteran caught it with one hand before examining it carefully.
He turned it over several times before scratching away some dirt with his thumb.
"Hm..."
He remained silent for nearly a minute. Edgar even wondered if he was going to lick it.
"...Iron," he finally muttered.
Edgar’s gaze immediately sharpened. "You’re certain?"
Gordon nodded without hesitation. "I’ve seen raw iron ore before. It isn’t refined, but this is definitely iron."
A smile slowly appeared on Edgar’s face. "...Finally."
Edgar couldn’t help but feel excitement run through his body like a burning flame.
The exposed vein wasn’t small, and he was sure to find more if he looked around the place.
If the deposit ran deep enough, his biggest bottleneck might finally disappear.
Andrew crouched beside another cluster of rocks nearby. "...Young master."
Edgar turned toward him. "What?"
"I think this one’s different."
Andrew held up a piece of ore that carried a faint reddish tint, and unlike the grey iron, this one glittered slightly.
Gordon walked over and frowned as though his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"...Copper."
He looked toward the surrounding cliff with growing surprise.
Edgar immediately walked over, almost hopping toward them.
Not far away, another exposed vein stretched across the rock face.
Its reddish colour clearly differed from the iron deposit.
Before anyone could speak again, one of the Soul Guardians suddenly bent down and lifted another stone from the ground.
This one shimmered with faint yellow streaks.
Andrew blinked. "...There’s more?"
"Alright!" Edgar yelled in excitement. "Spread around and see if you can find more."
The three quickly spread out, and the other five Soul Guardians did as well.
Within only a few minutes, they had discovered three different veins running through the surrounding cliffs.
One was dark grey, another was reddish-brown, and one of the ores was almost completely black.
Some even carried faint silver specks that none of them could identify.
Edgar slowly looked around the entire area.
The rocky hillside that had seemed completely ordinary now looked entirely different.
For someone who was in dire need of all these things, it was nothing but a gold mine.
Even Gordon remained speechless for several long moments. "...This shouldn’t be possible."
Edgar looked toward him. "What do you mean?"
The veteran slowly swept his gaze across the cliffs. "Soragon Bazaar has existed for generations."
He pointed toward the surrounding mountains. "Hunters, mercenaries, and travelers have all passed nearby."
His brows slowly furrowed. "If this many ore veins were sitting out in the open... someone should have found them long ago."
Silence settled over the group. Andrew looked from one exposed vein to another.
"...Then why didn’t they?"
Gordon slowly shook his head. "...I honestly don’t know."
His eyes drifted toward the grey mist lingering between the cliffs.
"...It’s almost as though... this place didn’t want to be found until now."
For a brief moment, Gordon’s mind drifted toward the monster that they saw in the Norwood Mountains.
The giant silhouette of the monster with eyes like red orbs, too big to comprehend.
If anyone in this area could keep such a thing hidden, then it must be it.
But Gordon quickly shook his head in annoyance.
"....Why would a monster help us? It’s not like he is raising a chicken just to slaughter it..."
His mumbling trailed into silence, but the other two weren’t listening to him.
Edgar, who was the more knowledgeable one, was too happy to care about the reasons.
He was already thinking of ways to bring all this back to Sir Steven.
Folding his hands, Edgar asked the most valid question.
"How are we supposed to bring this back to our Fortress?"
"..."
"..."
A silence lingered among the three of them, who stood there with dumb expressions on their faces.
"Tch!"
Edgar clicked his tongue and rolled up his sleeves.
"Looks like I need to fix this problem as well."
While saying so, Edgar quietly called both of his Commander-level Soul Guardians for help.