Chapter 41: The Secret Teleportation Array Leading to the Underworld

But as for the goblins, their inherently cunning and deceitful nature meant that if even a third of what they said was true, it was already a blessing from the gods.

Lacking a mage, he could not ascertain whether the other party was lying, so this was the only method he could use to discern the truth.

“Now that we’ve gotten the information we wanted, kill the rest.” Veilynn sheathed his longsword, ready for one final test.

If this goblin remained silent before death, it would mean there truly was an iron mine beneath the ground. Otherwise, the claim was a lie.

The surrounding soldiers, upon hearing their lord’s command, immediately raised their spears and began slaughtering the more than twenty captured goblins.

Screams echoed continuously. The goblin, Gri, turned deathly pale, his mind racing as he desperately weighed whether or not to speak.

Just as Baird raised his sword to strike, Gri cried out, “My lord, I have information! I have value—please don’t kill me!”

“Oh?” Veilynn waved to stop Baird, a smile crossing his face as he asked, “If what you have to say is valuable, I will forgive your earlier deception. If not, I’ll have you tied up here to be devoured by the wild beasts.”

“Yes, my lord,” Gri stammered, cowering on the ground. “This tunnel only goes fifty meters underground. There is no iron mine, only a functioning secret teleportation array leading to our subterranean world—Colorado.”

“So you used the teleportation array to reach the surface,” Veilynn said gravely.

“Yes, my lord. The array isn’t powered by magic crystals; it needs to absorb ambient magical energy. It takes about half a year for a round trip,” Gri blurted out, desperate for mercy.

Baird glanced at Veilynn. “My lord, shall I finish him?”

“No. Since he’s proven his worth, he deserves to live.” Hearing that the array needed time to recharge, Veilynn’s unease faded. He signaled for Baird to sheathe his sword, deciding to spare the goblin’s life.

Gri, realizing he’d survived, clutched his chest and drew great gulps of fresh air, feeling for the first time that life was truly precious.

“Seal the cave entrance and mark it. We’ll return to explore it later.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Baird saluted with a fist over his heart, watching Veilynn depart. He then ordered his men to bind the sole surviving goblin and prepare to take him back for imprisonment.

After this ordeal, several soldiers gathered large stones to block the meter-high passage, covered it with sand and gravel, and finally concealed it with brush so it blended seamlessly into the surroundings.

On the journey back, Veilynn rode alone, wandering through the silent wilderness, gazing up at the sky.

“A salt mine, a mithril mine, magical plants in the cavern beneath the Lake of Star Prayers—and now a secret teleportation array leading to the underdark.”

Every discovery around the Lake of Star Prayers was of tremendous value; each could become the backbone of a domain. It all seemed almost unreal to him.

He closed his eyes, quietly recalling the six months he had spent pioneering this land.

“Only with sufficient strength can one seize opportunity.”

Veilynn’s eyes snapped open. He stared into the distance, his tone resolute.

Develop, develop, and develop again.

He would do everything possible to grow his forces, strengthen himself, seize opportunities, and climb ever higher.

In the days that followed, all of Lake of Star Prayers was devoted to preparing for the gnoll assault expected at the end of November.

They built triple-bow ballistae, forged new spears, reforged weapons and armor with mixed mithril, gathered food from within a ten-kilometer radius, and constructed fortifications—every effort was aimed at the coming monster attack.

…

On the night of November 1st, Veilynn watched the time, waiting until eight o’clock.

At that moment, all was silent. The guidance of fate did not arrive as expected.

“Just as I thought: as my strength grows, the intervals become longer.” Veilynn sat on the edge of his bed, gazing out the window, murmuring to himself.

He was still not used to the absence of prophetic guidance.

With the interval extended, Veilynn guessed it might now be a quarter of a year, perhaps even half a year.

“If the gap has stretched from one month to several, does that mean the information I receive will be even more valuable?”

He could only keep this question in his heart and let time reveal the answer.

With fate’s guidance temporarily withdrawn, the next month would have to be spent preparing even more thoroughly.

Though the strongest gnolls approaching the Lake of Star Prayers would only be of low silver rank, a hundred of them would still be difficult to handle—an outright threat to the territory’s survival.

The next morning, Veilynn summoned Baird.

“My lord.” Baird, dressed in plain clothes, came to Veilynn’s side and saluted respectfully.

“Baird, from today, arrange patrols and sentries. Extend the range to thirty kilometers, especially to the west. Report any unusual activity to me at once.

“Also, have Randolph and the others speed up the mithril mining. It must be completed by mid-month at the latest.”

“My lord, I will relay your orders immediately.”

At this very moment, an attack was unfolding at the camp near the mithril mine.

Randolph had just stepped out of his tent when a soldier ran up, breathless. “Sir, monsters have been found in the mine! Four of the mining serfs have been injured!”

“What? Take me there at once!”

Randolph didn’t bother with his armor; he grabbed his knight’s longsword and hurried after the soldier toward the mine.

After a hundred meters of twisting tunnels, Randolph reached the scene as quickly as he could.

A dozen soldiers, spears in hand, had surrounded two massive yellow lizards, restricting their movements.

“Rock drakes!” Randolph was stunned. How could these monsters appear in such a place?

Judging by their size, these two drakes were only three or four meters long—clearly just hatched.

If they had been adult rock drakes, at sixteen or seventeen meters and gold-level strength, it would have spelled disaster.

“Hiss—hiss—”

Sensing danger, the two rock drakes shrank back, eyes warily fixed on Randolph.

Randolph steadied his breath, gathered his fighting spirit, and let it flare, dyeing his longsword a fiery red.

In a flash, he charged at one of the drakes.

“Strike—!”

The drake roared, gathering rocks in its mouth for an attack.

But the juvenile’s magical strike was easily dodged by Randolph.

His knight’s sword sparked as it scraped the drake’s scales, astonishing him—their defense was even greater than armor.

He retreated a few steps, fixing the two beasts with a grave stare.

“Damn it— they must have devoured mithril ore and strengthened their scales’ defenses.”