41: Chapter 41: Routine Ending, Shocking Change in the Mine

After the meeting in the main hall dispersed, Lu Changyuan first returned to his quiet room.

He took out the heavenly secret jade slip. The Jade Slip hovered in his palm, the blood-colored patterns on its surface much dimmer than yesterday, as if it had fully exhaled its sharpness, leaving only a faint ember clinging to the depths of the jade bone. He probed it three times with his Divine Sense, but the Jade Slip didn't react at all—it had entered a long cooldown. Without this sharpest opening move, their actions regarding the Dragon King Palace could not be rushed.

He put away the Jade Slip and pushed open the door to step out.

Dawn had already broken. After last night's collective breakthrough on Blue Moon Island, the island's Qi mechanism seemed to have transformed. The Sea Cavalry Battalion was practicing its Formations back and forth on the eastern shallows, the electric arcs trailed by the Purple Lightning Seahorses as they trod the waves flashing on and off, lighting up the entire near sea in white. Over at the Workshop, the sound of hammers connected in a steady rhythm; Cold Iron Ore was continuously fed into the furnace, hot sparks splashing into midair only to be violently dispersed by the sea breeze. Along the outer edge of the city walls, chevaux-de-frise, hidden stakes, and shallow-water Formation eyes were also being reinforced. The entire Blue Moon Island was like an iron machine he had wound up to the absolute limit, emitting a low, steady hum.

Su Qingli had already been waiting outside. Seeing Lu Changyuan come out, she immediately handed over a newly copied military affairs ledger.

"The fifty riders of the Sea Cavalry Battalion have already put on the first batch of Cold Iron Heavy Armor. The Workshop has been forging day and night; the Formation furnace has been burning for five days straight without dare to stop. The remaining light armor and spare armor are still being rushed. At this rate, it will take at least ten more days for everyone to be fully equipped."

"Their coordination in charging Formations is mostly polished. They can handle short-distance line-breaking and bottleneck-blocking. Two or three more days will make it even more stable."

"The main array of twenty mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows has been re-inspected. The mounts in the bunkers and flanking positions are also recalibrating their bowstrings, talisman slots, and fields of fire. Using the Chen family's compensation and the newly arrived Ore, the Workshop has rushed out another thirty units—the crossbow arms were already made, leaving only the two steps of embedding jade and engraving Formations. In two days at most, they can all be mounted on the city walls."

"Among the sixteen newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the island, Lu Hu and Leng Feng can already lead their own teams. The remaining few still need two or three days to stabilize their realm, but they are already sufficient for defending the city."

She still spoke crisply, but her aura was completely different from a few days ago. After her Meridians were reopened, the withered, stagnant aura around her body that had been suppressed by old injuries for years had largely dispersed, and even her gaze was steadier and brighter than before.

After listening, Lu Changyuan merely nodded. "What about the Mortals?"

"The evacuation tunnels have been dug down another two layers. Granaries, fresh water, and kerosene have been replenished according to the worst-case scenario of three months." Su Qingli paused, then added, "If we only defend and do not panic, Blue Moon Island can withstand the first wave of impact."

If they only defended.

These words obviously did not account for those crazed entities in the outer sea that were staring greedily at the Dragon King Palace.

Lu Changyuan took the ledger, flipping through it as he walked. He finally stopped at the newly erected Sea-Watching Platform outside the Lords Mansion.

The sea breeze blew directly against him, making the hem of his robe rustle loudly. Looking out, the surface of the near sea seemed relatively calm, but beneath that calm, there was already a forced urgency everywhere. The Workshop had to rush armor, the Sea Cavalry Battalion had to practice, the newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivators had to stabilize their realms, the mid-level Qi Condensation Cultivators had to keep advancing, and the Mortal auxiliary soldiers and city defense artisans could not stop.

Blue Moon Island seemed stronger than yesterday, but the boulder pressing down on the very top had actually grown heavier.

Because now, he didn't just need to survive the beast tide.

He also had to stay alive to seize the Dragon King Palace.

And before that, he first had to keep the island beneath his feet spinning steadily.

The armor could not stop being made, the mining could not cease, and the people's morale absolutely could not scatter before the war truly arrived.

"My Lord."

Hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from behind.

Lu Changyuan turned around to see Leng Feng drenched, with several fresh claw marks on the Cold Iron armor of his right shoulder, striding onto the Sea-Watching Platform. His face was pale, but his breathing was steady, showing that he had suppressed his injuries all the way back to report.

Lu Changyuan's gaze fell upon the marks on his armor, his eyes darkening. "Did something happen in the mine?"

Leng Feng cupped his fists, his voice tight. "Reporting to my Lord, in the deepest part of the Tier 3 cold iron mine, a monster suddenly crawled out last night. Its body is two sizes larger than the lead mount of the Sea Cavalry Battalion, and its shell is dark blue-black, looking as if it grew out of the mine walls. When it rushed out, it directly collapsed two side tunnels, heavily injuring the dozen or so Dao soldiers guarding the mine on the spot."

"Did you see clearly what it was?"

"Not entirely," Leng Feng gritted his teeth. "It was too dark in the cave, and that thing retracted extremely quickly. We only know it looks like a crab, but it's much larger than an ordinary giant crab. I led my men to fire six mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows in a row at close range, but they only struck its dorsal shell to produce a few bursts of sparks, failing to even break through the outer shell layer."

Lu Changyuan raised his eyebrows slightly.

Not even the mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows could pierce it?

Then that hardness was not something an ordinary Tier 3 sea beast could possess.

Leng Feng continued, "I originally wanted to lead my men to seal off the mine tunnels first, but that thing seemed to know the paths of the mine. Every time, it only lunged out from those few hidden tunnels at the deepest part, and immediately retracted after injuring people. It didn't seem to be in a frenzy; it looked more like it was guarding something."

Guarding something?

A cold light flashed in the depths of Lu Changyuan's eyes, and his first thought fell upon the cold iron mineral vein itself.

Among Blue Moon Island's most crucial trump cards right now, Cold Iron Heavy Armor ranked at the very top. If this mineral vein was blocked, the Sea Cavalry Battalion's re-equipping, the reinforcing of the crossbow positions, and even the entire subsequent rhythm of defending the city would be forcibly dragged down.

This thing could not be allowed to remain.

But if there really was an exotic beast capable of tanking the mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbow hiding deep within the mineral vein...

Lu Changyuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What are the casualties?"

"Eleven severely injured, twenty-six lightly injured, no deaths for now," Leng Feng replied immediately. "But the people's morale is already in disarray. If we drag this out any longer, no one will dare go down into the mine tonight."

Su Qingli had also caught up. Hearing this, her expression condensed slightly. "The mineral vein cannot stop. Right now, every extra set of Cold Iron armor Blue Moon Island has adds one more chance of survival on the city walls."

Lu Changyuan closed the ledger and raised his eyes to look at the eastern sea. Waves rolled in layer by layer, shattering into countless cold, white gleams of water in the morning light.

The next moment, he turned around and gave the order directly, "Lu Hu, pick ten newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivators to come with me. Su Qingli, stay and guard the island. The crossbow positions, Sea Cavalry Battalion, and outer patrols will all remain as usual. Do not let the mine incident disrupt our rhythm."

Su Qingli frowned. "My Lord is going in person?"

"An entity capable of tanking the mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbow will only result in more corpses if left for others to test."

After saying that, he stepped down from the Sea-Watching Platform.

In just a moment, Lu Hu, Leng Feng, Shi Jian, and the others arrived clad in armor. Having just completed their breakthroughs last night, the newly born sharpness on them had not yet been fully restrained. Being temporarily summoned now instead made them all boil with Killing Intent.

Lu Hu gripped his saber hilt, his eyes full of anger. "My Lord, I want to see what kind of damned thing dares to run wild in our own mine."

Lu Changyuan did not acknowledge his harsh words, merely saying calmly, "After entering the cave, do not chase recklessly, and do not linger in battle. If that thing is truly an exotic beast, it is worth more alive than dead."

Lu Hu was stunned for a moment, then grinned. "Understood. We'll catch it if we can; if not, we'll chop it up."

The group quickly left the island and entered the sea.

The trench where the cold iron mineral vein was located was not far from Blue Moon Island. Using water evasion and sea mounts, the group arrived at the mining area in just half an hour. However, as soon as they approached that familiar trench, Lu Changyuan sensed something was wrong.

The seawater, which should have been flowing steadily, actually carried a faint sense of sluggishness at this moment.

It was as if something heavy was breathing slowly in the deeper depths.

And when they actually descended into the outer perimeter of the mine, the smell of blood immediately rushed over them.

Freshly split cracks remained on the mine walls on both sides, several Ore carts had been violently flattened, and among the shattered Cold Iron Ore scattered all over the ground, several deep and long drag marks could be faintly seen, leading all the way to the pitch-black, almost lightless hidden path at the deepest part of the mine.

Several severely injured Dao soldiers were placed on the outer stone platform, their chests and arms almost torn open by huge pincers. Fortunately, although the wounds were gruesome, there were no signs of toxic corrosion, indicating that the monster relied purely on a brute Physical Body path.

Lu Changyuan squatted down and reached out to press the edge of one of the wounds, his fingertips quickly rubbing off a layer of fine metal powder.

cold iron powder.

That thing's shell and pincers had actually been worn down and polished right inside the mine.

He slowly stood up and looked into the depths of the mine.

The darkness was excessively quiet.

But beneath the silence, it was as if a behemoth was slowly moving along the rock walls, ready to burst out from any hidden crevice at any moment.

Lu Changyuan drew his sword from its sheath, the blade pulling a line of stark white in the dim mine light.

"Seal the outer perimeter and leave a path of retreat."

"I will go in myself."

Deeper in the mine, a muffled "clang" suddenly echoed at this moment.

It sounded as if some heavy shell had lightly bumped against the Cold Iron mine wall.

The expressions of Lu Hu and the others changed, and they all gripped their weapons.

In the next instant, a sharp shriek suddenly erupted from the deepest part, accompanied by the loud crashes of crumbling rocks and overturning Ore carts, rushing wildly out along the entire mine tunnel!

That thing was moving again!