Chapter 76

Zhou Lu was finally able to broaden his horizons this time.

Under Feng Mei's lead, he saw all the forbidden places in Heihu Mountain, such as the Sixteen Peaks of Mist and the Nine Curves and Eighteen Bends.

Zhou Lu was so excited that his whole body trembled with joy. This time, he was thoroughly satisfied. The secrets of Heihu Mountain's terrain were laid bare before his eyes, like a woman naked in the sunlight, allowing him to admire her from every angle. Zhou Lu was overjoyed, his eyes darting around to memorize every crucial point they passed.

Without this reconnaissance, it would be extremely difficult for the Tianyao Clan to invade Heihu Mountain, even with a large force. Thousands of troops might seem overwhelming, but in this vast mountain, they would be like a cup of water poured into a river, leaving no trace. Without knowledge of the internal terrain, they would be gradually consumed by the enemy's use of the terrain.

The information Zhou Lu was now gathering would be invaluable when he returned.

After many twists and turns in the mountains, they finally arrived at the entrance of the mysterious mine in a secluded area.

The entrance, several dozen feet wide, resembled a giant python's mouth, waiting for people to jump in.

At the entrance, over twenty fierce bandits stood guard, all armed with waist knives and hard bows, tightly securing the entrance. They were the personal guards of the chief, responsible for the mine's security today.

"Is that the mine discovered in Heihu Mountain?"

Zhou Lu, like a weasel, cautiously looked around, memorizing the mine's terrain from all angles.

Once Heihu Mountain successfully mined iron ore and forged sharp metal weapons, this group of bandits, like a swarm of locusts, would become a nightmare for all nearby tribes. Many people would fall in pools of blood under the threat of those iron weapons.

The Tianyao Clan, being so powerful, would never allow them to grow stronger.

Iron Mita's reconnaissance team consisted of high-level hunters, each with formidable strength. They were responsible for gathering intelligence for the entire tribe, and no one expected that the most critical part of this mission would fall on the shoulders of a fat man.

"We'll go through that water cave!"

Feng Mei, with her round face, anxiously pulled on Zhou Lu's sleeve. The group deviated from the guards' line of sight and潜入 a small, hidden pond with a secret entrance.

The chief's personal guards had already seen them but shrugged and pretended not to notice, turning their heads away.

Being from the same old faction of Heihu Mountain, they also found the third chief's madness unreasonable. It was the duty of the second chief's personal guards to rescue their leader, and it would be inhumane to try to stop them recklessly.

Zhou Lu dove into the pond. The darkness inside made it impossible to see anything. He held his breath, not knowing the direction, and felt his way forward with his hands. Suddenly, he touched something soft and immediately hugged it without hesitation.

The soft thing carried him forward, through a stone cave. With a splash, Zhou Lu's head emerged from the pond. The place was dark, clearly inside the Heihu mine. He panted heavily and looked down at what he was holding, only to realize he had inadvertently hugged Feng Mei's thigh tightly.

Feng Mei was drenched, her clothes clinging to her body, revealing the curves of her thighs with astonishing elasticity. It felt excellent in his arms.

Feng Mei's face was flushed, one hand propping herself up at the pond's entrance. She shouted angrily, "Let go!"

Zhou Lu's face turned extremely embarrassed, as if holding a scalding hot potato. He hastily pushed Feng Mei's thigh away, almost throwing her back into the pond.

Feng Mei choked on a mouthful of water and coughed, suppressing it with one hand over her mouth.

Feng Mei's good impression of this fat man vanished instantly. If it weren't for his enthusiasm in coming to rescue the second chief, she would have kicked him back into the water.

"Be quiet, we're almost at the main mine."

Feng Mei lowered her voice and called to the guards behind her.

One by one, the guards emerged from the pond. Zhou Lu wiped the cold water from his forehead and looked at the deep cave. The dark mountain cave was occasionally lit by torches on the walls, their light casting long shadows of the strange rocks, like countless fierce beasts lurking in the darkness, ready to pounce.

At the deepest, darkest part of the mine, a cluster of bright light revealed itself, illuminating nearly half of the outer cave.

Was that the main mine?

After such a long time of digging, had Heihu Mountain found any useful ore?

Zhou Lu was full of questions, carefully climbing out of the pond and crawling forward, drenched.

...

The main mine was several dozen feet wide, with pine oil torches inserted into the walls, lighting the deep cave like daylight.

The surroundings were in disarray, with a vein of ore extending several dozen feet deep. In the green stone, the rugged blackness finally revealed the luster of metal ore.

This meant that Heihu Mountain had successfully mined metal ore and was on the verge of dominating the wilderness.

A dozen miners, captured from the Tianyao Clan, were dressed neatly and placed on the left side of the mine like clowns. Each of their faces was filled with sorrow, trembling in fear. In the past, they were forced by the bandits of Heihu Mountain to find the ore vein and teach the ordinary bandits how to mine and quarry.

If they refused, the bandits would beat them to death.

In the end, the miners had no choice but to comply, helping Heihu Mountain find the correct ore vein and successfully mine the ore.

But, to survive, could they commit the great sin of betraying their own people?

In the center of the mine, Wild Bear, Niu Gudao, and four others were tied high on a sacrificial platform.

All four were beaten to a bloody pulp, barely hanging on by a thread, waiting for the sacrifice to begin, their blood to be offered to the mine god.

In the center of the platform, a woman in a red armor was also tied up, the second chief, Red Asura. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes swollen, and her face filled with sorrow and endless hatred.

"Slap."

A hand, like a venomous snake, reached out and slapped Red Asura's face, turning her head to the side, a trail of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Red Asura turned her face back, glaring fiercely at the man in front of her, her eyes blazing with fire.