Chapter 315: The Real Treasure
"Quick, summon Lord Annie!"
The urgent shout quickly spread around the area.
Compared to Chris's panicked state from a few days ago, the elite soldiers seemed much more at ease.
With the help of the Arcanist, they had already located the positions of these war puppets in advance.
Then, all they had to do was dig traps at those locations as fast as possible.
Lord Annie, who valued these war puppets highly, happily collected each one.
Today's discovery was no exception!
These malfunctioning war puppets stood no chance against Annie's two-hit combo.
After the soldiers escorted the last war puppet away, the adventurers, satisfied with clearing the remaining Sky-breaking Lizards, also left contentedly.
They had received all their rewards, plus some extra bounty.
This mission had been a smooth one for the adventurers, as long as they followed orders.
It gave them a solid foundation.
Next time Bay Territory organized a collective mission, each adventurer had already made up their minds.
Unless there was a good reason, they wouldn't miss it.
Bay Territory's strength was growing, and so were the rewards for its missions.
They still wanted to earn more gold and merits!
After the Bay Territory soldiers swept the cave one last time,
They eliminated any remaining Sky-breaking Lizards, removing all risks before sealing off the massive cave.
With the area cleared from view, they could now begin developing it.
Taking advantage of the soldiers' shift change, Matthew led his secret inspection team into the huge cave.
After about ten minutes,
Matthew found the hidden treasure!
It was buried seven to eight meters underground in a cave that could have been easily missed if Matthew hadn't been so meticulous in his search.
Almost nothing escaped Matthew's sharp gaze.
Upon opening the cave, a collection of intricately designed components appeared before Matthew.
"War Puppet Core Components..."
A simple description, but these seemingly unremarkable parts were worth a fortune.
Matthew carefully examined the pieces and noticed many advanced golem and puppet construction techniques.
Unfortunately, Matthew didn't have the time or energy to research further.
So, he gathered the parts to have them studied by Macaron later.
Aside from the parts, the most abundant items were piles of metal blocks.
The light from a Brightness Spell reflected off them, revealing a striking silver gleam.
"Tharil!"
Matthew's heart skipped a beat as he closely examined the nearly one-ton pile of metal, confirming it as Tharil—one of the most valuable metals in both the Netheril Empire and the entire western continent.
This metal, controlled through a combination of mithril and arcane manipulation,
Was strictly regulated across the Netheril Empire!
No one was allowed to trade or sell it outside the empire!
Its most crucial use: crafting the Mythallar Core!
The power source of a floating city!
Beyond that, various high-level magical items, as well as legendary golems and puppets, required Tharil to make essential parts.
In the Netheril Empire, there was almost only one way to obtain Tharil—Arcanist lords received an allotment based on their rank.
Matthew also received an allotment each year—100 grams.
At 1,000 gold coins per gram!
As the newly promoted Grand Arcanist Karsas of the Netheril Empire, Matthew had to apply to obtain a Mythallar Core.
The key reason for this:
It takes nearly three tons of Tharil to construct a Mythallar Core!
The value of the Tharil alone exceeds 30 billion gold coins!
Even a Grand Arcanist, without the full backing of the Netheril Empire, could never amass such wealth in a lifetime, let alone create a Mythallar Core!
Glancing subtly at the soldiers who hadn't entered, Matthew discreetly stowed away the metal.
It would be stored in Yaya's portable storage space.
Suppressing his excitement, Matthew quickly ventured deeper into the cave, where he found a series of destroyed war puppet production lines.
Judging by the precious parts left unfinished on the lines,
It appeared the site had been suddenly abandoned.
Matthew saw various components made from Tharil, adamantine, and mithril, as well as many enchanted items that had lost their magic.
Matthew gathered all the valuable metal parts, avoiding any risks of theft or damage.
He was thrilled, believing that these production lines were just as valuable as the nearly one ton of Tharil he had already found.
By examining the parts, Matthew deduced that these production lines
Were essential for producing high-level war puppets!
If Bay Territory could harness these lines, it would further enhance their already formidable military!
Matthew carefully recorded every part of the unfinished components.
These incomplete parts could fully reveal the entire manufacturing process.
Even the shattered production lines showed strange arcane models, magical pathways, and intricate patterns.
Unfortunately, they were severely damaged.
But Matthew wasn't worried at all!
Because time can be briefly reversed!
Once Matthew's knowledge and item-crafting abilities reached a higher level,
He could work with Yaya to recreate the scene before the lines were destroyed!
By that time, Matthew was confident he could fully restore the production lines.
But until then, everything here would be sealed, with no one allowed to enter.
Even the half-finished parts he had gathered wouldn't be revealed.
A secret shared with even one other person is no longer a true secret.
Using an illusion spell to record the area, Matthew ventured further into the cave.
Clearing away the fallen rubble, he pressed on.
Along the way, there were no bodies, only scattered debris.
Matthew closely examined the damaged walls, searching for any signs of tampering.
This thousand-year-old ruin, even if it had once contained magical traps, would have long since lost their power, so Matthew could proceed confidently.
After about 50 meters, Matthew stopped in front of a cracked wall.
Gazing at the faint magical glow inside, Matthew knew he had reached his destination!
The space was narrow, about the size of a small room.
Ignoring the decayed furniture and scattered stones, Matthew searched every corner.
He clearly remembered that after the outer treasure of the armory had been looted,
The real treasure inside wasn't discovered until seven or eight years later, by accident.
Among them was a legendary Earth Elemental Crystal!
This crystal was the core component for constructing an elemental energy pool!