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Chapter 439: The Medium-Sized Gold Mine
The reason Matthew could deal with the Terrorclaws so effortlessly.
Apart from knowing their habits and weaknesses inside out, he also had a thorough understanding of the surrounding terrain.
He knew there were more than one hidden passages that could allow the Terrorclaws to stealthily circle around to ambush prey or enemies near the mine entrance.
Therefore, Matthew set up this deadly trap.
Now, Matthew was walking through one of these hidden passages used by the Terrorclaws.
This was also the route most favored by players to access the Terrorclaw gold mine.
That's right, Matthew had worked here as a miner before, digging for gold.
Back then, he made a small fortune, just enough to survive the financially dire period after the fall of Bloodmoon City.
The passage used by the Terrorclaws was not narrow since it needed to accommodate these large creatures.
However, the path was extremely winding, consisting of numerous forks forming a natural labyrinth.
Even the Terrorclaws couldn't remember every route, which was why they didn't attack all at once.
Fortunately, everyone in the team was far from ordinary adventurers. With Matthew's "Pathfinding Spell" and "Featherweight Spell," they managed to navigate effortlessly and enter the mine.
Annie examined the spacious mining cavern, scrutinizing the marks clearly left by tools, and asked Matthew, who seemed completely at home here:
"Why didn't we come in through the main entrance?"
Matthew simply gestured for her to keep quiet and led her to a corner at the front of the mine, pointing ahead.
With her sharp vision, Annie stepped back involuntarily after spotting the figures ahead.
It wasn't because there was some terrifying enemy. After all, not even the armies of the Cole Elf Kingdom had frightened her.
What lay before her was a churning river of magma.
Even from a distance, the heat seemed to scorch her face, rushing toward them.
"The Terrorclaws' nest is just ahead. Some survivors may still be there, but they don't know the way behind them," said Matthew.
"So these Terrorclaws can serve as our guard dogs."
It had been the same before; players didn't have the strength to threaten the Terrorclaws' nest back then.
The first group of adventurers had tried sneaking in to see if there were any treasures within.
No longer doubting Matthew's words, Annie shifted her gaze from the magma river and turned toward the mine behind her:
"Is this the gold mine you mentioned?"
Matthew nodded without hesitation and led everyone deeper into the spacious cavern.
Along the way, they saw numerous sculptures and murals, as well as dilapidated ruins and wreckage.
Matthew, knowing their origin, did not hide the truth:
"This was once a dwarven mine, but they abandoned it due to their declining powerā¦"
After walking for about five minutes, Matthew led them to a mining area with no apparent exit.
The group looked around but couldn't see any glimmers of gold.
Before anyone could react, Matthew had already brought out a small six-armed golem.
Following Matthew's command, the golem swung its tools with incredible speed, chiseling a large hole in the rock wall.
With a clatter, rubble fell, and under the glow of illumination spells, a dazzling vein of gold lit up everyone's faces.
"Wow, so much gold!"
"Look at that veinā¦"
"There must be more insideā¦"
"Could it be an entire gold mine behind here?"
"The dwarves back then were so unlucky. They abandoned this place just short of striking gold."
"The dwarves' misfortune is our good luck, isn't it?"
"Haha, didn't Lord Matthew say before we came down that 10% of the mine's profits would be shared among us?"
"Haha, we're going to strike it rich! Even if each of us gets only 0.5%, that's at least several thousand gold coinsā¦"
"Several thousand gold coins? Who are you looking down on?"
"Exactly. If it's just a vein worth tens of thousands, would Lord Matthew even send us down here?"
"That's trueā¦"
"ā¦"
The modified soldiers chatted excitedly while Annie's thoughts stirred.
On the very first day underground, they had already discovered a gold mine.
Annie was convinced that Matthew's purposeful actions indicated he knew this was here all along.
Thus, she concluded the underground world must indeed be as resource-rich as Matthew claimed.
Not just the Bay Territory, but even the Ail Elves Kingdom lacked minerals!
Of course, Annie understood well that the Elves wouldn't be able to claim these mines for themselves.
The Bay Territory wasn't foolish.
"But with these underground resources and the Bay Territory's growing population and policiesā¦"
"The rise of the Bay Territory is unstoppable!"
"Perhaps it's time to consider how to collaborate with the Bay Territory when I return."
As everyone's thoughts diverged, more and more golden hues came into view.
It wasn't clear whether Matthew's timely arrival or the mine's concealment contributed to this discovery.
According to the data:
This golden vein turned out to be part of a medium-sized gold mine with massive reserves.
The total deposits likely exceeded 500 tons, with an estimated value surpassing 100 million gold coins.
For Matthew, this was undoubtedly a significant boon.
With this influx of gold, the Bay Territory's financial strain would ease significantly, enabling Matthew to produce more complete modified soldiers.
After all, even the semi-completed modified soldiers displayed tremendous power.
Others didn't yet grasp the mine's scale and were excitedly discussing mining plans.
"Obviously, kobolds will do the mining. They're great at digging gold."
"Kobolds? Isn't it too dangerous for them underground?"
"What's dangerous? They're not here to fight."
"Once we extract the gold, how will we transport it out?"
"Simple. Build a small teleportation array."
"Good point. Teleporting gold is much more cost-effective than other goodsā¦"
"We could also use the teleportation array to bring the kobolds in."
"ā¦"
The lively discussion was driven by Lord Matthew's confirmation that all mined gold would be shared with everyone.
Matthew wasn't worried about giving away coins; they'd eventually return to the treasury.
Gold would circulate through expenses and re-enter the economy repeatedly.
Territorial development remained the ultimate priority.