Chapter 427: Chapter 201: Five Yuan Garrison, Cold Marrow Iron_4

Lin Kai raised an eyebrow, immediately turning back to look at Xu Ning. Seeing Xu Ning nod, he smiled and turned around.

Snap…

Without visible movement, Xiang Liang leaped up, seeing the wooden box in his hand already snatched by Lin Kai, his face immediately filled with urgency.

“Sir, no…”

“Shut up, let me see what it is first. If it’s something good, I’ll take you back.”

Seeing Xiang Liang’s intense reaction, Lin Kai immediately silenced him, a hint of obvious disdain in his words.

He regarded the four camps in Northern Mountain no different than straw men, wondering what treasures such a place could offer, and yet they dared wish to meet the leader.

Even he hadn’t seen the leader for months.

Lin Kai shook his head and opened the wooden box in his hand.

Inside the box were five crystalline, gleaming green stones.

The stones were only the size of fists, uneven on the surface and irregular in shape, but their color was vivid and extremely beautiful.

Lin Kai’s brow furrowed, a familiar feeling surged to his heart. He immediately picked up one piece.

As soon as he picked it up, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

“This must weigh a hundred pounds, so heavy!”

In the Ice Abyss World, a regular piece of iron ore, also fist-sized, typically weighed only fifty pounds, yet these green stones weighed twice as much.

Lin Kai weighed the other four pieces in turn, then squeezed them with force. Only at this point did genuine curiosity rise on his face as he asked Xiang Liang:

“What is this?”

Xiang Liang resigned himself to the situation, knowing there was no chance he’d personally deliver these to the Great Xia Leader, and opened his mouth: “Sir, could you fetch some Cold Beast Blood?”

Lin Kai nodded and told Xu An: “Anzi, go and notify Qingjiao and Black Arrow Team to gear up. We’re about to get busy.”

Xu An nodded and ran out immediately.

Lin Kai, too, handed the wooden box to Xu Ning.

Xu Ning examined it closely but found no clues, and the other seven gathered around to look as well before returning the item to Xiang Liang.

Soon, Xu An brought in a basin of vivid green beast blood.

“Sir, members of the Black Arrow and Qingjiao Teams have been notified.”

Lin Kai nodded and gestured to Xiang Liang.

Xiang Liang walked over to the basin, took out one stone from the box, and threw it in directly.

Hiss…

Hearing the sharp sound from the wooden basin, Xu Ning, Lin Kai, and the others leaned over, their expressions frozen as they saw what was happening inside.

The green stone was rapidly absorbing the beast blood in the basin.

And as the blood in the basin dwindled, the stone’s color grew more vibrant, even showing slight expansion.

“Gentlemen, this isn’t a stone; it’s called Cold Marrow Iron, which my father dug up from the iron mine. It’s extremely bloodthirsty, but only for beast blood. You can see it can grow by absorbing beast blood.

When we forge weapons at the camp, we mix in powder ground from it. The weapons made this way become more lethal against Cold Beasts.”

Everyone’s eyes instantly lit up.

Lu Yang picked up the Cold Marrow Iron to inspect it thoroughly before turning to Xu Ning and Lin Kai, saying:

“This kid is probably telling the truth. Of the four camps in Northern Mountain, only Hefeng and Feihu have iron mines, but their forging techniques are lacking…”

Something struck Lu Yang, and he slapped his forehead with a realization: “I get it now, that Xiang Ping has been asking to trade Artifact Embryos, and I thought he wanted to learn refining techniques. Turns out he wanted the embryo to mix in Cold Marrow Iron powder and then forge anew.”

Lu Yang chuckled, put the Cold Marrow Iron back in the box, and said: “This treasure is indeed good. Bringing it to the Minister shouldn’t be an issue!”

Xu Ning and Lin Kai both nodded and smiled. Just the ability to absorb Cold Beast Blood and grow made this Cold Marrow Iron quite a treasure.

“Alright then, you stay here with us. Come tomorrow night, return with us to the base and present the item to the Minister.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

The wooden box back in his grasp, Xiang Liang nodded promptly.

He was filled with growing curiosity about the Great Xia Camp.

He had just seen with his own eyes an abundance of beast meat, iron ore, coal stones, and various materials in the cabin. Compared to this, Hefeng Camp or even all four Northern Mountain camps combined could not match these reserves.

And this wasn’t even their base?

What would Great Xia’s real base look like?

Not only that, but the Minister Xu Ning mentioned clearly held a higher rank than anyone here.

Could he be Great Xia’s leader?

Earlier everyone called Xu Ning “Lord Guardian,” which Xiang Liang mistook for a special term for their leader, but now he realized his misunderstanding and dared not make assumptions about the term “Minister” either.

“Alright, Xu An, find him a place to stay. Lin Kai, let’s prepare to depart.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Xu Ning instructed Xu An and quickly left with Lin Kai.

“I also have to lead a team, there are several coal and iron mines to visit.”

As something occurred to him, Lu Yang called out and followed them out.

Xu An then led Xiang Liang, finally leaving the hall.