CHAPTER 182: MAGICAL EARTH VEINS AND SPIRITUAL MITHRIL

The Bloodsea Gang members who came over naturally weren't just the few outside;

more were currently still inside the mine tunnel, hauling ore out.

Lin Mo and Landon didn't need to go searching either;

they simply waited right at the entrance of the main mine tunnel.

However, to avoid being discovered as suspicious, they still had to go slightly further inside, preventing those guys from reaching near the entrance and realizing something had happened outside.

What followed was exactly as Lin Mo had anticipated. Sure enough, not long after, another group of Bloodsea Gang members emerged, pulling several small carts loaded with ore.

Lin Mo immediately cast [Wind-Binding Blade], effortlessly wiping out all these people with a single move.

Landon then used Wind Cyclone to sweep the corpses outside, then continued waiting for the next wave to arrive.

Wave after wave like this, in just a short while, they had killed a full six or seven waves of Bloodsea Gang members.

The total number of people added up to over a hundred.

They really came in large numbers...

Unconsciously, Lin Mo's skill had leveled up from all the fighting.

"Skill [Wind-Binding Blade] Lv2 (20/20) upgraded!"

"Skill [Wind-Binding Blade] Lv3 (40/40) upgraded!"

"Current skill [Wind-Binding Blade] Lv4 (23/100)"

"Gained attribute points Mana +2!"

[Wind-Binding Blade] was an excellent-grade skill. After reaching level three, it added another two points of Mana for Lin Mo.

However, next, Lin Mo planned to distribute some proficiency to his warrior class skills.

Especially the [Consecutive Thrusts] skill - Lin Mo had wanted to upgrade and evolve it for a long time, but the progress had always been slow.

Although compared to magic, using sword techniques to kill people was indeed much less efficient, Lin Mo's strength completely overwhelmed these Bloodsea Gang members, so killing one with each sword strike wasn't too bad.

Continuing like this, after eliminating another two or three waves of Bloodsea Gang members, Lin Mo estimated the timing should be about right.

Sure enough, right after eliminating another batch of Bloodsea Gang members, the next moment, he sensed a sharp "wind" coming from deep within the mine tunnel ahead.

The target wasn't him, but Landon beside him.

It seemed the opponent had already witnessed his previous battles, so even though he was also wearing mage robes and appeared to be a mage Professional, the attacker still directed the spearhead first toward Landon, who seemed easier to assault.

Without hesitation, Lin Mo immediately cast [Fortitude] on Landon.

After this skill reached level four, the second evolution path chosen allowed it to be used on others, though the effect would be somewhat reduced.

But this was enough.

Because Landon himself also had life-preserving skills. After sensing the danger, he waved his staff, and a cyan-green barrier instantly enveloped him. The barrier looked quite sturdy, with flowing wind patterns visible on it.

It seemed ordinary at first glance, but if an enemy approached...

The next moment, this flowing wind suddenly transformed into a tornado-like shape as if bristling with anger. The powerful wind force even blew away the larger ore pieces nearby.

What a vicious move.

Lin Mo was also startled - this skill looked much more formidable than his Frost Guard.

He guessed this was probably the exceptional-grade skill Landon had chosen back at the City Lord's Mansion.

Having already obtained one exceptional-grade offensive skill, choosing to also master a defensive-oriented exceptional-grade skill was indeed a wise choice.

But the ambusher was no ordinary person either. Although affected by this gust of wind, their momentum was significantly reduced, but the remaining attack still successfully landed on the cyan-green barrier.

A cracking sound immediately rang out. Surprise appeared on Landon's face, and he immediately retreated.

The next moment, the barrier around him shattered completely, and the [Fortitude] Lin Mo had cast on him also took effect.

This guy...

Landon covered the minor, non-serious wound on his abdomen, frowning as he looked at the newcomer.

The person wore a loose black robe with a black mask covering their face. They were quite tall and looked mysterious.

Level 5?

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. Being able to break Landon's exceptional-grade magic barrier with one strike meant the opponent could only be a level 5 warrior.

But from what he knew, only the gang leader in the Bloodsea Gang had reached level 5. Could this person before him be the Bloodsea Gang leader?

For stealing some mithril ore, they actually sent the gang leader personally?

Something's wrong!

Facing a warrior of higher level than himself, Landon's situation became rather awkward. For a mage like him who didn't have an exceptionally large number of skills, single combat wasn't his forte, let alone facing an opponent stronger than himself.

Lin Mo immediately took action, casting [Fortitude] and [Lightness] on himself, additionally layering on [Frost Guard], then engaged the opponent head-on while boosted by a pile of buffs.

"Ding—!"

Blades collided, emitting a crisp sound. The exposed eyes of the newcomer clearly showed shock as they were directly knocked back, their movements becoming stiff from the impact.

They completely hadn't expected Lin Mo's strength to be this powerful!

Even surpassing their own.

But this wasn't the end. The next second, Lin Mo suddenly exerted force again, his sword like a flexible snake chasing after them, directly piercing their chest.

[Consecutive Thrusts]!

"Clang——!"

Judging by the sound, the opponent was actually wearing heavy armor. Combined with their originally relatively low agility, no wonder they seemed somewhat clumsy.

But unfortunately for them, Lin Mo had just recently switched to the Steel-Cleaving Sword which had special effectiveness against heavy armor. Plus, with the bonus from the Steel-Cleaving Sword, his strength already surpassed that of ordinary level 5 warriors. This sword strike actually directly broke through that heavy armor, solidly stabbing into their chest.

The opponent wasn't stupid though - using the momentum from being knocked back to retreat timely, they avoided being completely impaled.

Clutching their wound, feeling the continuously flowing blood, their gaze toward Lin Mo now carried some terror.

"Are you the Bloodsea Gang leader?"

Lin Mo narrowed his eyes slightly, not in a hurry to kill them.

A level 5 warrior specifically dispatched to steal ore - that obviously wasn't reasonable at all. They definitely had some other purpose unknown to others.

But the opponent clearly wouldn't answer, suddenly charging toward the mine tunnel exit.

However, in less than half a second, Lin Mo very easily caught up to them, delivering a [Swift Rushing Punch] from behind that struck their kidney area.

The black-clothed person suffered this heavy blow, immediately vomiting blood and collapsing to the ground.

Couldn't match in strength, completely outclassed in speed, and could even use magic earlier - how could such a freak exist in this world? What exactly was his profession?

Simultaneously, a cloth-wrapped object fell from the opponent's body. Lin Mo walked over and, instead of using his hand, used his sword to flick it open.

This is... a piece of ore?

But the ore before his eyes was clearly vastly different from what he had seen before.

Compared to the dusty gray color of other ore, this ore before him, though not large, had a warm, smooth texture, entirely silver in color, like already refined mithril.

Yet it was clearly unrefined... just a piece of ore.

This thing was probably incredibly valuable!

Though unable to determine what exactly this was, Lin Mo understood this was likely the reason why this Bloodsea Gang leader, a level 5 warrior, had come personally.

Sure enough, upon discovering the item had fallen and been lost, they immediately panicked, hastily reaching to snatch it back.

Lin Mo looked at them coldly, mercilessly slashing out a blood-red sword energy.

[Blood Qi Blade]!

With his current terrifying strength of 66 points boosted by the Steel-Cleaving Sword, this move unquestionably severed their arm directly.

"Ah———!"

The person screamed in agony, clutching their severed arm, no longer daring to hesitate, turning to flee.

But in this life-or-death crisis, they clearly forgot that Lin Mo's speed far surpassed theirs.

Having run only a few steps, a sword suddenly pierced through their heart.

They looked down, staring in shock at the gleaming sword blade illuminated by the mine lights, seemingly unable to believe they were about to die like this.

But reality wouldn't give them any chance to react. Lin Mo withdrew the sword, and their body fell accordingly, struggling briefly before becoming completely still.

[Consecutive Thrusts] proficiency +30

A level 5 warrior was like a child before him, completely helpless!

Landon watching from the side was shocked, the key point being - how much time had even passed?

The support mission to Silvermoon Town, when they first met, seemed like it was just recently.

Back then, he was only a level 2 warrior, right?

...

Landon didn't know what to say anymore, somewhat awkwardly standing frozen to the side.

Lin Mo meanwhile picked up that special ore from the ground, carefully examining it.

The texture felt similar to mithril, but still carried some ore roughness, not as smooth.

Lin Mo looked toward Landon beside him, who shook his head, clearly also unaware what this thing was.

But that was fine - someone should know.

Lin Mo looked toward the mine tunnel interior: "No need to keep hiding... or do you think you can escape from my hands?"

After a brief silence, the Guard Commander walked out with a forced smile on his face.

"Thank you for your assistance. That thief was too powerful, I had no choice but to hide..."

He also understood that if he made any noise, even running deeper into the mine tunnel, he would be quickly caught up with, with no possibility of escaping through other exits.

"At this point, still acting would be meaningless."

Lin Mo just glanced at him indifferently: "Or do you really take us for fools?"

The man's expression changed several times: "Young brother, always leave some leeway, for future meetings... must you really drive me to desperation?"

"Besides, you must be quite curious about this thing too..."

He pointed at the ore in Lin Mo's hand, which actually made Lin Mo's expression soften somewhat.

"Tell me, what is this thing?"

"Spirit Vein Mithril."

"Spirit Vein... mithril?"

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, "What is this?"

Although he had read many books recently, knowledge wasn't something acquired overnight. His understanding of this world was still quite limited.

Fortunately, glancing at Landon beside him, he also looked completely baffled. It seemed this thing was indeed unknown to ordinary people.

"You should know that magical ley lines exist in this world."

Lin Mo nodded - he had read about this in books.

In this world, many magical ley lines existed. These ley lines were natural magical channels flowing underground, like the blood vessels of the earth, carrying primitive and powerful magical energy.

The power within these ley lines, especially at their sources, could be utilized.

Using the power of magic-rich ley lines, special "mage towers" could be constructed, increasing magical concentration within them, accelerating mages' mana growth and recovery rates. At critical moments, they could even guide and utilize ley line power for attacks through magical conduction, unleashing terrifying destructive force.

Therefore, some crucial locations, like the royal capital, would incorporate a powerful ley line during construction.

"In fact, besides the source serving as an extremely powerful magical energy source, areas along ley line paths often undergo many changes due to prolonged magical flow, including some geological alterations..."

Lin Mo suddenly understood something.

"You mean, mithril veins are born this way?"

"Exactly so."

The man nodded: "Because the magical content differs in each ley line, the geological changes they cause also differ. So mithril veins are classified into different grades. For example, the vein in Silverstream City is a C-grade vein."

Sounded low-grade.

"C-grade veins mostly produce D-grade and C-grade mithril. D-grade often contains impurities, difficult to use as forging material for staffs, while C-grade mithril is the ordinary mithril widely known to the public."

Lin Mo nodded thoughtfully: "Does the ore quality also relate to distance from the ley line?"

"As expected of you!"

The Guard Commander didn't forget to flatter Lin Mo: "Exactly so. For example, in C-grade mithril veins, ore closer to the ley line is C-grade mithril ore, while slightly further away becomes D-grade mithril ore."

"But even in C-grade mithril veins, if you can find areas connected to the ley line, in those small regions, higher quality mithril ore might appear, even some special materials..."

"Like this?"

Lin Mo looked at the silver ore in his hand.

Earlier, this Guard Commander had called it "Spirit Vein Mithril."

It was "Spirit Vein Mithril" rather than B-grade or A-grade mithril, indicating it wasn't simply higher quality mithril, but a special material.

"So, what's the purpose of this 'Spirit Vein Mithril'?"

Lin Mo inquired curiously.

However, the man's expression froze awkwardly: "Actually, I don't know either. I only know this thing is very valuable, so... so those people offered a high price."

Lin Mo glanced at him.

Bribed, rather than a mole who had long infiltrated Silverstream City's bureaucratic system?

If that were the case, it was actually somewhat better.

Of course, the specific circumstances should be left to City Lord Behira to investigate and judge.

He only needed to be responsible for bringing the person back...