Chapter 1435: Geological Survey, Suspected Mithril Mine

Continuing to march eastward, there was almost no trace of civilization in the forest, leaving only the most primitive, wild atmosphere.

However, Xia Duo and Niya still did not turn back, instead continuing to march eastward. During this time, besides chatting, Niya also began to help Xia Duo survey the geological conditions in the forest.

"Do you think it's really possible to discover a Mithril Mine in the Green Pearl Forest?" Niya asked curiously.

"Who knows! I'm just holding a 'wait and see' attitude. What I really want to determine isn't a Mithril Mine, but a weak point in the earth veins!"

Xia Duo did not hide his true intentions. In fact, this was something Niya needed to be aware of; if the Drow did not progress smoothly in the underground war, it was not impossible for them to sprout up everywhere and break through to the surface.

Within the scope of Daxia Territory and Savile Territory, not only had the Tower of Time Apprentices checked the area while accepting missions, but Xia Duo himself had also personally surveyed it many times, yet he had not discovered any weak points in the earth veins.

But Daxia Territory and Savile Territory only occupied a very small part of the vast forest area in the Nan Jing. To say that there were absolutely no weak points in the earth veins there—even if he were lying to himself, Xia Duo could not believe it.

However, surveying this large area was undoubtedly not a simple task. It wasn't that it was particularly difficult, but the forest was dangerous. Unless one used human lives to fill the gaps, only those who could truly walk freely in the forest could complete the mission relatively safely.

Such people were basically limited to at least Intermediate Mages or very experienced Adventurers. Otherwise, if ordinary people entered the forest at will, let alone conducting geological surveys, it would be considered lucky if they weren't snatched away by wild beasts.

……

Mentioning the realistic problem of the Drow, which was highly likely to occur, Niya could not help but feel a trace of worry. "If the Drow really appear in the Nan Jing, can we handle it?"

"It's difficult. Even with the existence of the Tower of Time, it would be very hard for us alone to block the nearly insane Drow."

Regarding the final battle where the Drow retreated from Cormanthor, Xia Duo had heard enough details from Iolum. At that time, the Drow God of Vengeance had personally manifested. If the Elven main god had not also descended with great power, perhaps Cormanthor would no longer exist.

But even so, the great battle between the two sides resulted in the complete destruction of that Underground Passage in the Dragonspine Mountains, and Cormanthor also lost several high-level Mages.

That battle could be considered Cormanthor's all-out effort. At the very least, on the surface, under the command of the Crown King, all Upper Families would have committed their own strength.

Added to that was the Elven main god, and even then, it was only a miserable victory. If it were the Nan Jing, it is estimated that even resisting would be difficult.

However, what is worth rejoicing is that even if that Underground Passage in the Dragonspine Mountains was destroyed, it was still a weak point in the earth veins, and the passage could be reopened.

In that case, perhaps in the eyes of the Drow, that place would be more attractive than the Nan Jing side.

Of course, just being passive or relying on luck certainly won't work. The only way to truly eliminate the hidden danger is to make oneself strong as quickly as possible.

In a situation where individual strength is difficult to have a major breakthrough, one can only look for it in the Mythallar.

At the same time, prevention in advance cannot be ignored. Just like what Xia Duo is doing now, although it may not play much of a role in resisting the Drow, at least it can provide a head start, so that there is time to arrange a strategic retreat.

"Any discoveries?" Xia Duo asked Niya.

"Not yet."

"That's good!"

……

Humans are, after all, a collective social species. While the primeval forest certainly has places worth exploring, such a place without any traces of civilization is ultimately not suitable for long-term human activity.

Even if it was just a short excursion, Xia Duo gradually felt a trace of weariness. Although he could still discover some novel food along the way, these were no longer enough to move him.

Not just him, Niya also increasingly focused her attention on the geological survey rather than the forest itself. This might be stimulated by the Drow crisis, but it was more because these original ecological forest landscapes were not attractive enough to the two of them.

"Xia Duo, a discovery!"

"What?!"

Suddenly hearing Niya's exclamation, Xia Duo's heart jumped into his throat. He was afraid that Niya would say she had discovered a weak point in the earth veins, so he hurriedly asked:

"What did you discover? Is it a weak point in the earth veins?"

"Not a weak point in the earth veins, I think I've discovered a Mithril Mine!"

Niya seemed a bit hesitant, but her voice still involuntarily rose a bit, pointing to the southeast direction and saying to Xia Duo: "Right there, about three li away!"

Hearing the specific direction, Xia Duo hurriedly projected his Perception Field over, and through the Perception Field, he cast the 【Infrasonic Detection】 Spell aimed at the underground of this area.

In an instant, an unusually familiar feeling welled up!

Xia Duo had organized the echo feedback data of Mithril veins in the 【Projection Plane: Empire Remnants】, and even summarized a possible feedback characteristic model for Mithril veins.

And the feedback from this detection, although different from the Mithril echo feedback data he had detected in Leisen Territory, fell steadily within the feedback characteristic model.

This discovery made Xia Duo happy. Even if he couldn't discover a Mithril vein, being able to perfect the model could be considered a contribution to the next successful discovery!

"Let's go, let's go over and take a look!"

Saying this, Xia Duo urged Yabo to take flight, and Niya also directed Pamela to follow. The two Pegasus did not have slow flight speeds; even with people on their backs, two or three li was just a matter of minutes.

……

But when they truly arrived at the destination, Xia Duo looked at the trees below, which were no different from other areas of the forest, and became a bit hesitant.

It wasn't that there would necessarily be any strange phenomena around a Mithril Mine, but as a territorial lord with a huge demand for Mithril, when facing a suspected Mithril Mine, one would always have some hesitations.

"I'll go down and take a look; you help me keep watch from above."

"Okay."

Hearing Niya agree, Xia Duo quickly cleared his mind, directly used his Bloodline Ability, transformed into gas, and drifted downward, quickly merging into the ground upon contact.

However, this was not a Bloodline Ability, but the 【Stone Travel】 originating from the Drow. Of course, Xia Duo preferred to call it 【Earth Escape Technique】.

From the surface all the way down, following the instructions of the previous 【Infrasonic Detection】, Xia Duo quickly arrived at an area less than ten meters underground.

From here on down, the soil began to gradually turn into rock, just like an immature mountain that had not grown out of the surface.

The area traversed by 【Stone Travel】 did not care whether it was soil or stone. Xia Duo continued downward for about two meters before using his Personal Space to collect some stone material samples.

……

Returning to the surface, before Xia Duo could speak, Niya took the initiative to suggest, "We've already surveyed this far, let's head back for today!"

Xia Duo certainly knew that Niya had ended this excursion early because of this suspected Mithril Mine, and he himself was also very interested in this result, so he followed Niya's words:

"Hmm, okay."