Chapter 207: Metal-Eating Beast!

"Master! This humble one saw that black shadow flash by right here that day, but when I looked more carefully, I found nothing!"

"Master, this humble one also saw the black shadow at this fork; it seemed to burrow into that abandoned mine tunnel!"

"Master, this humble one lost the ore right here. I was digging just one meter away at the time, but when I turned around, several kilograms of ore were missing..."

Inside the mine tunnel, all the miners who had noticed something unusual these past few days were gathered before Gervas, recounting the circumstances of the black shadow they each saw.

Through their consistent testimonies,

Gervas could confirm that the black shadow frequently appeared in the mining area, stealing ore while the slave miners were working.

After succeeding, the black shadow would dart into an adjacent abandoned mine tunnel.

That tunnel had been excavated previously by the Pat family, and its depth was several times greater than this new mine shaft.

It was simply abandoned because they had dug in the wrong direction and failed to reach the main iron ore vein.

"My lord, could it be that ghosts really exist?"

The mine tunnel was already narrow and oppressive; combined with the slave miners all saying they had seen that eerie black shadow, Knight Mi Gen looked at the dark, abandoned tunnel and felt a chill run down his spine.

After all, people are all the same; tangible things that can be seen and touched are nothing to fear.

Rather, it is the mysterious, the supernatural, and the unknown that instill fear.

Lei Meng directly refuted, "Knight Mi Gen, even if ghosts really do exist, do you think ghosts would eat ore?"

"Moreover, the Pat family has mined this iron mountain for decades with everything normal, so it absolutely cannot be something like a ghost."

Gervas did not expect that the Knight Commander was indeed the Knight Commander; not only was his martial power formidable, but he could also analyze things rationally.

And he naturally knew full well what it was: the Metal-Eating Rat.

Now, the living area of the Metal-Eating Beast had been basically confirmed.

Gervas did not delay. "Let's go, let's venture deep into this mine tunnel. I want to see what exactly dares to cause trouble in my Gervas's mine!"

"Even if it is a real ghost, I will deal with it!"

Mi Gen and the others immediately shot looks of admiration.

Knight Commander Lei Meng was a Silver Knight, so having a bit more courage was nothing.

But their own my lord, a noble and only a Bronze Knight, possessed such courage.

Truly worthy of being my lord's person!

Thus, Gervas held a torch and led the way toward the abandoned mine tunnel.

Seeing this, Mi Gen and the others, naturally worried about Gervas's safety, requested to walk in front.

Gervas directly refused; only after they insisted too much did he allow Lei Meng to walk alongside him.

As if he would miss such a perfect opportunity to establish a towering image of a lord!

Click-clack!

"Who is there?"

Just as Gervas's group had ventured deeper for over ten minutes, a sudden noise came from the pitch-black mine tunnel ahead.

It was the sound of a stone being kicked.

Although Gervas and Lei Meng's senses had been enhanced, the distance was too great for them to clearly see what it was.

"My lord, I only felt a black shadow flicker!" Lei Meng revealed solemnity.

After all, since he had seen the black shadow, it proved the slave miners were not lying; there really was something inside this tunnel.

"My... my lord, perhaps you should retreat first, and let us and Knight Commander Lei Meng advance to investigate..."

Mi Gen's voice even trembled as he spoke; who knew what might appear inside this dark tunnel.

"I am a Title Knight, and did I not just say that no matter what it is, I will drag it out!"

Gervas refused with resounding force, then continued forward under the admiring gazes of Mi Gen and the others.

Very quickly, they reached the end of the tunnel.

A relatively spacious cave area appeared ahead, roughly forty or fifty square meters in size.

Actually, this was a mine tunnel cave deliberately expanded back then to confirm whether there were ore veins in the surrounding area.

Whoosh!

Standing at the entrance of the space, the black shadow flashed by once more before everyone's eyes.

"I saw it, my lord, we saw it too!" Mi Gen and the others immediately exclaimed, quickly drawing the long swords at their waists.

"Do not panic first; block off the tunnel. Let Knight Commander Lei Meng and I see what exactly dares to cause trouble in the mine!"

Gervas pretended to draw his long sword, then, holding a torch in one hand and a sword in the other, walked into the spacious cave with Lei Meng back-to-back.

Whoosh!

Illuminated by the flame, the black shadow had nowhere to hide and could only flee continuously within the cave.

Its size was not large, with a height of at most one and a half meters.

"My lord, this... this is the Metal-Eating Beast!"

Lei Meng suddenly exclaimed, because at such close range, with the fire shining, he finally saw the general appearance of that black shadow.

"What, the Metal-Eating Beast?"

Actually, Gervas had also clearly seen the specific appearance of the Metal-Eating Beast.

It was round and chubby, covered in fur, looking surprisingly like a bear.

Moreover, its body was black and white, bearing a three-tenths resemblance to the panda of his previous life.

But the panda of the previous life was called the Iron-Eating Beast, and it did not eat metal.

Yet the Metal-Eating Beast specialized in eating metal ores; how could the two resemble each other?

"My lord, it cannot be wrong; legend says the Metal-Eating Beast has black and white fur and a bear-like body!"

"More importantly, it also likes to eat ore..."

"Haha, that truly is the favor of the God of Glory! Knight Mi Gen, you all block it off properly; I, my lord, will take this Gold-Eating Beast!"

The Gold-Eating Beast's combat power is not strong; although its sharp claws and teeth can split ore, it is too cowardly to know how to fight.

Seeing Gervas and Lei Meng surrounded by the glow of battle qi, it immediately cowered in fear in the corner, howling and whining.

Gervas and Lei Meng seized the opportunity, leaped forward in one stride, and controlled its limbs and head.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered.

The Gold-Eating Beast has sharp claws and teeth; although cowardly, if it struggles and takes a bite, it is no joke.

Fortunately, with the combined strength of Gervas and Lei Meng, there was no possibility of failure.

The Gold-Eating Beast was quickly tied up tightly and brought outside the mine tunnel.

Outside the mine tunnel, the appearance of the Gold-Eating Beast was fully visible.

Originally thought to resemble a panda by three-tenths, now it actually resembles it by eight-tenths.

Except for some gold mixed into its fur, everything else could be called exactly the same.

Gervas immediately exclaimed, "Good heavens!"

If this were in his past life, he would surely have been charged with abducting a national treasure.

"Tsk tsk, so it is this little thing; just now it almost scared me to death, yet I never expected it to be so cute!"

Knight Mi Gen and the other knights saw the true face of the Gold-Eating Beast and immediately kept exclaiming in wonder.

"By the way, Knight Lei Meng, you just said it is called a Gold-Eating Rat; does that mean it is very valuable?"

Lei Meng looked at Gervas, saw Gervas nod, and then answered, "That is correct, it is very valuable; such a Gold-Eating Beast is worth at least seven or eight hundred gold coins!"

"Hiss! Seven or eight hundred gold coins? Is that not more valuable than my lord's mine?" Mi Gen and the others were dumbfounded.

"That is correct, and the white fur of this Gold-Eating Beast has already begun to turn slightly golden, indicating it has started to transform into a second-rank Gold-Eating Beast!"

"By that time, its value can reach over one thousand gold coins! Because the higher the rank, the more it eats!"

"And its function is to eat metal ore, then excrete..."

Immediately, Lei Meng also informed the knights of the true purpose of the Gold-Eating Beast.

Mi Gen and the others listened with their mouths agape; "No wonder it is so expensive; is this not more powerful than a blacksmith?"

"If we speak of smelting metal, no blacksmith can compare to it!"

"Although refined steel is an ordinary metal, it is the most resilient material aside from those mixed with mithril!"