He never expected that a single decision of his would bring the Lionmane Tribe to the brink of ruin.
And the fact that there was a Mithril Vein here, he hadn’t even known. That oversight filled him with bitter regret.
If he had discovered the Mithril Vein, there was no way he would’ve sent the tribe’s spellcasters away.
Mithril Vein. That was a Mithril Vein, damn it!!
This mistake was too fatal.
Still, what he’d said earlier wasn’t wrong, as long as the shaman still lived, the Lionmane Tribe would not be destroyed.
But with so many clansmen lost, even if the tribe survived, they would fall from greatness and become just another minor tribe.
Perhaps they would rise again one day, or perhaps they never would.
In the end, he had failed to lead the Lionmane Tribe to survive.
“Vampire King… if you’re going to kill me, could you at least have that Northern warrior do it?
A proud lion warrior… should die by a warrior’s hand.”
Kap’s tone carried a weakness that was hard to conceal.
Although the body of a Level 18 warrior was incredibly strong, he had not only endured the frenzied attacks of two powerful warriors yesterday, but had also taken a dragon breath attack head-on in the end.
Most critically, he had used Berserk Mode. The side effects of a Beastman’s Berserk Mode were almost equivalent to a mage being forcibly drained of both mana and mental force. With all of that compounded, he was now in an unprecedented state of weakness.
At this point, even a farmer with a tool could kill him.
He was already prepared to face death.
“No, you won’t die. Perhaps one day, you’ll become a part of Dawn City,” Li De said with a mysterious smile. Before Kap could reply, he turned and left.
While he couldn’t Embrace non-humans, he had already enslaved Witherbone, an Undead. Compared to a soul-manipulating Necromancer, even the strongest Beastman was no match in this regard.
Kap slightly opened his eyes, full of confusion.
Dawn City?? That vampire’s ancient castle??
This Vampire King, what made him think that a proud warrior of the Lionmane Tribe would ever surrender to him??
Hmph, foolish vampire. Beastmen do not surrender.
The mighty Lionmane bows to no one!!
After stepping out of the room where Kap was being held, Li De felt completely refreshed.
The fruits of victory were always wonderful, especially when you could gloat about it in front of a once-powerful enemy. Tsk, tsk, that feeling was truly satisfying.
No wonder so many big villains loved to go on and on after gaining the upper hand, flaunting the joy of victory in front of the enemy was just too enjoyable.
This must be the legendary ‘if you don’t monologue, you won’t die.’
Half a sun-hour later, beside a collapsed building.
Li De stood next to a half-shattered, but still-standing round stone pillar, and turned to Stanley with a direct question.
“Stanley, has the Mithril Vein been found?”
Stanley, his face marked with a hideous scar, wore the same dark priest robe as Li De. His tall and burly figure had none of the frailty usually associated with spellcasters.
Compared to Li De, Stanley looked more like a warrior leading a charge.
Stanley nodded, and for once, his tone carried a trace of excitement.
“Your Majesty, the Mithril Vein lies directly beneath our feet.”
Li De was momentarily confused, glancing down at the bluestone floor without understanding.
“You mean… the dwarves discovered a Mithril Vein beneath their own city??”
Stanley gave a definite nod. “Correct. Emi has already confirmed it.”
Hearing this confirmation, Li De couldn’t help but grin. Damn, that’s insane. No wonder they’re a race with maxed-out mining skills.
They randomly built a city and just happened to place it directly over a precious Mithril Vein worth starting wars between nations.
This luck… unbelievable.
Just then, Emi, the Level 15 Shadow High Priest, arrived at Li De’s side with a hint of excitement on his face.
“Lord Progenitor, you called for me?”
“Stanley just said you’ve confirmed the Mithril Vein?” Li De asked with interest.
“That’s right. The information about the Mithril Vein was only circulated among a few high-level dwarves. When I infiltrated the area before the battle, I accidentally overheard a few fragmented remarks.
After that, I had our people investigate and finally confirmed the precise location of the vein.
The Beastmen did search the city, but because the dwarves kept the secret so tightly, they never learned about the Mithril Vein, and they didn’t even look at the underground.
That’s why they remained completely unaware.”
After Emi’s explanation, Li De finally understood. But then he frowned.
“Then what about those Mithril ores that had leaked out before?”
“The dwarves had an older Mithril Vein that was nearly exhausted. The low-quality ores that circulated came from there.
That vein can no longer produce much Mithril.”
“I see. So in other words, we’ve snatched the peach this time?” A bright smile spread across Li De’s face.
“Can we estimate the Mithril Vein’s reserves?”
Emi smiled bitterly and shook his head. “We don’t have a Prospector. To assess the reserves, we’ll need to bring a surveying team from Dawn City.”
“You didn’t manage to get that information from the dwarves?”
“Your Majesty, the dwarves didn’t confirm the reserves either.
Since the vein is directly beneath the city, excavating it would destroy the city itself.
So the dwarves had been deliberating on an excavation plan and never began work. The specific reserves likely remain unknown.
But what is certain is that this Mithril Vein is rich in content, and the ore quality is very high.”
Excavating the Mithril Vein would destroy the city?
Hearing that, Li De turned and looked around with a strange expression.
Looking at the ruins surrounding him, he couldn’t help but chuckle helplessly.