The inside of the mine was even narrower than Han Shuo had imagined. The dwarves were on the shorter side and could walk freely within, but it was a bit inconvenient for Han Shuo. Even with the illumination of oil lamps along the way, the inside of the mine still appeared quite dim.
After walking for a few minutes, Han Shuo had no choice but to bend his body. The deeper he walked, the darker and more damp it became. Broken rocks could be seen everywhere on the ground, and the three dwarves finally stopped when Han Shuo discovered that it was difficult to walk with his body bent.
The dwarves in front of him were mining with iron shovels and hammers in their hands, and the sounds of hammering rang out incessantly. When they discovered that Han Shuo had walked in, they involuntarily stopped what they were doing and looked at Han Shuo with suspicious gazes.
"After passing through these narrow passes, the tunnel will become more and more spacious as we go forward. Although there are more iron and copper ores inside, rocks will fall from the top when we move them. There was even a collapse a few days ago. We spent a lot of effort to reconnect the tunnel." Bennett leaned against the hard rock wall tiredly and looked at Han Shuo as he explained.
Nodding, Han Shuo said, "Alright, make some space for me. I'm going to summon the skeletal warriors and have them mine the ore inside."
Following Han Shuo's instructions, the dwarves in the innermost part of the tunnel all retreated out of there. When there weren't any dwarves left inside, Han Shuo chanted a necromancy incantation and seven skeletal warriors appeared one after another in the tunnel, directly blocking the entrance.
Han Shuo had originally only been able to control six skeletal warriors, but after meditating with the green ball these past few days, his mental strength had clearly improved once again. He could now control seven skeletal warriors.
"Put your iron shovels and hammers on the ground. I'll have the skeletal warriors use your tools and mine the ore in the innermost part." Han Shuo looked at the dwarves retreating after the seven skeletal warriors had appeared.
When the dwarves heard Han Shuo's words, they hesitated for a moment and threw out the mining tools in their hands one by one under Bennett's persuasion. Han Shuo manipulated the skeletal warriors to abandon the bone daggers in their hands and pick up the mining tools on the ground. Each of them bent their bodies and slowly walked deeper into the mine.
A "wraith" was released and floated into the depths of the mine along with the skeletal warriors on Han Shuo's orders. Han Shuo could observe the surroundings with the help of this "wraith". With the "wraith" leading the way at the front, Han Shuo could personally observe the scene in the depths of the mine.
Indeed, it was as the dwarves had said. The skeletal warriors crouched down and slowly made their way through an extremely narrow hole. The further they went, the larger the space became. However, there were no lighting devices inside, and Han Shuo was unable to see his surroundings clearly.
When the "wraith" and the skeletal warriors had walked a great distance and Han Shuo felt that he couldn't control these dark creatures any further, he couldn't help but assign the task of mining ore. Using the "wraith" as a visual medium, Han Shuo focused his mental strength and manipulated the seven skeletal warriors to start hammering away at some of the ore in the surroundings.
Following the movements of the skeletal warriors, loud clinking sounds came from within. After a while, Han Shuo could clearly feel with the help of the "wraith" that the rocks at the top of the mine had loosened due to the skeletal warriors' digging. After a while, a few large rocks actually fell down and smashed a skeletal warrior into a pile of broken bones.
Focusing his mental strength, Han Shuo closed his eyes and stood in front of the dwarves. He carefully manipulated the skeletal warriors and had the "wraith" float above the top of the cave. He carefully observed the large rocks that had loosened and hurriedly ordered the skeletal warriors below to take cover as soon as the rocks fell.
After a long while, another skeletal warrior was smashed to pieces by a large rock. Han Shuo's mental strength was severely depleted and he felt a bit dizzy. He immediately understood that he'd expended too much mental strength and hurriedly ordered the remaining five skeletal warriors to stop mining. They picked up some of the crushed ore on the ground and started moving it to the back.
When the five skeletal warriors moved the mined ore to the narrow pass one by one, the dwarves on Bennett's side called out and didn't wait for Han Shuo's orders. They walked to the pass one by one and picked up the ore there, moving it to the safety of Han Shuo's side.
After a few more minutes, Han Shuo felt that his mental strength could no longer support the skeletal warriors' continued work. He immediately made the decision to cast an incantation and send the remaining skeletal warriors, as well as the "wraith", back to the other dimension.
By this time, the cave entrance in front of Han Shuo was already filled with dozens of large and small pieces of ore. The dwarves cheered as they fought to crush the ore and put it into the large pockets on their backs.
"Oh, my dear friend. Because of your help, we've harvested more ore today than we've harvested in a week. These cute iron and steel ores can be refined into beautiful weapons. This is truly a happy thing. " Although Bennett was injured and very tired, he was in exceptionally good spirits. He looked at his companions as they smashed and picked up the ores in high spirits, excitedly expressing their gratitude to Han Shuo.
The other dwarves laughed heartily as they picked up the ore excitedly and took out the wine they'd brought with them. They gulped it down happily and made hearty noises.
"Oh my gosh, what's this, what's this?" Suddenly, one of the dwarves screeched loudly. This scream attracted the attention of all the other dwarves, and they all surged towards this dwarf.
Han Shuo was also startled and couldn't help but look at this dwarf. However, he'd already been surrounded by the other dwarves and Han Shuo couldn't see anything. He secretly wondered if something had happened.
Just as Han Shuo was guessing suspiciously, Bennett suddenly lost his composure and laughed wildly. He even threw the wineskin in his hands into the air, waving his arms and legs as he cheered excitedly, "Black iron, damned black iron. I'm sure this really is black iron. My gosh, there's black iron in there. The village chief will go crazy if he finds out!"
When the other dwarves heard Bennett's words, their faces all flushed red and they couldn't help but dance with joy. They raised their hammers and furiously pounded the surrounding stone walls, making loud booms and giving Han Shuo quite a fright.
Han Shuo breathed a sigh of relief in his heart when he heard Bennett's words. He understood that these dwarves must've obtained some wondrous metal, which was why they were so excited. He was also secretly happy.
The dwarves finally calmed down after a while. Han Shuo finally asked, "Bennett, what kind of ore is this black iron? Is it very precious?"
Bennett nodded like a chick pecking at rice and said excitedly, "Of course, it's very precious, precious to the extreme! Black iron is the densest and hardest of all ores, but its mass is the smallest of all metals. In addition, it never rusts and can be changed by adding other materials. It's the best material for making weapons. This is a gift from the gods! "
Han Shuo was about to say some words of congratulations when a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind. A piece of memory surged into his mind, and he abruptly understood from the attributes of this black iron that this black iron was actually a precious material for forging demonic treasures in Chu Canglan's memories — darksteel.
Although black iron and darksteel had different names, according to Bennett's description and Chu Canglan's memories, Han Shuo immediately understood that these two ores with different names should refer to the same thing. The black iron that Bennett spoke of was also the darksteel that Chu Canglan had spoken of in his memories.
"It's a pity that there's only a very small piece. It looks like it's only enough to forge a small dagger." After his excitement, Bennett looked at the black iron in the dwarf's hands and said with some regret.
"Bennett, don't be too discouraged. There's definitely more black iron in there. Maybe we'll be able to get a bigger piece next time. That way, we can forge the sharpest weapons!" The dwarf Benson said.
"Dear friend, thank you very much for your help. We're willing to share our mine with you. Can you continue to help us? We're willing to share the ores we mine with you." Bennett looked at Han Shuo with a face full of longing when he heard Benson's words, and said pleadingly.
"I'm very happy that you trust me so much. I'm happy to help you, but I'm too tired today and want to rest for the night. I'll come back tomorrow to continue mining with you, alright?" Han Shuo was secretly delighted as he spoke humbly to Bennett.
"Of course, of course. We'll come over with the village chief first thing tomorrow morning. I hope you can come again! "Bennett said hastily.
Nodding, Han Shuo smiled faintly, "Then, see you tomorrow!"
Han Shuo didn't take a single piece of ore with him after he'd spoken and walked confidently towards the entrance of the mine, leaving behind a few wildly excited dwarves gulping down wine.
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