The mine that the old goblin spoke of was quite close.
It's even closer than the goblin village actually.
Zhang Nu headed off in the direction indicated, exploring all the while.
[Normal cave]. Low exploration value.
[Normal ruins]. Low exploration value.
[Normal stream]. Low exploration value.
[Wild Wolf Woods]. Level 1 normal area. Relatively low exploration value.
[...]
[Mine of Sorrows]. Level 1 Lord area. This is an ancient mine, filled with rich deposits of iron. It was once extremely bustling, but due to a mysterious disaster, it has become a place of death that no one dares to set foot in. Possible rewards: Bronze Treasure Chest. Undeath gems. Various ores, etc.
That's the place!
A Lord level area?
That is the highest leveled area that he has encountered thus far.
By conquering this place, there's a chance of receiving a Bronze Treasure Chest. That's far higher level than the two previous chests that he's received, so the rewards from it should accordingly be far better as well.
Zhang Nu wasn't so reckless as to just charge in right away though.
30 draconian laborers and 10 draconian soldiers arrived after about half an hour.
This is a pretty well hidden area too.
The worn down entrance to the mine were all hidden by the overgrown foliage.
Zhang Nu even found mine tracks. Since whoever made this mine also had the knowledge to build up a system for hauling materials via rails and carts, that means that the natives of this world do have a certain level of technology and knowledge.
After having his subordinates prepare some tools and torches, Zhang Nu led the 40 draconians into the mines to start exploring.
The Mine of Sorrows is very big, but over the years of neglect, there were a lot of areas that had collapsed. This is also why he brought so many of his subordinates.
Zhang Nu gave out his orders while facing the main path down, "Move those rocks."
"Yes, my master!"
The draconians started moving. They're quite strong, capable of lifting huge boulders weighing hundreds of pounds with just one arm. With 30 or so draconians working together, they quickly cleared out the path.
At this moment, a number of piercing wails came from in front of them.
The draconian soldiers shouted an alarm, "Enemies!"
About a dozen or so shambling figures staggered forth.
Although their footsteps were unsteady, they're not actually all that slow.
[Rotten Zombie]. Level 1 Normal. They were once the half-orc slaves working in the mines. After dying, they became terrifying zombies. They're covered in highly poisonous rot and boast high defenses... Skills: Poison Claw (F rank), Harden Skin (F rank).
They're just Normal monsters.
The draconian soldiers immediately launched themselves at the enemies.
These zombies have tough bodies, but they couldn't defend against the spears of the draconians. Plus, they move and react slowly and stiffly, so the battle ended quite quickly.
[You've slain a rotten zombie. Gold +6!]
[You've slain a rotten zombie. Gold +6!]
[You've slain a rotten zombie. Gold +6!]
[...]
"Enemy completely purged!"
Zhang Nu nodded, "Continue forward!"
The mine's paths are complex, with collapsed corredors and zombies everywhere.
Zhang Nu led his party, clearing the paths of obstructions all the while. All together, they've dealt with over 50 or so zombies and have earned around 300 gold alone from that.
A sudden attack screamed through the air.
A draconian soldier was unable to react in time, and was struck.
-10!
That attack did quite a bit of damage, instantly sending the strong draconian soldier to the ground, greatly shocking the other draconians.
There are zombies capable of threatening draconian soldiers?
Zhang Nu looked over toward the direction where that attack came from, slightly surprised.
It was a zombie not like the others. It's far stronger looking and held a pitch black iron chain in its hands. It was that same chain that struck the draconian soldier previously.
[Chain Zombie]. Level 1 Elite. It used to be a half-orc supervisor in the mine, vicious, cruel, and powerful. After it died, it became even stronger. Specializes in mid ranged attacks... Skills: Corpse Venom Chain (E rank), Hook Prey (F rank), Harden Skin (F rank).
An Elite monster?
No wonder!
The chain zombie threw its chain out again.
It's trying to hook the injured draconian so as to drag it into the darkness.
Four draconians launched forward, grabbing the chain at the same time and pulling. This instead pulled the chain zombie to them, and two draconians moved up to stab into it with their spears.
-7!
-8!
...
With a couple of strikes, the zombie went down.
[You've slain a chain zombie. Gold +50!]
Zhang Nu used his healing skill on the injured draconian. This D rank skill came from the Hero Chen Hu. Although it can't really be said to be all that strong, it is more than good enough to heal normal injuries and allow his soldier to recover their fighting capabilities.
Then he picked up the chain zombie's chain.
[Chain zombie's cold iron chain]. Normal equipment. Forged of cold iron and, after being wielded by a zombie for a long time, it had gained the corpse poison effect.
It's basically equipment.
The material it's made of is pretty good too.
Even if he has no use for it, he could still melt it down again for the materials.
Zhang Nu didn't pay much more attention to such small gains. He just directed his party to continue forward. On the way, they continued to clear out hundreds of rotten zombies and three chain zombies.
As they continuously went deeper into the mine, Zhang Nu felt a strange shift in the atmosphere.
Even though they're deep underground, they still constantly feel a chilling wind around them. It even carries with the faint sound of sorrowful wails.
That sound is absolutely hair-raising, enough to make the timid too scared to sleep.
Zhang Nu discovered that his subordinates are even more obviously affected. Their statuses were obviously dropping, almost as if they've been subjected to a debuff.
What's going on?
Just what's at the bottom of this mine?
How did it turn this place like this!
T/N: Did you know? The Chinese word used for orcs, 兽人, is actually literally also translatable as "beast-person". Thus, anyone interested in translating Chinese western fantasy novels should make sure to read ahead so as to figure out if the 兽人 in a novel is supposed to be green with tusks or have fluffy ears and tails. Btw, I did in fact read ahead and confirm that the 兽人 in this novel are, in fact, green with tusks. Thus, orcs.
(P.S. - Thank you Chinese sites for WoW for offering guidelines to me on what the Chinese terms used for fantasy creatures like orcs, trolls, and ogres are.)