Chapter 14: A World Inside
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After putting away the black soil, Zhao Hai led Wood and Rock to Merlyn and Meg to see how they were doing.
Although there were many mines on this iron mountain, they were actually part of a large mine. Almost the entire mountain had been dug out by the dwarves, so the structure of this mountain was very strange. In addition, the dwarves were very proficient in mining, so the entire mine was very sturdy. There was no need to worry about the danger of a cave-in.
Although Merlyn and Meg were women, they had always been serving the Buda family and had always assisted Grimm in various matters. It was naturally not an issue for them to do this. On the other hand, the slaves were motivated by the fact that they could regain their freedom. They were full of energy and did not need supervision.
However, when they were packing up the mine, they realized that there were not many places that could be used. The first few dozen meters of the mine were a residential area formed by empty land and stone caves. The dwarves ate and lived here, and this place could be used to raise blue-eyed rabbits. However, they could not go further in. It was diagonally downward, and it was already filled with water.
However, just these places outside were enough to raise many blue-eyed rabbits. At least tens of thousands of them would not be a problem.
Because those dwarves lived in the mine for a long time, this mine was designed like a small city. It was not far from the water source and had a drainage facility. Moreover, the place was wide and close to the cave entrance. Although there was water inside, this residential area was still very dry. It could be said to be the best place to raise blue-eyed rabbits.
This was the first time Zhao Hai had seen the true appearance of this iron mountain. The entire iron mountain range was not very high. It was only about a thousand meters high and stretched for over a thousand kilometers. It formed a semicircle that surrounded the Black Soil Wilderness. There was only one way to enter and exit the Black Soil Wilderness, and that was through the opening of the semicircle mountain range. Zhao Hai’s castle was built along the mountain. A portion of it was on the slope, and on the back was the iron mountain. The mines were halfway up the mountain, and the terrain was not low. Behind the iron mountain range was the famous land, known as one of the five forbidden areas of the continent, the Carrion Swamp.
The soil on this mountain was dark brown with weeds growing here and there. However, they were not growing well and looked like they were about to die of disease. Although there were a few crooked trees, they too looked malnourished.
Seeing this, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but sigh. He finally knew why those nobles had sent him here, and why Grimm had spent all his wealth to buy resources before coming here. This was a land of death. No matter how hard they worked in the future, it would be considered great if they could have their fill. It would be a fool’s dream for the Buda family to rely on this to start anew.
Looking at the busy slaves, Zhao Hai quickly walked forward. Soon, he arrived at the mine. However, Merlyn and Meg were watching the slaves in the mine and did not notice Zhao Hai’s arrival.
Although this mine was built by the dwarves, the entrance was very tall. It was more than three meters tall and five meters wide. There was a large open space inside, and caves of various sizes were spread on the walls of the entire space. This was simply a city in the mountains. Even if it was inhabited by humans, it could accommodate ten thousand people without any issue.
Zhao Hai was shocked by the scene in front of him. He really did not expect those dwarves to create such a cave city. This was really too shocking.
The inside of the mine was made of stones. It was clearly an underground base.
Zhao Hai couldn’t help but nod. This place was really good. As long as they tidied up this place, not only could they use it to raise blue-eared rabbits, but they could also use it as a secret base. However, that would take time which they did not have now.
At this moment, Merlyn saw Zhao Hai and quickly walked over. “Young Master, why are you here? This place is very dirty. You should return to the castle.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I just came to see what this place is like. Grandma Merlyn, how many caves like this are there on this mountain?”
Merlyn quickly said, “There are only two caves of such a large size on the mountain. One is this one, and the other is on the other side of the mountain. The size of that place is similar to this place. The rest are small passageways. There are dozens of small passageways like that.”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “Are these caves connected? How deep is this mine? We need to build fences here. Otherwise, it is meaningless to raise blue-eyed rabbits here.”
Merlyn looked around the cave and said, “Young Master, don’t worry. These caves might be connected since it is the habit of the dwarves, but the tunnel is usually built under this mine. In order to ensure that this mountain won’t collapse, they won’t dig a horizontal tunnel outside. However, it is filled with water now, and it’s unknown how deep it is, so that tunnel has already become a dead end. Young Master can use this place without worry.”
Zhao Hai smiled and nodded. “That’s good. We don’t have to pay attention to the cave on the other side of the mountain for the time being. We can repair the path here and put fences inside as well. Although the tunnel is blocked by water and we don’t have to worry about the blue-eyed rabbits running away, we have to prevent those blue-eyed rabbits from drowning.”
Merlyn nodded and said, “Young Master, don’t worry. I know what to do. This is not a place you should come. You should go back.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “It’s okay, I’m not in a hurry. Grandma Merlyn, I’ll go and see if the water in the mine can be used.”
Merlyn nodded and said, “Then I’ll accompany you. I’m a water mage and know a lot about water. I believe I can help Young Master.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Alright, there’s nothing much here anyway. Grandma Merlyn, you don’t have to work too hard.” With that, he walked into the mine.
Merlyn followed Zhao Hai. Wood and Rock followed them, but Meg did not move. She had to stay and watch the slaves.
The four of them quickly entered the mine. This mine went down diagonally, but the slope was not big. From the looks of it, there were tracks above, but the tracks had already been moved by someone, leaving only the brown stone ground.
After walking down the slope for a few hundred meters, Zhao Hai saw an underground lake. Yes, this could only be described as an underground lake. The area here was really too large. With the light coming from the mine, he could not see how deep the lake was. He could only hear the sound of water flowing on it.
At this moment, a ball of white light suddenly lit up beside Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai looked to the side curiously and saw that Merlyn was holding a ball of light in her hand.
Zhao Hai immediately understood that this was magic. From the memories that Adam had left behind, he knew that this was a light-type illumination spell. It did not have any offensive, defensive, or healing effect. Its only use was as a lamp. It was a spell that any mage, even a magic apprentice, could use because only spells like illumination had no attribute restrictions.
Zhao Hai only took a look and turned around to carefully size up this underground lake with the help of the illumination spell. The surface of the water here was much larger than ordinary underground lakes. It could be said to be almost boundless. What made Zhao Hai feel the most puzzled was that there were actually a few small islands on this lake. However, these islands were not big, only dozens of square meters. Moreover, they were connected to the roof and the ground like pillars.
Zhao Hai asked Merlyn in confusion, “Grandma Merlyn, do you know what those pillar-like things are for?”
Merlyn smiled and said, “Young Master, you are correct. Those are pillars made by the dwarves to support the entire mountain range. The platforms there are command platforms. When the dwarves are working, there will be people standing on them to command the people below. The land here has been completely hollowed out. It can even be called a lake.
Zhao Hai’s eyes lit up, and he laughed loudly. “Great, this is great. We can raise fish here. This is really a natural treasure trove. Hahahaha.”
Merlyn looked around and said, “Young Master’s idea is not bad, but we have to take a good look at this place. If this is stagnant water, there is no way to raise fish at all. However, this doesn’t seem to be stagnant water. I feel that the water elements here are very active, but the source of this water is a problem. If there is a river flowing in, there must be an exit. Otherwise, this water can’t be maintained at this level. But if there is an exit, no matter how many fish we throw in, they might run away along that exit.”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “That’s right. This is a huge problem. Moreover, I discovered this problem at the moat as well. Looks like we have to resolve this problem first.” Then, he turned to Merlyn and said, “Grandma Merlyn, get some water. I want to take it back for research.”
Although Merlyn did not know what Zhao Hai meant, she still agreed. Then, with a move of her hand, a water ball with a diameter of one meter slowly rose from the surface of the lake and stopped in front of Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai sighed at the power of magic, but he did not stay idle. With a thought, the big water ball entered the space warehouse.
After putting away the water ball, Zhao Hai sensed around and realized that there were no notifications from the space. It seemed like the water ball had really been stored inside. Zhao Hai couldn’t help but sigh. This space warehouse was really magical. It could even store water balls.