Daily News: Insect Girls' Heavy Dependence

Richard had absolutely no interest in the petty squabbles Captain Patton was talking about.

The Lituo family's underhanded tactics were nothing more than the impotent rage of a dead heir, only daring to resort to dirty tricks in the shadows.

If things really come to a head, I doubt they'd have the guts.

"Alright, you can handle those trivial matters yourself."

Richard waved his hand, interrupting Captain Patton's attempt to continue complaining.

"I've come here on another business. Take me deep into the mine."

Captain Patton paused, his obsequious smile freezing slightly.

"Deep...deep down? Young master, the mine is dark and damp, and the path is difficult to walk on. Moreover, the deeper you go, the more unman-made tunnels there are, making it easy to get lost...How can a nobleman like you go to such a place?"

"Just lead the way, stop with all this nonsense." Richard's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

Captain Patton immediately fell silent, not daring to say another word, and hurriedly nodded and bowed:

"Yes, yes, young master, please wait a moment, I'll arrange for someone to help you right away..."

Richard didn't bring many people with him when he came here. After all, there were already teams available to use...

Soon, a mixed team of five hundred miners and fifty pioneers brought by Richard was assembled.

The group held specially made, high-efficiency luminous jade helmets. They were lowered by a crane into the enormous mine pit, which resembled the mouth of a giant beast.

It's more like a valley or basin than a mine pit.

The entire mine opening was 500 meters in diameter, and Richard hadn't even had time to estimate the depth. Anyway, the narrower the diameter, the better.

The group descended to a mine of approximately 2000 square meters via a cable car.

Because it was approaching dusk, there were no other families' mining workers.

Richard roughly chose a direction and selected a mine shaft that appeared to be in relatively good condition.

Led by Captain Patton, they entered the mine tunnel.

The initial section of the tunnel was relatively spacious, with obvious signs of human excavation. The walls on both sides were supported by large logs, and sparsely embedded with luminous jade insects emitted a dim, stable light.

The further you go in, the fewer traces of human intervention there are, as if it were formed naturally, or dug by some kind of insect or beast.

The tunnel gradually became rugged and narrow, and the air became increasingly damp and cold, filled with a mixture of soil, ore, and some indescribable old smell.

The extensive network of tunnels forced Patton to send out more miners to explore the anomalies that Richard had mentioned.

Meanwhile, the main team...

Just as Richard had predicted, in these mines that had been managed and repeatedly cleaned by various families for a long time, it was rare to find even a small insect of any significant size, let alone insects or beasts.

Occasionally, the creatures that rustle and crawl around in the shadows are nothing more than ordinary, harmless multi-legged reptiles.

"How could the essence insect fluid be placed in a place like this?"

Richard trudged through the slippery tunnel, muttering to himself as he went.

Deep inside the mine, the environment was harsh, but thankfully the torches were still burning, proving that there was no shortage of oxygen inside…

Richard questioned the logic behind the administration of this essence insect liquid again, finding it rather counterintuitive.

Captain Patton, walking beside him, seemed to sense the young master's unfamiliarity with the mine environment and a hint of barely perceptible doubt.

He thought for a moment, then cautiously started a conversation, trying to ease the silence:

"Young master, legend has it that the mithril mines are a blessing bestowed by the goddess. The many mithril ore deposits within, and the intricate network of mine tunnels, were all gifts from her..."

Richard glanced at him, at the guy who had interrupted his thoughts:

"Do you still believe in goddesses? Natural mineral deposits are natural mineral deposits, why do you have to add a mythological element to them? You're supposed to be a captain, right? A middle-level member of the August family!"

Captain Barton was somewhat stunned by this remark, and he could only change the subject:

"Uh, young master, I really don't believe in goddesses... Look at this mine wall, its color has a special silvery-gray fluorescent glow, this is the associated rock layer of mithril ore. The rich ore veins in this mining area controlled by Stormwind are mainly concentrated in..."

"Mithril ore?"

Richard was indeed drawn to the word and temporarily set aside his concerns about the injection site for the insect essence.

He reached out and touched the cold, rough rock with a strange sheen on the pit wall beside him, and asked:

"What is this thing used for? I've never seen weapons or armor made of mithril before?"

Upon hearing this, Captain Patton's face showed a very subtle hint of surprise.

He was clearly a knowledgeable middle-aged man, and he was already pondering in his mind:

As a black-haired member of the royal family and the young lady's future spouse, how could he not even know the purpose of mithril?

But this surprise only lasted for a moment before he concealed it well.

He put on an even more respectful smile and explained in detail:

"Young master, mithril ore is not used to forge ordinary equipment. Its main purpose is to feed earthworms."

"Oh?"

Richard raised an eyebrow; he genuinely didn't know any of this, after all, the child was autistic...

"Yes."

Captain Barton continued:

"The raw mithril ore mined from the mine contains many impurities and cannot be used directly. It needs to be transported to a specialized refining workshop for processing and purification. The refined pure mithril is the key food for feeding the earth demon insects. This process also produces some byproducts, mainly ordinary silver ore."

What is the key food for feeding the Earth Demon Insects?

Richard's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't press Barton further. Instead, he put on his "little earphones," which naturally referred to the third-order transponder conch beetle.

This place is only four kilometers away from Stormwind City in a straight line, which is exactly within the five-kilometer effective communication range of the Tier 3 Sea Snail.

"Honey, I have a question for you. What percentage of the market share does our family's mithril ore production represent in the entire Kingdom of Kiel each year?"

Stormwind, Duke's Palace Reception Hall.

Yekaterin was being relentlessly pestered by a group of noble representatives from different families, ostensibly to "discuss the aftermath of the Night Tide Fortress incident," but in reality mostly there to probe the truth or exert pressure.

She maintained an impeccable, polite smile on her face, but inside she was already incredibly annoyed and wished she could kick all these people out immediately.

Just then, Richard's voice came from the sound-transmitting conch shell on the small necklace around her neck.

Yekalin's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.

She didn't even try to avoid the gazes, whether overt or covert, directed at her from around her. She simply turned slightly to the side, picked up a handful of food with her fingertips, and casually brushed it past her ear.

In reality, he lowered his voice and responded quickly:

"It'll take up about half, why?"