Daily News: Insect Girls' Heavy Dependence

Yekalin's tone carried a hint of weariness and impatience from being bogged down in trivial matters, but her answer was crystal clear.

Deep in the mine.

"half……"

Richard pondered the number, his steps unconsciously pausing for a moment.

Despite the darkness of the tunnel, Captain Patton beside him seemed to sense that the young master's body trembled almost imperceptibly.

"half……"

Richard repeated it again in a low voice.

It was as if lightning flashed through my mind, instantly connecting many previously vague perceptions and making them crystal clear.

No wonder the August family, despite being at the same level as the Northern Academy, could still amass immense wealth. They even built a legendary city like New Rome.

No wonder my Yekaterin is a true rich woman.

No wonder the collateral branches of New Rome are eyeing Stormwind City so covetously!

No wonder that old codger Buck didn't care about giving up the Iris and Pansy districts.

It's all because of!

Mithril is an essential resource for feeding the Earth Demon Insects.

The Earth Demon Worm is the foundation of the Knights' power system in the Kingdom of Gil!

Mithril production accounts for half of the kingdom's market share...

This almost means that nearly half of the entire Kingdom of Kiel consists of Earth Knights—nobles who gain power, status, and glory through the Earth Demon Worms.

Their source of power, their livelihood, is largely in the hands of Stormwind!

This is far more than just a border city or a mining outpost.

This clearly strangles half of the kingdom's military strength!

A mix of realization, shock, and a touch of inexplicable excitement quietly spread through Richard's heart.

Although he knew that the August family was wealthy and that Stormwind was important, it was only now that he truly understood the terrifying weight of this importance, a weight that could shake the very fabric of the kingdom.

"Young Master? Are you... alright?"

Captain Patton carefully observed his expression and tentatively asked.

Richard snapped out of his daze, took a deep breath of the cold, damp air in the mine, and shook his head.

"fine."

His gaze returned to the deep, boundless darkness ahead of the tunnel, but his eyes were much sharper than before.

"Keep leading the way to places you've never explored in these tunnels before."

"Yes!" Captain Patton didn't dare to ask any more questions and quickly signaled the team to speed up.

The lantern's light swayed in the winding tunnel, stretching and distorting the shadows of the group, which were then cast onto the mottled rock walls.

As they went deeper, the surrounding temperature seemed to slowly drop, and the air became more stagnant.

Apart from the sound of footsteps and the occasional tumble of falling gravel, there was utter silence.

As Richard walked, he silently sensed the subtle changes in his surroundings. At the same time, he devoted some of his attention to briefly sharing his discovery and shock with Yekaterin through the telepathic sea snail.

Yekaterin responded quickly, with a slightly weary smile:

"Now you know why so many people are eyeing our family, right? So, darling, hurry up and find the Essence Insect Liquid, and get stronger quickly. My livelihood depends on you helping me secure it."

Richard's lips twitched.

The pressure seems more concrete now, but the motivation is also inexplicably stronger.

They then explored deeper into the mine, in a secluded spot, for about ten minutes.

Just then, a group of miners who were scouting the fork in the road at the front suddenly pulled on the communication rope, alerting the others that something unusual had been discovered ahead.

Immediately afterwards, a miner carefully ran to the main group:

"Young Master Richard! Captain, come quick! This... the rock face over there... something's not right..."

Richard's eyes narrowed, and he immediately strode forward to check the situation.

Under the light of several lanterns, the rock walls of a section of the tunnel ahead were no longer just the silvery-gray, fluorescent mithril-bearing rock.

Because the associated rock is covered with fine hairs in red, blue, yellow and purple.

The rock face is covered with tiny, honeycomb-like holes, as if it had been repeatedly eroded by something. And the hairs inside these tiny holes are the thickest and most robust.

Even more striking is the damp ground beneath the rock face.

Scattered among them were some translucent, white, gelatinous residues that shimmered with a faint fluorescent light, and shards of broken glass.

"This is……"

Richard crouched down, picked up a bit of the remaining liquid with his bone sickle, and smelled it carefully.

Colorless and odorless.

It's definitely residual insect essence!

Although extremely thin and almost completely dissipated, it is by no means wrong.

"It's around here." Richard stood up, his sharp eyes scanning the dimly lit tunnels around him.

Captain Patton, quick-witted and perceptive, immediately began giving orders to the surrounding miners:

"Everyone spread out and search carefully! Watch out for crevices in the rock walls, depressions in the ground, and overhead! Pay special attention to this white liquid! And those shards of glass!"

Upon receiving the order, the team members immediately sprang into action.

The lantern's light spread through the intricate tunnels, illuminating more of the darker corners.

Richard's doubts deepened: why was the essence insect fluid placed here? This was no longer the main issue!

Richard immediately inquired:

"Captain Barton, are there any other creatures in the mithril mine? Have you ever seen these shards of glass before? Or those small jars filled with white liquid?"

Barton scratched his head. If the miners had seen these things before during previous mining operations, they wouldn't have been so surprised.

However, he naturally dared not answer Richard in that way, but instead lowered his head respectfully:

"Young master, those strange glass shards and that white liquid, we've never seen these things before."

This deepened Richard's confusion.

These miners have been working here for at least several years, and they've never even seen the essence insect liquid!

Why is it that as soon as I arrived, it was as if everything had suddenly been refreshed?

This is all too bizarre!

Just as Richard was still wondering, Captain Patton hesitated before speaking.

Richard noticed his expression: "Just say it, what's so hard to say?"

Captain Barton finally spoke:

"Reporting to young master, there really aren't many creatures in the mine, but there are mushrooms..."

"A clam? A mushroom?"

Richard was somewhat surprised by this answer. It wasn't that he couldn't understand the existence of mushrooms in the mine; in fact, it was normal for mushrooms to be there.

However, he himself has a deep-seated grudge against mushrooms... mushroom people, centaur mushroom people, and that giant tentacle that calls itself the master of the forest.

Richard had previously made connections between the red, blue, yellow, and purple patterns on the two large tentacles and the four subspecies of mushroom people (red, blue, yellow, and purple).

In addition, the first time I collected the essence insect fluid, the big mushroom head I encountered was red, blue, yellow and purple!

Even if he was completely illiterate in entomology, he could still make the connection that the so-called fifth-order insect beast was definitely related to the mushroom man!

Richard carefully observed the mycelium in the honeycomb-like holes on the rock wall surface, and indeed it was red, blue, yellow, and purple!

He immediately cursed under his breath.

"Damn it."

These damn mushrooms! Why are they still chasing me even after I'm underground?