Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 460 The Beginning of Destruction
The Kingdom of Hadur is a small to medium-sized country with a similar presence on the map as the Kingdom of Aetherine.

Unlike the Kingdom of Aetherine, which was always on the verge of collapse, Hadur was not only not a poor country, but also had a large number of wealthy people and famous nobles. Its combat power, technology and magic technology were also quite famous in the surrounding area.

The reason is simple: Hadur, a mountainous country, is also a country rich in magical minerals.

More than 20% of the residents here are dwarves and gnomes, and at least 50% of the residents' lives are related to mining and digging. Large quantities of ores, gems, and magical metals are sold throughout the world.

Having money may not allow you to have everything, but you can buy a lot of low- to mid-level combat power, which can also buy you a certain level of security and a low crime rate.

Compared to its neighbors, this country is like paradise; and compared to the Kingdom of Etherin, the neighboring country of its neighbors, it is paradise within paradise.

The rocky fortresses built against the mountainside, the underground fortresses formed by countless bunkers and abandoned mines, and the large number of dwarven warriors and mercenaries made it a powerful nation among small countries. In the early stages of this demonic tide, combat strength equaled safety, and safety could attract wealth.

Many nobles and wealthy merchants from Runpao brought resources, money, and military strength to settle in this mountainous country, bringing with them a stronger sense of security. Security and wealth will create a clustering effect. Capital hates instability and risk the most. The population of this mountainous country has increased by at least 20% in the past ten years.

"Hey!"

However, all the changes might just come from a simple greeting.

The Great Mine, a copper and copper derivative mining area with an unknown history, is said to be the origin and foundation of this kingdom. However, hundreds of years ago, there were virtually no minerals left to be found here.

To be precise, once the shallow mines are exhausted, mining deeper mines becomes too difficult; even the dwarves' underground shaft technology has its limits.

When the labor costs of mining (pensions, wages, equipment, etc.) far exceed the potential profits, naturally no businessman will be willing to invest in it.

"anyone there?!"

But the massive main mine pit was like a bottomless abyss, and even the elves with the best eyesight couldn't see below.

However, some dwarves and gnomes still live down there. One reason is that the miners' quarters, which used to be tributary mines, are very cheap. Another reason is that although large-scale mining is no longer profitable, the scattered dwarves, gnomes, and beastmen miners can still salvage something from down there.

Although few in number, they were still somewhat numerous, and coupled with the low cost of living, they even vaguely became a super slum on the outskirts of the kingdom's capital.

There's no tax to pay here, because there's no money to be made here, so tax officials are hesitant to come down.

It's perfectly normal for a few people to be missing in this dark mine; it's perfectly normal for them to be missing for a few days.

"Don't scare me, answer me."

But since three days ago, no one has come up from the depths of the large mine pit.

This is clearly abnormal. But the fact that no one paid attention until the third day is more in line with the characteristics of this area.

"Could it be that they've unearthed another deep-sea dragon? Finding a Balrog last time was already outrageous enough."

When a pit gets deep enough, it's normal to dig up anything, and one wrong move could lead to annihilation. The most likely source of such a catastrophe would be a slumbering dragon beast.

On one occasion, they even dug into a rift in the Underdark, where a race of dark elves and spider monsters stormed in, causing local production to halt for six months.

"anyone there?"

The detectives were still shouting and asking questions outside the mine. Their throats were hoarse from shouting, but not a single one of them went down. What kind of life are they risking?

The detective was horrified to see the dark, gaping pit, which remained completely silent.

Gritting his teeth, he took out a torch, lit it, and threw it down.

"Wow."

The flames fell silently.

It grew smaller and smaller until, after several minutes, it was no longer visible to the naked eye, and then it finally fell and went out completely.

It didn't seem to be flammable gas poisoning? There were no fallen bodies in the area initially illuminated by the fire.
"This is abnormal, this is extremely abnormal."

In the past, even at night, the area near the mine entrance was always bustling with people; living closer to the surface was more comfortable. But now, as the flames plummeted downwards, not a single person who used to rest near the railings below could be seen—this was highly unusual.

"Could it be that something took them all away?"

They looked at each other, but no one suggested going down to check. The kind of fool in horror stories who knowingly pokes their head into the bushes despite the danger is rare in reality.

These grassroots police officers and security officers really don't want to risk their lives like this.

"Or, I could hire a few thugs."

They discussed whether to find a few scoundrels who had committed crimes and send them down to atone for their sins.

But before they could even discuss and determine whether it was a habitual thief or a burglar...
"Boom!"

The sudden earthquake shook the entire mine.

If they could look further up at the surrounding area, they would see that the earthquake affected not only the mining area, but the entire capital.

The earthquake didn't last long, and the panicked sheriffs quickly put themselves on the ground to save themselves.

Some even slid all the way down, about to fall into the bottomless abyss in full view of everyone.

"Kai!"

His friends called his name, but could only watch helplessly as he slid down, and then...
"Snapped!"

Just like a mosquito, it crashed into the wall and turned into a flower of blood.

The fall wasn't that fast; he crashed directly into another "wall." The crater, hundreds of meters deep, was filled with a colossal object, a massive structure made of gray rock, slowly crawling upwards.

The largest of them, the unfortunate sheriff who crashed into it, was less than a finger's width in size.

They vary in appearance, but most of them have a body structure similar to an upright lizard. Their gray tails seem to function as suction cups, their spindle-shaped heads have no eyes, and their dome-shaped heads are surrounded by a black halo.

They have no scales, but they have an "exoskeleton" made of rock strata.

A faint brownish-yellow powder floated around them, much of which formed the steps they used to climb upwards.

The smallest one is over three meters long, while any one of them is over ten meters long.

"Buzz!"

The largest one, a monster over a hundred meters tall, seemed to have caused an earthquake throughout the mining area.

"What...what kind of monster is this?!"

"Oh my god! What is this... a warning, a warning!"

But their cries came too late.

One by one, rock-covered "monsters" without rocks crawled up from the depths of the rock strata.

This is not a beast tide, but a return—the return of ancient species.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The sudden shriek caused blood to flow from the five orifices of the police officers, leaving them blind.

And if one knows the language of this ancient species, one can glean much from these high-frequency sound waves.

"World, we're back."

(End of this chapter)