The Witch Hunter System

Chapter 819: Metal Shortage



Since the vast underground space didn't originally exist without the Earth Spirit Worm, it must have been lured or attracted by something that was only found in this particular subterranean region.

Of course, the pure mana was the obvious conclusion.

However, it probably wasn't the only attraction the subterranean region offered the Earth Spirit Worm. After all, while the Earth Spirit Worm was a fourth-dimensional creature, it was still a being of earthen affinity.

The higher-quality earthly minerals in the pure mana-filled subterranean region would undoubtedly be more appealing than the moon's ordinary soil.

Vaan believed that was why there wasn't a single trace of metal in the underground space.

The Earth Spirit Worm must have consumed all the metal deposits within the area. The Divine-rank Stalactite Milk could have also been a byproduct of it.

Shortly after Vaan moved toward the nearest earthen wall, his Fourth Dimensional Sense spread out and sank deep into the earth. He searched beyond the open space for potential mineral deposits that could be mined.

At the same time, he also tried to see if his senses could reach the surface to determine his location in Chaos.

Unfortunately, he failed to obtain satisfactory results from his scan. The range of his senses did not reach the surface; the underground space was too deep underneath the earth.

That said, Vaan believed the underground space was still somewhere within Gehenna.

After all, the distance between the moon and planet Pangea wasn't that great. The moon's dimensional crack connecting to a different star realm in Chaos wouldn't make sense.

'Among the nine territories of Gehenna, which one could have such pure mana hidden underneath its earth?' Vaan pondered.

Since he was free from his women, he had time to look into this matter. He figured it was something worth investigating.

After all, it was most likely one of two uninhabitable territories.

Considering that the Great Devils have ruled their territories for thousands to several hundred thousand years, they should be expected to know their land like the back of their hand.

As such, if they had discovered such pure mana underneath their land, they would have monopolized it long ago.

However, the pure mana in the underground space seemed virtually untouched. Thus, the underground space was unlikely to be part of the seven habitable territories.

On the other hand, the Darksea Abyss Territory and the Purpleflame Territory were places where even the Great Devils rarely visited, let alone explored.

No matter which one the underground space belonged to, it would still work in his favor.

...

As Vaan strolled along the earthen wall, scanning for rare metal deposits, a senior red dragon named Kaldrean soon approached.

"Supreme Leader, we have a problem," Kaldrean informed.

"What's the matter?" Vaan calmly asked.

"We are running low on rare metal to continue the next stage of the moon colony reconstruction project. Furthermore, we won't be able to rely on the clan to restock our inventory of rare metal," Kaldrean stated.

Vaan calmly nodded with understanding.

He knew it was only a matter of time before they ran out of salvageable rare metal they could use to repair the moon colony. After all, the original moon colony was made of a special alloy comparable to semi-divine to divine rank metals.

Even if the moon was rich in iron, the quality was too inferior to be used for the moon colony. Such weak metal would compromise the moon colony's structural integrity.

Given the magnitude of the ongoing and future projects, Pangea wouldn't have enough resources to support the demand; it was lacking in quantity and quality of rare metals.

If they didn't want the ongoing construction projects to be delayed, they had to secure new mineral deposits of rare metals from elsewhere.

Fortunately, Vaan knew just where to procure said resources.

The asteroid field was the most obvious place to acquire an unimaginable amount of rare metal.

After all, it was the ruins of an ancient civilization. Not only was rare metal abundant in such a place, but it most likely contained the same special alloy used in the moon colony. However, he was the only one presently capable of fetching the resources from the asteroid field.

Their other option was to search for rare metal deposits in the unknown subterranean region. Fortunately, Vaan just found several rare metal deposits during his earlier sweep. "There's a large deposit of rare metal ores just seven kilometers behind this wall. I will help you clear the path to it, but it will be up to you to organize a team to procure the resource," Vaan mentioned.

Shortly after, he placed his hand on the earthen wall and injected spatial power into it.

Shing-!!

In that instant, countless threads of dark light flashed across the earthen wall like flying metal wires, easily slicing through everything within their path as they rushed toward the hidden rare metal deposit.

Within mere moments, huge layers of the earthen wall were instantly reduced to finely cut slabs of rocks like bricks.

Shortly after, they all sank into a big spatial portal underneath and disappeared into Vaan's Heaven-Swallowing Space, leaving behind an open space that stretched for seven kilometers. Kaldrean was awed after witnessing the casual manner in which Vaan cleared the path to the rare metal deposit, which was wide enough for three adult dragons to enter side by side without feeling cramped.

The feat itself wasn't anything noteworthy to a Transcendent-rank Red Dragon, but the casual execution yet skillful control of power was like a work of art; it was inspiring to

observe.

"Go organize the mining team now," Vaan urged, before adding, "I'll give you a list of locations for the other rare metal deposits in the region later."

"Yes, Supreme Leader!" Kaldrean answered staunchly.

After Kaldrean left to recruit miners from the dragon group in the new moon colony, Vaan

entered the new path to continue his investigation.

He might learn something if he studied the softer soil area.