The night was shrouded in mist.
In the wilderness, near the cliff face, a newly built stone house had appeared.
When it came to eating and living, Ivan never skimped on himself; if the conditions allowed, there was no need to endure the hardships of the elements, even if it was just for a few days.
“Mother.”
“Make sure you keep watch well tonight, and let nothing unnoticed disturb Sorcerer Ivan.”
“Rest assured, if anything dares to be so blind, we’ll gouge out its eyes and grind its bones to dust.”
After nightfall, the Silkworm Queen called out the Wind Moths and the Scented Butterflies, arranging for the two insects to take up the watch, and they obeyed her every command.
The two onlookers exchanged glances, obviously wanting to say something to the Silkworm Queen.
“If you have something to say, speak.”
“Mother, the mulberry trees inside couldn’t grow.” Seeing that the Wind Moth suddenly fell silent again, the Scented Butterfly had no choice but to speak.
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“I know, if they can’t grow, then so be it.” The Silkworm Queen had been keeping an eye on the space within her insect nest, and there was nothing she could do about the inability to grow mulberry trees there.
In the space of the insect nest, aside from the rapid wood silkworms, it seemed that no other creature could survive.
“Mother, we beseech you, may we stay outside for a few more days? Just a few days.” Under the gaze of the Scented Butterfly, the Wind Moth pleaded softly.
The constancy of the insect nest space was torturous to the restless Wind Moth, yet the mother did not like them to stay outside.
The Scented Butterfly also looked eagerly at the Silkworm Queen.
“You two useless things, there’s a perfectly safe place and you don’t want to stay, insisting on staying outside where it’s so dangerous.” Hearing this, the Silkworm Queen scolded the two insects.
Neither the Wind Moth nor the Scented Butterfly were annoyed, merely looking at the Silkworm Queen with pitiful eyes.
Knowing that the two were not like the other rapid wood silkworms, ignorant and uncomprehending, and indeed would feel bored and annoyed inside, the Silkworm Queen couldn’t help but soften her heart.
“Alright alright, I can’t decide this, we need to ask Sorcerer Ivan.”
Upon hearing the Silkworm Queen’s words, both insects showed obvious smiles; they knew that Sorcerer Ivan was always kind and as long as they didn’t trouble the sorcerer, he would likely not object.
Indeed, Ivan agreed right away upon hearing the request.
He saw the rapid wood silkworms as logistics support.
The Silkworm Queen’s insect nest space was fully equipped, providing considerable support to his logistics; the only regret was that the space was not big enough. Otherwise, he would have brought most of his possessions with him.
“Not bad at all, the space is bigger than those two scrolls I had before.”
“Too bad the things of another enemy were burnt by the blast potion, and whether one of them is dead or alive, I do not know.”
Inside the stone house, Ivan was checking the spoils of war he had gathered, having killed three sorcerers and obtained only a Transfer Sealing Scroll. From within the scroll, he found quite a few magic stones and materials.
The magic stones and materials were one thing, but what satisfied him was the capacity of the Transfer Sealing Scroll, a full 12 cubic meters, which was the third such scroll in his possession.
Of course, the Silkworm Queen’s space must remain a secret, and naturally, the more Transfer Sealing Scrolls he had, the better.
He couldn’t help but think of that bounty, as he was no saint with a martyr’s heart; a grudge definitely must be avenged, and this particular one he would need to remember and claim back someday.
The next day, Ivan, with the Silkworm Queen and other insects, began to investigate around the Solo Magic Stone Mine. The main force of the investigation was himself, while the Wind Moth and the Scented Butterfly were just helping with miscellaneous tasks.
Under his methods, he quickly located multiple points of the defensive sorcery array.
Day after day passed, and as the saying goes, “Heaven rewards the diligent.” On the fifth day, he successfully found a flaw in the Formation, which would allow him to truly break open the defensive sorcery array.
“Ivan, do you need help?” Inside a newly excavated cave in Kilslogg Mountain, the Silkworm Queen came up and asked.
“No need, I’ll take you guys inside in a bit to take a look.” Ivan fumbled in his pocket and took out a mid-level magicalized item—the small Multi-changing Star Spike, which, like the Multi-changing Star Spike, resembled the Oppressive Dragon Truncheon.
Seeing this, the Silkworm Queen quickly sent the Wind Moth and the Scented Butterfly back to the space worm nest and obediently settled on Ivan’s shoulder, watching closely as the sorcerer broke through the magic stone mine’s protection.
Ivan casually activated the small Multi-changing Star Spike, and the runes lines on the small Star Spike shone with a luminous light, then he poked it against the thick defensive sorcery array in front of him.
Stimulated by an external force, the defensive sorcery array began to exude a dangerous aura, its power gradually gathering more strength.
He could feel the rebounding force from the small Star Spike, holding it firmly against it, with the runes lines climbing up the defensive sorcery array—nine runes bundles were clearly visible, like ivy scaling a wall.
Guided by the small Multi-changing Star Spike, the runes lines of the defensive sorcery array itself revealed themselves.
A subtle collision occurred between the two types of runes lines, like a contest between kindred elements, and the rebounding force on the small Star Spike weakened a little, becoming irregular.
At one moment, a heavy rebounding force suddenly emanated from his hand.
Ivan, gripping the small Star Spike, stepped back a few paces following the momentum.
“Interesting.”
This did not discourage him.
Considering how important the magic stone mine was, the defensive sorcery array was certainly not simple. The mere light rebound showed just how exceptional the quality of the small Multi-changing Star Spike was.
Seeing his confidence, the Silkworm Queen held back the words that had reached her mouth, and her worries dissipated.
“Well then, let’s explore a bit more.”
Faced with a substantial defensive sorcery array like this, given free rein to study it, Ivan felt no need to rush into the magic stone mine and took the opportunity to explore the use of the Multi-changing Star Runes Array and the small Star Spike further.
Another ten days passed in this investigation.
That day, once again, the small Star Spike was poked into the defensive sorcery array. The runes lines from the small Star Spike spread to the defensive sorcery array, which revealed its own runes lines, and a new round of contest between the two began.
The two types of runes lines collided and began to merge, gradually intertwining. The small Star Spike, using this as a foundation, caused an orderly distortion ahead.
Soon, a passage opened up in the defensive sorcery array.
“Success.”
After observing for a moment, Ivan grasped the small Star Spike and entered the half-human-high passage. As he moved, the runes lines cleared the way, the mountain walls parted like a stream around him, and the passage continually expanded towards the inside.
Shortly, he emerged from the narrow passage into a dim and oppressive cavern, surrounded by scattered plants and stones faintly glowing, indistinguishable from the inside of Kanda magic stone mine.
This was clearly the interior of the Solo Magic Stone Mine.
Ivan could feel that the concentration of energy particles here was lower than outside, but the mine was permeated with a unique aura of the magic stone mine, omnipresent.
This made him breathe a sigh of relief, inwardly commenting that they had reached the right place.
“Let them out, and have the Wind Moth and Scented Butterfly lead the way to search for magic stones inside. In the meantime, clear out anything that might cause us trouble.”
“If they encounter something they can’t handle, tell them not to act rashly.”
He instructed the Silkworm Queen to summon the other rapid wood silkworms to assist in exploring the surroundings. Thinking of the black-robed monsters bred in the Kanda magic stone mine, along with other magicalized wild beasts and undead, he added another directive.
Following that, he and the tribe of rapid wood silkworms advanced deeper into the magic stone mine.