Chapter 1432 Mining Disputes
Around the issue of the ownership of the super-large magic crystal vein, the empire belongs to the Midgard colony and Fizen belongs to the Jotunheim colony, and the struggle between the two sides is becoming increasingly fierce.
The colonial authorities of the two countries on the ground are relatively restrained, and they just talk about each other in the newspapers they issue. In the underground world, the nearest place under the control of the two sides is only one mile away, and the contradiction is even more apparent. Sharp, it is said that there have been several conflicts with real knives and real guns, and the cumulative number of casualties on both sides has reached triple digits.
Due to the security task on this trip, Qiao An was worried that he would not be able to devote enough energy to take care of Ruby, so he asked little Lolita to stay at home and obediently wait for him to come back.
Of course Ruby was very reluctant, but fortunately she was still very sensible, knowing that Joan’s underground trip was different than usual, so she went with her, so she would not be a burden to him, so she obediently accepted Joan’s arrangement, and told He took the "magic machine soldier" with him.
"Although Zaku doesn't have Ruby's control, and he can't use the ultimate skill 'Whirlwind of Death', it is still very powerful. Brother Qiao An brings Zaku with him. If he is in danger, he can release it to help deal with it. enemy."
The childish words of the little girl revealed the concern from the heart, which moved Qiao An very much, and told Ruby to take good care of herself, and promised to come back as soon as the inspection was over.
Arranging things at home, after 8 o'clock in the morning on October 2, Joan and Zion came to the underground teleportation array of Midgard University after breakfast.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Hailaer took Quintilian and his four entourages by car from the Tuileries Hotel to meet them.
Continue to wait until nine o'clock, Mr. Locke showed up on time at the agreed time, and distributed the eight sets of underground exploration equipment prepared in advance, including "night vision goggles" and a helmet with an "inextinguishable miner's lamp", to everyone, and then started the transmission In a row, Qiao An and his party of eight were sent directly to the abyss mining area.
Joan's teleportation point is at the forefront of the disputed mining area, and the local teleportation station was only repaired two months ago.
Joan still remembered that he and Ruby had teleported to this site during the summer vacation, and went to the "Palace of Silence" to meet Medea via this site.
At that time, the teleportation array was newly completed, and it was cleaned up quite cleanly.
After revisiting the old place after more than a month, Qiao An found that the environment here has changed drastically. The stone pillars standing around are mottled with scars and blood stains are faintly left, and the array map under his feet also has obvious signs of repair.
Looking through the "night vision goggles" and looking towards the outside of the teleportation station, the first thing I saw was a newly built row of wooden houses, probably miners' dormitories, and a circle of more solid stone houses in the distance. Most of the people who entered were stone-blind barbarians with gray complexions, presumably they were mercenaries recruited by the company from the Temple of Silence.
Looking beyond the mercenary camp to the distance, Joan saw a large group of dwarf miners wielding pickaxes and digging deeply. But they were not digging a mine pit, but deepening a trench, and using the excavated rocks and soil to reinforce the parapet in front of the trench. In front of the parapet, there are densely packed refusal horses, and multiple barbed wire fences are stretched between the refusal horses.
"This place looks more like a frontline position than a mining area."
Quintilian's emotion came from Joan's ear.
It seems that this visitor from the Far East has also noticed the smell of gunpowder in the mining area.
"Joan, welcome to visit."
Outside the teleportation formation, a tall and fit female warrior was smiling and waving to him.
Standing in the dimly lit ancient abyss, her light gray skin made her look hazy, and a black ribbon was tied on her pretty face, covering the area where her eyes were.
Qiao An followed the reputation and recognized "Grey Bird", the receptionist of the mining area that he had contacted in advance, and led his companions to greet them and introduce them to both parties.
"This is the security contractor of the mining area, Ms. Gray Bird from the Temple of Silence, the captain of the stone-blind barbarian mercenaries."
As soon as Joan finished introducing Gray Bird, an ugly big head squeezed over and rubbed against his arms, making an intimate whining sound from the depths of his tubular throat.
Joan patted Bell's neck covered with smooth scales, and said to his companion who was visibly vigilant: "This guy is called Bell, and he is a domesticated dark sound-deaf monster, a gray bird's 'hound', everyone, don't be afraid." I’m afraid, Bell just looks a little scary, but he’s actually quite human and won’t hurt his friends.”
"Oh? Really?" Holden squeezed over curiously, "Ms. Graybird, can I touch Bell?"
"Of course." The blind lady smiled shyly, "Although Bell can't see, he can remember the scents of all the creatures that are friendly to him, and he treats them equally friendly."
Mr. Poet quickly became involved with the dark tone deaf monster, completely forgetting his own job.
Audrey rolled her eyes at her playful brother, and walked forward to chat with Gray Bird, holding Hailaer's hand, asking intentionally or unintentionally how she and Joan got to know each other, and how deep their friendship is.
Gray Bird answered truthfully. Perhaps because of her shy personality, Audrey and Hailaer asked her endlessly about the details of getting along with Joan. Even though they had nothing to hide, they still stuttered and their cheeks flushed.
Qiao An is also not good at socializing, seeing that Gray Bird is in an awkward situation, out of sympathy, he came over and forcibly changed the subject.
"Hui Bird, I saw signs of damage to the teleportation station. Has there been a battle in this area recently?"
Gray Bird nodded, his expression returned to seriousness.
"Just the day before yesterday, the snake-man mercenary group hired by the Feizhen mining area on the opposite side launched a surprise attack on our position. The purpose seems to be to destroy our teleportation site and cut off the personnel and material supply lines from the surface world."
"After receiving the alarm, I led the mercenaries of my family to stop the atrocities of the snake people in time. With the assistance of the dwarf miners, after two hours of fierce fighting and a lot of casualties, I finally killed the people who invaded our position. The snake people were driven out, and the teleportation station was finally preserved."
Gray Bird turned his head to look at the teleportation array, a look of fear flashed across his face.
If the teleportation array is completely damaged, it will take at least a week to repair it.
During this period, the abyss mining area was disconnected from the surface world, and personnel and supplies could not be replenished in time. If the enemy took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, this position would probably fall within a week.
"Are conflicts like this very frequent?" Audrey asked.
"There will be a large-scale armed conflict almost every week, and there will be more frictions in the nature of demonstrations, almost every day, and we are used to it." Gray Bird sighed.