Chapter 733 Underground Ice Cave
For the sake of safety, Joan prevented Gulu from approaching the cave and ordered it to withdraw to a safe place as soon as possible.
However, Joan didn't intend to give up the investigation of the cave's interior. It's just that he wants to change to a safer and safer way of investigation.
Joan took out the navigation compass, chanted the activation spell, and the compass rose with magic power, automatically generating a surrounding map.
The valley where the Lizardman camp is located is not far from where Joan is. With the help of the three-dimensional map presented by the navigation compass, he can clearly see the caves dug on the rock wall.
Most of these caves are relatively shallow, and they are just the residences of the Lizardmen, so there is no need for too much space.
However, among all these caves, there is only one that is particularly deep and has a particularly large internal space, that is, the cave that is protected by magic barriers and guards, and that often roars.
Joan zoomed in on the picture corresponding to this mysterious cave on the navigation compass.
Through the cross-sectional view, we can see a winding tunnel extending from the inside of the cave, slanting deep into the mountainside. It looks like a mine pit, but I don't know what minerals are being mined.
During the expedition, Joan and his companions always use the "perspective hand mirror" or "prospecting ring" to check whether there are mineral veins under their feet. It's a pity that so far, no valuable mineral deposits have been found, so I can't help feeling a little discouraged.
Seeing the suspected mine-like cave in the valley at this moment, Joan couldn't help but be moved. He guessed that there might be rare minerals buried deep in the cave, otherwise the Zodiac Man would not have worked so hard to dig the tunnel.
The observation radius of the "see-through hand mirror" is only 100 feet, and Joan can't explore the mine pits far away in the valley from the current position. Fortunately, he has other methods for remote detection.
"Apacenya!"
Chanting the activation spell softly, Joan activated the 3-ring "Eagle Eye" attached to the prosthetic eye. Then compare the mine map displayed by the navigation compass, and set the magic observation point in the middle of the tunnel.
Joan closed his eyes and switched his perspective to the observation point created by the "Eagle Eye Technique".
A few seconds later, when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dark and deep mine.
Of course, what enters the mine is not the real body, but just a strand of consciousness attached to the observation point. Even if this observation point is destroyed and this wisp of consciousness is lost, it will not cause any harm to Joan himself.
Through this new perspective, Joan slowly looked around, and found that the tunnel was about five feet wide and eight feet high, and the cross-section was quite regular.
The troglodytes are unlikely to have any advanced magical excavation machines. It is hard to imagine that such a spacious and well-organized tunnel can be dug with only manual labor and simple tools.
Joan put this doubt aside first, and carefully observed the excavation marks on the tunnel wall.
The cave wall is generally flat, but there are traces of chiseling and chiseling on a closer look.
Judging from these excavation marks, the rock formation seems to have been dug by a device that resembles a flat-headed shovel.
Considering how hard the rock is, such a digging device must be extremely sharp!
Joan continued to observe, and soon discovered a second doubt.
A thick layer of frost had condensed on the rocky surfaces of the walls of the tunnel. It can be seen that the humidity inside the tunnel is very high, and the temperature is below freezing.
This is truly an incredible sign!
Joan's position at the moment is only about one mile away from the underground mine, and the height difference will not exceed 300 yards.
In such a narrow range, even considering the temperature difference between the surface and the underground, the difference will not be very large.
The temperature here in Joan is quite warm, why is there thick frost forming in the mine not far away?
The first thing he thought of was the "icehouse effect".
In the south of Alfheim, summer is very hot.
Southern manor owners always collect a large amount of ice cubes in winter and store them in the cellar, and take out ice cubes in summer to cool off the heat.
Indeed, because the thick soil layer is not conducive to heat conduction, ice cubes can be stored for a long time in a well-sealed cellar, and they will not melt in midsummer.
The mines in the valley are full of frost, is it also because there are a lot of ice stored in the pits?
Even if this were the case, the open doors of the mine did not meet the sealing standards of ice cellars, and the tunnels were not long enough to significantly delay heat exchange.
There was heat exchange between the inside and outside of the cave, and the temperature inside the cave was supposed to keep rising, but Joan didn't find any signs of melting the frost.
This indicates that the temperature inside the cave is extremely low, and there is likely to be a source of low temperature that offsets the heat conducted by the cave opening.
Natural heat sources can be found everywhere in nature, such as volcanoes and hot springs, but natural low temperature sources are too rare!
Joan had to suspect that the frost that condensed in the pit might be the low temperature effect caused by magic or supernatural power.
With the mind of finding the bottom line, Joan activated the "Eagle Eye Technique" again, created a second magical observation point in the second half of the tunnel, and switched his perspective there.
Peeping out through the second observation point, Joan found that the temperature here was much lower than the first observation point.
Here, what is condensed on the tunnel wall is no longer white frost, but a thick layer of ice.
In fact, Joan could no longer see the rocks. Looking around, there were slippery layers of ice everywhere.
In the depths of the opposite cave, there are frequent rumbles, and it seems that someone is digging a tunnel deeper.
During the interval of the excavation, Joan could still hear the conversation, but unfortunately the voice was very vague, and he couldn't hear what he said.
Just then, footsteps were heard at the end of the tunnel.
Immediately afterwards, several shaking figures appeared.
Joan held his breath and watched the people walking in the tunnel through the observation point set in the shadows.
It turned out to be four troglodyte miners.
They were all wrapped in thick animal fur coats. The two were in front, dragging an open wooden box that was so big that it almost filled the tunnel with a leather rope. box.
The four people pulled and pushed together to move the big wooden box.
The bottom of the wooden box rubbed against the smooth ice surface, making a creaking sound, and slowly slid towards the hole.
These troglodyte miners were talking in low voices while working hard.
The language they use is very weird. At first it sounds like dragon language, with many underground dialects mixed in. Joan can't understand it.
But combined with their demeanor, it is not difficult to guess that they are probably complaining about the hard work and the harsh environment, and they are almost freezing to death!
The four-person miner team passed under Joan's observation point, and no one looked up.
Not long afterward, another troglodyte group passed by pushing wooden boxes full of crushed ice, dumped the crushed ice outside the cave, and then dragged the empty boxes back to the depths of the tunnel.
By observing these busy troglodytes, and then looking back at the map drawn by the navigation compass, Joan felt more and more miraculous the more he looked at it!
Thanks to the book friend: tce, this week rewarded 600 starting coins