Free Web NovelChapter 221: Chapter 184: Creatures Bearing Treasure
Leon surveyed the dark, undulating landscape. It was a bleak, desolate expanse of sand and gravel, with sparse vegetation. He spoke:
"If there’s a coal mine here with relatively abundant reserves, we won’t have to bother with designing a geothermal power station. We can just build a small thermal power plant near the academy to satisfy all the electrical needs of our daily lives and production."
"Mr. Leon, approximately how large would the coal reserve need to be to satisfy our needs?"
"That depends on our specific development plans... but I estimate that as long as there’s a coal mine down there, regardless of its size, it should be more than enough to meet our needs."
After that, the group fell silent, quietly waiting for the Rock-Breaking Ants to appear.
About ten minutes or so passed.
Egg Pancake, who had been lying on the ground scouting the area, suddenly raised its head and let out a soft CHIRP at Han Ning.
At the same time, Han Ning felt the ground beneath his feet begin to tremble faintly.
A few seconds later, even the others around him could sense a subtle disturbance from beneath their feet.
"Yin Yi, stay sharp. If any other creatures pop out, don’t hesitate. Bind them immediately." freёweɓnovel.com
Meanwhile, without any need for Han Ning’s reminder, Dean Wu’s expression grew stern. He uttered a single word to his Tree Spirit: "Alert!"
Whenever the exploration team returned, they would share some of their spoils to help the older and weaker teachers and students at the academy nurture their Soul Beasts, allowing them to gain some measure of combat ability.
As the "brain" responsible for the entire academy’s operations, Dean Wu rarely went on explorations himself, but his share of the resources was by no means small.
His Silver Lotus Wood had successfully evolved into a Heavy-Armored Tree Spirit some time ago.
RUSTLE RUSTLE~
Three two-meter-tall Rock-Breaking Ants burst violently from the ground from the north, east, and west, each several hundred meters apart.
Just seconds after they erupted from the surface, perfectly round heads began popping up from the sandy gravel one after another, like gophers emerging from their holes.
Yin Yi, already lying in wait, immediately whipped out a dense flurry of its Vine Whips. They cracked through the air with sharp WHIPS and, with lightning speed, ensnared the round heads that had emerged from the ground.
"Ling~"
Yin Yi flicked its Vine Whips, forcefully yanking the five heads upward.
With its first pull, a web of fine cracks began to spread across the surrounding ground.
But the heads seemed to be rooted to the very earth; even Yin Yi couldn’t pull them all out on the first try.
WHIMPER~ WHIMPER~
The ensnared round heads cried out in pain. A chorus of whimpers echoed from within as they opened their mouths in unison, spewing a great cloud of thick, black smoke at Yin Yi.
"CHIRP!"
Seeing this, Egg Pancake immediately let out a snort, and crimson sparks shot from its nostrils.
WHOOSH~
A surging torrent of crimson Flame erupted from its mouth, instantly incinerating the thick black smoke.
"Ling!"
A fiery glint flashed in Yin Yi’s eyes. It flew into mid-air, its outstretched vines quivering violently as it yanked upward again with all its might!
At once, the ground trembled and huge cracks split the earth’s surface. Then, amidst a shower of flying dirt, figures of various sizes were pulled into view.
These creatures looked remarkably similar, clearly belonging to the same Race.
They had turtle-like heads, their skin covered in a dense layer of protruding black rock granules. The shells on their backs weren’t the smooth, rounded arcs Han Ning had expected. Instead, they were studded with small, black stone chunks that jutted upward like mountain peaks, forming an uneven, jagged ridgeline.
These stone chunks enveloped their relatively vulnerable bodies, forming a sort of stone "carapace."
Their four thick, sturdy legs, like stone pillars, dangled and swayed helplessly in mid-air.
If they lay still on the ground, they would look just like large black rocks.
"Turtles?"
Han Ning blinked, his gaze fixed on the jagged black rock formations on the turtles’ backs.
As their owners struggled, these irregularly protruding rock formations shed a black, crumbly residue.
Seeing the rocks, which were nearly the exact color of coal, Han Ning’s expression shifted. ’Don’t tell me... the rocks on their backs are all coal?’
He wasn’t the only one; the others beside him noticed it at the same moment.
As if by unspoken agreement, everyone’s gaze fell upon the turtles’ backs.
Han Ning had Yin Yi break off a few fragments from one turtle’s back and bring them over.
Nearby, Egg Pancake spat out an ordinary spark in an attempt to ignite the pieces.
After being enveloped by the orange-yellow flame for a moment, the surface of the nearly pure-black rock began to glow with red-hot patches, and pale blue flames started to rise from it.
"It really is coal..." Han Ning said in amazement.
Leon studied the quietly burning rock held within the vines and said, "Not just coal. It might be a higher-quality anthracite. Did you notice? It has a higher ignition point and burns more completely."
"Turtles that produce high-quality coal... they’re a bit like the Crude Oil Rubber Insects, aren’t they? What an eye-opener."
Han Ning remarked with a sigh, watching the turtles of all sizes struggling ceaselessly in the distance, yet unable to escape Yin Yi’s grasp.
They weren’t quite the same as the Crude Oil Rubber Insects. The Crude Oil Rubber Insects excrete a substance identical in nature to crude oil, whereas these turtles carry coal on their backs—or rather, the coal grows on their backs.
From the intensity of their struggles, Han Ning could tell that these turtles weren’t particularly strong and couldn’t use any powerful Soul Techniques. Their size was their main asset. However... judging by their physique, they could probably kill another Soul Beast with a single ramming attack.
