Chapter 62: Mine
After quickly settling the Cherubi, Lei Wen immediately set off for the mine.
When he arrived there, he saw a group of miners from afar, holding pickaxes and shovels and other tools, digging clay from the ground.
Freshly dug soil was loaded onto a cart pulled by an Explosion Head Water Buffalo, and then transported back to the territory.
On the mountain paths around, the figures of some wild Geodude could be vaguely seen, but the area where the miners were working was some distance away from them, so they were not attacked.
“Where is that Monster?” Lei Wen asked, looking at the huge ore in front of him.
Morik pointed to the ridge in front of him and replied fearfully:
“It’s right there. That Monster ran out from there before. The ground was rumbling like an earthquake! But it didn’t attack us and quickly disappeared into the mountain.”
Listening to Morik’s description, Lei Wen thought to himself: It’s indeed an Onix.
The mine in front of them had already been excavated with an opening by the miners led by Morik.
The cave was very dark, and to facilitate illumination, the miners lit torches.
But when Lei Wen went in to check, he was surprised to find that there was still a large space inside!
The entire mine was connected in all directions, and some tunnels even extended underground.
“Did you dig this out?” Lei Wen asked, somewhat surprised.
“No, of course not!” Morik shook his head. “We don’t have the strength to do something like this yet, but judging by the size and shape of these openings and tunnels, it’s very likely that the huge Monster dug its way out!”
Lei Wen nodded. He looked around. There weren’t many Pokémon on the outskirts of the mine, only some Geodude and Rolycoly could be seen.
“Our workers found traces of Iron Ore and Coal below, but it’s very dark down there, and there are terrifying Monster growls coming from the depths, so we don’t dare to go deeper at the moment…” Morik said.
Monsters living underground…
Perhaps they are Pokémon like Golem, the evolution of Rolycoly, and Coalossal?
“I’ll go down and take a look.” After a brief thought, Lei Wen made up his mind.
“Your Highness, no!” Morik quickly stopped him. “It hasn’t been investigated clearly down there. It would be terrible if you encountered danger!”
“Don’t worry, I can protect myself,” Lei Wen reassured him.
Both Iron Ore and Coal are very important resources for their territory.
They couldn’t give up so easily.
“Your Highness… then shall we go down with you?” Morik said hesitantly.
“No need.” Lei Wen shook his head. “The tunnels below are narrow, and it’s easier for accidents to happen if there are too many people. Give me a torch, and you all just wait up here.”
The crowd had no choice but to follow Lei Wen’s instructions and bring him a torch.
Lei Wen took it and then entered the mine with his Snivy and Dratini.
The underground mine was pitch black, and the torchlight illuminated the surrounding environment.
Here, Lei Wen saw a Pokémon ecosystem completely different from the surface.
Sandshrew, curled up into a ball and rolling on the ground, moved forward. Besides this, Rolycoly and Coalossal could still be seen here.
Continuing forward, Lei Wen discovered a wild Drilbur not far away.
Attracted by the commotion, the Drilbur, upon seeing him, immediately dug a hole with its sharp claws in panic and disappeared into it.
“Hmm, most of the Pokémon on this level are not very aggressive. If we don’t provoke them, there probably won’t be much danger,” Lei Wen thought to himself.
However, at that moment, a terrifying roar suddenly came from the depths of the mine.
This sound immediately alerted the Dratini and Snivy.
Lei Wen also heard the sound and his brow furrowed.
Was that the roar Morik mentioned?
This sound didn’t sound like an Onix’s cry, but rather like the cry of a Pokémon Lei Wen had heard before.
The disgrace of the dragon race, a Garchomp!
“Judging by the sound, it seems to be some distance away from us,” Lei Wen thought.
But even so, he couldn’t guarantee that the Garchomp wouldn’t come this way.
This is because Garchomps are ferocious and cunning Pokémon, and they will steal the nests dug by other Pokémon to use as their own homes.
They wouldn’t let go of tunnels dug by Excadrill, Onix, or even Diglett and Dugtrio.
Who knows when that Garchomp will come here to attack the miners.
“Fuji?”
At this moment, the Snivy beside Lei Wen seemed to sense something and turned its gaze towards a tunnel.
Lei Wen followed its gaze and saw a giant stone block carved with strange patterns there.
Half of the stone block was exposed, and the rest was buried in the soil.
Upon clearly seeing the ancient patterns on it, Lei Wen was stunned.
That is…
The patterns seemed like some ancient symbols, similar to the sun, Lei Wen’s gaze swept over them.
Could these be traces left by some earlier civilization?
As far as Lei Wen knew, the current time point roughly corresponded to the Middle Ages in the real world.
But before that, some older civilizations had emerged in this world.
For example, totem civilizations similar to primitive tribes.
Looking at the ancient stone tablet, Lei Wen couldn’t help but wonder: could this mine hide the ruins of an ancient civilization’s tribe?
At this moment, a Geodude slowly floated out from a tunnel.
At first, the Geodude didn’t react much, but when it saw Lei Wen and the others, it immediately waved its two fists and angrily charged towards them.
Lei Wen: “…”
As expected of Geodude, known for their stubborn tempers and aggressive nature.
“Snivy, Vine Whip.”
The Snivy blocked in front of Lei Wen and struck the Geodude hard with a Vine Whip. Under the four-times type advantage, it was sent flying with a single blow.
“Rumble!”
It seemed that the commotion attracted the attention of some entity, as a loud noise came from the depths of the mine again.
Immediately after, a massive figure rapidly rolled towards them from the end of the mine.
That is… Golem, the evolved form of Geodude!
Lei Wen’s expression changed slightly. In such a narrow passage, if that Golem were to crush them, they would have no way to evade!
At this moment, the Golem also noticed the unconscious Geodude on the ground.
It immediately cast an angry gaze at Lei Wen.
Seeing this, Lei Wen gave an order without hesitation:
“Dratini, Twister, Snivy, Vine Whip!”
“Woo!”
“Fuji!”
Both moves were unleashed simultaneously, but they seemed to have little effect on Golem’s hard stone body. Instead, they completely enraged it.
Seeing this, Lei Wen turned around without hesitation: “Retreat!”
“Boom boom boom!”
Golem slammed its huge and thick fists against its own body, roaring up to the sky, and then rapidly rolled towards Lei Wen.
But fortunately, at the critical moment, Lei Wen, along with Dratini and Snivy, successfully returned to the upper level of the mine.
Golem let out a huge roar from below.
Looking at the miners with worried expressions, Lei Wen said:
“Don’t go down to mine for now. Let’s finish mining these ore veins on the upper level first!”
