Chapter 22: Brutal, Terrifying, and a Massive Windfall!

"This must be the place." Su Mu whispered to himself, a gleam of excitement dancing in his eyes.

"Holographic Eye!"

Su Mu immediately activated his Holographic Eye to check the detailed information.

[Location: Socrates Great Iron Mine]
[Iron Ore Reserves: 7.2 trillion units (approximately 100 million tons)]
[Mine Grade: Level 4]

"I'm rich!"
"Finally, it's my turn to strike it rich!"

Looking at the rows of data, Su Mu was so excited he almost cried. No wonder the saying goes, "When the cannons roar, ten thousand taels of gold follow." He had only wiped out a group of Silver-tier Rock Monsters and already secured an iron mine with such massive reserves. If he kept fighting like this, there was no telling how many abundant resources would be waiting for him.

Iron ore, second only to spirit ore, was not just for crafting armor and weapons; it was also a major hard currency in the Dark World, used for trading. With reserves of 100 million tons, that translated to 70 billion Dragon Coins—a fortune he had earned in less than ten minutes.

Damn it, it’s no wonder everyone wants to be a lord. The perks of being a lord are simply too immense.

"Excavator Cards!"
"Silver Soldier Cards!"
"Come out, all of you!"

Determined to conquer this place, Su Mu would never fight an unprepared battle. Before arriving, he had already purchased two excavator cards and two Silver Soldier cards capable of manufacturing 300 Silver-tier warriors.

Boom!

As the three cards hit the ground, two mining machines appeared, immediately beginning to extract iron ore for Su Mu. Soon, a mountain of iron ore piled up before him. Meanwhile, the 300 Silver-tier soldiers, without needing orders, automatically occupied key positions in the mine and began patrolling.

Seeing this familiar scene, Su Mu grinned.

"Blade-Slash, tell me, if we keep developing like this, do you think we can become the wealthiest lords in the Dark World?" Su Mu asked with great enthusiasm. Blade-Slash clacked his jawbones twice, as if responding. Although Su Mu couldn't understand him, the rising fire in his eyes told him that his companion was just as excited as he was.

***

[Host attention: The Diamond Level 2 behemoth, the Flame Giant, sleeping here is about to awaken. Please prepare for immediate retreat.]

Just then, the mechanical voice of the system suddenly echoed in Su Mu’s ears.

???
Diamond Level 2?
A Flame Giant?

Weren't there supposed to be only a bunch of small Silver-tier monsters here? How could a Diamond-tier boss suddenly pop up? Su Mu was still in shock.

With a thunderous boom, the ground in front of him burst open. Two massive arms emerged from the fissure, and with a powerful tear—crack!—the earth was ripped into a canyon dozens of meters deep.

A gargantuan figure crawled up from the molten magma beneath the earth. Over a hundred meters tall, its arms alone were dozens of meters long. Its entire body burned with crimson flames, and its scarlet eyes radiated a cruel, terrifying light. In its right hand, it held a massive meteor hammer as a weapon!

To Su Mu, however, that didn't look like a hammer; it was a burning iron ball with a radius of three meters—towering twice as high as Su Mu himself.

ROAR!

As soon as the Flame Giant landed, it let out a deafening roar. The entire cavern shook, and rocks fell like rain. With a massive crash, the narrow passage behind Su Mu—the only entrance to the mining plain and the only way out—was completely sealed by falling boulders.

"Damn it! There's no way out!"

Su Mu’s expression shifted violently. The opponent was Diamond Level 2! They hadn’t even reached Star-Glory tier yet; they were two whole levels behind. How were they supposed to fight this?

Thump, thump, thump!

The Flame Giant took heavy strides toward them. As it passed a mining machine, it stepped down, crushing the expensive equipment into fragments as if it were an ant. Immediately after, the Flame Giant opened its massive maw and spewed a column of fire, destroying the other machine.

"You bastard! How dare you destroy my excavators? Don't you know those two were worth a million Dragon Coins?"
"This is intolerable!"

Su Mu was instantly enraged. Even though he had a net worth of over 140 billion, every single Dragon Coin mattered to him. This Flame Giant deserved to die!

Su Mu pulled a golden monkey hair from his pocket, gritting his teeth as he spoke to Blade-Slash and the Little Divine Dragon: "Little Divine Dragon, Blade-Slash, prepare for combat."

With a gentle blow, the monkey hair fluttered toward the Flame Giant. This hair had been given to him by the Jungle Sword Saint before he left. When the Saint heard Su Mu was going on an expedition, he had plucked a hair from his own body, mentioning that he suddenly remembered his hair could slay enemies and told Su Mu to keep it for protection.

Su Mu had no idea how effective it would be, but he had nowhere to run. He had to fight to the death. Besides, he didn't want to retreat. A true warrior must dare to dance on the edge of a blade, shine in the darkness, pull teeth from a tiger's mouth, and avenge his mining machines before the Flame Giant.

"Monkey Brother, please don't mess with me. My life depends on you this time." Su Mu prayed incessantly, staring expectantly at the hair.

*Swish!* The hair landed on the Flame Giant, and in an instant, it was incinerated into ashes and vanished.

???

Su Mu felt his head darken with frustration. No way. Was the Monkey Brother's hair that useless?

"It seems I, Su Mu, am going to die here today." A hint of despair rose in his heart, but he didn't blame the Monkey Brother. The Monkey had been sealed and had forgotten many things, likely still thinking he was as powerful as he once was, capable of saving a life with a single hair.

But at this desperate moment, a firm conviction suddenly surged in Su Mu’s mind.

"I, Su Mu, still have so much to do. I cannot die."
"I am the man who will become the strongest lord! How can I die!"

Under this conviction, Su Mu became absolutely calm. His mind raced, analyzing the current pros and cons.

"The Flame Giant is incredibly powerful, yes, but I’m not without a path to survival."
"If I activate 'Absolute Protection', I can cut the Flame Giant's attack power in half."
"With my Platinum Level 3 strength, I should be able to hold out for ten minutes."
"As long as the Little Divine Dragon and Blade-Slash can clear this passage within ten minutes, we still have a chance to escape."

Su Mu calculated rapidly.

Boom! Just then, the Flame Giant spewed a massive column of fire toward them.

"Activate Absolute Protection!"

Su Mu quickly raised his Divine Guardian shield, and a pale blue light barrier enveloped them.

CRASH!

As the fire column struck the shield, Su Mu’s arms went numb. He nearly dropped the shield and was forced back several steps before finally steadying his footing.