While everyone was shocked by Su Nan's swift and decisive actions, the person in charge was still somewhat dissatisfied.
"If my mental strength were a little higher, that acid spray would have killed the Iron-Eating Beasts."
Su Nan said regretfully, pointing his finger, and another acid spray shot out, like an arrow, towards one of the Iron-Eating Beasts.
*Zzzzz!*
Although the Iron-Eating Beast dodged in time, it was still hit in the side, instantly corroding most of its waist and abdomen, inevitably affecting its movements.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kei flashed forward and cleaved the Iron-Eating Beast in two with a single sword strike.
The two brothers cooperated perfectly, killing four Iron-Eating Beasts in a short time.
Seeing this, everyone's morale soared.
The Iron-Eating Beasts seemed to realize the danger and gradually retreated.
Noticing this, Kei quickly shouted, "Don't let them escape! Stop them!"
The knights rushed towards the Iron-Eating Beasts.
Su Nan narrowed his eyes and cast a sleeping spell on the Iron-Eating Beast that had fallen to the back.
To his surprise, the Iron-Swallowing Beast was completely unaffected.
"The spell didn't work?"
Su Nan was stunned.
Just then, one of the Iron-Swallowing Beasts suddenly leaped into the rock wall as if falling into water, disappearing without a trace. The entire process was so smooth that no one had time to react.
The other Iron-Swallowing Beasts followed suit, disappearing into the rock wall one after another.
Seeing the last Iron-Swallowing Beast also leap into the rock wall, the stunned Su Nan finally reacted, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
In an instant, the Iron-Swallowing Beast's elegant figure came to an abrupt halt, suspended in mid-air, as if tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand, unable to touch the ground or wall.
No matter how it struggled, it couldn't break free of the invisible restraints.
"Kill it!" Su Nan said in a deep voice.
The crowd, who had been staring blankly at the bizarre scene before them, snapped out of their daze and attacked.
Crack!
The Iron-Swallowing Beast in mid-air instantly shattered into pieces.
"Su Nan, what you just did..."
Ke Yi looked at Su Nan, his expression full of surprise.
If the lesser dragon blood potion was still within his understanding, then the miraculous methods Su Nan had just displayed were far beyond his comprehension.
Su Nan knew what he wanted to ask and calmly explained, "That's magic."
Magic!
Everyone present silently pondered this word, feeling as if a whole new world was slowly unfolding before their eyes.
Su Nan ignored the others and quickly went to a metal-devouring beast that had been cut in two, squatting down to examine it.
After a moment, a strange expression appeared on his face.
"Is something wrong?"
Seeing Su Nan's expression, Ke Yi quickly asked.
Su Nan shook his head, stood up, and said, "I think I know where these metal-devouring beasts came from."
He had actually felt something was wrong when the sleeping spell failed to work.
There are generally only two situations where one can be immune to magic.
One is that the magic resistance is high enough, such as dragons.
Dragons are known for their naturally high magic resistance; adult dragons are immune to all spells below the third ring.
Another possibility is that a creature's life form happens to grant immunity to a particular spell.
For example, elemental creatures, undead, and puppet creations are all immune to the Sleeping Spell.
The Iron-Eating Beast clearly falls into the latter category.
"I initially thought it was a metallic creature, but it turns out to be a puppet creation."
During his inspection, Su Nan discovered enchanted runes within the fragments of the Iron-Eating Beast's body.
Naturally born life forms cannot possess enchanted runes.
The only explanation is that the Iron-Eating Beast was artificially created!
Only wizards (apprentices) could create puppets!
"There's likely a wizard's legacy deep within this mine!"
Su Nan was overjoyed.
He had originally planned to search for wizarding legacies after advancing to a second-tier wizard apprentice, but unexpectedly, there was one near Blackrock City.
This was undoubtedly a tremendous surprise!
Upon Su Nan's explanation, Ke Yi and the others showed expressions of utter shock.
No one had imagined that these iron-devouring beasts, with combat power comparable to knights and the bizarre ability to burrow into rock walls, were actually puppets created by wizards!
Miraculous potions, terrifying spells, powerful puppet creations—things unimaginable to ordinary people—were all the work of wizards!
What kind of group were they?
The more they learned, the more they felt the mystery and power of wizards.
Legend has it that thousands of years ago, wizards ruled the entire continent, creating an unprecedented golden age.
Previously, they had considered this merely a mythical tale, but now it seemed highly likely that it had actually happened!
Everyone was lost in thought, and the tunnel fell silent for a moment.
Su Nan, unconcerned, said something to Ke Yi and sat down to meditate and recover his mental energy.
The battle had used many spells, nearly depleting his mental strength.
Considering the fierce battles to come, it was best to wait until he had recovered before continuing his exploration.
About two hours later, Su Nan finished meditating.
The group continued on their way.
Fear stemmed from the unknown.
After learning the origins of the Iron-Swallowing Beasts, the group's fear of these monsters lessened considerably.
Especially after killing five Iron-Swallowing Beasts in the previous battle, the group's morale soared to its peak.
However, what was puzzling was that the Iron-Swallowing Beasts seemed to have vanished from the beginning of the journey, never reappearing.
"Where did those monsters go?" Jodon clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Ke Yi also frowned.
If the remaining Iron-Swallowing Beasts were simply hiding, they really had no way to deal with them.
Finding a group of Iron-Swallowing Beasts capable of drilling through walls in the dimly lit, interconnected underground tunnels was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Su Nan pondered.
High-level puppets possessed self-awareness and artificial intelligence comparable to humans, but the Iron-Eating Beasts clearly didn't fall into this category.
They were obviously low-level puppets, generally acting according to certain specific programs.
For example, when encountering an enemy they couldn't handle, they prioritized their own safety.
This also explained why previous lords had been unable to eradicate the Iron-Eating Beasts.
Faced with a group of monsters that were 'cowardly and bullying the weak,' and whose ability to hide was unparalleled, even the Grand Knights were helpless.
However, the previous lords' inability to do anything didn't mean Su Nan was helpless.
He closed his eyes and concentrated his mind to sense the energy particles in the air.
If nothing unexpected happened, these Iron-Eating Beasts were likely guards of the unknown wizarding legacy deep within the mine.
Once they found the location of that wizarding legacy, the Iron-Eating Beasts would inevitably appear to stop them, at which point they could annihilate them all.
And the energy particle concentration at the location of the wizarding legacy would definitely be far higher than in other places.
As long as they headed towards the area with higher energy particle concentration, they would most likely find the target location.
Not long after, Su Nan opened his eyes and pointed to the tunnel entrance on the right, saying, "Go that way."
Ke Yi only hesitated for a moment before reacting immediately and leading the way to the right without hesitation.
The others snapped out of their daze and quickly followed.
Along the way, the group moved at irregular intervals.
Whenever they encountered a fork in the road, Su Nan would stop to sense the surroundings for a while before deciding which direction to take.
They walked like this for an unknown amount of time before suddenly stopping.
This time, it wasn't because they encountered any monsters, nor because they discovered a fork in the road; rather, the road had disappeared.
To be precise, a dark, imposing door had appeared in the middle of the tunnel.
The tightly closed door sealed off the entire tunnel.