Chapter 268: Rescue Mission (1/2)

”Finally,” Zac said with a smile.

He had almost started believing they were stuck in some parallel world. The ships he had bought from the Creators were extremely swift, but it had taken months until they finally found the mainland. It also showed just how huge the new planet was. It felt as though their current mass was far larger than just the combination of the four integrated planets.

Perhaps the system had thrown some random landmass into the mix to make the distances larger. But suddenly he gave a start since he finally realized what Adran said.

”What do you mean two opposite directions?” he curiously asked. ”Have we rounded the planet?”

”We have found the continent that you humans now refer to as Pangea to the east,” Adran explained with a shake of his head. ”We have already made the first contact with a few settlements along the shoreline. If needed we will have no problem conquering a pretty large swathe of coastline. We found one government-controlled city but most are small settlements without teleportation arrays.”

”But the land in the opposite direction is something else?” Zac asked with interest.

”Yes, though it was further away compared to the main continent. The first one we found one week after you left for the hunt. The second we only found ten days ago. We didn't find any settlements or people on that continent, though we have only begun our exploration recently,” Abby explained.

”Along the coastal edge is a lush forest, but after a few hours walk inland there is an impossibly vast desert. The heat there is scorching even to the demons, and there did not seem to be any life as far as we could tell,” Abby said. ”The cosmic energy was however very dense, so if we could transform the desert it would become great unoccupied land.”

”Impossibly large desert?” Zac muttered. ”That actually brings me to something else I didn't mention from the hunt.”

Next he proceeded to explain his meeting with the molemen in the hunt and the history of their planet.

”If I'm not mistaken the other continent might be the remains of this fourth world. Since it was scorched by their sun for millennia there should have only been unlivable deserts on the surface,” Zac said. ”Perhaps the System simply took their uninhabitable land and made a continent out of it. Perhaps merged it with parts of Africa and the middle-east. I haven't really heard anything from those regions since the Integration.”

”So why did you not mention this fourth race earlier?” Ogras suddenly asked. ”To protect the identity of us demons? I think that ship has sailed now. The existence of the underworld will quickly spread I think.”

“No, it's for a different reason. I want a team to dig as far down as possible from our mine. Even below our Nexus Vein if possible. Then place a teleportation array down there.”

“You want to connect Port Atwood to the people underground?” Kenzie asked.

“Yes, there are people from the other races down there as well, though most are dead now. They’re in pretty dire straits. They’re beset by another Incursion that I guess is top-tier. For some reason, the teleporters above the ground can’t reach down so we need to dig as well, create a relay-system of teleporters if need be,” Zac nodded.

“Why all that effort for those people?” Ogras said with disinterest.

“Not only are there fire golems that seem to be digging toward our planet’s core down there, but there’s also a huge amount of riches. Most of the top names on the wealth ladders are down there. Nexus Crystals and precious metals are littering the walls,” Zac said.

“We need to save those poor people,” Ogras said with a completely straight face and Calrin quickly gave his wholehearted support for the plan as well.

Kenzie glared at the two people who only cared about the wealth, before turning back toward Zac with a frown.

“Yes, the reason I want do dig is partly selfish. They are currently loaded with minerals and crystals down there, but they are severely lacking everything else. I want Port Atwood to be the one to reap the benefits before any others. But other forces might try the same. The ratmen are few in number, but I am sure others than I managed to find out about the situation in the underworld,” Zac said.

“So it’s a race for the wealth beneath us,” Calrin muttered.

“Exactly,” Zac nodded. “We have an advantage with the mine that is already quite deep, but we can’t be lax. I want those teleporters up as soon as possible.”

Abby quickly bobbed her head in agreement. She had been vehemently in favor of expanding the power of Port Atwood since she wasn’t without ambition herself. But that worked just fine for Zac as well.

”It might be an issue of distance apart from just depth though,” the stargazer interjected. ”If the ratmen are situated far beneath the other continent the distance might be too far. That continent is even further away than Pangea after all. Perhaps we should also establish a frontier base on the desert continent and try to find them that way.”

”That would be even better,” Ogras muttered. ”If the underworld only can be reached from that other continent we will be able to control every comings and goings. We are right in the middle in-between the two continents, and we would act as a bridge between them. And there wouldn't be much the other forces could do about it until we get higher-graded teleporters.”

Zac's eyes lit up from the possibility presented. It was true. The E-Grade teleporters reached far, but they couldn't take Zac to the far edge of Pangea. Judging by the distance Abby and Adran mentioned the distance between the two continents was extremely vast. They would have to transit through Port Atwood.

“Abby, you oversee the project since you can map out the scope of my kingdom. Does my sphere of influence reach downward as well?” Zac asked.

“I will. There is a limit a few kilometers below us. I will find a location at that depth that is far away from energy interference. I will also set it up so that it becomes a proper relay station. Preferably there would be no way to get up to the surface without using our teleporter,” the Stargazer said.

”Great, pursue both strategies. Setting up a base on the other continent is a good idea in any case,” Zac nodded before turning to Ogras. ”Next. Is there something we can make use of in the Mystic Realm?”

”Not sure,” Ogras said with a shrug.

”Not sure?” Zac asked with some confusion. ”What sort of place is it?”

”Well, It's a pretty odd Mystic Realm,” Ogras hesitantly said. ”First of all, it's populated.”