The Captain and Azarok were prepared to meet death head-on, even in the face of potential danger.

As they continued falling deep inside the massive chasm, the sunlight gradually faded, replaced by a consuming darkness that seemed to swallow them whole, pulling them further into the abyss.

After five minutes of free fall, they finally landed on the floor of the immense hole.

BOOMM!!!

BOOMM!!

They landed on their feet a second apart, and their impact tore the earth, creating a wide crater stretching into the distance.

As they both emerged from the crater and took in their surroundings, their eyes widened in shock and disbelief, their breaths caught in their throats.

Around them lay a vast deposit of unearthly stones, shimmering with a dark, metallic sheen interspersed with iridescent veins pulsing with a faint, eerie glow. The sight resembled millions of stars in the night sky.

"Vylkr alloy," the Captain muttered, her eyes brightening with excitement as she bent down to dig one of the stones, a treasure beyond their wildest dreams, from the earth with her bare hands to confirm her suspicion.

Despite their ability to see clearly at night, the radiance from the stones deeply embedded within the earth provided enough light for them to pick up every little detail of their surroundings.

Even Azarok couldn't help but feel his heart race as he took a stone from the ground and channelled his Vylkr energy into it, sensing how easily it circulated within the stone as though it were part of him.

"This is a rich deposit of Vylkr alloys," the Captain exclaimed.

Vylkr alloys are rare and highly prized metals found deep within the earth, often near deposits of raw Vylkr energy. Their value lies in their natural ability to conduct and channel Vylkr energy. They are essential for crafting powerful artefacts and advanced machinery that utilise Vylkr energy, such as the Devourer's bracelet and the Gearweavers.

In short, it was the most sought-after material in the world. However, due to the immense resources required to dig deep into the earth, harvest it, keep the Vylkr vines at bay, protect their Runaway City, and safeguard the harvested material from others, a Grade One Runaway City like theirs could not manage it.

Azarok held the head-sized Vylkr alloy he had dug up from the ground and looked at it with gleaming, excited eyes. "These Vylkr alloys are even larger than the ones I had the privilege to witness back in the academy," he stated, his tone tinged with reminiscence.

Apart from seeing one for the first time during his lessons before becoming one of the gods' chosen, which was only as big as a thumb, this was the only other time he had seen one, and it was significantly larger and more impressive.

The Captain nodded in response. "It's way bigger than the ones I've had the privilege to see," she replied, swinging her sword against a strange Vylkr vine approaching her. She bent down, tore its roots from the ground, and scrutinised it closely, confirming that it was a Vylkr vine variant which had survived the dissipating Vylkr veil phenomenon.

The Vylkr vine variant was shaped like a flower, its dead roots connected and winding across the Vylkr alloys. Several moving tendrils stretched outward at the stigma as though searching for any unsuspecting prey to devour.

"We need to report this to the Queen as soon as possible. We might have yet to find the divine artefact, Patriarch Rylan, any trace of the four-eared elves or Captain Seig and his lieutenant. However, I'll bet that an unknown rich deposit of Vylkr alloy is much more valuable than any of those."

"If we return with this information, we'll not only earn the Queen's highest praise but also secure a great advantage for our City and be at the forefront of its development because we were the ones daring enough to walk into this ruined land and uncover it," the Captain remarked, a sharp glint passing through her eyes.

She secured a smaller piece of Vylkr alloy to show the Queen uncover it," the Captain remarked, a sharp glint passing through her eyes.

and the Inner Circle so that harvesting could begin immediately before the Sleeping Fox Runaway City discovered this vast deposit and capitalised on it for themselves.

"You're right. It's great that we didn't turn back and abandon this mission; otherwise, we wouldn't have uncovered such tremendous valuable resources," Azarok responded, securing the head-sized Vylkr alloy for himself.

Even though he knew he would be granted a large deposit of the Vylkr alloy they had discovered, he didn't trust the Inner Circle to keep their greed in check and prevent it from consuming them.

"Our bravery in facing whatever challenges we come across has yielded us this reward. As for those who abandoned their mission and returned to the City, I'll ensure they are not allowed back in my Unit. The other teams and units can have those cowards," the Captain responded, her expression serious.

She didn't comment on Azarok's actions of securing a Vylkr alloy for himself because he had earned it through his bravery and willingness to follow her no matter the danger they might encounter. She even planned for the remaining ninety members of her Unit to take as much as they could carry as their rewards to show them that their bravery had not been in vain, thereby boosting their morale to even greater heights.

Nonetheless, once the harvesting began, she was confident they would be put in charge, so she didn't need to carry one for herself on her way back.

"I'm done," Azarok said with a satisfied smile, understanding that the Captain had been waiting for him so they could leave.

The head-sized Vylkr alloy was wrapped in cloth and tied to his waist. Anyone who tried to touch would lose their hands before they even got close to it.

"Let's return to the surface and inform the others," the Captain nodded. She strapped her spear to her back and gazed at the towering wall leading to the distant surface.