Chapter 51: A Frenzied Home Invasion

The fourth, the fifth, the sixth... all the way to the thirteenth cave.

Yeda analyzed every single cave.

There were seven caves in total that served as the cannibals’ nests, or entrances to their main lairs, each with dozens of interconnected chambers, as labyrinthine as a maze.

Without the help of his analytical glasses, had Yeda stumbled into these lairs blindly, he might have spent an entire day searching without finding anything valuable. In fact, the chances of him getting trapped inside were far greater.

However, aside from these seven nests, among the remaining five cave entrances, three were storerooms belonging to the cannibals.

The largest warehouse of the cannibals was piled high with all sorts of items they had gathered, many of which were materials Yeda desperately needed. He could go in and pick out what he wanted.

There was also a food storehouse, heaped with provisions.

And another warehouse, this one filled with inferior furs.

The other two caves, one housed a minor gargoyle and a hidden treasure, while the last led to the second level!

A cave containing a secret treasure...

If Yeda guessed correctly, this must be the goblin’s secret hoard.

He wondered what connection there was between the goblins and the cannibals? Why would goblin belongings be found in the heart of the cannibal lair?

It was a puzzle!

Although Yeda was curious, he was also wary of the lurking gargoyle, fearing it might leap out and bite him without warning.

If it were just an ordinary bat, Yeda would have braved the risk of rabies for the sake of exploration.

But the danger in this case was different—being bitten by a gargoyle wouldn’t just risk rabies. It could turn him to stone, transforming him instantly into a statue.

If being petrified meant instant death, that would be one thing. But if he remained alive, slowly starving or dying of thirst within the stone, the mere thought sent chills down his spine.

As for the final unusual cave, the analytical glasses provided the following insight:

The path to the second level: If you are plagued with doubts, pass through here. You will find many answers.

Did this path to the second level refer to going upstairs? To the summit of Graystone Mountain? Or somewhere else?

But compared to treasures that required risk or answers of little consequence, Yeda preferred things that could be easily attained.

He decided to empty out all three cannibal storerooms first!

Should he start with the fur warehouse?

Or with the food storehouse?

After a brief consideration, Yeda made his choice.

The largest warehouse of the cannibals was piled high with all sorts of items they had gathered, many of which were materials Yeda desperately needed. He could go in and pick out what he wanted.

Because the other two warehouses were too obvious—one contained just food, the other only furs. No surprises there.

But this main warehouse was different. It hadn’t been revealed yet, and as the largest of the cannibals’ storerooms, who knew what treasures might lie within?

Since Yeda’s backpack had limited storage, he decided to fill it with the most valuable items first. If there was still space after emptying this warehouse, he could consider taking furs or food.

“Woof! Woof!”

“Little White, don’t run off.”

As Yeda stepped into the cave leading to the main warehouse, Little White remained outside another cave, sniffing around and barking furiously.

Yeda glanced over and saw that the little creature was fixated on the entrance to the food storehouse!

Quite clever!

Apparently, the little one was tempted by the delicacies inside and refused to leave.

Yeda couldn’t indulge its whims, so he called back, “Little White, let’s go get some things from this cave first, then we’ll visit the food storehouse, all right?”

“Whine...” Little White howled in protest, clearly unwilling.

But time was of the essence, and Yeda wasn’t about to let the puppy have its way. He turned to Little Grey and said, “Little Grey, keep an eye on him. Don’t let him wander off!”

“Woof!” Little Grey responded.

He immediately strutted behind Little White like a commanding general. Whenever Little White hesitated or looked back, Little Grey would bare his teeth and nip at Little White’s scarf in warning.

Left with no choice, Little White dejectedly followed Yeda into the cave.

This cave wasn’t very tall, its ceiling barely reaching one point eight meters. Yeda had to duck his head slightly to pass through.

But this time, he was wiser and didn’t enter the pitch-black cave empty-handed.

As he passed the cannibals’ bonfire hall, he had grabbed several pieces of inferior wood, dipped them in a bowl of thick, black resin by the fire, ensuring each stick was thoroughly coated with pine resin before stopping.

Pine resin is a long-burning fuel, and was a key ingredient in ancient torches—Yeda certainly wouldn’t overlook such a useful resource.

He planned to snatch the remaining resin on his way back, as it would be too cumbersome to carry now.

At this moment...

Holding the blazing pine-resin torch aloft, Yeda stepped cautiously into the stone cavern.

After a while, he noticed a peculiar pattern in these caves: the entrances were extremely narrow, but the interiors were vast and spacious.

The warehouse cave he entered now covered at least a hundred square meters, with a mountain of rocks piled in the center.

There were bluestones, white jades, and even crystals that sparkled brilliantly.

Not only that...

Around the edges of the warehouse were heaps of wooden and black iron chests, along with all manner of rusted armor, weapons, and miscellaneous junk.

This must be the cannibals’ storeroom for materials and spoils of war.

Yeda had no interest in the rusted armor and sundries.

But he was deeply intrigued by that pile of stones in the center—could those white jades be high-quality stone?

If so...

Yeda’s breathing quickened with excitement.

There must be over a hundred pieces of white jade here. If these were truly top-grade, then his treehouse could soon be upgraded to a stone house!

And not just any stone house—a top-tier, mobile stone house!

The thought made Yeda eagerly focus his analytical gaze on the pile of stones.

Superior Stone: This is a high-grade construction material.

Raw Crystal Ore: Every ten units of raw crystal ore can be smelted into one unit of glass!

Inferior Iron Ore: Every ten units of inferior iron ore can be smelted into one iron ingot; every ten iron ingots can be forged into one steel ingot.

Inferior Silver Ore: Every ten units of inferior silver ore can be smelted into one silver ingot.

A cascade of mineral names scrolled past his analytical glasses.

Yeda’s eyes glazed over at the sight of all these treasures.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t simply toss these into his backpack—the quantity was too great, and the materials too low-grade.

So Yeda placed his hand on the most coveted ore and commanded—

Synthesize!

Synthesize!!

Synthesize! Synthesize! Synthesize...