Chapter 1146: Thunder in the Gem
Ethan didn’t linger.
Once the last enemy was cut down and the chaotic energy over the mine finally thinned out, he stowed the energy core Kharvexis had left behind and led everyone out of the Solaryn mining zone. The golden ore they’d stripped was still being crated nonstop—goblin engineering teams stayed behind to keep hauling. Feylora, meanwhile, followed the route pulled from Kharvexis’s brain data and drove the main force deeper in.
Before long, the group reached a canyon.
It was deep—so deep it felt like the world had been split open with an axe. On both sides, sheer cliffs rose like two black walls.
But the cliff faces weren’t normal rock.
They were studded with energy gemstones, packed so densely it looked unreal. Red, blue, purple, gold, gray-white—every color bled out through the cracks, turning the entire canyon into a river of shifting gemstone light.
And every single gem carried a violent presence.
The energy inside them wasn’t sleeping. It churned and slammed against itself, producing a low, constant hum.
Wind poured out of the canyon’s depths, thick with energy to the point of being almost sticky. A few breaths was enough to make even ordinary soldiers feel their internal power stir and wake up.
Ethan’s eyes brightened.
This kind of place was even more straightforward than the golden mine.
He didn’t wait for a scouting report.
His body lifted smoothly into the air, drifting up to a fist-sized gemstone embedded in the cliff.
It was a deep blue stone, webbed with natural fractures, yet inside ran an incredibly pure, clean current of power. Ethan hooked his fingers around the edge and gave a light tug—
The gem popped free.
The instant it left the rock face, the energy inside surged outward.
Transparent lightning curled around Ethan’s palm and dragged that power straight into his body. The pure energy flowed up his arm, sank into his chest, then spread through his limbs in a warm, steady rush.
Ethan shuddered faintly.
Even the fatigue from the nonstop fighting was washed thinner, like someone had rinsed it away.
Good stuff.
He glanced down at the gemstone shell in his hand as it dulled and went inert, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
Seeing that, the rest of Emerald Castle didn’t hesitate.
The Fallen Star Guard took up perimeter watch. Regular soldiers and goblins swarmed the cliffs, prying gemstones out by hand. Powered Combat Armor fighters went further—armor blades carving into the rock, ripping out larger clusters from deeper layers.
In minutes, the canyon turned loud.
Some people absorbed on the spot. Others packed stones into energy storage crates. A third group set up temporary extraction rigs, preparing to draw out the deeper energy hidden inside the cliff itself. Colored light kept flashing. Dense energy misted through the canyon like fog.
Watching it, Ethan couldn’t help the thought that rose in his chest.
This hidden world really was a treasure land.
They’d just wiped out the Solaryn, then cleaned up Kharvexis’s remaining troops—and now, following a single lead, they’d stumbled into resources like this.
If they stripped this canyon clean, Emerald Castle’s stockpile would jump again.
And right as everyone harvested without restraint—
A low vibration rolled out from deep inside the canyon.
Hmmm!
Then the earth started to shake violently.
Rrrrrr—!
Gemstones across both cliff faces flickered at the same time. Thick cracks tore open across the ground.
Rocks began to fall from the cliffs. The stone layers deeper in the canyon bulged upward, like something enormous was forcing itself out of the earth.
Emerald Castle soldiers immediately pulled back, weapons snapping up and aiming at the裂fissures.
The next moment, a massive Stone Golem hauled itself out of the ground.
Its body was built entirely from heavy rock and energy crystal. Its shoulders, chest, arms, and head were embedded with gemstones of every color.
Those gems weren’t decoration—they were part of it. Each one pulsed as it "breathed."
When it finally straightened to its full height, a crushing pressure dropped over the entire canyon, pinning the air itself.
The Stone Golem lifted its fist and swung casually to the side.
The shock of the punch grazed the cliff wall—and space itself cracked. Thin fractures spiderwebbed through the air.
A few gemstones embedded in the rock face shattered from the aftershock. Their energy burst out in wild streams... only to be sucked right back into the crystals embedded in the golem’s body.
It lowered its head, staring down at everyone harvesting gems in the canyon. Its voice sounded like boulders grinding against each other—heavy, furious.
"Who the hell are you? Who gave you the guts to come into Energy Canyon and loot our power!"
Ethan tilted his head and gave the Stone Golem a slow once-over.
It really wasn’t weak.
It had a deep energy linkage with the entire canyon. The gemstones in the cliff walls continuously fed it, and even the earth underfoot responded to its presence. As long as it stood inside this canyon, it could keep replenishing itself from the surroundings.
Ethan started walking forward.
Transparent lightning spread off him, forming a thick energy barrier that covered the nearby soldiers behind him. He looked at the Stone Golem, voice calm.
"With energy this dense... why shouldn’t people take it?"
He pointed up at the cliff walls on both sides, packed with gemstones.
"Is this your private property?"
The gemstones in the golem’s chest began flashing faster.
To it, Ethan’s group was nothing but a pack of shameless raiders.
They barged into Energy Canyon, pried out gemstones, drained energy—and when they got caught, they had the nerve to ask why they couldn’t take it.
Its breathing grew heavier. The ground beneath it trembled in pulsing beats.
"You’ve gone too far."
The Stone Golem raised both arms. Every energy gemstone on its body lit at once.
"After I kill you, you’ll finally learn your place."
Its power detonated.
All along the canyon walls, gemstones fired beams of energy into its body. Those beams converged in midair, condensing into a gigantic Stone Golem phantom.
The phantom was even larger than its true body. Both fists were lifted high, and multicolored gemstone light flowed across its surface like living veins.
Then the massive phantom smashed down toward Ethan.
As the fist-shadow fell, the air in the canyon was crushed and forced to flee to the sides. Small gemstones in the cliff couldn’t withstand the pressure and popped one after another, fragments blasting outward on the punch wind. Soldiers behind Ethan threw up shields immediately, and cracks spread across the ground beneath their boots.
Ethan’s face didn’t change.
He casually bent down and picked up an energy stone that had just been shaken loose. Transparent lightning poured from his palm into it.
The rock—dull a moment ago—flared bright. Residual energy inside it was reawakened by the lightning, and fine electrical patterns crawled across its surface.
