Chapter 189: White Tiger Clan Secret Technique

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: White Tiger Clan Secret Technique

Hearing this conclusion, Ophelia’s heart sank.

Seeing the worried expression on her face, Klein furrowed his brows.

"Then what should we do now?" Tyler asked, his face reflecting their urgency.

However, after a moment of contemplation, Klein took out a small knife from the pouch at his waist. "How about using this?"

Tyler looked over. "Isn’t this just a Bone Knife?"

A Bone Knife was fine for processing prey, but it wouldn’t do much damage to Beastmen males, let alone pose any threat to the formidable Fire Phoenix Clan.

Ophelia, however, noticed something different about the small blade. She stepped forward and took it from Klein’s hand. She examined it carefully, then reached out, wanting to test its sharpness with her finger.

Seeing her action, Klein hurriedly stopped her. "The blade is very sharp. You can’t touch it directly with your hands."

"Zerev, do you think a knife like this will work?" Ophelia asked.

The black knife glinted coldly in the sunlight. Zerev weighed it in his hand. "Is this made of iron?"

There were iron mines in the Beast World, but they were scarce. Moreover, not many people knew how to smelt and extract refined iron. Although rare, items forged from this iron were not sturdy and broke easily, so they were rarely put into practical use. The Clan Leader Tokens issued to the leaders of various tribes were cast from this very iron ore.

"Yes," Klein replied.

"This iron is too brittle, and it lacks attack power," Zerev noted.

Klein shook his head. "Look carefully before you jump to conclusions."

He picked up a palm-sized stone from the ground and struck the very center of it with the small knife. Although the stone didn’t split in two, a deep crack appeared right down the middle, while the knife remained completely intact.

"It didn’t shatter," Zerev said, looking somewhat surprised. "But this level of damage alone still isn’t enough."

Ophelia took the small knife and examined it closely again. She noticed that the iron material used in the knife was not extracted purely; she could faintly see tiny, granular fragments embedded along the blade.

"I have a method that might increase the damage of this knife." Ophelia thought of modern kitchen knives and heavy bone-cleaving machetes. A blade with that kind of power should be enough to deal with Brada.

"You have a way?" Klein knew his knife wasn’t refined enough, but they had tried many methods without success.

Ophelia was never one to make absolute guarantees. "I can only give it a try.

"But this little bit of iron won’t be enough. We need much more." Refining this palm-sized piece of iron wouldn’t even yield enough material to forge a proper kitchen knife.

"I’ll go ask Moye if there are any iron mines nearby," Klein offered.

Zerev shook his head. "No iron mines have been discovered near Ten Thousand Beasts City."

Ophelia felt a bit disappointed. Right now, it was like a clever housewife trying to cook without rice—she couldn’t make something out of nothing. They had finally found a potential way to counter Brada, but now it seemed doomed to fail before it even began.

Unable to bear seeing Ophelia so downcast, Klein revealed a secret of the White Tiger Clan. "Just because none have been discovered doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We can look for one."

"There are so many mountains around Ten Thousand Beasts City, how could we possibly search them all? Besides, what if Brada launches an attack in the meantime?" Tyler asked, thinking it over carefully. "Princess, you should just go back to the White Tiger Clan with Klein. It’s the safest option."

"Tyler, you are all here. I won’t leave." She might be able to run, but she couldn’t take her home with her. Her parents, relatives, and friends were all here. What kind of person would she be if she fled alone, completely disregarding the life and death of her family?

"Don’t worry," Klein interjected. "The White Tiger Clan has a secret technique that can locate gold and iron mines."

"There’s a secret technique like that? No wonder your White Tiger Clan owns so many mines," Zerev said in astonishment.

"If people like you knew about it, it’d be the end of us. The White Tiger Clan would probably be wiped out."

Zerev choked on his words. That was indeed something the Holy City people would do.

"Aren’t you exposing yourself now, then?" Ophelia’s first reaction was to worry for Klein.

Seeing Ophelia’s concern for him, Klein felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He raised his hand and patted her head. "Don’t worry. Since I brought it up, I naturally have a way to deal with the consequences.

"Besides, it’s just the few of us here. If the secret gets out, it’ll be very easy to find the leaker."

"Why don’t you just call me out by name?" Zerev said, his brow twitching. He wondered what the point was of making such passive-aggressive remarks.

Klein shrugged. "You said it, not me. I didn’t say anything."

Zerev was infuriated by Klein’s sheer shamelessness.

Tyler hurriedly stepped in to mediate. "The most important thing right now is the iron mine. We will absolutely not expose your secret. Isn’t that right, Zerev?"

Zerev turned his head and scoffed coldly. "Hmph. Who doesn’t have a few mines?"

It was true. The noble families of the Holy Capital each held two or three mines, though the scale of their operations couldn’t compare to those of the White Tiger Clan. Even if all the mines owned by these noble families were added together, their annual yield still wouldn’t match the amount of Crystal Stones the White Tiger Clan produced in a single year.

Klein knew when to stop and didn’t press the matter any further. He took an animal skin pouch from his waist, opened it, and gently pulled out a golden Gold-seeking Rat.

Smelling Klein’s familiar scent, the little rat rubbed against his palm, then stood up on its hind legs, continuously bowing with its two front paws. Klein tapped the rat’s nose and, as if by magic, produced a piece of dried meat from nowhere and handed it over. The little rat happily hugged the jerky and began gnawing on it.

"This is your secret technique?" No matter how Tyler looked at it, it just seemed like an ordinary rat.

"Yes. It’s called a Gold-seeking Rat. It can smell Crystal Stone Mines, iron mines, and gold mines hidden deep underground."

"I can’t believe this little guy has such an important role." Ophelia stepped forward, wanting to reach out and pet the Gold-seeking Rat’s head.

However, the Gold-seeking Rat bared its teeth at her warily, as if warning her not to come any closer.

Klein tapped the Gold-seeking Rat on the head again, his tone uncharacteristically affectionate. "Don’t fuss. She’s your master now, too."

The Gold-seeking Rat spun in a circle in Klein’s palm before reluctantly sticking its head out to let Ophelia pet it. Ophelia felt it was incredibly perceptive and human-like.

"So, are we going to look for the mine now?"

"Tyler and I will go look for it," Klein instructed. "You stay here in the Fuzu Tribe and let Zerev protect you."

They didn’t know what exactly was going through Brada’s mind, nor did they know when he might launch an attack on the Fu Clan. Because of this, Ophelia could not be left unguarded for even a moment. Now that Zerev was here, Klein and Tyler could leave with peace of mind.

"All right. Later, I’ll go ask Kelly what exactly is on her mind."

With that, they split up to carry out their respective tasks.

Ophelia and Zerev headed to the single young females’ dormitory in the Fuzu Tribe. As soon as they reached the bottom of the building, they saw Ali playing with several other young females under a tree. They were playing elastic jump rope, a game Ophelia had taught them earlier. The young females were extremely enthusiastic about this bouncy, energetic game.

Ali spotted Ophelia from afar and quickly stopped. "Sister, what have you been so busy with these past few days? Every time I go looking for you, you’re not around!"

Ever since Klein arrived, the number of times Laxus visited the Fuzu Tribe had decreased. He seemed to be busy with his own affairs as well, though he still brought roasted rabbit meat for Ali every now and then. Even though the two of them didn’t see each other often nowadays, their relationship remained as strong as ever.