The Peerless Ring

Jaxon's face lit up with sheer delight. The "wall" before him had transformed into a gleaming pile of gold coins in his eyes. It was clear that these high-quality ores were incredibly valuable. The mine in front of the village was a poor one, producing a limited variety and quantity of ores, and the quality was subpar. Even so, it was still a significant source of wealth for the small village.

In contrast, the "wall" before him was rich in a diverse range of ores, with abundant quantities and superior quality. It far surpassed the mine in front of the village in every aspect. Although inferior ores could also be used to forge weapons and farming tools, they required refining to remove impurities, which wasted time and labor. Moreover, even after removing impurities, the quality of the weapons and tools made from inferior ores was flawed, incomparable to those made from high-quality ores in terms of sharpness and durability.

Therefore, high-quality ores were extremely expensive, and each piece was a blacksmith's favorite. Jaxon had learned this information after acquiring the forging skill. That was why he was so ecstatic upon seeing so many high-quality ores right in front of him. And this was just what he could see; who knew how far the metal "wall" extended?

This was undoubtedly a huge fortune!

"No way, I have to get the ownership of this 'wall'!" With such a vast fortune right in front of him, Jaxon was naturally unwilling to let it go. As Blacksmith Sun had said before, wild mines seemed ownerless, but in reality, they belonged to the authorities. Mining without permission was strictly forbidden. If the authorities found out about the existence of this "wall," they would definitely claim ownership, and Jaxon would be left with nothing. Even if the village head found out, Jaxon felt that he would lose his chance to claim the "wall."

Therefore, he must keep the existence of this "wall" a secret from others. With this thought, Jaxon quickly returned to the cave entrance, used the Tiger Leap skill to jump up, covered the cave entrance, and then ran back to the village without looking back.

"Vill... Village Head, I want to rent the entire back mountain, not... not just the open land, but everything!" Jaxon panted as he ran to the village head's house and said breathlessly.

Only by renting the entire back mountain could Jaxon hide the existence of the "wall" and quietly mine it. The ownership of the "wall" would then be his. Even if the village head found out about the "wall" later, he wouldn't be able to say anything.

"Where have you been? You're panting and covered in dust, like you've been digging like a mouse?" The old village head looked at Jaxon's disheveled appearance and asked with a chuckle.

The old village head was right; Jaxon had indeed been digging a hole.

"Village Head, just tell me, how much does it cost to rent the entire back mountain for a year?" Jaxon said.

"Do you really want to rent the entire back mountain? It's a large area, but many places, such as around the hills, can't be used for farming or breeding. Renting it would be a waste," the village head said.

"I'm specifically interested in the areas around the hills!" Jaxon thought to himself.

Of course, he couldn't tell the village head the real reason. He was also afraid that if the village head knew about the "wall," he wouldn't rent the back mountain to him.

"I've made up my mind," Jaxon said.

"I see," the village head said, looking Jaxon over. "The back mountain is much larger than our village. Although some areas are useless, the resources are abundant. The price, of course, can't be too low. But since we're acquaintances, I'll give you a friend's price: five thousand gold coins a year. How about that?"

"Five thousand? Are you trying to rob me?!" Jaxon exclaimed. "A large area of open land costs only five hundred gold coins a year, and adding some barren hills and forests makes it ten times more? Village Head, you're too generous."

"You can't say that," the village head said, looking at Jaxon's urgency with a leisurely and composed manner. "The previous price of five hundred gold coins was already very low. The barren hills, forests, and rivers are all rich in resources. If you rent them all, all those resources will be yours. In fact, you're the one who's getting a great deal."

Jaxon knew that there were animals and herbs in the forest, fish and shrimp in the river, and wild fruits in the mountains. The village head knew this too. However, Jaxon understood that with no more than ten villagers in the village, they simply couldn't fully utilize those resources. In other words, if Jaxon didn't rent the land, those resources on the back mountain would likely go to waste.

But in the village head's words, all these resources became the village's wealth. Renting them to Jaxon would mean a significant loss to the village, so Jaxon had to pay a high price.

Seeing the shrewd look in the village head's eyes, Jaxon realized that he had been too eager to rent the back mountain, and the village head had seen through it. That was why the village head had quoted such a high price.

Of course, even without the "wall" in the mountain, the resources on the hills, in the water, and in the forests were worth five thousand gold coins. If Jaxon rented them for that price, he wouldn't lose, and the village would gain.

The village head was firm in his price, and Jaxon had no choice but to accept it.

"But with the existence of that 'wall,' I'm definitely not losing," Jaxon thought, feeling much better and eager to start mining the "wall."

"This kid definitely has a problem," the village head muttered, watching Jaxon's retreating figure. "He must have discovered something on the back mountain; otherwise, he wouldn't be so eager to rent the entire area."

Initially, the village head had quoted five thousand gold coins but would have been satisfied with a minimum of two thousand gold coins, as Jaxon had thought. The village simply didn't have the capacity to utilize the resources on the back mountain.

However, Jaxon's agreement to the full price of five thousand gold coins made the village head even more suspicious about what Jaxon had discovered on the back mountain.

"Forget it, whatever he discovered, let it be," the village head said to himself. "We're old; those material possessions are useless to us. Let's leave them to the young."