An older miner sporting a cross-shaped scar on his right cheek slammed his fist against a support beam and yelled, “We cannot stay put and foolishly wait for help to arrive. We need to fight back!”

“Fight back? Have ya finally lost yer marbles!?”

“We’re farmers! Those things are monsters! We cannot fight against those things. They’ll tear us apart!”

“If we stay here, they’re still gonna tear us up anyway! I’m with Uncle, we must fight back!”

“Have ya seen what those beasts have done to my boy!? He’s missing half his hand! If I hadn’t arrived in time, h-he would’ve lost his life!”

“I say we wait. The lords back in the town must be comin’ up with somethin’ to rescue us. Going’ out ri’ht now will be suicide!”

Foreman Jason stood at the far end of the room and quietly watched the scene before him. Both of his arms were crossed before his chest while his head hung down in contemplation.

“Lord this! Lord that! Would’ya grow some balls!? Our lives are the ones in line here! We should be the ones to decide whether we fight for it or give up and watch ourselves get slaughtered.”

“I agree with ‘im. The little Lord’s done a lot for the town. But he’s still a little kid that’s wet behind his ears! You’re telling me to wait and put my life in his hands? Heavens no!”

“Oi.” A sharp sound left Jason’s mouth, cutting across the heated room. In that instant, the people arguing within felt a shiver pass down their spines.

Lifting his head to stare at the one who had spoken earlier, Jason grimly said, “Argue all ya want, but I won’t allow anyone to slander my lord’s name in my presence.” Saying so, he then stared down at everyone else present inside the room.

“None of us will ever know the depths of wisdom contained within that tiny body.”

Jason Porlicks was normally a brash, indecisive, and timid person who never watched the way he spoke or thought about the way he lived. It was only recently, just after his promotion to Foreman, did he begin to lose his traits of indecisiveness and timidity. The recent wolf attack hastened this transformation, turning him from ‘another unknown background character’ to a ‘somewhat important side character’ –if Atlas’ words were used to evaluate him.

Jason, who was aware of his changes, attributed it to the recognition of the young prince and directed all of his feelings of gratitude towards the youth. If Baron Helm was said to be Atlas’ number one most loyal supporter, Foreman Jason would undoubtedly be number two. As such, he wouldn’t allow anyone, be they a king or an emperor, to badmouth his lord.

Unfortunately, some of the miners here with him did not share his sentiment.

Hearing Jason’s hostile rebuke, the middle-aged miner who had previously spoken badly about the young prince felt as though his pride and dignity were trampled upon by the foreman.

With veins throbbing at his forehead, the man exploded into anger into a storm of curses. “What would you know, ya filthy son of a sow! The only reason you’re here is ‘cause you got to meet that little pipsqueak ‘fore I could. Foreman? What a joke! I should’ve been the one to become a foreman!”

It is famously said that a person’s true nature showed when they were thrust into a hopeless situation. While our protagonist would insist on how laughably untrue that statement was, it still held an ounce of truth. For instance, this moment…

Pushed to wit’s end and facing an uncertain death, the middle-aged man, Caleb Zain being his name, showed his true nature.

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“And don’t even get me started on the pig-headed fool that led us into this damned forest! That pig deserves to be–” A fist arrived and smashed against Cabel’s cheek. An audible twak was heard as his teeth came loose and blood spilled from his mouth. Cabel’s eyes rolled up to expose his whites, as his body slammed against the ground unconscious.

Silence. Utter silence resounded throughout the room.

Holding onto his bloody clenched fist with his other hand, Jason huffed with exhaustion. Wearing a blank face void of all emotions, he turned around and stared at the others who stood dumbfounded and lost.

“Anybody else wanna agree with him?” He slowly said, enunciating every single word in that sentence. The others hurriedly shook their heads.

Straightening his back, Jason let go of his hand. He then shook it back and forth a few times to get rid of the blood staining it as though it were some filth that was too disgusting to touch.

“Tie up this bastard and put him away. We’ll give him to the lords to deal with.” Jason walked away from the unconscious body and neared the exit. “About the wolf pack…”

His face hardened with resolve as he decided, “We’ll fight. Their attacks are getting too frequent and costing us too much to keep ignoring them. Four attacks within the hour and who knows how much more to come?”

“Tell the others this.” He took a deep breath and continued, “I’m putting together twenty, twenty-five men who can fight in a team. Together, we’ll rush outta these mines and make our way to the town. There, if the lords aren’t already aware of our situation here, we’ll inform them and rush back here with extra support.”

“What about the people here?” An elder, one of the oldest miners trapped here, asked. “Surely we can’t leave them to fend for themselves. Those bloody wolves will tear ‘em apart in a heartbeat.”

“That’s why we’re gonna block the entrance,” Jason replied.

“Block the entrance? Good Gods, lad. If we could’ve blocked the entrance we’d have already done it. But we haven’t! Cause we have nothing strong enough to block it and keep it blocked!” Another miner intervened.

“How do you suggest we block the entrance?” The previous elder stared straight at Jason and asked.

Taking a deep breath, Jason looked at the low, dimly lit ceiling of the mine and replied, “We’re gonna collapse the entrance.” Shocked gasps and shouts rang out. “With a mountain’s worth of rubble blocking the entrance, those wolves have got no chance of making it in.”

“Start preparing. We’re leaving in an hour.” Jason left the meeting room.

The people that stayed within still wore expressions of disbelief and shock on their faces. They then stared at each other before staring at the unconscious body on the ground. Finally, they looked at each other one more time, this time with bitter smiles on their faces.

The elder stared at the ceiling with reminiscence and spoke, “Kids these days sure are brash and impulsive.”

“Collapse the entrance? Does he want the people inside to suffocate and die? Madness?”

“People inside? Think about the twenty, twenty-five sods who are going outside. It’s suicide I’m telling you.” The speaker shook his head.

“Oh? I can hear ye’r mouth disagree, but see a smile climbing up to ye’r lips,” The elder miner looked at the previous speaker with a suggestive glance.

“Alright, alright. I can hear what you’re saying, old man.” The man rubbed his fists together, excitement showing on his cross-shaped scared face. “But ya gotta admit. Sticking it to those beasts, now that sounds like a helluva thing to do!”

Turning around, he also proceeded to walk towards the entrance while speaking, “I’m gonna go and join our foreman in his preparations. Ya fools better join us.” He exited the meeting room.

“This old man’s in no shape to join the attack, but I might as well do my best in handling the situation here.” The elder swung his arms around while saying so. “Which one of ya young’uns is gonna carry this traitor?” His eyes radiated chillness as he gazed at the unconscious body on the ground.

After a round of silence, a reluctant volunteer eventually stepped up to carry the unconscious Caleb after being silently pressured by the group. He didn’t bother putting any real effort into the task and simply moved him by pulling his legs, dragging the body against the dirty ground in the process. Faced with this sight, not a single one of the people within the room felt the slightest bit of sympathy.

When they passed him, the oldest miner went as far as to spit on the unconscious body “Some gall he has to insult the noble lords like that. That lad went easy on this scum.” The rest mirrored his sentiments and soon all of them left the meeting room.

Time passed quickly and soon it was time.

Time for the daring counterattack.