“It’s the Twelfth Elder!”
“Twelfth Elder, welcome to the Oasis Mine!”
Tang Duanmu waved to the clan members gathering around him. They all wanted to see the newly promoted elder.
While he was still very young, he carried himself well. He held one of the highest ranks within the clan but he did not flaunt his power or status. He let the praise and admiration come to him while continuing to diligently carry out his tasks.
This was his first time visiting the Oasis Mine in a long time and the first time since the attack on the River Mine. He wanted to make sure that the manpower for the most secretive and important part of the upcoming war would be ready.
He glanced around the whole scene from the top as a clan officer in charge reported on the state of the mine and prisoners.
There were now over one thousand men and some women held prisoner. Over seven hundred of them came from the attack on the River Mine while others were from previous raids on caravans both to the north and south. A small number of the slaves died occasionally from starvation and overwork but, up until now, the losses had always been replenished by new slaves. This was no longer possible with the war starting. Therefore, it would be important to keep what they had alive for as long as possible.
“Let’s go down and take a look.” Tang said after the report finished.
“Yes, elder!”
He went down the steep sandy incline with the officer and other clan members following close behind. The clan officer continued prattling about inane things but Tang ignored him and observed the surroundings.
A few slaves outside of the tunnels noticed them come down and they all retreated into the mines out of fear. Tang’s robes were distinctive and he didn’t doubt that some of the slaves knew what it signified.
“Tell me, what do they eat every day?” Tang asked after a while.
“Elder, each morning, we bring down a cart of bread. Each evening, we give them another cart of bread. For the ones that find one gram of jade or one kilogram of spiritual stone, they are given a handful of dried meat.”
“A cart… for everyone? How much can the cart hold?”
“It is just the standard one-horse cart, filled to the brim but not piled high, sir.”
“…”
Tang was surprised as well as indignant. The miners were a critical piece for the upcoming war. It was his responsibility to keep them all alive. If they died from starvation, then his grandfather’s plan would fall apart.
“Starting from today, every miner will be given half a kilogram of bread in the morning.” He declared loudly so everyone around him heard it.
The guards were all astonished. Half a kilogram was as much as they received per meal. Some looked like they wanted to argue but held their tongue.
Tang ignored them and continued, “They will receive another half a kilogram of bread during dinner. The meat bonus will stay and will also be doubled.”
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“Umm… are you sure?”
Tang's reply was firm, “I know you have doubts, but the miners are important to me and the elder council. We cannot lose them, not before they have fulfilled their purpose. And trust me, they will be very useful... Think of it as an investment now that will pay off very soon.”
“Yes, elder is wise!”
“Good, now… What is going on with all those extra mining tunnels?” He pointed up and around at the conspicuous holes dug into the lakebed.
“Sir, they are old and depleted mines. There is not much worthwhile left in them so we’ve kept mining downwards and creating new tunnels over the years. Right now, only those at the very bottom produce anything, though that amount is also very little.”
Tang did not voice it but he was concerned. Once the war was formally announced, the timetable would be extremely short to prevent the news from leaking out. He didn’t want the possibility of the miners hiding inside the old tunnels and having to chase them down.
“Get some people and fill those old mines in. I don’t want to see them anymore.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s all. I am heading back. Take care of the slaves. Don't let them escape and don’t let them die needlessly. Also, train yourselves and be ready to fight because there is something huge coming on the horizon. Can I trust you all to be prepared?”
“Yes, elder!”
Tang dropped a small sack of coins in the guard commander's hand and left the mine.
He was completely unaware of how close he had come to his nemesis.
---
Gray was also unaware of Tang's coming and going. He was busy mining deep within the earth. Profits were low but better than nothing. He was making steady progress toward the seventh level of Spiritual Strengthening.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
It was like an earthquake.
The rumbling and cacophony of noises passed quickly but they were followed by a wall of choking dust.
Blinded and barely able to breathe, Gray slowly made his way to the tunnel entrance... only to find that it had collapsed.
His way out was completely blocked off!
“Shit… really?”
Gray was stunned. The tunnel walls had been solid despite being almost ancient. He had checked them for safety before heading deeper. The only possibility was that someone had purposefully done this. Someone had buried him alive.
“Demon dogs! Flying pig bastards!”
He slammed his fist into the wall of dirt and rocks. He was furious. He didn’t know who ordered this to be done but he wanted to make them pay.
He vented his frustrations on the earth. With the foreman’s pickaxe in hand, he dug toward freedom like a mad beast.
When he eventually dug his way out, it was night time and the whole mine was quiet.
Any joy of finally escaping disappeared when he saw what had happened to the Lake Mine. Almost every other mining tunnel had been plugged up. It wasn’t just his mining tunnel; it was all of them except four at the very bottom of the lake. The bandits did such a thorough job that without a trained eye, it was difficult to tell that there even used to be mining tunnels.
He didn’t know what kind of maniac ordered this but he hoped they would have a painful end. He was still more than halfway from the seventh level but his source of jade and spiritual stone had been cut off. There was nothing left for him here except a bunch of hungry miners and despicable bandits.
Gray had never been so furious in his life. Even when others robbed his mines in his youth, he didn’t feel like this. It was because of a special sense of pride that he did not have before. It was the pride of a cultivator with a supreme cultivation art. It was the pride of a mining monster with unnatural strength and a unique pair of eyes. It was the pride of a young man who was the strongest in the King’s Mountains and who would soon become the strongest man of these endless plains.
He couldn’t let these bandits torment him over and over again. He had to get even, he had to beat them!
“Wait!”
A simple idea struck him. He wasn't quite thinking clearly. His emotions were high. The shock of the situation still had not worn off. His mind was still buzzing with anger. Yet it was so obvious and made total sense...
He was a miner and this place was filled with enslaved miners. A few of them were about as tall or as wide as him. He could fit in and pretend to be a slave. He would bide his time and lay in wait for the perfect moment. He would cause trouble from the inside. He would ruin the bandit’s plans, whatever they were. And if they didn’t have any plans, he would simply steal their jade and spiritual stones while he was here.
“Tang… Duanmu Clan… A bunch of demon bandits! I’ll get you all!” He swore to himself.