Compared to the boring long-range battle, the open-pit mine to the north was a buzz of activity. The prisoners were all working hard and, in Gray's case, hardly working.

They started mining the marked area in the center and a wide pit slowly started to form. Progress was good at first before it slowed to a crawl. After digging about two body lengths, they hit the hard bedrock. They dug in all directions but the impenetrable layer was everywhere.

The miners gave it all they had, fearing punishment from the bandits, but the layer of rock was too stubborn. They only managed to scrape a small layer off which amounted to less the length of one's arm.

Nobody knew why they were mining downward, not the prisoners, not the bandit guards. The Southern Seas Mining Company had tried such foolhardy diggings into the rock layer in the past but they were a complete waste of time and money. There wasn't a trace of jade anywhere.

"Krish, you alright?" Gray asked.

The sun was setting and they were finally allowed to rest. The old man had collapsed where he stood, panting and sweating profusely. Gray got him some water and squatted next to him.

"Council meeting after dinner. I have to tell you guys something." Gray said.

Krish looked at him strangely and nodded, "Alright."

After a dinner that barely filled their stomachs, Gray gathered his council in a corner near the ramp. He was happy to see that everyone was still alive. He would have to give them some bad news and it would be up to them to maintain order and morale after he was gone.

"I am leaving tonight." He said simply, without preamble.

They all stared at him but there were no surprised faces.

"I expected as much. What made you decide?" Huzhi asked.

"I have discovered critical information that I need to report to the Jade Hill Lord. I can't tell you exactly but it will greatly affect the outcome of the war." Gray said and then sighed heavily, "I don't know if it will compel the lord to mount a rescue effort. I hope it will... But, I promise I will continue to fight the bandits any way that I can."

The council thanked him but he could tell that they were disappointed. He felt helpless. There was nothing else he could do here.

"We will be fine." Huzhi said finally, "When are you leaving? Do you need our help?"

"No, I can manage just by myself. Just stay away from the southern edge of the mine. I will leave after those two elders visit."

"Understood, Foreman Gray. We’re tough miners. We’ll survive!"

“That’s right!”

The council dispersed and went back to their individual groups. Gray remained in a corner beneath the entrance ramp and waited for night to fall.

"Stay back!"

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"Make way!"

The two elders arrived, with their escort in front. Gray observed them closely as they walked down the ramp. At the same time, many of the prisoners were also watching so he didn't stand out.

The elders did not even look down and kept walking without a care. They were the masters and the people below were slaves. There was no need for them to worry.

Gray sent spiritual energy into his eyes and studied the two men. The blue energy he expected was there. At this distance, it was much clearer than yesterday. They both let off an ordinary colorless spiritual aura around their bodies but their faces had fuzzy clouds of deep blue. The color was strangely familiar like he had seen it somewhere before.

As they moved closer, the disparity in color became more and more apparent. Gray realized with a jolt where he had seen this color before... with the veil that Alisha Patel always wore. It was the same color only much more intense. The feeling it gave him was almost the same. Alisha wore the veil around her head to hide her features, so perhaps these two were doing the same!

Gray calmed his rising excitement and summoned more spiritual energy into his eyes. He tried to forcibly see through their disguise like he had with Alisha but the stubborn blue fog of spiritual energy remained, only dissipating slightly.

The two elders were now passing directly overhead. He couldn’t let this chance go to waste. He had to find out their true identities!

He called upon the strength of the Tome of Glorious Fortune. His spiritual sea surged as a golden wave washed over this body. All of his available spiritual energy was silently poured into his eyes and unbeknownst to anyone, his gray-colored irises flashed to inky black for a split second.

The blue fog lifted.

The first thing that changed was skin color which shifted from sun-tanned bronze to a pale white. Then it was their hair which turned from black to brown.

Finally, their features started to shift until they were unrecognizable. They both had blue eyes, a sharp prominent nose, and thin lips. All the parts were there and yet they seemed starkly different from the people of this region. It seemed unnatural and foreign.

There was a final bit of fog at the top of their heads. Gray strained his eyes harder than he had ever done before, so much that they started to sting. The blue mirage tried to resist but his eyes were simply too special. The two forces battled for what seemed like an eternity in an invisible realm but it took only a fraction of a moment.

He blinked once and the last of the fog dissipated, revealing a pair of short white horns that poked out of their hair like two fingers.

Demons!

They were actually demons!

Gray stood still, mouth half-open, in shock. Alisha said that there were no demons here but that wasn’t true at all. The proof was right in front of him!

His thoughts spun dizzyingly. He tried to find an explanation for this but there was none to be had. He had no idea what was going on but it was a mind-blowing discovery. The Duanmu Clan being in league with demons was beyond his wildest expectations. They even let a demon be their first elder!

He had no idea what demons wanted with the Duanmu Clan but it put some of their despicable actions of the past fifteen years into context. His miners consistently said that they felt the Duanmu Clan's turn to banditry was arbitrary and nonsensical.

He suspected that the two demon elders were already in charge fifteen years ago and it was them who drove the change. As Alisha said, demons were the enemy of the human race. Both sides were locked in a perpetual conflict that stretched back thousands of years. Sending two demon spies deep into human territory to cause trouble sounded like something they would do.

These two demons were able to reignite an old conflict between the Duanmu Clan and the Patel family and turn into a full-blown war. The loss of life and ensuing unrest would weaken the Rising Sea Kingdom and its ability to support the war effort.

There was also the matter of the giant jade mine below his feet. The number of human cultivators this jade could help was tremendous. If the demons could reach it and somehow destroy it, it would be another huge loss to the human side.

In the desperate struggle between the two races, every small victory was valuable. A thousand small victories would eventually lead to a great victory on the main battlefield to the east.

Gray shuddered. Demons were indeed scheming and treacherous. Their strategy was frightening!

He had to leave tonight, he had to report this to the lord.