"Your Grace, can that cowardly Kobold Mage really become the chieftain of the entire Horde?"
After Kao had completely disappeared into the distance, the burly knight could no longer hold back and voiced his doubts.
In his view, trash like that had no value whatsoever beyond being humanely destroyed, buried in the ground, and used as fertilizer.
But Allen held the exact opposite opinion. Stroking his chin, he smiled and explained, "Never underestimate people who possess infinite fear of death and selfishness taken to the extreme. They may only drag everyone down at critical moments, but when it comes to imposing brutal, high-pressure rule on their own kind, they are absolute experts. If Kao truly understood what I told him, he should soon be able to seize control of the entire Horde. And we will gain a safe mine, along with over ten thousand free Kobold laborers."
"My lord, if we have these Kobold miners, does that mean we no longer need so many slaves? Can we sell the excess to other lords?" Lyle asked, his eyes shining.
"No! I intend to gather these surplus slaves together and establish workshops with rather harsh working conditions, further boosting commerce and trade. In short, for a long time to come, the Empire as a whole will face an acute labor shortage. Therefore, using slaves such as Trolls and Fish-Men to fill the gap is the only option. Come, let us wait outside for news. If nothing unexpected happens, we should have the result within a few hours at most."
After saying that, Allen turned and walked toward the entrance of the mine.
Although he had never feared killing, the stench produced by mutilated corpses scattered throughout an enclosed space was truly hard to endure.
The other soldiers used the tools left behind