Ang stood on the high ground of the mining camp, staring at the unresponsive slaves. He took a deep breath, gathered his Qi force, and roared, "Everyone, stop!" His voice thundered across the entire mining area. Yet the slaves continued their motions numbly, as though they could not hear his command at all.
Bruno watched the scene and frowned. "Those people were probably tortured by the bandits until they lost their souls. They may not even know what 'freedom' is anymore."
Ang sighed, then gave the order. "Bruno, take a few men to Aida's place and bring back the food the bandits hid. The people here need to see a little hope before they can understand that they've escaped those beasts' control."
"Understood, my lord." Bruno nodded and quickly left with several men.
Before long, the food was brought to the mining camp. Ang directed the guards to clear an open area and quickly set up several large pots and crude stoves. The soldiers worked efficiently, putting the dried rations, coarse wheat, and other food hidden by the bandits into the pots, then adding water and lighting the fires. Soon, steam rose from the pots, and a rich fragrance spread through the freezing air.
The starving slaves finally stopped working when they smelled the food. They raised their heads and greedily inhaled the long-forgotten scent, their eyes revealing complicated emotions—both longing and suspicion.
"Everyone, come over and line up for porridge!" Ang called again, and this time, he finally caught the slaves' attention.
They hesitated for a moment before slowly gathering and forming a line on their own. Each held a battered wooden bowl, while some had only crude containers whittled from bark. The guards ladled steaming wheat porridge into their bowls one scoop at a time. After receiving their