The Mine (Part 1)

The Gray Dwarf ' strike lasted only one day.

Once all the Gray Dwarf had sobered up completely, their alcohol addiction took over their reason, and they immediately changed their minds.

Anyway, those spinels are useless in the vault. Do you think they can take these gems out of Pattington Plane?

Thinking of this, the group of Gray Dwarf felt somewhat frustrated, but they stopped dwelling on it and immediately filled twenty barrels with high-quality spinel, exchanging them for a whole barrel of rum from Roy.

In fact, one barrel of rum was not enough to satisfy all the Gray Dwarf in the bunker. Dashel even wanted to exchange it for another barrel of rum, but Roy refused outright.

Left with no other choice, Dashel collected several boxes of ordinary spinel and traded them for a large barrel of ale from Roy.

In addition to the ale, Roy also provided the dwarves with some flatbread.

Roy originally wanted to make some white bread with wheat flour, but the elves were not good at cooking. They could make fruit tea, but they were completely incompetent at baking bread.

Roy then had them make some simple flatbreads to provide to the Gray Dwarf in the mine. After all, they were still counting on the miners, and how could they have the strength to work without some food?

The Gray Dwarf never expected to get to eat wheat cakes, and that night Gray Dwarf got themselves completely drunk again.

However, they seemed to have realized something: if they didn't start mining soon, the spinel in their vault would be depleted quickly, and then it would be difficult to exchange it for ale.

The Gray Dwarf really started mining after they drank their second barrel of rum. Perhaps emboldened by the rum, a large group of Gray Dwarf carrying pickaxes ran out of the Mine Road and quickly entered the northern part of the mine, where they worked day and night for two days.

There is no distinction between day and night in the mine. The Gray Dwarf have a simple routine: they mine when they have the strength, rest when they are tired, and return to the bunker when they have a full bag of Gemstone Mine.

Just as Roy had predicted, the Dark Moon Elves neither harassed the Gray Dwarf nor robbed their Gemstone Mine.

This finally put the Gray Dwarf at ease, who had been living in constant fear, and they no longer had any worries when mining...

A Carbide Lamp hung on a protruding corner of the rock face, the moonstone in its wick emitting a faint glow.

The brothers Malanduo and Maigedi, shirtless and barefoot, stood on the sharp rock, swinging their ivory-shaped pickaxes. Each strike against the rock of the vein sent sparks flying from the rock face.

The brothers' sweat left muddy vertical lines on their bronze skin...

Behind them were two burlap sacks, each filled with Spinel Ore, and a whole flatbread had been eaten down to just a small piece.

Malanduo scratched his slightly itchy back, then tossed the pickaxe at his feet, turned, grabbed a wooden mug, and downed the cold water in one gulp. He wiped his mouth, leaned back against the rock pile, rested his head on the rock wall, closed his eyes, and said to his good brother, "If only the mug were full of ale, I could just gulp it down and I think I could dig through the vein in one go!"

Maigedi stopped too, sat down next to Malanduo, panting heavily, and said, "Let's hurry up and dig. Elder Ampton said that two bags of Spinel Ore can be exchanged for a glass of rum. I think we should dig up at least four bags."

"Four bags are not enough, we need to dig out at least ten bags..."

After Malanduo finished speaking, he reached out and picked up the last piece of bread, tore it evenly into two pieces, stuffed one piece into Maigedi's hand, and put the other piece into his mouth. He then wiped his hands haphazardly, stood up, picked up the pickaxe on the ground, walked to the stone wall of the mine, and swung the pickaxe again.

Every time the pickaxe strikes the rock and sparks fly, the Gray Dwarf's sweat also pours down.

Little did the two brothers know that in the shadows of a corner behind them, a Dark Moon Elf was crouching. He had been there for a while, and seeing the two Gray Dwarf digging so diligently, he quietly slipped out of the mine.

What the Gray Dwarf didn't know was that in the northern part of the mine, at least thirty Dark Moon Elf were hiding in various places, monitoring the Gray Dwarf' mining...

According to Roy, once the Gray Dwarf start mining, the Dark Moon Elves will only need to act as overseers.

The Gray Dwarf are incredibly strong; one Gray Dwarf working hard at mining can be equivalent to ten Dark Moon Elf ...

The Dark Moon Elves discovered that life beneath the well was subtly changing...

They used to exploit the Half-Elf miners and rob the Gray Dwarf, but those days were still very hard.

Although there are no Half-Elf to exploit now, and the authorities have strictly forbidden robbing the Gray Dwarf, their lives have significantly improved...

Living in a mine feels no different from living in the Eternal Night Forest, except for the lack of lush forests.

They set up a row of clean tents next to the Mine Road shaft and built a bathroom with wooden planks at the bottom of the mine. They could eat fresh apples and drink warm Lemon Tea every day, and their lives got better day by day.

These Dark Moon Elf were deeply grateful to Roy.

Recently, Roy has been busy modifying the vertical passageways of the mine.

According to Roy's idea, all that was needed was to enlarge the existing shaft, which was to prepare for the construction of the elevator.

He entrusted the reconstruction work to the Half-Elf living in the mine.

After escaping from the mine, the group of Half-Elf were unsure how to live their lives.

The outside world had become very unfamiliar to them, which was one of the reasons why they stayed in the mine and were unwilling to leave.

Roy arranged for the Half-Elf to dig a well, and the Half-Elf seemed to have found a purpose in life all at once, and immediately threw themselves into the work of digging the well happily.

They had been mining Gemstone Mine in the mines for decades and had become accustomed to this kind of mining life. During this time, they were well-fed and well-rested, and their bodies quickly recovered.

The Half-Elf understood Roy's idea: he wanted to expand the vertical shaft passage and change the original single-row crane-style lifting boxes into alternating up-and-down elevators.

Roy has even drawn up the structural diagram of the elevator...

To facilitate their work, the Half-Elf carved a stone staircase into the rock walls around the shaft. This staircase extended downwards along the four walls of the mine, and as the mine was expanded downwards, the staircase continued to extend downwards as well.

The mine renovation project was progressing rapidly. By the time Mulin returned to the Second Mine with three hundred young Half-Elf -Half-Elf, they had already dug down more than two hundred meters.

Mulin found Roy by the mine shaft, where Roy was directing the Half-Elf to build scaffolding at the shaft entrance.

Mulin stood beside the well and curiously looked down into the shaft. Only a few points of light could be seen in the deep well opening.

Having long since lost sight of the Half-Elf digging into the stone wall, Mulin instinctively took a half-step back.

A group of Half-Elf emerged from the nearby underground stone steps...

They carried bags of waste rock on their backs and had to climb up in one go, which was definitely the most physically demanding job.

Roy pressed his forehead with one hand, then beckoned the Half-Elf to him. Pointing at the crane boom, he said Half-Elf, "Don't tell me you don't even know how to use a crane... We've already dug this deep, why are we still carrying these scrap stones out of the mine by hand?... Stupid!"

The Half-Elf all lowered their heads and did not argue.

Roy called over four Half-Elf and had them operate the winch on the crane arm, while the rest of the Half-Elf hurriedly lowered the Wooden Box into the mine.

"You just need to put the waste rock into Wooden Box, and it will be easy to hoist it up. Once the waste rock is brought up, it will all be piled up outside the mine, against the wall."

The stone-paved road outside the fortress is already nearly half-paved.

Roy planned to use the scrap stones to build a stable on the east side of the fortress, capable of accommodating hundreds of warhorses, after the stone road was paved.

Below the mountains lies a vast grassland; it would be a waste not to raise any horses here.

Mulin walked to the stone steps leading to the mine entrance. The steps faced the cave wall, where the elven miners had opened some windows. There was also a natural pillar every two meters. When they encountered some loose rock or sand layers, they reinforced the steps with a large number of support pillars.

"While I was back in the settlement, the mines have actually started to be renovated..." Mulin couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

Roy dismissed the half- Half-Elf who only knew brute force and didn't want to use their brains, walked to Mulin's side, and said with a smile, "Of course! How many young warriors did you bring back to the settlement this time?"

"Three hundred young Half-Elf," Mulin replied.

Then she added, "Roy, are you really planning to form a Guard Regiment composed of Half-Elf?"

"Yes, and once the Guard Regiment is formed, it will immediately be responsible for guarding the Second Mine!" Roy said.

He turned around to look at the Half-Elf of half-elf behind him, and asked Mulin with a smile, "Mulin, would you be interested in taking over the guard duty at the Second Mine?"

"Me?" Mulin hadn't expected that Roy's first appointment for her would be the commander of the Second Mine Guard Regiment.

She responded cheerfully, "Okay!"

Mulin's personality is just that straightforward.

Mulin brought back three hundred Half-Elf Warrior, bringing the total number of Half-Elf residents in the Second Mine Fortress to one thousand.

The dormitories on the second and third floors of the fortress were almost all crowded with Half-Elf, and for a time they were so full that temporary tents were even set up in the corridors.

The supplies consumed at the Second Mine were also increasing daily, and the Silver Pegasus Warrior of the Seventeenth Silver Pegasus Legion were rapidly expanding on the Pagisto Plateau, which put great pressure on Commander Berkeley's logistics department...

Commander Berkeley had the pack caravan deliver supplies to the Second Mine almost every week.

This time, Commander Berkeley didn't come along. When receiving the supplies, it was Commander Berkeley adjutant who carried the list. As Roy took the list, he couldn't help but ask the adjutant:

"Why isn't Commander Berkeley here?"

The adjutant quickly replied, "Commander Berkeley is escorting a batch of supplies to the central plateau. The Logistics Regiment has been expanded three times recently, but unfortunately it still can't meet the supply needs of various parts of the Pagisto Plateau. This batch of supplies was specially assigned by Commander Berkeley, so it was able to be delivered on time..."

Roy casually flipped through the supply list and found that the number of apples delivered this time was less than half of what it was last time.

Roy flipped through the catalog, frowned, and asked, "Why aren't there any fresh apples this time?"

"We can't transport that many supplies. Although the logistics department is constantly increasing personnel, it still can't support the supply consumption of the entire Pagisto Plateau. Right now, there are seventeen mines supplying supplies, and five camps..." the adjutant complained under his breath.

"Although Apple couldn't supply the required amount, they did provide some Elf Biscuit," the adjutant told Roy.

Roy didn't say anything more, casually signed his name on the list, and then asked Mulin to carefully check the received supplies again.

He couldn't be bothered with this adjutant...

Unexpectedly, no sooner had the Commander Berkeley left than a logistics adjutant started giving Roy a hard time.

The adjutant's expression turned somewhat unpleasant as he watched Roy turn and leave, seemingly oblivious to the hint he had given.

Mulin has a straightforward and frank personality. She took the catalog list and ran to a pile of Wooden Box, leading a large group of Half-Elf to start counting the items.

"The number of linen bags, pickaxes, and tents is correct..."

"Three boxes of apples are missing..."

"Breadfruit..."

"We're short one barrel each of maple syrup and Tree of Life Sap. I'll give you a list of the missing supplies, please sign it..."

After Mulin finished recounting the count of supplies, she turned and left, giving the logistics officer no chance to explain.

Seeing Mulin turn and walk away, the adjutant's face turned extremely pale.

Mulin handed the catalog to Roy and reported the missing supplies to Roy.

Roy was speechless. It turns out that this kind of thing—extortion and bribery—can happen everywhere.

A knock came at the door.

A Half-Elf stood in the doorway and said to Roy:

"Lord Roy, the logistics caravan plans to leave before dark. The adjutant requests that you prepare the Spinel Mine to be transported back to the Valley Camp."

"Okay, I'll go to the warehouse right away!" Roy replied.

After the Half-Elf left, Mulin wrinkled her nose and said somewhat angrily, "Roy, are we going to hand over those high-grade spinels to him?"

Roy thought for a moment, felt for the key to warehouse number three on the wall, then smiled at Mulin and said:

"Since they're not behaving properly, let them do some heavy work!"

Before the Mine Owners of the Second Mine left, he took away a large amount of high-grade spinel ore. The remaining Spinel Ore filled three warehouses, and almost all of them were the most ordinary spinel stones after being sorted. Even if these spinel stones were to enter the magic market, they wouldn't be worth much.

It's basically used to grind crystals into powder. This magical material is very common; you can buy it at magical general stores...

When the adjutant led the logistics caravan away from the mine, each horse was carrying an extremely heavy load of spinel ore, and it was all the most common Spinel Mine; not a single piece of ore could be polished into high-grade spinel.

Roy brought out almost all the worst ore in the mine, allowing the adjutant to 'return home with a full load'.