Agamemnon's Compromise

"What's going on? You can't even handle something this trivial!" Agamemnon cursed at Budelin, who dodged the inkstone.

"My lord, these slaves simply refuse to cooperate. Bloody conflicts have broken out in some places, and quite a few slaves and overseers have died in the process. The largest camp in the eastern district directly slaughtered the overseers sent to support them, and they're still in a standoff now. The people below no longer dare to order anyone to open fire."

Many things did not need to be said aloud. Agamemnon naturally knew why the people below did not dare fire their weapons. Too many miners had died, and the Tower needed them to replace the lost labor force.

Kiavahr did not send people up every day. Those lackeys of the slave masters were not fools. It was one thing to freely abuse the miners in ordinary times, but under these circumstances, they naturally knew when to show restraint. Even Lycaeus, who had no brains to speak of, had already been abandoned and torn to pieces by those slaves.

"Agree to their demands. Withdraw all the overseers, but require them to return to work immediately. When will the Detective Group you contacted arrive? Have them investigate which family is backing this troublesome camp!" Agamemnon gave the order with a face as dark as storm clouds.

He did not dare gamble on whether they would report this directly to the Lord of the High Tower. If the Lord of the High Tower learned of this, then based on what he knew of Akalin, it would be better for him to end his own life quickly.

Once those miners saw their once-lofty managers fall into the dust, they would be more excited than a pack of hunting dogs starved for five days and nights suddenly seeing a huge slab of meat.

Just imagining it made Agamemnon tremble all over.

"My lord, if we let them run wild like this, won't it embolden these slaves in the future?" Budelin asked.

"It doesn't matter. Once this passes, there'll be plenty of time to slowly deal with these slaves. What matters now is finding out which family is causing trouble." Agamemnon waved a hand, signaling him to get it done.

As someone with real power in the Tower, dealing with a group of miners could not have been easier.

But once political factors were involved, there was much more to consider. Until he sorted out the variables, he would not act rashly.

Outside Saviors Camp...

With the last armed overseer still resisting stubbornly cut down, this long-planned ambush finally came to an end.

"The quality of these overseers really exceeded my expectations." Sandman looked at the slaughtered overseers and spoke to the captured Train Captain.

"My lord, the overseers are merely street thugs without formal training. Besides, Lycaeus has enjoyed peace for many years. The armies of the Tower and Kiavahr will not be so easily dealt with by you. Or rather, what have you come to this barren land for? If you name your terms, perhaps the Tower can help you."

"I know the Tower's army better than you do. What we want is very simple. The Tower would never be generous enough to hand Lycaeus over to us, so we have no choice but to take it ourselves," Sandman said casually.

Since the other side liked making up explanations, it saved him the trouble of finding all sorts of ways to disguise his identity.

"So that's how it is. You must be some young master from a great family, out gaining experience. You've taken a fancy to the supply channels for all kinds of raw metals on Lycaeus and want to earn the support of those old fossils in your family." At that moment, the Train Captain's imagined explanation came full circle.

"In that case, I'll patiently await the Tower's orders. I only hope you two will show mercy and not harm my subordinates. They are only responsible for transporting the mined ore and have never oppressed these miners." The Train Captain looked at the disarmed overseers crouching nearby with their hands over their heads and pleaded for them.

Hearing the Train Captain's voice, the trembling overseers immediately showed grateful expressions. At a time like this, anyone willing to lend them a hand counted as a rare good person.

"If not for that, our boss would've used you as sacrifices to raise the banner from the start." Korax gave him some reassurance.

As time slowly passed, the atmosphere throughout the camp grew increasingly heavy. The matter at Saviors Camp had been resolved, but the other camps on Lycaeus did not have such strength, especially the smaller, more remote camps. No one knew what was happening to them now.

Beneath their calm exteriors, both Sandman and Korax were somewhat anxious, though they concealed it well.

Ssshh... A burst of static came from the communicator in Sandman's hand.

"The Tower has agreed to your request, on the condition that you immediately organize people to begin mining. All overseers have already started withdrawing to the Tower. The transport train will depart again after returning to its starting point." The reply from the communicator made Sandman and Korax breathe a sigh of relief.

"Then convey this to Agamemnon for me: happy cooperation." Sandman casually ended the call and tossed the communicator back to its original owner.

"Congratulations, Comrade Train Captain. Your wait was worthwhile. At the very least, it wasn't the Tower Infantry Regiment's howitzers that arrived. But before that, you may need to suffer a little more hardship." Sandman smiled as he untied the ropes around the Train Captain.

Then Korax, who had long been prepared, began using his psychic power to invade the overseers' minds. It was not yet time for Shadow Kill to be exposed.

After half an hour of waiting...

"We'll have to trouble Comrade Train Captain to transport our campmates in the future. I hope we can cooperate happily from now on." Sandman signaled Shadow Kill to release them and tossed their equipment back as well.

"Rest assured, my lord. Then we'll be on our way first." The Train Captain said with a flattering smile, having already filled in the entire sequence of events in his mind. He then led his men aboard an intact troop carrier, completely unaware that anything was wrong with his memories.

As the troop carrier started up, the overseer driving it stomped on the accelerator, rapidly building speed and fleeing this blood-soaked place as if his life depended on it.

As for the overseers' corpses on the ground, sorry, they were not close. Naturally, someone from the Tower would come collect them later. Their most urgent task now was to return to the Tower, set out once more, and carry the miners back to work the mines. They would return to their old, unchanging lives, but at least they no longer had to live in constant fear.

"We won! We finally won!!!" From the wall behind Sandman, the miners erupted into excited cheers as they watched the overseers flee in disarray. This was the first time in their lives they had achieved such a complete and satisfying victory.

"From now on, we'll keep winning." Sandman turned and looked at the cheering crowd atop the wall.

"Boss, should we organize people to start mining, then?" Nekser asked with a rare smile as he looked at the cheering crowd.

"Mining? Mine my ass. After such a great victory, we should let everyone properly enjoy the fruits of it. Give everyone a day off. We'll have extra food tonight. I doubt they'd dare try anything underhanded."

"Long live the boss!" The people who heard the good news immediately erupted into thunderous cheers.