Li Wei's Miner Army

Li Wei used some crude business tactics from Blue Star to stir up the refugees in Zelandia, but he still underestimated the influence the Duergar had established over the years.

The refugees clearly coveted the free dried salted fish he promised, but they were also afraid that the Gnoll, who dared to openly challenge the actual rulers, the Duergar, upon his arrival, would be decapitated the next second and then face retaliation from the Duergar afterward.

Therefore, even though they were tempted, they were still waiting and watching, hoping for a foolish bird to stick its neck out first so they could observe the Duergar's reaction.

Li Wei wasn't too surprised by this situation. Instead, he was quite impressed by the Old Dwarf's effective leadership. He then turned his gaze back to the Old Dwarf, awaiting his response.

The Duergar, who had been operating here for decades, had gradually learned some of the dark arts and manipulative tactics of the Drow through their constant dealings with them. This made them unaccustomed to Li Wei's direct and blunt approach. Faced with Li Wei's forceful entry, they were caught somewhat off guard.

Behind Old Tiger, several fully armed Dwarf Enforcers, seeing the eager refugees, exchanged glances and gripped the handles of the warhammers on their backs, as if ready to spill blood with this mutated Gnoll if Tiger gave the order.

Tiger naturally noticed the stir behind him and raised his hand, signaling his subordinates not to get too agitated.

He shook his head, seemingly exasperated and troubled by encountering such a reckless individual, especially one who looked like a Wolf Destruction.

He then calmly looked at Li Wei and said, "Young Gnoll, while I admire your courage, I must tell you a truth: this place, Zelandia, was established by me, Tiger, and a group of brothers fighting for survival. First, we used blood and fire, fists and warhammers! To expel the Goblins who originally occupied this place.

"Then, it took us three years! To establish this peaceful city in this chaotic and disaster-prone Underdark, in this originally unclaimed land.

"And then it took us a full forty years! To negotiate and balance with those cunning and treacherous Drow in Gershon City, to achieve the current order! To ensure that despite the mix of so many races, people can still live such peaceful and tranquil lives!"

Having said this, the Old Dwarf surveyed the surroundings, looking at each refugee who quickly lowered their heads when their eyes met his. He then took a deep breath, and his rough, loud voice echoed throughout a large part of the Zelandia marketplace:

"And now, someone wants to disrupt this order! Citizens of Zelandia, can you agree to this?"

"No!" The refugees, who had already understood the situation from the Old Dwarf's words, quickly took sides, raising their hands and shouting.

"Do you want to return to a life where you live precariously, muddle along hiding, and still can't get enough to eat!"

"No!!!"

"To protect such a life, are you willing to stand with me to defend this order and fight for Zelandia!"

"Fight! Fight! Fist against fist! Blood for blood!"

Li Wei watched as the Old Dwarf, with just a few words, had rallied the entire populace of Zelandia to stand united against a common enemy.

As expected of an old geezer who dealt with Drow for decades, he's got some tricks up his sleeve, Li Wei thought.

Li Wei's gaze towards the Old Dwarf held a trace of admiration and respect, yet he remained as steady as a mountain, unhurried.

Seeing that Li Wei showed no signs of retreat or even being moved despite the entire city being against him, the Old Dwarf's eyes flickered, as if he couldn't fathom Li Wei's true intentions. He then spread his arms and said, "Young outsider, do you see? We in Zelandia do not welcome reckless individuals like you. Your recklessness will only bring disaster to Zelandia's fragile balance. If you were to put yourself in my shoes, could you agree to such an excessive demand?"

Finally, Li Wei waited for the Old Dwarf to finish his long speech. He scratched the back of his head, which was itching from scabs, and innocently retorted like an ordinary Gnoll, "I just want to recruit people here to mine some ore. I have no intention of disrupting the existing order here. Is this request really that excessive?"

This time, before Old Tiger could reply, a Dwarf beside him, clearly frustrated, slammed his hand down on the iron ore in front of him. "Young man! This is the city we built, the mines we opened! It took us forty-three years to clear out the various hidden threats in layer after layer of mines! What right do you have to think you can share in our spoils without contributing anything!"

Thank you! I've been waiting for you to say that!

Li Wei clapped his hands and smiled, "Isn't this simple! We can just open a new mine in another direction! And in the new mine, we can solve all the threats ourselves, so you don't have to worry. Look, after reopening the mine, the entire Zelandia's ore production will at least double! This can greatly reduce the tax burden of the entire Zelandia on Gershon City. Why don't you consider such a happy thing?"

The dwarf who spoke first seemed to have his nerves struck by Li Wei's words. With red eyes, he said, "It's a joke! Just with your mouth? Do you know how many brothers we have to sacrifice to reopen a mine? Or just these motley refugees! Look at them, which one dares to go with you to develop a new mine, huh?"

As the dwarf spoke, all the refugees who had thought this method feasible lowered their heads again. No one wanted to be the first to step forward. They had heard that in the past few decades, at least four digits of Duergar had been sacrificed to develop increasingly deeper mines.

The dangers of the Underdark increase exponentially with depth!

Hearing this, Li Wei's smile became even brighter, "Development naturally comes with blood and sacrifice, I understand this, and we, the Red Fang Tribe, are never afraid of sacrifice! And my brother Hogg's brothers are endless! Awooo~"

Remlu, who was sitting on his shoulder in her merman form, also howled along, "Awooo-guga!"

"Not good! Could it be?" Old Tiger's pupils contracted heavily when he heard the Red Fang Tribe, thinking of a terrible possibility.

Following Li Wei's long howl to the sky, as if it were a signal, amidst a brief yet seemingly long and solemn silence, the dark river behind the Zelandia market suddenly churned.

A powerfully built Gnoll, though wearing tattered clothes, burst out of the water. He shook the water from his fur and then let out a long howl.

His appearance seemed to be just the beginning. With waves rising one after another, Gnolls emerged from the water one by one, following the first Gnoll with imposing momentum. Nearly half of them were females and cubs, while the males guarded the surroundings. A quick glance revealed at least three hundred of them.

The leading Gnoll, with his tribe, advanced slowly like a sharp sword. As they approached, the refugees of Zelandia parted, unconsciously creating a passage wide enough for several wolves to walk side by side.

The Gnoll leader walked up to Li Wei, knelt on one knee with his tribe, and thrust the saber at his waist into the ground, baring his teeth and roaring, "Hoz Red Fang, leading three hundred tribesmen to join, greetings to the Chieftain!"

If Black Dragon Kangerweian were present, he would have cried himself to death on the spot. This leading Gnoll was his former subordinate, the one who, under the command of the Gnoll Warlord, was the first to charge at Li Wei as bait but miraculously survived!

Hoz suddenly looked up.

His eyes, which had seemed numb and lifeless on the battlefield, were now as red as forged oval iron ingots.

Like flames, Burning fiercely!

Thanks to [Yitai] for the 500 reward.