Werewolf Warlock's Calm Great Fireball?

As the Dome just began to emit a faint glow, the annoying 'clang' of someone hitting an iron bucket could be heard incessantly.

Another new day had begun.

Miners of various races in Zelandia, as usual, were preparing to go to Remlu's fish stall to exchange for a few salted fish jerky to reward their sinful stomachs. However, they suddenly saw that Remlu's fish stall was already surrounded by people. A red-faced dwarf with a thick neck was banging an iron hammer and protesting furiously:

"Dinggelian my ass! Don't think I don't know, it must be you black-hearted Gnolls who coerced our fishman boss! We've been buying fish jerky here for three years! We have ore! Why won't you let us buy!"

Li Wei, who was chewing on crispy grilled fish jerky, rolled his eyes and gave a look to the Gnoll leader Huozi, who was also eating with a greasy mouth beside him.

Huozi stood up again with some helplessness. "Awoooo, you stinky dwarves whose heads are stuck in ore, how many times have I explained to you this morning? This fish stall is owned by our boss. Now the fishery has gone bankrupt, and we're not selling anymore. Don't gather here, we have to hurry to work after eating."

The dwarf pointed speechlessly at the Gnolls, each holding a bundle of grilled salted fish jerky. "Dinggelian's hammer, who are you kidding! The fishery is bankrupt, yet you're eating so well! And the west mine area collapsed and was blocked decades ago, what the hell are you opening."

This time, even Huozi was too lazy to bother with him. His Master had told them to eat quickly, and to ensure the first-level passage was cleared before the Fluorescent Moss extinguished today, and to select a new site for the Master's new lair in preparation for its laying.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, the dwarf cursed a few more unintelligible Dwarven dialects and headed towards the Golden Miner Brotherhood, clearly intending to report this matter to Old Tiger.

'It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality' – this is an undeniable truth in any world. The refugees in Zelandia, who had become accustomed to cheap fish jerky, were unwilling to gnaw on that hard-as-brick Black Bread when they had surplus money.

But as time went by, the crowd in front of the fish stall not only did not decrease but grew larger. However, they were intimidated by the Gnolls' might and did not act rashly, only watching them chew the fish jerky with salivating mouths.

Just then, on the market road, a small figure led another even smaller one through the crowd. But upon seeing the situation, he was momentarily stunned and at a loss.

Li Wei, who was lounging with his legs crossed and chewing fish jerky, beckoned him with his claw. "Kid, come over here."

The boy pulled the little one to the fish stall and said softly, "I'm here to pick up mining picks."

The tiny figure behind him, like the other refugees, secretly glanced at the fish jerky in the Gnolls' hands, then quickly lowered his head, tightly gripping the boy's cloak.

Li Wei directly took three skewers of grilled fish from Huozi and stuffed them into his hands, patting his thin shoulder. "Don't worry, eat something first. You'll work better when you're full. Don't be shy, this is what I promised you applicants yesterday."

The Drow boy looked at the still steaming fish jerky in his hands, then glanced at the girl beside him who was silent but her eyes showed longing. Only then did he carefully wrap the fish jerky in his cloak, bowed deeply to Li Wei, and then pulled the girl into the crowded fish stall, finding a corner. The two of them began to share the precious food in small bites.

Beside them were humans, Halflings, and mixed-blood Goblins, each of whom had also received three free fish jerky. Only at this moment did they find some solace in the tangible benefits they had received. However, the thought of exploring new ore layers made the fish jerky in their hands suddenly lose its appeal.

That was a matter of life and death.

They had heard that the Duergar had done something similar in the past. But they found that the western ore layer was not only steeper, clearly leading to the deeper Underdark, but shortly after they began excavating, they ran into a Cavens Rat nest!

To avoid being submerged by the torrent of Cavens Rats that would engulf all of Zelandia, they used hundreds of pounds of Goblin Engineering Explosives from Gershon City to blow up the entire western mine tunnel, thus narrowly escaping disaster.

Further away, the three Orc brothers stood silently waiting, carrying their mining picks. Perhaps they had castrated themselves yesterday, as they seemed quite dejected. The two honest Orcs beside them didn't know how to comfort their brother; they couldn't possibly cut themselves too, could they?

Seeing that the two Drow children had received food, someone finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward to beg, "My lord, please be kind and sell us some food. I can exchange two hundred pounds of iron ore for one skewer..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Li Wei waved his hand and interrupted him. He then picked up Pipim, who was in his innocent fishman form, and said irritably:

"There isn't a single skewer left. To tell you the truth, the fishery really did go bankrupt. And thanks to this spendthrift, what you see before you is our last inventory. After this meal, we'll have no food left either."

"Huh?" The crowd couldn't help but exclaim.

For some reason, no one believed Hoz's many explanations before, but when Li Wei, the person in charge, said the same thing, people immediately believed him by seven or eight parts.

"Then what about you guys?" The person who asked retreated. If these numerous Gnolls ran out of food, wouldn't they be in danger? Would Zelandia erupt in turmoil again after decades?

"That's why we need to start working quickly to find another way out! Alas, it's not easy to be a boss! Hundreds of mouths below need to be satisfied."

Li Wei complained bitterly for a few sentences, then stood up and said to Hoz, who was beside him, "Rally the men, prepare to start working."

"Yes, Chief Boss!" Hoz responded, then turned and roared, "Red Fang Tribe, receive orders, prepare for battle! Awooo~"

"Awooo, cough cough cough, woo~" The Gnolls swallowed the remaining food in a few bites upon hearing this, their tongues sticking out from fishbones, but they immediately formed their battle formations.

This made Li Wei nod secretly. This Gnoll tribe's army had truly good discipline. At the same time, he inwardly scorned Gewian, that idiot, once again.

Not long after, Li Wei, leading the mighty Gnoll army, arrived at the collapsed and abandoned West Mine of Zelandia under everyone's attention.

Looking at the pile of huge rocks blocking the entrance, the Gnolls looked at each other in silence. Even Hoz thought that if they spent a whole day moving stones today, perhaps no one would be willing to sign up.

The refugees watching from behind them were also guessing what they were going to do, and at the same time worried about what these Gnolls would do after their patience ran out.

Li Wei, at the very front of the crowd, didn't think that much. He just felt it was a bit troublesome. He hesitated for a moment, then no longer hesitated. He raised his right claw to his mouth as if to conceal something, seemingly chanting something.

The next moment, dazzling firelight continuously overflowed from his slightly parted teeth!

Golden Miner Brotherhood Registration Office.

Perhaps because of Li Wei's actions, the number of people coming to mine today decreased by at least 30%. It wasn't that they were prepared to join Li Wei in the reckless endeavor of opening up a new mining area, but because of the arrival of Li Wei and these Gnolls, and how they had suppressed the Duergar here on the first day with their imposing manner, forcing them to yield. This made them pay attention to the situation and choose sides promptly to protect their safety and interests.

"Guild Leader! Those wolf cubs have gone to the West Mine in a group! Aren't we going to send people to stop them? What if they break open the mine shaft and the Cavens Rats rush out?"

Tiger heard this and calmly drew on his homemade tobacco, exhaling a cloud of smoke and said, "What's the hurry? They're at most two to three hundred people, and they want to reopen the West Mine. With so many rocks, let them move stones honestly for ten days to half a month first. And their food reserves, can they last three days? In the end, they'll still have to sit down and talk."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dazzling burst of fire light erupted from the far west of the sky, like the rising sun.

"Boom!"

Immediately followed by a deafening roar, the ground trembled as if experiencing a small earthquake, and the crowd screamed in panic.

"Cough cough cough!" Tiger was choked by a mouthful of thick smoke he inhaled too quickly. "Fire elemental fluctuation? How is that possible!!"

"Evocation Magic? Could it be that Gnolls can give birth to mages?" The Duergar beside him almost popped their eyes out.

"Mage my ass! This is a dead Weave area! Damn it! It's actually a Gnoll sorcerer! The power of this fireball is almost comparable to a fifth-ring arcane spell!" Tiger roared furiously.

"Dinggelian's hammer, what should we do now, Guild Leader?"

"Go ring the bell! Highest alert! Prepare for battle!!!"

Tiger jumped down from the anvil, waving his hammer and roaring:

"Also! Go to the Upper City! Get Goblin Engineering Explosives from those damn Long Ears! Tell them we want to re-blast the West Mine, otherwise they'll be in big trouble too!

"These damn wolf cubs! Are they trying to drag our entire Zelandia down with them?!"