As a faint glow appeared on the cavern ceiling, the irritating clang of someone beating on an iron barrel rang out without end.
Another new day had begun.
The miners of every race in Zelandia, following their usual routine, were getting ready to head to Remlu Fish Stall and trade for a few strips of salted fish to reward their abused stomachs. But then they saw that the stall was already surrounded by a crowd. A dwarf with a red face and bulging neck was hammering away and protesting furiously.
"Dinggelian, my ass! Don't think I don't know—you black-hearted Gnolls must have coerced our fishmonger! We've been buying dried fish here for three years! We have ore! What gives you the right to stop selling?"
Li Wei, who was chewing on a crispy piece of grilled dried fish, rolled his eyes and glanced at Huozi, the Gnoll Leader, who was eating just as heartily beside him.
Huozi stood up again, looking rather helpless. "Awoo, you rock-brained Dwarves, how many times do I have to explain it this morning? Our Boss owns this stall. The fishery went bankrupt, so we've stopped selling. Quit crowding around here. We have to get back to work as soon as we finish eating."
The dwarf pointed at the Gnolls, each of whom was holding a bundle of grilled salted fish. "Dinggelian's hammer, who do you think you're fooling? If the fishery went bankrupt, how can you still be eating so well? Besides, the western mining area collapsed and was blocked off decades ago. What the hell are you reopening it with?"
This time, even Huozi couldn't be bothered to answer. Master had ordered them to eat quickly. They had to clear the first-level passage before the Fluorescent Moss went dark today, choose a new site for Master's new lair, and get ready to build it.
Seeing that nobody was paying him any attention, the dwarf grumbled a few more curses in Dwarvish that even a dragon wouldn't understand, then headed for the Golden Miner Brotherhood. Clearly, he was going to report the matter to Old Tiger.
"It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go the other way." That truth held in every world. The refugees of Zelandia had grown used to cheap dried fish. Now that they had some money to spare, who would want to gnaw on black bread as hard as a brick?
But as time passed, the crowd outside the stall only grew. Intimidated by the Gnolls' strength, nobody dared act rashly. They could only watch the Gnolls chew their dried fish and swallow their own saliva.
Just then, a small figure squeezed through the crowd on the market road, leading someone even smaller. But the moment he saw the scene before him, he froze, unsure what to do.
Li Wei, who had his legs propped up as he gnawed on dried fish, beckoned him over with a claw. "Hey, kid. Come over here."
The boy led the little one to the stall and spoke softly. "I'm here to collect a pickaxe."
The tiny figure behind him, like the other refugees, sneaked a glance at the dried fish in the Gnolls' hands, then quickly lowered her head and clutched the boy's cloak tightly.
Li Wei plucked three skewers of grilled fish from Huozi's hand and pressed them into the boy's hands. He patted his thin shoulder. "Don't rush. Have something to eat first. You'll need a full stomach to work. Don't be embarrassed. I promised these to everyone who signed up yesterday."
The Drow Boy looked at the dried fish, still steaming in his hands, then at the girl, who said nothing but gazed at it longingly. Only then did he carefully wrap the fish in his cloak. He bowed deeply to Li Wei, then led the girl into the crowded stall and found a corner, where the two of them began sharing the precious food in small bites.
Beside them were humans, Halflings, and Half-blood Goblins, each of whom had also received three free strips of dried fish. Only then did they find some comfort in the tangible benefit they'd been given. But when they thought about opening a new mine, the dried fish in their hands suddenly lost its appeal.
People could die doing that.
They'd heard about the Duergar trying something similar years ago. But they'd discovered that the western mine shafts were steeper and apparently led deeper into the Underdark. Not long after they started digging, they broke into a Cavens Rat nest!
To keep a flood of Cavens Rats from swallowing all of Zelandia, they'd used several hundred pounds of Goblin Engineering Explosives brought from Gershon City to collapse the entire western mine, narrowly avoiding disaster.
Farther away stood the Orc Brothers, silently waiting with pickaxes on their shoulders. Perhaps it was because they'd only castrated themselves yesterday that they seemed so much more dejected. The two straightforward Orcs beside their brother had no idea how to console him. It wasn't as if they could castrate themselves too, right?
Seeing that even the two Drow children had received food, someone finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward to plead. "Sir, please, have a heart and sell us some food. I can trade two hundred pounds of iron ore for one strip—"
But before he could finish, Li Wei waved him off. He picked up Pipim, who was in fish-person form and wearing an innocent expression, and said with an exasperated look:
"There isn't a single strip left. To tell you the truth, the fishery really did go bankrupt. And thanks to this spendthrift, what you see here is our last bit of stock. Once we finish this meal, we won't have any food left either."
"Huh?" The crowd erupted in an uproar.
For some reason, nobody had believed Huozi despite all his explanations. But when Li Wei, the one in charge, said it, they immediately believed him—at least mostly.
"Then what will you do?" The person who'd asked the question couldn't help shrinking back. If these numerous Gnolls ran out of food, wouldn't they be in danger? After decades, was Zelandia going to erupt into unrest again?
"That's why we have to get to work and find another way out! Ah, it's not easy being a Boss. There are several hundred mouths downstairs, and they're all demanding food."
After grumbling bitterly for a moment, Li Wei stood and turned to Huozi. "Get everyone organized. We're getting to work."
"Yes, Boss!" Huozi answered, then turned and roared, "Red Fang Tribe, heed my command! Prepare for battle! Awoo!"
"Aw—cough, cough—woo!" The Gnolls gulped down what remained of their food at the news, choking on fish bones and sticking out their tongues, but they had their battle formation in order immediately.
Li Wei nodded to himself. This Gnoll tribe's army was genuinely well-disciplined. At the same time, he once again looked down on that idiot Gewian.
Before long, Li Wei led the vast Gnoll force to Zelandia's collapsed and abandoned western mine, with everyone watching.
At the enormous pile of rubble blocking the entrance, the Gnolls exchanged silent glances. Even Huozi wondered whether anyone would still sign up if they had to spend the whole day moving rocks.
The refugees watching from behind them were also guessing what the Gnolls planned to do. They were worried, too, about what this group might do once their patience ran out.
Li Wei, at the very front of the crowd, didn't give it much thought. He was only mildly inconvenienced. He hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind. Raising his right claw to his muzzle as if to hide it, he seemed to be chanting something.
In the next instant, dazzling flames poured through the slight gaps between his teeth!
Golden Miner Brotherhood registration office.
Perhaps because of the commotion Li Wei and his crew had caused, at least thirty percent fewer people had come to work in the mines that day. It wasn't because they planned to join Li Wei in his reckless venture to open a new mining area. Rather, the arrival of Li Wei's Gnolls—and their forcing the Duergar here to yield on the very first day—had drawn everyone's attention. They wanted to keep an eye on the situation and pick a side in time to protect their safety and interests.
"Guild Leader! That pack of wolf pups has gathered in the West Mining Area! Aren't we sending people to stop them? What if they force open the mine and the Cavens Rats get out?"
Tiger leisurely took a puff of his homemade tobacco and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "What's the hurry? There are only two or three hundred of them at most, and they want to reopen the western mine? There's a mountain of rocks there. They'll have to spend ten days or half a month moving them before anything else. And how long will their food supply last—three days? In the end, they'll still have to sit down and negotiate."
He'd barely finished speaking when a blinding flash burst from the far western horizon, like the rising sun.
"Boom!"
A deafening roar followed. The ground trembled like a minor earthquake, and the crowd screamed in panic.
"Cough, cough!" Tiger choked on a lungful of smoke he'd inhaled too deeply. "Fire Element fluctuations? How is that possible?!"
"Evocation Magic? Could the Gnolls have produced a Mage?" The Duergar beside him looked as if his eyes were about to pop out of his head.
"Mage, my ass! This is an area with a Dead Weave! Damn it, he's a Gnoll Sorcerer, no less! The power of that fireball is almost on par with a fifth-circle arcane spell!" Tiger roared furiously.
"Dinggelian's hammer, what do we do now, Guild Leader?"
"Ring the bell! Highest alert! Prepare for battle!!!"
Tiger jumped down from the anvil, waving his hammer as he roared:
"And one more thing! Go to the Upper City and get those damn long-ears to give us Goblin Engineering Explosives! Tell them we need to blow up the West Mine again, or they'll be in big trouble too!"
"Those damn wolf pups! Are they trying to make all of Zelandia die with them?!!"
Before you continue