Xu Xiao had wanted to say more, but the words died on her lips at the furious shout from behind her.
"Taking it easy while I'm gone, are you fuckers?!"
As a whip cracked sharply, an Oglin kobold in light armor appeared in the mine tunnel.
His gaze swept over the surroundings before quickly locking onto the cleanly dressed Xu Xiao amid the filthy, dim environment.
The Oglin kobold froze for a moment, then realized:
"You... are that esteemed God's Chosen One?"
Xu Xiao did not answer his question. Her gaze merely shifted to the long whip in his hand.
"What are you planning to do with that?"
"Whip these working Palu?"
"Uh, hehe, of course not." The Oglin kobold gave an awkward laugh, hiding the whip behind his back as he casually made up an excuse. "This is my weapon... After all, Rifts might appear in the mine tunnels too. If monsters come out or something, it'd be hard for me to deal with them bare-handed..."
The pony-person behind the kobold curled his lips disdainfully at that.
"Isn't that right, Lao Shi?"
The minotaur whose name had been called shrank in on himself even further, nodding incessantly like a pecking chicken.
"Y-Yes, yes..."
"Lord Slave Master does it to protect us and ensure the safety of the mine tunnels..."
Xu Xiao hesitated, as though she wanted to speak but stopped herself.
After spending some time in the Palu Star Belt and experiencing everything that had happened before, she had long understood what the Palu slaves truly feared.
Forcing them to tell the truth would be of no use at all.
If they were to be completely liberated, they had to awaken on their own and Ignite the fire in their hearts that had gone unburning for so long!
"Since