A bone-chilling dread surged through Zeborto's heart, making his scalp go cold.
A few locals causing trouble was nothing to fear. As long as they made demands, there was still room to negotiate.
But once someone died, it became an entirely different matter.
The Dero had always been known for their solidarity and hostility toward outsiders. Now a killing had occurred at precisely such a moment, and the murder weapon was clearly a Magic Repeating Crossbow carried by the mine's guards. In other words, the Xinfei Merchant Guild had killed first!
There was no need to guess how the Dero would react!
Sure enough, the moment the scream rang out, the previously silent crowd erupted. The restraint on countless faces gave way entirely to rage.
"Kill those foreign bastards!"
"Kill them all!"
"Kill..."
Driven mad by the sight of blood, the crowd had lost all reason. Although the fifty guards still stood at the gate with their Magic Repeating Crossbows, they did not dare fire again. Faced with a charge by nearly a thousand people, they failed to hold the line for even the blink of an eye. The crowd broke through like a tide and poured into the mine.
"That's the man in charge of the mine over there! Beat him to death!"
Another shout suddenly rose from the crowd. The people who had been pouring aimlessly into the mine all turned toward Zeborto and Abakh. After a brief pause, they charged toward them together.
Abakh's face instantly went deathly pale. He gave Zeborto a hard tug.
"Run!"
Zeborto stumbled two steps as Abakh pulled him. Once he regained his composure, however, he shook off Abakh's hand and roared, "You're the man in charge of this mine! How can you run at a time like this?"
Abakh gave