Chapter 280: Act 47 – The Silver Mine (8) (Third Update, Seeking Support, No Support Means I’ll Die)
“Who on earth is that guy?”
After Brendel left, the youths began to discuss in hushed tones. The first to speak was Mahler, who had actually opposed their interaction with the mysterious man since the previous night. However, now that Brendel had provided them with the location of the cold iron vein and made the deal with a large sum of money, he had to admit that dealing with this guy had its benefits.
Compared to him, Joeka, who had first interacted with Brendel, felt somewhat anxious. Thirteen thousand Toles was no small amount, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole thing was a bit dubious, as if the money had come too easily.
He couldn’t help but glance over at Kewen, the most knowledgeable among them, and not only was Kewen knowledgeable, he also practiced magic.
Whenever they were hurt in fights or while working in the mine, Kewen would use spells to heal them. Although it wasn’t as instantaneous as the legendary healing spells, it was definitely more effective than herbal remedies.
Thus, Kewen had unconsciously become the leader among this group, though Mahler had always felt somewhat unsatisfied with this. But Joeka knew it was only because Mahler had been pulled down from his position of leadership, and it was a matter of pride for him.
“It’s nothing,” Kewen shook his head. “Let’s keep digging; this doesn’t concern us.”
However, just as he finished speaking, a scream echoed from the mine.
It came from the direction of one of their companions, and everyone’s hearts tightened as they stopped to look over. The dark depths of the mine were rumored to hide many mysterious legends, and even though no one had ever encountered anything, they were always eager for unusual happenings in such a place.
But then they saw their companion dash out in panic.
“Come look over here!” the boy shouted urgently.
“What’s wrong?” Kewen asked.
“Kewen, you’ll find out when you come over— I don’t know what this thing is—”
Everyone paused in surprise, and Kewen exchanged glances with the others before they all moved closer together. However, as soon as they approached, they were rendered speechless.
Behind a deep blue mineral vein, which was evidently where that boy had been mining, a silver edge emerged from the cracked rock layers.
That was definitely not a rock, nor was it ore; it looked more like some kind of artificial object.
The boy uneasily said, “Take a look at this.” He lifted up a pickaxe to show the others, and they saw that the tip had been completely sheared off, the cut smooth and mirror-like.
“This was done by this thing?” Kewen frowned, not recognizing what it was.
The boy nodded.
“That’s a sword, how sharp!” Mahler said immediately. “I’ve heard stories about residents in the underground world beneath us. This must be a weapon they used!”
“Mahler, how could a weapon used by residents of the underground world come here?” someone offered a different opinion.
“Absolutely possible; haven’t the monsters from below come up before?”
“Mahler, you fool, that’s because the workers dug open the passage below.” This time, even Joeka could no longer tolerate it. “But there was never a passage here before we started mining, let alone that this sword was buried in the rock layers!”
At least he agreed with Mahler’s assertion about the sword.
Mahler was preparing to retort, but Kewen interrupted them, “Stop arguing, let’s dig it out and see.”
“Dig it out?” the maiden said, looking puzzled. “This thing is useless to us. Kewen, I’m a bit uneasy; let’s just leave it here.”
The boy hesitated for a moment, but seeing the shining silver line within the rock, his curiosity got the better of him. He thought Mahler might be right; perhaps it was something left behind by the residents of the underground world. However, he glanced at the cut pickaxe—such a sharp sword must be worth a lot outside.
“Let’s dig it out!” he said.
Everyone nodded. The boy’s curiosity ultimately triumphed over their fear of the unknown.
…
However, while Kewen, Mahler, and Joeka began to unearth the strange ‘weapon’ buried deep underground, the entire mining area erupted into chaos.
A frightening rumor circulated among the miners that a monster had been discovered several levels beneath. The news spread rapidly, becoming increasingly credible until the foremen had to organize a team of soldiers to descend into the mine and investigate what was happening.
But these men never returned—
In less than half an hour, a written report landed on Ogins’ desk. This energetic young man in his thirties—of course, according to Vaunte’s calculations—began to feel that things were turning rather troublesome.
Ogins had come to this mine to work for Count Rendener, partly because the latter valued him, but also because he had successfully managed various relationships, especially with the significant contributions of Count Rendener’s wife—being a young relative of the Countess’s family, he had hitched a ride here, just waiting for his term to end so he could join the Count’s retinue.
Ogins understood that this mine was of great importance to Count Rendener, and those who successfully gained the Count’s trust here would ultimately become the Count’s trusted subordinates. Therefore, he was filled with enthusiasm over this appointment, even feeling quite accomplished as he arrived in this place.
Everything seemed orderly until this morning.
The report shattered him from his daydreams, stating that someone had sighted a giant spider several levels down in the mine—normal spiders certainly wouldn’t grow larger than a human head, so it must be a monster.
Cold sweat broke out on Ogins. He was well aware of a similar incident that occurred in this mine over a decade ago. If the workers had breached the passage leading to Jotungrund once more, he could hardly imagine how serious the situation would become.
This young man suddenly felt far from relaxed. He confirmed the state of the mine repeatedly, but the news kept getting worse, until a team of soldiers vanished into the mine, after which Ogins realized he was in deep trouble.
He knew his own abilities—essentially, he had none. He had originally planned to come here for a relatively easy job that would still catch Count Rendener’s attention, but his luck had turned so badly that he encountered the worst possible scenario.
Ogins was momentarily at a loss, nearly collapsing in his seat, repeatedly wondering if he lost this mine, would Count Rendener tear him to shreds.
What Kuran saw when he opened the door was exactly this scene—
The sword master, who had entered the golden ranks thirty years ago and was also one of Count Rendener’s most capable confidants, saw the young man in a state of despair—although he already knew the other was incompetent and merely a bootlicker, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of disdain.
He had suspected the other lacked ability, but he never expected him to be completely useless.
Clearing his throat, he brought Ogins back from his daze. As soon as Ogins saw Kuran by the door, his gray eyes lit up.
Of course, he recognized this aging executive officer, chief of security, and the highest military officer in the mining area. Unlike him, Kuran had been the right-hand man of Count Rendener long before the Frost Year, and his presence in the mine was not just gilding the lily; he was entrusted with the Count’s full trust.
Though Ogins had cursed this elder who never gave him a good look as a “damned old man” in private numerous times, he still understood that he needed to show a certain respect outwardly. Especially now, when Kuran might just be his savior.
He clutched at straws like a drowning man, exclaiming, “Mr. Kuran, you’re here! We’re in big trouble!”
“How are we in trouble?” Kuran, with his head of white hair, said somewhat disdainfully.
But Ogins didn’t dare dwell on that too much at this moment and hurriedly recounted everything that had happened in detail. However, Kuran was already quite well-informed by the time he arrived; in fact, the old man had already been cursing internally, feeling the damned bastard had suppressed the news from him and only called him when it was unmanageable—if he had known the real situation earlier, at least the soldiers under his command wouldn’t have perished unnecessarily.
So Kuran was quite displeased at this moment, but being aware of the importance of the matter, he suppressed his ire and coldly asked:
“Oh, so what does the secretary plan to do now?”
Ogins hesitated; he knew Kuran was taking this opportunity to berate him, and he was aware that he wasn’t handling this properly. He could only force a smile and say, “Um… I’m not clear about the situation down there yet, but I’m worried that the miners will riot. I plan to send the security team down to maintain order…”
He noticed the old man’s increasingly dark expression and swallowed hard. “Well, we need at least some manpower…”
Kuran coldly snorted, interrupting him.
“Rubbish idea! If you send the security team down, won’t the miners realize something’s wrong below? They’ll only panic even more. This mine has over a thousand miners, and less than a hundred people won’t be enough to maintain order. Secretary, are you thinking too much?”
Ogins turned pale with each reprimand, but fortunately, his face was thick enough to awkwardly reply, “Then what should we do?”
“I’ll go down to take a look,” Kuran said, wiping down the hilt of his sword. “Although the monsters beneath the big hive are troublesome, they won’t be able to stop me. I’ll assess the situation down there to see how serious the problems are.”
“Good, good, good!” Ogins said three times in succession. Although the problem was not resolved yet, Kuran’s involvement was enough for him to breathe a sigh of relief.
(PS: Shouting for support.)(To be continued. To know what happens next, please log in for more chapters and support the author for legitimate reading!)
