Now is the sunniest time of the year. The bright light of the sun gave off a scorching heat to the little people working hard at the Veronica ore mine in the Storm Empire. This place is home to the continent's largest silver steel reserve.
“It's really sunny!”
Dropping the light burden filled with cleaned ore to the ground, young Levis crouched, hands resting on his knees, he began to take long breaths through both his nose and mouth. He reached into his pants belt, grabbed the leather water bag strapped to his waist and took small sips to soothe the dry feeling in his throat, then poured the entire bag over his head.
"It seems to be getting better."
He muttered. If he didn't cool down quickly, there was a high chance Levis would get heatstroke, and when he was no longer able to work, the miner manager would beat him again and then without a single shot. Any public money for today. If it was a big day without the sun, you could have done better, wouldn't it be this tiring?
"Hey brat, hurry up!"
Startled, he looked up. The guy was right in front of him, about ten feet away from him. The tall, dignified figure in the leather armor and the fierce fat face under were glaring at him. For the average person to face someone like that, it would be terrifying, of course. But for Levis, this was all too familiar.
"I know, sir, I'll continue."
Placing the light burden on his shoulder, he began to move towards the assembly place.
“I have prepared five burdens for today…”
He said as he passed the chubby manager.
“… May I leave early, sir?”
“You wait there. There is a hole in the second hole that contains a lot of ores. We cleared out the blob, but the hole is too small for anyone to fit in. Your size should be fine."
The manager raised his hand to scratch his chin and began patting the whip in his hand with a rather satisfied expression.
"I could, but I'd like more pay, sir."
Shappp!
Levis fell to his knees, the corner of his mouth scratched, blood starting to seep from the whiplash that grazed his face.
“Don't talk to me in that tone, remnant of the Lost Soldier. I say you do it, you have to do it, don't put any extra conditions."
“W….v.yes” – Levis replied, his lips quivering and the part of his face that had been hit started twitching.
“Remnants of the Lost Soldiers”? It was unknown when he was given that scornful name. He hated being called that.
Levis brought the ore he had cleared from the riverbank to a gathering point that was a campsite and storehouse. The old manager's wife was also there with notes in her hand, and her mouth kept saying high-pitched words like tearing someone's eardrum.
Seeing the boy carrying the ore coming, she pouted her red lipstick and asked with a round, chalky face:
"Which group?"
“The number two hole group. This much is enough for today.”
Levis answered very politely. At least she's more agreeable than Porse, the guy who hit him earlier. Although she has a bit of a toxic mouth, she has never hit anyone.
"Clean it up, kid."
She marveled at the ores that had been shaken off the dirt, then pointed Levis to a tall, muscular man with tan skin standing in front of the tent door, a dumbbell scale in his hand making noises. clatter from metal joints that hold each part of the scale together. The boy quickly brought all the ore he cleaned there for him to perform his task.
“Did my husband tell you to go to hole two to help Reinor? What's wrong with your face?"
Although he tried to turn the side of his face away, he still couldn't get past Porse's wife's wandering eyes. However, Levis was in such a hurry that he did not have time to linger and listen to her inquires.
“I am leaving now, madam. I just fell."
Levis quietly went to the water bowl to get another bag of water and then hurriedly ran to the second hole.
***
Hole number two is located halfway up a rocky mountain. Unlike the other two holes, which are located at the foot of the mountain and only need to be dug diagonally, the second hole has to be dug almost vertically into the mountain bed, so it is quite dangerous to work here, only the old man's team is thick. Only experienced Reinor dares to accept this area, and the bonus here is also higher than the rest.
"Hey survivor, come over here."
The old craftsman Reinor called out to Levis when he saw him coming up from the bottom of the mountain. His silver hair was covered with sweat and dirt, and he was gulping down the water in his bag. Drops spilled out and wet his mustache as white as his hair down to his neck and dripped onto his chest.
"Can't you call me by my first name?"
Levis made an annoyed expression. He thought the old man was still thirsty, so he offered his water bag.
"I'm used to my mouth, hehe. I don't drink anymore, now I have to do so I drink a lot and my stomach is heavy. Thank you, kid."
The old man laughed.
"Hurry up and you'll still be with Fione, right?"
Yorn, the worker standing next to Reinor, spoke up as Levis stood upright where he was preparing his mining tools. Maybe this guy just got into a hole with poisonous gas, so his face is still covered with a wet towel wrapped in powdered coal. This guy has a slim but solid figure and tanned skin. His brown hair was also dyed yellow by the sun and as greasy as Reinor.
"Specifically what you say."
Levis ignored the other guy and asked Reinor about the job. He knew the guy was definitely teasing him so it would be better not to answer.
“The hole we marked with red paint on the outside, the entrance is a bit narrow but the inside is wide and full of blob. We burned it all with fire and let the lizards in since yesterday, today we didn't kill a single one, so you can rest assured that the blob is clean."
"Are you sure it's all clean?"
The boy asked with a skeptical face.
"Don't worry, uncle, if you have any fate, let Fione take care of it."
Yorn ran a hand over the boy's head, ruffling the boy's dark hair so much that it messed up. At this point, Levis pushed his hand away and closed his mouth, turning to glare at Yorn. He hated this kind of head pat so much.
Reinor and Yorn laughed heartily. Levis just let out a weary sigh.
“I guess that's quite a lot because the magnetic kick is quite strong, see if there are ten bags. Do it quickly to come back.”
With that, Yorn handed Levis a tool kit consisting of a pickaxe, a handle, a charcoal towel, and a lamp and then motioned him with a finger to the cave inside.
Quickly run to the hole first to have a look while Reinor's group prepares tools and lizards. Levis felt that it was true that the hole would only fit someone like him.
"What child am I? He's just a little thin, but in height, he's much taller than other kids of the same age in Chiron. How can old Porse and the Braums put themselves in the small category?” ' thought Levis, and didn't feel at all comfortable either.
Not long after that, Reinor's group also arrived.
He signaled to Reinor that he was going to crawl in now. Levis removed the blade of the pickaxe and tied it close to the handle, led it to his ankle, put his head in the hole, and crept gently away.
"It's not that hard," he thought. The hole is about fifteen meters long and is completely granite, it will be difficult for the rock-breaking team to open the way. And if using Japanese explosives, there is a high risk of collapsing, so the best way is to let a "small" guy get into it.
The smell of the dead blob lingered with a strong, fishy smell that made Levis vomit a whole lot even though he had covered both his nose and mouth before. The sound of retching echoed through the small hole to the outside.
"Hey, are you okay, brother?"
Yorn said echoing into the rock cavity after a series of voices that were not pleasing to his ears.
"I feel like I'm inhaling the premium perfume Yorn."
Levis drawled after feeling his throat and nose more accustomed to the smell.
“Use the lizard to put the lamp in!”
The boy spoke outside, then ignited the wick with flint, the fire started to burn and appeared in front of him was a small cave.
“If we go deeper inside, it will be wider” – he thought.
Around the edge of the cave were countless gray iron ores – a mixture of iron and silver steel. The boy stood dumbfounded for a few seconds at the hundreds of glittering lights reflecting the flame from the lamp.
It's crap! – Levis excitedly began to install pickaxes and dig eagerly. The navigation lizards carried ten pouches which Yorn later dropped into.
Because using the small bag was equivalent to Levis having to dig thirty times, but with this huge amount of ore, Levis didn't have to worry much about the amount and the time to dig. You just hoe and dig, dig and hoe until you have enough.
***
“Hey, is it time to go home yet?”
Levis spoke through the hollow of the rock. It's hard to know heaven and earth when there's no sunlight in an ore mine.
"You guys go, we're almost done."
He was curious where this little cave would lead. Holding the lamp forward, he peered more closely into the distant darkness. There seemed to be a light over there, but Levis saw that something wasn't quite right. The cold space in front of him made a lonely person like him shiver in fear.
“Are you going to get out, kid?”
Yorn shouted into the hollow of the rock.
“Get out now!”
Turn off the light and tie it to the lizard waiting there, untie the hoe and tie it to the ankle, and then crawl after the lizard. On the other side of the rock was old Reinor, holding another lamp to light his way out. In less than a minute, Levis was already out.
"You're quite strong for your age, Levis, and quick."
Reinor complimented him, and he called his name too. This made the little worker very happy.
"I've worked hard since I was little, so I'm fine, heh."
He smiled in response to the middle-aged man's compliment. What a productive day today.
"Inside is wide, is a small but elongated cave, I think it will lead deeper."
Levis suddenly remembered what he saw in that cave. He was quite curious about it and wanted to see it deep inside, of course, with someone to avoid fear.
“Great discovery! If there's anything valuable in the cave, we'll earn a decent amount."
Old Reinor patted his colleague's shoulder, smiling happily.
“Are you going to tell Porse the manager?”
Yorn asked Reinor after he had loaded the last bags on a trolley for his colleagues to take.
"Sooner or later we'll have to let him know, we're not going to get any explosives for this."
Reinor still couldn't hide the excitement on his face. For a dynamite lover like him, blowing up everything as hard and solid as rock in this mine is very interesting.
"If you have anything, remember to share it with me."
Levis was overjoyed.
“Hey kid, you seem to like money a lot for your age.” Old Reinor looked at Levis.
"I need money for me and Fione, that's all."
“Great responsibility, right? I get it, haha"
Yorn patted the boy's head and then continued to ruffle his hair as before. This time Levis reacted more strongly by knocking Yorn' hand off his head. His blunt fingernails scratched at the worker's sweaty skin, leaving white streaks that gradually turned red.
“Get your hands off my head, and also, stay away from Fione.”
The middle-aged man and the young man burst into laughter again.
“Hey kid, who in the world likes their sister? Ha ha ha. And did you grow a beard and hair there and ask to get involved with a prostitute? You brat, ha ha ha."
"Not my real sister."
Levis scrambled to the entrance to the crater, his hands covering his ears as if he didn't want to hear.
***
After a while, Reinor's group pushed the cart. They handed over the raw ore to the manager and pointed at the daily timesheet, received the payment, then the group jumped in the car to return to the village.
The afternoon sun dyed the mines in the glimmer of the setting sun. The sound of cicadas chirped on both sides of the forest below the mining area. Teams of workers in the remaining areas are also leaving in convoys.
"Ha, it's really nice, two years ago, there was a bus to take the husband back and forth."
One of the workers in the group spoke up.
“Is that right? The great country is prospering by trading Silver Steel with other countries, the west has oil and coal.”
Yorn agreed while brushing his hair, causing rock dust and dirt to splatter on the opposite side of the young Levis. Levis reacted by taking a handful of water from the water bag and throwing it at the man's face, making the crew burst into laughter.
"Mining Silver Steel can also get iron, for every ten parts of ore, you get seven parts of iron, three parts of Silver Steel when you cook it, it's too much."
The worker from earlier continued.
Everyone started to talk loudly.
"Only when will we be equal like everyone else?" Old Reinor sighed.
The group suddenly lost interest after the old man's words.
“If we work hard and stay loyal to the Nation, we will soon be recognized.”
Levis mumbled, closed the lid of the water bag and crouched close to the trunk.
“Oh, this kid seems patriotic, doesn't he? Let's applaud everyone!"
Old Reinor smiled abominably. All the workers followed. Levis's usual response was to cover his ears with his hands and then shake his head and look down.
"If that's the case, that's fine, but how many more years?"
"Maybe they don't want us to be free, they still want to use the word 'Remnants' to exploit us."
“At least the Veronica is good. City lord Fennik and Count Zhephy have created many jobs for our Remnants. But the other areas are like hell.
The crowd began to change the subject to slander the regime because they knew it was safe to let go of their frustrations now.
“Even if my family has done nothing wrong, it's just that people living in the opposition city are accused of treason. Good luck being sent to the Veronica, otherwise it would have been rotting in Morbius."
Karma, the elderly charioteer with his hair in a half-golden half-silver bun on his head and a shaggy beard around his mouth turned to the workmen behind him in agreement.
"Why don't you go to the Allied territory like the others?"
Reinor was a little curious.
“My family has lived and prospered with lizard farming in Morbius, both the business and the lizards are concentrated in Morbius, and there are many other reasons. How can I leave?"
Old Karma said bitterly.
Storm Empire is the place where abundant minerals are concentrated among the five great nations. With the development of technology and magic, minerals are precious treasures coveted by nations, especially Silver Steel for smelting, oil and coal as raw materials for factories and smiths, Therefore, Storm Empire was caught up in a war of nearly a hundred years to compete for resources with the remaining countries. Having no interest in expansionist ambitions, the Great Country of the Jungle did not participate. The Alchemy Empire, the Morbius Kingdom and the Alder Kingdom formed a military alliance to wage war with the Storm Empire in the mainland, while the Marris Sev Empire continuously exerted pressure in the southeast sea.
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