Green Monster Epic

Chapter 283: Mine Mayhem

From far away, outside the hills, one could see the black smoke above the Aurora Mine, seemingly never dissipating, and the turbid air carrying a pungent odor.

"You damned, filthy lot! My Green Field Tribe feeds you with grain, not so you can laze around here!!!"

Every morning before work, A’Xiao liked to display his powerful aura to the group of slaves about to enter the mine, solidifying his rule.

"Listen up! Starting today, the amount of ore you hand in must be doubled! Any mining team that doesn't complete the task shouldn't even think about crawling out of the mine until you've met the quota!!!"

"Hua!!!"

The slaves below had previously been merely feigning agreement with the brutal mine owner A’Xiao's words, but when A’Xiao suddenly announced the increase in production, a commotion began to stir.

"Isn't that just working us to death???"

"Exactly! There's no way we can accomplish that!!!"

From the crowd below, someone raised a voice of protest, but cleverly remained anonymous.

"Those who don't want to work, you can go die right now!!!"

A’Xiao chuckled sinisterly, his cruel gaze sweeping across the crowd below, gradually silencing the unrest.

These grain-wasting fellows always think they can be lazy and shirk their duties, but our Green Field Tribe's grain doesn't come for free! If you want to eat your fill, you have to put in the corresponding labor!!!

A’Xiao glared hatefully at the thin, lifeless slaves slowly entering the mine, then contentedly turned back, thinking he'd go back and catch a nap while the sun was just right.

In Mine No. 3, the gnoll overseer Danai's eyes gleamed with excitement. The more the Green Field Tribe squeezed them, the more effective his propagation of the faith became. Since the last month's sacrifice, he had gained dozens more followers. The miners and overseers in the neighboring Mine No. 2 had also been absorbed by Danai. All of this was Danai's contribution to his divine faith.

"Priest, if we keep going like this, we're all going to die!!!"

After entering the mine, the slave miners became much more active. At this moment, they all craned their necks to look at Danai, hoping he could lead them to a way out.

"Today is the day of sacrifice. After the sacrificial ceremony, I will report everyone's wishes to my Lord. I believe my Lord will show everyone a clear path."

Danai, hearing the warmth of his followers, maintained a calm and confident expression, but in reality, he was quite apprehensive. He didn't have many solutions to the current situation. As an important outer stronghold of the Green Field Tribe, the Aurora Mine's guards, besides A’Xiao, a berserker who wasn't even high-level, also included six mid-level goblin berserkers, plus a team of thirty-odd level 7-8 low-level warriors. Far from being something that this group of slaves, lacking weapons and perpetually hungry, could face.

Unless all 300-plus slaves in the entire mine rioted together, perhaps with early preparation, he might have a chance to escape with half of his followers, otherwise, there was basically no way to escape this desperate cage.

"Is today's sacrifice prepared?"

Danai turned around, his gaze sweeping towards a shadowy area behind him.

"Yes."

A low voice came from the darkness.

"Begin! Call the guys from the next mine over too!"

No matter how difficult the problem, today's sacrifice couldn't be interrupted. Working in the mine, unseen by the sun, for a month caused considerable damage to the bodies of the miners and overseers. If it weren't for the divine arts bestowed by the gods through the sacrifices over the past few months, alleviating the physical ailments of the miners in their three mines, they would probably have replaced quite a few people, just like everyone else in the other mines. As for the replaced slaves, they naturally became members of the countless corpses in the abandoned mine shafts.

A mysterious and deep chanting began to rise. Perhaps it was due to the increased number of members in this sacrifice, or perhaps it was due to other unknown factors, but this time, the halo emitted by the mysterious wooden sculpture was much stronger than before, making the changes on the believers even more real.

And in Danai's mind, a grand voice echoed: "A new era is about to arrive. My lambs walking on the ground, be prepared to welcome the arrival of the new era!!!"

"All-knowing and all-powerful Lord, we are now facing a life-or-death crisis, we pray that you..."

The gaze of the deity, cast upon him, not only strengthened Danai's inner confidence, but also provided him with an opportunity to seek help, and he quickly made a sincere prayer from his heart as the deity's echo was about to disappear.

"...Be prepared, someone will come to save you in ten days!"

Sure enough, the deity had not abandoned this group of believers. The message conveyed by a divine thought instantly caused a surge of excitement on Danai's face, who had been praying with his eyes closed. Only after the deity's divine power was no longer present did he slowly open his eyes and convey the divine oracle to the surrounding believers in a gratified and pious tone.

"God says, let us prepare to escape, it won't be long before the warriors of our God come to rescue us!!!"

"Thank you, my God!!!"

"Thank you, my God!!!"

A group of slaves were overjoyed, and their faith in this unknown deity became even more devout, their eyes slightly closed and murmuring gratitude.

Danai didn't reveal the specific time, lest it be spread by those gossipy fellows, but even this news was enough to make those present feel at ease.

With hope, even more suffering could be endured by these humble slaves. Although the task ahead was arduous, everyone persevered.

However, just as Danai had worried, this news failed to remain hidden within the mouths of the slaves in the two mines, and in the following days, it gradually spread to the mouths of slaves in other mines. The slaves who had been captured and brought here had more or less some kinship ties. In times of crisis, perhaps these ties weren't so strong, but if they could lend a helping hand, they wouldn't mind informing these clansmen.

Fortunately, as the time given by the deity drew closer, and these rumors had not yet reached the ears of those brutal green skins, Danai cautiously instructed the people around him to prepare, while praying that things would go smoothly.

Ten days later, Danai's anticipation arrived. On that day, while working, he had already instructed his followers to be prepared, although he didn't explicitly state that reinforcements were about to arrive, it was enough to make those who had long hoped to escape the sea of suffering toss and turn that night.

Late at night, A’Xiao, as always, rolled around in the sheets with his partner, exhausting his energy before holding his equally burly hobgoblin partner, reeking of sweat, and falling into a deep sleep.

In the mine, besides the dozen or so hobgoblin warriors on duty that night, the other hobgoblin guards had been fast asleep for some time. They didn't have A’Xiao's status, able to keep their partners by their side to live with them.

Under the cover of the night, a wisp of ink-black mist slowly drifted, as if being blown by a gentle breeze, slowly approaching the territory of the Aurora Mine.

The head of tonight's duty detail was Blackhead, the hobgoblin who almost snatched the championship in the first Greenwild Grand Tournament. Now, he was a mid-tier level 10 Berserker. Relying on his darkvision, Blackhead had already spotted the thin fog from his high vantage point on the watchtower. However, in the wilderness, significant temperature differences between day and night often led to the appearance of thin fog, so he and his team didn't pay much attention, until a series of muffled thuds echoed from the ground.

“Boom! Boom!…”

It sounded like thunder, but there was no lightning. The starry sky above showed no sign of dark clouds. Blackhead pricked up his pointed ears, listening intently, and finally discovered that the sound was coming from the very fog that shrouded several hundred meters, as if some powerful and strange monster lurked within.

“Sound the alarm!!”

The sound grew closer and closer. Although he couldn't see any suspicious traces, the eerie sound made him uneasy. Blackhead didn't think he was overreacting by sounding the alarm.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

The urgent alarm bells rang out, awakening the sleeping goblin warriors and also startling the slaves who hadn't been able to sleep soundly. The entire mining camp's living area was instantly thrown into chaos.

Blackhead didn't expect that his alarm seemed to have been rung a little too late. Before the other goblin warriors in the camp could wake up, a series of swift figures suddenly burst out of the fog, arranged in an arrow formation, charging towards the mining camp's perimeter fence, which wasn't exactly flimsy, but didn't offer much defense either.

“Enemies! Prepare for battle!!!”

“Throw javelins!!!”

Blackhead's fierce voice echoed through the mining camp, but it was drowned out by the thunderous sound of the enemy's cavalry trampling the ground.

It was a silent cavalry unit. The leading rider's mount had a sharp horn on its head, and its hooves seemed to tread on flames, with faint red light occasionally visible. The other cavalry mounts were also extraordinary. The riders wore full body armor that concealed their faces, with visors down, and even the warhorses were clad in full suits of armor. Despite this heavy load, the warhorses' galloping pace didn't seem to be affected much.

The ever-increasing speed made the entire cavalry unit like a long arrow shot out, directly colliding with the mining camp's fence.

“Boom!!”

The fence disintegrated, collapsing to the ground and kicking up dust, while the cavalry unit of over 20 riders suffered no damage at all. Their speed slowed slightly before they accelerated again, charging towards a wooden building in the camp where the goblins lived.

“Clang! Clang clang!…”

“Pfft! Pfft pfft!”

Blackhead and his eight guards were doing their best to buy time and create trouble for the charging cavalry, but the javelins and spears in their hands couldn't penetrate the heavy cavalry's powerful defense. The enemy didn't even bother to parry the incoming javelins, letting them strike their thick armor, producing clanging sounds. Many more javelins missed their mark due to the enemy's constant movement and fell to the ground.

“Ah!!”

The wooden building was not much sturdier than the outer fence of the mining camp. Several goblin warriors living inside didn't even have time to put on their armor before being buried in the collapsed building by the enemy's forceful advance, becoming the souls beneath the iron hooves of the following cavalry.

“F*ck your mother!!”

Blackhead jumped straight down from the watchtower. The 6-7 meter high watchtower, combined with his own weight, sent his menacing spiked club crashing down with a fierce gust, directly striking a lagging rider.

“Hmph!”

The rider below wasn't flustered. Raising the lance specifically designed for cavalry charges, he thrust it backhand straight at Blackhead's chest, trading injury for injury.

“Shh!!”

Blackhead's agility was quite good among hobgoblins. He twisted his body forcefully in mid-air, and the tip of the spear grazed past his shoulder blade, sending a stinging pain through his nape. At the same time, Blackhead's spiked club slammed down, but it didn't land on the enemy's body, instead smashing into the empty ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

While the enemy rider thrust backhand, he lightly kicked the warhorse's belly with his calf. As if understanding his intentions, the mount accelerated, barely dodging Blackhead's attack.

After that, Blackhead followed up with nimble steps, chasing after the enemy cavalry, but was immediately intercepted by two cavalrymen who had peeled off from the main force. Both sides used their respective advantages to launch attacks.

“Where did these bastards come from, daring to attack my Greenwild Tribe's territory! Seeking death!!!”

A'Xiao, arriving late, was covered in bright silver armor, but it was difficult to completely protect his fleshy body, making him appear quite bloated. He dragged a heavy hammer with his right hand. The square hammerhead had rows of connected iron nails, each over an inch long, dragging a shallow trench in the soft ground.

He had been too comfortable for too long. Although Allen had already warned A'Xiao and repeatedly instructed him several times, A'Xiao and the goblin warriors in the camp were still a beat slower when the attack actually came. It wasn't until a wooden building housing goblin warriors was destroyed that A'Xiao dragged himself out of his residence.

“Are you the leader here, you hairy fat pig?”

The cavalry leader, riding a Nightmare Beast from the Abyss, asked A'Xiao in a low, cold tone.

“That's me. And what are you? Dare to show your true face?”

A'Xiao replied, feeling heroic. Just as he was waiting for the other party's reply, they lightly kicked their Nightmare Beast, revealing their killing intent.

“You spineless thing!!!”

A'Xiao was furious. The heavy hammer in his hand had already swung in a circle around his body, and then he took heavy steps and brushed past the attacker.

“Pfft!!”

A'Xiao misjudged the speed of the mount and rider after the rider performed a thrust. His heavy hammer failed to hit the enemy. Instead, he had a bloody line drawn on the side of his bloated, fleshy waist. The white fat rolled back, and the green blood foam wasn't so obvious in the dark night.

“Ah!!”

Enraged, A'Xiao didn't wait for the other party to turn around. The heavy hammer once again swung in a circle before A'Xiao threw it out. At the same time, a slender chain flew out with the heavy hammer. The other end of the chain was tied to A'Xiao's right wrist.

“Clang!!”

The rider was caught off guard. In a hurry, he thrust his lance back at the heavy hammer, deflecting it in one direction, but at the same time, he swayed a few times on horseback before quickly regaining his balance. But then A'Xiao waved the chain, and the 4-5 meter long chain dragged the heavy hammer, bouncing and jumping on the ground, then directly smashed towards the Nightmare Beast's lower limbs.

The rider squeezed his abdomen, and the Nightmare Beast reared up, dodging A'Xiao's counterattack. The heavy hammer was then pulled back into his hand by A'Xiao's chain.