Encounter at the Mine

The next morning, as the female beastfolk started preparing breakfast, Bata woke up the sleepy-eyed Balok, along with Bacwor and Barotan. "Perhaps you've grown up, and wolf cubs must learn to hunt on their own. Today, you'll come with us to mine," Bata said sternly. The three youngsters immediately cheered. Not far away, three other young boys, aged around five or six, looked envious. Bata's son, Baquar, clamored to join, but received a few slaps on his backside and was sent to find his mother.

After nibbling on a piece of black bread, leaving a few adult beastfolk to guard the camp, Bata led Balok and the others, along with several other adult males, into the depths of the wilderness.

About twenty miles from their settlement lay a small mine pit, which was essentially a gravel ravine with not much copper ore. Humans wouldn't even bother with it, but the beastfolk, for survival's sake, came here to try their luck. Along the way, they faced various dangers, so they brought all the tribe's iron weapons, with several adults wielding rusty iron swords, and even Balok and his friends each received a small dagger. These were the most precious items of the tribe, usually kept away by Bata. They swung them around excitedly, exhilarated by the opportunity.

The gravel wasteland was only slightly better than a true desert, lacking the swirling yellow sands, although it was still dry and waterless. However, some drought-resistant grass stubbornly grew on the ground, and occasionally, sand thorns and low, sturdy thorn trees could be seen. In the shade of rocks, various mosses grew, some with a surprisingly pleasant scent. But it was best to stay away from there when there was no need, as it was always possible to encounter poisonous creatures or ferocious snakes hiding under the rocks. The route to the mine was familiar, not too dangerous, and they arrived after about an hour. The pit was several tens of meters deep, stretching hundreds of meters, scattered with rocks of various sizes. They were about to rummage through it, with everyone recognizing the appearance of copper ore. Bata earnestly reminded the youngsters not to wander off, and led them into the mine along a sloping corner. Copper ore was a dark brown, resembling dried bloodstains, but most of the rocks here were black, making it difficult to distinguish. After the initial excitement wore off, the three of them searched for a long time, sweating profusely, but found not a single piece of ore. Meanwhile, Bata and the others had already found several pieces, much to their dismay.

"We've no idea how many times this area has been searched by Uncle Bata and the others. We lack experience and can't find a trace of copper," Bacwor complained, sneaking a glance at the distant adults, then whispered to Balok and Barotan, "Shall we go further into the depths and see if there are other mines? Perhaps we'll have better luck." Barotan hesitated, feeling uncertain. "We'd better not wander off. It was because of your recklessness yesterday that we encountered that sand snake. If we cause trouble here, Chief Bata will punish us." Bacwor glared at Barotan. "I didn't do it on purpose! Who knew that sand snake would be sleeping in the sand thorn bush? If you don't want to go out, then stay here. Balok and I will go."

Balok also felt that this mine was probably exhausted, and he was definitely not the obedient type. Knowing Barotan was timid, he didn't force him, instead saying, "You stay here and keep an eye on Chief Bata and the others. Bacwor and I will go." Barotan listened obediently, nodding. Although they were about the same age, both Bacwor and Barotan, like timid Balok, respected him, or perhaps feared him. After storing the ore in animal hide bags, they began their journey back. The ground started trembling noticeably, even Bacwor could feel it. Dust was stirred up in the distance, and Balok was shocked to find that his eyes suddenly could see several times further. Miles away, a beastfolk clad in a large robe was sprinting, with a gigantic python behind him... a snake that was at least twenty meters long!

"Run, the Sand Serpent is coming!" Balok's face turned pale, and he dropped the ore, grabbing Bacwor's arm and sprinting. The Sand Serpent was a magical beast, extremely terrifying. Even if dozens of beastfolk faced it, they would be easily killed. Balok's parents had died in an attack by the Sand Serpent, and he had heard too many terrifying legends about this magical beast! The two of them yelled and screamed, alarming Bata and the others who were still mining. Hearing Balok's words as they rushed back, and feeling the slight tremors on the ground, even Bata was afraid. What should they do? They couldn't possibly outrun the Sand Serpent; its incredible speed would catch up to them in minutes. "The Sand Serpent is heading in our direction. We can't escape. Let's run eastward. There's a dense thornwood forest over there. We might be able to hide," Balok suggested. "How do you know we'll be safe there? The Sand Serpent can easily find us. We can't escape!" one beastfolk exclaimed, terrified. "It's chasing after a beastfolk. That beastfolk must have angered it! If we hide, and that beastfolk passes through here, I think the Sand Serpent won't stop to attack us. There might be a glimmer of hope."

Balok stared into the distance, feeling that sensation again, able to clearly see a beastfolk running several miles away, even able to make out his face. Suddenly, he noticed that the beastfolk didn't seem too panicked; he still had the energy to turn around and attack the Sand Serpent, wielding a large wooden staff, flashing a ring of light and striking the Sand Serpent's head. The terrifying serpent immediately collapsed, shaking its head and angrily spitting out a ball of yellow light from its mouth. Sharp stones suddenly sprouted from the ground beneath the beastfolk's feet, almost injuring him. Fortunately, the beastfolk agilely dodged and they continued their chase.

Suddenly, Balok exclaimed. He saw that the beastfolk had changed direction; he wasn't running towards them, but had turned westward. "Chief Bata, they're changing direction. They're not coming this way," Balok said to Bata, staring into the distance, then without looking back, he said, "It's still too dangerous here. You should go back first. I'll go take a look!" Before Bata could stop him, he had already run off. Bata was furious; this rascal had always been calm, why was he so impulsive today, risking his life like this? To his surprise, Balok ran extremely fast, like the wind, and within moments, he was a hundred meters away. Everyone was dumbfounded. If not for the distant roars of the Sand Serpent, which scared them into leaving in a hurry, they might have been left with their jaws dropped on the ground! Balok also realized his abnormality only after he started running. He felt light, and that feeling of being a wolf from his dream came back. His eyes were sharp, his ears were sensitive, and he was as fast as the wind. He leaped from one rock to another, effortlessly landing on another rock several meters away. This feeling was too wonderful; he couldn't help but increase his speed, using all his strength, like a gust of wind, kicking up dust behind him and forming a yellow streak.

The commotion here soon alarmed the beastfolk confronting the Sand Serpent. The beastfolk frowned, taken aback by the unexpected turn of events. He was a shaman of the Lizardfolk tribe, Norman. He had prepared for a long time, confident that everything was foolproof, before luring the Sand Serpent, a first-level earth magic beast, out today. Somewhere to the west, he had already erected a totem pole, awakening the spirit of nature attached to his tribe's totem. As long as the Sand Serpent entered the range of the totem pole, he could communicate with the serpent's soul using the power of nature's spirit. His shamanic power was not strong enough to completely tame the Sand Serpent, and he had no intention of doing so. But by communicating with its soul, using mysterious shamanic rituals, he could absorb some elemental power from the Sand Serpent's body, and the nature spirit attached to the totem pole also needed the soul power of magical beast spirits to nourish it.

Everything was going according to plan, but he didn't expect an outsider to intrude at the last moment. The Sand Serpent had obviously noticed the approaching person from afar and slowed down. Norman stopped his sprint, turned around, and slammed his staff heavily on the ground, causing a pale ring of light to burst out. Sharp stalagmites sprouted from beneath the Sand Serpent. If not for its tough scales, it would have been pierced through. Norman's communicated nature spirit was of the earth element and could also use low-level spells like [Stalagmite] just like the Sand Serpent. This was his intention in luring this serpent! "Stay away from here. Don't come any closer," Norman shouted at Balok, who had stopped his steps and was watching from a distance. At this moment, the Sand Serpent coiled up its thick body, lifting its menacing snake head and standing coldly, seemingly contemplating whether to continue chasing this annoying beastfolk pest or to turn around and hunt another new prey. This obviously didn't require much thought, and the Sand Serpent quickly made a choice. It turned around, and then Balok immediately realized... damn thing had set its sights on him! Was this considered walking into the lion's den?