New Fire Copper Mine

In the southwest of the Gravel Wasteland lay a region that had once been a human-abandoned mining area. Long ago, humans had mined various ores here: fire copper, black iron, small amounts of gold and silver, and even the rumored rare silver steel, which dwarves often called "mithril."

Of course, no matter how vast the ore deposits, there would come a day when they were exhausted. When the remaining ore was no longer valuable, the area was gradually abandoned and eventually became a habitat for the orcs who migrated from somewhere else. Like beggars picking through garbage, the orcs scavenged the abandoned mines for overlooked ores, which they then sold to human towns' blacksmiths in exchange for meager food. This state of affairs had persisted for centuries and was an important pillar supporting the orcs' survival.

However, as with anything, oversights were inevitable. Even in abandoned mining areas, humans dared not guarantee that every corner had been explored.

One day, as a member of the Lizardfolk tribe went to pick ores in the mine as usual, he noticed a giant rock about three times the size of a person's head embedded in one side of the pit. Naturally, he tried everything to dislodge it.

Unexpectedly, the massive boulder split apart. Who would believe that a rock weighing tens of thousands of pounds could crack? The orc tumbled down from above, narrowly escaping a broken arm. When his fellow tribesmen helped him up, they suddenly discovered that as the rock split open, the wall behind it was densely packed with reddish-brown ores—abundant and astonishingly rich in fire copper! This was just the beginning of a large vein of ore that humans had overlooked. Who knew how long it stretched? At least the ores they had found now, if mined, would weigh tens of thousands of pounds. Excited, the orcs immediately sent word back to Shaman Norman and Chieftain Moraga of the Lizardfolk tribe. They felt that their days of hardship were about to end, and the orcs were about to prosper.

Upon hearing the news, Shaman Norman was also excited. Today, he would not be able to teach the orc, Balok, the ways of shamanism, and in the days to come, he feared he would have no time for it either. "Balok, we'll have to put aside the matter of shamanism for now. We need to handle what's in front of us. This is a great matter for us orcs, and it requires all our tribes to work together."

He sent Balok away and immediately summoned the excited chieftains to discuss the matter of mining.

"This may not necessarily be a good thing!" Balok was not pleased; instead, he felt some faint worry. Greedy humans were a big potential hazard! Unfortunately, even Shaman Norman seemed a bit out of sorts, let alone the other orcs. Who would listen to him?

It wasn't long before the chieftains hurried out of the tent, each taking their tribesmen with them. Balto also found Balok and said, "We need to return to the tribe immediately. We need mining tools and human pickaxes. Tonight, we must rush to the human town. Hey, our tribe is the closest to the humans, so we'll be the first to buy them. Shaman Norman promised that this is the wealth of all orcs. Whoever mines the most will be able to sell it for food in the future, and they'll get more."

If it were just to exchange for food, and even if the exchange prices offered by humans were notoriously low, Balok knew that humans would need manpower to dig the ore. And hiring human miners would cost much more! Balok, therefore, supposed that it wouldn't be much of a problem. However, on the way back to the tribe, he pleaded with Balto to take him to the human village to buy mining tools. Perhaps Balto was feeling generous, as he only hesitated for a moment before agreeing to Balok's request. But he couldn't resist giving Balok a few glances and saying, "Go back and put on a fur hat made of animal skins and dirty your fur a bit more. Honestly, I don't understand why, as an orc, you look more noble than those human aristocrats."

Balok was taken aback; after all, orcs didn't have mirrors, and he hadn't seen his own appearance for a long time!...

Thankfully, it seemed that orcs and humans shared the same aesthetic sense. Upon returning to the tribe, while Balto informed the tribe of the good news, Balok intentionally caught a glimpse of himself in the water pot. He saw a face that was young, handsome, yet steady and resolute, despite the distinctive facial fur patterns of orcs. This was enhanced by his beautiful, silvery-grey fur. According to Balto, most human men had thick beards, so if he covered his face with the thin layer of silver fur and the two erect orc ears, even if just looking at his face, Balok undoubtedly had a charm that would drive human women crazy.

Balto, whether out of envy or concern, told Balok that it was said some promiscuous human noblewomen or young ladies loved charming orc men the most. It was rumored that many wealthy wives in the big cities would choose to keep handsome or beautiful orc slaves. As for what they were used for, it was easy to imagine...! Of course, the husbands of these noblewomen were certainly not pleased. Therefore, in those places, the turnover rate of orc slaves was very high, and disappeared slaves either ended up in the gladiatorial arena or on the cold and terrifying mass graves.

Balok obediently used grass ash to make his face look messy. He didn't want to become someone's slave and do disgusting things.

Balto selected three tribesmen to accompany Balok, and they set off. Baluk and Barotan became anxious; they also wanted to go and see the human village. Why could Balok go, but not them? No amount of pleading or scolding from Balto could change their minds. Finally, after some thought, it seemed that they were only going to the human blacksmith's to buy pickaxes and tools. It shouldn't be a problem if they quickly returned. After scolding them, Balto made them dirty their faces too, and then they set off together.

After walking for over twenty miles, they climbed over a moderately sloping hill and, from between two hills in the middle of the slope, could see the town. By now, they had left the Gravel Wasteland. A hill separated them, and it was almost like stepping into two different worlds. The wasteland was dry and barren, but on this side of the hill, lush greenery, bushes, low but flourishing trees, and flat land with green crops could be seen everywhere. These were almost invisible on the wasteland. Humans truly seemed to have taken all the good things for themselves.

"After entering Black Crow Town, you must not run around, you must not speak, you must stay by my side, and when you see humans, you must bow to them first... even if you don't speak, you must do this. Understand?" Balto repeatedly reminded them, making him, a burly man, seem a bit nagging.

The three young orc boys were still full of youthful vigor, but they felt very uncomfortable about bowing to humans. However, seeing Balto's serious expression, they all obediently agreed, knowing that he was not joking.

The so-called Black Crow Town was actually just a short street, with most of the buildings on both sides constructed from rocks, giving them a rugged and towering appearance, yet they were dark and dilapidated. The ground was muddy and dirty, emitting the foul stench of animal excrement. Compared to the prosperity Balok had seen in his previous life, or even to some of the poorest places in Africa, there was no comparison. Even so, Balwal and Barotan, who had never seen stone houses before, were still dumbfounded.

By now, darkness had fallen, and there were human guards patrolling the streets. Chieftain Balto said that the town's previous owner was a mediocre rural nobleman, who later, it was said, sold the town to a mercenary group after climbing up to a big shot through his beautiful daughter. He and his daughter then lived a life of luxury... but rumors circulated that the old man and his beautiful daughter had long been killed by the mercenaries.

Now, the owner of Black Crow Town was the captain of that mercenary group, Lord Huda, and his dozen or so ruthless and powerful mercenaries controlled the town. Compared to roaming around, taking on missions, and even a poor and miserable little town, life was much better now, so these people were quite satisfied with the current situation. As long as they paid enough tribute to the noble lords above, who cared about the life or death of a rural nobleman? Moreover, that old man might not even have been a nobleman...!

"Bowing to you, respected Lord Misa!" Balto bowed to the two humans passing by and said to one of them.

"Misa? Didn't you come here a few days ago? I heard you were not satisfied with the prices here and sold the ore to the riffraff in Black Sheep Town. Why are you back in Black Crow Town? Not going to suck up to the big shots in Black Sheep Town anymore?" The human mercenary leaned on a broad iron sword, mocking him.

This was Balok's first time seeing humans, and they were just as he had imagined: these people were indeed similar to the Caucasian race on Earth, and even more inclined towards the Nordic race, tall and sturdy.

"Respected Lord Misa, my tribe is short of food, so I had to sell the ore for a better price. And although I went to Black Sheep Town, I still paid taxes here. I have never violated Lord Huda's rules. I came this time because we discovered a new vein of ore that hasn't been mined yet, so we're preparing to buy some suitable tools." Since humans would eventually learn about the new ore, there was no need to lie.

Sure enough, the mercenary Misa showed no interest in the so-called new ore. Perhaps Balto's words were true, and Misa only glanced at the three orcs behind him, curiously asking, "Are these three your offspring?"

"Kind Lord Misa, these are the only children in our tribe. They wanted to experience the prosperity of humanity, so I brought them along. They are all a bunch of foolish children, scared speechless in front of someone as powerful as you. Please forgive them."

Balto's obsequious words, spoken directly to an ordinary mercenary, seemed commonplace, and even Balok felt a bit uncomfortable, let alone the other two boys, but they remained silent. Balok also gained a direct impression of human dominance!

"Hehe, quite clever, these three little brats have messed up their faces. But be careful, unless they have a few more scars on their faces like you, anyone can see that they look pretty good. The dirty and vulgar fellows in the tavern will be very interested." Misa, perhaps familiar with Balto, rarely gave a reminder. Balto repeatedly bowed in thanks, and finally handed Misa a crumpled little pouch containing a dozen or so copper coins.

Although few, the respectful attitude of the orcs was satisfactory. Misa and another mercenary smiled and could now go have a few drinks. Waving his hand, he no longer paid attention to the orcs, and they hurried away, heading to the blacksmith's shop.

"Phew, don't provoke the mercenaries here, especially Misa. He's the most powerful under Huda, an intermediate Qi warrior. Even if all of us fought to the death, we wouldn't stand a chance against him. He could easily kill us all. Let's hurry, go to the blacksmith's shop, buy the tools, and leave town tonight." Balto sighed, urging them to hurry to the blacksmith's shop.