CHAPTER 582: CHAPTER 503: SHARU’S CHOICE_2

Today, his mood was still quite good.

Because he had dug up a section of rich ore, and his harvest was substantial.

The Elf Clan’s rewards and punishments were still quite fair, if one mined a lot, not only did they get more food, they even got meat!

Thinking of this, Sharu felt his mouth watering a bit.

Although he was quite shocked that the Elves also ate meat, he had to admit... these Elves really knew how to prepare meat dishes.

Especially the various spices in the meat, they were really delicious.

Of course, Sharu didn’t know that the roasted meat provided to the Half-Beasts by the players was leftover from two dragons...

With the surge of players, more and more people attempted to exchange roasted meat for dragon scales and Dragon Saliva with Mairrel and Tibilia.

Even though the dragons had a great appetite, they couldn’t handle the sheer number of players, so even if both dragons ate to their hearts’ content, there was often leftovers. Previously, these scraps were used as fertilizer, but now they were a bargain for the Half-Beasts...

However, the Dragon Saliva remaining in the meat was, of course, carefully picked out by the players like a treasure.

Sharu pushed the wheelbarrow slowly.

Along the way, he could also see other Half-Beasts coming and going.

Compared to when he first arrived, there were now more Half-Beast Miners here...

Sharu thought that at the peak, his tribe probably didn’t have as many people as there were Half-Beasts in the entire Rivendell mine now.

*He couldn’t help but wonder just how many Half-Beasts the Elves had captured as slaves.*

Although most Half-Beasts hadn’t yet recovered from the collapse of their faith, their expressions were somewhat numb... the overall state was much better than Sharu had imagined.

Not only that, he seemed to notice some Half-Beasts had become noticeably fatter than they were half a month ago.

This discovery made his expression somewhat peculiar.

Though it was understandable.

Even though the Elves kept them digging and digging, they did not abuse them. Typically, besides collecting ore, they were too lazy to pay any attention to them...

Moreover, the meals were quite good...

In fact, to help the Half-Beasts have more energy for mining, the Elves provided plenty of food.

However, meat was only given as a reward based on the Half-Beasts’ mining efficiency.

But even with that, the mere sufficiency of food alone meant that for some of the smaller tribes, which often struggled with food scarcity, the living conditions, in some sense, had even improved...

So... some Half-Beasts who were originally malnourished due to their small and weak tribes truly gained weight.

Of course, these living conditions were purely based on dietary aspects.

Compared to the dark and sunless mines, Sharu still preferred the bright Death Desert...

But in this world where strength was everything, defeat was defeat, and as a loser, just surviving was already the greatest fortune. Considering the current days, Sharu already felt very lucky...

With a deep sigh, he quickened his pace, and felt even more anticipation for the roasted meat today.

However, as he walked, he suddenly slowed down.

Because he noticed that in a mining tunnel to the side, there seemed to be more than a dozen Half-Beasts and humans gathered, whispering heatedly, seemingly discussing something...

*The same bunch of guys who just wouldn’t give up.*

Sharu shook his head.

Although the treatment provided by the Elves was much better than expected, and many Half-Beasts couldn’t return to their old ways after losing their faith, there were still quite a few who were not content to remain enslaved and dreamed only of escape.

Particularly as there were not many Elves guarding the Half-Beasts, and they worked in shifts, which emboldened some of them.

Moreover, the Elves seemed quite lax.

It seemed they were not worried at all about the Half-Beasts escaping, or entirely unaware of the possibility.

Not only did they not assign very strong personnel to guard them, but the Elves even freely handed over potentially lethal pickaxes for the Half-Beasts to manage themselves...

*This naturally stirred many into action.*

*Were they planning to overthrow the Elves and then escape?*

Sharu shook his head.

Aside from the fact that they had been forcibly signed to a Slave Contract, and rebellion would result in severe backlash even if they survived, Sharu didn’t believe those planning to escape would succeed, even if they withstood the contract’s repercussions.

"Escape? Impossible... because they didn’t even know who was really watching over them..."

Looking at those agitated people from afar, he shook his head and muttered to himself.

He had previously interacted with a mid-level caravan leader from Sorren Commerce named Andris and often inquired about news from him.

And Andris had once told him a secret about the Elf Clan...

It was said that during the underground war, the Elf Clan had dispatched a terrifyingly powerful Legendary Magical Beast—the Earth Cave Spider Empress.

And upon arriving at the mines, Sharu had seen quite a few Earth Cave Spiders in the abandoned tunnels.

Connecting what Andris told him, the Elves’ laxity, and a conversation he accidentally overheard during one of his mineral transports, Sharu understood that the true existence guarding them was not these Elves at all!

What truly watched over them were those Earth Cave Spiders they always saw in the abandoned tunnels, the presence behind the Earth Cave Spiders... was that terrifying mythical beast that had reached legendary status!

And the content he overheard that day was the Elves complaining, apparently because a considerable amount of the ore they mined had to be handed over to the Earth Cave Spider Empress as the fee for guarding the Half-Beasts.