Chapter 96: Essence Fire Mine

  The slave convoy moved slowly, day and night without stopping. Every two hours, the guards would check the cage situation, holding iron whips to intimidate the slaves inside, making sure they were still alive.

  Every ten hours, someone would throw some dry rations and salted vegetables into the iron cage, and pour some murky water into the iron bucket, barely enough to sustain the slaves' lives.

  The slaves in the cage were all quiet, no one dared to resist or escape. Because on top of each cage stood an iron rod, hanging with a dry skull, that was the fate of those who resisted.

  Bloody intimidation!

  Moreover, there were as many as five or six hundred guards on both sides of the slave team, most of whom were martial spirits. The golden-armored warriors beside the carriage had nearly a hundred people, all of whom were powerful warriors of the Martial Ancestor level.

  Moreover, no one dared to deny that there must be a martial king sitting in the luxurious carriage!

  Run away? How can we run away? Unless there's a collective riot, but that's unrealistic!

  Tang Yan and Du Yang finally abandoned all thoughts of escape after a long observation, staying quietly in the cage, calmly inhaling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, silently healing their wounds. With more power now, they would have a higher chance of survival when they arrived at the mining area. It was too late for regrets now, and there was no point in dwelling on it.

  All they have to do is survive! Hold on to survival!

  On the fifth day at dawn, the team suddenly stopped, which was the first time the caravan had stopped since Tang Yan joined the 'Slave Family'.

  "Have we arrived? No, right?" Tang Yan looked around and it was still the vast Gobi Desert. On the left, sand and rocks rolled, on the right, green grass grew densely, and the team walked along the boundary between the two.

  "It should still be early, this is still the border of the Delos Empire. The Triangular Domain is nearly a thousand miles away from the border, even if it's the nearest mine, it'll take more than half a month to get there." Du Yang's condition had improved somewhat, and he analyzed the surrounding scenery.

  "How's your meridian recovery? If you're given another month, how much can you recover?"

  "The spiritual energy here is a bit thin, give me another month and I can barely complete the meridian clearing, my strength will probably be able to exert about 30-40%, just enough to save my life, not possible for combat. How about you?"

  "My meridians have almost recovered, and my spiritual energy is flowing very smoothly, but this body... is too weak."

  About two quarters of an hour later, a sudden commotion arose in front of the procession, accompanied by shouting and cracking whips.

  "From today on, every meal, two catties of roasted meat, five steamed buns, everyone must finish it all! Whoever dares to waste a single bit will be punished with ten iron lashes!" A large team of guards carried huge trays loaded with roasted meat and steamed buns, the thick aroma reviving the spirits of the slaves who had been starving for a long time, their eyes fixed greedily on the trays as if they were dreaming.

  "Divide it among yourselves! Whoever dares to leave any behind, I'll cut off ten pounds of your flesh!" A sturdy man walked up to Tang Yan's cage and tossed in a large piece of roasted meat, along with fifteen steamed buns and a bag of clear water.

  Tang Yan and Du Yang's hands were untied, and the strong man beside them also had his two tied hands untied.

  "Is it poisonous?" Du Yang was somewhat surprised.

  Tang Yan didn't rush to eat, and the people in the iron cages nearby also remained still, quietly waiting for those who had eaten to see if there were any unusual reactions.

  "Go ahead and eat, it's not poisonous. They want to fatten us up so the slave owners will be satisfied." The robust man, who had been silent until now, suddenly lifted his head and stretched out his foot to grab some roasted meat.

  "Wait, I'm coming!" Tang Yan hastily stopped him. It doesn't matter what you use to eat the usual dried rice and salted vegetables, but today's roasted meat is divided equally among the three of us. You've ruined it with your feet, how are others supposed to eat?

  "Are you going to feed me?" The robust man's voice was hoarse, and he gazed at Tang Yan with a cold indifference. His hands were covered in fresh blood, and he couldn't muster up the strength for the time being.

  "Don't you dislike me being old?" Tang Yan tore off a piece of meat and handed it to the strong man.

  The sturdy Han looked on indifferently, seemingly hesitant for a moment, but ultimately opened his mouth and swallowed it down in big gulps.

  Tang Yan gestured for Du Yang to eat first, holding a steamed bun and roasted meat to feed the strong man: "Don't choke, eat slowly."

  Zhuang Han ate with gusto, his reddened eyes darting between Tang Yan and Du Yang before finally landing on the black creature in his arms: "Is this a young demon beast?"

  "My friend."

  "You'd better hide, once you're in the mining area, if you're discovered, you might be taken away to be cooked and eaten."

  "Do you know this is going to that mine?"

  "The Lao family's Jinghuo Mine. The Taiwu Mining Area is vast, comparable to the Northern Wilderness of the Great Zhou Empire, with a total of ten large mines, four of which are occupied by the imperial family, and the remaining six are occupied by the six super families of the Delos Empire. These six families are rich enough to rival countries and are in a semi-independent state within the Delos Empire, their strength is so strong that even some princes of the Great Zhou Empire cannot match."

  Comparable to royalty? Tang Yan was secretly shocked, but after careful thought, he quickly understood. The mine provided an abundance of ore, granting them immense wealth, and naturally they could purchase enough strong warriors to arm themselves.

  But this is not good news, on the contrary, the guards of the mine should be more strict, and their own hope of escape... has become even more slim.

  "The Lao family's Jinghuo mine is extremely vast, stretching 700 miles east and west, 300 miles south, and 18,000 meters down. Inside, there are 200,000 slaves, over 10,000 guards, numerous strong warriors of the Wu Zong level, and even seven or eight Wu Wang stationed there." The robust man said indifferently, his expression somewhat gloomy. Once you enter, unless you die, it's impossible to leave forever.

  That is purgatory, where every slave will be squeezed dry!

  "You know that place well?" Tang Yan was somewhat curious.

  "The Taiwu Mining District, everyone in the Delos Empire knows about it, I'm not familiar with it and haven't been there either, all of this is hearsay. Alright, I've eaten my fill, now it's your turn." The robust man leaned against the iron dragon, remaining silent as he quietly circulated his spiritual energy to heal his freed right hand.

  Tang Yan carefully observed below, his wound was emitting a few strands of sharp light, like thousands of dense light needles, stitching the wound together. They were very close, and he could feel the sharpness and frenzy of those lights.

  What martial arts is this?!

  "My name is Tang Yan, and this is my grandson Du Yang. We are both from the Great Zhou Empire." Tang Yan asked the robust man, while Du Yang's eyes twitched slightly at the corners, glaring at him with annoyance - Who is your grandson?!

  "Get out!" The strong man retorted casually.

  Huh? Xu Yan? What a weird name.

  From that day on, the team would stop three meals a day to distribute enough food to each slave. However, as the slaves' physical condition recovered, the intensity of the guards also increased, especially for Tang Yan and his group, because they were guarding Wu Zong, the guards were extremely cautious, and every day there would be Jinya warriors coming over to inspect.

  Half a month later, the team finally entered the triangular domain, and the energy between heaven and earth suddenly became dense. But also from today on, each iron cage was covered with thick black cloth, which was to prevent the slaves from remembering their position and escaping in the future.

  Tang Yan didn't make any irrational impulse, quietly staying in the cage, eating and drinking well, resting at ease. After these days of consideration, his emotions had completely calmed down, looking from a different angle, being captured this time wasn't entirely a bad thing, at the sensitive moment when Zhou Ling Wang was pursuing him with all his might, having a place to hide was still not bad, at least... he could save his life.

  As for what will happen in the future, Tang Yan temporarily did not consider it and waited until after passing this critical point to talk about it.

  The fleet was advancing in such a bumpy manner, with noise and chaos outside, for over ten days.

  "We're here!" A shout rose from both sides of the troops, all the slaves felt their hearts shrink violently, and a thick layer of terror emerged in their eyes. We're here? It means the disaster has begun!

  The black cloth was suddenly pulled open, and the scorching sunlight poured in. The slaves couldn't open their eyes at first, but after a slight adjustment, they were met with an outside scene that made their faces turn pale.

  The cage was surrounded by people, the outermost were warriors wearing crimson armor, their eyes like swords, with a strong murderous aura. Inside were some bare-chested strongmen, holding chains and ferocious iron whips, some carrying large knives, with a fierce glow in their eyes. They had sinister smiles on their faces, excitedly examining the slaves inside.

  The stout man at the front nodded: "Hmm, you look fine, just rest a bit and you can get back to work!"

  "Undo them, bring them down, and line them up!"

  "Hurry up and give it all to me!"

  "Come down, you, come here, you come over, you go there..."

  The crack of the whip sounded back and forth, the robust men roughly pushed the slaves, slightly uncooperative, raised the iron whip and lashed out, these iron whips were covered with thorns, one lash would tear open the skin.

  "Haha, these chicks look pretty good, send them to the barracks."

  "Pick out all the pretty ones for me, and let's have a taste of freshness tonight!"

  "Great, haha!!"

  "The female slaves in the barracks have been used enough, it's finally time to get some fresh ones."

  The arrogant smile made all the female slaves turn pale, and several of them fainted directly.

  "Stay calm and follow the arrangement." Tang Yan whispered, stuffing Hei Dou into his clothes.

  The little guy's head wasn't big, and he was good at hiding. He was also very well-behaved, sticking tightly to his body, which made Tang Yan look a bit more robust, not as weak as before. The guards here were fierce and cruel, if they saw that Tang Yan was skinny, they might directly kill him with one knife.

  The allocation of men and women was quickly completed, under the intimidation of Tie Bian, everyone remained silent, allowing these guards to buckle heavy handcuffs and foot chains on themselves, and then distributed black clothes.

  Everything is ready, follow the instructions and walk into the front gate.

  This is a large town, with taverns, barracks and beast-fighting arenas on both sides. The so-called barracks are actually brothels, where the guards can relax and have fun. The so-called beast-fighting arenas are where they watch slaves fight to the death.

  As I walked into the town, it was filled with the sounds of noise and screams, just like walking into a city of sin.

  Under the gaze of many eyes, Tang Yan and his group were escorted through the town. The view in front suddenly opened up, as if standing on the edge of a giant sky pit, looking out at the endless expanse, unable to see where the end was, with only the azure sky and the massive pit.

  Bending down, as if a terrible abyss, with a faint red glow at the bottom!

  The edge of the pit was lined with a wide road paved with steel frames, densely packed and leading directly underground. From below came the cacophony of clanging sounds and the cracking of whips, as well as faint cries of despair.

  Many slaves had already turned pale, and the scene before them made them completely desperate.

  "Line up and follow. Here, as long as you listen, you can eat well and live well. Whoever dares to resist will be treated worse than you can imagine!" The guards shouted loudly, swinging their leather whips, with sinister smiles.

  "I know there are a few of you who are martially inclined, but let me give you advance warning: if you dare to resist, your fate will be worse than others. There are plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead! If you behave well, in two years' time, there will be a special assessment just for you. Whoever passes it and gets the approval of the supervisor will have the chance to become one of the guards here. But the prerequisite is... that you can survive for two years, hahaha!!"