7: Chapter 7 The Beast Invasion

The sun rose, and the Mining area conducted its routine inspection.

Tang Long handed over eleven pieces of spirit residue at once and slipped an additional two pieces to Vulture as a 'tribute.' Vulture immediately praised him profusely in front of everyone.

"In my five years as an Overseer, this is the first time I've seen a mine slave take the initiative to hand over extra spirit residue."

"Look at 5726. He's still in his probationary period, yet he performs like this. Don't the rest of you feel ashamed?"

"Two pieces of spirit residue isn't much! But this represents a proactive and loyal attitude, which is the most precious quality in a mine slave!"

"Then look at some of you. You're always trying to be clever, often failing to even meet the required quota. Do you think we can't tell?"

"I advise you..."

Vulture's praise for Tang Long and his scolding of 'certain people' made Heizi and the others extremely unhappy.

For a long time, their team had always handed over the full amount of spirit residue. However, because they had been doing some 'private work' recently, their Mining output was inevitably insufficient. So at this moment, it sounded like Vulture was warning them.

They didn't dare to resent Vulture, but they looked at Tang Long with even more distaste.

At that moment, Tang Long took the opportunity to make a small request.

"My Lord, could I apply for a shovel? A lot of earth and stone have been dug up in the cave, and if it's not cleared in time, it affects the work."

Vulture was just about to agree when Ba Lian's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"I'm afraid that doesn't follow the rules, does it?"

Vulture turned around, somewhat surprised by Ba Lian's reaction, but Ba Lian was already advising Man Hai.

"My Lord, you are well aware that standard-issue shovels are made of refined steel. Besides clearing earth and stone, they can also be used as weapons. Therefore, they are listed as controlled equipment in the Mining laws, and we must inspect them during every daily inspection. How can such a thing be handed out so casually?"

Vulture felt a slight surge of anger, sensing that Ba Lian was targeting him, and immediately defended himself.

"The Mining laws do indeed state that. But a shovel is also an essential tool for high-grade mine slaves to clear earth and stone; everyone has one. 5726 has performed excellently and proactively applied for one. Is there a problem? Do you not want him to mine properly?"

Ba Lian smiled. "Official high-grade mine slaves can certainly be issued one, but 5726 is still in his probationary period. I find it a bit strange that he's so eager for a shovel. Haven't you told him these rules? Besides, such matters should be decided by the Mine Manager; it's not for us to choose."

Vulture was left speechless by the rebuttal.

Ba Lian's reasoning was very solid—rules were rules, and the Mine Manager was the highest authority in the Mining area. He couldn't refute either point.

However, in a small Mining area like this, many rules weren't actually followed that strictly. Man Hai had even praised Tang Long yesterday, so he didn't believe Man Hai would listen to Ba Lian.

So he asked Man Hai, "Mine Manager, what is your opinion?"

Man Hai narrowed his eyes and yawned.

He didn't like dealing with these trivial matters and was already a bit annoyed by the argument between his two subordinates.

He was currently at a critical stage of pushing for the fourth stage of Qi Manipulation. A single shovel wasn't worth his mental effort. If Ba Lian hadn't talked so much, he basically would have waved his hand and given it to Tang Long directly.

But with Ba Lian bringing up the Mining laws so seriously, it was difficult for him to agree.

Because Tang Long was indeed still in his probationary period, and his request was indeed out of line. In terms of internal procedures, such mine slaves were usually subjected to stricter scrutiny; after all, the Mine Manager's primary responsibility was to control the mine slaves.

He asked Ba Lian in a low, muffled voice, "What do you think should be done about this?"

Ba Lian quickly replied, "I think perhaps we could transfer him to..."

Before Ba Lian could finish, a series of sharp screeches came from not far away.

Man Hai suddenly turned to look, his eyes instantly widening, and then he roared.

"Leopard-Tailed Dragon!"

At the edge of the Mining area, several Leopard-Tailed Dragons suddenly appeared, screeching as they charged toward the gathered group of mine slaves.

All the mine slaves, all the Overseers, including Mine Manager Man Hai, were shocked.

Most exotic beasts were nocturnal animals, usually hiding during the day to avoid the intense heat. Even at night, in this desolate Gobi Mining area, the number of exotic beasts was small and required some scent of blood to be lured in.

No one expected that before today's 'bait' was even hung on the pole, a pack of Leopard-Tailed Dragons would attack in broad daylight!

The lives of mine slaves were cheap, and it was no problem if the Overseers occasionally killed a few. But as Man Hai had said, everything in this Mining area was the property of the Duke. If the loss was too heavy at once, affecting the Mining area's operations and output, that would be a major problem.

More importantly, Man Hai was indeed usually lax in his management. At this moment of inspection, all five Overseers were by his side, and the Demon-Hunting Crossbow on the tower was unmanned!

"Go take control of the Demon-Hunting Crossbow immediately!"

"All mine slaves, scatter! Don't huddle together!"

The mine slaves cried out and scrambled. Man Hai shouted for them to take cover while directing his Overseers to operate the Demon-Hunting Crossbow. He himself grabbed a thick, long spear and charged toward the nearest Leopard-Tailed Dragon.

The Leopard-Tailed Dragon was a Level 6 to 7 exotic beast, about three to five meters tall and very swift. They were rare social exotic beasts that hunted in packs. They must have been extremely hungry to be roaming for food at this time. Many unlucky mine slaves were bitten to death on the spot, and the beasts began to feast right there.

However, they were far smaller than the Great-Horned Dragon and lacked high intelligence.

When they stopped to eat people, the Overseers gained time to react, and the Demon-Hunting Crossbow on the tower quickly began to show its power.

Two Leopard-Tailed Dragons were hit by bolts almost simultaneously. One died on the spot, while the other had its spine and left leg pierced, letting out a mournful cry as it limped.

The mournful cry sent the other Leopard-Tailed Dragons into a frenzy, but they couldn't distinguish the source of the threat and could only begin slaughtering more mine slaves.

About half a minute later, the ballista fired again. Two more Leopard-Tailed Dragons were hit, again resulting in one dead and one wounded.

By this time, Man Hai's spear had also pierced the neck of a Leopard-Tailed Dragon.

Man Hai's thrust went straight through the Leopard-Tailed Dragon's neck, but this strike didn't kill it. Instead, in its shock and pain, it jerked its head, causing the spear to fly out of Man Hai's hands.

Man Hai was extremely fierce and displayed speed that was completely mismatched with his size. His mountain-like body actually lunged forward in a single bound, grabbing the spear again and violently pinning the Leopard-Tailed Dragon to the ground.

He stepped on the Leopard-Tailed Dragon's lower jaw with his right foot and pressed his left knee against its side. Although the Leopard-Tailed Dragon struggled desperately, it was held firmly by his terrifying strength and was unable to break free for a moment.

However, the screeching of this Leopard-Tailed Dragon immediately drew the attention of its companions.

The three nearest Leopard-Tailed Dragons were attracted by the screeching. Their eyes instantly locked onto Man Hai, and they charged straight at him. One of them was already wounded by a ballista bolt, but the other two were unharmed.

Man Hai felt his scalp tingle and roared out loud.

"Damn it! Shoot them dead for me right now!"

Two ballista bolts arrived one after another, knocking down two of the Leopard-Tailed Dragons.

However, the other Leopard-Tailed Dragon, because it was already wounded, was not prioritized as a target in this round. It stumbled toward Man Hai, opening its large mouth to bite him.

A fierce light appeared in Man Hai's eyes. As the beast's mouth approached, his left hand suddenly drew a large, sharp blade from his waist and stabbed it directly into the Leopard-Tailed Dragon's mouth through its lower jaw.

Then he twisted his wrist, using the blade's leverage to force the Leopard-Tailed Dragon's head down. Dark green dragon blood gushed down the blade, staining his powerful arms green.

The Leopard-Tailed Dragon's mouth couldn't bite, and the ballista bolts embedded in its waist and legs made it difficult to move, but its front claws were still slashing wildly. Man Hai's thick arms were instantly gouged with several deep blood grooves, splashing light green blood blossoms similar to the dragon's blood.

Man Hai was indeed a tough man; he didn't even groan once after being gouged like that. Furthermore, his massive frame was not much different in size from these two Leopard-Tailed Dragons.

But at this moment, he was essentially wrestling with two Leopard-Tailed Dragons at once, and his angle of exertion was very awkward. The situation was extremely dangerous.

The Leopard-Tailed Dragons' vitality seemed very tenacious; though heavily wounded, they didn't die immediately. If he relaxed even slightly, he could be killed by the two demonic beasts. As for the Demon-Hunting Crossbow on the tower, reloading was slow, and it would take at least thirty seconds before the next shot could save him.

This situation was no exaggeration to call critically dangerous.

However, Tang Long, who was hiding under the tower at this moment, was somewhat... eager to try.

Because he had directly cast Detection and saw that one Leopard-Tailed Dragon's health was almost at zero. Although he couldn't see the other one's, it was pinned to the ground by Man Hai and was surely near death as well.

A Level 6 demonic beast! If he went up to deliver the finishing blow and snatched the killing hit, according to the game rules, he could get at least 20% of the experience.

For a kill five levels above his own, there would be an additional 50% bonus on top of that experience base. The harvest would be at least two or three hundred points, which was worth two days of hard Mining!

Let's do it!

Thinking of this, Tang Long suddenly lunged out.

Vulture saw this from the tower and immediately shouted in alarm, "5726! What are you doing! Come back!"

In his eyes, Tang Long was already another source of income, so he was naturally worried about Tang Long's life. The fact that Man Hai could suppress two Leopard-Tailed Dragons didn't mean Tang Long could participate in this level of combat.

Tang Long wasn't small, but he was just a mine slave who had only just learned the Breathing Technique. His frame was as thin as a willow branch. If the exotic beast even paid him a little attention, his life would likely be over.

Heizi shared the same thought as Vulture.

He was also hiding in a nearby pit, watching Tang Long's figure with a cold sneer.

"Showing off at a time like this, he really is a fool."

"He's gone crazy trying to suck up to the Mine Manager. Is he your father? No matter how much you suck up, they'll never treat a mine slave like a human. Hmph! It's better if people like them die. Anyone with a brain wouldn't help even if they could."

"If I had known you would seek death on your own, I wouldn't have needed to give Ba Lian a piece of spirit residue."

"Hurry up and die for me, you idiot!"