Moreover, it turned out to be a lucky stroke; the coal mine cave Anke was looking for was the very same mountain cavern Sandrag and his people had transformed into their camp.
After walking into the camp, the scene inside was completely different from what Anke and Vera had expected.
The cave entrance, blocked by gates made of wooden fences and walls, was only about 100 feet (roughly 30 meters) wide.
However, after passing through the gate and walking down a short, downward-sloping path, the space inside suddenly became extremely spacious, as if they had stepped into a brand-new underground world.
Scattered within the vast cavern were dozens of simple wooden houses of various sizes.
Bonfires burned at intervals across the open ground, providing both light and warmth.
Since the roof of the cave was not a completely sealed dome but had multiple natural chimney-like openings, the smoke from the fires drifted like ghosts into the cracks of the rock ceiling, allowing for a rare freshness within the cave.
“For such a large cave to form naturally… it’s truly a miracle,” Anke remarked, marveling at the uncanny workmanship of nature.
“I think so too, Your Highness,” Sandrag said, leading Anke and the others toward the largest wooden house in the cavern.
Along the way, Vera carefully observed the people in the camp.
Most of those she saw were the elderly, women, and children. Able-bodied young men were pitifully few.
It did not look like the composition of a mountain bandit group; it looked more like a crowd of displaced refugees.
Sandrag pushed open a wooden door, but no one was inside. He had to stop a passing child and ask, “Kid, where is the Chief?”
“The Chief? Uncle Chief went to the mine tunnels.” The child sucked on a finger and pointed in a general direction.
“Alright, I understand. Go play now.” Sandrag waved the child away and then spoke to Anke in an apologetic tone.
“My apologies, Your Highness. My elder brother went to the mine pits. He can only come to see you after he finishes dealing with the matters there. I must ask you to sit and rest for a moment while you wait.”
“It’s fine, I can wait. But I’ll return to my earlier question. After we parted at the Royal Capital, didn’t you say you were going home to help your family? Why did you end up falling so far as to become mountain bandits?” Anke asked, looking at Sandrag with confusion.
“Sigh, it’s a long story. After saying goodbye to you in the Royal Capital five years ago, I returned to my hometown. At that time, Anson City was suffering from a flood. Following the methods Your Highness taught me, we managed to minimize the losses. But those hateful vampires from the Church took advantage of the chaos to rob us! They not only seized our land, but they even tried to kidnap children to serve as church acolytes!”
Sandrag clenched his fists in anger at the mention of the Church vampires.
“The Church… would actually do such a thing?” Anke said.
“The Church… has long since lost its original form. Those deities have left, and their most devout followers have perished along with them,” Vera added.
“They are devils in human skin. We burned the church and fled with our people, but since then… we have become wanted criminals. We were forced to leave our home and begin wandering.”
Sandrag let out a long sigh. If they hadn’t been driven to a dead end, he would never have chosen to live such a displaced life.
“So, you became mountain bandits?”
“We had no choice. If we didn’t become bandits, we homeless drifters would have become the targets of other mountain bandits. However, regarding what happened today, I am truly sorry for offending the Fourth Prince. You are a good noble; I never intended to harm you.”
“It’s fine; you were forced into it. By the way, how long have you been here?”
“We arrived here one month ago. When we saw how large this cave was and how suitable it was for a base, we stayed.”
“And how many people do you have?” Anke pressed.
“About 900 people… but only about 200 are able-bodied men.” Sandrag answered truthfully, acting out of absolute trust in Anke.
“Over 900 people? How do you feed 900 people in a place like this?” Anke asked in surprise.
“When we escaped, we took a lot of money and grain from the church. We used it sparingly and lasted for six months. Later, we had no other choice but to act like real bandits — robbing the Church and nobles to buy food with the stolen money. We have just been barely getting by…”
Sandrag spoke, subconsciously touching a large scar on the back of his hand.
Anke thought for a moment. “Sandrag, are you still willing to serve me?”
“As long as Your Highness needs me, I, Sandrag, am willing to become Your Highness’s Imperial Guard Knight again.” Sandrag fell silent for a few seconds but answered without hesitation.
“What about the companions you brought out? I need more than just one loyal knight; I need a great deal of manpower.” Anke looked at Sandrag.
“Does Your Highness intend for me to convince my companions to join your service?”
“Exactly. The Selection of the King has already begun, and I have been appointed as the Lord of Hanover Province. I need manpower — a lot of it. If you can convince these people to work for me, I won’t treat you poorly. I promise to grant all of you the status of Free Citizens of Hanover Province, and I guarantee that as long as I successfully inherit the throne in the future, I will definitely take you back to your hometown.”
“Your Highness, you are truly too kind! I will do my best to convince everyone!” Sandrag did not doubt Anke’s promise at all.
Back in the Royal Capital, the Prince had promised to fund him to become a knight and later fulfilled that promise.
“I am not finished. My promise comes with conditions. I need you to build a village around this place, specifically for mining that black stone you use for warmth.”
Anke looked at the coal burning in the bonfire outside the house.
“Specifically mining that black stone? Why does Your Highness need that kind of stone?”
“Because like charcoal, it can burn and be used for iron smelting. Moreover, the cost is so low it can be ignored. As long as it’s used as fuel for iron smelting, it can increase the pig iron production in the territory by more than ten times.”
Anke’s gaze pierced through the burning bonfire, as if he could already see the flourishing future of his territory.
“It can increase iron production! I understand; these black stones are indeed very important!”
“GHOST FIRE! THE GHOST FIRES HAVE APPEARED AGAIN!”
“GET THE MUD! HURRY, GET THE MUD! WATER CAN’T PUT OUT THE GHOST FIRES!”
Just as Anke and Sandrag were discussing how to convince the Chief to lead everyone into Anke’s service, the outside suddenly became chaotic.
A large number of people began running frantically in one direction.