After resting at Brunner’s camp for a night, the snow happened to stop the following day.
Anke, Vera, Brunner, the hunter guide Liedao, and two sturdy young villagers carrying coal samples — a group of six in total — set off immediately after sunrise to return to Border City.
It took only a small portion of the morning for Anke and the others to return to the Lord’s Castle in Border City.
Inside the Lord’s Castle, Mustafa received word from the city militia that Anke had finally returned.
He immediately went to the small reception room to prepare for receiving Brunner.
Upon seeing Anke, Mustafa could not help but speak up.
“Your Highness, you were far too reckless. You abandoned the affairs of the territory to run off and even stayed out all night…”
Mustafa had dark circles under his eyes, and the beard on his chin was a mess. It was clear he had not slept well the previous night.
“Mustafa! Do not be angry yet. First, see what I have found,” Anke interrupted, then beckoned to Brunner. “Brunner, have your men bring the coal over.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Brunner replied, then signaled the two villagers to carry the coal into the center of the room.
“Your Highness, what are these? Charcoal with a darker color?” Mustafa looked doubtfully at the two baskets of black objects the villagers brought out.
“This is exactly what I was looking for: coal,” Anke said directly.
“Coal? Is this the ore Your Highness mentioned before that could replace charcoal? But this amount is not much. It is barely enough to burn in the Lord’s Castle fireplaces for half a day, let alone maintain all the greenhouses in the city.”
Mustafa reached out and grabbed a clean part of the vine basket’s edge.
He lifted it forcefully to estimate its weight.
“This is only a sample, brought back to open your eyes, Mustafa. I found a coal mine as large as a mountain! As long as we invest labor into mining it, we will have a steady stream of coal!”
“A whole mountain of ore! If that is true, then it is truly wonderful! Not only can we save on charcoal fuel expenses, but we can also make a huge profit by selling it!” Mustafa spoke with an excited tone.
“Selling it? No, no, no. We are not selling the coal. I do not even have enough for my own use.” Anke’s words were like a splash of cold water on Mustafa.
“Your Highness, why? If there is as much coal as a whole mountain, Border City cannot possibly consume it all on its own.”
“That is only for now. In the future, I plan to open even more workshops in Border City. Those will be coal-eating monster workshops. Until we have more than enough, I will not sell a single piece of coal to the outside.” Anke explained his plan to Mustafa.
“I see, Your Highness. I understand. My apologies, I did not consider the full picture.”
“It is fine. Oh, right, Mustafa. This is Brunner. He is the representative of over 900 refugees. They were the ones who first found the coal mine. From now on, these people will be Free Citizens of Border City. Go draft a village establishment certificate, a letter of appointment for him as the Village Chief, and organize a group of people and supplies to help them through the winter. Also, send craftsmen to build a main road from their village to Border City.”
Anke introduced Brunner to Mustafa, assigning new tasks as he went.
“Your Highness, what is the origin of Mr. Brunner’s refugees?” Mustafa asked.
“They are just some poor souls. Do as I said.” Anke did not dare explain clearly to Mustafa that Brunner’s group were actually mountain bandits. He could only describe them as poor souls.
Fortunately, Mustafa did not raise any further objections. “Very well, Your Highness. I understand. I will arrange for people to handle it.”
“Your Highness, this… this is too valuable. We have done nothing for you, yet you help us so much. We truly cannot accept this,” Brunner said nervously.
“No need to be nervous, Brunner. I know that to you, this kindness is very precious. The reason I am arranging this is that I need you to promise to complete one mandatory task.”
“What does Your Highness wish for us to do?”
“It is simple. Although you are Free Citizens of Border City, your new village must be built near the coal mine cave. Furthermore, you must work specifically for me to mine the coal and transport it to Border City. You cannot reclaim wasteland for farming; I will transport enough food to you. Finally, and most importantly, you must keep the secret of the coal mine. Without my permission, you cannot reveal it to anyone from the outside. If you agree but fail to do so, then the consequences… I believe you are well aware of them.” Anke explained seriously to Brunner.
“Are there no other requirements, Your Highness?”
“No more. But do not worry, you do not have to stay there forever to fulfill my command. Once the time is right in the future, I will dissolve our contract. You will be truly Free Citizens then,” Anke added.
“Your Highness, you are far too merciful.”
‘Me? Merciful?’ Anke looked at Brunner in confusion. His approach was essentially treating this group of people like prisoners.
“You have done so much for us. Working for you and keeping the secret of the coal mine is only right. Rest assured, I will definitely complete the task you have given. If any of my subordinates dare to violate it, I will be the first to show them no mercy!” A murderous intent flickered in Brunner’s eyes as he spoke.
“Mm.” With his subordinates being so determined, Anke could only nod.
……
Although the main road connecting the coal mine and Border City was not built that quickly, the refugees under Brunner worked with an efficiency that exceeded Anke’s expectations.
Once the first batch of food and winter supplies were delivered, everyone used their shoulders and hands, moving like ants to deliver the coal to the supply transport team, which then transferred it back to Border City.
Over 10,000 catties of high-quality coal greatly replenished Border City’s warehouses.
During this period, hungry wild beasts tried to cause trouble, but they were all hunted by the Lord’s Hunting Team led by Liedao.
Their pelts ended up hanging on wooden racks.
Of course, Anke did not forget the dangers involved in using coal.
Aside from the large furnaces in public greenhouses and the high-temperature melting furnaces in workshops — which could directly burn unprocessed raw coal — the items sold to commoners in shops were Honeycomb Coal processed by the newly built coal workshops.
Anke packaged the Honeycomb Coal as a “refined product of degraded charcoal” and set the price exceptionally low.
However, only the commoners who bought and used it knew that this so-called refined product was actually better than charcoal.
This winter, the commoners in Border City and the several surrounding villages lived much warmer lives than ever before.
Children no longer cried from frostbite, and the elderly sat around the heaters telling stories of the past.
The white smoke curling from the Honeycomb Coal chimneys became the only sign of life in the winter.
But the warmth felt by humans could not change the coldness of nature.
After another continuous three-day blizzard, the Piranha River — which served as a natural barrier between Border City in Hanover Province and the Skeleton Forest where the Barbarians lived — froze over.
The power of nature turned this roaring, tumbling silver giant python into a solid bridge of ice, stitching two hostile peoples together once again.
The frozen river surface was no longer a barrier, but a passage for Barbarian raids — the shadow of the Western Barbarians’ invasion had quietly descended!