Gray’s pursuit ended immediately upon sight of the walls, eerily familiar to Jade Hill Town. It was obviously not the same town. It was a completely different town, a bandit town!

It was an astonishing concept and one that he did not foresee. He had expected a bunch of mud huts and tents, a nomadic tribe at best. He didn’t think the bandits were capable of much else. Instead, the walls were equally as tall as Jade Hill Town and the breadth was even wider. It was no wonder the bandits dared to be so bold. They couldn’t be stamped out, not when there were thousands of them living here.

Gray knew better than to get any closer. He also knew that Tang was the type of person to send out more bandits for revenge. Therefore, instead of escaping back east and potentially getting run down, he sought to get on the other side of town and hide.

His prediction came true sometime later. He barely made it to the north side of the town when a squad of mounted warriors charged out of the eastern gate. There were at least thirty or forty of them. They fanned out into a wide formation and rode off towards the east.

“Tch… Tang, you bastard. I swear I’ll get you back for this.” He muttered and kept his head low, barely above the grass.

He wouldn’t be able to go back to Jade Hill Town any time soon. Once the bandits did not find anyone, they would double back and expand the search range.

He was now in the enemy's den. He was alone but he wasn’t helpless. He still had the foreman’s pickaxe. He still had a bag filled with spiritual stones. He was a little hungry but otherwise in perfect condition. He had enough to cause the bandits an untold number of problems!

He decided to use up his spiritual stones first. He had wasted a lot of it on the despicable bandit but still had enough for the fifth level. Once he broke through, Tang would no longer be a match. Strength was the most important key to survival in this elementary realm. It was the only thing that would save him if he had to fight or flee.

Gray left the vicinity of the bandit town in a northwesterly direction and found an isolated patch of ground. There was nothing interesting nearby, no rivers, not even herds of bison. He dug a shallow hole and sat down. From all directions, there was no way anyone could find his hiding place unless they were directly on top of him or could fly.

He piled the spiritual stones at his feet and began to cultivate.

---

The great hall of the lord's castle was a scene of tense and nervous energy. Alisha Patel sat on the veiled throne as she presided over a meeting of her most trusted advisors.

Jade Hill Town received news of the bandit attack on the western mine three days after the fact, when a new batch of workers arrived at the mine to find no living soul and the dead body of Foreman Kang. News spread instantly, shocking her and everyone else. The town had never suffered such a defeat in its entire history.

“My lord!” A messenger cried as they rushed in.

The heated conversation that had been taking place was interrupted and several heads turned the newcomer in anger.

“Come up, speak.” Alisha said gently from behind the veil.

“Yes!” The messenger walked up nervously and bowed, “The crowds at the main gate of the castle have doubled since the morning. They are throwing rotten vegetables and rocks. The guards have now retreated and closed the gate. We believe there may be some troublemakers in the crowd stirring things up.”

“Is anyone hurt?” She asked.

“No, my lord.”

“Good, you may leave. No further orders.”

“But… Yes!” The messenger skittered out.

Alisha spoke first, “What should we do to quell the people’s anger? Should we increase the stipend to the affected families?”

A small compensation was promised as soon as the news became widespread. The miners that were captured had families to support and people that depended on them. Without them, many had no way to survive. Wives, elderly parents, children; all gathered in front of the lord’s castle to beg for help.

The compensation for each family was to be the minimum weekly salary for all miners that were missing. The money was good but it could not bring people back. The protesters wanted the lord to save the miners. They wanted the lord to perform a miracle even though it was impossible.

“I disagree." Issac said, "Our finances will be strained to the limit with this. We cannot afford any more and there is nothing increasing the amount will do. It is already very generous and enough for them to live off of!"

Alisha sighed and had to agree, “Moving on, how goes the investigation?”

“My lord, I confirmed that it was the bandits.” Harsh Patel said, “But I think we should simply call them the Duanmu Clan from now on and drop the pretenses. The tracks led directly to Abundance Town. We were almost there when we were met by their patrols and had to turn back.”

“Harsh, you should have killed them and avenged the miners!” Captain Zheng Bai said, “My lord, if you will let me, I will immediately take our forces and launch an attack. I will save the remaining miners and make them pay!”

Another captain scoffed, “Zheng, don’t be ridiculous. If you want to suicide, go do it yourself. Don’t drag everyone into it. With this move, the Duanmu Clan has effectively started a war. Their aim shouldn’t be to merely take some miners but to destabilize Jade Hill Town and eventually take it for themselves. My lord, we should look to start preparing our defense right now instead of trying to attack!”

“I disagree…” Another voice cut in.

“…”

The meeting once again became heated as people discussed different opinions about the situation.

Jade Hill Town and Abundance Town had a good relationship in the distant past but things had now completely devolved. One town had well-run mining companies, profitable trade caravans, and a thriving population. The other, for one reason or another, had resorted to banditry and stealing for its richer neighbor.

The reason Jade Hill Town had not attacked and subjugated Abundance Town was because of old sentiments as well as a difference in numbers. The bandit town was at least twice as large and had a greater fighting force.

Guards of Jade Hill Town could afford to buy spiritual stones and improve their cultivation. They could afford to use better armor and weapons. They had better training and overall discipline. One verses one, a bandit fighter from Abundance Town was much weaker than a guard from Jade Hill Town at the same level. However, the enemy could call upon two people to fight for one from Jade Hill Town. The difference in average strength could not overcome this difference in the overall number.

Attacking Abundance Town was almost impossible but the enemy attacking Jade Hill Town was equally difficult. The bandits might win in a pitched battle on the open plains but a siege was completely different. The tall walls and strong gates more than made up for the lack of numbers. A siege would require more than twice the number the bandits had currently.

“Enough!” Alisha said, her frustration boiling over, “We are not attacking just to cause more bloodshed so I don’t want to hear about it anymore! As long as our people are still alive, there is a way to salvage the situation. Harsh, continue trying to make contact with the Duanmu Clan. Ask them what they want and see if they are seeking a ransom.”

"Ransom!" Issac interrupted, "My lord, we don't have that kind of money!"

"We'll borrow it!" Alisha snapped back.

"From who? We cannot borrow any more money from the Southern Seas no matter what or we'll lose control of the town!" Issac argued hotly.

There was a rumbling of agreement from the captains.

Alisha also had no intention of asking the Southern Seas Trading Company for help. They had already managed to wrangle an exploitive deal from their previous loan in the form of large swaths of the northern mining fields. She knew what those merchants wanted and she wasn't willing to give up any more of the town's lifeblood. She couldn't ask her people to make that sacrifice.

Instead, she would sacrifice herself as she had always done. For the sake of this town, it was the only choice.

"Hana." She said.

"Yes, my lord." Answered a tall female captain with flowing auburn hair.

"Ready a messenger with the fastest horse, I have a letter to deliver to the Fang Clan."