Chapter 287 - 118: Dragon Descendant Warlock! Lynch Had a Child Out of Wedlock?

Chapter 287: Chapter 118: Dragon Descendant Warlock! Lynch Had a Child Out of Wedlock?

The vast number of corpses needed to be sorted, processed, and preliminarily embalmed before a decision could be made: convert them immediately via spellcasting, or send them to the Sleeping Tomb to "slow-cook."

As for the remains of the demonized Grom, they required even more careful handling and research to determine how to best maximize their value.

Lost in thought, Lynch had already walked into the cold, damp underground warehouse.

Inside the warehouse, the Gnoll corpses—already brought over by men Aus had sent—were piled high in a corner, forming a small mountain.

One glance at the mountain of corpses told him the workload would be immense.

He sighed, rolled up his sleeves, put on a pair of gloves, and his gaze sharpened with focus.

"Let’s get to work!"

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While the celebrations in Lakefront Town were winding down and Lynch was busy processing Gnoll corpses in the catacombs, a different scene was unfolding deep within the largest mine of the West Ridge Mining Area.

In a crudely converted mine shaft "room," the mustachioed Fritz lay on a stinking burlap mat, staring wide-eyed at the rough-hewn rock ceiling above him.

Dressed in tattered sackcloth, his hair greasy and matted, he was a far cry from the dapper figure he’d cut upon first arriving in Lakefront Town.

This "room" was, in reality, just a slightly larger alcove chiseled into the mine wall, partitioned off symbolically by a few wooden planks and a tattered cloth curtain. The conditions were appallingly crude.

Even so, this was already one of the best rooms in the entire mining area.

It was, after all, the personal chamber of the Kobold chief, Golden Fang.

Fritz only had to share this one room with Golden Fang.

As for Golden Fang’s three or four "concubines" and his twenty-odd screeching, scuttling adolescent pups, they were all crammed into a larger, adjacent mine shaft sarcastically known as the "Grand Villa."

And the other ordinary Kobold miners?

Dozens of them were typically crammed into a single abandoned mine shaft, where the smell and the conditions... were enough to choke an earth drake to death.

It just went to show, humans were a truly adaptable species.

When he first arrived, Fritz had resisted, despaired, and found life so unbearable he wished for death, desperately wanting to leave. But now, only a short time later, he had already started to adapt to the pace and the stench of the place.

Even when Golden Fang was "doing the deed" with one of his "concubines" on the other side of the curtain, sending all sorts of strange noises his way, Fritz could tune it all out and quietly focus on his own thoughts.

It was just...

Fritz couldn’t help but rub his stomach, sighing internally.

’So hungry...’

The backbreaking physical labor he performed every day consumed too much of his energy.

The food the Kobolds provided was filling, but it consisted mainly of various gruels, coarse-grain cakes, and small scraps of dried meat. For a palate and stomach that had been spoiled by gourmet delicacies, it was hardly palatable, much less satisfying.

His hunger was always most acute in the dead of night. During those times, his mind would invariably drift back to his days of luxury and decadence in the Imperial Capital.

The endless delicacies at banquets, which he had thought nothing of at the time, were often discarded after just a few bites. Fine wine flowed like water, more often used to wash his hands or to be splashed around on a wager... Looking back on it now, he wanted nothing more than to give his past self a good, hard slap.

The food he and his clique of rich wastrels had thrown away each day, if converted to coarse Black Rye grain, could probably feed all the Kobold miners in the West Ridge Mining Area with plenty to spare.

Hunger, it turned out, was a powerful catalyst for personal growth.

And whenever the hunger became almost unbearable, Fritz would force himself to concentrate, to dredge up the knowledge of his youth. He would meticulously ponder how to further improve mining efficiency, how to prospect for ore more accurately, and how to design sturdier mine shafts with more convenient transport systems...

Every time he proposed a practical suggestion—whether it was to increase efficiency or improve safety—the mine overseers would reward him with a little extra food, and his treatment would improve accordingly.

Otherwise, how else would he have earned the privilege of sharing a room with Chief Golden Fang?

This was a special privilege he had earned, little by little, using his wits.

Rubbing his growling stomach, Fritz forced himself to concentrate, once again pondering a prospecting method he had just remembered.

’Maybe tomorrow I’ll suggest the overseers try "water-hammer prospecting" deeper in the mine?’

Just then, a sudden clamor erupted outside, accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps.

Suddenly, the curtain was thrown open.

The Kobold chief, Golden Fang, staggered in.

He was stained with grease, his breath reeked of alcohol, and he carried a bulging sack over his shoulder, swaggering as he walked.

Trailing behind him was a large, chattering pack of excited Kobold pups.

Most of them were Golden Fang’s own offspring, and they were screeching and squawking in their garbled Kobold tongue, their little eyes full of yearning.

Seeing this, Fritz scrambled to his feet, a fawning smile instantly spreading across his face. "Golden Fang! You’re back! The celebration in Lakefront Town... was it exciting?"

"Exciting? It was wild!"

Golden Fang threw the sack to the ground and tore it open, revealing a large pile of roasted chicken legs, meat pies, and dried fruit, all wrapped in oil paper.

The pups cheered and swarmed forward, then held out their hands expectantly, waiting to be given their share.

As he expertly distributed the food he’d brought back, Golden Fang began to boast, his words a mix of broken Common and the Kobold tongue. He was so excited that spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke.