Chapter 404 - 135: We’re Doomed! The Two Mothers Have Finally Met

Chapter 404: Chapter 135: We’re Doomed! The Two Mothers Have Finally Met

"You..." Edmund was rendered speechless. He pointed at Lynch for a long moment before finally letting out a heavy sigh. "Fine. I’ll go back and discuss this with the legion commander. You, kid... you really don’t give an inch, do you?"

"You flatter me." Lynch beamed. "If I were too agreeable, all those old sly dogs would have chewed me up and spit me out by now, leaving nothing behind!"

Edmund shot Lynch another irritated glare.

＊＊＊＊＊＊

「At the same time, in the West Ridge Mines.」

Inside the dark, damp mine, the torchlight flickered, casting wavering shadows on the rock walls. The ceaseless CLINK-CLANK of pickaxes filled the air, punctuated by the harsh shouts of the overseers.

Fritz von Hohenlohe stood on a raised platform. He was dressed in a set of practical gray clothes, a leather whip and a notebook tucked at his waist, as he supervised a group of newly arrived teachers performing their mining duties.

These former "Holy Light Devotees" were now filthy, pickaxes in hand, sweating profusely as they toiled in the narrow tunnels.

"Faster! Pick up the pace! Today’s quota is two hundred pounds of ore! No digging, no dinner!"

Fritz cracked his whip in the air. CRACK! His eyes, however, were unnaturally bright, gleaming with an almost fanatical, holy fervor.

Ever since Lynch had sent him here for labor reform, Fritz had become fully aware of the changes it had wrought in him.

He had once been a pampered young master who did nothing but bully the common folk. Now, he had found his true purpose in life: to discipline—oh, no, to *save*—these lost souls.

He had just finished reforming a batch of goblins and Blue Scarf elites, and had then taken on a group of ideologically stubborn teachers. And now...

"Lord Fritz, Lord Lynch has sent over another batch of newcomers!"

A member of the Personal Guard arrived at the mine entrance, escorting Viscount Fernando and his companions.

Fritz’s eyes lit up, a delighted expression spreading across his face. "More work has come? Excellent! Excellent! Wonderful!"

He hurried down from the platform, took the transfer papers from the Personal Guard, and glanced over them. He nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. All nobles. I do so love saving nobles..."

He gave the Personal Guard a solemn bow, his voice firm. "Please convey to Lord Lynch that I, Fritz, will not fail in my duty. I will be sure to transform this... uh, this flock of lost lambs into productive members of society!"

With a look that showed he was desperately trying not to laugh, the Personal Guard leaned in and whispered a few words in Fritz’s ear, relaying Lynch’s special instructions concerning the "Fish Giant."

Fritz’s eyes widened as he listened, and he nodded enthusiastically. "Brilliant! As expected of Lord Lynch, his ideas are truly one of a kind... Rest assured, I’ll arrange everything perfectly. I guarantee they’ll get an experience they’ll never forget!"

After the Personal Guard had left, Fritz turned to the captured nobles, a benevolent smile gracing his lips.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the West Ridge Mines Labor Re... uh, Personal Enrichment Program!"

He waved his hand, signaling his men to step forward and remove the filthy gags from their mouths.

"Pah! Ptooey! Do you worthless commoners have any idea who I am?!"

The moment he could speak, Viscount Fernando began to shriek.

He scanned his surroundings, and his gaze suddenly locked onto Fritz’s face. He froze for a second, then his expression turned to one of sheer ecstasy. "Young Master Fritz?! Is that not Young Master Fritz von Hohenlohe?! The heir to the House of Hohenzollern... Don’t you recognize me? I’m Fernando! We drank together at a ball in the Imperial Capital just last year!"

As if clutching a life-saving straw, he scrambled forward, trying to grab the hem of Fritz’s clothes. His voice was filled with the desperate hope of someone who has just found an ally. "Young Master Fritz, it’s wonderful to see you here! Quick! You have to get me out! These damned commoners have the audacity to tie me up! And that Lynch, he’s an absolute madman! You must notify your father! Get the House of Hohenzollern to step in! We have to make sure that bastard is severely punished..."

CRACK!

The sharp crack of a whip cut Fernando off mid-sentence.

Fritz retracted his whip, his face a blank mask. He stared coldly at Fernando, who was clutching his face and looking back in utter disbelief. "Fernando? Felcido? I don’t care who you are."

He scanned the group, his voice filled with a near-evangelical fervor. "Here, there are no nobles and no commoners. There are only workers! You maggots... oh, no, you lost souls. All of you, listen well."

Fritz pulled a handwritten book from his tunic. Emblazoned on the cover were the words: *Labor Reform and Spiritual Reforging, by Fritz von Hohenlohe*.

"This is the methodology for labor reform that I have come to understand and summarize through my own personal experience." He opened the book, his eyes glinting with a holy light. "Its core tenet is this: only by mining, by trading your labor for the food you’ve earned, by winning your own place... only then can you people... can you finally quiet your minds and truly contemplate the meaning of life."

"Here, you earn what you get! The more you work, the more you get. The less you work, the less you get. No work, no food!" Fritz cracked his whip repeatedly. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! "You want to eat? Fine! Dig fifty pounds of ore for a bowl of gruel! You want actual bread? Fine! Dig one hundred pounds for a hunk of black bread! You want a soft bed? Fine! Be the first to meet your daily quota, and you’ll be rewarded with a pallet of dry straw!"

Viscount Fernando and the other nobles were dumbfounded, their faces turning deathly pale as they listened.

"You... you’re insane?! You’re a scion of the House of Hohenzollern! How can you be working for that barbaric Necromancer?!" Fernando pointed a trembling finger at Fritz.