Chapter 213: Mining

Afterward, Baifeng spent a few days making over twenty large bombs, intending to use them to help his tribespeople mine. The fuses on the bombs made this time were even longer, and the amount of gunpowder was also slightly larger than the big bomb made previously.

The Slave who had helped him light the fire before had now basically recovered from his injuries. After all, they were only minor wounds; once those bamboo splinters were pulled out and some medicine applied, he had been full of life again these past two days. At the time, he had mainly just been severely frightened.

Originally, when Baifeng told him to go help light the fire again, he was so scared that he immediately knelt on the ground, trembling and kowtowing vigorously to Baifeng, indicating that no matter what, he was unwilling to go light the fire again. After all, the Heavenly Thunder had exploded right by his ears; that kind of sensation was something no one could easily endure.

However, Baifeng said that as long as he did a good job, he would be given the status of a Free Person, and if he worked for longer, he would be given the status of a tribesperson. When it was mentioned that he could be free, there was already a light in the Slave's eyes.

Then, when Baifeng uttered the words about giving him the status of a tribesperson, he was already nodding frantically. After all, this kind of opportunity was truly rare. Lighting that Heavenly Thunder felt quite terrifying, but the Tribal Chief had also said that as long as one ran fast enough, there would be no problem.

This matter of lighting the fire was something anyone could do. If Baifeng put the word out, he reckoned there would be plenty of people scrambling to do it. After all, everyone wanted to take a gamble; the dangers they encountered when hunting outside were not few, and if this level of danger could be exchanged for freedom, who wouldn't be willing?

Consequently, the Slave hurriedly agreed, a complete reversal of his previous fearful state, only he forgot to ask Baifeng exactly how long he had to work before his status would be changed.

At this time, the weather had already gradually warmed up, and the ground had thawed. It wouldn't be long before they could begin farming, so Baifeng planned to take advantage of these two days to mine the Iron Ore back, otherwise, after some time passed and they began spring plowing, there would be no spare time to do this.

In the past, they had always collected scattered Iron Ore, and later they discovered a mine; the scattered ore they had was picked up in that vicinity, but they were truly at a loss regarding this Tiekuangshan.

Baifeng gathered the tribespeople responsible for collecting Iron Ore and brought along a dozen Handcarts. One of the carts was loaded separately with his bombs, with firewood and such laid underneath to prevent excessive jolting from damaging the bombs. He himself carried two Fire Tinders he had made in his bosom, followed by the Slave specifically assigned to light the Explosive.

The location of that iron mine was not too far away; usually, a one-day round trip was enough. Baifeng had also been to that place. The mine was not large, but according to the smelting results of their tribe, the iron content was quite decent.

At the same time, Baifeng also brought along Stonemasons, because to open holes for the Explosive, the Stonemasons had to do the work; otherwise, placing the Explosive against the surface of the ore would not have much effect.

Moreover, they also brought camping equipment, such as Tents and Dry Rations, prepared to spend the night there, because Baifeng estimated that the time needed to chisel the holes for the Explosive would be long, and one day might not be enough to finish it; it was better to be safe than sorry.

They set off in the morning and arrived at the mine by noon. They did not start immediately but first prepared to set up camp and eat lunch. Of course, the Stonemasons had to start working now; they had already eaten their meal, and while on the road, they had sat on the carts being pulled by the tribespeople just to conserve their strength, so that they could start working the moment they arrived.

Because of the limitations of the tools, Baifeng did not think to have them drill a hole in the smooth rock wall—that would likely take a whole day for just one hole—so he let them choose some places with gaps to expand slightly, as long as the Explosive could be stuffed inside.

What Baifeng was making now were the firecracker-like bombs contained in Bamboo Tubes. He had not yet tried an Explosive Pack because he was not very sure if it would explode if he made it into an Explosive Pack, and there hadn't been time to conduct experiments. Now that he had experience making firecrackers, he would use these for now, and when he went back and had time, he would make an Explosive Pack to experiment with; after all, the difference in usage between the two was not very large.

They set up Tents a few dozen meters away and lit a bonfire to start cooking. Several Stonemasons were there clanging away, expanding the gaps in the stones. Because the speed was quite slow, they could only first expand the few positions Baifeng had marked out with a charcoal pencil.

It was nearly evening when they finally chiseled out enough space in the few cracks Baifeng had chosen to be able to stuff those Explosives in. However, it was still quite far from Baifeng's expectations, and he estimated it wouldn't blast down much Iron Ore. Thus, Baifeng thought about installing these and blasting them once to test it; perhaps if more cracks were blasted open, it might be easier to chisel.

The matter of installing the bombs was done by Baifeng himself. If he arranged for the tribespeople to place them, they might not necessarily be able to place them in the appropriate positions. This time he brought over twenty large Explosives, but only seven were installed on the rock wall this time, and Baifeng connected all their fuses together so that they could explode simultaneously when detonated.

After installing the Explosives, Baifeng had everyone move several dozen meters away from that place, and then he arranged for that Slave to go light the fire. This time, only one fuse end needed to be lit.

Baifeng blew the Fire Tinder until it was lit and handed it to the Slave. That Slave was also seeing for the first time a piece of bamboo that could catch fire just by blowing on it, and he felt it was very magical. But now he had no mind to care about this thing; seeing so many large Bamboo Tubes placed there, he still felt somewhat apprehensive in his heart.

He did not know what those Bamboo Tubes were used for, but based on his previous experience, it certainly had something to do with the Heavenly Thunder released by the Tribal Chief, and it was even possible that those Heavenly Thunders were triggered by these Bamboo Tubes.

Baifeng repeatedly exhorted him that after he finished lighting it this time, he must run at the fastest speed possible; otherwise, what would be stuck in his back this time would not be bamboo splinters but stones, and even he would not be able to save him.

Before lighting the fire, that Slave even tried running the route once to confirm the fastest and safest escape path, ensuring there were no loose stones on the ground that would trip him while he was running away.

Amidst the puzzled and expectant gazes of everyone, the Slave held the Fire Tinder and slowly approached the mine. This time, his posture for lighting the fire was the same as Baifeng's; he was finally able to show that cowering appearance. Baifeng was quite satisfied with this; at least he knew to be afraid now.

Once he lit the fuse and heard the hissing sound, he immediately turned and ran frantically without looking back, rushing toward Baifeng's location at an unbelievable speed, which made Baifeng feel that if he went to participate in the last slave competition, he would definitely be able to place.