Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 398 - 263: Mine Safety
Chapter 398: Chapter 263: Mine Safety
The Mirror Orb Spider has appeared.
They are slender in form, with legs sharp as hooks, moving without a sound.
Their crystalline shells reflect the surrounding firelight, scattering several blurred illusions that make it hard to discern their true positions.
“Light Domain disturbance, be careful!”
A Scout Knight had just shouted when a spider phantom blade suddenly flashed beside him, and he instinctively raised his shield.
Only to find it was just a shadow, and the real Mirror Orb Spider emerged from the ground, attempting to pierce his chest.
Bang!
A shield-bearing knight took a step sideways, his giant shield smashing the spider against the mine wall, shattering its crystal shell.
A dry and harsh screech of “creak” sounded.
“Second formation, press in!”
The knights quickly reformed, drawing into a triangular formation, creating an intersecting strike zone within the narrow mine corridor.
Another knight strode forward, swinging a long halberd, with crimson Fighting Energy like blood lines wrapped around the tip, sweeping out in a fiery arc, severing two Mirror Orb Spiders climbing the wall.
Bang — Bang —!
Every clash was accompanied by the shriek of metal friction and the dull thuds of severed spider limbs.
Though the Mirror Orb Spiders were agile and quick, facing an organized armed combat unit made it hard for them to have an advantage.
They tried to scatter and escape, but turned into the knights’ preset “fire blind spots,” falling one by one.
In less than five minutes, the battle was over.
The passage returned to silence, leaving only the low-burning remnants of Fighting Energy flickering among the rock walls.
Dozens of spider corpses lay on the ground, their crystalline shells with multiple cracks, ice-blue body fluid oozing from the breaches, slowly flowing along the rock surface, finally forming tiny crystalline points, solidifying like frost on the ground.
“Confirmed complete, all medium-sized sub-adults, no venom glands, estimated to have hatched in nearby cavities, likely there are still more that were not caught,” the scout concluded.
“These creatures… could actually be handled by a single formal Battle Knight,” a young knight retracted his lance, his voice tinged with disdain.
The deputy captain didn’t look back, just coldly remarked, “But artisans aren’t knights, even a single magical spider could take their lives.”
Indeed, this small-scale skirmish posed no difficulty for the knights.
But for unresisting and unorganized miners, it was massacre they couldn’t fight back.
……
On the third day after the accident, though the morning chill hadn’t dissipated, the walls of major mining areas in the Star Forging Territory were already plastered with new announcements.
Few were the words, but each word was steady:
“From today onwards, a ’vibration detection pillar’ is to be installed every thirty meters in all operational shafts of the Star Forging Territory to detect signs of abnormal biological activity.”
“No personnel may enter a shaft alone; violators will have their work halted and be reassigned away from the shaft team.”
“Each day’s work must begin with a knight leading an inspection, and mining may only commence once it’s confirmed to be free of lurking dangers.”
Of course, most miners were illiterate, so officials would inform them.
“What does this mean?” A young mine slave stood dumbfounded in front of the notice, “I haven’t even heard of such ’pillars’.”
“It’s normal for you not to understand.” A middle-aged foreman beside him shook his head, “I don’t understand either, but there are indeed a lot of rules.”
Their indifference wasn’t unexpected to Louis, and to make sure they truly understood these rules weren’t just empty words, Louis personally ordered the establishment of “Mining Affairs Lecture Day.”
Literate technicians and officials would take turns explaining the new regulations during off-duty hours in the shelters, dormitories, and canteens outside the shafts.
The lectures explained not only “how” but also “why.”
With plain and rough metaphors, they explained “how vibrations indicate magical beast activity,” how “air changes after tunnel sealing,” even what “sonic abnormalities” were.
“Mining is like knocking on the floor of a kennel,” Valentine stood personally on the lecture platform at the Seventh Mine Ring, pointing to the shaft entrance, “If there’s any creature nesting underneath, knocking on its head surely makes it jump out and bite.”
Someone below chuckled but quickly fell silent because Valentine’s expression was too serious.
“Laugh if you want, but your lives are yours,” Valentine looked at the crowd, “If you don’t believe these methods are meant to save lives, then forget the names of those dead brothers.”
At that moment, the atmosphere grew so heavy it was almost suffocating.
These workers, mostly of low origins, couldn’t recognize many words, let alone have any “safety awareness,” but they understood reality.
When they repeatedly heard that “someone is specifically responsible for checking hidden dangers,” “entering a shaft alone could cause the whole team to stop work,” and “if a vibration pillar alarms, everyone must evacuate,” they finally understood:
It’s not to trouble them; the Lord wants them to live a bit longer.
They started learning to cooperate, even if they complained, they dared not act recklessly anymore.
Before each day’s work, miners gathered together to listen to technicians read the daily dispatches and risk zones, which had become a daily necessity.
Even a knight would walk at the front, ensuring everything was correct before letting people enter the shaft.
Gradually, the mindset of the miners began to change.
They learned the rules, understood the system, and more importantly, realized this point:
This place is meant for survival, not a deadly mine pit.
Most began trying to cooperate, even if they complained, they dared not act recklessly anymore.
In the shaft corridors, the practice of “lined inspections” appeared for the first time.
Before each day’s work, miners gathered together to listen to technicians read the daily dispatches and risk zones.
