Guarded and hostile, their icy faces reluctantly nodded to the professional smile that would otherwise be easily associated with duplicity, as expressed by merchants, street vendors, tax officers, lawyers, priests, and so on.
"How can elves mine safely? —— Don't be too quick to rebut with 'outsiders have no say' or 'it's not worth mentioning', because this is a practical issue. Even dwarfs, gnomes, and other races that have long dealt with underground rocks won't claim the absolute safety of mines, a lie fit for children. A mere collapse can create a crowd of widows and orphans. How many lives would be needed to build a system that balances both yield and safety indicators? 1,000 lives? 10,000? Or even more to fill the gap? Given your population situation, which is less than that of humans and beasts, you can't afford to gain mining technology and safety production experience at the cost of lives and time."
Without sufficient technical accumulation, if one blindly pushes ahead, whoever is selected to mine would be no better than the poor fellows who are part of a 'dive-hard mining team'.
"'Dig a hole, then die in it.' That's the common fate of most miners I know — eerily similar to what they often grumble about. Miss, if you have a chance to go down the mine, you'd regard any desolate, gloomy place on the surface as paradise after half a day."
The dwarf, who had interjected, shifted closer to the fire, his mocking expression tinged with bitterness.
"I can count on one hand the number of people I know who have worked in a mine for over ten years and are still alive. Water seepage, cave-ins, explosions, toxic gases, fires, strange diseases, giant earthworms... Underground is not as relaxed as you surface guys imagine. Those who naively envision striking it rich and charging in, usually end up being randomly dug up years later — if there are any bones left."
"We can mine vertically, then expand the mine."
With an unyielding spirit, the female elf retorted. Being extremely dedicated to the matter of mining, they certainly wouldn't plunge into it without a clear understanding of the situation.
This solution, indeed, could alleviate safety issues to some extent by allocating more time, manpower, and financial resources. As long as the elves have enough willpower, it wouldn't be impossible to dig an extraordinary pit like the Kimberly Diamond Mine.
"What about smelting equipment and technology? Do you plan to rely on others?"
The value of raw gold ore is not high, and the profit from selling unrefined ore cannot cover the production cost of the mine. According to Li Lin's information from Alberish about their contact with the elves, their knowledge of metallurgy is very limited, if not non-existent. The dwarfs and gnomes who possess the technology to refine ore have been exploiting humans and beasts for a long time, which is why the Human Faction has been heavily investing in the training of alchemists for centuries. Even now, these two physically disadvantaged races still firmly control the gold smelting market, their monopolistic and ruthless antics won't change just because they have new clients, the elf clan.
"Where are you going to sell the gold that comes out after paying huge processing costs? After all, precious metals serve only as a medium for trade; their value is volatile, not fixed, and can be redefined through manipulation. For instance, if humans suddenly increase their gold output, the amount of circulating gold spikes while circulating goods do not; the gold price would adjust — that is, depreciate to stabilize the market. Since you can't determine the price, you can only watch as your gold and silver, which could initially buy loads of nice things, can now only buy 70%, 50%, 30% of those things — and when that happens, a tragic end isn't far."
They'd stop mining, succumb to extremely harsh conditions imposed by unnamed human merchants, and degrade into a group of hard-working miners.
Even the most senseless fellow would anticipate this outcome at this stage.
"Lastly —— and, most importantly, how would you protect your lands? Even compared to the armed forces of local nobles, you're not only at a disadvantage, but your inferiority is also despairingly large. They're already eyeing you, surely you must have a plan?"
His hearty laughter, akin to the bright moons high in the sky, teased them with malicious delight, draining even the strength to retaliate from the elves.
This damn human left no room for debate, she had nothing to refute him with.
What should she do?
Ahead of her thoughts lay the age-old question of survival and destruction, compounded by complex economic, political, and geostrategic challenges. The insurmountable wall left her breathless. Her previously rosy face now pale white, her tightly clenched lower lip almost dripping blood.
"I'm not disinterested by any means. After all, because of you, we're now part of the situation. Well —— the caring folks are already gathering."
A menacing whistle that ripped through the air, followed by the cold clatter of a steel piece whistling past Li Lin to embed itself into the earth, feathers on the arrow's tail trembling still.