"It's actually the Wild Wolf Robber Group," Wood said seriously, seemingly pondering over something.
The miners inside the mine were also rescued, including Uncle John and Aunt Anna.
Their condition wasn't good; they had been starving for days, forced to work intensely every day.
The food that originally belonged to the mine was taken by the Wild Wolf Robber Group, leaving the miners with just enough to stay alive.
Working under Earl Hardy would usually mean at least having enough to eat.
"Duke, is that really you?" Aunt Anna was incredulous when she saw Duke, struggling to associate the tall young man, wearing leather armor and wielding an iron sword, with Duke.
In her memory, Duke was always that scrawny, dirty child from the village.
Yet in the blink of an eye, the change was so vast.
Seeing that the two of them were fine, Duke relaxed and said, "As long as you're okay, Sister Loy was very worried about you..."
He recounted the events, and Uncle John and his wife were quick to thank Wood and the militia team.
Most of these miners were local farmers, commoners, deeply grateful to Wood and his group.
They had already sensed that the day the Wild Wolf Robber Group left would be the day of their deaths.
Some had tried to escape, but without exception, all died at the hands of the Wild Wolf Robber Group.
Many miners were injured due to the intense labor, with some even dying directly in the mine tunnels.
The Wild Wolf Robber Group didn't treat them as humans, only as expendable resources to gather wealth.
After sending someone to Endland Town to report, Wood guarded the mine with his men.
They weren't sure if there were still robbers nearby, so they remained on high alert.
The best option was naturally to leave the area overnight to avoid an encirclement by potential enemy reinforcements.
But with many wounded in the mine, some couldn't even move, making a long journey impossible.
They could only wait for reinforcements from Endland Town and hold the position until then.
By midnight, reinforcements from Endland Town arrived, bringing several horse-drawn carts and ox carts to transport the injured.
Duke and the others maintained order and acted as escorts along the way.
By the time everything was settled, it was already noon the next day.
Even with Duke's physical condition, he couldn't help but feel a bit exhausted.
Instead of returning to Yining Village, he slept on a pile of hay beside the stables near the training ground, right next to Wood's horse.
The soft hay was exceptionally comfortable, much more so than the hardwood bed back home.
...
Three days later.
The situation at the Southern Mine was thoroughly resolved, with the five surviving members of the Wild Wolf Robber Group sentenced to death by Earl Hardy and sent to the gallows in Endland Town.
The mine operations returned to normal, with local farmers and commoners gradually returning to work.
Earl Hardy also strengthened the defense forces at the mine and improved the welfare benefits there.
For the militia team of Endland Town, which helped eliminate the robbers, Earl Hardy was generous in his rewards.
At the training ground, Wood held a small box with dozens of militia team members standing before him.
"You have defended Earl Hardy's wealth and ensured the safety of the territory's residents. Earl Hardy will reward each of you..."
Wood opened the box as he spoke, revealing it was filled with gleaming gold coins.
The crowd instantly stirred, gasping and fixating on the gold coins in the box.
Most commoners couldn't gather even a single gold coin, let alone a whole box full, creating a huge visual impact.
Each member of the Endland Town militia team received a gold coin as a reward.
For most, this was a fortune, enough to last them a long time.
Duke received two extra gold coins because he killed two enemies in the battle.
The rule for this reward was that killing one person earned a gold coin.
Killing two was considered impressive, with the most being one veteran who killed three.
Since most enemies were killed jointly, such kills weren't counted for a single person.
Duke couldn't help but feel a bit regretful, wishing he had acted sooner to quickly finish the battle to earn more gold coins.
At the time, he was only focused on honing his combat skills and experiencing more real battles, not considering this aspect.
Looking at the three dazzling gold coins in his hand, Duke realized he was now quite wealthy.
With this money, he could live lavishly for quite some time.
He also started to understand why the militia was so enthusiastic in battle, with no one ever backing down or shirking away lazily.
Heavy rewards breed brave men; Earl Hardy was very generous with those who contributed, explaining why he had so many loyal subordinates.
After receiving the money, Duke immediately bought three bags of barley flour and three strips of smoked meat.
He gave a bag of wheat flour and a strip of smoked meat to Mr. Wood, to thank him for his help.
Wood was momentarily surprised when he received the gift, then smiled and accepted it, saying, "I have high hopes for you, keep it up. Also, I might have a surprise for you in some time."
"What surprise?" Duke asked curiously.
"I'll tell you then," Wood replied after thinking for a moment.
Duke couldn't press further, so he carried the barley flour and smoked meat back to Yining Village.
He took a bag of barley flour and a strip of smoked meat and knocked on Uncle John's door next door.
Since returning from the mine, they hadn't gone out to work, staying home to rest.
Though they weren't injured in the mine, their bodies had suffered much depletion and needed time to recover.
"Uncle John, please take this bag of flour and get some rest during this time." Duke handed the flour to Uncle John.
Seeing the hefty bag of flour and smoked meat, Uncle John tried to return them, shaking his head, "No, these are too precious. Your Aunt Anna and I don't need such fine food. You're still growing..."
Duke laughed and said, "I have more; just take it. Earl Hardy rewarded us with quite a bit of money, so this is nothing. You two have helped me so much since I was little. This is the least I can do. Even if you don't eat it, save it for Sister Loy."
After some persuasion, Uncle John's family finally accepted the flour and smoked meat.
During this era, flour was typically made from wheat and barley, with rye flour, and wheat flour used for making white bread, which was so rare that only the nobility could afford it.
Duke purchased barley flour, considered high-quality food.
With this bag of flour, Uncle John's family could make quite a bit of bread, improving their quality of life.