Chapter 269: Uprising
Ian had always assumed that the refining of Thunder Stones was a secret. When he proposed visiting the refinery, he expected Waldo to make all sorts of excuses to refuse.
However, to his surprise, Waldo agreed directly, and he agreed very readily, without any hesitation at all.
There were only two explanations for this. One was that the secret of the refinery wasn't something you could figure out just by visiting. The other was that the process of refining Thunder Stones had no real secret to begin with.
Ian thought it over and felt the second possibility was more likely. As he toured the facility, he noticed that the number of miners Waldo had stationed at the refinery was very small, and the equipment looked crude. It didn't seem like there was any high-tech involved at all.
So he leaned toward his second guess. He felt that Waldo seemed to be using the refinery to cover up some other secret.
But what exactly Waldo was trying to hide, Ian didn't know. Waldo was a mysterious man, and with his background as a former colleague of Vegapunk, Ian couldn't figure him out.
"Maybe we could sneak in and investigate?" Konenai suggested in a low voice.
"Should I go, or should you?" Ian asked.
Konenai thought for a moment and said, "Hu Tao and I will sneak in. Even if things go wrong, we can disguise ourselves as maids. The chances of being exposed are smaller."
Ian nodded. He had noticed earlier, while in the palace, that there were indeed fewer men there, making it harder to blend in.
"Then sneak in tonight," Ian said. "You can stay a while longer by pretending to be maids. I've calculated that Doflamingo's weapons shipment should be arriving soon. I'll contact Alians then."
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After the news spread that Ian, a Warlord of the Sea, had accepted King Waldo's employment, the rebels on the island indeed quieted down. The overseers Waldo had placed in the mines reported that the miners had become much more docile lately.
Waldo was very satisfied. He felt this move had been the right one. As long as the miners didn't cause trouble, he could keep producing a steady stream of Thunder Stones. Whether it was to fund his secret research or to trade with the World Government for money, it would be much easier.
However, what Waldo didn't know was that the reason the rebels and miners had become docile wasn't because of Ian's intimidation. It was because Ian had ordered them to do so.
Baby-5 arrived at the island as promised, escorting a ship full of weapons. Her ship flew the flag of the Donquixote Pirates, so no one dared to mess with it. The landing point she chose was the same beach where Ian and his crew had come ashore.
Among the weapons Doflamingo sold to Ian, there were fewer guns but a large number of swords and blades, enough to arm twenty thousand people. Ian immediately took Alians and the others to complete the handover.
"I am very grateful, Lord Ian!" Alians said, his spirits lifted after receiving the weapons. He placed a hand on his chest and bowed to Ian. "Thank you for your help. This time, we will definitely overthrow Waldo's rule."
In truth, Waldo didn't have to be at odds with his people. If he had paid the miners higher wages and used some of the money to develop the country, the island's residents would likely have been happy to serve him. After all, aside from mining, the island had no other way to develop. The miners were going to dig no matter what—so who they dug for didn't matter. But unfortunately, Waldo's research consumed a huge amount of money, and he simply couldn't afford to do that.
The miners on the island were now forced to work with almost no pay. Their daily reward was just a few slices of bread and some thin soup. With a life like that, who could survive? It was no wonder they rebelled.
Ian didn't comment on Alians's gratitude. He knew that after the rebels overthrew Waldo, Alians would likely become king. He certainly wouldn't oppress the miners the way Waldo had. He would give them better treatment and pay. From that perspective, it felt like the rebels didn't have much of an ideal.
So Ian couldn't help but ask him, "Have you thought about what you'll do after your country is reborn? The gem mines are already exhausted. The Thunder Stone mines will also run out one day. What will you do then? How will you make a living?"
Alians was stunned. He had never considered these questions.
"Thunder Stones are a very unique ore," Ian said with a sigh. "Maybe you could think about making use of that. For example, use the energy from Thunder Stones to build a city of electricity and develop tourism."
Ian knew that electricity did exist in this world. He had seen electrical appliances before. But due to the unique geographical conditions of this world, even if you built a power plant, the electricity could only supply one island. It couldn't be sent anywhere else because you couldn't lay cables across the sea. So the use of electrical appliances had never been widespread.
But on this island, Thunder Stones were a very unique mineral. With them, you could build an electric city without even needing a power plant. That was a very special feature.
And what was tourism for if not to see something unique? Maybe if this place became a city of lights that never slept, it could attract more tourists from the New World.
Ian's suggestion made Alians's eyes light up, and he began to consider the feasibility of the idea.
Ian didn't bother to think about what Alians would plan. He had only mentioned it in passing. After finishing the handover with the rebels, he told Alians that he hoped the rebels would lie low for a while. Once he figured out Waldo's secret, they could make their move.
Waldo would never have imagined that Ian, the man he had hired, was not on his side at all. Instead, he had sided with his people.
There was no helping it. From the moment Ian set foot on the island and witnessed the massacre, Waldo could never truly cooperate with Ian.
After two days, Konenai and Hu Tao returned safely.
"This Waldo definitely has other secrets!" Konenai said as soon as she saw Ian. "Hu Tao and I disguised ourselves as maids and spent two days investigating the palace. We found that every night, Waldo would disappear inside the palace, but he never left. We tried to get close to his bedroom, but strangely, he had placed a large number of Red-Eyed Owls outside his door. Hu Tao's ability can make our sounds disappear, but it can't hide us from the owls' scans. So we had no choice but to come back."
Hu Tao also chimed in loudly, "His secret must be inside his bedroom!"
Ian knew about Red-Eyed Owls. They were special creatures that could emit infrared rays from their eyes at night. Once the infrared scanned something, the owls would start screeching. These creatures were very rare and were usually used to guard secret vaults to prevent theft.
"What about the Thunder Stone refining technology?" Ian asked.
"It seems that refining Thunder Stones is just ordinary smelting," Konenai said. "Although Waldo set up the refinery inside his palace, we noticed over the past two days that he never went there. But the refinery still produced Thunder Stones normally."
"Alright, then let's get started," Ian said. He had a vague feeling of unease and felt he couldn't let Waldo continue any longer.
That night, Ian contacted Alians.
After receiving the weapons, the rebels had taken the opportunity to familiarize themselves with them. When Ian notified them that it was time to act, that night, from every corner of the city, large numbers of armed miners poured out.
They quickly gathered from the streets and then attacked the mines!
There, about five thousand miners were still being enslaved, mining ore for Waldo. Most of Waldo's former pirate crew were stationed there, acting as overseers. When the rebels charged in, they immediately engaged in fierce battle with these former pirates.
With weapons in hand, the miners' numerical advantage became apparent. Although their combat experience couldn't match that of the former pirates, they could surround and take them down one by one.
The overseers at the mines also brought out cannons to bombard the rebels. But soon, the fearless rebels charged forward, ignoring their losses, and destroyed the cannons one by one.
The mines were some distance from the palace, but the deafening sounds of battle and cannon fire still reached the palace.
"What's going on!?" Waldo had been doing research in his underground lab when he heard the noise and ran out.
His trusted subordinate, Harbs, reported to him with a panicked face, "Your Majesty, it's bad! Those damned miners have already broken into the mines!"
"What about our men? We have over a thousand men!" Waldo cursed. "Have them suppress those unarmed rioters with full force!"
"We... we can't hold them off anymore!" Harbs said tremblingly. "These rioters have somehow gotten a lot of weapons. We can't deal with them now!"
Waldo panicked when he heard this. He didn't realize that the weapons had been provided by Ian. Shocked by the rebels' resistance, he could only seek Ian's help. "Quick! Go get the Dragon Hunter Pirates! We paid them a lot of money—it's time for them to earn it!"
But just as Waldo finished speaking, the palace doors suddenly swung open, and a voice said, "No need to call for us. We're already here!"
Waldo looked up and saw that the leader was none other than Ian.
Harbs hadn't figured out what was going on yet. Seeing Ian and his crew appear, he excitedly rushed forward and said, "Great! Lord Ian, you've arrived just in time! Those rioters have already taken the mines, and they'll be heading here soon. Please protect King Waldo..."
Before he could finish, Waldo suddenly shouted from behind, "Harbs! Don't go over there!"
Harbs heard the shout and was about to turn around when a tremendous force hit him in the stomach.
Ian didn't bother with any more nonsense. He raised his leg and kicked Harbs flying!