#Iron ore mining market

[thetechnonews]

Iron Ore Mining Market size was valued at USD 2675 million in 2019 and is poised to grow from USD 2862.25 million in 2023 to USD 4917.88 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 7% in the forecast period (2024-2031).

[mining-market]

Iron Ore Mining Market Trends and Industry Dynamics

Introduction

The Iron Ore Mining Industry operates within a dynamic ecosystem, influenced by a multitude of factors that shape industry trends and market dynamics. This article delves into the prevailing trends in the iron ore mining sector, offering insights into key developments and their implications for industry stakeholders.

Emerging Trends in Iron Ore Mining

Recent trends in the iron ore mining market indicate a notable shift towards sustainable practices, digitalization, and market diversification. According to industry reports, the global iron ore market size was valued at approximately USD 335 billion in 2020, with projections suggesting a CAGR of 5.8% from 2021 to 2028. Companies are increasingly prioritizing initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact, leveraging advanced technologies to optimize operations, and exploring new markets to mitigate risks and seize opportunities.

Digital Transformation in Iron Ore Mining

The adoption of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, automation, and predictive analytics, is catalyzing a transformation in iron ore mining operations. Industry data suggests that by 2025, the global mining industry's spending on digital technologies is expected to reach USD 17 billion. These technologies are enhancing operational efficiency, bolstering safety standards, and facilitating data-driven decision-making processes, ultimately enabling companies to optimize production, trim costs, and enhance resource utilization.

Sustainable Mining Practices

Environmental sustainability has ascended to the forefront of priorities for the iron ore mining industry, propelled by regulatory mandates, stakeholder expectations, and evolving market demands. According to a recent survey, 76% of mining executives consider environmental sustainability a strategic priority. Companies are proactively embracing sustainable mining practices such as land reclamation, water conservation, and the integration of renewable energy sources to mitigate their environmental footprint and ensure long-term viability.

Market Diversification Strategies

Against the backdrop of escalating volatility in commodity markets and geopolitical uncertainties, iron ore mining companies are actively diversifying their market portfolios to mitigate dependency risks associated with specific regions or end-users. By venturing into new markets, exploring diverse product segments, and offering value-added services, companies can fortify their resilience and capitalize on emergent opportunities.

Supply Chain Resilience and Risk Management

The disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic underscored vulnerabilities within global supply chains, prompting iron ore mining companies to reevaluate their supply chain strategies and fortify resilience. Investments in supply chain digitization, inventory optimization, and strategic partnerships are instrumental in enhancing supply chain robustness, thereby enabling companies to proactively mitigate risks and navigate disruptions effectively.

Evolving Consumer Preferences

Changing consumer preferences and mounting sustainability concerns are exerting a profound influence on product demand and market dynamics within the Iron Ore Mining Sector. In response, companies are adapting their product offerings and refining marketing strategies to align with consumer preferences for sustainably sourced materials, ethical mining practices, and transparent supply chains.

Conclusion: Navigating the Future of Iron Ore Mining

In navigating the complex terrain of the iron ore mining market, staying attuned to industry trends and market dynamics is paramount for companies aiming to sustain competitiveness and resilience. By embracing digital transformation, embracing sustainable practices, diversifying market outreach, and fortifying supply chain resilience, companies can proactively position themselves to capitalize on opportunities, mitigate risks, and foster sustainable growth in the evolving landscape of the iron ore mining industry.

[crop-protection-market]

Exploring the Iron Ore Mining Market: Share, Growth, and Forecast

Introduction: The Crucible of Iron Ore Mining

In the industrial crucible, the Global Iron Ore Mining Market stands as a cornerstone, providing the essential raw material for steel production, construction, and manufacturing. This exploration delves into various dimensions of the industry, unraveling insights into market growth, overview, reports, share dynamics, size, trends, and the key players shaping the global landscape of iron ore mining.

Understanding the Growth Trajectory: Iron Ore Mining Market Growth

At the heart of the matter lies the Iron Ore Mining Market Growth. With a demand that echoes through global industries, the market is projected to witness substantial growth. This growth extends beyond mere numbers; it signifies the pivotal role iron ore plays in driving economic development and meeting the demands of a rapidly evolving world. The Global Iron Ore Mining Market is poised to grow at a robust CAGR of 5.8% from 2023 to 2028.

Overview: The Vast Landscape of Iron Ore Mining

The Iron Ore Mining Market Overview provides a panoramic view of this vast landscape. It encapsulates the industry's global presence, underlining its significance in supplying the iron ore needed for infrastructure projects, manufacturing, and technological advancements across continents.

Insights from Reports: Deciphering the Market Dynamics

The foundation of informed decision-making lies in comprehensive research, and the Iron Ore Mining Market Report segment underscores this importance. Research reports delve into market trends, emerging players, and factors influencing the industry. These reports serve as a compass, guiding stakeholders through the complexities of the iron ore mining market. Research indicates a significant surge in iron ore demand, with an expected 10% increase in extraction volumes by 2025.

Staking Claim to Market Share: Dynamics in Iron Ore Mining

Sharing is strategic in the Iron Ore Mining Market Share realm. It's not merely about extraction volumes; it's about which players hold the largest slice of the mining pie. This intricate dance of market share dynamics reveals the influence wielded by key players, shaping the narrative of global iron ore distribution. Major players like Vale, Rio Tinto, and BHP collectively command over 60% of the global iron ore market share.

Sizing Up the Market: Iron Ore Mining Market Size

The Iron Ore Mining Market Size is a metric that transcends mere quantity; it signifies the scale of operations and the industry's contribution to the global economy. With increasing demand for iron ore, understanding its size becomes crucial for gauging the market's impact on various sectors. The current global iron ore market size is estimated at USD 165 billion, with projections indicating a rise to USD 200 billion by 2025.

Unraveling Trends: Iron Ore Mining Market Trends

Trends in the Iron Ore Mining Market Trends segment are like geological shifts, gradually altering the landscape. From advancements in extraction technologies to sustainable mining practices, staying abreast of trends is essential for industry players navigating the evolving dynamics of iron ore mining. Automation and digitization adoption in iron ore mining increased by 15% in the last two years.

Research Reports: Illuminating Market Insights

The landscape of iron ore mining is further illuminated by Iron Ore Mining Market Research Reports. These reports provide a detailed analysis of market trends, player strategies, and future projections. Their role is instrumental in shaping strategic decisions within the industry. Over 70% of industry experts refer to research reports for strategic decision-making in iron ore mining.

Players in the Iron Ore Mining Symphony

Certain entities compose the melodies of progress in the Iron Ore Mining Market Players realm. Giants like Vale, Rio Tinto, and BHP hold not just market share but also wield influence in setting industry benchmarks. Their strategies and investments resonate across borders, shaping the trajectory of global iron ore mining.

Conclusion: Forging Ahead into Iron Ore's Future

In the final reckoning, the Global Iron Ore Mining Market isn't merely an economic entity; it's a crucial element in the foundation of modern civilization. From growth trajectories guiding strategic decisions to market reports providing insights, and trends shaping operational practices, each facet contributes to the resilient evolution of the iron ore mining industry. As we forge ahead, embracing opportunities, overcoming challenges, and adopting sustainable practices, the Iron Ore Mining Market remains an indispensable force, fueling the industries that build our world.

[kenresearch1]

Uncover the Depths: Exploring the Dynamics of the Iron Ore Mining Market

Introduction:

The iron ore mining market stands as a cornerstone of the global industrial landscape, providing a fundamental raw material for the production of steel. In this comprehensive exploration, we aim to delve into the intricacies of the iron ore mining industry, examining its size, share, trends, and the factors influencing its growth.

Iron Ore Mining Market Overview:

The iron ore mining industry involves the extraction and processing of iron ore from mines, serving as a crucial foundation for steel production—a vital component in construction, infrastructure, and manufacturing. This industry operates on a global scale, with numerous companies engaging in the exploration, extraction, and transportation of iron ore.

Iron Ore Mining Market Size:

The size of the iron ore mining market is substantial, reflecting its integral role in industrial processes. Globally, the market has been valued at over $200 billion, a testament to the sheer volume and economic significance of iron ore extraction and trade. This size underscores the industry's contribution to the production of steel, a material essential for modern development.

Iron Ore Mining Market Share:

The iron ore mining market is diverse, featuring both major global players and regional mining companies. Leading contributors to market share include Vale S.A., Rio Tinto, BHP, and Fortescue Metals Group. These companies operate on a large scale, utilizing advanced technologies and infrastructure to extract and transport iron ore efficiently. Market share considerations are crucial indicators of these companies' influence in meeting global demands for iron ore.

Iron Ore Mining Market Trends:

Several trends are shaping the iron ore mining industry, reflecting the evolving dynamics of global markets and environmental considerations. One notable trend is the increasing focus on sustainable and environmentally responsible mining practices. Companies are investing in technologies to minimize environmental impact, improve energy efficiency, and enhance water management throughout the mining process.

Another trend involves the exploration of untapped reserves in emerging markets. As demand for steel continues to rise, mining companies are expanding their operations to new regions, addressing logistical challenges and capitalizing on the potential of previously unexplored iron ore deposits.

Global Iron Ore Mining Market:

The global nature of the iron ore mining market is highlighted by the interconnectedness of production, trade, and consumption. Major exporting countries such as Australia and Brazil supply significant portions of the world's iron ore, while major consumers, including China, contribute to the demand for this critical raw material.

Geopolitical factors, trade policies, and economic conditions in key regions also play a substantial role in influencing the global iron ore mining market. Fluctuations in demand, price volatility, and transportation logistics are among the complexities that characterize this global industry.

Iron Ore Mining Market Growth:

Despite periodic fluctuations, the iron ore mining market continues to experience overall growth. This growth is fueled by the ongoing demand for steel in construction, infrastructure development, and manufacturing. As emerging economies undergo rapid urbanization and industrialization, the need for iron ore remains robust, contributing to the sustained growth of the mining industry.

Moreover, ongoing investments in infrastructure projects worldwide, including those related to renewable energy, further contribute to the demand for steel and, consequently, iron ore. The growth of the electric vehicle industry and renewable energy infrastructure is creating additional demand for steel, supporting the expansion of the iron ore mining market.

Iron Ore Mining Market Report and Industry Analysis:

The iron ore mining market report serves as a comprehensive resource for industry stakeholders, providing insights into market dynamics, key players, and future trends. Industry analysts conduct thorough analyses, considering factors such as production capacity, technological advancements, and regulatory frameworks.

Industry analysis delves into the efficiency of mining operations, environmental compliance, and the impact of geopolitical events on market dynamics. This analytical approach assists stakeholders in making informed decisions, mitigating risks, and identifying opportunities within the evolving landscape of the iron ore mining industry.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the iron ore mining market remains an integral part of the global industrial ecosystem, providing a foundational material for steel production. Its substantial size, diverse players, and global interconnectedness underline its significance in the modern world. As the industry navigates trends, embraces sustainability, and adapts to evolving market conditions, it continues to play a pivotal role in meeting the demands of a growing and developing global economy.

[tejaglobal]

Australia's Iron Ore Mining Market Industry: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges

Australia's iron ore mining market stands as a cornerstone of the nation's economy, contributing significantly to its wealth and global standing. As one of the world's leading producers and exporters of iron ore, Australia plays a pivotal role in meeting the global demand for this essential raw material.

For more insights on Australia iron ore mining market forecast, download a free report sample

Dive into the heart of Australia's thriving iron ore mining industry with our in-depth analysis. Explore the key players, market trends, and future projections shaping this vital sector. Discover the untapped potential and economic impact of Australia's iron ore resources. Stay informed and make strategic decisions in the dynamic landscape of the Australian iron ore mining market.

[newsbites]

News from NL, Canada, 31 May

Mount Pearl held their first council meeting since Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley was seriously injured when she was struck by a vehicle which crashed through the front of Shoppers Drug Mart.

2. NL is on track to soon announce who’s moving on to the second phase in the wind-hydrogen Crown land sweepstakes.

Meanwhile, NL Hydro CEO Jennifer Williams told the Energy NL convention that the province will need to double its electricity output by 2032 in order to meet anticipated demand.

She told reporters the current system is not big enough to accommodate the massive shift to electric over the next decade, adding she fully expects hydrogren to be a key consideration.

“We’re going to have to make a series of decisions to double the electricity system over time. But there’s going to be more decisions that are going to be made into the future. And I fully expect that hydriogen will play role in the ability to supply electricity—so it’s not today, but I fully believe it will have to play a role in the future.”

3. 250 volunteer firefighters have descended upon Gander for a firefighting and emergency services training school.

4. An advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse is continuing to press on government the importance of introducing an age-appropriate body safety program in the school curriculum.

5. Catherine Kelly takes the helm at one of the region's largest marketing firms.

6. The RCMP has released surveillance photos taken during a recent break in at Louis Gee's pizza restaurant in Gander.

7. Premier Andrew Furey will attend the opening ceremony for Rio Tinto IOC’s new executive office in St John's, NL, today.

8. The SPCA has been collecting pets left behind in Halifax as their owners complied with an evacuation order. Peppa the [potbellied] Pig was among the first to be reunited with her owner.

9. Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has announced amendments to the Atlantic Accord to include renewable and other forms of energy.

He says over 50 gigawatts of offshore wind projects have been installed globally, and that number is growing every day, “demonstrated an enormous economic opportunity for provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.”

Premier Andrew Furey and Energy Minister Andrew Parsons have released a joint statement on the matter.

They call the proposed amendments “significant,” noting that they will ensure joint management of the province’s offshore wind resources, as well as the exclusive jurisdiction of certain coastal waters.

10. Fifty-year-old Jeffery Reid of Trinity Bay North was arrested on weapons charges. Police seized a number of firearms and swords.

11. Charlene Johnson, CEO of Energy N.L., opened the company's conference and exhibtion in St John's with enthusiastic remarks on the current state of NL's energy sector.

More than 600 participants and 50 companies registered, split between oil and hydrogen

12. Bernard Davis, NL's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, will speak at the “Recycle My Electronics” program’s 10-year anniversary celebration today.

[m0par-sweetheart]

This post is long! Everything under the cut!

Overall Information

The two subclasses Beta and Netherant are remnants of the Enderians who escaped the End before the dragon came to power, with them evolving to fit their environment after centuries

eye contact is seen as a challenge to combat, but Endbornes are the only ones who become instantly enraged

the subclasses Netherant and Beta have been known to crossbreed, though this is not without chances for defects

Beta / Cavedweller

Shortest of the Enderian Subspecies, around 5'11, so they can traverse caves better

Lives mostly in caves, mostly in Lush biomes or close to the Deep Dark, in small communities.

thick fur on feet to muffle noises

excellent hearing

green and blue parts glow in the dark

Short blunt horns, mostly used for sparring or light mining

slightly resistant to water

piebaldism is more common than other subspecies

has cool blues and cool purples in their palettes

extremely skittish

no back spines

splotch-like patterns

Netherant Enderians

Midsize, average height 6'5" to traverse the nether's lower roofs and foliage

live all over the Nether, mostly in the crimson and warped forests

warmer colored to match the Nether palette

orange/yellow parts can be bioluminescent

excellent heat resistance

large bulky horns built for defense and sparring -lives mostly in small villages on cliffs or near the Nether roof

most disagreements are solved through regulated fighting

prone to exploration

patterns are striped, like a tiger

True / Endborne Enderians

Tallest of the subclasses, average around 7'4"

all Endborne are influenced by the Ender Dragon, making them drones for Her.

some travel to the Overworld, but most stay to the end

highly aggressive towards other subclasses

nomadic

long, thin horns, mostly decorative

colored only in shades of purple and purple-blacks

patterns are dotted or circular

(Remember: You can mix spike colors and pattern placement to your discretion. Everything in these documents is a BASELINE for your creative designs!)

Trading between Beta and Netherants

Trading between the subclasses is common, and even encouraged! due to the Nether being full of potion ingredients, quartz, gold, and other things that are hard for Betas to get, and the Overworld having resources like vegetables, fruits, colorful dyes, and ores like diamonds and iron that are hard for Netherants to get.

Normally, in Netherant and Beta villages, there will be portals leading to the other side, where these villages will develop around trading goods back and forth, allowing for both sides to thrive, relationships to form, and holidays and traditions to be recognized and proformed.

Basically, a giant, enderman themed Farmer's Market

Clothing

Enderborne Enderians, due to becoming drones for The Ender Dragon, normally do not wear ornate clothing with patterns like their subspecies counterparts. This isn't seen as a issue, due to Enderians naturally not having any secondary sex characteristics, due to their way of reproduction not involving sexual activity

Netherant Enders normally wear clothing that is warm toned, with breathable fabric, with little layering, with patterns that are angular or boxy

Golden jewelry and leather bracelets and chokers and similar items are worn commonly.

Colors like brown, orange, red, and white, warm purples and shades between are the standard

Beta Enders have slightly more baggy and thick clothing, with colors more on the cooler side, ranging in blues and green and cooler purples are common. their patterns are swirly and wave-like

Iron jewelry is common, with dangly piercings and necklaces

Elytra?

Elytra are a common clothing/mobility aid among Enderians, which are craftable through rituals.

It's a very expensive ritual, and it's normally preformed by village elders, giving each Enderian a elytra when they come of age.

Elytra are seen as the most important garment a Enderian has, and they care for them almost religiously

Mending and Unbreaking III are commonly put on Elytra to make them highly durable

Body Painting

Body painting is common, normally done for formal events, parties and celebrations, but there are Enderians who paint their bodies casually as well, and this is accepted. There are sections of enderian bodies made on or off limits depending on the event, but as the formality of the event increases, so does the amount of patterning on the body.

Holidays

Lots of Player holidays have been adopted by Enderian cultures, especially as cultures mix and grow with time, but there is one Enderian holiday, basically the mother of all parties…

the Longest Night Festival!

This festival takes place on the Winter Solstice, which is the longest night of the year. Enderians will gather in their villages and around portals linking Beta and Netherant villages, where Enderians will host large parties full of food, drinking, dancing, and gift giving.

Enderians will wear ornate costumes (similar to masquerade balls), and bring out their finest paints and jewels.

Enderians will sell/trade moon themed gifts and foods, and tell stories passed down from generations ago about the moon, stars, and the Home Dimension…the End.

Expect tons of fireworks and bonfires!

It's said to be bad luck to wear anything sun-related on Longest Night. It's almost a insult!

Reproduction

Enderians have no real sexual organs, so their reproduction takes a odd turn…through their mouth!

Ender pearls, the core of a Enderian's teleporting, also acts as eggs. Once a month, similar as human ovulation cycles, Enderians will develop a second ender pearl, which they will regurgitate. Enderian mouths open that wide for that reason. (even though it does work as intimidation!)

Enderians will bring up the pearl, holding it in their jaws, before giving the baseball-sized pearl to their partner, who will pierce it with their hollow canine teeth, and fill it with their blood (not painful). This creates the two halves required to make a whole. The pearl will grow in size to accommodate the growing hatchling

Sadly, this means enderians with WPS are infertile when it comes to pearls…

There is a growing number of Enderians who will give their pearls up for donation (similar to sperm banks? Egg donors? Think that)

It's seen as lewd for a Enderian to drop their jaws fully in public

Endborne Genetics

Due to Endbornes being inherently hostile towards the other subspecies of Enderians, it is common for Endborne deaths from other Enderians

What's been happening as of late, Enderians from the two subspecies will draw blood from the dead Endborne and take the blood and inject it into a donor pearl, creating Endborne hybrids!

Disorders and Defects

Warped Pearl Syndrome (WPS) is a defect where the ender pearl develops incorrectly, normally causing a ender pearl to look warped or twisted

This disorder causes teleporting to be extremely difficult or unstable, normally causing what would be a stable, normal teleport to become erratic, making the affected Enderian warp in short, fast, uncontrollable spurts, which causes pearl pains, and short fainting spells due to the stress put on the enderian.

Causes

-Family History -Severe injury to the pearl early in life -Farlander Syndrome

Piebaldism / White Spotting

This is mostly a cosmetic defect that causes irregular white patches of skin on a enderian. This shows no internal harm or side effects, but it makes them easier to spot, and they are sometimes seen as more "exotic"

Causes -Family History -Being a Beta (it's more common in Beta and Beta hybrids) -Farlander Syndrome

Early Hatchling / Premature Hatching

Sometimes, a enderian will hatch from their egg early, which can cause defects and irregular development. Normally it causes Enderians to develop slower in their early years, but they catch up as they grow. They are also normally shorter than normal

Farlander Syndrome

It's said that if one travels too far from home, they will encounter someplace called the Farlands, a land of warped terrain and strange creatures…

It was said to be false, but then Enderians came from these "Farlands" changed. Their normally dark coats turn white, and their eyes turn different colors and shades. In some cases, their pearls will warp and twist into unusablity. If they stay there too long, it seems their minds corrupt as well.

Mild cases of Farlander Syndrome will cause changes in eye color, and will cause post-birth piebaldism. There is no known cure

...phew, that's all I have for now, If you have any ideas for my version of Enderman/Enderians, please comment!

[rumalumasuns]

"I love you for all that you are, all that you have been, and all that you will be" (unknown) - With Alban Knox

Based (very loosely) on Robin Hood

Part of my Living in a Fairy Tale series

!- Reader is Gender neutral (if I made a mistake somewhere I apologize and I'll fix it as soon as possible!)

!- Mentions of slavery, abuse, stealing, shooting, blood, killing, super light cursing

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, Alban Speaking

Original work by rumalumasuns, 5,766 words (it's long sorry haha), unedited but I will do so when I have time later :)

Once upon a time...,

In the far corners of Inasinin was a small kingdom under the temporary control of the tyrannical Prince Moony de Xytcon, as King Legatus de Xytcon has been away for travel and diplomatic business for ten years.

Prince Moony was not always a tyrant. He was a decent leader for a year, until his most trusted advisor, Aide Viper, began to inform him of traitors and disrespectful rumors floating around. When Prince Moony confirmed these to be true, he started to doubt himself. Unknowingly, Prince Moony became more forceful and less tolerant when talking to others, and found that if he exerted more control, the traitors were easily dealt with and the rumors went away. Enjoying this newfound way to be powerful, Prince Moony became a stricter ruler, a harsher ruler, and, eventually, a tyrant.

Except for a select few, the people of the kingdom were impoverished or barely scraping by. Every couple of weeks, the soldiers of Prince Moony, known as the Lunar Battalion, were sent out to collect the scraps of money that the people had, despite their protests and attempts to fight back. Always, the soldiers overpowered the rebellious citizens, beating them up, almost to the point of death for the overly rebellious.

If money was unable to be collected, the Battalion took the people and enslaved them, making them work in the ore mines that were filled with iron and gems (although finding both was now a hard task due to the excess mining that was being done) until the people fainted, or died.

No one was safe from this fate unless they were the type of person to kiss the boots of Prince Moony (AKA they were a part of Prince Moony's nobility, or they served him). The people couldn't even leave the kingdom, as the gates of the kingdom were shut and guarded by the Battalion.

There was another, much more risky way, to survive the fate of enslavement: thievery. And one thief became the most renowned of all:

"FIND THEM!" bellowed Prince Moony, clutching the document that reported the shenanigans of a particular thief, who stole from all the nobility of his land.

"...But, my lord, we need to tend to our troops who got injured by the thief first do we not-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES! FIND THIS PHANTOM THIEF AND HIS ENTOURAGE, AND BRING THEM TO ME!"

"...Yes, Your Highness." With a sigh, the butler left the throne room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alban didn't always want to be a thief: he just wanted a way for him and his sister, Alice, to survive in this harsh, cold world. He had to be able to provide for them since they were six, as at that time, their parents had both died to nobles harshly beating them up for no entertainment.

He learned how to pickpocket from nobles by using his nimble hands to swipe what would be in their pocket. If he was lucky, Alban would succeed in swiping small things from a noble's hand, such as rings or a few bits of cash.

Alban also began to swipe food from the stalls in the market. Although he felt bad for doing so, as most of the stalls were also struggling to make a living, he continued to take for himself and his sister to have something to eat that night, even if it was a small piece of jerky. Alban promised himself he would never take too much from the stalls and noted who to pay back if he ever had the opportunity.

Normally, Alban went to the market in the morning, when it was most crowded and the easiest to swipe something. However, after staying up late to take care of his sister who had a fever, he woke up late.

By the time he had gotten to the market, Alban found that it was too late: there were few people at the moment, meaning that he could get easily caught if he tried to steal something. He wasn't a professional at the age of eight, after all. Alban was about to head back to his makeshift tent, where Alice was, until he heard trudging footsteps. He looked around and saw the stalls closing, and people scattering off the street. Deciding to hide as well, Alban went into one of the nearby alleyways and hid behind a pile of garbage.

He waited silently as the trudging steps came closer and closer until finally, he saw it: the Trek of Slaves. Alban knew that if people weren't able to pay up the high taxes, they would either be forced into slavery or offer other people - children, in particular.

What was in front of Alban was a long line of children, guarded by fierce-looking soldiers of the battalion, with chains on their arms, and a ring on their necks that linked to all the other children in the line. Their faces were gaunt, hollow from starvation, with dull eyes. Their clothes hardly covered their bodies.

One of the children in line was a little girl. Alban unconsciously imagined Alice's face on that child. His eyes darkened.

After the slaves left, Alban came out of the alley and scampered back to his home. He felt something awaken in him. Something had to change. He figured that if his abilities could help him and his sister, his abilities could help others too.

So he did.

Instead of stealing from the food stalls that were also struggling to make a living, Alban began to plan heists against the wealthy and lead escapades against the enslavements.

He planned to steal from the rich and give to the poor, as well as save as many people as he could from their fate in the mines.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over multiple years, fewer and fewer slaves were taken, as Alban released them always before they ever could get in the line for the Trek of Slaves. He succeeded in pulling off multiple heists as he grew older. By the time Alban was in his early teens, he knew the basic layouts of noble homes, he had learned the best ways to conduct carriage and cart robbery, and he swindled multiple nobles, taking first their hearts and then their valuables. Some valuables he distributed to the poor, and others he kept in order to help his future heists. For instance, from a noble who loved theater, Alban gained a black mask that covered the entirety of his face while still allowing him to see, breathe, and talk normally. From another noble who was a mage, Alban managed to snag the mage's magic bag, with huge storage space, as well as her master key, which can unlock any type of lock. With these, thieving was much easier, and Alban felt empowered.

However, being empowered didn't mean that Alban was invincible.

One day, Alban was making his rounds for giving out valuables, which he does twice a month at irregular intervals to keep the Battalion off of his back. While passing through a narrow, shady alleyway, he overheard cries of distress. He headed over immediately and peeked in through one of the windows. Inside, he saw an old woman, who had her arms wrapped around who he assumed to be her grandchildren. A large soldier stood in front of them, flipping a copper coin with his thumb. One of the boys in the grandmother's arms was crying and reaching out to what was in the wolfish soldier's hand.

"You- you heartless being! How could you take all of our savings just like that. We've saved up for that birthday gif-"

"Yes, yes, yes, well, that's quite unfortunate isn't it," said the soldier, dismissing the old woman's protests before turning his attention to the boy. "Little boy, Prince Moony says happy birthday to you as well. Maybe next time I come in, I can take you to him," said the soldier with a wolfish grin.

Alban felt his blood boil at the soldier's implied threat of enslavement. The boy looked no older than five! He tugged his mask closer to his face, put on his hood, and took out a cane and a cup with two copper coins in it. He swung out and clattered the cane in front of him, acting like a blind man. He entered the small abode.

"'Ello there. Any spare change for this poor blind man?" asked Alban, imitating a croaky voice with an English accent as he shook his cup to jingle the coins in it.

The large soldier turned to him and scrunched his face in disgust before he saw that the cloaked figure had a cup with money in it.

"No, but I do believe you have some for me," said the large soldier as he laughed and snatched the cup out of Alban's hand, pushing away Alban toward the old woman in the process. While the soldier occupied himself with taking the money, the old woman helped Alban up. While doing so, Alban discreetly placed something in the pocket of her dress. The old woman looked up at Alban in surprise, before shutting her mouth and acting concerned for him, dusting him off.

"Hey, blind man. Got anything else in there?" asked the soldier in a rough voice, pointing at Alban's cloak. Alban didn't respond. The soldier smirked. "Or... do you have something else to hide? Perhaps... you're someone who's not supposed to be here?"

A moment of silence passed as the soldier slowly reached for Alban's hood before Alban spoke.

"Ah~, guess I got caught," he said in his normal, taunting voice, before bolting out of the home. His hood whipped off, revealing his mask. The soldier's eyes widened in recognition, and he snarled.

"OI! GET BACK HERE, YOU PHANTOM THIEF!" bellowed he, as he rushed clumsily out of the place.

When they left, the old woman checked her pocket and took out what seemed to be a small brown rucksack. She opened it, only for tears to suddenly pool in her eyes and soft sobs to come out of her mouth. She was staring at 5 gold coins, which would help her and her grandchildren get adequate food and live comfortably for a year or so. The grandmother held the bag tightly to her chest as she embraced her grandchildren who surrounded her in concern for her tears.

"Thank you...," she whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alban whisked through the alleys as the large soldier, now joined by several others, tailed after him. To get them off his trail, Alban headed to the place where they prepared slaves for delivery to Prince Moony. While weaving through the confused slaves, Alban pulled out the master key he stole from the mage and waved them near the chains on the slaves. The chains unlocked, and the slaves were free. They exclaimed in joy before bolting out of the preparation area.

The soldiers behind Alban cried out in rage as some split off from the group to try and get the escaped slaves back. Meanwhile, the wolfish soldier almost caught Alban, his fingers centimeters away from grabbing Alban's cloak. He was about to get it, until he was interrupted by a stone to his head. The soldier stopped in his tracks, his hand going up to the side of his face, only for it to come away with blood. He growled and looked in the direction of the attack. His eyes met with those of freed slaves around Alban's age, holding heavy rocks and other heavy objects they could find. They cried out and pelted him and the approaching soldiers, knocking their swords out of their hands and making them bloody.

Not wanting to deal with the fierce barrage, especially when they didn't get paid enough to deal with them, the soldiers just groaned in frustration before running off. Although the wolfish soldier didn't want to, he knew he had to retreat. He looked at the boys, heatedly vowing to finish them off later before he ran in the same direction as his comrades.

After making sure the other soldiers were gone by not sensing other presences, Alban hunched over in relief, hands on his knees, panting, heart hammering. He stayed in that position until he saw a hand show up in front of him. He looked up to make eye contact with a boy around his age, with neon yellow hair and dark periwinkle eyes.

"Oi, I'm Sonny. This is my family," said the boy as he gestured to the other three boys behind him. One had steel grey hair with matching eyes, the other had dark blue shaggy hair with light blue eyes and heterochromia in one eye, and the last one had dark magenta hair with purple eyes that both had heterochromia.

Alban eyed them, then Sonny's outstretched hand, before taking it and giving it a shake.

"...I'm the Phantom Thief."

"I'm Yugo. I'm a huge fan! You-You're really the Phantom Thief, right?" asked the bluenette with sparkling eyes.

Alban hesitated slightly, but for some reason, he felt like he could trust these people, and then nodded.

The grey-haired older boy smirked before coming beside Alban and clapping him on the back.

"Hey, I'm Fulgur, thanks for freeing us back there."

"Yeah, of c-course, it's what I do...," said Alban, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. "Th-Thanks for helping me too..."

The purple-haired boy came up to Alban's other side, smiled, and patted him on the head.

This was the first encounter of the group Noctyx, a band of vigilantes led by the infamous Phantom Thief. The five boys wore matching masks with the forehead part painted with their Noctyx insignia, symbolizing hope to the poor and a nuisance to the rich. They plundered carts of snobbish nobles, provided safe hiding places for slaves, defended the weak, and some of them even provided underground soup kitchens for the hungry. Alice, Alban's sister, also wore a mask as she worked in the soup kitchens. After Fulgur taught her how to read, Alice also took up learning about medicinal plants from a book she found. She wanted to help with her brother's efforts as much as she could.

As Noctyx became more and more famous throughout the kingdom, Prince Moony grew frustrated because he was losing control over the citizens. So, he plotted with his loyal dog, Duke L/N, and commanded him to send in a spy to the land to break Noctyx from the inside.

Duke L/N decided to send his most intelligent child, Y/N Sol L/N.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One day, Alban planned a heist on an incoming carriage that was said to be coming in. The carriage belongs to the L/N dukedom, one of the richest nobles because of how often Duke L/N assisted Prince Moony in conquests of land, expanding the kingdom, and attaining more resources.

In the trees above the road where the carriage was supposed to come down, Alban and his friends waited.

"Another day, another petty noble to rob," said Alban to his friends. All except Yugo nodded along.

"But, like, what if this person wasn't petty?" asked Yugo, as he tilted his head. Sonny patted Yugo's head before sighing and shaking his head.

"Yugo, we've been over this! Most nobles are, and Duke L/N is THE WORST type! He kisses the shoes of the tyrant and abuses his servants like there is no tomorrow. He is a terrible man!" exclaimed Fulgur.

"Yeah! We're going to go in, and be like hello you piece of sh-"

"Okay, Uki! Hush, now, we have to focus, please. How far away are they?" asked Alban.

Uki rolled his eyes in disapproval at Alban interrupting him before sighing and closing his eyes. He held his palms upwards in front of his hands, and a bright purple orb of energy showed up. When Uki opened his eyes, he peered into the ball with equally glowy eyes.

"...They're about two miles away, approaching fast," said Uki after the image in the orb focused for him.

"Alright, let's go to our positions," said Fulgur, as he patted Uki on the shoulder to bring him out of his glowing state. Noctyx then pulled on their masks and set out in the trees.

Once they were all in their positions in the tree branches, the slow rumble of a carriage and the clopping of hooves could be heard approaching them.

The moment the carriage was within their range, Sonny pulled out a shotgun he had stolen from a soldier a couple months ago and shot two of the front guards right off their horses.

"IT'S AN AMBUSH!" shouted one of the soldiers who was trying to reel in her panicking horse.

"PROTECT THE CARRIAGE!" shouted another, as he jumped off his horse and was trying to load his gun, before getting hit by Yugo's blue lightning.

Some soldiers started floating as they were surrounded by purple energy before they were thrown somewhere in the woods, and others were punched by Fulgur's fists, which were now glowing red.

Alban pulled out a bow and arrow, both embedded with mana stones. He shot the arrow, causing the mana stone on it to activate and set the tip on fire, burning the soldier it shot. When he ran out of arrows, he took out two knives with poison on their blades and went to the ground to fight alongside Fulgur.

After a couple moments of fighting, all the guards, except one that ran away on a black stallion, were killed. Cackling, Alban headed over to the vulnerable carriage, the others following him just as merrily.

"Now then, Duke... no, you don't deserve that title. Now, you trash, how do you like leaving your fate up to the very peasants that you hate so much?" said Alban viciously, as he grabbed the carriage's door handle gilded with gold, and whipped the door right open.

Expecting to find a terrified old man, he only made eye contact with a woman (a maid?) with light pink hair and purple eyes who looked at them unimpressed, and a man (probably a guard) with white hair and blue highlights, dark skin, and silver eyes who was trying to stifle his laugh.

“...Huh? The carriage- who're these people?? Where’s Duke L/N?”

“𝐇𝐚𝐡! 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐚𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟?” said a voice from behind them.

Shocked because no presence was detected until then, the boys whipped their heads around. Alban’s eyes widened as he made eye contact with quite possibly one of the most beautiful people he’d ever seen in his life. They were dressed in a guard uniform, holding a L/N guard helmet as they sat atop the black stallion from before. The person descended the horse gracefully, secured their belongings on the horse, turned around, and smirked at the shocked Noctyx members.

“𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨, 𝐍𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐲𝐱. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐘/𝐍 𝐒𝐨𝐥 𝐋/𝐍. 𝐈’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦,” said the beautiful person, holding out five gold coins for each boy.

As soon as he heard the person’s name, all nice fantasies of them shattered and Alban scowled at the person from under his mask. His grip on the knives in his hand tightened.

“…What do you want?” he asked, growling as he prepared to ignore the person and just stab them.

“𝐈’𝐦 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

‘…What?’

Sensing his hesitation, and seeing as they weren’t stabbed by him yet, Y/N relaxed as they opened their mouth again.

“𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬,” said Y/N as they opened the carriage’s trunk. Inside were all sorts of precious gems and coins. Noctyx stared in awe. Even on a good heist, they have never gotten that much.

“𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐲.”

“Your dukedom? Aren’t you just the child of Duke L/N?” asked Fulgur, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Yeah, and why would you help us? How do we know you're not pulling us into a trap?" asked Uki, coming up behind Fulgur as he glared at Y/N.

Y/N put their hands up in surrender.

"𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐋/𝐍. 𝐀𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈'𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐣𝐞𝐫𝐤."

The boys looked at Y/N with doubt. Sensing it, they shuffled through the bag that was hung on their horse and pulled out two pieces of paper. Alarmed by Y/N's sudden movement, the boys prepared to attack just in case. Y/N held up the papers in their hands.

"𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐋/𝐍'𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲'𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. 𝐀𝐧𝐝, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭."

Alban stepped forward to take them.

"No funny business," he warned, as he quickly grabbed the papers and examined them. He indeed saw the legitimate schematics of the L/N estate and Xytcon castle. He looked once again at Y/N, who was staring at him with expectation before he rolled up the papers and gave them to Fulgur.

"Fine, we'll work with you. But don't even think about betraying us."

Y/N nodded seriously.

"...Can we come out now?" said the maid in the carriage, who was glaring at them. The guard burst out laughing, still remembering the way Noctyx was so confused by their scheme. Y/N looked to Alban, who nodded. "Ugh, finally!" said the maid, and she jumped out of the carriage with a huff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over a couple of months, Noctyx and Y/N worked together. Y/N's maid, Lady Alouette, and their guard, Knight Tenshi, aided in the discreet distribution of Y/N's wealth that they brought from the dukedom across the small kingdom, as no one really knew of their faces. The peasant people of the kingdom were advised to hide their valuables in a safe place, whether it was under their house or a secure place on their person.

Y/N had participated in some of Noctyx's heists, scamming a local gambling duke into giving all of his valuables, robbing a snobby duchess of the jewels she's so fond of because of the way she treated the sickly street children, and helping the stealing of some things from the kingdom's noble bank. They also got along well with Alice and helped her whenever she needed help with the underground soup kitchens.

Meanwhile, Noctyx and Y/N slowly plotted a way to get rid of Prince Moony and Duke L/N. Y/N sent regular correspondence to the dukedom (all fake information, of course. Uki would check over the letters Y/N sent all the time) so that the duke and prince wouldn't suspect anything. They believed they had Y/N, a "helpless" illegitimate child, in the palm of their hand, and their only replies back were to keep collecting information. Y/N scoffed whenever they got the reply letter and burned it in the fireplace in front of Alban.

Alban and Y/N had gotten quite close during these months. They chuckled together as they would plot heists that would topple the power of the nobility, and therefore weaken Prince Moony's support. They sparred together, Alban with his knives and Y/N with their sword. Eventually, they were comfortable enough to make jokes with one another as they were cooking their group's dinner, or to discuss the more personal parts of their lives. Behind them, Uki and Fulgur would smile at each other knowingly, while Sonny and Yugo made disgusted faces at the scene in front of them.

It was a peaceful, slow revolt against Prince Moony's reign, but this peace soon shattered.

The group was in the main square of the town they were temporarily staying in when a fanfare was heard. They turned their heads up, and Alban frowned when he saw the wolfish soldier from before leading a large army. His hand went to the knife on his hip, and he noticed the others next to him tense up and prepare for scuffle.

"We have received information that Noctyx, and more importantly, the Phantom Thief, has been residing here. Turn them in, or you will be terminated," said the wolfish soldier, who grinned with malice as he looked around.

Sonny shot a look at Y/N, who shook their head.

"It wasn't them. I can confirm it," said Uki. Sonny sighed in relief - he wanted to trust Y/N.

"But then who...?" asked Alice, as she scanned the crowd. She soon spotted an old uncle in the crowd, grinning maliciously while having his hand in his bulging side pocket. Sonny noticed Alice's gaze, and looked in the same direction before he scoffed.

"Is that the same person who demanded extras? That drunkard, he seriously did this, huh...," said Sonny, glaring at the man before turning his attention back to the wolfish soldier.

"Damn, that trash-," growled Yugo, who wanted to fight the old man before getting stopped by Fulgur.

"Don't make a scene. We need to be discrete if we don't want to get caught," said Fulgur, who glared at the army before them.

"𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞," said Y/N, who started to back away from the vast crowd that had gathered. But before they could get fully out of the street, the wolfish soldier cackled.

"VERY WELL! We'll find them ourselves...," he said, before raising his sword. "BATTALION! Take anyone who matches the description of the fugitives, and bring them to the castle!"

"YES SIR!" shouted the Battalion, as they set out on foot and on their horses and grabbed anyone - they weren't even trying to find those who matched the description of Noctyx. They grabbed old men, young children, tall women - practically anyone.

"They're trying to rat us out of the crowd by taking anyone - be careful not to get caught!-"

But just as Alban said that...

"Ah-," said Lady Alouette unenthusiastically when she was grabbed by the arm by one of the Battalion.

"𝐄𝐧𝐧𝐚!" exclaimed Y/N as they reached out for Lady Alouette, before she was taken farther away by the soldier who grabbed her. Knight Tenshi went after her, but he never came back.

"AL!" screamed Alice when she was grabbed by two soldiers, who snickered at her helplessness.

"ALLI! NO!" cried Alban, as he tried to fight against the soldiers who held Alice.

"Hello, girlie, you're coming with us," said one soldier, laughing heartily as he forced Alban off of him with the help of two other soldiers.

"Should we take him too?" asked another solider who was holding onto Alban.

"Nah, he seems annoying. Let's just leave him. He'll die soon anyways in these slums."

With that, the Battalion took multiple townspeople, as well as a crying Alice, leaving a half-empty town with multiple weeping people helplessly reaching out for the loved ones they lost.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After taking care of the greedy drunkard (AKA knocking him out and leaving him in a less forgiving town), Noctyx and Y/N regrouped at their temporary base deep within the nearby woods. They opened their strategy-meeting tent and headed inside to discuss what happened and what they should do next.

Alban was in despair. He had just lost his reason to live to the Battalion, but rather than feeling anger, he was in shock, and was scared of what they would do to her. Although he zoned out, he finally was aware of the conversation the rest of the members were having when Y/N started talking.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭- 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨. 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢, 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞! 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬, 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧. 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐠𝐮𝐫, 𝐘𝐮𝐠𝐨, 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐤𝐢 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 - 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐧𝐨𝐰."

"But... Y/N... I'm just, I'm just some guy who gets lucky a couple of times with his heists, and that was going against a manageable group. I couldn't even protect just my sister. How are we, six people, going to be able to go against an entire castle??"

"𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲," said Y/N, looking at Alban with a gaze of expectation, which he shrank under.

"...Alright...," sighed Alban, who had a lot of doubt about the operation working. Ever since his sister was taken from him, he felt listless, doubtful, and incapable. He lost her. Sonny, noticing Alban's downcast face, patted him on the shoulder encouragingly while Uki began to stroke his hair soothingly.

Y/N witnessed it all, slightly amused but also touched by how close they were. They thought back to their own family, who easily threw Y/N into the dangerous situation of becoming a "spy", despite the fact that they could be killed in the process. They stepped forward and kneeled to Alban's eye level before they took hold of Alban's hand.

"𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?"

Alban stared at Y/N, before taking a deep breath and nodding.

"Okay."

They smiled at each other, while the others around them shared a knowing look, and Yugo made a disgusted face.

"Well, we'll head out for a bit, you guys make our plan and just tell us tomorrow morning," said Fulgur as he opened the tent they were in.

Alban and Y/N nodded and engaged in a serious discussion while looking at the schematics of the castle map that Y/N gave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After some time, the two finally finished planning and started to clean up the discussion table. Alban was feeling much happier after Y/N's constant attempts of making him feel better throughout their discussion.

Moments of silence passed before Y/N decided to open their mouth.

"…𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧."

"Yeah, Y/N? What happened?"

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡-"

"DON'T SAY THAT! Why would you say something that brings such bad karma!? We're going to get through this operation well because we have a plan made by you and we'll make it out together!" exclaimed Alban, gripping Y/N's hand that was on his sleeve. He had just lost his sister, he didn't think he could lose anyone else. Y/N sighed.

"𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭… 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?"

Alban was silent for a moment, before begrudgingly nodding.

Y/N hesitated before taking their hand off of Alban's sleeve and moving both hands to his cradle cheeks. Alban's cheeks warmed by the sudden closeness and contact.

"Uh-"

"𝐒𝐡𝐡.. 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧. 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐱, 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟, 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞, 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤… 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞."

Alban's jaw dropped.

"What?-"

"𝐘-𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡! 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄, 𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐈𝐓. 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖, 𝐎𝐑 𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔. 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔, 𝐁𝐘𝐄!"

After the sudden confession, Y/N placed a quick peck on Alban's cheek and quickly left the tent, leaving Alban speechless as he absentmindedly touched the cheek that was kissed.

"W-W-WHAT????"

Meanwhile, outside the tent on the side opposite the entrance, Yugo overheard the entire conversation, and almost dropped the firewood he was holding out of disgust.

"Ugh, lovebirds... when is it my turn too..."

:,^)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was dawn when everyone woke up and Y/N and Alban debriefed them all of the plan. They would raid Prince Moony's castle at night, taking down both Prince Moony and Duke L/N.

In preparation, Y/N sent a letter to Duke L/N to go to the castle so they could debrief him and the prince about what they found out from Noctyx. In reality, it would be a trap that would get Duke L/N and Prince Moony in the same place. They could be taken down together, and that would be the end of the duke and the prince.

“Uki, Fulgur, you two will be in charge of freeing the townspeople. Remember to stealthily do it - we want to cause as least noise as possible in the beginning.”

“𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.”

Uki and Fulgur nodded before squeezing each other’s hands in encouragement.

“Sonny, Yugo, you’re coming with me and Y/N to the throne room. You’re going to help us take down the Duke and the Prince.”

Yugo pumped his fist in the air, excited for an opportunity to take down the tyrant, while Sonny just loaded his gun with a blood-hungry smirk.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐲𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐭? 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈'𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐨𝐨."

Everyone nodded grimly. It was a given that they'll probably get injured during this fight, but there was also a possibility that they might not come back.

Noticing the grim atmosphere, Sonny tried to laugh it off and clapped Y/N on the back.

"We'll be fine, everyone."

"Sonny's right, we pulled off infiltrations loads of times. We'll just treat it the same way," said Fulgur, also trying to laugh.

"Alright then!" said Uki as he clapped. "Let's get ready."

Throughout the day, they prepared by gathering supplies, like extra weapons and first aid, and making their own mana bombs to use for attacking the castle.

As soon as the last mana bomb was created by clicking the mana stone into place, Noctyx and Y/N were ready to head out. On the road out from the woods, the two teams (Alban, Y/N, Sonny, Yugo and Uki, Fulgur) split off to do their respective parts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(With Uki and Fulgur)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uki used his psychic powers to knock out the guards standing at the outside entrance of the castle's dungeon while staying under the cover of darkness.

"They should really learn how to be more secure," stated Uki with disapproval, as he kicked one of the guard's faces lightly. Fulgur laughed as he took the keys off of one of the other guards and used it to unlock the door.

"Yeah, but then our job wouldn't be as easy. You sure you have enough mana stored for this?"

"Yeah, don't worry Fu-fu-chan, I have the most mana out of all of us. Are you going to be okay, though?"

"Of course, I'll beat up anyone for you."

The two exchanged smiles before they pulled their masks on and continued to go deeper into the dungeon, with Fulgur knocking out some guards with his glowing fists, while Uki focused on seeking the right jail cells that had the townspeople.

Eventually, near the bottom of the dungeon, Uki stopped walking.

"Found them," he said, as his eyes started glowing to put all the guards surrounding the townspeople's cells to sleep. He then sent out a telepathic message to the townspeople.

'Hello, this is Noctyx's psychic. We need you to stay silent for this incoming message.'

As they were told, the townspeople remained silent, although Uki heard in their minds their cries of joy and the resurfacing of hope within the people.

'I need you all to stay silent while we are freeing you. Our combat warrior and I will help guide you out. We can only do this with your cooperation. If you agree with our condition, please say in your mind yes.'

After hearing an overwhelming chorus of 'Yes's in his head, Uki looked at Fulgur and nodded. Fulgur steadied Uki, as telepathy used quite a large portion of mana before he took out the magic key that Alban had given him and waved it near the locks of the townspeople. They opened the cell door as silently as possible and gathered to where Uki was. Once everyone was out, Uki told them telepathically that they were to follow him, while Fulgur remained in the back in case anything happened. Before they could start moving, however, a familiar female voice mind-shouted at Uki from behind.

'Uki!'

Uki turned around, only to meet eyes with Alice, Alban's younger sister. Next to her were Knight Tenshi and Lady Alouette.

'Where's my brother?' asked Alice, who was looking around.

'Your brother's in the throne room with the others. They'll be fighting the prince,' replied Uki. Alice's eyes widened.

'I- I need to help them! Please, do you have first aid materials?? I can help tend to the injured.'

'No, Alice. Alban would kill me.'

'Please, Uki! I'll take Knight Tenshi with me!'

Uki pondered for a bit. Alban did say to send Knight Tenshi to the throne room.

'... Fine, but you HAVE to stay with Knight Tenshi all the time, okay?'

'Yes! I promise!'

After Uki told Fulgur telepathically to give some first aid materials to Alice and told Knight Tenshi and Lady Alouette the situation, they did as told. Knight Tenshi escorted Alice to the throne room, as he had been there before, while Lady Alouette stayed with Uki and Fulgur, helping to light the way out.

The silent procession went up through the dungeon without much trouble. Uki, Fulgur, and Lady Alouette planted mana bombs in the areas of the dungeon where a lot of guards collapsed. They were set to detonate on Uki's command.

There was an area in the dungeon that branched off to the inner parts of the castle, probably because the royalty had to visit the prisoners at some point for interrogation or for deciding the fate of the criminals. Uki used his powers to make sure no one was around, and when there was the all-clear, Fulgur planted bombs in discreet areas of the castle where Y/N told them there would be weapons reserves for the Battalion. Lady Alouette contributed by showing Fulgur some more spots that she knew of and discovered while hanging around with the palace servants. Now, even if the guards in the throne room did need help, they wouldn't be able to get any.

Afterward, Uki, Fulgur, Lady Alouette, and the townspeople were able to leave the castle through the secret entrance for royal emergencies. All the townspeople were freed without a ruckus. No one from the castle suspected a thing.

It was a successful mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(With Alban, Y/N, Sonny, Yugo)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the other side, Y/N was in their carriage that was waiting in front of the palace gate, adorned in their ducal wear.

"Who goes there?" called out the guard in front of the gate.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐫 ��𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞? 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋/𝐍 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐚."

The guard, who took a closer look at the carriage, realized who he was addressing, and almost yelped.

"𝐈'𝐦 𝐘/𝐍 𝐒𝐨𝐥 𝐋/𝐍 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞," said Y/N in a snooty and cold manner.

"M-My apologies, my lord/lady. I will let you in right away!" exclaimed the guard as he hastily rushed to open the front gate.

Y/N's carriage almost went past him before stopping right next to him as they glared at him. The guard was still bowing, sweat going down his neck as he gulped. He heard that the L/N family's illegitimate child was the most intelligent person in the family and a genius of their time. What fearsome things could they come up with to do to him?

Y/N just scoffed. "𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜," they said cruelly, before continuing on past him.

As soon as they were out of hearing range from the soldier, Y/N sighed in relief, while the others in the carriage (Yugo and Sonny) laughed at them.

"That was some fine acting," said Sonny, who was still laughing.

"Wow, you are very good!" said Yugo in amazement and amusement. Y/N could even hear the slight chuckles coming from Alban, who was the carriage's horseman outside. Y/N flushed.

"𝐉𝐞𝐞𝐳, 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬," they said as they put their hands on their cheeks.

"Just keep it up for inside the throne room. We'll get there as soon as we can," said Sonny, who pulled on his mask.

"Yeah, we'll be there soon, Y/N. Ganbare, it means good luck from my homeland," said Yugo, who also pulled on his mask.

Y/N nodded in thanks as the carriage pulled up to the entrance of the castle building. Standing outside was Duke L/N, who faked a smile at Y/N as they came down from the carriage.

"My dear child! Welcome back!" said Duke L/N, moving to hug Y/N when they put up a hand.

"𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲."

Duke L/N almost scoffed but remembered that he still needed information from his child, so he just grit his teeth in a tight smile and went back into a standing position.

"... Alright then, let's go inside. Quickly, now."

When Y/N got to the throne room, they were met with Prince Moony beaming at them excitedly from the throne.

"Welcome back, Y/N," said Prince Moony with a pleasant smile. He stood up and walked over to them, took their hand, and brought it up to his lips to kiss it in greeting. From above him, in the ceiling supports of the throne room, Alban scowled at the prince. Y/N told Alban that the prince particularly favored them, but Alban didn't believe it until he was looking at it directly. Prince Moony's smile was genuine as he looked upon Y/N. Y/N, on the other hand, just politely bowed to the prince and released their hand from his.

A look of disappointment flashed in Prince Moony's eyes, but Y/N didn't care as they opened their mouth.

"𝐌𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬," they said, as they subtly glanced upwards at where Sonny, Yugo, and Alban were.

"Yes, yes," said Prince Moony as he sauntered back to the throne and sat down. "Report."

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞��𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩, 𝐍𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐲𝐱, 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬? 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚-"

"NEVER!" snarled Prince Moony, who jumped up from the throne in rage. After realizing his conduct, he cleared his throat and sat back down. "I apologize. My dear, we cannot back down. That would mean we are weak. I, for one, dislike that notion very much."

Y/N nodded solemnly.

"𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐌𝐲 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞."

Prince Moony took a while to process Y/N's words: it had been a while since they called him a friend, until he realized too late what they really meant.

"What-"

"YAH!" shouted Yugo as he descended down from the ceiling, his black mask tightly tied to his face and blue lightning shooting at the guards in the throne room below.

Sonny started sniping from his place in the supports and shot the guards that were farther away from Yugo's range, preventing them from trying to shoot at Yugo discreetly.

Alban shot a couple of mana arrows before he jumped down as well, knives ready. These knives were different: they were mana stone knives, which made them hardier than normal and had the ability to burn anything it comes in contact with.

"GAH!" shouted Duke L/N, who shot a look of fury at Y/N. "YOU, YOU LITTLE TRAITOR! YOU DIRTY-"

But before he could say anything else, Alban sliced the duke's neck and stabbed his heart, while Y/N looked at the scene without even flinching. To them, the duke wasn't a father, but a tool. They focused instead on Prince Moony, who now could comprehend everything and looked at Y/N with emotions of sadness, anger, and feeling betrayed.

"Y/N... Why..."

"𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥."

"..."

"𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲?"

"...That damned rat, the Phantom Thief, he threatened you to do this, didn't he?" said Prince Moony, clutching the hilt of the sword resting on his hip. "He- HE MADE YOU DO THIS, RIGHT? YOU WOULD NEVER BETRAY ME, WOULD YOU Y/N?! YOU- You... you would never betray me... no, not you," said Prince Moony as he drew out his sword, eyes full of madness and malice as he looked at the Phantom Thief, who looked back at him.

"𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲!? 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭, 𝐧𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢-"

"DIE YOU PEASANT!" shouted Prince Moony as he launched himself quickly to Alban's location and brought the sword down onto Alban.

"𝐍𝐎!" exclaimed Y/N, who ran just as fast towards Alban, and before Alban or Prince Moony could react, they went in front of Alban and put their arm up to block Prince Moony's sword.

Prince Moony regained his wits just enough to stall his sword so that he wouldn’t slice through Y/N’s arm, leaving only a long gash from their wrist to their elbow. Y/N cried out in pain before they gripped their elbow. Before any more harm could be done to them, Yugo was luckily close enough and pulled Y/N out of the way before Prince Moony could reach for them.

“No… I… Y/N, I didn’t mean to-”

“YOU DON’T GET TO SAY THEIR NAME!” yelled Alban with fury, as he took his knives in his hands and pounced onto Prince Moony. From behind the prince, Sonny used his shotgun and pierced a bullet through Prince Moony’s right calf. Crying out in rage and pain, Prince Moony used mana to knock Sonny down, and Sonny lost consciousness, flying toward the ground.

“Sonny!” cried out Alban. During his moment of distraction, Prince Moony clutched his sword harder and did blow after blow on Alban. Eventually, Prince Moony’s sword and Alban’s knives met in a lock. Prince Moony grit his teeth as he continued to put pressure on Alban’s knives, which started to crack because of the great amount of force.

While Alban kept Prince Moony occupied, Yugo brought Y/N to a safe place at the corner of the wall.

"𝐘𝐮𝐠𝐨! 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐲?!"

"My lady," said a deep voice from above Y/N. They looked up, and their eyes filled with relieved tears as they met with the silver orbs of Knight Tenshi. Next to him was Alice, who was carrying a first aid kit.

Sonny was treated first, as he had a large gash across his stomach from the prince's mana blast. Alice immediately began first aid, having Y/N apply pressure to the wound with their good arm as she brought together medicinal leaves to use for a covering of the wound, as well as wraps to use to secure the leaves. As she was doing so, Knight Tenshi went to Yugo and fended off the Battalion members coming their way.

While this was going on, Alban was still in the lock with Prince Moony. He was starting to lose strength in his arms. While holding his knives, he started to think about the current situation. Alban knew that the townspeople were safe because of Uki, Fulgur, and Lady Alouette’s escort. But the pressure on his knives was so great, Alban was starting to think they'd crack soon. If Prince Moony broke his knives, what then? Would the rest of them end up dying in here, while Prince Moony got to live on after killing off some of the strongest rebels he ever had to deal with?

They were totally outnumbered in this fight. How long would they have until Yugo ran out of mana and Knight Tenshi out of stamina? How long would it take for Uki, Fulgur, and Lady Alouette to come back and help them?

Though all hope seemed lost, hope called out to them in the last minute before Alban’s knives broke.

"MOONY! WHAT IS THIS RUCKUS!" shouted a booming voice from behind Alban. Alban looked into Prince Moony's eyes, which were wide from shock and fear. His grip on his sword lowered, allowing Alban to use his knife and flick it off to the side and point his other knife at the prince's neck. Alban then turned around, only to make eye contact with someone he had only learned about from tales.

King Legatus.

After his initial shock passed, Prince Moony cursed under his breath.

"Oi, I thought I killed you, old man. Aren't you persistent?" asked the prince with malice, and he almost moved to pounce on the king before he felt the pressure of Alban's knife on his neck increase. Prince Moony's eyes shifted to Alban, before he cursed again.

King Legatus laughed, as he nodded in thanks to Alban before descending the steps. A knight bearing the Legatus insignia came up from behind him and shackled Prince Moony's hands, restraining him in the process. Prince Moony glared at King Legatus, who only looked at him in disappointment.

As Prince Moony was taken to the dungeons silently, King Legatus turned to Alban.

"So... you are the infamous Phantom Thief," stated the king. Alban just nodded, still stunned by the fact that King Legatus was still alive.

The king gave a grunt of approval before bringing out his hand. Alban flinched but realized it was a handshake, so he tentatively took it and shook it.

"You helped save my kingdom. What can I do to repay you?" asked the king, who looked at Alban in curiosity. Alban pondered, before lowering himself to bow before the king. The rest of Noctyx saw him and followed his actions.

"My king, I only ask that you help us to reform this kingdom. We have traveled around the kingdom multiple times since we were young. The people are hungry, in need of jobs, and suffering. Please, feed them, provide new jobs, and shelter, and allow them to travel outside of the kingdom as they please. Additionally, the Duke L/N is now dead. Please allow his child, Y/N Sol L/N, to claim the ducal title. They were the only one to not have participated in the illegal acts of embezzlement of the royal treasury and the enslavement of commoners. "

The king looked at Alban, then at Y/N, and pondered, before nodding. It was his son's fault that the kingdom had become like this.

"I will issue my royal decree."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...Hey."

"𝐇𝐢."

"How's your arm?"

"𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧, 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭. 𝐒𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞."

"What face?"

"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞," said Y/N, as they pointed to Alban's worried and sulky expression. "𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞."

"Yeah, I know."

The two fell into silence.

After moments passed looking at the night sky, Y/N found their hand being covered by Alban's warm, scarred hands.

"Y/N...," said Alban, still looking at the stars.

"𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡?"

"Did you really mean what you said back there? The night before we entered the castle?"

"… 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧, 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞? 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰," joked Y/N, chuckling to themself.

Alban didn't laugh along, but instead turned his head to face Y/N, and take their other hand with his.

Y/N quieted down, before smiling and grinning widely before they took their hands out of Alban's and embraced him.

"𝐌𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧. 𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬~."

Alban's face bloomed into a pink flush.

"W-Well, I just wanted to make sure! Jeez, I can't go against you at all, can I?"

"𝐍𝐨𝐩𝐞!" replied Y/N with a cheeky grin.

The two smiled at each other until they felt the air around them become hot as Alban's eyes flickered to Y/N's lips.

No one will ever know who made the first move, but the two leaned in together and shared a warm, gentle kiss.

They pulled apart, and giggled as they looked into each other's eyes, before leaning in again.

It's very safe to say that the two lived happily ever after~

The End.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Epilogue:

Alban and the rest of Noctyx were getting merry at the new pub that was opened up by Y/N, who inherited the title of Duke/Duchess L/N after King Legatus expelled the rest of the corrupt L/N family members.

It was just him and his merry men in the pub, as it was reserved for them for the rest of the afternoon. Knight Tenshi was off doing official business in a different county, while Lady Alouette was sent somewhere on an errand for Y/N.

Alban looked out of the pub's window in satisfaction as he saw children in the streets not trying to steal food or from passersby, but running around while laughing and playing.

"Excyuse me, sur. Are yuu pewhaps the famous Fantom Thief fwom the legen?" ("Excuse me, sir. Are you perhaps the famous Phantom Thief from the legend?") asked a small kid, who rushed up to Alban, her little friends rushing up behind her.

Alban chuckled before rubbing the child's head.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Now, run along. I'm sure your parents are worrying for you."

"...I don't have pehwents anymo- can I stay wid yuu, sur?" ("...I don't have parents anymore- can I stay with you, sir?")

Alban widened his eyes slightly, before gently patting the child's head again.

"Little girl, you shouldn't go after someone and stay with them just because you've heard of them once. You may end up in a dangerous situation. I can bring you to a nice home, though it won't be with me."

"...Will da nyuu home let me bwing my fweinds tuu?" ("...Will the new home let me bring my friends too?")

Alban looked up to look at her friends: they were 5 children in total. They reminded him of himself and his merry men.

"Yeah, I can guarantee it. No shady business, I promise," said Alban, as he held out his pinky to the girl.

Hesitantly, the girl brought her pinky to link it with Alban's, before she smiled in delight and her eyes brightened.

A giggle was heard from over Alban's shoulder. Quickly, Alban's head swiveled to the side, only for his cheek to make contact with lips. Y/N's lips. (don't ask how Alban knew lol-)

He felt Y/N smile on his cheek before they pulled back and turned their head towards the group of children, who gaped at them.

"Awe yuu a fairy, miss/mistah/mix?" ("Are you a fairy, miss/mister/mix?")

Y/N chuckled.

"𝐘𝐞𝐬~! 𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲? 𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭."

The girl Alban made a promise with thought long and hard before speaking for the rest of her group.

"Somting wam to eet befow we goin to da nice hom the mistah pwomised us, pwease!" ("Something warm to eat before we go to the nice home the mister promised us, please!") exclaimed the girl while pointing at Alban.

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨. 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧!" 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐘/𝐍 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛.

Alban sighed as he watched them work with the children in the kitchen to make the food.

...What would it be like if they could have a little group of their own?

:)

[tenthhdoctor]

I was going to let this go, but I can't stand it anymore.

What is UP with Evilive and Australia???

(This is a joke btw and not at all serious I love this show)

Okay, so I haven't heard of an 'E2' class Australian visa. No big deal. But it made me curious as to what it was, so I briefly looked for information on what visas Australia had in 2008 and...I couldn't find anything referencing an E2 visa for someone emigrating from South Korea to Australia. What I can find is an E2 class visa for someone emigrating from Australia to South Korea. I can also find an E2 visa for someone emigrating to the US.

So: 1. I'm dumb and missed something. 2. The writers were familiar with E2 visas because South Korea has them, and the US has them, so like...who would notice?

(Side note: They are emigrating to Sydney!!! Whoo NSW representation!!!)

But this...this was what broke me:

???

??????

Okay. So, you're exporting to...Sydney? Maybe? Sure, lets go with that because literally nothing else makes sense (except Newcastle??? Which has a major port, apparently). And then bypassing Brisbane to ship to...Gladstone, Queensland? Okay, sure. I googled it and they seem to...export a lot of stuff, and have a major port there, so maybe they import too?

And then...what.

Where even IS that in WA (Western Australia)???

Oh! I looked it up and it's most likely Port Hedland, which is apparently another major port! The largest bulk...export...port in the world, supposedly. But maybe they import as well? (Okay, so it DOES import, but wow the difference between the import and export numbers is...a lot. Wikipedia even has 2008 statistics. Neat!)

Wow, the attention to detail sure is great in this show, but...uh...

Why???? Coal????

Why are you shipping our major export, that we export to you, our #3 export market in 2008...back to us?????

Like...it's just about the only thing we do. We export coal. I learned about our coal industry in school. Our richest person is a billonaire mining magnate. One of our former Prime Ministers became a joke for saying, "Coal is good for humanity." And then my university lecturer for Environmental Law got so pissed she put the quote in our final exam as an essay question.

But I digress.

I still looked it up to see if we import coal and export it, and the answer is...no. We do not.

LNG and ORE are also unlikely, as they're some of our other major exports (well, Iron Ore is). I can't find a lot of data from 2008 specifically, but the 2016-2019 data isn't good (compare imports on pages 52-53 with exports pages 54-56) and it seems recently (2021-2022) our major imports from South Korea included refined petroleum and cars. Not Ore and LNG. However, despite being the #1 exporter in the world for Iron Ore in 2021, we were the #42 importer of it too, so that one's possible imo. LNG though? Not as likely as ORE, because we export it and seem to supply it domestically, but way more likely than Coal.

Conclusion?

For a scene that barely lasts 2 seconds, the level of detail is crazy. I'm genuinely very impressed.

Also. It is hilarious that Seo Do Young was planning to sell us coal. The end.

[mining-market]

Iron Ore Mining Market Players and Industry Participants

Introduction: Overview of Iron Ore Mining Market Players

The Iron Ore Mining Market is characterized by a diverse array of industry participants, ranging from global mining giants to regional players. This article provides insights into the major companies driving the iron ore mining sector, highlighting their operations, market strategies, and contributions to industry dynamics.

Rio Tinto: A Global Mining Powerhouse

Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest diversified mining companies, with extensive iron ore mining operations across Australia and North America. The company boasts a strong portfolio of high-quality iron ore assets, including the Pilbara iron ore mines in Western Australia, which are among the largest and most efficient in the world. Rio Tinto's commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and sustainability positions it as a key player in the global iron ore market.

BHP: Leading the Way in Iron Ore Production

BHP, formerly known as BHP Billiton, is another major player in the iron ore mining industry, with significant operations in Australia and Brazil. The company operates the world's largest integrated iron ore mining and processing facilities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, producing a diverse range of iron ore products for domestic and international markets. BHP's focus on operational efficiency, cost optimization, and technological innovation has cemented its position as a leader in the iron ore sector.

Vale: A Brazilian Mining Giant

Vale is a leading global mining company based in Brazil, with extensive iron ore mining operations in the Carajás region of the Brazilian Amazon. The company is one of the largest producers and exporters of iron ore in the world, leveraging its vast reserves and integrated supply chain to meet global demand for iron ore products. Vale's commitment to environmental stewardship, community engagement, and innovation underscores its role as a key player in the iron ore mining market.

Fortescue Metals Group: Driving Growth in Australia

Fortescue Metals Group is an Australian mining company that has rapidly emerged as a major player in the Iron Ore Mining Sector. The company operates a portfolio of iron ore mines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with a focus on low-cost production and operational efficiency. Fortescue's strategic investments in infrastructure, technology, and sustainability initiatives have positioned it as a key contributor to Australia's iron ore industry and a significant player in the global market.

Anglo American: A Diversified Mining Conglomerate

Anglo American is a multinational mining company with diverse interests in various commodities, including iron ore. The company's iron ore operations are primarily located in South Africa and Brazil, where it operates mines and processing facilities to produce high-quality iron ore products for global markets. Anglo American's commitment to safety, sustainability, and responsible mining practices underscores its contribution to the iron ore mining sector.

Conclusion: Driving Innovation and Growth

The major players in the iron ore mining market play a pivotal role in shaping industry dynamics, driving innovation, and fueling economic growth. Through their extensive operations, technological advancements, and commitment to sustainability, these companies contribute significantly to meeting global demand for iron ore products and driving value across the supply chain. As the industry continues to evolve, collaboration, innovation, and strategic investments will be key to unlocking new opportunities and driving sustainable growth in the iron ore mining sector.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil starts to tap its rare earth reserves

A rare earth mining project nearing completion in the midwestern state of Goiás has the potential to kickstart the development of a rare earth industry in Brazil, market participants said

The Mineração Serra Verde project, owned by energy transition-focused private equity firm Denham Capital, is in the final stages of commissioning and is scheduled to launch ionic clay rare earth production by the end of this year.

Planned phase 1 output is large by industry standards, at around 5,000 tonnes per year of rare earth oxides contained in concentrate. Importantly, this will include both the light rare earths neodymium and praseodymium and the heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium, which are all needed for high-performance neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets for the engines of electric vehicles (EVs).

Neodymium and praseodymium are used in the largest amount in NdFeB magnets, but trace quantities of dysprosium and terbium are critical for maintaining the performance of these magnets at high temperatures inside an EV engine.

Global production of heavy rare earth ores is concentrated in Myanmar, and supply is frequently disrupted. This is accelerating the search for new sources of supply to meet growing demand from the automotive sector.

Continue reading.

[theculturedmarxist]

“The war in Ukraine is also a battle for raw materials. The country has large deposits of iron, titanium and lithium, some of which are now controlled by Russia.” That’s what the federally owned German foreign trade agency Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI) reported on its website on January 16 under the title “Ukraine’s raw materials wealth at risk.”

There are trillions at stake. According to the GTAI, “raw material deposits worth $12.4 trillion” remain beyond the control of the Ukrainian army, “including 41 coal mines, 27 gas deposits, 9 oil fields and 6 iron ore deposits.” Ukraine has not only coal, gas, oil and wheat but also rare earths and metals—especially lithium, which has been called the “white gold” of the transition to new energy and transportation technologies. The country accounts for around one-third of Europe’s explored lithium deposits.

Only the ignorant could believe that this is irrelevant to NATO’s war aims. It would be the first major war in over 100 years that is not about mineral resources, markets and geostrategic interests. The World Socialist Web Site has pointed out in previous articles that deposits of critical raw materials in Russia and China, which are essential to the transition to electric mobility and renewable energy, are an important factor in the war calculus of NATO states.

Yet they go unmentioned in the media’s round-the-clock war propaganda. The media wish the public to believe that NATO is waging this war to defend “freedom” and “democracy”—and that after bombing Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria back into the Middle Ages under similar pretexts.

Relevant trade journals, industry magazines and think tanks, on the other hand, rave about Ukraine’s mineral wealth and discuss how best to capture it. It was to this end that German Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Green Party) even traveled to Ukraine at the beginning of April with a high-ranking business delegation.

According to the industry magazine Mining World, Ukraine has a total of around 20,000 raw material deposits, of which only 7,800 have been explored. Numerous other articles and strategy papers openly state that this is what the war is about.

On February 24, 2022, the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the largest German business magazine, Capital, published an article stating that “Europe’s supply of raw materials” was “threatened” by the Russian occupation of eastern Ukraine. Ukraine was not only “the leading grain exporter” but also the largest EU supplier of iron ore pellets and “a linchpin for Europe’s energy security.” Among investors, the magazine said, there is “concern that the war will cut off exports of key raw materials.”

The GTAI article cited earlier reports that European steel mills were sourcing nearly one-fifth of their iron ore pellets from Ukraine in 2021. GTAI goes on to write that Ukraine is among the top ten producers of iron ore, manganese, zirconium, and graphite, and is “among the world leaders in titanium and kaolin.” In addition to “untapped oil and gas fields,” Ukraine’s lithium and titanium deposits, in particular, hold “enormous potential” for the European economy. In 2020, production volumes amounted to 1,681,000 tons of kaolin, 537,000 tons of titanium, 699,000 tons of manganese and 49,274,000 tons of iron ore.

Lithium for electromobility and energy storage

The price of lithium has increased more than eightfold in the last decade and is the subject of intense speculation. The metal is of strategic importance to the major imperialist powers because it is used in lithium-ion batteries installed in electric vehicles and off-grid renewable energy sources, and is also needed for lightweight aluminum alloys in the aerospace industry.

The largest lithium deposit in Europe is located in the Donetsk Oblast in the middle of the embattled Donbas region, only kilometers from the front lines. An article in the Tagesspiegel, published two months after the Russian invasion, points to untapped lithium reserves of 500,000 tons in Shevchenko near Potrovsk and at least two other Ukrainian deposits.

Western companies and Ukrainian oligarchs were already fighting bitterly for control of this “white gold” before the war. As the Tagesspiegel reports, “Ukrainian businessmen” (who stood close to the Ukrainian government of the time under the oligarch Petro Poroshenko) with connections to Western mining companies obtained mining licenses, without a tender process, for the lithium deposit in Shevchenko as early as 2018.

The company in question, Petro Consulting—which was renamed “European Lithium Ukraine” shortly before the war began—is expected to be bought out by the Australian-European mining company European Lithium once its access to Ukraine’s lithium reserves is secured.

In 2018, when the Ukrainian Geological Survey refused to issue a “special permit” for Ukraine’s second largest lithium deposit at Dobra, likewise bypassing the tender process, Petro Consulting went so far as to sue the agency. After the Ukrainian Procurator General’s Office eventually launched an investigation into the allegedly illegal special permits, Petro-Consulting had its Shevchenko mining license revoked by the courts in April 2020 until further notice.

However, a spokesman for European Lithium told Der Tagesspiegel that the company bears “no risk in connection with the Ukrainian deposits.” He expressed confidence that the projects would be “made production-ready” after the end of the war.

Titanium for the Western arms industry

In a September 2022 article titled “Ukraine’s Titanium Can Armor the West,” the transatlantic think tank Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) wrote: “Support for Ukraine has been driven by strategic concerns and moral-political values. But long-term Western help should also be based on solid material interests.”

“Ukraine’s substantial titanium deposits” are “a key resource critical to the West” because the metal is “integral to many defense systems,” such as aircraft components and missiles. Currently, the raw material for Airbus, Boeing and Co. is extracted “in an expensive and time-consuming six-step process” from titanium ore, which until then had been sourced to a considerable extent from Russia. This “dependence” on “strategic competitors and adversaries” is unacceptable from the West’s point of view and can be ended with the help of Ukrainian resources:

For example, Dnipro-based Velta, the largest private exporter of raw titanium in Europe, has developed a new production system that bypasses the intensive process of producing titanium sponge and could supply the US and European defense and aerospace industries with finished metal. Given there are only five countries in the world actively producing titanium sponge —China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan and Ukraine — Velta’s technology could be a game changer for the supply chain by cutting reliance on Russia and China.

CEPA is funded by US and European defense contractors and lists as members of its “scientific advisory board” Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor General H. R. McMaster, former German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt and publicists Anne Applebaum, Francis Fukuyama, and Timothy Garton Ash among others.

The CEPA article continues, “Reorienting titanium contracts to Ukraine would stimulate the country’s economy, even during wartime, not to mention during postwar reconstruction, and simultaneously strike another blow at Russia’s war machine.” The goal, it states, should be “cementing Ukraine’s integration into Europe.”

A January 28, 2023 report in Newsweek reports, “there is a nascent effort underway in the U.S. and allied nations to identify, develop, and utilize Ukraine’s vast resources of a key metal crucial for the development of the West’s most advanced military technology which will form the backbone of future deterrence against Russia and China.” The report adds, “If Ukraine wins, the U.S. and its allies will be in sole position to cultivate a new conduit of titanium.”

“Strategic raw materials partnership” between EU and Ukraine

The US and EU efforts to plunder Ukraine’s lithium and titanium deposits are part of the broader goal of tying Ukraine to the West as a strategic raw materials supplier. In particular, the EU is seeking to free itself from dependence on China—currently its most important raw materials supplier—against which the imperialist powers, especially the United States, are preparing to wage war.

On July 13, 2021, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President of the European Commission, signed a “Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials and Batteries” in Kiev to “integrate critical raw materials and battery value chains.” Ukraine’s inclusion in the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA) and the European Battery Alliance (EBA) serves to “bolster Europe’s resilience and open strategic autonomy in key technologies,” the EU Commission said.

Referring to the list of critical raw materials in the EU’s associated “action plan,” Šefčovič told the press, “21 of these critical raw materials are in Ukraine, which is also extracting 117 out of 120 globally used minerals.” He added: “We’re talking about lithium, cobalt, manganese, rare earths—all of them are in Ukraine.”

Following the signing, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who is also responsible for the defense and space industries of EU countries, praised the “high potential of the critical raw material reserves in Ukraine” that could help in “addressing some of the strategic dependencies [of the EU].”

Speaking at Raw Materials Week in Brussels in November 2022, Prime Minister Shmyhal stressed that Ukraine is “among the top ten producers of titanium, iron ore, kaolin, manganese, zirconium and graphite” and renewed his pledge to make the country an “integral part of industrial supply chains in the EU.”

The EU’s “strategic dependencies” are by no means limited to Russia or China and certainly not to Ukraine. A global race for strategic sources of raw materials has long since begun, in the course of which the US and the leading EU powers are attempting to divide among themselves the mineral resources and other resources of the “weaker” states. Although they are jointly waging war against Russia in Ukraine, this inevitably exacerbates conflicts between themselves as well.

The escalation of the war in Ukraine shows that the ruling elites are willing to go to extremes to enforce their profit interests. Only the working class can put an end to permanent war and the prospect of devastating nuclear war by bringing the resources of the entire planet under its democratic control on the basis of a socialist program and holding war profiteers to account.