Free Web NovelChapter 22: Ch 22: Attack
The caravan was once again on its destined path, traversing along rough paths with soldiers flanking both sides and the other caravans.
Inside though, the number of captives had increased, the already narrow space feeling more suffocating.
However, what would catch anyone’s attention was the tense atmosphere inside the caravan at that moment. The air crackled with a visible trepidition, the stench of death and rot quelching the very space.
At that moment, the nauseating smell of sweaty and bloody figures were the last thing Enzo could focus on when right in front of him, lying on the caravan floor was a dead man. freewebnøvel.coɱ
The corpse was covered with multiple injuries, a few of them jutting out their vital organs. Those areas were now covered with dried blood as the entire body rotted. By the looks of it, the man had been dead for atleast a few days. The face was still intact but Enzo highly doubted if that would be the same after a few days.
"How couid they do this?!" Zen shouted all of a sudden, breaking the tensed silence inside.
The Hermanns looked at each other, still reeling from how the legion had previously shoved a rotting corpse inside their caravan, an eerie smile on the young man’s face. Obviously enjoying the reaction of the five prisoners.
John, the oldest of them all, took a deep breath as he took a glance below at the dead man but soon his eyes turned misty and he looked away.
The man sitting beside Enzo patted John’s shoulders as he muttered, "Sorry, friend. Meadows was just as much as a brother to us as he was to you. Maybe not blood related...but our paths had always been entangled."
John let out a choked noise as he shook his head lightly.
"There is no reason to apologise. You and I...we both know we aren’t at fault here. Never have been. If anything, I feel like I have failed as a leader. We were supposed to bring equality, instead we got reminded of the abyss of inequality we were fighting against. What a cruel fate we live in...But treat this as a lesson. We can fail but not at the cost of our lives."
Across from them, another man, looking much younger than the other four prisoners chuckled as if amused.
"If you are searching for inequality, councellor, you need not look so far. Just glance at your right." He said, waving his hands towards the other captives.
Enzo felt the man beside him glance at his direction. Tactfully, he kept his heads down, playing the perfect role of an intimated slave.
"Don’t worry, councellor. We shall make them pay, no matter what. Even if we are to give up our lives. If Sir Meadows can sacrifice his life for us, we can as well. For our cause."
Zen’s words were met with silence. The lack of resolve was palpable amongst them and realising that, Zen let out a disgruntled groan.
John however, muttered in a raspy voice.
"...Don’t call me councellor. I have told this a lot of time."
Across them, Enzo’s eyes narrowed, his pupils gleaming with intelligence.
He summoned his runes and opened the groupchat of the aspirants. Scrolling to the names, he clicked on Valerie as a separate private chatbox popped up. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Thinking his words properly, he started writing. His fingers moved subtly in what would seem like empty air to the others.
[An ex-councellor with a criminal nature is currently escaping. Perhaps, the news might interest you. MASTER.]
His last word a testimony to her gift.
***
Enzo waited, a heavy feeling settling in his heart as the caravan suddenly halted after rolling for a while in no particular direction.
The sound of chainmails clinking and several hooves heading towards their direction echoed inside the caravan.
Enzo stole a look at the expressions of the five men. Other than Zen and the other young man - both grinning as they shared meaningful glances with each other, everyone looked composed. Too calm as if they were already confident about what was about to happen.
Suddenly, voices rose outside the vehicle. Soldiers were shouting but not amongst themselves. Their voices sounded like they were shouting at a particular direction in unity.
Enzo really wished that the caravan had a small window. Atleast he could have kept himself updated with the situation outside.
Although he could fairly predict on what was about to happen...
It wasn’t a storyline he had seen in the novel. Rather this was a completely new event - his own prediction.
From the moment, the five prisoners had been dragged inside, Enzo didn’t see a single trace of fear at the threats of being slaved once they reached their destination.
Rather, they had only been raging about the murder of John’s brother and were emotionally describing their flaws and cracks in their "perfect plans".
On top of that, he already knew the characters he was dealing with. Well... atleast Sir John himself. And his deceased brother Meadows.
Both had been extremely important characters in the original plotline - one the rebel and the other the catalyst.
In reality, John was a man who wanted peace between his empire and the neighbouring countries and territories. This had already made him infamous amongst the Windsor nobility.
But the fury descended upon him when he had proposed the Emperor to abolish slavery. Of course as a result, his fame among the commoners had skyrotted. Nobility however, openly despised him now.
’Poor guy got framed for raising a rebellion. Well, he certainly does that later.’ Enzo couldn’t help but chuckle.
His thoughts however, turned dark. ’I just hope Valerie gets the hint and somehow safeguards him. As long as he sides with her faction, it shall bring both of us benefits.’
*Swissh*
His neck snapped left. A second later, an arrow struck the plank of wood where the two men were leaning against.
’Ah it begins...’ He had already predicted the men following John would definitely be helping them escape. And these five men knew it.
He watched as the burly man beside him let out a grunt and banged the wooden wall behind him. The plank instantly broke in half, startling a few of the Hermann captives.
Meanwhile, Enzo mused. ’Even the soldier from before is involved with them. He had been quite adamant that I move from my position and let the prisoners sir there.’
As he thought that, he leaned backwards feeling the wooden surface under his weight. As expected, the wall was unyielding and tough.
But the wall he had been leaning on before the five men arrived had been surprisingly soft and weak. As if a mere push could break it down, just like what was happening right now.
Everything had been planned beforehand.
"Come on, let’s go. Our boys can’t distract them for too long." The man shouted as he leapt from the shattered wall, his hands still cuffed. The others nodded and were about to leave when Zen suddenly spoke, "Wait, we can’t leave Sir Meadows rotting here! Hey Karl, help me carry him out."
"Don’t." John intervened, his eyes looking at the corpse of his brother with a cynical expression. "They can track him. He still has whatever poison they had injected inside...and it has a unique mana pattern. And the royal dogs have noses that can reach holes we won’t poke at."
Zen looked at John for a moment, with something close to pity. But he shook his head as he and Karl leapt outside as well. John cast one last look at his brother before disappearing from the caravan.
