Smack!
The whip struck his back, forcing Tom to kneel on the ground, but he was quickly pulled up and stumbled forward.
Around him, human refugees were being led by ropes.
Hunched old men, shivering children, disheveled women, blood-covered men, and even dead bodies—they were led like cattle, herded by the orcs towards Wind Whisper City.
Those who walked too slowly, cried too loudly, or just looked the wrong way, met with a painful lash from a whip.
The scent of despair was thick in the air, carried by the west wind to the walls of Wind Whisper City.
Tom watched the city gates with hopeful eyes, awaiting the Holy Knight Duke to lead his army out and drive away these brutal orcs.
However, as time ticked by, no army emerged, nor did the stunningly handsome Holy Knight Duke, who was as enchanting as an earthly angel.
The closed city gates isolated the inner world from the outside.
The light in Tom's heart was slowly fading until a thought suddenly emerged—