Chapter 8: Cruel Reality [3]
Eren opened his eyes and stood up. He looked around for something that could be used as a weapon, but all he could see were dried blood stains here and there.
At that moment, urgent footsteps of soldiers were heard, as if they had made an appointment.
"Everybody jump out quickly! You are moving!"
"Come out quickly!"
With loud voices, the soldiers opened the iron cage doors and began pulling out the slaves.
"I see you again."
In front of Eren's cage stood a man who looked like a toad.
It was Congressman Montecorato.
"Catch."
At his command, two muscular men wearing blood-stained masks opened the cage door and grabbed Eren's arms.
They were private soldiers under Montecorato's direct command.
Although Eren had consumed some water and food, he didn't have enough strength to regain his full vigor, so he couldn't even think of resisting.
"I can't just send it away, right? I have to give you a gift atleast." Montecorato approached closely with a grim smile.
At that moment.
Thrust—!
"Ugh!"
A painful moan escaped from Eren's mouth.
Something small and sharp had pierced his abdomen. In Montecorato's hand was a small, blood-stained, awl-like knife.
When the knife was used, there was little bleeding, but the organs were damaged, and the pain was severe.
The movement slowed, causing death little by little.
It was a tool often used against opposing players when manipulating gladiator games.
"I hope you get to hell safely, kid. Get him out of the way!"
"Yes!"
Montecorato turned around and exited the cage.
He thought this was enough to relieve his anger to some extent. To him, Eren was just a toy to vent his anger.
Eren was dragged outside through an underground passage leading to the outside.
'So this is the cruel reality of the world,' Eren thought dryly.
Outside, several convoy wagons surrounded by iron bars were already waiting.
Once the narrow cage was filled with slaves, the carriage departed without delay, as if someone was chasing them.
***
The wagon train headed south and moved quickly.
Eren removed the hand that was pressing his abdomen. Blood slowly trickled down from the small hole.
He covered the wound with his hand again and looked around.
Because it was deep at night, it was hard to tell where something was, but in Eren's eyes, he could see things, albeit vaguely.
His gaze, which had been directed outside, returned to the interior of the convoy. Each of the slaves was cowering and trembling in fear.
There was nothing that could help treat the wound.
Eren decided that he had no choice but to endure.
He became a rag, took off the few rags he had left, and bandaged the wound.
He concentrated on maintaining his body temperature by curling his body as much as possible.
Although he knew he shouldn't fall asleep, Eren's eyelids began to close little by little as his body reached its limit.
He didn't fall asleep completely, though. He stayed up all night in a state of half-sleep, and infrequently, images of Anessa and Feather passed by in his dreams.
'Eren, you are a truly special child. You must survive.'
'Eren! Are you giving up here? What a disappointment, son.'
Anessa and Feather's words seemed to echo in his ears.
The nightmarish moments that followed haunted him.
Wrinkles began to form between Eren's eyebrows. But he gritted his teeth and endured the pain.
Right then, amazing changes began to occur in his body.
Overnight, as the damaged organs gradually healed and bleeding decreased, hardened blood began to cling to the skin.
***
The next morning, Eren, who opened his eyes in the hot sunlight, first checked the wound on his abdomen.
There was a dark red scab that had just appeared.
He moved his body lightly. Strangely enough, the throbbing pain caused by the wound had completely disappeared.
Right then, the carriage that had been moving all night stopped.
Eren sensed something unusual and quickly looked around.
The place where the carriage stopped was in the middle of a vast plain.
As they continued moving south, it seemed they had reached the southern coastal region of the Morgan Empire.
The endless horizon was covered with knee-high grass.
"Let's see! Which one is strong?"
"No matter how well I choose, that's what it is to me."
"Haha! Let's wait and see."
The imperial soldiers who were talking at the front approached the transport carriage with a swagger.
They were divided into two teams and inspected the condition of the slaves.
At that time, Eren felt someone's gaze and turned his head to look.
There, alone and at a glance, a man riding a high-quality black horse was turning his head.
He was a middle-aged man with his hair pulled into a tight ponytail and a handsome beard.
He seemed to be the leader. Although he pretended not to, he was clearly looking at him.
One of the soldiers who was closely examining the transport wagon looked at Eren and then shook his head.
"They're the only ones who look like they're going to die soon."
At that time, a young man with a rather sturdy physique caught his eye. The young man, who appeared to be in his early 20s, was quite sturdy and seemed to have been captured recently.
"I'm going with this one!"
"Oh! It's quite useful, isn't it?"
The two teams each pulled one slave out of the cage.
They went out into the open field, untied the chains on the slaves' feet, and waved their hands and said,
"I will save your life. Run away."
"Yes. Just over the hill you see is a forest. If you go into the forest, you will be safe."
The soldiers all smiled sinisterly and pushed the backs of the two slaves.
The two slaves looked at them with bewildered expressions and then turned to face each other.
For a moment, their eyes trembled slightly. The two started running.
Shasak! Shasak!
"Gasp! Gaph!"
Two people, breathing heavily, waded through the grass.
The soldiers looked at them with relaxed expressions, and as they walked away, they looked at the leader riding a horse behind them.
He rode his horse slowly towards the field and stood in the middle of the two teams. By the time the two slaves looked as small as fingers, he spoke.
"Start."
As soon as his words fell, the soldiers on both sides took out the bows they were carrying on their backs, notched arrows, and turned their bodies slightly to draw the bows.
They aimed the bows precisely at the running slaves. When the arrows were released, they quickly flew towards the slaves.
The game was won by the team that killed the opposing team's slaves first.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone