Chapter 45: Cruelty
Time returns to September 21, 10009 of the Yulan calendar. At this moment, Wharton and Nina were in the sky. At this time, Linley also believed that Reynolds was truly dead.
However…
“This is the third day on the ship. Those bastards just tortured another poor slave to death and threw him into the Ponai River.” Reynolds looked outside through the iron-barred window. A seemingly strong corpse, stained with blood, was thrown into the Ponai River. One human life only caused a single “plop” sound.
Reynolds, having been in the military, had already witnessed how cheap human life could be.
But during this escort journey, the terror of these slave traders still shocked Reynolds. Fortunately, he, Reynolds, was a top-tier valuable commodity, so those slaves didn’t dare to kill him.
“Crack!” A whip lashed fiercely across Reynolds’ body. The tip of the long whip even struck his face. Blood immediately seeped out from Reynolds’ face, and his body, covered by tattered clothes, was also full of various scars.
“Damn it, what are you looking at?” A big man in the cabin, holding a whip, roared angrily at Reynolds.
Reynolds could only curl up in the corner of the cabin, not daring to make a sound. He had learned to be clever. If he acted tough and glared back, he would probably be tortured all night long.
This large slave-transporting ship was enormous. The lowest cabin held the cheapest slaves. The thugs of the trafficking organization would patrol from time to time, or if they took a disliking to someone, they would beat them severely.
Reynolds was a top-tier slave. He was locked in a special room on the second floor, its window secured with iron bars. Two thugs were also guarding him nearby.
The other rooms on the second floor housed many thugs.
On the third floor, the topmost level, were the leaders of this escort team: one rank 8 warrior and two rank 7 warriors. If it weren’t for Reynolds, this escort team wouldn’t have sent a rank 8 warrior.
On the deck of this large ship, a tall, bald man walked down from the third-floor cabin.
“Lord Pierce.” The surrounding thugs immediately spoke respectfully.
This bald man glanced at the bloodstains on the deck, frowned, and said, “Wash these bloodstains clean. And, slaves are worth money too. All of you, be careful with your actions. Don’t kill them. Killing a slave means a loss of money for the organization.”
The thugs didn’t dare to speak.
The bald man snorted, then walked to the railing, enjoying the cool evening breeze and the beautiful night scenery of the Ponai River.
“By the way, how is that mage doing?” the bald man asked with a snort.
A thug immediately flattered him, “Lord Pierce, that pretty-faced mage was very arrogant at first, but after the brothers taught him a lesson these past few days, he’s become quite sensible.”
“Very good.”
The bald man said calmly, “All of you, be careful. Watch that mage closely. The most valuable cargo we’re escorting this time is this rank 7 mage. And judging by his appearance, this mage is also a noble. When sold, the price won’t be ordinary.”
The thugs nodded in agreement.
A young rank 7 mage was absolutely a top-tier commodity on the slave market, even more sought after than beautiful virgins.
“What’s that sound?” The bald man suddenly frowned and turned his head sharply towards the direction of the lowest cabin. “That sickly wretch has been moaning all along. Drag him out here. Damn it, he’s annoying me to death.” A glint of bloodthirsty red flashed in the bald man’s eyes.
Soon, a frail young man was dragged out. He looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. He had a foul stench and was covered in bloodstains. His gaze was somewhat dazed. These days of being escorted had truly driven him mad. He was just a youth who had left his hometown seeking his dreams, but who would have thought he’d be caught and sold to a slave organization, where his nightmare began.
“Hmm?” The bald man reached out his hand, and a nearby thug very sensibly handed him a whip.
Taking the whip, the bald man flicked it in the air, producing a crisp cracking sound. A flicker of terror appeared in the frail young man’s dazed eyes.
“If you’re not dead, why are you moaning down there? You’ve ruined my good mood.” The bald man grabbed the whip and lashed it fiercely onto the frail young man.
This lash was far more vicious than those from the ordinary thugs.
The frail young man’s whole body trembled violently. A terrifying, sunken whip mark appeared from his face down to his waist. Blood oozed out. His clothes were already torn beyond recognition.
“Crack!” “Crack!” “Crack!” “Crack!”…
The bald man whipped him viciously, venting his anger entirely on this poor youth. The frail young man, experienced in this, immediately protected his head and curled up on the ground. According to his thinking, if he could just endure it, he might still keep his life.
Unfortunately, this bald man didn’t dare to kill Reynolds, but he dared to kill him.
“Lord Pierce, he’s not breathing anymore.” A thug beside him said in a low voice.
The bald man casually threw the bloodstained whip to a nearby thug, then stretched towards the surging river water. “Ugh, this feeling is really great. You few, throw this trash overboard. And clean this deck thoroughly.”
“Yes, Lord Pierce.” The surrounding thugs quickly got to work.
“Plop!” Another corpse was thrown into the river.
Usually, out of the hundreds of slaves transported each time, a dozen or so would be tortured to death during the journey. Those beaten to death by the thugs were also the weak ones. The strong ones could withstand it. So the trafficking organization didn’t suffer much loss.
…
“Another one.” Reynolds sighed inwardly. He never thought that after escaping death outside of Nier City, he would end up in this situation.
Reynolds didn’t know what his future held.
“Being a slave?” Just thinking about the lowly, dark life of a slave sent a shiver down Reynolds’ spine.
“Pretty boy, moving your lips? Trying to cast a spell?” A furious roar was followed by a “crack” as a whip lashed out, striking Reynolds squarely on the face.
Pain, humiliation!
These thugs clearly knew Reynolds was a rank 7 mage. Those lowly thugs all wanted to get in a few extra lashes on Reynolds, driven by some twisted vanity.
“Damn it, get lost!” Reynolds was truly enraged.
The more he endured, the more they overstepped.
“Oh!” The thug holding the whip raised his eyebrows, twisted his mouth, and looked at Reynolds sideways. “Getting cocky, are you?” He said, raising the whip to strike again.
A savage glint appeared in Reynolds’ eyes. His lips quickly began to move, chanting a spell.
“Boom!” Fierce fireballs, each the size of a human head, erupted from Reynolds, surging towards the two thugs. In an instant, over a dozen fireballs completely surrounded them.
“Ah!” The two thugs immediately screamed in agony. Their bodies were engulfed in flames. This fire was much hotter than ordinary wood fire. Their skin quickly burned and charred. In moments, they were lifeless.
Having just cast this spell, Reynolds immediately rushed outside.
But at that moment—
“Bang!” A large hole suddenly appeared in the ceiling of the room. A one-eyed man in a red robe landed in the room. His figure flashed, appearing before Reynolds in an instant, and he kicked Reynolds hard.
“Bang!” Reynolds slammed heavily into a corner of the cabin, spitting blood all over the floor.
This red-haired, red-robed one-eyed man turned to look at the two charred corpses, then stared coldly at Reynolds. “You’re asking for death!” Reynolds glared back at the one-eyed man.
“No wonder the organization requires three months of special training. They’re all stubborn bones.” The one-eyed man cursed. For strong individuals like rank 7 mages, even though they were captured, making them truly submissive from the depths of their hearts was very difficult. If angered enough, they would fight to the death.
A moment later—
Several thugs grabbed Reynolds’ limbs, immobilizing him. The red-robed one-eyed man and the two bald men stared coldly at Reynolds.
“Pretty boy, I warned you to behave on this ship. But you, you’ve made me very angry,” the red-robed one-eyed man said coldly. “Pierce, teach him a lesson he won’t forget.”
Reynolds’ face immediately turned pale.
He recalled the one-eyed man’s earlier threat. Terrified, Reynolds’ eyes widened. But the bald man, Pierce, walked over with a sinister smile. “Hold his hand down on the deck.” Immediately, thugs grabbed Reynolds’ hand and pressed it against the deck.
Pierce picked up a pair of iron pliers, the kind used on ships to cut through steel bars. The pliers clamped down on two of Reynolds’ fingers. Feeling the cold metal on his fingers, Reynolds’ heart trembled.
“Hmph, cut them off!” the one-eyed man snorted coldly.
The iron pliers clamped down instantly. Like scissors cutting through cloth, Reynolds’ two fingers were severed. Blood gushed out immediately. The piercing pain made Reynolds howl in agony.
Being slashed with a knife was nothing compared to the pain of having fingers cut off.
Hearing Reynolds’ howls, the surrounding thugs became excited. The one-eyed man snorted coldly, “Pretty boy, remember this. Today is just a small lesson. If there’s a next time, I’ll make sure… you never forget it for the rest of your life!” With that, the one-eyed man turned and walked out.
…
Night.
Reynolds curled up in a cold corner, his body trembling slightly. The severed ends of his left hand’s fingers had formed blood scabs. The two thugs nearby occasionally glanced at him, a hint of madness in their eyes.
Reynolds had killed two of their brothers. These thugs all harbored some hatred for him.
“Damn it, pretty boy.”
A whip shadow lashed out again, aiming for Reynolds’ injured hand. Reynolds tried to hide his injured hand behind his back, but the tip of the whip still struck the wound. Intense pain shot through him… The wound reopened. Especially when the whip hit the broken bone, the heart-wrenching pain returned, as if his fingers were being severed again.
“Alright, stop hitting him,” a thug beside him said.
In truth, both thugs were worried that Reynolds might go mad and cast another spell. But the thug who had just hit him was very close to one of the dead thugs, so he naturally wanted revenge.
“No, I have to escape.” Reynolds curled up in the cold corner of the wall, thinking to himself. “If I have to endure this kind of life any longer, I’ll go mad.”
Reynolds knew that even if he held on, all that awaited him was a life of slavery.
“Tomorrow. When the ship docks to rest tomorrow, I’ll make my move!” Reynolds didn’t care about the risks anymore. The ship docked once every day to replenish supplies. Also, the one-eyed man didn’t like dry rations; he preferred fresh food and always went ashore to eat.
But the one-eyed man was also cautious. While he went ashore to eat, the other two rank 7 warriors watched over Reynolds.
Time passed slowly. Lying on the floor in the dead of night, Reynolds felt increasingly cold. Especially the dull, throbbing pain from his severed fingers. He gritted his teeth and endured it.
Gradually, dawn broke.
The two thugs occasionally lashed Reynolds with their whips. Reynolds could only curl up in the corner, silently enduring. He knew he couldn’t resist. The first resistance cost him two fingers. The next resistance… would probably be, as the one-eyed man said, something he would never forget for the rest of his life!
Reynolds waited silently, waiting for the ship to dock.
A long, long time…
“Docked!” A loud voice came from the deck. Soon, footsteps sounded from above. The three strong warriors were coming down.
“Pierce, you two watch here. I’ll go ashore to rest for a while. I’ll come back to relieve you two later,” the one-eyed man’s voice rang out.
“Rest assured, my lord,” Pierce’s voice replied.
Hearing the footsteps moving away, all leaving the ship, Reynolds inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Then he closed his eyes, and the escape plan once again surfaced in his mind.
The plan was very risky, but he had to take the gamble.
Glancing at the two thugs beside him, Reynolds curled up in the corner, lowered his head, and his lips began to move slightly…