Uriel deftly carved the freshly skinned, crimson-hued meat into delicate pieces, while Angela and Michael expertly impaled them onto hazelnut skewers. Nearby, Lucius tended to the fire, gathering wood and feeding fire. The relentless pursuit of the day had paid off, ensuring they would not go hungry for the next two days. Angela looked blankly at the glowing ashes. Twirling the skewers, Lucius enjoyed the delicious aroma wafting into his nostrils. Uriel readied the leftover meat for storage.

"Where'd you score the meat, brats?” - they heard a rough voice, out of nowhere. A man with a gap-toothed smile and broad shoulders appeared from the tree shadows. Resting his right hand on the sword hilt. He walked carefully and stealthily, much like a hunter. Michael’s eyes landed on the weapons heaped under the tree.

“Don’t even consider it!” He heard a warning with a hoarse laugh. An archer was standing next to the tree, pulling a long bow. A bald figure holding an axe stood next to him, while a massive man with a crossbow stood a little further away.

“We caught two rabbits, didn’t we, Yang? What do you say?” - The toothless one laughed hoarsely again and stood nearby.

"Hey, Riley, Ralph," the gap-toothed figure rasped, and out of nowhere, two figures popped up.

The archer stood about twenty paces away, arrow in hand, while the axeman and crossbowman approached the bonfire. Uriel caught Michael’s glance and discreetly hid his hand in the sliced meat, observing Lucius tending to the skewers.

“Well, little birds...” grinned the toothless man, revealing his lack of teeth. His words sparked a shared resolve within the quartet. In a coordinated effort, they sprang into action. Following the setting sun’s beam, a dagger flew toward the archer like a graceful ray of steel. Lucius swiftly propelled a sturdy skewer at the crossbowman’s face, and Angela’s fiery branch sailed through the air, filling it with the scent of smoke. Michael hurried to the weapon stash, stumbled on his way but still managed to grab two swords.

“Michael!” - He heard the Blondy’s scream and promptly threw his sword with immense force as he spotted the axeman trailing him. Then Michael intervened between Angela and the toothless to allow her to flee.

The crossbowman fiercely growled and choked Lucius as he wrapped his arms around his throat. Uriel sprinted towards the axeman, but then unexpectedly turned and jumped towards the crossbowman.

“I will kill you all here, you mongrels!” - growled toothless and unleashed his sword. Blondy jumped over the fire and ran towards the spearman.

The sword was almost knocked out of Michael’s hand by the clash with the enemy’s weapon. Because the enemy was bigger and had more strength, he decided not to meet the weapon directly and instead used his strength to redirect it, but the impact was too strong. Had he not moved to the side immediately, the steel blade would have sliced him. Adjusting his position, Michael skillfully parried the attack, feeling the impact reverberate through his muscles. As he initiated his counterattack at a lower angle, the sword encountered a formidable barrier of chain mail.

By using diagonal cuts, stepping, feints, and strikes, he prevented his opponent from catching their breath. With one forceful blow from a heavy boot, Michael's dreams were crushed, sending him soaring almost two meters into the air. Despite the pain, he got up to his knee and patiently awaited his opponent, who was doing the same. Just before the ultimate moment, he recalled the lessons taught by Blondy. He caught sight of the sword in the air and heard a hiss when he jumped with a dive and swung the sword while lying down...

He couldn’t be able to catch up with the wounded leg, thought Michael as he dashed towards the spearman. The crossbowman had Angela’s arrow stuck in his throat. Uriel danced between an axe and a swordsman. Lucius, with two spears, retreated to the face of the spearman.

The fencing exercises with Blondy played a crucial role in helping him avoid the initial hit. He clashed the sword against the spear's tip and lunged forward, but his opponent was no amateur either - swiftly stepping back and preventing Michael from closing in. The weapon moving like a snake first pierced his arm and then passed dangerously close to his throat as he retreated. There was no point in trying to get closer. The opponent was too experienced in that...

Michael wielded the sword held in both hands and waited in a defensive stance.

The spear was as fast as a snake, but at the last second, Mikhail took his hand and cut the tree with one blow of his sword. The warrior’s eyes widened with fear and his sword became red...

The axeman, who had sneered at Uriel, crouched on his sword. The other was already dead with an arrow. Lucius was fighting a limping toothless...

Angela's arrow struck Toothless in his right leg, causing him to collapse onto his knees. He vigorously swung his sword, keeping Lucius at a distance. Angela had her crossbow ready, but she was in no rush to kill the kneeling man. The Blondy approached them with firm steps. He evaded a kneeling swing, halted the second one with his sword, delivered a kick to his face, and swiftly threw him onto his back. He kicked the steel lying on the ground away from the owner.

“You are not kids, you are devils!” - grunted the toothless.

“Why'd you attack us?” - Blondy asked and then kicked Toothless in the ribs.

“Screw you!” - Toothless spit out some blood, but the scream stopped when the blonde stepped on the wound.

Michael couldn't tell if the pain made Toothless braver or something else, but he got up, all stiff, and shook his left hand at the blondy.

Blood was coming out of the hand that got sliced, and the guy was bawling.

“What did you want from us, huh?” - continued Blondy violently.

"We, uh, hunt people and, like, sell them as slaves..." hopeless toothless replied.

Uriel cleaned the bloodied sword on the toothless body.

“We have to leave soon.” There they found only dead people and burning huts in the place.

"We need to find out where those people were taken," Blondy's voice seethed with anger. In complete silence, they unanimously agreed and began following the trail of the small army.

Uriel was leading them, his eyes scanning the road with heightened vigilance. The horsemen would have scouts and they better not be seen by the pursuers.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

At dawn, they were already close enough to the army. They had a camp spread out on the river bank and they had hundreds of shackled prisoners.

“Where are they taking so many people?” Angela asked in a whisper.

“They are going to the old fort,” said Uriel. “It’s a small town, a former fort,” he added after a while.

“What can we do?” - Lucius was interested.

“Probably nothing, but maybe some opportunity will appear,” hidden emotion was felt in Blondy’s words.

The opportunity didn't arise... They even came too close to the prisoners. Nevertheless, their minds remained blank, and as they pledged to retreat, the horsemen stood in their way.

"We shouldn't have gotten this close," Blondy muttered, her voice filled with unease. “There’s no point,” he added as Michael gripped the hilt of his sword. There were many of them: horsemen, infantry...

The four were tied with a rope, as there were no shackles in the camp. They surrendered their weapons and horses without resistance, receiving only a couple of kicks. The bandits gathered the prisoners from various villages and headed towards the old fort on foot. Of course, accompanied by the guards. Running away was pointless. Regardless, they would still be caught. They would have a chance of survival if they sneaked away at night, preferably with horses. They covertly scouted the area, evaluated their abilities, and shared their findings. Since the first night, they were aware of the weapon's location and the horse care routine. Uriel taught them how to untie the ropes, but they remained unsure of how to escape.

They seldom spoke to other prisoners to avoid being speared in the stomach.

Four hundred horsemen and one hundred infantry archers were escorting over two hundred people to a nearby city, their mission unknown.

“Where or to whom are the captives sold?” - asked Lucius. Slavery did not exist in Al-Moravid until now, nor was it acceptable in neighboring kingdoms, except, of course, the Samaratian Empire, which had an entire army of slaves.

“How are they going to bring so many people from here to Samaratia?” Angela whispered. The guards were far from them and they could talk almost freely.

“We don’t know yet whether they will take him to the empire,” said Blondy, and at that moment, the whip cracked on his back.

They walked without talking for the next few hours. Michael's legs hurt, but the rest of the prisoners fared worse. They were untrained young people who had recently lost loved ones and had to walk in shackles. Michael's desire to help them turned into anger at his weakness.

They reached the old fort after crossing the elevated slope and walking for an hour. Trees were cut down for half a mile around it.

The city was larger than it initially appeared, with a collapsed fortress and half-burnt settlement.

Due to the narrow gate, prisoners and guards entered the settlement in a row.

The structures inside the enclosure easily identified the slave camp. People were divided into two parts here - soldiers and future slaves. Relatively high-ranking officers owned houses, while others pitched tents or lived in barracks. The captives gathered in one part of the city and slept on the ground.

The soldiers at the old fort outnumbered the new captives. Michael realized resistance was pointless and escaping was impossible.

Michael and the others were sent to the slave camp together. The officers inspected the newcomers as they passed by. Officers wore full armor, but no helmets (tucked under their armpits). A person with goose wings recognized one of them. “Sir Renly,” he nodded in greeting. Renly walked past the captives without acknowledging the greeting and approached Angela.

“Take this girl to my tent. She'll be of use tonight!” He ordered his men and turned to leave. But stopped when Michael screamed and fought back. The guard intervened and threw him down. He glanced at the fallen man, hesitated to speak, then ultimately departed.

Michael was stopped by Lucius: - “There is no point. They will kill you and you won’t be able to help Angela, either. I have a plan.” - The words spoken in a low voice cut him off and Michael calmed down. Uriel caught his eye watching the soldiers escorting Angela before they reached Ser Renly’s tent and took the girl in. Michael stood up with the help of Lucius and walked towards Blondy.

The prisoners in the old fort had more freedom, so Michael, Uriel, and Lucius didn't need to discuss the plan, which Lucius explained by removing the necklace.

The weapons cart was left untouched in a conspicuous spot. They planned to arm themselves once the guests arrived. Then Lucius had to find horses, and Michael and Uriel...

The sun was about to set when the first noise was heard, and Lucius put on his necklace. Archers were shouting on the fence, then...

Some soldiers and guards chased, while others raised the alarm, but the boys ignored them. The fugitives navigated between buildings and tents. Uriel quickly covered the distance and jumped on the cart. Michael caught the spinning yatagan before it fell. He managed to stop before reaching the cart and turned to face the pursuers...

”Why do you kidnap people?” - Uriel’s question echoed in the tent. Michael freed Angela’s hands.

“Al Moravid is desolate, it is divided into parts. We need gold to restore this place as a kingdom, so we sell the captives to the Samaratians.” - Renly spoke, his mouth bleeding.

“How do you take prisoners to Samaratia?”

“We sail on Graywater in ships, to Merevin,” - immediately after uttering these words, the knight ended his life.

“What are we going to do now?” Angela asked as Uriel threw his sword away and ran away. Without going outside, the blonde looked out of the tent.

“The red-eyed ones are looking for us, but they don’t know exactly where we are” - she covered her skirt immediately.

“Lucius should bring our horses, they are used to it, and he won’t be able to catch others...”

Uriel jumped on the overturned cart and pushed it along the barracks. Many people running hindered the red-eyed ones from capturing or circling the four. Armored knights couldn't defeat the fallen. The archers were unable to act due to the inability to differentiate moving figures in the crowded mass.

The people who collided with the horses fell here and there and were trampled, but the four relentlessly pushed the horses.

“Here!” - screamed the blondy and ran between the tents. He caught sight of several red-eye spearmen and aimed his sword, but a crossbow arrow ricocheted and shot one of them down in mid-air.

“Come on, Angela” - shouted Uriel and changed direction again. One of the knights swung an ax at the blondy, but he evaded. He leaned in his saddle and ran his sword through the unhelmeted man.

“To the stairs!” - Blondy pushed the horse towards the steps of the fence.

The horses galloped with remarkable speed, effortlessly leaving the pursuers behind in the open space. Despite this, Michael couldn't shake Rufus's words from his mind, and he didn't view this growing distance as a significant triumph.

“Where are we going?” - asked Lucius.

“Towards Merevin, maybe somehow we can escape the vessel by the ship.”