CHAPTER 53: UNDERGROUND YABOR.M

On the day of the slave trade, the air in the holding pen was thick and suffocating, choked with the smell of unwashed bodies, stale fear, and palpable despair.

Aisha sat stiffly on a cold, splintered chair at the back of the staging room, her new blade an invisible, reassuring weight she could feel through the system, even if it wasn’t physically on her.

She was not alone.

Dozens of other slaves were present, a miserable collection of demi-humans huddled in the shadows, all of whom were slated to be traded tonight, their lives reduced to a line item in a ledger.

Was she scared?

A cold knot of terror was balled tightly in her stomach.

This wasn’t the first time she had been forced onto this very stage, a piece of merchandise waiting to see which depraved stranger would pay the highest price for her body.

The last time, she’d been sold to a merchant who, in turn, only sought to sell her for an even higher value to a rotation of shady business people and callous adventurers.

It was an experience she had sworn she would rather die than repeat. Yet here she was, willingly.

"We are going to be sold soon," a small, trembling voice whimpered beside her. "I don’t want to be a slave. I don’t want to be a slave."

Aisha turned. It was the female dog-kin, the one who had been crying since they were all abducted.

She was still dressed in the same dirty rag, her legs shaking so violently they rattled the floorboards, her hands gripping clumps of her own matted hair.

All Aisha could do was sigh, a slow breath to steady her own nerves.

She knew that even if she acted now, there was truly nothing she could do to save them all. Not yet. She had to wait, to trust in her master to help them.

Knowing Ash, she figured he would most likely just kill Hapia and be done with it.

That was his mission.

On the bright side, since Hapia was the leader, his death would undoubtedly cause the slave trade business to have a massive, crippling setback.

It would create chaos.

In that chaos, the slaves here would have a limited window, a precious few minutes, to make a run for it.

This was why she had a plan. Her own plan. A way to finally help her master in a way that truly mattered.

She was going to build an army for him.

For the past two days, locked in the cages and darkness, she hadn’t just been a prisoner. She had been a recruiter. She had spoken to them, not with false hope, but with a cold, hard promise.

She told them of a new master, a powerful force who was coming to burn this place to the ground.

She told them that if they fought—truly fought—they could trade their old, broken lives for a new one in his service.

Desperate and with nothing left to lose, they had all agreed without a second thought.

"Master, I trust you," Aisha smiled, a small, fierce expression.

She reached out and firmly grabbed the hand of the trembling dog-kin beside her, her grip strong and reassuring. The girl’s shaking faltered, her wide, terrified eyes locking onto Aisha’s.

Suddenly, the door to the room at the far left creaked open.

A beastkin woman walked out, now dressed in a shockingly vibrant pink dress, her face caked in garish makeup.

Looking at her, it would be almost impossible to tell she was an illegal slave only a few moments ago.

No wonder they had us all bathe before coming here, Aisha thought with a flash of disgust.

Right after, a stern-faced woman walked out and shouted, "Next."

Aisha, knowing she was the "high-value elf" and therefore next in line, stood to her feet. The simple cotton shift they’d given her felt thin and humiliating. She slowly began to walk away from the others.

Every single slave had their eyes on her. She was going to be their savior, the first one on the front line, and they were all willing to bet their lives on that faith.

Meanwhile, in a damp, crumbling abandoned building not far from the city’s second border, the rest of the team was gathered.

The air smelled of mold and old stone.

At the center of the room, a map Terra had provided was spread across a broken crate, illuminated by a single, flickering orb of light.

Ash and Kelvin were hunched over it, reviewing the layout.

Terra stood near the only window, her eyes closed as she used her Scout magic to scan the surrounding area for any sign of danger.

Echidna, looking utterly bored by the tactical talk, simply sat on a large, overturned container, wiggling her legs back and forth in silent, giddy excitement.

"Okay, I don’t hate this ’infiltration’ idea, if I’m being honest," Kelvin finally uttered, pushing his purple hair back. He sat on the ground, his arms folded. "It’s just... I didn’t take you for the type to use underhanded tactics. I thought you were just going to crash the party with a big, flashy scene."

Ash didn’t look up from the map. A deadpan look crossed his features.

"What made you think I would do that here?" he spoke, his voice flat. He tapped a specific section of the map showing the main public entrance.

"This is Hapia’s home turf. For all we know, he already has the place secured with guards we can’t see. He’ll be warned at the slightest hint of danger. Being the coward that he is, he would also run, and this entire thing would be for nothing."

"Hmm..." Kelvin tilted his head, his eyes closed in thought. "I don’t know about that. I mean, wouldn’t we have seen them by now if that was the case?"

"No, Mr. Ash is right."

Terra’s sharp voice cut in. She turned from the window, her magical scan finally complete.

"There are multiple guards scattered throughout the city, at least twenty in a two-block radius of our target. They’re dressed as regular civilians, so they’re hard to spot unless you know what you’re looking for."

She spoke again, moving toward the map.

"I have determined the best direction to take and also how we can sneak into the event without being spotted by any of Hapia’s men. There’s a sewer grate three streets over that connects to the Yabor’s refuse tunnels."

"That was quick. Scouts are quite cool," Echidna chirped. She hopped down from the container, taking slow steps toward the group before finally stopping, clasping her hands behind her back.

"So, boss," she said, looking at Ash with a bright, innocent smile, "how do you plan to handle it from here on out? Whatever plan you have, allow me to come with you. You need a sorceress, after all."

Almost immediately, Echidna had grabbed Ash’s arm, hugging it close to hers.

Of course, Ash threw a disgusted look her way.

He didn’t exactly try to push her off; instead, he looked toward the remaining two.

"Here, take this. You two should be able to go through the front door with this." He handed them a blue ticket he had pulled out from his pocket.

Kelvin took it. "What is this?"

"A passkeyfor traders. The security will let you in if you hold one of these. I am guessing Mr. Ash got handed this after he gave Aisha to them," Terra explained.

"What she said." Ash moved his now empty hand away. "If you go in as a couple, you should be able to go in together. Once you are in, I’ll communicate with you. Don’t act until I give the signal."

"How exactly are you going to communicate with us?" Kelvin raised a brow.

"I have my ways."

"Typical response from you. I am not even surprised." Kelvin stared back at Ash, both of them giving each other a deadpan look.

Then from nowhere, Terra moved forward, resting her head on Ash’s chest, with her eyes closed and voice soft as she spoke,

"I know I said this before, and I know you rejected me. I apologize for pushing you to the edge back then. You’re right, this is not your battle, nor is it your responsibility to help people you know nothing about."

She continued...

"Still, I beg of you, if you can, please, put an end to this whole thing. Please... I don’t care; I’ll give my body and soul to you, just please..."

Ash stared at her for a while. Unlike the last time, she seemed more tame and almost on the verge of tearing up.

So he sighed.

"I’ll think about it."

Hearing his response, Terra raised her head to look at him, a huge smile on her face.

"Really?! You will?"

"I didn’t say I would do it. Wipe that smile off your face."

"Hahah!"

Terra let out a joyous laugh, her earlier despair evaporating like morning mist.

Kelvin, ever the pragmatic one, simply rolled his eyes at their antics.

Echidna, still clinging to Ash’s arm, watched the exchange with an unreadable expression, a slight pout on her lips.