31 Chapter 31
The same day.
Ren - the man in the black coat - was wearily driving the wagon loaded with slaves.
The tiring journey took six days in each direction. The road from the estate to the mines was hard-packed with the earth element so it did not swamp or collapse.
Mountains, rivers, forests, hills. The passengers couldn't help but admire the breathtaking view. They came across some wild animals, too. However, dangerous beasts didn't dare to attack the crowd.
Ren took this trip every year, and now the seventh one was drawing to a close. The journey used to be dreadful, but this time a slave named Kyon saved the day with his jokes and pranks. Ren noticed the boy back at the mine. Now he was the life of the party and didn't let anyone feel blue.
On the third day of the trip, the boy surprised them all when his cultivation suddenly raised a stage. There was no mistake about the popping sound announcing cultivation upgrade. It was rather strange because no one else in the third sector had ever connected with the soul... And Kyon did and even learned to pass through cycles! The boy was full of surprises.
{The boy seems to be really good... It might be my lucky break...} - Ren wistfully glanced at the boy.
The wagon arrived at the first checkpoint. The Stone estate began here. Two guards checked the mark on Ren's wrist and let them in.
The land was protected with a two-meter stone wall created with the earth element. Beside the walls of different height, the estate was under three invisible barriers equipped with alarms in case of a break-in.
After another two hours of their journey, they came to the second checkpoint behind the wall, and half an hour later, the third and the last one. By then, the dark veil of the night had covered the sky.
The big gate swung open. Ren and the wagon were let inside. The vast estate appeared before the tired slaves. Here and there, they could see houses about three floors high. They were beautiful buildings, pleasing to the eye. And it was only the outer courtyard. Closer to the center, the houses were getting even more elaborate.
The man in the coat stopped the wagon at the building that looked like a prison with its barbed wire fence. However, they couldn't see any guards...
An old fellow warden came out to meet Ren, a wicked smirk smoldering on his lips. He gave the slaves a scornful look, fixing his eyes on Kyon.
«What a pack of skinny guys this time, Ren. The slaves are getting worse and worse every year. Do you have any idea why?» - Hein clucked his tongue, shaking his head reproachfully.
Ren grimaced. The jerk always had to make a snide remark. He replied in a flat tired voice:
«How the hell should I know… I'll go take a shower. You take it from here.» - After all, he was almost done. His job was to bring in the slaves and get them new formations and a bonus for himself.
The warden nodded, watching the colleague leave. Then he said scornfully to the guards:
«What are you waiting for? Take the trash to get washed.»
Kyon still had a handful of the amber stones that he had to stash somewhere. The risk was worth it. If he couldn't use them as money, they would come in handy as firecrackers.
After a shower, each slave was given a set of clothes in size: simple, gray canvas trousers and a shirt, much better and of higher quality than the miner's uniform. At least they had no holes or stains.
Kyon put the stones in his new pocket.
When the slaves came out, the guards lined everyone up.
Hein walked along the row of the slaves with a haughty look, his hands behind his back. He loved his job… His primary mission was to show the newcomers their place, and he was happy to start.
«You all suck!» - His loud voice sounded solemnly mocking. - «You must have heard the tall tales about the sea and roses, girls and loads of food. It's all bullshit! You are going to work even more than you used to at the mine! Each of you will puke your guts out in a month! You are low-life scum born to break your backs to get something to eat, and nothing will ever change this.»
The slaves lowered their heads, not daring to look up and see the smug look on his face. Some moaned in despair: the barbed wire fence, the cruel boss yelling at them, promising another hell. It wasn't exactly what they were hoping for.
The warden, pleased with the effect, looked for the first victim in the crowd. He wanted to increase their feeling of frustration and bring home the full weight of being a slave. His gaze fell on the slender boy. How did he even get here? Hein spat and said with a vicious grin:
«The slaves are getting more useless and worthless each year. They can't even wash their ass. But today is even worse than ever... Take you, for example. Come here, trembling creature.» - He pointed his finger majestically, beckoning the boy marked "Kyon."
Kyon took a step forward, growing darker with every passing moment of his stay in this "friendly" place.
The man grinned maliciously:
«Tell me who you sucked off day after day to get here, huh? Do you think I will believe that a frail wuss with a pretty face could win the auction?»
Kyon gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes to slits but said nothing. The unspeakable truth was looming before him: he was a nobody here. But he couldn't accept the humiliation or he would never be respected. Everything else was subjective.
When the slave didn't respond, the warden became even more aggressive. He had to send a message to this little whore boy!
« I order you, sissy, to bend over with your back to me! I'll show you what it means to work your ass off!» - A nice kick in the back, in addition to public humiliation, will teach the boy some good manners and make him stop staring like this! Then the warden would proceed to the next loser. Three victims would do.
Kyon had to suppress an urge to break the warden's neck. Unfortunately, he had neither the right nor the strength to do that, but he didn't want to bend over in front of his new friends. The only thing he could think of was to keep silent and do nothing. It was a wise strategic decision with no consequences.
Hein's lips stretched in a hideous sneer:
«Are you deaf, sissy boy?! Did they fuck you in the ear, and now you can hear me, huh?!» - He turned to the guards with a chuckle pointing to Kyon, who stood rooted to the spot: - «Look at him, they take in deaf slaves, too!»
Both guards giggled. He was the boss, after all.
The warden rushed to the cheeky boy to bend him with his own hands when something slippery flew under his feet. He lost his balance, plopped on the floor stomach first and slid a couple of meters with his face on the ground.
Kyon shook his head with a barely noticeable smile: soap is man's best friend, indeed!
The warden blushed. He got up, scraped the slippery personal care product off his shoe and roared:
«Who did it?!»
A couple of slaves behind Kyon covered their mouths to stifle a burst of loud laughter.
Unfortunately, their maneuver did not go unnoticed. Hein's eyes narrowed menacingly:
«Do you think it's funny? Ha ha, so do I. Do you know why? That's why!» - He threw the bar of soap like a curveball straight into the slave's eye. But the slippery and unruly soap whizzed past his head and flew somewhere up and away. A window broke in the distance... The slippery flying object flew with tripled speed straight into the warden's face like a boomerang.
*bang*
The piece of soap hit Hein's eye marking the future bruise. The warden cried in pain and pressed his hand to the injured half of his face:
«Agrr... What the...! WHO DID IT?!» - The humiliation filled his remaining intact eye with fury. He had made a complete idiot of himself! Even the guards, his subordinates, could hardly help laughing.
Hein forgot about his intentions, crushed the long-suffering soap in his fist and rushed like a wild boar at the nearest laughing slave who, of course, was Kyon. He hadn't taken three steps, though, when Ren approached him from behind and gave him a smack upside the head. The warden couldn't keep his balance once again and slid across the floor on his face, leaving a pretty bloody trail that marked his wretched body's braking distance.
Hein stood up, clutching at his bleeding nose and yelling:
«Why?!»
«I gave you a simple task, and you made an idiot of yourself… It's time you changed your sphere of activity and stopped disgracing the status of a warden.» - Ren shook his head scornfully. He turned to Kyon and slightly raised the corners of his lips in response to his smile. The kid had noticed him approach the warden. He must have picked up on his intention to give the idiot a "friendly" slap. What a clever boy, an observant one!
Ren looked at the laughing slaves and waved his hand.
«Follow me. We need to define your status and position.»
They went to the formation department. His delivery job was about to be done, at last.
