A Mad Scramble

Ling Jie shivered in the cold .

It had been several days since their convoy of about a hundred strong had set off and they had almost managed to reach the distant Barrier.

Unlike the inheritors not only were he and his fellow 'labour' forced to walk the entire journey , they were not provided with blankets and fur coats that was absolutely vital to withstand the freezing wind that buffeted across the empty plain dotted with craggy rocks and sharp boulders that made taking each step cumbersome.

Their guards were enjoying themselves of course , not only did they have sturdy and nimble Earth Dragons to carry their luggage , the provision of luxurious cloaks made of fur and gourds of wine had all but turned the hazardous journey into a picnic for them .

Ling Jie frowned .

Although the sun was invisible in the grey sky empty of clouds , he was acutely aware of the passage of time .

It was an innate gift that he possessed , that allowed him to be aware of the time regardless of however harsh the weather ; still he hadn't found any use for it apart from using the gift in the means of an alarm which saved both his time and money (for he didn't have much money to buy one in the first place )

It appeared that they would be arriving at their next scheduled time of rest soon enough.

Although his limbs screamed that he was in dire need of some rest , his conscious self opposed that idea ; the reason being that any rest prompted a drinking frenzy on part of the guards and that always didn't end well for the likes of him.

He could still vividly remember what had happened last time when the guards had laid their bets on how many arrow piercings could a man survive , the unlucky person chosen was a wizened youth with whom he had stuck quite a friendship during the shared time that they had spent.

Seven Shots later he was a corpse with crimson blood pooling behind his head , naturally his body had been left at that scene for the beasts to be clean up though whether there were any beats in this desolate region was a question in itself.

Most likely then the corpse with its empty eyes trained to the pitiless skies would be lying there for eternity or until it rotted away and in the desolation there was no way of telling which would arrive first.

At least Ling Jie had no wish to end up like him .

Which was why as time passed he did his best to forget everything he ever remembered of that person ; that unlucky soul was nameless , his face had no features and soon his form would be slowly vanish for ever as well .

It was in this way that he could deny what had occurred and continue to hold the faith that somehow everything would be all right .

Feeling his shoulders ache he gently dislodged the lone bag that was carried by him and held it in his hands certainly he didn't stop walking that wasn't an option even if his feet were made of lead he would have to walk unless he wished to whipped to death by a guard looking for some amusement to pass the time .

This small bag was the only luggage that he was allowed to carry , as a matter of fact it contained all of his worldly possessions ; apart from the diary that he had nicked all there was a single brush , a single comb , a change of clothes and a soiled bag which contained all of his money.

Still he held it as carefully as he could never letting it leave his sight.

After a while he slung it back on his shoulders as the listless convoy crossed a steep ridge that gave the Earth Dragons some trouble but was eventually crossed safely.

On the other side there lay a stunning vista .

The rocky ground dropped sharply into rolling meadows which shined a verdant green in the dim light ; the gently sloping downs seemed to last for ever as they eventually emptied into a forest that could hardly seen by the naked eye , far behind enormous purple mountains could be rising in the distance till their spires rose into the funnel made by clouds that lowered down from the Firmament .

However the mesmerising scenery didn't affect Ling Jie at all .

On the other side of the meadows there was but a solitary watchtower that separated the Reclaimed Land from the Uncharted Wild that lay beyond .

No signs of a wall of any sort could be seen .

That fact in itself wasn't surprising , the length of the barrier was gigantic and many sections were still serviced only by watchtowers luckily since the inhabited regions were situated far inward even if a Monster or two managed to escape inwards it didn't pose much of a problem since by the time they reached the settlements a welcoming party would be waiting for them.

For the Undesirables however the lack of any construction was pretty much a disaster.

Not only would they be forced to build everything from the ground up , they would have no security at all from the ravages of the ever-hungry beasts that would do their best to sink their bloody fangs into some tasty human flesh.

He could hear gulping sounds throughout as many of his fellow sufferers reached the same conclusion still they couldn't voice their opinions unless they wished to be manhandled as an example to their fellow kind .

"Halt ! "

The loud shout came from the front and no doubt it belonged to the vicious brute who also served as the lead of the Guards who were responsible for escorting the convoy.

In response the entire convoy halted without any complaint though whether the reason for the compliance was due to willingness or fear wasn't clear .

Perhaps it was both at the same time .

"Listen up , you useless louts we aim to reach the Watchtower by sunrise tomorrow which means that we will pushing through the night without any rest . "

"Is that clear ? "

The sound of the whistling wind was the only response that he got it .

A creepy smile spread across his unreadable face as a result.

"Excellent ! It seems that I don't need to give another example . Oh , one last thing Me and the lads would be heading down earlier on our Earth Dragons . I will give you louts exactly , let's see ten minutes to come and meet up with us . Any late comers would naturally be ah severely punished . "

"That clear ? "

"OH ! " a scream of cheer came from the guards who rapidly guzzled the wine from their gourds in excitement .

Barely a minute later the guards had saddled up on to their Earth Dragons and were waiting for the starting signal from the leader.

"All right , Ready , set and GO ! "

The leader pointed his index finger at the air causing visible sparks to shoot up in the air with a pop sound .

What followed was the maddest scramble that Ling Jie ever had the chance to witness.

The Earth Dragons had already raced down the cliff kicking up a plume of dust that nearly choked him . The last he heard of their riders was an indistinct roar that had already faded away ,

"The last sucker will hand his wine over to the rest ! "

Ling Jie barely had the time to comment on the terms of the wager set by the gambling fond boors before he was swept by the rush that followed as a natural consequence of each and every Undesirable doing their best to honour the deadline .

After all their lives were at stake ; the reason being that the leader was a humourless man who would do exactly as he said to be more accurate his sense of humour involved inflicting some kind of harm or other on the helpless Undesirables .

Unfortunately unlike the well-bodied individuals who had already pushed to the fore and were speeding down , he who had a frail body was naturally left behind along with the other stragglers still he did his best to run among the steep rocky slopes desperately panting and wheezing as his frantic exertions seemed to showed no results .

Suddenly his right foot tripped over a conveniently placed rock and the ground gave way.

Before he could figure out what was happening his body was hanging midair , it didn't last for long though for soon his back crashed into the wall of stone that jutted out from a ridge .

After that there was no stopping .

With an unstoppable momentum he rolled and tumbled down the innovative short cut he had found for himself .

Sharp pieces of rock and twisted branches got in his way causing his body to be covered in scratches that oozed crimson blood , his mouth was forced to swallow bracken and the dust that got into his nose stifled his breath.

Even the awareness of the passage of time that was his innate gift seemed to have deserted him as his miserable fall seemed to last an eternity .

He didn't know when he crashed into the lush carpet of grass that cushioned his fall but he was sure that most of his bones were broken and he was no different than an invalid .

It didn't matter whether he had made it in time or not .

His fate was already sealed .

Still he couldn't help but try to extend his hand in the feeble hope that he might still reach the unreachable .

To his shock , he found that he could still clasp his fingers and his feet apart from a feeling a bit painful showed no signs of apparent injury .

How was that possible ?

That steep fall wasn't for show !

How could he , a frail human without any power whatsoever be able to survive something like that ?

Gingerly he got on all fours and eventually managed to stand upright albeit shakingly accompanied by bouts of gasping that seemed to show no sign of alleviation.

Unknown to him , a transparent green light slowly emerged from his bag and disappeared into his body , it was this radiance that was undoubtedly the cause of his injuries being healed otherwise even if he had possessed nine lives he would have perished then and there .

The waiting guards who saw this sight were naturally surprised .

How had this frail looking brat managed to survive a fall like that ?

Surely he possessed no Inheritance otherwise he wouldn't be here among the trash .

Although complex thoughts assailed their minds their contemplation was rudely interrupted by the leader who stretched his hand in a very obvious gesture.

The man who had come last in their race grumbled but forfeited his wine gourd without creating any fuss .

The leader walked over to where the trembling Ling Jie stood and rudely thrust the gourd into his hands , "You got guts kid , I give you that . Ain't never seen a brave trash like you in a while . "

"Here , this is your reward ."

Ling Jie looked up hesitatingly at the frightening face that was a bit too close to him.

The man leaned over to him till his hot breath heavy with the scent of wine fell on Ling Jie's face ,

"Are you gonna refuse my kindness punk ? "

Ling Jie shook his head and accepted the reward that was handed to him without any complaint.

"Good " , the leader gave a brief smile and then went back to the rest of his companions , "Yo ! Lads I think it is about time that we wrapped things up ! "

"Right you are , Boss ! " the barbaric men hollered in unison.

"You know what to do , better make it fast . "

"Yippee ! " the Guards roared in happiness and unsheathed their weapons after which they promptly leapt into the crowd of Undesirables who were yet to have reached the meeting point .

What followed was an unilateral slaughter.

Ling Jie turned away from the sight , still the screams reached his ears and occasional splashes of warm blood would land on his face dyeing it a vivid red.

He shiveringly opened the cork and took frantic gulps of wine in order to calm down his nerves .

The leader watched the massacre with a smile as if he were watching an exciting play that was unfolding before him . He even took swigs of wine from his gourd at the interesting parts and gave commentary that no one was hearing in particular.

Suddenly his gaze shifted towards the Undesirables who promptly turned their scorching gazes to the ground .

"My , my ! Killing Intent is it ? Would serve you well out there in the Wild when those monsters come after you . Looking at your faces , you lot must be wondering why I broke my promise huh ? Sorry to tell you lads I didn't it's just that my ten minutes are different from yours ."

He gave a loud chuckle and headed over to the Largest Earth Dragon which also served as his mount if he felt like that.

"Load up punks ! We got a long journey ahead of us and oh one last thing , " he turned his ghastly smile towards them .

"Welcome to the Badlands ! "