[Ch.40] Freedom Reigns (Past)

Raylon approached the first location and hid amongst the bushes.

He watched as two more guards approached the building and started to talk to the other two. They were shouting and laughing without a care for their surroundings. It was clear they weren't expecting anything to happen.

He moved quickly to the back of the building and used his magic to break the lock quietly. He opened the door to see dozens of people huddled close together. His nose curled at the rancid smell. The slaves were covered in dirt and their own filth. They wore rags revealing their bones that jutted out from malnourishment.

He whispered to them, "Follow me if you want to escape." The slaves looked at each other nervously. He saw their hesitation and gave an angry look, "Follow me and live a better life, or stay here and remain a slave for the rest of your short life."

They stood up and hesitantly followed him. He kept watch as the slaves crossed the field and went to the magic circle. The four guards were still laughing and chatting leisurely. The slaves all arrived at the magic circle and looked at it hesitantly. Irritated by how slow they were going, he pushed in a slave who disappeared as the purple light enveloped them. The others gasped in horror.

He softened his tone once he recognized how terrified they were, "This will bring you to freedom. I know you are worried, but could anything be worse than what you've already experienced?"

They were cautious, but the idea of freedom was far too alluring to them. They ignored their fear and moved to the circle. As he watched the last one entered then he looked down at his map. He had already succeeded in liberating slaves from the larger locations. That left only two more. He ran off to the other two locations quickly.

Korph also had three locations to liberate. Each one he was assigned contained the people that had been kidnapped from the dragon clan. Unlike Raylon who stealthily hid in the bushes, he quietly jumped from roof to roof. He relied on his brute strength to open the locks instead of wasting time with a spell. At the first location he came across, he was horrified. The people that he had known to be so energetic with raw power could barely move.

He approached them and one growled at him. He bent down and whispered, "It's me, Prince Korph. I am using a disguise, but I'm here to save you. Why do you look so weak?"

A raspy voice spoke, "They have been forcing us to take tranquilizers."

Korph snarled, filled with rage and disgust. He wanted revenge, but he had to save the rest of his people first. He swallowed down his anger and helped them return back to the magic circle before turning his attention to the second one. These people were infected with pus-filled boils all over their bodies.

"What happened to you?" He asked as he saw the dead bodies amongst the living.

They could only groan and gasp in response. He gritted his teeth and helped carry the few who were still alive. He then quickly moved on to his third and final destination which filled him with even more hatred. There his people were unrecognizable and lacking limbs or eyes. Some were infected with an unknown magic poisoning which caused their limbs to shrink and turn black. His fists shook when he saw their painful expressions.

"I am Prince Korph." He announced himself, "What did they do to you?"

A girl missing an eye spoke in a pained whisper, "They have been running experiments on us, Prince Korph."

"Experiments?"

She dropped her head in torment, "They have been trying to use our dragon blood for their own gain. They test evil magic on us and sometimes they kill us just for fun."

He clenched his fists and handed her the map, "Follow this map. It will lead you to a magic circle that will transport you to the island. Then find some healers while you're there. Tell them Prince Korph sent you. For anyone who is strong enough to move, help those who aren't. Don't forget to stay hidden."

"Prince Korph!" The girl said, grabbing onto him, "Aren't you coming with?"

He replied in a growl, "I'm going to kill these bastards."

He quickly helped them out the back door and waited until they were far enough away before jumping on to the roof. He pulled out a wooden hilt with a dragon carved into it. He poured his magic into the hilt causing a red light to shoot from it. The light morphed into a bright flaming spear.

These hilts were magic weapons cultivated by each nation. Each nation had its own style of hilts which transformed into a weapon when magic flowed through it. The Dragon clan's weapon takes the form of either a spear or a bow set depending on the user. Those with royal dragon blood had weapons engulfed in flames.

He jumped off of the roof and thrust his spear into the heart of one of the unsuspecting guards. He spun and stabbed the guard next to him before he could pull his weapon. He turned to see another guard pull out his weapon while another one set off a firework that exploded in the sky.

He grit his teeth, "Not good."

The guard's weapon turned into a whip beaming with electricity unique to the Hong Guang's nation. He threw the whip to strike him and Korph quickly jumped to the side to dodge it. He readied himself to pounce before he quickly jumped again, barely avoiding another whip. He growled as he heard men shouting in the distance quickly converging onto his location. Seeing he was being surrounded, he relied on his instincts to jump around to avoid being hit. He jumped at the nearest guard and thrusted his spear through his chest.

He jumped to avoid another whip and glanced around quickly. There were around 20 guards attacking him. It is said that a single dragon clan member can easily kill 10 people at once due to their brute strength and animal-like instincts. He knew that his best chance was to try to escape in order to avoid capture. Brimming with anger and hate, he screamed as he stabbed his spear through the guard's chests only for more to appear.

He thrusted his spear through another and flung him back onto the crowd of guards. Taking advantage of the distraction, he jumped up to the roof and felt something attach to his ankle mid-flight. He was thrown back to the ground and felt the wind knocked out of him.

He forced himself to flip over and jump at another guard as if he was a crazed animal. He saw a whip coming into view and tried to avoid it. A piercing pain shot up from his ankle causing him to wobble. The sharp pain was enhanced by electric shocks, causing him to fall forward. He winced and struggled to breathe. He could feel his back becoming damp after receiving a sharp lash from another whip.

He tried to attack more guards but felt his energy being drained. His body began to drip blood as the whip attacks grew more frequent and was unable to avoid all of their blows. He sunk his spear into another's chest and felt something tight wrap about his neck.

He was pulled backward by his throat, dropping his weapon in the process. Shockwaves of electricity filled his body causing him to scream in pain. The guard holding him by the neck stomped on his chest while still pulling at the whip. Korph could feel his ribs break from the pressure. Blood began to pool out of his mouth as he glared into the eyes of the pompous guard.

The guard laughed mockingly, "And you were doing so well."

Korphs soul was engulfed in flames of hatred. Black dots came into his vision as he gasped for air. He knew he was going to pass out soon if he didn't do anything, but the electricity shooting through his body prevented him from moving. Shame flooded his mind as he realized that he, a great and powerful prince, was brought to his knees by nameless thugs.

As he began to slip into unconsciousness, his body's instinct to survive prevailed over his pride. He choked out painfully, "Potatoes!"

The guard looked at him with a look of confusion before a bright purple light appeared over their heads. They all turned to see a young boy appear in the floating purple orb. He was lowered gently to the ground without batting an eye. He looked at them with his emerald eyes that were deep and profound.

To them, it was just a boy with long black hair wearing a peasant's garb.

However, Korph knew that this young boy was a wolf in sheep's clothing.