Chapter 1189
Chapter 1189 - 1175: Late
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9 min read
Life held no glimmer of light, for Lu, there was only the exhausting day that had passed and an even more tiring one to come.
She was an orphan, or rather, more than ninety percent of the Long Hand Clan children didn’t know who their parents were.
Perhaps, they once loved her dearly, perhaps, they once laughed warmly...
"313! Why aren’t you hurrying up, do you want to die!"
Yet the anger of her fellow slave brought her back to her senses.
She numbly and gratefully nodded, quickening her pace in cleaning the bookshelves.
This was the city library of Gui City, a frontline colony of the Lava Clan and a gathering place for the Gray Dwarves.
As the masters of the colony, they naturally would not do the work themselves, they had a considerable number of slaves to endure all the toil.
The slaves of the Long Hand Clan, the private property of the library owner, that was the identity of Lu and her friends.
On her forehead, there was a shameful volcanic mark, branded onto her when she was captured, and as a consequence, she might have just been spared a whipping or a bottle of water.
She was no warrior, for right in front of her, a sister had killed herself by running into a wall just to refuse such a disgraceful mark.
She and her brethren, who were barely surviving as slaves, were not warriors either... The real warriors, perhaps, had been cleanly slain during their resistance at capture.
"Hurry up, 313, otherwise we’ll go without food again... it might be even worse."
Looking at No. 317’s uneasy face, Lu knew what he dared not vocalize.
They said the "masters" had gone hunting for a new batch, so a new shipment of slaves was sure to have arrived.
Being a slave was all about manual labor, without food or medical care, and frequently facing physical punishment and psychological stress, they were just expendable goods... even if they didn’t drop dead, their physical and endurance levels would naturally decline with age, generally making them less capable than those freshly captured.
Inefficient slaves were simply replaced on a regular basis.
Reason? Was there a need for a reason? Just pick the slowest one at work and get rid of them.
Lu, or rather No. 313, was rather impressive; surviving beyond No. 314 and No. 315, she was considered a senior among her kind.
But that also meant her useful life might soon come to an end, her focus was increasingly hard to maintain, and her physical strength was fading...
"I can’t die..."
Not wanting to die, perhaps unwilling to die meaninglessly, was her obsession, even though she couldn’t fathom what meaning there was left to this unbearable "life."
Her daily job was to clean the bookshelves and return books to their places on the shelves, along with cleaning aisles, arranging decor, and tending to the traffic facilities, among other tasks.
She quite liked her job, not just because it was relatively easier and safer compared to other manual labor, but more importantly...
"When is the next story session, today?" No. 313 asked quietly, her head bowed.
"It should be, No. 177 said he’s read two new stories, very interesting, and potentially very useful..."
No. 177, the library’s "Prince," was actually likely of noble blood, otherwise, it was hard to explain how, being part of the Long Hand Clan, he not only understood the language and written text of the Lava Clan but even knew the Long Hand Clan’s own lost poems and history!
The slaves working in the library were mostly fans of No. 177 the elder brother... at least for Lu, that ’story session’ held while the library administrators were in meetings, was the happiest time of her week.
The heroes in those stories, how strong and wise they were, and those fairy-tale-like props (airplanes, Cosmic Ships) although clearly fanciful, for how could the Long Hand Clan possibly have better transportation than the Lava Clan masters, but...
"...Today he will talk about the ancient nation, last time he talked about the Sage System, mentioning that everyone had the right to learn to read, it was really interesting...."
As the small statured noble master walked by, No. 313 Lu said softly.
She loved those stories, loved the carefree lives depicted within, but, she actually loved No. 177 even more... loved his confidence, loved how he told everyone that we of the Long Hand Clan are not really called Long Hand Clan, but the "Salmu Tribe" and that we are not inferior to any Intelligent Species, deserving our own lives and development.
At least when No. 177 told stories, his heartfelt confidence and self-respect made No. 313 and her kind feel that their race still had possibilities.
"Great Mother of the World, if you truly command powerful spirits as the stories say, please ensure that Brother No. 177 stays healthy and lives into the future, and can lead us towards the hoped-for Utopia; even if we all die, as long as he lives, there is still hope for us..."
Yes, escape, the library’s slaves had a plan.
Taking advantage of the ongoing war in the city, which left many positions vacant, they found a good opportunity during a scheduled meeting: someone would sacrifice themselves to distract the remaining guards, giving others a chance to escape.
Clearly, this was No. 177’s plan, only he could persuade others to join him in this crazy and foolish scheme.
And each time, under the "blind eye" of the supervisors’ "slaves’ story session," it was also an exchange of progress on various tasks...
"The brothers at the dockyard have agreed, a wooden boat is ready, to be left there as if it’s broken..."
"We can handle the engine, the material science knowledge given by the elder brother has been thoroughly understood, if we siphon fuel from the lighting facilities, it should be just in time..."
"Clothes for the cold, and food, we’ve almost prepared everything..."
With each piece of good news passed down, No. 177 nodded and was about to add something when...
The basement door of the library suddenly opened, and a swarm of "Masters" flooded into the once neglected storeroom.
"Master, we...we are preparing for the Volcano Festival cleanup, setting up the venue..."
Surprised by the lack of any messages from the guards outside, No. 177 steeled himself and went to meet them.
But the next moment, he stopped, his eyes filled with despair.
The comrade No. 266 Aida, who should have been a Watcher outside, was now following behind the Masters, with a pleasing smile on his face.
In that instant, just a single glance, the insightful No. 177 knew everything.
He, the great "Savior," had suffered a shameful betrayal.
"I, I am still of use, I am the son of the chief of the Gray Rider Tribe, I can lead you..."
No. 177, truly a prince, believed himself born with the divine mission to save his people, how could he possibly fall here.
Even if it meant betraying everyone, as long as he remained alive, there was still hope!
He gritted his teeth, glanced back, and saw encouraging looks...they too knew his worth, hoping he might survive to realize the utopia of their people.
And as he thought this, spoke this, preparing to prove his worth...
Brain matter and blood splattered everywhere; the headless corpse of No. 177 lay on the ground.
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Everyone was stunned; a moment later, the slaves’ screams filled the room, their light had died, right in front of them...
"Bang! Bang!"
But then, two exploding heads and falling bodies calmed everyone down.
"From today, he is your leader...you, choose whichever one you want,"
And the "Master" just disdainfully pursed his lips.
The Long Hand Clan’s racial abilities and Extraordinary Abilities? Rebel? Ha, they’re not even fit to be slaves; being janitors is already a kindness.
And at that moment, the "traitor" No. 266 Aida, with a face full of joy, walked over, looking around, and naturally picked the prettiest...No. 313!
"313...no, Lu, from today, you are my female..."
But at that time, Lu did not react.
She just looked down, staring at the fragments on the ground, tears incessantly falling.
She bent down, continuously groping, trying to piece together the broken "Prince," but other than staining her hands red, what was the point.
All hope for herself and her people was gone, all gone...she couldn’t cry anymore, because her tears had already dried.
A flame burned in her heart, but she didn’t know how to vent it because she was just a fragile slave, clueless on how to release the emotion called anger...
And the new "leader" woke her senses with the whip he had just received.
"Snap!" Another lash, this time leaving a finger-wide trail of blood.
The pain did not make her submit; she raised her head, glaring at the traitor but oddly noticed, in the room, an unknown "person" had appeared.
It was a "human," in his outstretched palm shimmered a water orb, its arrow pointing precisely at the ground’s...flesh!
"You, you..."
New leader No. 266 Aida first felt his authority threatened, then quickly sensed something was amiss and was about to roar a warning.
His head, however, simply flew up, shattering into fragments.
The pieces of his brain scattered all around, mixing with those of his most hated No. 177.
It was only then that No. 313 Lu noticed, by the door lay a pile...of the Masters’ headless corpses! This man had infiltrated at some unknown time, killing all the obstacles.
And at this moment, this man seemed mildly frustrated, muttering to himself in "human language."
"It’s all because of the traffic jam...the Savior is dead, what do we do next?!"
— End of Chapter 1189 —