A pair of local guards were pulling a young woman by her hand away from the barn as she protested vehemently, continuing to shake her head again and again. It seemed like she was going to scream when one of the guards slapped her, making the woman cower in fear, although she didn\u2019t stop trying to free herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the other slave women were pulling her back by the other hand, while a few children huddled behind the doors of the barn. The three male slaves she had seen earlier were not present at the time\u2014perhaps because they had been sent to do some work elsewhere, or maybe they didn\u2019t sleep here in the barn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It barely took a moment for her to realize what was going to happen, with two male guards leering at the young woman they were pulling away from the barn, while the other slaves tugged her back with distraught faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She glanced around in a hurry to call for help, knowing that she had seen half a dozen guards when they had arrived, but it seemed only these two bastards were present on duty tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dammit!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She looked at the scuffle again. There was only one thing in the future for that poor woman, and it filled her with such a burning rage that she forgot where she was and what she was doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before she knew it, she found her crossbow in her hands\u2014already loaded with a broadhead bolt\u2014and aimed at one of the guards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGet away from her!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guards\u2014one tall and the other bald\u2014looked at her in surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho the hell are you?\u201d the tall one demanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe\u2019s one of the drifters the boss gave shelter for tonight,\u201d the baldy replied. \u201cThey came here when ya were sleepin\u2019…\u201d He glared at Hyola. \u201cGet back to the stables if ya know what\u2019s good for ya!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then the guards started to pull the young woman away from the barn again, ignoring her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI said leave her<\/em> alone<\/em>!\u201d Hyola snarled, her voice trembling with fury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMind your own business, bitch!\u201d the tall guard snapped. \u201cIt\u2019s been so long since the two of us were allotted for night duty together. Just be smart and get back inside the stable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFuck you!\u201d Hyola barked as she brought the guards into her crossbow sights. The sole brazier had been extinguished earlier, and with just a half-moon in the night sky, there wasn\u2019t much light, but it was still more than enough for her. By now, her crossbow had become like an extension of her arm. She could load and aim it in her sleep<\/em> if she wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMove back right now or you\u2019ll regret it\u2026\u201d she growled, a dangerous note in her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guards finally let go of the woman\u2019s hand, and turned to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYa don\u2019t know how to take orders, do ya?\u201d the baldy scowled as he looked at the crossbow. \u201cWhat\u2019s that in yer hands, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLooks kinda dangerous,\u201d the tall guard muttered, before he began to remove his sword from its scabbard. \u201cBetter take care of her first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The baldy nodded and pulled out his own sword as he sidled away, trying to flank her. \u201cYa\u2019ll regret not listenin\u2019 to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyola gave a sidelong glance to the slaves, who had all huddled together, but were some distance away from the guards. Perfect.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The tall one smirked at her as he also took his sword in his hands, then glanced at his partner in crime. \u201cMaybe tonight\u2019ll be good anyway. We haven\u2019t had a redhead in forever<\/em>. She\u2019s tall too. Gotta be fun for sure!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyola saw red<\/em>. She brought the tall bastard\u2019s head into her crossbow sights, and without wasting another moment, squeezed the trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guard\u2019s head exploded<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was dark enough that the full gory details weren\u2019t visible, but it was still easy to see bits and pieces of the tall bastard\u2019s brain tumbling everywhere, before his body fell to the ground, lifeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat the fuck<\/em>\u2026?\u201d The baldy\u2019s hands fell limp to his sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Immediately, there were screams from the slaves, ringing loud in the night. It cleared Hyola’s mind at once and she finally realized what she had just done. She was alone here, and the baldy would be upon her before she could reload. Even if she could somehow be quick enough to load it first, he was a swordsman, and her crossbow could only shoot once\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shit! <\/em>Where the hell was Feroy when you needed him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n She didn\u2019t regret killing that tall bastard one bit, but she had no doubt that she was going to be heavily outnumbered, and soon. She needed to escape long before that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She glanced around, noticing that guards had started pouring out of another building, then she looked at the baldy, who was still staring at his comrade\u2019s dead body in shock, and decided this was her chance. Probably her last chance to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She began to run away from the cursed place as fast as her legs allowed, while trying to load the crossbow at the same time. She looked around as she ran, searching for the ex-mercenary. She needed to warn him not to return to the stable, or he’d be dead too\u2014because of her and her temper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dammit\u2026<\/em> She should\u2019ve thought up a proper plan before killing that bastard. The baldy was still alive, and the slaves\u2019 lives wouldn\u2019t get better just by killing one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She kept running, and before long, she saw that she was being chased by five angry guards. She gave up loading the crossbow, and just began to run for her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The night was fairly dark, and she didn\u2019t know the terrain as well as the locals. Her foot got caught in a hole in the ground when she was glancing back at her pursuers, making her tumble. She cried in pain as her ankle twisted, before she went down to the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time she found her bearings and began to limp away, the guards had already surrounded her. And that\u2019s how she found herself in her current situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Damn it!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n Handing over the crossbow to another guard, the old knight finally stopped in front of her. \u201cWell, well, well\u2026 What do we have here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyola spat at him, targeting his face, but only managed to dirty his tunic with her mouth thoroughly dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The knight just snorted before he bent low, holding her chin in his hands. \u201cA feisty<\/em> one, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyola immediately chomped down on his fingers with all her strength, making the older man howl in pain. The bastard slapped her with his other hand, hard<\/em>, making her open her mouth in pain, which finally allowed him to free his bleeding hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She had fallen to the ground from that hit, but she still grinned at the bastard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyola\u2014one<\/em>; old bastard\u2014zero<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The knight glared at her, as he wrapped a cloth around his hand, provided by another guard. Once he was done, he tilted his head. \u201cSeems you\u2019re not going to make it easy for me\u2026\u201d He looked around. \u201cWhere\u2019s your partner though? Feroy, was he? I refuse to believe that you two are just traveling merchants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyola finally managed to sit up on her knees after a few failed tries, and just glared at the bastard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The boss of the farm looked at the baldy. \u201cGo and find him! And bring him back alive<\/em>. I want to know how they managed to get a hold of an arbalest. They\u2019re not supposed to be found outside of the duke\u2019s armed forces at the fort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bald guard nodded, and called out two of the other guards before they ran away from the group, leaving just the knight and two other guards here. The slaves were still gathered nearby, watching the scene nervously. Their male family members had also gathered with them now, from wherever they had earlier been sent to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at her situation, she wondered if she could have done something differently? Should she have waited for Feroy before attacking? Perhaps, but she just couldn’t have left the woman to go through with what was going to happen to her. If she had waited, by now…<\/p>\n\n\n\n She didn’t even want to think about it. Yeah, she knew she had a temper, and had a tendency to act before thinking or planning, and she would have to work on it if she survived tonight, but she didn’t regret it. Not at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The knight took the crossbow in his hands again, as he looked at it from all sides. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen one of these since I left Aragosa a decade ago\u2026 It\u2019s much smaller than I remember, but it looks far more handy than those arbalests at the fort. Those were a pain to reload in a pinch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He looked at her again. \u201cYou know what\u2014if you tell me where you got it from, I promise to give you an easy death. The Count is going to pay a lot of gold if I can tell him the name of the bowyer selling arbalests in the black market. If it\u2019s someone smuggling them out from the fort\u2019s stockpile, even the Duke will reward me for reporting on that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The retired knight tilted his head. \u201cOr<\/em>\u2026 perhaps I can buy a few of these for myself. Being a patriot doesn\u2019t pay much nowadays anyway. Those pesky patrols of the Duke are giving my drug mules a lot of trouble these days. Can you imagine my Veydril sales to Ulriga have nearly halved in the past few months\u2026? If a few of those damned horsemen fall to bandits’ <\/em>bolts, maybe the Duke will decide to focus somewhere else. Like on Binpaaz\u2014<\/em>which he should be doing anyway. So why don\u2019t you be a nice little girl and tell me where you got this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyola scoffed as she finally managed to stand up, and spat at him again. This time, she met her target, and grinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyola\u2014two<\/em>; old bastard\u2014zero<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The knight shook his head as he wiped his face. \u201cHmm\u2026 Looks like it’s going to be the hard way then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He ordered a guard to bring a chair. \u201cBut you know what, I ain’t gonna do anything to you\u2014not until your partner is found. He has to know just as well as you where you got this mini-arbalest from. Let\u2019s see how long he manages to hold out once I put the screws on you in front of him. Or the other way. Whatever works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He smirked at Hyola as he sat on the chair a guard had just brought and stretched his hands, sending a chill to her bones. \u201cIt\u2019s been a while since I interrogated anyone. Seems the night ain’t gonna be boring after all…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyola grimaced, hoping the mercenary wouldn\u2019t be caught by the bastards too. There was going to be no hope for either of them otherwise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A pair of local guards were pulling a young woman by her hand away from the barn as she protested vehemently, continuing to shake her head again and again. It seemed like she was going to scream when one of the guards slapped her, making the woman cower in fear, although she didn\u2019t stop trying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tak-berkategori"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4268"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4269,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4268\/revisions\/4269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author’s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n