Chapter 132

Zack was leaving Shiro's house, and while he was heading home there was someone pacing outside the entrance to his estate. It was Nicole trying to build up the courage to look for Zack. Seeing him walk up Nicole realized it was a better opportunity than she could've hoped. She was concerned waking Zack up could upset him, and it would hurt their cause.

"I have an f-favor to ask, but can't really offer you much in return. We desperately need your help, and there's not much time. If you can help us you can name your price whatever it is." Nicole pleaded.

While Nicole was lowering her head Alexander was turning the corner with some comrades. They figured she would act recklessly, but it was worse than they imagined. Alexander saw his sister shouting at the ruler of the place. Zack could feel the sheer panic in her voice and walked up placing his hand on her.

"Just take a deep breath, and tell me what's wrong," Zack told Nicole trying to calm her down.

Witnessing the sincere look on his face Nicole tried to find the quickest way to explain, but just saw her family being stripped away. She was attempting to speak through the tears but it wasn't working so well. Zack feeling her desperation tried to gauge her thoughts. A series of images flashed through his head as he saw minotaurs being cut down or captured all around.

"I'm sorry about that. We didn't mean to bother you this late, and will take our leave now." Alexander apologized as he charged over.

"Tell me about the attack I wanna help." Zack requested.

Haruna was still observing from the roof and seeing the serious look on Zack's face she dropped down immediately. Alexander knew it would be hard to hide things from them, and went ahead with the story.

With his permission, Zack grabbed Alexander's forehead examining his memories of the events. In their pursuits, Alexander's squad managed to find the slavers leading other captives through the plains, but they suddenly disappeared over the next hill. Zack knew it had to be a barrier masking the camp.

"I know it's probably too late, but not knowing if our family is alive is torture," Nicole said in a solemn tone.

"No, they are definitely still there. Slavers tend to move people very discreetly, and to do this they ship people out in small groups. This way they are disguised as simple travelers with armed escorts. If they were capturing in such volumes they will be waiting till spring to start moving them. The chances of fatalities after capture is also unlikely. They are the scum, but they still have a code. Anything that could harm their profits wouldn't be tolerated." Haruna explained in a calm tone.

The minotaurs looked over in disbelief at the amount of information Haruna possessed, but also at the lack of emotion in such words. Keeping emotions in check is crucial for a shinobi, but Haruna took it to another level.

"So we could gather a rescue party," Nicole said with hope.

"No, they would have scouts laid out through the area. They definitely saw your warriors approach, but simply didn't feel threatened. Meaning they have substantial forces within the barrier, and attacking a hidden base with no intel would produce high casualties. They could even choose relocation if they deemed it easier than a fight. With this, the chances of rescue will drop substantially." Haruna replied.

Alexander and the others had hope for a slim moment until her response. Haruna seemed cold, but her words were true. Alexander clutched his fist in anger at his own inability to save his people. Nicole was preparing to start crying again when Zack began flying up in the air radiating a divine light. Seeing the resolve on Zack's face, and his body illuminating the sky it was a beacon of hope for the minotaurs. Alexander could do nothing but toss Zack a pendant.

"If they are still around show them that, and they will trust you," Alexander told Zack.

"You might be powerful, but they will have an army. Before you could clear them all your stamina would deplete, and they would just be sold an..."Haruna was trying to convince him till she saw the look on his face.

"Every person they've taken has someone waiting for them to return. Knowing this how can I stand around, and do nothing?" Zack smiled at Haruna.

Haruna froze as an image of her parents flashed through her head. For a brief moment, the emotionless Haruna had a look of sorrow. She closed her eyes swiftly ridding herself of the emotion. When Haruna opened her eyes ready to make Zack see logic he was gone. He was already soaring towards the neutral territories at tremendous speeds.

---

In the neutral territory, the slavers were sitting around waiting for their boss to return. Most were sharpening their weapons or gambling away their earnings. To them the cries of sorrow desperate for freedom meant nothing. It was no different than the sound of crickets chirping away, or the crackling of the fire.

A large demon was approaching two large cages filled with captives eying them carefully. He was looking for someone to pass the time with and was prepared to open the cage when a human spoke out.

"You don't wanna do that." The man cautioned.

"Why the fuck not? You got a problem with it?" The demon replied gripping his sword.

"No, but the new boss might." The man declared before walking away.

'Th-that bastard is crazy, but he couldn't possibly see me right? Damn it not worth the risk I'll just go jack off!' The demon started stomping away from the cages.

Soaring the neutral territories was Zack, and it didn't take long for him to find the last known location. He sensed his surroundings detecting a disruption in the flow of mana within the wastelands. Zack flew over the next hill seeing a barren wasteland and knew he found it swooping down with spear in hand shattering straight through it.

Below Zack was an entire encampment of slavers, and Zack could see several large buildings in the back surrounded by guards. Outside the buildings were large cages displaying heavy warding, and through it, you could see the looks of terrified captives. From a quick look around the number of slavers numbered close to a hundred men.

"What the fuck was that!" A man shouted hearing the boom of the barrier.

"Intruder!" A demon shouted pointing at the sky.

They were already taking arms up preparing to strike at Zack as guards began charging for the slaver quarters. A barrage of spells and arrows went flying towards Zack, but he seemed unbothered. Zack's wings appeared amplifying his speed as he sped past their attacks striking the ground with his spear forcing the earth to rumble violently.

Multiple series of spikes began impaling anyone attempting to surround the captives. A band of slavers charged forward attempting to strike at Zack, but in a flash of light, their heads went flying from his gauntlet.

Zack's orbs took shape as three of them launched towards the slave quarters. Slavers attempted to stop them, but their spells didn't even slow the orbs down. Once it reached the cages a barrier was erected around them. A few attempted to break it but nothing they did would even scratch it. Knowing they couldn't touch their payday without handling the intruder first everyone turned their focus towards Zack.

"Get the bastard!" A demon shouted.