Chapter 5

Walking in the complete dark, in the tunnel, Josh could easily find his way. Soon, he was in the first layer of the mine, and he has to cross a narrow path to get out. 

'However, there are some guards here and there. Besides, I can feel the heat of the fire. It means that there is a near light source.' 

Opening his eyes, Raoh looked at a near rock. Behind it, there was a yellow glint. It meant that guards rested here while leaving the slaves in their closed cave.

Shaking his head left and right, Raoh smirked inside. 

'So, you have been abusing me for a whole month. Eating nothing but a shitty bread.'

Raoh closed his eyes to count how many guards are there. He could feel each one's fighting spirit and aura. It could tell him if that person is strong or not. After opening his eyes, he knew that most of the guards are just average at best. 

Lowering his head and bending his body, he started walking on his toes. 

"Man, that guy really pisses me off. He broke the pickax. The ass hole, I gave him a half piece of bread." 

"Just half! Pfffttt. If I were you, he would eat nothing." 

"Shut up, I was planning to make him eat nothing for a few days. Trust me, there is something that annoys me about him. His eyes seem to have something strange that can't be haven by any slave here, and it pisses me off." 

"What is it?" The guard asked his teammate. 

"Determination. A man with a goal." Answered a strange voice for the both of the guards. 

Turning their heads, they noticed a silhouette. It took them time to realise who, as the light was really faint.

Soon, the silhouette was cleared, and Raoh's face appeared, smiling at them. The smile was really evil. 

"Speaking of the devil," he said mockingly. 

The guards stood up. Both of them were wearing green silver armours with fire patterns on their chest plate. It wasn't clear if they were Earthbenders or some normal fighters from the Earth Kingdom. 

In both cases, it doesn't matter. They won't be able to use their bending if they had one. 

The two stood up. The two military guys had real quick reactions. 

Alas for them, Raoh, who could mine with his bare fists, wasn't playing. 

In a quick movement, he squatted on both of his legs, and he extended both of his arms forward, opening his palms, hitting the first guard, who was sent flying by the force of the impact. His body didn't stop until it hit the wall, making the cave shake a bit. 

The second guard hesitated for a moment, seeing what happened to his friend. No doubt of it, Raoh is a slave who's a master in martial arts. 

He reached his waist, grabbing a Saber sword, and he waved at Raoh's neck. 

The latter bent his knees, dodging the blade that almost claimed his neck. Raoh put his hand on the ground, and he gave a spinning kick, making the guard lose his balance and fall backwards. Raoh didn't stop, put his other hand on the ground and used it to jump, before spinning and giving a strong kick to the man's head, breaking his helmet. 

"Damn!" Raoh turned his head and stared at the two unconscious guys. He put his hand on his neck, just to make sure that he didn't lose it. A small smile appeared on his face before vanishing. He felt good… alive. 

Raoh's look turned serious again. He felt danger. It seems that someone had noticed the impact of his battle and came here. 

Never mind, he wasn't afraid. He bent down, picked up the sword, and played with it in his hands. 

While playing with the blade, Raoh felt a strange connection. 

In his second life, he was a Grand Master. A flash appeared in his head, of him, standing foe to foe with the Strongest Swordsman. 

Surely, he was a real Grandmaster. He may not remember everything, but his talents and muscle memory should let him figure out the rest. Of course, that doesn't include air slashes. His body isn't that strong, nor is the sword, to that level.  

But it doesn't take a very strong sword to slash someone. People are easy to cut. Unlike One Piece world, people's bodies are very soft. 

He waved the curved sword, spinning it without a flaw. 

Turning his head, he stared at the one who entered. 

There was a tall man, wearing a red helmet, red armour, and a mask. 

He opened both of his arms, and fire danced above his hands. 

The faint light became strong, and the vision became clear. 

Raoh stared at him with hawk eyes. Feeling the fighting spirit of this man, he could tell he is way stronger compared to the two he ambushed. 

The fire bender danced, jumped up slightly, and started pushing his hands. Fireballs headed at Josh, each is in the size of his head. They felt concentrated, hot, and have the ability to burn. 

Raoh closed his eyes, to concentrate. He could feel the direction of these attacks. Rolling on the ground, he dodged a few balls that exploded behind him, before standing up and waving the sword, cutting a fireball in half. He then started running. 

The Firebender didn't seem to be done. He squatted, and relaxed his arms, before raising them, as if he was lifting a heavy object. 

Next to his leg, a line of fire rose, creating a small wall that headed toward Raoh, who shifted the direction. 

The Firebender smirked. This place was really tight, and his foe was next to the wall. 

To his surprise, Raoh put his legs on the wall and started running upward. He squatted a bit, stopping a bit, before forcing a strong jump. Raoh flipped backwards and was above the Firebender, who couldn't believe his eyes. 

He brought his hands in front of his face, creating some fire layer to scare Raoh. 

Humans are afraid of fire by nature. Even if they aren't, their subconscious is, and it will make their bodies react. 

Raoh didn't seem to be afraid, and the guy stretched the fire, covering Raoh.

"Die!" Raoh yelled, getting out of the fire attack while being burned. He slashed vertically as he landed on his legs. The next second, the bender's head started sliding on the neck.

Quickly, Raoh started hitting the fire on his body and rolled on the ground, making it stop, making the pain stop. 

"That hurts…" he said as he raised his hands. They were burned, red, and smelled like burned hair. 

The burn marks started vanishing, and his skin got healthy again. 

"Luckily I bet on that." He stood up and looked at the sword. "Not so bad." He took a second to look at the dead body. His consciousness wasn't bothering him at all even though he felt an urge to vomit. The sight is really ugly. 

He stretched the sword to the body and picked up a few keys. Using one of them, he managed to open the locks on his shackles, before throwing them down. 

"Better move before someone arrives." He turned and busted running out of the mine. 

A few minutes later, he got out of the entrance, the smell of freedom was on his nose as he could find himself staring at a town that wasn't that far.

As he was running, he felt something strange. He didn't move forward at all despite his legs moving. When he looked at his legs, he found that the earth was sliding backwards. 

Alerted by his Haki, he jumped up and flipped backwards. In his original spot, a large spark extended from the ground. It would have claimed his life if he hadn't dodged it. 

Turning his head to the side, he saw a man, not wearing armour, but green robs, walking toward him with his hands behind his back. 

Raoh was alerted. This man, his aura was so strong. Seems to be a strong earth bender. 

"I'm the governor here. In my three years serving the Lord, I've never seen such audacity." The man said. "Those guards are really pathetic for not taking you down in one hit." He then stretched his hand forward. 

Few rocks flew at him at high speed, taking the shape of fingers. 

Raoh jumped backwards and waved his sword, reflecting them. Raising the sword next to his forehead, he said. 

"Do you know what's more pathetic than a scum?" Raoh asked. 

"Who?" The governor asked. 

"The one in their lead," Raoh said, smirking slightly to provoke his foe.