Chapter 70: Sardine Factory

It had been ten minutes since Xenia followed the large group of pillagers who were transporting women of different ages to the nearest town. He had been cautious the very first minute he began to tail on the group, erasing his presence and always looking for opportunities to stealthily strike.

They got past the woods and the path they now took was that of a cemented one, leading to a much more civilized place than the small village on the coast.

"Ugh! I can smell the town from here!"

It reeks of this fishy tangy stench up ahead to the town where the large group of pillagers would deliver the women they took from the small village after eliminating all of the residing men.

"Well, that's given, considering that the name of the town is Sardines. They import Sardines the local fisherman caught and turn them into this disgusting canned food that most rich people like. I've tasted it once and it was so horrible I had to skip three meals that day."

Gideon followed suit when his leader, Arnon, picked up his pace to immediately erase the stenchy odor from his nose. While Arnon is the leader, Gideon serves as the second in command. Both were friends, met each other in the war that was still going on, and chose to become pillagers when war did not pay them well despite achieving remarkable feats.

It was a surprise that they did not find themselves among the pile of corpses the war made upon commencing five years ago.

"Hurry up, otherwise the smell will get stronger and it will stick to your noses."

In the sewage, the foul smell was coming underneath their feet. They could not bear the strong pungent smell anymore, thus hastening and catching up to Arnon.

As soon as the pavement disappeared beneath their feet, the smell slowly faded away and the Town smelled of this particular medicine one can buy in any store. Not a medicine but a cleaning detergent.

"How come the smell disappears when the sardine factory is located in the middle of the town?"

"It smells like chlorine, right? Chlorine helps eliminate the tangy smell. Actually, only the waste, like the head and organs of the sardines gets disposed of through this large canal beneath the surface. Multiple pipes were laid around underneath our feet wherein the waste of the factory is being distributed towards the blooming plants and trees you could see surrounding us."

In an open field, the town has a huge sardine factory in the middle erected, surrounded by tall trees and plants that bear both edible and inedible crops.

Women of different ages were coming in and out of the huge sardine factory wearing plastic suits, face masks, and gloves to keep their everything neat.

"Are they gonna sell us to the factory to serve as their slaves that will do the work for their company?"

Lui worries that her ideal life would be completely ruined by a bunch of bastards who kidnapped them from their village only to sell them as factory workers.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I'm sure your father is on his way to save us. Don't he always do?"

Hearing it from her mother was reassuring but Lui had to face the reality. It had been raining snow to the point that the weather worsened and a blizzard struck the poor village. And her father did not come back. They both do not have any idea whether the three men came back home safe or they met their demise, freezing to death. They could also have been killed by the pillagers, regardless of their gender. Well, they were men, and the pillagers killed every man in the village.

"Mom," spoke a little girl who was fascinated by the architectural structures of each house in the town. "Look at all those beautiful houses."

"They are indeed pretty, Lily."

The child's mother wrapped her arms around Lily, on the verge of tears at the thought that they were being robbed of their freedom by being sold to the town

Futile efforts only wasted their energy, so instead of struggling against the iron cage, the captives just unwillingly accepted their fates. They watched their husbands, sons, and fathers being killed in front of them. If that won't take away the tiny string of hope they cling onto, then what else would?

Scornful and disgusting stares were what the women in cages got from the townspeople of Sardines. One glance at each of these people would immediately tell you that they are well off— filthy rich people who are spending their days in a luxurious and definitely stress-free environment.

"Ew, look at what they are wearing. Stop staring at them, John. You might acquire their literal poor condition."

"Wow! People like us are being delivered to our town!"

"Shh! Boy, do you not see how they are dressed? You can't compare their poverty to our wealthy lifestyle!"

Nothing but poverty-related slurs came out of the townspeople's mouths. Arnon and Gideon glared at these filthy rich people, inconspicuously directing their anger towards the townspeople.

As much as they hate the townspeople, they can't stop doing business with the town's chief, for the pay for every woman varies on their age. If it's a female child whose age is around 5 to 12, the price would be around fifty to one hundred silver based on the kid's weight. Next, if it is someone whose age is around 13 to 24 years old, it would be around one hundred fifty to 300 silver again based on the woman's weight. Lastly, women whose ages range from 25 up to 40 will amount to 250 silver. Forty-one years old and above women would-be workers for the factory and their price would be 150 pieces of silver.

Xenia was met with the stenchy smell and he gagged at the slightest knock of the foul odor coming from underneath his feet.

"Bleugh! Is it coming from the ground?"

Enhanced eyesight allowed him to peek through the thin gap in the slabs of stones placed together asymmetrically. Rotten fish innards came into view, streaming slowly from the middle of the town.

Xenia had the same reaction the captives had upon laying their eyes on the mesmerizing structures of the town. From small buildings to bigger ones having spacious porches and gardens filled with crops bearing plants. Flowers majestically bloomed in a row as gardeners took care of them with passion and gentleness.

"For a place that looks so clean and rich, this place smells like shit!"

He knew that he couldn't just walk straight towards the town and let his presence be known by everyone in the town. Therefore, he constructed a plan inside his mind. First, he turned around and observed the town more to see how often people would go to this particular place.

"Then, wait for someone I can use to infiltrate the town. A person who will be alone at the right opportunity. Next, I will threaten whoever I capture as a hostage to help me with my goal. After that, I will try to take Mrs. Lagman and Lui back. Last will be our escape plan. Surely, there is a reason why only women were spared."

An hour of observing the plan and committing to his foolproof idea had passed. Xenia was determined to do it by himself, knowing that he had become immortal and the only way for him to die was by forfeiting his own life.

Moreover, people who have Gifts are still scarce, based on his historical knowledge of the world he lived in.

Twigs crunchyly break upon getting unintentionally stepped on. The sound occurred behind Xenia, so he instantly turned on his back.

"I knew someone had been following us this whole time."

Arnon and Gideon, along with his men had found Xenia near the woods that surround the town.

"Give up, kid. There's nothing you can do alone," said Arnon, giving one last glance at the harmonious town. "You'll just become those people's plaything if you get caught."

"Oh, is that so? Then, why don't you help me? With your number and experiences in pillaging, I'm sure it would be pretty easy for your group, won't it, mister?"

"And where did you get the idea that we'd help a kid that holds no value to us? We can just kill you here to stop you from your stupid ideas."

"Ehh, how cruel! Don't you hate those people?! I mean, the way they look down on you just because you're poor and they are above you in terms of wealth. Isn't it frustrating? I'm a hundred percent sure that at least one of you wants to slaughter those people!"

Gideon scoffed at Xenia's provocative words that could lead to the pillagers destroying the town. However, Arnon and his group were strictly tied down to their policies and beliefs.

"As long as they are serving us the money we expect from them, verbal slurs do not affect our desire to have money."

Arnon changed his mind about killing Xenia. Instead, he let the kid do whatever he wanted, for he thought that his foolishness needed to be tested and taught in order to learn.

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