Answering The Challenge (3)
"Lillian."
The girl looked up weakly when her name was called.
A boy and two girls were trapped inside the bars; the three were from the same village.
They had lost their parents in the war and had been sold by the villagers.
It was the boy, Sedin, who called Lillian.
"Are you cold?"
"I'm fine..."
Lillian shook her head but her body was trembling.
Sedin took off the tunic overshirt he had been wearing.
When he pulled the vest-like, sleeveless shirt over her, Lillian's trembling calmed down a little.
"I lent Frill my clothes, so you're cold too, right?"
Sedin laughed softly at that.
Frill was asleep, looking comfortable with Lillian's clothes over her head.
"I wish I didn't have anything to worry about like Frill..."
"Yeah."
Sedin's shoulders slumped at Lillian's words.
"Is it really so hard being a slave?"
They knew what a slave was, and the fate they were destined for.
The only one who didn't know anything was Lillian's younger sister, Frill, who had just turned seven.
The door to the prison opened and two men entered.
The eyes of all the captives turned to them.
"You got anything new?"
Gensema asked his men as he looked around the bars.
"Yes, there are three newcomers, this way."
Then a man led Gensema to the room.
This was the very room where Lillian and Sedin were.
"Hmm, that girl looks pretty good."
Gensema opened his mouth while pointing towards the sleeping Frill.
"Well, I think I can satisfy him like this. He's a hard man to please."
Gensema smiled slyly.
When he tried to pick up Frill, Lillian, who had grasped the situation, stood in front of him.
"I'll go. I'll go. Please leave my sister alone!"
"Huh..."
Gensema looked at Lillian with interest.
"Sorry, but you're already too grown up."
He lightly pushed Lillian away, and this time, unable to bear it, Sedin tried to jump on him.
"Let her go!"
But he couldn't even get close to Gensema as the man next to him kicked him on the floor.
He was too young to have any power.
"Hey, come on. You kicked my product so violently. Boys are in demand these days."
Gensema picked up Frill while snarling at his subordinate.
Then, the little girl opened her eyes.
"Big sister?"
She looked around for Lillian, and Gensema stroked Frill's head.
"All right, all right. I'll make sure you live happily ever after. You want something good to eat?"
"Good food?"
"No, Frill!" Lillian tried to jump on Gensema, but was immediately blocked by the man next to her. "Huh...Frill...!" Lillian's dying parents had asked her to take care of her sister. Everyone just looked at her and sighed with pity in their eyes. - - - - - - - - - - The hard iron door closed when Gensema walked out. "Anyway, you're sure that Count Aquitania has been handled?" "I sent Hogg, just in case, the Count is no match for him. Don't worry, he's already on his way." "Hogg? Aren't you being too cautious?" Gensema nodded, his shoulders shaking. "Where's my sister?" Finally fully waking up, Frill began to look around for Lillian. "Your sister's left first." Gensema smiled falsely and disappeared into the darkness. *** The headquarters of the Doro Trading Company was located in the royal capital of Lunan. However, it was only the headquarters where the business dealings between the representatives of the Trading Company and the nobles took place. Their real headquarters was located in a fortress near the capital. The private armies, the assassination squads of the Trading Company, the slave camps and even the important ledgers, all of that was located in that very fortress and I was going to destroy it. "Listen, Zeff. I don't want any innocent people who have been caught or sold to get hurt." "Of course not. They're in the same boat as Miri, and we have to help them." From the reply, he seemed to be fine. "All right, let's go!" I immediately started the attack and the Aquitania's elite soldiers bravely charged forward. Their movements were very agile thanks to the training they had undergone so far. The main gate of the fortress collapsed due to Zeff's assault. "What the hell is going on?" The private army of the Doro Trading Company drew their swords and began to fight back, but my soldiers were not of the same calibre as Lunan's lousy army. They had a training level of 80, and thanks to Yuri, their morale was over 90. My cavalry began to fight off the private army of the Trading Company. Of course, there were also assassination squads here, so there seemed to be a few guys with high power level. But they already sent the A-class assassin to kill me so there was a hole in their strength. "I'll never forgive you for being a slaver." There was no change in the one-sided battle, as even Yuri had joined in and wiped out the assassination squad with Zeff, who had turned into a war demon. At the same time, however, chaos broke out behind the iron doors where people were being held. A private soldier had opened the iron door with the intention of causing chaos. Thanks to this, the trapped people were able to see the battlefield outside. "Kill them! They messed with my merchandise!" I sent my soldiers over there right away; protecting the people was the top priority. Naturally, the private soldiers of the Trading Company gathered there as well. Soon, the area in front of the door turned into the biggest battleground. No, it wasn't exactly a battleground because the battle was one-sided. ______________________________________ [Aintorian Territorial Army] [100 men] Our numbers have not diminished as there were so far only light wounds. [Private army of the Doro Trading Company] [87 men] ______________________________________ The private army of the Trading Company, which numbered more than 250, was quickly reduced. There were some wounded in our army as well, but thanks to Zeff and Yuri who were active in the frontline, the enemy's spirit was completely crushed and no one was killed from our side or the innocent captives. Taking advantage of the chaos, even the children started to come out. When I saw this, I felt indignant. Even the children were enslaved...I knew this, but seeing it firsthand made me even angrier.