Chapter 281

C281 - The Slaves

Posted on October 12, 2018 by AzureOrchid92

The slaves with their wrists bound by the vines were barely wearing anything, and even if they were wearing something, the cloths were tattered and could not cover much.

Exposed in the sun, each was tanned with chapped lips, looking haggard as they walked barefoot on the ground. Some of the wounded slaves did not get proper treatment. The wound has decayed, and there were some flying of insects around, following them along the way.

"Where are those slaves sent to?" Shao Xuan asked. If he never asked, other people would not explain, so of course he had to open his mouth. Even if the others laughed, Shao Xuan did not care, as long as he could know what he wanted to know.

When Shao Xuan asked this question, there was some ridicule, but some people still answered. Whether they answered in a sarcastic tone, Shao Xuan was fine as long as the answer was good.

"Of course it was sent to the place where the slave owner was located," someone said.

"The slave owners live over there? Is that where we're going this time?" Shao Xuan asked.

"Why, scared?" A man of the Tian Shan tribe said with contempt.

Shao Xuan had no words to reply. He looked at the sky, then looked at the surrounding environment, thinking back to the topography of the road, then said, "The slave owners' place doesn't seem very good." If you go straight ahead, you might be in the desert. The slave owners live in the desert? This made Shao Xuan very curious.

Although he knew that the slave owners would be a little far away from the big tribes in the central region, he never expected them to run into arid areas.

"Not good?" There was an older middle-aged man humming beside Huang Ye, "The slave owners had it good! But the bad things were just for the slaves."

That was the case. A slave-owner, naturally, was the man to be served.

As they were talking, in the long slave procession, a slave suddenly broke out of the vines and ran towards Shao Xuan. Though he had a bony look, he ran fast enough, not obvious how weak he really was.

Someone in the slave team shouted. The running man had dark skin and his hair was unkempt, making them unable to see his face. He ran to Shao Xuan's side, shouting with a hoarse voice, probably wanting to look for help. Shao Xuan could see the light of hope in his eyes.

Pop!

A sharpened piece of wood pierced the running man's body. A drop of blood fell on the ground, and the light of the slave's eyes soon vanished, then it has no life.

A man in an animal hide walked towards the end of the slave procession with his whip. On his forehead, there was a tattoo like the word "tai".

"It is the 'Tai' title for slaves," someone in the team said. The tone was calm, and there was no emotional fluctuation even when he had just seen a slave being killed.

Slaves also have a hierarchy. Lower slaves did not have any title, while higher slaves began with "tai" because they would be stamped with a tattoo like "tai" on their foreheads, known as the "tai" title for slaves. When it came to strength, they were equivalent to the general junior totem warriors.

For all those who became slaves, their first goal was how to become "tai" slaves. As long as they can get an equivalent power as a totem warrior, it was enough.

A "tai" slave was the most inferior slave among the higher slaves. There was also a "pu" slave above "tai", which were also included in the slave corps, but they did not take the whip. They only work with knives. Looking at it, it might seem like they were harmless, but as long as they start, there would be blood stained everywhere, and it was not just the slave's blood alone. So, just now when a slave fled, the "pu" slaves just gave a random glance, while some heads did not even lift as they continued to travel. Anyway, there were lower level "tai" slaves to solve that.

The "tai" slave strode towards the fallen man. The eyes that looked at Shao Xuan's side held no vigilance, no worries, no other excess emotion. Unfeeling, cold as a knife as he looked at the lower slave, no difference from seeing other dead things.

He leaned over, then stretched out his hand to grab the foot of the slave who had lost his breath on the ground, and dragged it back to the troop.

The ground was left with a long bloody mark because of the dragging.

The slave dragged the dead slave back to the ranks, swinging his arms freely into the ranks of the lower slaves. Then, Shao Xuan saw the haggard slaves who were bound by their wrists, scrambling to surround the body.

"That... That's..." Lei was stuttering a bit.

From the Eight Limbs tribe, an indifferent voice said, "They were rushing to eat."

Although their wrists were bound, their fingers could still moved, as well as their arms and legs. They were rushing to eat, although the "food" was the same person as themselves, but if they did not eat, they were likely to starve, so they had to eat to survive.

Seeing that Shao Xuan and the rest were silent, someone from the Tian Shan tribe spoke, "Do you see? If you don't see it, you can actually save one or two lower slaves. If you just run closer, you can do it in time."

Seeing the reaction of the others on the team, Shao Xuan and the rest also knew that there were some things they did not know. These men, looking at the slaves with their eyes, were mostly disgusted.

Indeed a lot of totem warriors despised slaves, thinking they have no backbone, betrayed their ancestors, not working as a team. Especially those who were in the Eight Limbs tribe, their eyes showing hatred.

Shao Xuan learned the reason from Qu Ce. A few years ago, some people from the Eight Limbs tribe encountered similar situations while saving a few lower slaves. They also cut a few "tai" slaves.

"In fact, at the beginning, these people from the Eight Limbs tribe were secretive, disguising themselves, so, supposedly, their identities should not have been found. However, they were still discovered. When a young girl from the tribe gave a slave a piece of jerky before leaving, the slave saw her with a spider. Later, the slave failed to escape, was caught, then confessed. Soon after, almost all who went out were killed," said Qu Ce.

There were more than ten people from the Eight Limbs tribe killed, among them were even high-ranking totem warriors, while the slaves who attacked them included more than thirty "tai" slaves and at least four "pu" slaves. If the fight was one-on-one, even with the "pu" slaves, it would just be an equivalent to an intermediate totem warrior and would not make such a tragic result. However, what these slaves did were almost suicide attacks, damaging the enemies' two or three with self-loss of ten. They did not blink an eye as long as they hurt the enemy by a point, then do likewise, regardless of the sacrifice.

Slaves were just tools. If the tools were gone, then building a new one would not make the slave owners distressed.

"After that, the Eight Limbs tribe killed the slaves, whether high or low were all killed. As long as they attacked, they did not leave any alive, not giving anyone a chance to snitch." Qu Ce looked at Shao Xuan and the other two, "There were actually many such instances. Almost every tribe has encountered it. Remember, those slaves who can betray their faith and ancestors, can betray anyone."

"Including betraying their master?" Shao Xuan asked.

"...... It depends on their daring. For different slave owners, there will be different slaves, and you will know when you see more."

After the slave team left, they continued to move forward. The slave who had been eaten left only a puddle of bloody stains and pieces of broken bones. Some carrion insects surrounded it and ate the last "meal".

Behind Shao Xuan, they did not encounter the slave team again as the road was different.

The farther forward they moved, the more clearly Shao Xuan could feel the air drying.

The surrounding vegetation was very sparse. Animals and plants were pitiful than elsewhere. The thin, sparse grass on the ground were also wretched.

After five days of continuous walking, some people in the procession began to languish.

"A little further forward, there will be a tribe where we can rest for a few days," said one senior member.

Hearing this, the young people were shocked, "Tribe? There is a tribe in this place? What's it called?"

"Rain tribe," someone answered.

Shao Xuan looked at the sunny sky. The Rain tribe, huh.

He didn't know what happened to Yang Sui, whether he had successfully inherited the Shaman's position of the Rain tribe?

Note: Yikes! Cannibalism!

Only two chapters again today! I'm thinking of reading all the MTLd chapters first since there might be some discrepancies if I don't know the whole story. What I'm doing now is editing as I read. Therefore, the release rate might decrease. (ﾉ_-;)...