Chapter 24

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When Azumi's eyes fluttered open, she fully expected to be on the cold hard floor of that man's floor in Katan village. The rope was digging into her so wrists that they were rubbed raw, blood beginning to sleep to the surface. The familiar presence of her blades in her boots was absent, a rope tightly pulled against the corners of her mouth, successfully gagging her. Azumi felt like a five-year-old again, tied to a column in the back of the house, at the mercy of someone considerably older than herself. To open her eyes, Azumi sat there for a couple of minutes just thinking reassuring thoughts to remind herself that she was no longer in that situation and she was now free. King Il had said so, Jae-ha had said so, Mundok and so many other people had said so.

Azumi's eyes fluttered open, finding herself in an unfamiliar setting. She was in a carriage, that much she knew. All around her, people were strewn across the carriage, half-conscious or silent. Everyone in the carriage was tightly bound, however, Azumi was the only one not under the effect of Nadai. Eyes flickering around, Azumi found no windows and no air vents, along with no proper seating for the people shoved inside. She counted ten other people, all men who were shady looking, which meant that were also stolen during the brawl at the black market.

Azumi quietly cursed herself for letting her guard down back there, even for a second. That second caused her to be in this position, bound tightly to the side of a carriage, being transported to some unknown place.

The call of a coachman interrupted her thoughts, the horses outside drifting to a halt. Not even a second later, the doors were violently thrown open, and a soldier screamed at everyone piled inside. The men were dragged outside first, blinking at the sudden brightness in a dazed stupor. The soldier then dragged Azumi out, untying the ropes before yelling at all the newbies to go in a line. Without a sound, Azumi joined the line and watched the soldier flick his whip straight at anyone who made a sound.

"Listen up! You where all brought to Sei as slaves, to build this fort! A slaves job is simple! Keep your heads down and quietly do the work, as long as you do what you're told, you will be released! Now, everyone put your belongings in a pile here! Hurry up!" The soldier ordered, watching all the men hesitantly step forward and beginning to strip their possessions. Azumi waited until last, taking a shaky breath before pulling off the clasp to her cloak. Flicking it around her, she folded it up neatly and put it amongst the other's possessions. She then pulled out her small purse and any other extra possessions, placing it in the pockets of her cloak before rising and turning to the soldier watching her with hawk eyes.

"You. Are you an adventurer?" He asked, pointing his whip at Azumi. Azumi raised an eyebrow at his sudden question, before glancing down at her outfit. She guessed it was unusual, after all, she was wearing pants. Women were expected to wear dresses, which was a pain to hike in, so he must have guessed from her attire.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" Azumi asked, glancing up only to flinch at his glare.

"Don't ask questions. Now get to work" he growled, making Azumi frown slightly, but nod without any verbal complaint. She hurried over to the pile of wood that needed to be transported and picked up a few of the large planks and hefted them onto her shoulder without difficulty, making the surrounding people sweat drop. They were all struggling, but she did it with ease. Walking forward, Azumi began to work without another word, keeping her eyes on everything around her. For now, she would have to work without complaint. Her friends probably had no clue that she was here, so it was too risky to wait for them to come and help. But she couldn't leave all of these people here, defenceless and worked until their deaths...

Azumi would just have to wait...

~Time skip~

Two days later, a new bunch arrived. Her mind was numb and her throat was sore, for as soon as she realised they only offered Nadai, Azumi had forced herself into a shell so she could work with less sustenance. This was why she had been ignorant of Yona and Lili's arrival at first. However, she finally noticed them when she heard a loud shout and looked over to find Yona standing in front of Lili, blocking her from a blow with the whip. Azumi's eyes widened however a soldier who thought she got distracted hit her, so she could not rush over to help.

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