Chaos shrouded the settlent as the sun rose to greet them. Adrian woke up to hysterical yelling and crying as the Tulkas rushed inside the barns and dragged all of the slaves outside.
They stumbled bleary-eyed into the cold morning air, forced to stand outside in a line. The tribals, their faces twisted with anger, approached each slave one by one with blood in their eyes.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. The tribe took notice of the people Adrian killed last night, although, in their eyes, the three were just ’missing’. Still, the tribe wanted answers and thought the slaves would have them.
’And missing they shall remain,’ Adrian thought as he was dragged outside in chains.
By now, the slis would have digested their bodily remains a hundred tis over. Even if soone figured out what happened, it would be too late for them to gather evidence.
But that didn’t an the tribespeople wouldn’t try. They were trying even now, though in vain.
Without any warnings, the Tulkas began beating the slaves relentlessly, demanding to know about the three tribals who had vanished without a trace. The slaves trembled in fear as they endured the blows, their cries echoing in the quiet dawn.
The tribals showed no rcy, their fists raining down on the helpless slaves. Blood stained the ground as the beatings continued, and each blow was a reminder of the brutal control the tribals held over them.
’It seems the young master was telling the truth after all,’ Adrian wondered as the beating intensified and slowly approached him. ’I don’t think the tribe would go through all this trouble for a regular mber.’
It was Adrian’s turn to face the grinder and boy, he did. Punches and kicks rained from random directions as if a storm surrounded him. Surprisingly, the attacks were pathetically weak.
Unlike the Banurs, the Tulkas weren’t especially strong. The only reason they’d manage to hurt forr heroes was the seal they had placed on them. That had to be how they managed to keep such a large population of slaves in check.
But for Adrian, who had secretly retained his stats and abilities, their punches felt like playful strikes from an infant. Unfortunately, he had to act hurt so as not to out himself.
Soon, they were done with him and proceeded forward, beating the rest. Despite the pain, the slaves remained silent because they had no idea what the tribals were talking about. But they knew speaking up in denial would only bring more suffering upon them.
They stood in silence, their bodies bruised and battered, as the tribals searched for answers they would never find, and after a three-hour beating, the tribals left frustrated, probably heading to another sector of slaves to beat up.
However, right before they did, one of them decided to count the slaves as well. It wasn’t normal because they never bothered to do it before. But this ti, they did, and it didn’t take them long to realise the elf couple was missing.
Usually, they wouldn’t have cared much about it. But this ti was different because Milka and his friends brought those two along last night. As long as they could locate the couple, they’d find out what they needed to know from them.
Adrian knew the tribe would inquire about the elves, and that’s why he helped them escape—not because of so misplaced heroism like he made it seem last night.
The couple could beco a problem to him, and he would have eliminated them then and there. However, he refrained for two reasons.
’The entities were keeping an eye on , and killing the ones they asked to protect wouldn’t sit well with them,’ Adrian thought as he was reminded of the quest he received last night.
The rewards weren’t great—just so extra stat points and a couple of healing items. But Adrian knew he needed all the help he could get while living among the Tulkas, so he didn’t turn down the mission.
But the primary reason was that he couldn’t do it. Adrian would have killed them if it was an absolute necessity, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it after he saw how they looked at him.
Being a forr hero, he knew the look of gratitude and respect well. He’d seen it many tis in the eyes of those they rescued. Every ti, it filled him with a sense of pride, knowing he’d done sothing good. Even though he wasn’t human or a hero anymore, that feeling hadn’t changed.
[The entity, ’Giantess of Blind Justice’, applauds the User’s decision.]
[The entity, ’Illegitimate Raging War God’, nods and praises the User.]
Without wasting more ti on the slaves, the Tulkas called the guards stationed on the borders of the settlent. But none of them had seen anything. How would they when they were busy whoring around?
Having no answer, the Tulkas got on their tiaks and direwolves before spreading out and going into the forest, trying to look for the elves. After all, they were the pri suspects behind the disappearances.
"All of you, go to work! As punishnt, you won’t receive any food for the day!" Shoka yelled before marching off with the rest of the tribe.
"No food?" Adrian spoke out loud enough for the slaves to hear. "How are we supposed to work without food?"
"You learn to live with it," soone replied from the crowd. "It isn’t the first ti we’re being punished unjustly, nor will it be the last."
"The sooner you get used to it, the happier you’ll be..."
And just like that, the slaves dispersed, going to their work their asses off for the day, or they’d be punished. However, soone didn’t like being punished unjustly and rushed towards Shoka.
"Master! Master! I know who did it!" the child yelled as he chased behind Shoka’s Tiak.
Shoka stopped, spun around, and questioned, "Huh? What did you say?"
"I-I know who might be responsible-"
Shoka jumped from the tiak and grabbed the kid by the shoulders before vigorously shaking him. "Who did it? Tell , and I’ll reward you!"
When he heard the word ’Reward,’ the kid’s eyes shone, and he imdiately pointed in Adrian’s direction.
"He did it!"
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