Boom!
The military exercise at Miraj City turned out to be real. The exploding magic crystals resounded in the mock battlefield as the soldiers prepared to participate in a mock battle. With edgeless swords marked with yellow or green paint, the two divided armies were to fight each other. The aim was to protect the white cloth on their bodies.
In the end, depending on where the pain marks are on the body, points would be given—head, neck, and chest were considered death.
Yes, they had armor. But the goal was to make them into such warriors that even with armor, they'd be swift enough to dodge strikes from the enemy. It was a war ga but on a massive scale.
However, the presence of so many troops also ant that the people going through Miraj city had to go through many checkpoints. The only route into the west was now heavily guarded, with the distant sounds of explosives resounding at all tis.
Maklaire Martin, the one who knelt before Sylvester, found his only exit to the west blocked. The crowd of caravans was being checked thoroughly, and with the amount of gold he had, he knew he wouldn't be able to escape. Even his strength couldn't help him force his way through.
The previous Slave God had to turn around and find another way to reach the west.
But he wasn't the only one having such an experience.
…
anwhile, inside the Tower of Godless, Sylvester imdiately checked the entire tower with his supre authority over everything in that giant building. He left the Inquisitor High Lord with the body samples of the Slave Gods that Miraj had collected. The body samples, including hair, nails, sweat, or even saliva; were going to be used to make the dolls.
Floor by floor, Sylvester ticulously checked everywhere. As he had expected, the uppermost floors included the most 'exotic' slaves. The first ten floors in both directions were for regular slaves, primarily humans. Then, from the tenth to the twenty floors, there were specialized slaves in various things—including wizards and knights.
From the thirtieth to the fortieth floor, there were non-human slaves from a wide range of species. From forty to forty-nine, the most high-priced slaves were kept in a relatively healthy environnt. Elven won, elven n, vampire won, highly trained dwarves, and good-looking Beastkins were the top rchandise of the Tower of Godless.
However, unlike the fiftieth floor above, which was reserved for the Slave Gods, the fiftieth floor underground was reserved for sothing entirely different and sinister.
Sylvester arrived underground through the sa elevator, along with a few guards. It was a dimly lit floor, and a designated guard presence was on the floor as well. However, what amazed him was the sound of little babies crying.
Soon enough, he arrived in a massive hall, larger than the arena in the Holy Land. It was filled with tal-barred cages, arranged in long rows, and stacked one on top of another for at least ten cages high.
Inside the cages were won with either bloated bellies or holding little babies in their arms. From human to non-human, the madness was indiscriminate. This was the place for those suffering the worst of fates.
"It's a breeding farm for more slaves," Sylvester imdiately realized what was happening. This was how the Tower of Godless kept selling high-value slaves even when piracy was destroyed. This was how the Tower of Godless hoped to achieve their twisted form of glory.
Sylvester looked at the nearest guard to him and asked, "Were you also born here?"
The man nodded with no emotions, "Everyone who works in the tower is."
Sylvester heaved a long sigh and raised his hand. From his palm ca out an orb of bright white light. It floated above toward the ceiling and remained there as if an artificial sun. It brought the much-needed warmth and light to inhabitants of the breeding ground.
"I am Pope Sylvester Maximilian," Sylvester bellowed as gently as possible. "I have outlawed slavery throughout Sol, be it human or non-human. As such, the Slave Gods have been dealt with. All slaves in the Tower of Godless shall be rehabilitated to their hos… or continents.
For now, you shall be provided with good food and newer clothing until we can find a way to house all of you in better conditions."
The slaves silently listened. They felt no joy, no fear, and no pain anymore. They had heard empty promises far too many tis; words only ant to torture them ntally.
Sylvester turned around annoyedly and walked to a different part of the deepest floor. He found a large chamber with small cradles filled with babies. So female slaves were caring for them there. Then, there was another large hall filled with kids who had started walking but hadn't grown more than five years of age.
The floor above housed all the kids ages five to ten, and any above that age were treated as adults.
With a sigh, he turned back and went to the ground floor of the tower. "The population of the tower stands at three hundred thousand slaves, and a hundred thousand guards, fifty thousand sellers—It won't be easy to rehabilitate them all."
"Why not send them all ho?" Miraj chirped from his shoulder.
Sylvester shook his head since he knew human nature all too well. "Society won't accept those won—tainted ones, they will be called. Be it humans or elves—I know these won won't be accepted back so easily. So of the slaves have probably been here for generations; they have no ho outside. I'm their only bridge toward a new independent life."
Miraj bobbed his head and looked around. "Then… They're like before I t Maxy?"
"Yes."
"Hehe… Then they have nothing to fear," Miraj proudly patted Sylvester's head with his soft white paw. "My dearest son will make everyone happy!"
'I'm surprised he still rembers adopting ,' Sylvester thought and continued his work.
Within a few hours, groups of n from the Holy Land began to arrive. A contingent of Inquisitors also arrived on ti, and slowly, the Tower of Godless transford into the Tower of Light.
A massive kitchen was set up to cook a hearty al for all the slaves. The captured sellers and buyers were stripped naked and thrown into tiny prison cells, with all their money confiscated. They were in the midst of being interrogated one by one to reveal their hidden money stash or the chain of supply. Yes, Sylvester was going to make them fund the rehabilitation of so many slaves.
"That seed easier than I imagined."
While evaluating the kitchen, Sylvester heard a known voice, "Felix, you ca right on ti. I think I found you a hundred thousand brothers."
Felix had just returned after finishing his assignnt from the Duchy of Iceling, after punishing the Baron who used forced labor. "What do you an?"
Sylvester smirked and pointed at the black armored guards, "All the guards here lack the sa thing as you—balls."
"..."
Felix squinted his eyes painfully, as he always did whenever his balls were ntioned. "Ah… Poor lads. But, you can heal them too."
"Before that, I'll have to sohow heal their minds first," Sylvester muttered and led Felix into the tower to explain his job. "Your job is to manage the children along with the Bright Mothers. Write down their nas, gender, and if they're born here or brought in from the outside world—if they rember where they're from."
Felix groaned but accepted the task. "What will you do with them?"
"If they have nowhere to go, then perhaps I will start my school and adopt all of them. I certainly have the money and resources to teach them my ideals, smarts, and way of thinking. Perhaps, one day, they'll grow and spread around the world as my proxies—making the world better for all. But above all, they require a happy and healthy life first," Sylvester revealed his simple but elaborate plan.
In practical terms, it was a logistical nightmare to accomplish, but it was doable.
"What about the Tower?"
This ti, Sylvester didn't say much since he was still contemplating what to do with it. "The tower is massive and quite masterfully designed. Destroying it would be a waste of space. Perhaps I should take ownership of it and turn this into the school I talked about—An entire city can be housed here, after all."
The plan was to renovate the floors of the building into sothing better. Give the entire tower a makeover, and then do so holy rituals for its purification. Then, spread the word around and make it a Tower of Solis instead of Godless.
Bam!
"Leave alone! Let go!"
"How dare you touch ?"
"Do you have any idea who I am? Aaaa…!"
Just then, so loud noises ca. Sylvester and Felix turned back toward the tower entrance and noticed six horses entering. From the horse saddle, five thick ropes were attached, and the horses appeared to be straining themselves while trying to pull sothing.
"Aaaaargh! My face!"
Soon, the sound of sothing heavy being dragged resounded. A few monts later, what was at the end of the ropes revealed itself—a massive, fat blob of a human.
"Your Holiness, we caught her. She was hiding in a pigsty as her family and freed slaves stole her wealth and threw her away. She could only drag herself to a farm beyond the river," an Inquisitor commander reported.
"Who is he?" Felix stared at the monstrosity of a human being. The creature was far from human, not even able to stand up.
Sylvester shook his head and walked over to stand beside the huge body. He noticed the woman crying in hopelessness. "How does this helplessness feel?"
"P-Please let go… You're a good man… I will pray to Solis." She cried, having turned into a ss with parts of her skin chipped and what was left of her sparse hair. She had been dragged all the way there by horses.
Bam!
Sylvester stepped on her huge face, "But Solis has already passed the judgnt—You are to be eradicated as if an ailnt."
"Nooo… Please!"
Sylvester looked at the commander, "There should be a pigsty here too. Throw her in there. Let her rot there and be eaten."
"What? You can't do th—"
Felix abruptly ca over and stared at her face, "Wait! This is a woman? What an annoying 'thing'."
"I'm Minerva, the most beautif—"
Bam!
Felix kicked her jaw this ti, breaking it, "Thing! Just like how you called your slaves—an object deserving no pity. It's useless to ask for rcy. In fact, I believe His Holiness is not being harsh enough with the punishnt."
"Hmmm…" Sylvester rubbed his chin. "Is that so? Then perhaps I should throw her to the cannibal slaves from the Divine Desert."
Minerva couldn't say anything, for her jaw was broken. She rely made noises and cried in a pool of her own blood. She hadn't expected her end to co that way.
"Ummmm… Mmmm…" She groaned.
"Don't worry, the others shall join you soon," Sylvester waved and allowed the guards to take her away. "They'll suffer a worse fate once my toys are prepared."
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