Up north, Kam, Jax, and Xin were still heading towards the border jumping from tree to tree and eventually reaching the south city and jump from roof to roof making it past the northern gates and head further north. Within 10 minutes, they’ve reached near the northern border and scout around the area but remained hidden within the trees. After a while of searching, Xin founds the Desperado camp as they were whipping prisoner into huge wagon carts. The prisoners and slaves were wearing tattered clothing with bits of stains of mud dried blood as the whips cut through their clothing revealing the scars on their backs. Some of them are still freshly new while others had them for ages.
“Come on now! Move your asses inside now!”
One of the Desperado thugs whips the prisoner even though they’re already in the wagons. They weren’t just whipping them to hurry up, they were just enjoying whipping for the pleasure of it. The grunt then slams the gates on the wagon shut. Further ahead, there were ten more wagons filled with more prisoners and slaves. Kam and Jax eventually caught up with Xin and look out for whoever might be in charge of this operation. However, they turn their attention towards one of the tents that has a huge gathering of Desperado’s mercenaries were surround a quadric size tent. Until one of the men was sent flying from the tent itself and collided itself against one of the prisoner wagons.
“IDIOTS! YOU’RE ALL JUST IDIOTS ASKING TO BE KILLED ON SITE FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!”
A man then walks out from the tent as the men cleared a path for him. The man itself had a horse mane-like hair with scars covering his face. He wore a black cloak with the armored skull and crossbones of the Desperado’s sigil on its back. The cloak itself covered his shoulders but stills show his aging armor with dents and scratches from a long time battle from his past.
“Luminado! Please understand! I did it only gain more funding for our men! We need as much cash as possible!” said the mercenary grunt begging for mercy.
“You disobeyed when I told you to only raid shipments from the aristocrats AND YET HERE, I FIND YOU FUCKWADS KIDNAPPING AND SHIPPING OFF SLAVES AS WELL! You’ve just painted a target on our heads for doing that! Most of all in broad daylight! It’s only a matter of time before the south sends in their forces after us! Or worse, they’ll put a bounty on us and every other mercenary band will be coming for us for an extra payday!” Luminado harrowed at the grunt he threw.
“Please Luminado… I beg of you! I’ll fix this! If we sell these people off in the slave trader markets, we can make a good buck! In fact, we switch our business up with the slave trade we’ll eventually get enough to dominate the other mercenary bands! Hell, we could get enough to hire more men and overthrow the south itself.”
The grunt nervously laughed as he tried to convince Luminado that he did nothing wrong. However, Luminado was not buying into it at all. He reaches for over his shoulder reaching for a pommel and pulls out a claymore sword from behind his back as his face is filled with anger. Slowly, he approaches the merch as the slaves in the wagon turned away as they believe he going to slaughter them.
“No… no, please…. PLEASE! LUMINADO I BEG OF YOU!!”
Luminado unleashed his rage as he slams his sword on the mercenary cutting him in half. His blood was splattered all over the cart as the slave trembles in fear from his ferocity. They knew now to fear him the most.
“Rally the men and pack up! We’re moving out, now!”
Luminado shouts at his men as they scatter themselves like ants as they begin to take down each tent and stash each of their weapons in crates. Luminado then kicks the wagon in frustration as it shakes and scares all the prisoners and slaves aboard in it. He then rubs his hand against his forehead as he’s frustrated about his own men went behind his back and tried to get the mercenary band into the slave.
“Brother, what should we do about them?”
Another mercenary in famine-like armor approached Luminado. He then breaths out a sigh and pulls his hair back as some of it fell in front of his face during his killing of the rogue merch.
“Screw it. We’ll have to sell them for now. If we free them, then they’ll tell that we imprisoned them.” He said.
“Why don’t we just kill them?” she asked.
“Idiot! Killing them would just paint a bigger target on us then it already is. It’ll show that we’re nothing more savage dogs.” He implied.
“I’m just saying, we can’t leave any witnesses behind. If we don’t kill them now. They’ll surely make a bigger fuse when we sell them in the black market.” She said.
She ready’s her sword to slay them all on sight. But Luminado grabs her hand and pulls her towards with deep anger in his expression.
“We’re in the deep shit as it is, kiddo. I already killed one of our own for stepping out of line. Do not make the same mistakes as he did. I rather not think of drawing your blood on my blade. We stick to the plan, sell them, and never deal with this shit again. Got it?!” he infirms her.
“… yes, brother.” She said as she drew back her sword into its scabbard.
“Good. Now go pack your things and be ready to move. Who knows what the south will send after us.”
He then takes his leave as he goes to take his own tent. The female merch, however, glared at the prisoners as she still wanted to kill them. But the firm grasp of Luminado’s warning was not to be trifled with. After all, she only has to look at her fallen comrade for evidence for that. She walks away from the prison cart and goes off to undo her tent as well. Xin signals Kam and Jax on the next step of their plan.
Jax will go back to inform Sara and the others were to flank the mercenary band. Kam will need to go ahead of the merch’s path and cut them when the time is right. Xin will remain and provide a trap to set off as a diversion. Kam and Jax leave as they were told while remain and sneaks her in through the mercenary’s camp. She jumps from the mass from the tents that remained up and land on certain wagon carts that catch her attention. The first cart she inspects a wagon full of blacksmith tools and unfinished. The second that carried all of their armor sets and some of their weapons. She then pulls two talisman tags from her sleeves and two on each one. One that set inside of the cart, the second lays under the horsemen seat. Next, she visits the prisoner’s cart as she sees that each one carries around Twenty to thirty people in each one. Eight wagons that’s carrying one hundred sixty to two hundred forty people that are imprisoner and ready to be enslaved in the black market.
From under the wagon, she takes more talisman tags only know she wraps them around the wheel and they were smaller compare to the big ones she placed in the other wagons. Having placed the necessary tags she needed, Xin then rushes out and returns to hide in the shadows. She keeps watch of the mercenaries they continue to disassemble their tents and toss them in their proper wagons. After a while, the mercenaries were finished with packing everything and awaited from further orders from Luminado as his horse was at the front of the calvary along with his ward waiting on her horse. After a few minutes, Luminado emerges from the woodlands as he sends a messenger bird flying towards eastwards to the rest of their mercenary band. He mounts upon his horse, raise his hand high, and lunges forward signaling everyone to move. Within a second, their calvary moved and rush through the woodlands stampeding with no rest.
Xin follows in pursuit at the right distance where she can still see them and waited for the right moment to ignite the talisman. Kam and Jax were twenty yards away on standby ready to strike. Jax was on a high cliff with a teppo riffle ready to snipe the enemy while Kam was waiting in the trees to strike from up above. Meanwhile, Sara, Frey, and Saul were a few yards away from them waiting to flank the remaining mercenaries when they fell in the trap. The others were prep and ready, while Saul, on the other hand, he is nervous as hell. He tightly grips the pommel of his sword and breathed heavily as he didn’t want to fail the group with this mission. Kam signals Sara and Frey using a small mirror and uses the glare that the mercenary band is coming in close. Frey nudges Saul with his elbow and hands him a knight’s helmet. Saul takes the helmet and looks at it deeply into the visor of the helm. Slowly, he puts the helm on and raises his hood back up. Though he had the helm on, he could still hear his heart pounding.
The mercenary band was closing towards the group’s trap and as soon as they closed in, the trap was sprung. Xin did a hand mudra as the talisman on the mercenary’s wagons reacts set off an explosion on the wagon as some of the horsemen were killed in the blast radius and the mercenaries immediately stopped to quill the fires but then they sniped by Jax in the cliffs as one by one, they were killed off. Luminado jumped off his horse and ready his sword whatever may try to strike but then another explosion occurred, this time on the prison carts. But the explosion was not as powerful as the previous but was only strong enough to blow holes open on the side of the wagon. Big enough for the prisoners and the slaves to make a run for it. To which they took the opportunity to run for freedom.
“They’re escaping! Kill them off!” Luminado shouted.
His men drew out their sword from their waists and prepared to give chase, however, just before they could, the ground begins to shake. Kam punches the ground as a fissure open up in the ground and split open, creating distance between the mercenaries from the runaway slaves. Kam then lunges his arm upward, creating a blockage wall. Kam slams his arms down on the ground again and pulls a huge boulder from the ground and tosses it at the mercenaries. Luminado then pulls out his sword and slices the boulder in half as one half of it hit the blockage wall and makes a small opening. However, Luminado noticed the many shadows below him. He looks up and arrows then rained down from up above them.
“SHIELDS!”
All of the mercenaries drew their shields from their back and blocked most of the arrows. However, most of the arrow pierce through the shows as there was a mixture of frozen and fire arrows that would either melt through the shields and their arms or rapidly froze along with their arms as well. Luminado tosses his shield aside as it was being covered in ice. Enrage, Luminado turns his attention towards the blockage and swings his sword against its wall as it makes a bigger opening for him and his men.
“FOLLOW THE RUNAWAYS! DON’T LET ANY OF THEM SURVIVE!”
Luminado and some of his men go through the opening and follow the runaway prisoners, However, as they went through the opening, they were with arrows and some of them had arrow pierced through their necks. Even if they were wearing thick armor, they were still pierced. Some of them survived and continued their pursuit of the runaways. Sara lands on top of the mercs and stabs her through the eye slits of the helm causing them to slip off of their and fall. Luminado led the charge of the pursuit. One of the runaway slaves trip and fell from a tree root. A girl with a messy brunette colored hair looked back as she saw Luminado ready to plunge his sword on her.
“What a waste.” He said.
He swung downward with his to slaughter the poor girl. But then a shield blocked his attack and bounce back as Luminado was knocked from his sword. He gets back up and sees a hooded teenager, holding a kite shield using both of his arms to block his attack. Luminado charges and attempts to struck him down but the boy blocks again and again and bashes his shield against Luminado’s body. The hood of the teenager slowly fell off during their scuffle. It was that Saul was defending himself and the runaway slave. Slowly his right arm reaches for his blade and pulls it out, ready to stand his ground. Ready to fight for his life… and his group.
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