Chapter 9: Slave Traders
Seeing the terrified expression of the young beast girl, Alex realized that this wasn't real; it was all happening inside the game.
Yet, the feelings he experienced—the helplessness of not being able to save the two women, the physical pain of the knife wound on his cheek, and the intensity of the fight with the beast dog and goblins—felt incredibly real.
He moved towards the cage. As he approached, the young beast girl cowered in the corner.
The other woman, seeing this, scoffed at the beast girl and pleaded with Alex, "Please save me. I don't want to die or go through what these women have. Please save me."
Alex asked her, "How did you and all these people end up in this place?"
Instead of offering help, he was asking her a stupid question. The woman hesitated, then pleaded, "I'll tell you everything, but first, please save me."
Alex looked into her eyes. "First, answer my question. It's better for you to stay inside until I deal with these creatures. Otherwise, I won't be able to save you while I'm fighting."
The woman hesitated, unsure whether to tell the truth or lie. Seeing her hesitation, Alex glanced at the young beast girl, who was still hiding in the corner.
He shook his head and moved towards another cage, where four men and a young red-haired boy were captivated.
Recognizing the boy as Jane's son, Adrian, he approached and called out, "Adrian... Adrian."
The boy was unconscious. Alex picked up his axe, cut the chains, and approached Adrian as the four men backed away, creating distance between them.
"Adrian," Alex tried to wake him up, hoping nothing had happened to the young boy.
Adrian abruptly woke up as if he'd had a nightmare, but when he saw the familiar cave, he realized it was all real.
Then he saw an unknown man calling him. Adrian looked at Alex, "Who are you?"
Alex spoke, "You're Adrian, right? Jane's son." Adrian nodded, "You know my mother? Did she send you to save me?"
Alex nodded, "Yes, I'm here for you. But first, tell me how you ended up in this place."
Adrian looked at the four men who were glaring at him. He cowered in fear, hesitating to speak, but Alex noticed his fear.
Alex pointed his axe at the neck of one of the men and looked at Adrian, "Tell me everything, every detail."
Hearing Alex's words, Adrian started crying, "Father... he got injured and couldn't work. Because of that, my mother had to overwork. I couldn't bear it, so I came here to gather wood like my father, but..."
Adrian looked at the four men, "These people abducted me. Then we were attacked by goblins. They killed a few of their men and captured us here. They wanted to feed us to..."
He hesitated, wanting to say "beasts," but when he saw the decapitated bodies of two beasts and four goblins, he couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
"Don't worry, I've killed them," he patted the young boy, then glared at the four men. "Why?" His single word, loaded with questions, hung heavy in the air, but the four men remained silent.
Seeing this, Alex shoved the tip of the axe toward the man's skin, drawing blood.
Feeling the pain and seeing Alex's serious expression, the man spoke, "Wait... wait, don't kill me. We're just working for slave traders. We were just following orders."
Alex asked, "So that woman and beast girl were also abducted by you?"
"No," the man started to say, but when he saw the glaring eyes of his companions, he hesitated. Alex, with his keen eyes, noticed his hesitation.
Without hesitation, Alex swung the axe towards the man who was glaring intently at him.
"SHHHHHHHUUUUUUU"
"THUD"
Blood splattered and the head rolled to the ground, shocking the remaining three men to their core.
Alex had just killed a man who was merely glaring at him. However, the reason for his action was different. Alex had noticed the man secretly drawing a knife from his clothes.
As an ex-soldier, Alex was trained to eliminate any threat, no matter how small. Eliminate before it becomes big, and that's exactly what he did by decapitating the man.
"Speak,"
he again pointed the axe towards the man who felt lucky that it wasn't him whose head had been severed. Fear was clear in his eyes as he began exposing every truth.
"That beast girl is someone we abducted with her group. Now, only she remains as the females were taken by other goblins and the Goblin King, while the males were eaten by the beast you just killed. As for the human woman..."
There was still hesitation in his heart, but his life was on the line. "...she is the daughter of one of the slave traders, who wanted to experience it firsthand. But we were captured by goblins just as we captured this boy on the riverbank."
Alex looked at Adrian for confirmation, and Adrian nodded. Alex pondered as they could only leave after completing the task of eliminating the Goblin King.
"You two come with me," he said, then looked at Adrian. "Stay here until I come back. Take that knife with you in case you need help."
"Put the body with the other bodies," he ordered the two men, who followed the command and dragged the body of their dead companion out of the cage.
"Now pick up those weapons and come with me to kill those green creatures." A sadistic smile crept across his face.