Chapter 280: A Storm is Coming (1/2)

The gem embedded in his right forearm throbbed again and started glowing. Arthur's mind raced in what could this be and decided to use his insignia to block it but he received another shocking message from his legacy.

[Synchronization with the Holy Crown failed.]

Arthur frowned as the gem shone brighter. He gritted his teeth and grabbed Rae's wrist. As he pulled her to go outside, she tried to pull away from him.

”They're going to catch us if we don't run!” Arthur said in a low voice and she looked scared enough to allow him to drag her outside.

As they walked through the top floor, Arthur found that it was deserted. Most of the cells were empty, with a few having people with an unknown fate. However, he didn't have the luxury of caring about freeing them at the moment.

As his gem throbbed harder, his worry increased more. He found the stairs after a while but there were guards walking downstairs. He hid on top of the stairs with a frown on his face.

”I... hungry.” Rae suddenly said with a red face that Arthur wasn't used to. She used to snatch stuff from him or demand them by force.

He took out a hamburger from his subspace that was still warm and fresh.  As he gave it to Rae, her eyes widened.

”This... is something I remember.” She sniffed on it and before taking a bite, her eyes squinting in delight. Arthur enjoyed this scene for some reason, as a huge part of the reason that she ended up here was the help she gave him.

He heard footsteps below and pulled Rae into hiding. She kept nibbling away at the food without a care for her surroundings. Arthur mused that some things never change.

As the guards passed, Arthur noticed they looked tired. He took out a vial from his subspace that had a clear liquid. This was what remained from the potion called Aphrodisiac Aroma, a potion that worked by scent while giving immunity to whoever drank it.

There was barely enough for a small sip for both him and Rae. After eating his food, Rae became a lot more obedient. What remained from the potion was pathetic, but Arthur suspected the reason Larza gave an overreaction was that Demis had a higher sexual drive.

He splashed the potion on the ground and retreated backward, only peeking from the top floor. As the guards walked over the potion, their noses sniffed. They disappeared from Arthur's view before the heavy panting arrived.

He stealthily went downstairs and saw a door open before the two guards went inside. He smiled and gestured for Rae to come over as well.

As the two came downstairs, Arthur realized that he could seek such an option every time. He looked at the torches on the walls and had an idea.

The convoy should be downstairs, where the young man is. If Arthur could make all the guards go upstairs, he should have the leeway to slip below and talk to him.

He grabbed one of the torches and threw on a box. It caught flames and they started to spread around instantly. He pulled on Rae and ran toward the stairs. He hid behind a box over there with Rae in his embrace as the scream began.

”What is this smell? Help!” One of the slaves called out and the guards from earlier came rushing out. Arthur knew he was endangering the other slaves, but they were safer from the flames by being locked by that heavy metal door.

Guards started rushing from below after one of the guards on this floor blew a whistle. The weird thing that Arthur couldn't hear anything, assuming it was a higher frequency whistle like the ones used for dogs on earth.

As they poured in and tried to put out the raging fire, Arthur slipped downstairs after no guards came. He hid below the stairs as a few late guards arrived and headed straight toward the ground floor.

The chaos was immense and most people hurried with buckets upstairs, too distracted to notice them hiding. Through a miracle or simply sheer luck, they managed to reach the convoy who was guarded by a single guard at the moment.

They slipped behind the wagons and Arthur looked for the young man from earlier. As he was walking, a hand reached out from behind the bars and grabbed a hold of his.

Arthur turned with fright but found that it was the young man from earlier. He was looking at him with terrifying, piercing eyes. The man looked at Arthur as if he was his long-lost brother.

”You are like me.” The young man spoke in a deep, hoarse, Yalveran language. ”We're both favored. That's why you're here, you know it too.”