The situation only got worse and worse and people started to get desperate. When a soldier managed to convince a dozen others to desert, the Colonel cracked down hard on them with his own personal force.

The soldiers were all beheaded and their heads were strung up as a show of warning. The talk died down, but it was still there, left to fester in the background. Perhaps that was even more dangerous, only time would tell.

The Colonel stayed stubborn, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.

The training had long since stopped, with the bare bones nutrition, no one had the spare energy to waste.

One evening the three remaining group members sat in their spacious tent and talked.

“What do you think the Colonel’s goal is?” Guan Yi said, mostly directed at Wang Jie.

“Probably just to delay, I don’t think he’s ignorant enough to think we have any chance of winning.” Wang Jie said.

“I don’t know, at this point I think he could be.” Guan Yi inhaled deeply and sighed, a frown came over his face, “Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” Wang Jie sniffed as it dawned on him, “Fire!”

He jumped off of the bed and saw that the tent was burning. “Let’s get out of here, were being attacked.”

They all stormed out of the tent, spears in their hands.

The vision that came before them was a hail of arrows descending upon the camp like punishment decreed by god. Clangs of steel had already broken out as people were being killed left and right.

Wang Jie looked around for a target but he was left frozen, unable to make heads or tails of everything. All the people fighting were their own allies. Everywhere he looked, allies were fighting and killing each other.

“What in the-” Huang Bo blurted right before he was knocked off his feet.

A giant man had charged into him and the boys were swept into the battle.

In a matter of seconds 6 men had surrounded them and Guan Yi and Wang Jie were forced to back up against each other. Covering each other’s backs.

Huang Bo was no help as he laid on the ground unconscious.

Without giving them time to react the enemy started slashing out at them. Blocking three enemies each was impossible and they both got riddled with cuts here and there.

Suddenly a giant crack sounded out and Wang Jie felt Guan Yi go limp and slump to the ground.

“Guan Yi!” He yelled, turning his head to see.

The distraction cost him dearly as the opponent used that moment to knock him in the back of the head with a staff.

He hadn’t even felt the blow as his body gave out on him and he fell onto the ground.

—

Wang Jie groaned, the headache was massive. His brain pounded against his skull, threatening to break through. He tried to move his hands but they were tightly bound in front of him.

As he opened his eyes, he realized he was in a caged carriage. It was moving.

“Oh, you’re finally awake.”

Looking over he saw Guan Yi speaking to him.

“How long was I out?” Wang Jie’s voice was coarse and it was hard to speak.

“Over two days. We were starting to get worried.” Guan Yi gestured at Huang Bo who was sitting next to him.

At least none of us died, Wang Jie thought. Relieved, Wang Jie started to scan the rest of the carriage. They weren’t the only ones here. He recognized a few other soldiers from the camp who were tied up just like them.

“What happened?” He asked.

“I’m not exactly clear. After the battle I woke up in the carriage too. Originally Rosalan soldiers were escorting us, but then we were handed off to these people.” Guan Yi nodded towards the guards walking behind the carriage. “Huang Bo and I agreed that they looked like slave traders.”

Wang Jie took a look at the guards. Yeah, they definitely looked like slave traders. The merchant looking people that were following along explained enough. Not to mention the pristine arms that the guards carried. They definitely weren’t soldiers, they looked too clean.

“Yeah, they’re definitely slave traders” he said.

They discussed a few more matters and then Guan Yi left him alone to recover.

After a while a few soldiers came up and started handing out pieces of bread and flasks of water. One of them looked over Wang Jie and smiled as he spoke, “Glad to see you up, the boss will be happy to know the product is fine.” The man laughed and after shoving the items in front of him he left.

He didn’t have much degree of maneuverability with his arms bound. Just picking up the bread was a hassle, but manageable. The flask was a whole other matter.

Just uncorking it required some finessing, but drinking was even harder. Wang Jie ended up spilling half of the contents all over himself, still it felt amazing to get some liquid.

When it got dark out, the traveling company broke for the night. Everyone in the carriage went to sleep too.

Finally having some kind of privacy, Wang Jie used the opportunity to relieve himself. He walked over to the edge of the carriage, fumbled with his pants and pulled out his tool. The wooden bars provided way more than ample space for him to pee over the side.

After finishing he tried pushing the bars, but they didn’t even have the slightest give. It was hopeless. He could only keep himself well rested and hope for another opportunity.

He walked back to the spot where he had sat the whole trip, curled up around himself and tried to go to sleep.

It was freezing cold. The spacious wooden bars did little to protect him against the chill of the night. While shivering he drifted off into sleep.

—

It was already super bright out when he opened his eyes. How long had he slept for? He chalked it up to still being exhausted from his injuries.

Traveling in the carriage quickly got monotonous. He talked with Huang Bo and Guan Yi a bit, but they quickly ran out of things to talk about. There were also many ears and eyes. He may have trusted his group members, but he didn’t trust these other people in the carriage. After all, the other allies betraying them was what had landed them all in here.

For days they continued in silence until something caught Huang Bo’s eye.

“What’s that in the distance?” He said and Wang Jie and Guan Yi both turned to look.

“Thats, the border wall isn’t it?” Wang Jie was shocked, he turned to look at Guan Yi for confirmation.

“It should be, I’ve never seen it in person.” Guan Yi said.

“That’s the border wall?” Huang Bo gasped as he looked up trying to see the top. “I didn’t realize it was so tall.”

The border wall was a wall separating the 14 Lesser Kingdoms from the rest of the continent. The reason for it’s existence was contested. The most commonly hailed reason seemed to be because the continent didn’t want the citizens from the poor kingdoms migrating over. Though it was hardly impossible to pass through, just a bit more expensive than the average person could afford. That was why most people from the lesser kingdoms agreed that it was there to keep them in.

As they got closer and closer to the wall it got larger and larger, it was hard to imagine how costly it had been to build.

Soon they were right in front of it and came to a stop.

One of the merchant looking people went up and spoke to the gate guard. Upon seeing the merchant the guard was suddenly very deferential and they were let through quickly.

This was Wang Jie’s first time traveling to the other side of the wall. It might have been a thing to remember if it were under more pleasant circumstances.

They traveled for a few more days before they arrived at a big city. It was a grand sight, gold and silver decorated the various buildings and traders were out in full force selling a variety of colors of jade. A grand river ran through the city, further adding to the prestige.

The carriage continued for a while before it came to a stop in front of a building in the central part of the city. Without explaining anything, one of the guards opened the cage with a key and they started to drag out the people inside.

Wang Jie followed along as he was led to a side entrance of the building where he was shoved into a room filled with hay. Crouching down the guard fastened a shackle around each of his ankles. After doing that the guard gripped both of his hands and cut the rope around his arms.

Seeing the opportunity Wang Jie exerted all his force and tried to break free, but the guard simply held him there easily and grinned. He fastened a shackle around each of his wrists. With the cocky grin still on his face he left and shut the door.

He pulled on one of his arms and just heard the rustle of chains as it held him back. It was easier to move now but it was going to be even harder to escape now.

Giving up on breaking free he started examining the room. There was a big stack of hay to his left and a bucket in the opposite right corner of the room. He was pretty sure he knew what it was for.

Meals were served thrice a day and in generous portions too. Quite a nice stay if one forgot the implications of being here. And the shitting and pissing in the bucket of course.

Well, if there was anything that cheered him up, it was seeing the guy who tasked to come pick up his bucket daily.

After a few days there, other people started coming to take a look at him. There was a slit in the door that could be opened, so they would never set foot inside the cell. They’d just stand out there beyond his reach and commentate about what he had or lacked. It felt weird being objectified like that.

He knew they were prospective buyers, what else could they be?

There had already been three groups of people here to see him, none of them quite willing to buy him yet.

On the third day there the fourth group showed up. A woman, a man following her and a merchant to present the goods.

After they had taken a look through the slit, they shut it and Wang Jie could hear them speaking through the door.

“Yes his looks are definitely good, I’m just not sure if he can be tamed.” He heard a woman speak, “He has this awful kind of glare in his eye, he looks like a beast.”

“If you want him Madam I’m sure I can tame him.” The man spoke.

“Yes, they all learn quite well.” The merchant agreed eagerly, “I’m sure you will find him most satisfactorily.”

“Hmm, if you say so. Siyu, give the man the money.” The woman said.

“Of course Madam.”

“Ahh thank you thank you. I hope you’ll be happy with him.”

The woman laughed faintly, “I’m sure I will.”

Having received the money, the merchant brought a guard over to unlock the door. After opening the door, the guard stepped inside and unlocked the clasp holding the chain to the wall. Taking the chain in hand he walked over the door with Wang Jie in tow.

“Do you want a guard to escort you to your manor Miss?” The merchant tried to curry favor with the woman.

“That won’t be necessary, I’m sure Siyu can handle him.” The woman shot him down.

The merchant nodded towards the guard who then handed the chains over to the servant named Siyu.

As the woman looked him over, Wang Jie glared in return.

“Oh my, see, that’s what I was talking about. He’s such a beast.” She laughed again, not too bothered by the display.