episode_0091

91. Adaptation.

“Everyone stop! That’s enough for today! Everyone get into our pen!”

The overseers holding whips shouted in unison. Ordering people, who were not pigs, into a pen was a testament to the human rights of this era.

Yohan had no intention of resisting.

“Brother Gong. Let’s go quickly.”

“Alright. I don’t want to get whipped either.”

He found out during their conversation that the middle-aged man was not actually that old. He was only in his early to mid-thirties.

He looked much older, perhaps because he had lived through so many hardships. The two decided to call each other brothers, an offer first made by Brother Gong.

“Move it, move it! These guys have gotten too comfortable!”

The overseers glared and watched the slaves’ behavior, checking if anyone was trying to escape or if any slaves were injured, and so on.

If a slave was not fit to work, they had to dispose of him themselves. An overseer noticed a slave limping.

The slave was trying his best to look normal, but the experienced overseer couldn’t be fooled.

“Hey, you. Come over here.”

Sensing the ominousness, the slave pretended not to hear and walked forward nonchalantly. The overseer’s voice grew louder.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said come over here!”

“H-Hik!”

Overseeing slaves was a profession that thrived on violence. His shout had a strange power that made people cower.

The overseer strode towards the slave, who immediately prostrated himself.

“P-Please spare me! I’m fine! Look! I can move just fine!”

The nameless slave repeatedly bent and straightened his limping leg. The overseer continued to approach.

“Please, please spare… Keuaaaaaack!”

*Crack*, the overseer suddenly grabbed the slave’s leg. The slave reflexively screamed. Immediately after, something glinted in the overseer’s hand.

*Thwack!*

“Kkeaek, kkeaeeeck…”

“Tsk, it’s been quite a while since he was injured. A waste of food. Good thing I found out now.”

The slave slowly collapsed to the ground. The overseer wiped the blade of his dagger with the slave’s dirty clothes.

Amid the silence, he shouted.

“Lucky you! Today, we have a special meat dish! Kkahahaha!”

“……”

Everyone present knew that the meat would not be from livestock. Yohan rolled his eyes and met Brother Gong’s gaze. His face was expressionless.

Brother Gong mouthed the words.

Stay still.

That’s what he said.

Yohan nodded slightly in response.

“What are you doing! Get inside now!”

The overseer shouted at the slaves, who were in a dark mood. Only then did the slaves move their feet.

Yohan did the same. He entered the room, no, the pen, that he had been assigned to.

‘Indeed, the word “pen” is more appropriate than “room.”‘

He was reminded of a livestock barn for raising cattle. It wasn’t much different here. If you mixed a livestock barn and a prison in half, would this kind of structure result? Whoever designed it, it was the perfect design for undermining human dignity.

The pens were not strictly divided. So, Yohan headed to the pen where he first opened his eyes.

There were a total of eight slaves in the pen, including Yohan. He had glanced at them earlier, but he hadn’t been able to see them in detail because he was so disoriented. They all looked haggard, with matted hair, dirty water running down their faces, and sweat that hadn’t even dried yet.

He could feel their arduous labor. Yohan was the same. He subtly raised his hand and wiped the sweat running down his forehead.

‘Putting aside the dirt, the smell is a bit strong.’

It wasn’t because the work was hard that he was sweating. Rather, it was just child’s play for Yohan, who possessed the physical abilities of a superhuman.

During the work, Yohan occasionally manifested a small, fiery spear in his arms to raise his body temperature. He thought it was a trick to avoid suspicion if he didn’t look tired.

Brother Gong, who was nearby, noticed something strange, but it ended up as just suspicion. This was because Yohan carefully controlled the heat of the spell.

‘I wasn’t caught, right? Not by that martial artist.’

He occasionally felt a gaze whenever he used the spell. Still, he was able to get through it without any major incidents. It seemed that they couldn’t imagine a slave using the power of transcendence. Or, in this world, is the word “internal energy” more appropriate?

Brother Gong said that there was an incident in the past where a slave who was quite strong rebelled against the overseers. The slave’s natural strength was so fierce that most of the overseers were knocked down. At that time, the martial artist finally spat out his dandelion stalk and stood up.

It may have been a bit exaggerated, but the slave was said to be at least 1.5 times larger than the martial artist. That slave lost consciousness with just one slap from the martial artist. Brother Gong testified that it was truly a lightning-fast hand movement.

‘He may have used only the power of his body, but he may have also used that internal energy.’

Yohan was curious. He wanted to see it in person.

Surely the opportunity would come soon. While Yohan was thinking that, he heard a rough voice from the front. It was the overseer who had beaten him as soon as he possessed the body.

“You pig bastards. Here, chow! Eat it up!”

The overseer pushed something into the pen where Yohan was sitting. Dozens of round lumps were placed on a rotten wooden plank.

The slaves who were waiting in front of the pen eagerly reached out. Yohan glanced around and pretended to reach out.

But the competition was fiercer than he thought. The slaves glared fiercely and knocked Yohan’s hand away.

*Tap!*

“Hey. There’s an order even in cold water, so get lost if you don’t want to die.”

“……Yes.”

“Brother! Stop bothering the kid and eat! Oh! There’s meat in it! Is that the thigh of that guy from earlier?”

Yohan retreated slightly and observed them. Yohan lowered his gaze. A thumb-sized gray lump was on the palm of his hand.

Mixed grains, grass, pieces of meat, insects, and dust. A lump made by lumping together various things.

He carefully put it in his inventory. There was no need to eat it. He had been secretly taking out food from his inventory and eating it while working. It was so secretive that even Brother Gong didn’t notice.

*Crunch, crunch-*

The seven slaves sat down in front of the pen for a while and ate the lumps. Suddenly, he met the eyes of one of them.

“Kaaak- *Ptooey!* You’re unlucky. Hey! Eat this!”

The nameless slave said that and threw something at Yohan. It was a gray lump.

“……Thank you.”

“Alright.”

“……”

Yohan chuckled. Well, they’re not completely nasty guys.

Before long, the slaves who had finished eating lay down roughly in their places. He sat crouched in the corner of the pen and scanned the surroundings.

It was clearly time to sleep, but torches emitting bright light were planted everywhere in the barn. He also saw an overseer nodding off, drooling, and tilting his head.

‘So they don’t want us to escape.’

They were really cruel guys. Yohan lay down on the floor as if sliding down and began to think about his future plans.

He recalled the information that Brother Gong had told him.

‘The owner of the farmland is the head of the Black Blade Clan, which is famous in this area.’

It seemed like a really big organized crime group. Or rather, is he closer to a lord who existed in the Middle Ages?

In any case, this farmland was said to be located near a village called Sinlimhyeon. Sinlimhyeon is the management group of the farmland, and it is said to be in the hands of the Black Forest Clan.

‘Finding Ms. Sarah is a priority, but subduing the Black Forest Clan leader wouldn’t be bad either.’

Yeah. I’ve decided.

The goal of this trial was said to be unifying the Central Plains. Roughly, it meant unifying this unfamiliar and vast land. It’s not something that can be done alone. I need a force.

‘I’ll make the Black Forest Clan mine. Whether I kill the leader or capture him, there must be a way.’

Yohan raised his head. He saw Brother Gong, who was sleeping quietly in another pen.

He was a man with more knowledge than he thought.

‘Tomorrow, I should ask Brother Gong about the Black Forest Clan.’

He thought that as he slowly closed his eyes. The intensity of the work wasn’t that high. Still, it’s good to sleep when you can.

***

*Thwack-* *Swish, swish, swish.*

Digging the ground using a shovel full of handprints. It was easy. He lacked the skills of other slaves, but he had enough strength, so there was nothing to worry about.

Yohan pretended to wipe away sweat and opened his mouth. Just enough so that the overseer wouldn’t hear.

“Brother Gong.”

“Huff, huff. What is it?”

“How strong is the Black Forest Clan leader?”

Brother Gong, who was panting, stretched his back straight and then lowered his posture again. And said.

“Why are you asking that again? This bastard, seriously. Are you really trying to escape?”

Yohan used the Talulah tactic.

“I’m just curious. I’m just curious. As you know, I’m an orphan, so I don’t know anything.”

“……Tsk. If you say that, I have nothing to say. Okay, I’ll tell you.”