Chapter 384: Breaking Out

Chapter 384: Breaking Out

Gerald had spent his last few days making many new friends in the Howling Abyss, where he distributed many of his fresh spell scrolls. Luckily he also had many potions in his storage so he could give them away as greeting gifts to the poor souls, while simultaneously establishing trust and renewing hope in those already prepared to die.

Even if they didn't want to live any longer, the least they could do was take a few of the guards that used to torture them down with them, right? And they agreed. They wished for nothing but a chance at taking down the swines that ruined their lives.

They were already considered dead men, so why not do some damage before going out in a blaze of glory?

Gerald's words echoed in the minds of prisoners as he appeared before them like a specter. A Crippled Angel of Death some called him. Others referred to him as a Ghost of the Dead. In short, nobody considered him as anything more than an apparition, a figment of their imagination, a proof they were going mad. That was, until they tasted the potions, and held the scrolls in their trembling hands.

Things that they couldn't even dream about were now happening in reality.

When they agreed to help, he would hide the scrolls under a layer of restructured stone in the cell, as well as two small keys in a tiny crack beside them.

One would unlock the Void Cuffs, and the other would be for the iron chains. Then they would regain their magic and could reveal the hiding place for the scrolls, so opening the cell door shouldn't be a problem.

In the end, they would ask him, how would they know when the uprising would take place. The answer would be always the same. "Just listen for thunder of the storm, that's how you'll know," he would say.

"But we are too far underground," they would answer. "We have never heard the thunder since when came here."

"Exactly. So when you hear thunder It might be in a few days, or perhaps after weeks, but when you hear it, you will know for certain."

***

Gerald made himself invisible and flew above the sprawling city. He didn't know the exact location of his target, but surely a large dungeon couldn't be that hard to find. And indeed it wasn't. After a few minutes of searching, he noticed the distinctive black walls of the Howling Abyss, as well as the soldiers patrolling around atop the said walls.

He swooped down like a hawk towards his target, releasing dozens upon dozens of explosion spell scrolls. He bombarded the guards with leaflets, the ones with the 10-second delay timer, and patiently waited.

It was so interesting watching people pick up the pieces of paper in confusion.

"What is this?" one of them said as he caught a few of them from the air.

"It looks like some sort of a spell scroll?" another added, equally puzzled.

"But where did they come from? I saw them literally appear out of thin air when-"

They each touched the cuffs on the outside for a few moments, getting reinvigorated with Mana almost immediately, and stormed along the cold corridor towards freedom.

***

Gerald left the underground full of smiles, however as he stepped through the door into the guardhouse, a group of soldiers was already waiting for him.

He could almost feel the anger directed at him, despite being invisible.

And indeed they didn't wait long to attack him with unconventional means.

"There's one! Attack!" the warden shouted.

Only then did Gerald notice a layer of soft It looked like a layer of small cotton particles, or maybe dust? Sawdust? It was honestly difficult to tell. Anyway, he stepped on it without noticing, but the guards did.

"Get him!"

Two of the men hurled a bucket of something towards his direction, and the damn thing splashed all over him.

"Yo! What the fuck!" Gerald exclaimed. They completely covered him with some sort of pain! Now he was clearly visible! For a moment. Then the paint turned invisible as well, however, he didn't care anymore.

The time for a stealthy mission was over and he had to fight! He summoned the Toothpick and craved a bloody path to freedom!

With each swing of his glaive, limbs would fly and men would cry, because they all at that moment realized, they would not leave alive.

It was not ideal to kill all these people, but he had to do it if he wanted to slow down the Empire from attacking Myrtana at its weakest. The corruption of his Soul that came with each death was just something he would have to deal with later.

As he carved his way through the guards and their reinforcements, the prisoners of the Abyss already made their way onto the surface. At the sight of the massacre, many quickly wavered in their wish for revenge as their skin turned pale and sickly, even more than it already was. However, others were imbued with fighting spirit, gripping the discarded weapons of the dead, before charging at the rest of the living.

"Take their gear!" Gerald shouted as the inmates spilled from the underground into the guardhouse. "Spread out into the city, take the scrolls I gave you, and do as much damage as you can!"

They didn't have to be told twice. The political prisoners of the Empire quickly changed their rags for the bloodied attire of fallen guards and soldiers, and then quickly pushed forward, rapidly pushing back their captors and spilling out into the streets.

"Focus on important buildings! Especially the Royal Estate if you can! Burn it all to the ground!"