Chapter 171 The Fallen One (2) The Rebellion

I wonder how long it has been. It feels like an eternity has passed, would it end soon, I wonder?

I got overworked, abused, and defiled every day, not even a single day would be spared. I've lost my honor, my ability to use mana blocked by the slave curse, I've lost my will, and only my virginity was left intact in order to keep my price high.

The thoughts of dying and ending this miserable life had started to linger inside my head, and suddenly-

"Shit. I have no choice. Because of those gambling shits, there's no way I could pay such a large debt in one go! You! Come here!" My filthy master called upon me.

It turns out that my master is currently in a large debt, because he gambled away all his money with some gambler friends. The effect of drowning himself in boozes and women made him to lose his ability to make proper judgments, leading to his downfall.

And just like that, I got sold to a new master, which does not that different from my former master. He still treats us as mere objects, forcing us into hard labor every day without giving us any rest. We were forced to work until we fainted from exhaustion, or if we refused to do so, our bodies would get beaten mercilessly.

But, there's a single good thing that happened from getting sold to this new master. Since he's far richer than my previous one, he has more slaves with him, and it seems that if we make a good profit for him, he would give us better treatment.

But aside from that, I managed to regain my spirit after getting sold to this new master.

"Older sister, what is your name?" A girl who looks around 10 years old asked me while looking at my face. She looked very weak compared to her age, probably due to being starved since birth. Her hair is dirty blonde, almost white, and thin enough that you can see through it. Her skin color is pale yellowish tone, and her eyes seem to be fatigued. She must have suffered greatly during her short life span. "My name is Nana."

"I am Makia. Nice to meet you." Another young girl greeted me back. Unlike the first girl, she looks healthier than before, although her body isn't fully developed yet. Her hair is dark brown, much darker than mine, and her eyes are redder than blood. But despite of her appearance, she seemed cheerful.

Looking at their appearance alone, I could immediately notice that they have been a slave longer than me. Maybe they were sold when they were a child, or maybe they are the children of slaves as well. But despite of their current situation, I could still see the light and the brightness inside their eyes.

"You're really pretty... Why don't you let yourself become a maid instead of working under these horrible people? If you become a servant, you'll surely receive lots of love..." Makia said, making me feel sad about myself.

"You are prettier than me, Makia. You too, Nana. My name is Wilhelmina. It's nice to meet you,"

I can't hide my hoarse voice. Tears are welling up in my eyes.

Guild and shame welled up inside me.

I can't stand it? I'm suffering? I lived years as a noble yet these two lived as a slave since they were born. How can I whine about a single scar when some are bleeding right in their heart?

"You're crying, big sis?"

"It's nothing... Just a little..."

I told the truth.

I'm just a slave.

"Don't cry, big sis."

I couldn't help but cry.

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Meeting the little girls and the other slaves, I regained my spirit. There are those who have their fate worst than mine, how could I continue to whine and complain about my fate in front of them?

"Wilhelmina! Ready to go?" Solia, the archer of the slave group asked me. Because of my swordsmanship skills, the master assigned me as part of his escort group, and it is our duty to protect him and only to use our mana whenever there are monsters and danger.

"Yes! Let's go!" I replied.

We're currently going from the master's base at the grey area between the Redania empire's borders and the Yerst Kingdom. The destination is a village where we will be trading for goods for the journey to the south, which is the Astellia Kingdom. There's a huge blacksmith there that we need to buy some spare parts for the carriages. The journey is not too long, maybe 2 weeks at the most if the weather permits it.

The new group the master brought with was about twenty people, including Solia, me, the two girls, and also the other slaves that are now part of our group. All of them are women, some were girls when they were sold, and others were old ladies. All of them had been through some form of trauma. They all looked like they'd suffered from the abuse from their masters.

Just like what the others do to me, I talked to the new slaves and help them regain their spirit. We told them how to behave well and avoid getting on the bad side of our master, and teach some that want to learn how to fight.

The journey went as how it usually does, but suddenly.

We got a chance.

I guess the stories about the northern myths are not just simple myths.

When we arrived at a certain forest, the slave curse on our body and our neck suddenly got lifted. Even though there are no orders to stand guard, I noticed that we could use our mana freely, and there doesn't seem to be any pain coming from the slave curses when I use my mana.

"Solia,"

I told Solia about it, and she replied with a grim nod.

Of course, what currently going through our heads is the same.

Should we take this opportunity and kill the master? Could we defeat the four big guards that he always brought together with him? Would we succeed? If we failed, the only thing we could do is continue hiding inside this forest until we died since this seems to be the only place where our slave curses don't react.

Of course, the weight of the failure will be very heavy, but...

I look at the other children that also became slaves like us. Looking at them ignite the flame inside my heart, and strengthen my resolve.

"Let's do this," I said with great determination. Solia seems to be a little surprised looking at my determined look, and quickly nods and secretly went to convey the message to the others.

"Everyone, standby! This will be the start of our freedom! Now, we are no longer slaves!"

All of us are holding swords in hand, and some even have axes as well. We were all wearing a dark-gray uniform, probably made from cotton to conceal the fact that we were actually slaves.

"I will make you regret selling me! Let's kill him! Let's make sure that none of us will be sold again!"

I stood in front, in the center of the group of slaves. The group was about 20 people in all, and Solia was in the back, holding a bow ready for action.

"Hurry! Get on the carriage!" Our master called out. We can't waste any time, I should hurry to finish the job first, so that we would have enough time to prepare ourselves for a counterattack if necessary. I wonder what will happen next?

As I expected, our master was surprised when he saw all the slaves that were previously part of his escort group and all of us with swords in hand. But despite of that, he quickly recovered his calmness and started to give out his order to his guards.

"Kill them!"

I knew that I'll have no choice if they decide to attack us instead of waiting for their orders. So I immediately attacked first with a short swing of my sword while shouting loud enough that everyone could hear it. I quickly slashed at one guard, and my sword managed to slice off his hand. I did not miss with my aim, and the guard fell on the ground like a wooden puppet without a hand.

Swords are the main weapon that was given to the slaves that were taken from the border area of the empire and sold to the south to avoid being attacked by bandits on the way there. Most of us were able to fight using those swords that we used during our escort duty. And since most of us are women, they are still in the process of learning how to handle the sword. I can't really say that they are experienced enough in using the sword at this point. I just hope that we'll be able to manage if the situation calls for it.

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Name: Lyan Arkanium Evocatore

Occupation: Mythril-ranked Mercenary

Money: 3,797,710,950 Elnes / 3797 gold 71 big silver 9 big coppers 5 coppers

Weapon: Magic Glaive, 1 (Decent) One-handed Sword, 2 (Good-Quality) One-handed swords, 1 (Decent) bow

Equipment: Black leather cloak, Leather Armor, Breastplate, 2 Health Potions, 2 Poison Vials

Grimoire's Companions: 8 High Spirits, 3 Valkyrie, Shadow Goblin Lord (Lv. 5), Papilio Slime (Lv. 45), Galewing Butterfly (Lv. 45), Rock Golem (Lv. 50), Deadlight (Lv. 63), Moonlight Butterfly (Lv. 45), Ice Golem (Lv. 50), Acid Ant Queen (Lv. 9), Magma Bear (Lv. 1), Fey Mammoth (Lv. 1), Arcane Retriever (Lv. 1), Winter Wolf Alpha (Lv. 12)

Grimoire's Army: 6 Shadow Servants, 800 Skeleton Army