"Halt!"
One of the guards walked over to Julian and raised his saber to Julian's throat.
"What's a mercenary doing outside the third gate after hours?"
Julian lowered his head slightly, feigning fear.
"I-I was h-hunting for some f-food."
"Food?" The guard raised his brow. "Do we not feed you enough?"
Julian didn't answer, and the guard suddenly thrust his sword straight through Julian's shoulder.
He didn't really feel the pain, but he had to put up an act.
"AAH!" Julian recoiled, grabbing his bleeding shoulder. "S-Sorry, sir!"
The guard scoffed in disappointment and moved aside.
"After hours for slaves is the moment when the sky turns dark. If you make such a mistake again, I will take your head. Understood?"
Julian began nodding, and after the guard felt as though his ego had been stroked enough, he gestured for Julian to go through the gate.
"Head straight for the second checkpoint. Don't stray off your path."
"Y-Yes, sir," Julian replied, and limped through the raised gate.
The guards all laughed at him, calling him all sorts of names.
Although he wasn't actually a part of this Saharan Empire, he didn't really expect such discrimination. It angered him slightly, but he wasn't some revolutionary. He wasn't planning on changing how this world worked just because he saw a flaw.
And so, with those thoughts lingering in his mind, Julian walked across the paved cobblestone road. There was a little more sand on the path, and because he didn't have shoes, it felt as if he was walking on sandpaper.
But even so, Julian endured it, and most importantly, he continued holding his bleeding shoulder.
When he was stabbed, he felt miasma start to gather, ready to mend his injury. However, by imagining a barrier around that wound, he was able to stop the miasma from interacting with him.
It felt like he was slowly gaining control of this evil energy, and while he was slightly repulsed, he was also extremely grateful for how many times it had saved his life.
Still, after nearly 30 minutes of walking, Julian finally reached the second checkpoint. Just like the first, it was heavily guarded. However, the wall that extended to both sides was slightly taller now. It was also manned by even more ballistas.
'I guess this is their way of setting up a second level of defenses in case they get breached, huh?' Julian mused.
But right as he arrived at the gate, he had to go through the same rodeo.
"Halt!" a golden-armored guard shouted. "Why aren't you at your post?"
Julian retold the story he had told the other guard, and after finishing, he was met with a scowl.
"How repulsive. You slaves get a certain degree of freedom, and then you think you're the shit, huh?" The guard spat on the ground. "Get inside. Your room is in the mines over to the right."
Julian nodded and went through. Once again, he endured the ridicule that came his way, and after that, he entered the area before the last checkpoint.
However, unlike the other desolate areas, this one had many more structures. There were a few houses and many workstations: smithies, tailoring bars, and even inns. Moreover, there was a large crack in the ground ahead, which he assumed was the mine.
'And I'm supposed to sleep there?' Julian raised a brow. 'Though, I guess I don't really have any money. It'll have to do. I won't be reckless enough to try breaching the last checkpoint at night.'
So with that in mind, he walked onto the paved road leading up to the buildings, and walked past each and every one. He saw a couple people inside the inn, drinking. None of them had the slave uniform Julian wore, though.
The uniforms weren't that of the guards either. They were embroidered with intricate golden lines, and they appeared more so like the uniform of royals. Or that was how he imagined royals to be.
But since there were over ten people wearing those uniforms, he assumed it was probably just the uniform of a certified Saharan Empire civilian, or maybe an enforcer?
'Either way, I don't want to draw attention to myself just yet,' Julian thought and arrived before the mines. The smell of minerals was strong, but the smell of miasma and blood was just as potent.
There was an elevator leading downward, and it was controlled by a crank. He stepped onto the wobbly elevator, and right as he was about to turn the crank to go down, he heard steps coming his way.
They were calm and composed steps. Julian didn't have to turn around to know that the one approaching him wasn't a slave.
But for the sake of keeping up his appearances, Julian didn't look up at the person approaching him. When that person stepped onto the elevator, Julian waited a few seconds before he started cranking.
Slowly, the elevator lowered. It was surprisingly effortless to crank it, but alas, the silence didn't last for long.
"You're a little taller than the others."
It was a voice belonging to a middle-aged man. It was coarse, but also held a hint of a mocking tone, which didn't go unnoticed by Julian.
"Say, would you like to work under me?" the man asked, stepping closer. "I'm in need of someone to polish my weapons and armor. You would be paid in three full meals per day, and a fresh set of clothes daily. What do you say, slave? Do you like these terms?"
Julian didn't stop cranking, but he did turn his head slightly toward the man. Just like the others he had seen earlier, this man was dressed in those fancy, royal-like clothes and he also had a long, bushy black beard.
However, this man in particular was someone he saw in one of the inns. It seemed like the man spotted him and followed him out here.
But still, it would be rude of Julian not to reply.
"I-It's an honor. B-But, where w-will I be w-working?" he asked. "H-Here? Or..."
"I only come here to sightsee every now and again. Truthfully, I despise this place," the man replied with a hum. "Of course, if you accept, you shall work in the city."
A faint smile appeared on Julian's face, which he hid.
"Very w-well then. I a-accept."
But despite the easy-going back and forth, a laugh escaped the man's lips. The laugh turned maniacal by the second.
"Pfft... Hahahahah!"
The man suddenly tapped his waist, causing a saber to manifest out of thin air. He pointed the tip at the back of Julian's head.
"It irks me when you slaves think you can bite off more than you can chew. For that, I shall teach you a lesson in etiquette."
The man smirked, and then thrust his sword, trying to decapitate Julian.
But the moment the tip of his saber touched Julian's neck, it halted in place, almost as though it was held by an invisible force.
Julian stopped cranking the elevator, and with a faint smile, he turned around, the tip of the saber still at his neck.
With a single gesture of his hand, the saber shattered into multiple pieces, causing the man to step back in surprise.
Yet like before, he was stopped by an invisible force that suddenly coiled itself around the man's neck, slowly suffocating him.
Julian approached him calmly and patted his shoulder.
It seemed like the man realized what situation he was in, but in case it wasn't clear...
"I had hoped we could've solved this without any bloodshed. Still, I won't be losing any sleep after I kill you."