It was now nightfall.
Throughout the day, Julian observed the army atop the mountain range. They shot a few arrows at him, but for the most part, the army was passive.
It was clear they were waiting for something; he just wasn't sure what.
'I saw that the slaves were also making their way to the army... They weren't being shot though.'
He couldn't really blame them. They were already at the bottom of the barrel, so an invasion was like a life raft to them.
But nonetheless, since it was now dark in Second Heaven, Julian left the palace grounds and went into a nearby alleyway. He ditched the set of armor and wore some plain clothes he had kindly borrowed off the street.
Not standing around for long, he made his way through the city and, eventually, through the main gate that was completely unguarded.
'Even the city guards jumped ship... How am I going to do this?'
Despite that, he swiftly walked along the outer city walls, heading towards the mountains. He spotted a slave along the way. A few, rather. However, they were too preoccupied with running toward the mountains to notice him.
So Julian slipped behind one of them and, with little remorse, snapped the slave's neck.
[You have slain a dormant human.]
Ignoring the pop-up, he dragged the slave's body over to the wall and switched clothes. However, when he put on the shabby clothes, he immediately spotted a problem.
The wound on his cheek was still bleeding, seeping into the rags. He had nearly forgotten about it since it was painless.
'But...' Julian glanced at the saber on his waist. 'If the wound itself doesn't heal, then I just have to remove the wound itself.'
***
(Several minutes later...)
Julian continued limping and running toward the mountain with the rest of the slaves. His cheek was no longer bleeding, but there were faint scratch marks that had yet to heal just below his eye.
Furthermore, his robes were now fully soaked in blood.
Just then, he caught sight of a fire inside the city. It was coming from near the gate. Soon enough, panic would ensue, but he would leave that to Aliyah and Diana.
As for him, he needed to focus on his own survival.
Soon enough, he arrived at an encampment. In the very center, there was a massive bonfire, which he immediately turned away from. There were tens of tents, carriages filled with food, and large steel cages holding five or eight slaves each.
Of course, at least 100 soldiers too.
Ten such soldiers, wearing dark armor, approached and manhandled the slaves, including Julian himself. They took his weapon and pushed him along.
"Get in the cage!"
"Stop struggling! We need to check if you lot really are slaves!"
"Someone come to cage three! I found an intruder!"
He was hit with the hilts of regular swords, but he still complied and got into one of the cages before being locked inside.
With him were four other slaves, all of whom looked as though they had finally found their saviors.
But Julian didn't feel the same way.
As he glanced through the steel bars of his cage, he saw several dozen soldiers dragging a slave out of a cage and tossing him right beside the bonfire.
"W-Wait! I can give you all my riches!" the slave screamed, ripping the rags covering his face and revealing a pointed moustache. "Come on, what's the big deal? Use me as a hostage!"
The soldiers coldly drew their swords, pointing them at the 'slave.'
"Nobles were the main reason why the Saharan Empire was bold enough to bite off more than they could chew," a soldier said. "If we let such parasites join us, then what will become of us?"
Not letting the noble utter his defense, the soldiers slashed his neck, pierced his heart, and then kicked him into the bonfire, fueling its flames.
"Do a thorough check of cage three again. There might be a few more nobles hiding there... I'll go check out the new slaves."
With those words, a few soldiers went to inspect cage three, but instead of 'thoroughly checking' the slaves, they drew their swords and cut them all down. After tossing their bodies into the bonfire, they went back to the entrance of the encampment and waited for another batch of slaves to arrive.
Julian watched all this unfold with a frown.
'Hope is the cruelest kind of bait. In the end, all of these slaves are going to die, including me if I stick around.'
Before he could ponder it further, one of the soldiers hit the steel bars of his cage, getting his attention.
"You there, with the blood on those shitty rags, take off your drape. I want to see your face."
Julian hesitated for a moment, then, with a trembling hand, he moved the rags aside, revealing his face.
"Hmm..." The soldier narrowed his eyes, then tilted his head. "You're dirty, and you stink. But you don't have a single scratch on your face. Now that I look at it, if you clean yourself up, you'll look quite normal, won't you?"
The soldier clicked his tongue.
"Another fucking noble. You pieces of shit disgust me."
Having insulted him, the soldier turned around and opened his mouth, prepared to scream. However, an invisible force gripped his throat, crushing it in an instant and killing the soldier before he could call out to the others.
[You have slain a dormant human.]
Yet, even after being killed, the soldier remained in place. Slowly, his legs began to move, as did his hands. He looked like a robot, but because it was dark, no one paid close attention to him.
Therefore, Julian carefully manipulated the soldier behind one of the tents and into a push. After that, he dismissed his telekinesis.
A bead of sweat fell down his forehead. Despite how easy it seemed, this had cost him all the Spiritual Essence he had inside the ring.
Everything was going well, and the timing was just right for the soldiers not to be paying attention.
It was perfect.
"H-HELP! O-One of you just died here!" a slave from within his cage yelled, pointing his shaky finger at Julian. "H-He was t-the one who did it! I swear I-I saw it!"
"..."
'You motherfucker.'