Chapter 1528: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Gallop. Gallop. Gallop.~
The thick-legged stallions slowly descended a hilly forest path in the dead of night.
Up, down, up, down...
They had been moving across the many hilly paths and strange terrain all too familiar.
The Caravans, accompanied by no more than 60 guards on horseback, traveled across the path, still keeping their vigilance high.
Look left; look right.
Look up, look sideways...
The men held onto their reigns tightly.
Everyone looked around except one of the pale-toned burly men with a long scar slashed across his face.
"Archers stay on guard. We've long entered the deep forest zones."
This means their worries won't necessarily come from humans but wild forest beasts.
Yes!
For the many days, months, and even years they had moved along this road too deep into the forest, they hardly, if not ever, ran into people other than those from the Society.
The path was very confusing, as well as very illusionary if one had never stumbled on it before.
This again was thanks to a few hills around these regions that move every now and then, revealing the path for only a brief while as though it were a secret cave of wonders.
It's strange to say that most of the time, the path's starting point gets covered with a deep stream of water rushing adjacent to it.
And during calculated periods, the water vanishes, revealing the path's starting point.
The location was too perfect, making it hard for many to stumble upon this road.
What's more, during the times that the path was inaccessible, they, the T.O.E.P, would lure deadly beasts toward these regions in case some enemy or passerby happened to stumble upon the place.
But this wasn't all.
They, the T.O.E.P, had also spread crazy rumors about the deep forest regions, keeping the people out of sight at all times.
And over time, the rumors were believable since those who did venture never returned.
Like so, the years had passed, and their hidden fortress remained unknown to the masses.
So of course, after traveling on this road for so long, they had long been accustomed to looking out only for beast attacks.
.
The leader's words echoed out.
And everyone squinted their eyes, cautiously looking about with their arrows at hand and swords already unsheathed.
Nothing.
They had been traveling for some time now with just a few creatures daring to attack their large group all at once.
60 highly skilled T.O.E.P guards on horseback and 12 other guards driving the 6 caravans.
They were indeed a lot. And any creature daring to attack them would only have to do so in large groups.
Having only one bear or one beast come at them would be suicide for itself.
Hmmm...
So far, so good.
"Silence!!"
The imprisoned ladies in the caravans quickly forced themselves to stop crying the further the gang advanced.
Each caravan was designed similar to a beast cage with large tents placed over it to hide the prisoners' beauty to keep them away from the sun and rains.
Each caged caravan would carry up to 20 women, all packed and smudged together like sardines in a can.
Several chains were wrapped around the caravan's cage-barred doors, locking the women indefinitely lest they tried to escape.
Some women were still crying, while others were silent, with solemn faces.
What was the point of crying when knowing they had already been caught?
.
The silent women leave their heads on the barred walls, already knowing they would never escape from whatever prison these monsters were sending them in.
They looked upwards, with no one knowing what they thought.
But one thing was for sure.
Though they looked tough, a deep brooding turbulence was already underway in their hearts.
With moistened but closed eyes, they started at the tent roofs with trembling bodies.
'Is this really to be my fate?... Goddess... Please... Come to the aid of your children.'.
Many made silent prayers in their hearts, with some hoping their families would be alright wherever they were.
But as for other ladies, though forced into captivity, they quickly adjusted themselves, planning to climb to the top while riding on the many men they would soon meet.
"You!!!!~... What are you doing?" One of the ladies exclaimed, seeing the shameless actions of these few.
"And so? What I do is my problem and not yours. So what's your attitude?... Hmph! I think you're just jealous, not wanting me to shine brighter than I already am!"
"..."
These women spoke back to those calling them shameless while rearranging their entire look.
First, they bit their lips to make them redder than they already were.
And following that, they also pushed their hair back and even tugged some of the loose fabric under their rope belts, making their tires shorter than they already were.
Of course, some women had long skirts with short-sleeved cropped tops that showed their bellies, while others had on a single see-through shown thigh-length.
What's even more shocking was that these women who acted this way were secretly happy about their kidnap.
.
As ordinary peasants who love money and nobility, this might be their chance to live the good life. So why not make use of this opportunity to the best of their capabilities?
Though the chance was slim, if they could use their bodies to control the most powerful men wherever they were going, they might end up living like princesses in such places, exclusively belonging to that said powerful man.
Yes!
These women didn't even want to be rescued.
And would be the first to betray the other captive if they tried playing any fast ones on the guards.
These women all stared at the others in their caravans, trying to find out which people were more beautiful than them.
They secretly decided that after reaching their destinations, they would either eliminate or somehow disfigure them.
A fierce light flashed in their eyes as they secretly made calculations.
But suddenly, the many caravans stopped.
Bam!
The women crashed into one another, moaning in pain with panic fleeting in their eyes.
What?... What was going on outside?