Like a wandering soul whispering in my ear, I instinctively knew my target—the extra I needed to save—was the young man, heavily wounded and pinned to the tree.
Suspended in the air, choked, with a blade buried in his stomach, his agony was undeniable.
With just one glance, I could feel the unbearable pain he endured.
Yet, despite the silent struggle for his life, his ocean-like eyes were dull, a faint smile resting on his lips. It was the perfect expression—a visage of a man who had already accepted his ill fate, ready to depart.
That made me scream from the depths of my lungs.
His death meant mine too.
The young man looked in my direction, shock and confusion flickering across his face. His expression seemed to ask—why was there someone just standing there, witnessing such a scene? A fool who dared to raise his voice instead of running away?
Yes, that fool was me.
The torchlight, burning bright from a stone embedded within, flickered over me.
"Who's there?" one of the slavers demanded, holding the torch while another tightened his grip on the chains connected to the captives.
It was too late to hide. I had already been seen.
"What's a beggar doing here?" he sneered.
That question made me pause. I pointed at myself. 'Beggar... me? ' A quick glance down—'Ah, no wonder.' My muddy cloak, weighed down with thick feathers, made me look the part.
"I—I… I'm just s-sleeping here…" I stammered, my voice still not fully back. "F-forgive me for d-disturbing you. P-please, c-continue." I said, my body already poised to run.
But the flashing red window—warning me that my target was losing too much HP—made me freeze.
I wanted to save him immediately, but the situation made me hesitate. Each of these slavers looked strong and dangerous… For a moment, I truly considered running away.
But… sigh. This was a matter of life and death.
I needed to observe first, plan everything carefully, and watch my every move.
With that thought, I forced myself to calm down, steadying the loud pounding of my heart.
The slaver, the one with an ugly scar running from his eye down to his mouth—the same man responsible for wounding the young man—locked his glare onto me.
"Bring him. Here." His voice was cold as he mercilessly yanked the sword from the young man's body.
In an instant, fresh blood spurted out, and the young man collapsed onto the ground, coughing weakly, blood staining his lips.
A chorus of muffled sobs and cries escaped from the terrified children and women bound in iron chains—their necks, hands, and legs shackled.
They could only watch helplessly as the one who had tried to save them now lay on the brink of death.
Too horrified, too traumatized—they couldn't do anything.
One of the slavers, a cloth tied around his forehead, grabbed the weapon at his waist, following the scarred man's order. He licked the blade like some kind of maniac.
A shiver ran down my spine.
"O-oh, n-no need," I blurted out, shaking my head frantically. "I-I'll come, b-but don't h-hurt me."
I raised my hands in surrender, stepping toward them hesitantly—like a baby taking his first steps.
The crazed man laughed, amused by my trembling movements. A cowardly step, yet still a fool walking willingly toward death.
The system beeped. [Warning! Target remaining HP: 698 / 10,000]
I bit my lip. I needed to hurry.
There were only three slavers here—two minions and the scarred man, who seemed to be their leader.
If I remembered correctly, there were supposed to be more than ten slavers escorting three groups of captives in cages.
But only a few slaves were here.
It seemed these three had been sent to retrieve the escapees—led and freed by this young man.
Most of the captives were children and young women, their tattered clothes barely better than rags. Their trembling bodies huddled together, clear evidence of the abuse they had endured.
The slavers here were likely just E-D rank. The real danger—their boss—was fortunately still somewhere on the road within this Annonno-os forest, along with the rest of the slavers guarding the cages. They were just waiting… but they would surely be slain by Kaiser later.
"Stop. That." The scarred man's voice was menacing, his minion already pressing a blade against my neck. He sneered. "Your eyes keep wandering. It's annoying."
"Haha! Big bro, should I pluck out his pretty eyes?~" the crazed minion cackled, shifting his blade toward my face. "His crimson eyes could sell for a good price."
I flinched.
His laughter only grew louder at my reaction.
"Don't ruin the goods. He's a perfect exchange for this one."
There was no hint of mercy in his voice as he kicked the young man lying on the ground like a discarded log. "That should ease the boss's anger."
Their leader wasn't entirely foolish—he knew that killing a valuable asset would only bring their boss's wrath. Losing one meant losing money. But now, by sheer luck, a perfect replacement had appeared out of nowhere—me.
"Tie him up," he ordered, turning away. He then gestured to the other minion holding the torch. "Pull the slaves along."
Some of the captives hesitated, reluctant to leave the young man behind or return to their cages. But fear gripped them—none of them dared to resist, afraid they would share his fate.
I took a deep breath and glanced at the young man. His HP had dropped below 500.
Muttering under my breath, I steeled myself. "This is do or die."
When the crazed one retracted his blade to tie me up, I quickly pulled an item from my inventory and swung it toward his face.
'Taste the slap of bag of money!'
In the moment of his confusion, my ultimate fist landed with a solid punch under his chin.
"Knocked out!" I shouted triumphantly, like an announcer in a boxing ring—even though I could feel the pain shooting through my hand.
"You—!" the scarred man roared, fury flashing in his eyes.
In an instant, he faced me. I hurled the bag of money toward him like a projectile, the exertion making my muscles burn.
Reacting instinctively, the scarred man sliced through the bag with his blade. Gold coins scattered in the air like fireworks, gleaming brightly in the torchlight above him.
As human nature goes, the other minion couldn't resist the lure of money. He dropped the chains and began scooping up the gold coins, his hands moving like a hungry beast devouring fresh meat. Some of the slaves joined in, while others took the opportunity to try and escape.
Chaos erupted as the iron chains tangled, binding the slaves together in a knot. The scarred man froze for a moment, caught off guard by the unexpected mess.
I smirked. My plan had worked.
I was certain that the boss waiting for them would be furious right now.