Chapter 1 Part 2 A good-for-nothing life. Zach quickened his walking pace, thinking to himself just how useless his life has been so far. Life as a farmer in one of the Kingdom’s villages was not a happy one. Farming required hard labour, of which the hard-earned rewards were deprived of by the lords. In any given year, if the harvest was 100%, having 60% taken away could still be endured. With 40% left, it was possible to survive, albeit a life of poverty. However take away 80%, and significant problems arise. If 40% was just enough to get by, being left with 20% would, needless to say, be tough. During one such year when 20% of the harvest remained, Zach returned home, body aching after a day’s hard work out in the fields, only to find that his little sister had disappeared without a trace. The young Zach back then could not comprehend what had happened. His dearly beloved little sister was obviously missing, yet his parents did not search for her at all. The Zach today understood perfectly clearly – his sister must have been sold off. Slave trade has been abolished in the present day under the efforts of the ‘Golden’ princess, but it was common practice in the Kingdom back in those days. Because of this, every time Zach visits brothels and passes by one of the women, he could not help but invariably look at the other person’s face. Of course he did not think it would be so easy to find his little sister, and furthermore he did not know what to say to her even if he did find her. Despite this, he still could not resist searching. In such a harsh life of poverty, there was also the heavy duty of military conscription. When the Kingdom regularly sends soldiers to the Empire, the Kingdom would conscript young men from the villages and send them to the frontlines for war. The loss of young men for a month had a severe impact on the villages’ labour force. Nonetheless, some people would feel fortunate about the issue of conscription. Because of the declining population, the amount food required to feed the family would be reduced, and the recruited young men would receive rations from the Kingdom. For some, it was the first time that they experienced the feeling of eating their fill. Good things do however have an end. In the aftermath of wars, no significant contribution meant no reward. No. Sometimes there would be no reward even with great contribution. It is more correct to say that only those who were truly lucky would be rewarded. On top of this, after returning to their homes, these young men would face despair – the period of labour shortage in their village meant reduced harvest production for the next year. Zach experienced conscription twice in the past. His third time was a turning point in his life. That war was like the others – only a few skirmishes occurred during the entire period. Zach, who was lucky to stay alive, was planning to return home when as he paused in thought. Looking at the weapon held in his hand, a revelation appeared to him. Rather than returning to the village, would it not be better to pursue some other way of life? However, Zach was merely an ordinary farmer who had gone through a few basic military training. There were not many options for his new life. In addition, Zach lacked above-average physical fitness, let alone being among those few who were born with special abilities. Furthermore, his knowledge was confined to farming – when to sow what kinds of seeds and nothing more. Zach therefore took the only course of action which could be considered his trump card, which was desertion with the weapon assigned to him by the Kingdom. It did not cross his mind to wonder whether his escape would cause his parents any trouble because he no longer bode any familial love towards them for selling off his little sister, even if it was to allow the other family members to persevere. Without a background and in an unfamiliar territory, it was not easy to escape. However he was fortunate enough to come across someone to assist him. The one who helped him desert was a mercenary group. Of course, to the mercenary group Zach was a simple farmer without any great value. However, since the mercenary group lost many members in the war, they also wished to quickly replenish their ideal mercenary population. Because of this, the mercenary group easily let Zach join. But this was no decent mercenary group. During war times they bore the status of mercenaries fighting for others, in other times they became robbers. After this, Zach’s life was to be difficult to outsiders. (在此之後,扎克生活實在不足為外人道。) It was quite simple. It was better to be a snatcher than to be the person being snatched from. Rather than crying himself, why not let others cry. This was the kind of life that Zach lived. He did not think he was wrong, nor did he harbour any regret. Every time he heard the anguished wails of his victims, Zach became more convinced. (TL: Back to the present day) Zach ran towards the centre of the slums. He ran desperately at sunset, and by now the sky was filled with even more crimson. Because he ran constantly after leaving the hotel, he was already panting, his forehead was sweating, fatigue tempted him to stop and rest, yet he told himself that this was not the time to take a break. Since time was tight, Zach spurred on his tired body and continued to run. At this moment, just as Zach was turning across a large corner – “Oh so very dangerous...” muttered a figure at the turn of the corner, accompanied by a clacking metallic sound while flipping over. This unexpected surprise made Zach jump, and glance at the dark figure which had jumped to one side. In front of him was a handsome woman. Because she wore a black cloak over her upper body, it looked like she could melt into the shadows. However, her eyes had a mysterious glint in them, were a shining purple shade in colour, and looking straight at Zach. Zach who was tired and had lost his patience yelled furiously at her: “That should be my line! That was very dangerous! Watch where you’re walking!” Towards Zach’s threatening tone and angry yell, the woman was not one bit afraid as she revealed an icy smile. Seeing such a hair-raising smile, Zach took a step back, lacking the courage to take out his weapon. It was like a mouse being eyed by a lion. The metallic noise just now as the woman jumped back earlier must have been from the body armour she wore. An armoured woman – perhaps an adventurer. This was the wrong opponent to pick a fight with. Danger flashed across Zach’s mind as he realised this. He would not look down on her simply because she was a woman. Zach himself knew of strong teams which were solely comprised of female members. He still recalled inadvertently overhearing this from the strongest man in the mercenary group. Zach in contrast, even if he was a member of a mercenary group, amongst all of the armed members he had one of the lowest fighting capacities. The running earlier made him sweat, but now feeling immediate regret over his self-induced actions, another kind of sweat came out. Just as Zach’s expression betrayed his undisguised fear, the woman’s smile suddenly became no longer terrifying: “Ah... let’s leave it at that. Because there’s no time to spare for that. However, the next time you come across this young lady, there will be consequences–” The woman said this in a relaxed tone before walking away to the side. Feeling curious, Zach looked at the direction which she had left at. He remembered that it was the uninhabited area of the slums. It’s so late already, what does a pretty girl want to do over there? It is certainly intriguing, but right now there are more important matters to attend to. Zach reluctantly told himself that as he began to move again. Not long later, Zach arrived at the centre of the slums. Stopping at a corner filled with many derelict small houses, he looked around to confirm if he was being followed. As the sun slowly descended, the world gradually slipped into darkness, therefore Zach focused on seeing if there were any people hiding in the shadows. Before arriving here he had checked many times, but to be prudent, he still checked one last time. Zach nodded, satisfied. He knocked three times at a door as he took in a breath. After five seconds, he gave the door another four knocks. There was an immediate response to this pre-planned code. A wooden friction noise came from the other side of the door as the board covering the observation gap was removed. A man’s pair of eyes emerged from the gap and looked around, settling on Zach who was standing in front of the door. “It’s you. Ah. One moment.” Without waiting for Zach’s response the man replaced the board covering the gap. A low key-turning noise followed and the door opened slightly. “Enter.” There was a putrid smell in the room. The environment here as compared to the place where Zach was living earlier was vastly different. Hoping that his sense of smell would quickly adapt to the place, Zach slipped into the room. Once the door was closed again, it was possible to see that the small house was dark and tiny. Immediately after the door was the dining and kitchen area, consisting of a single table. There was one candle on the table, providing a little illumination to the dark room. The dirty man exuded an atmosphere of a life accustomed to violence. He pulled out a chair besides the table and sat down which made a creaking noise. The man had a burly stature, thick pectorals, and a deep scars visible in the exposed parts of his shirt on his arms and face. The chair almost looked as if it would collapse at any moment under the man’s bodyweight. “Ah, Zach. What is it? What has happened?” “The situation has changed...seems like the prey is about to set off.” “Ah – then we must act now.” Zach nodded silently in response. The man vented in a low voice scratched his unkempt hair “Why choose this time... truly not convenient for us.” “Were you unable to come up with a way to delay them?” “It’s not that simple, because it was the woman’s request.” The man pursed his face in exasperation. He already heard Zach describe what kind of person the woman was. “The old man needs to use his brains a little as well. He was not convinced that the roads are a frightening place to be at night, with terrifying robbers like no other. I can’t stand this anymore... even the most stupid of idiots know about this. Ah – what about damaging the carriage to delay the departure until tomorrow?” “No other way – the transported luggage is already packed. Isn’t it more simple to act now?” “Ah, what you say is true...” The man stared off into empty space in deep thought. “Well then, roughly what time is the departure?” “Another two hours” “That’s quite soon. Oh, what should we do. Wait a bit before contact... we only have two hours to use... although it will be difficult, they are rare prey after all...” Zach listened silently to the plan as the man was setting out the stages, and lowered his head to look at his hands. “That kind of wealthy people really aggravates others...” Zach thought about the delicate hands of the young lady. Nobody from a farming lifestyle had such beautiful hands. Everybody’s hands were cracked because of icy water, thick and hardened from moving hoses, even nails were split in innumerable places. This was the case with everyone’s hands. He understood clearly that this world was not fair at all, but... The corner of Zach’s mouth curved, revealing a toothy smile: “Let me play with that woman.” “But you have to wait for me to finish playing first, not to mention we still need to blackmail, so don’t go too far. Do not give the other person too severe injuries.” The man revealed a dirty smirk. Perhaps feeling a stimulating desire, the man stood up. “Very well, that’s the decision. I’ll contact the leader.” “I see.” “We will send around ten men to the ambush point. You also need to start your act, arranging for them to arrive there in four hours. If there are not there, we will immediately head out to attack. Go appease the prey, let them lower their guard.”
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 14:03:52 +0000
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