Broken Tower Saga: The First Swordsman

Chapter 113: An Unexpected Bet (2)

"Is this any good?" Sitara asked Aasan. "Leaving this place so early, would it not be troublesome?"

Aasan looked at her for a while to open his lips. "That depends on your priority," he said. "They will only take the flag and some amount of the rations. You can still stay here if you want."

"That's not likely," she sighed. "Did you forget the maha contract I sighed?"

"Oh that," Aasan pondered for a moment. "If you do not want to go, then talk to the redheadshe is a good-natured girl. I think she would break the contract for you if you convince her properly."

"That can't be right. Why would she do that? If she breaks the contract, then she will have nothing to control the guards." Sitara frowned.

After the invader turned out to be the friend of Michelle. They somehow managed to convince her to leave the small fortress with them, and the redhead actually agreed immediately. But the problem that came with that, they wanted to take away the flag with them as well. 

That was a big issue for Sitara and the men. Without the flag, they will not be able to protect against the cold aura in the mana, and moreover, the success in the test overly depends on the usage of the flag. 

"You never know if you never ask," Aasan said slowly. He leaned on the chair in the room before muttering again. "In the end, it all depends on your priority. These guys will try their best to get good ranks in the test, so if you want that as well, this group is a good option."

Sitara pondered at the words. What Aasan said sounded quite right, and the contract still stands with the redhead. With them, she could trust them, and they could trust her. Though the level of trust would be the bare minimum, it was still something that looked encouraging in a place where your success depends on the people you can count on.

She glanced at Aasan, who was closed-eyed, leaning against the chair. "Are you going with them as well?"

Aasan said nothing for a while before exhaling. "No. I would like to stay here for another week or two, then leave."

Sitara bit her lips. She wanted to say something to him, but lacked the emotional approach. Even though they have spent more than a couple of wintry nights in the same bed, both of them knew its only a physical relationship and lacked all the emotional bonding. And besides, she was not the type to move around depending on some male.

Aasan seemed to notice her expression. "You can stay here with me if you like," he said. "But remember, I have no plans on working hard on the test."

Sitara frowned. "Why?"

Aasan appeared to have no concern in answering her question, and the knocking on the door did not let her push on the question. 

Sitara opened the door and found, it was none other than Michelle. On her hand was the Maha contract that both of them signed. 'No, she can't be serious, right?' she thought inside. 'If so, then she was not only naive, but a hopeless fool.'

"Sitara," Michelle said. Her eyes drifted inside the room to notice Aasan on the chair. She snorted seeing him and focused on Sitara again. "I will leave with my friends when the blizzard stops. Do you want to come with us?"

Sitara said nothing. 

Taking her silence into declination, Michelle said again. "Well, then this Maha contract has no use now." 

She was about to tear the papers when Sitara stopped her. 

"You should hold on to it for some more time." 

"That means you are coming with us?" Michelle asked with gleaming eyes, and the moment she saw the affirmative nod from her, she hugged her immediately. 

'This girl is still a child,' Sitara thought. 'I wish her companions were like her as well.' Michelle then leaned inside the room. "Aasan, are you coming or not?"

"No. I have other plans." Aasan answered without even bothering to open his eyes.

Michelle scowled at him, but did not bother to convince him. It was not like they had a good relationship, and in the last few days, this guy did not even bother to work on it. He did not help her in any way. The signal was clear. He did not want to do anything with her if it was not extremely necessary.

After leaving there, they came to the hall again for the last discussion before leaving.

The long-haired swordsman known as Wrik emphasised not totally giving up on this place, and advised Sitara to leave some of her men here. Nobody disagreed with the plan, so Sitara complied. She only took a dozen of her men in good shape, as well as other articles that came with the fortress, such as ration, wine, armours, and Weapons.

By the time the blizzard stopped, the sun was already in the mid-sky.

.. .

Meanwhile, Jacob and his group had no success finding any of their companions. Precisely because they did not have the luxury to search freely in the test zone. This place was full of poisonous viper that would not give a chance if they found an opportunity.

The sky was cloudy; it was truly an awful day to continue the searching. They had searched in the vicinity of the grassland for a while, and all with no harvest. Fortunately enough, none of their men got caught in any conflict. Surprisingly, the test zone turned silent after the chaotic first week.

Davin was holding the glass bead on his palm, contemplating whether to crush it now or not. It was precisely the emergency calling bead. Crushing would inform the other one holding another linked bead with the exact location for some time.

"Are you sure about this?" Jacob asked. 

"No," Davin sighed. "But I can not seem to think of any other plan that would help us find anyone. At least, this would get us to meet any one of Wrik or Tanya, and if their luck is good, perhaps others are with them as well."

Jacob nodded. There was nothing wrong with what Davin said. Finding others was the topmost priority, knowing Anton and Kevin were captured.

Davin waited no more. Crushed the bead as a location indicating towards the mountain came into his mind instantly. 

"So where is our destination?" Jacob asked. 

"It is going to be cold. We have to move to the mountain."

.. .

The moaning of Kevin with the noise of beating did not grow numb in Anton's ears. It was about a few minutes before the crazy guy left after pitching the bet. Anton has not agreed to it yet, but he could tell that guy would do anything to make him agree. 

Beating Kevin more than routine was one of them. He even told how to flee from here, but Anton was not bent on leaving here. His reason was Kevin.

If Ben would agree to free both of them, then he would only think twice before agreeing, but apparently, that guy wanted Kevin as the safety net. 

"The beating would not stop," a voice said from the cell of Kevin. Anton knew the voice. It was precisely the red-faced man that was in charge of their beating. Probably, he was told to mock Anton by Crazy Ben here as well. "Sir Ben told us to use healing potion if needed. Even if this guy can't take it, the torture would not stop."

A flame of rage swirled inside Anton. He glared at the men who were punching his friend. 

"Are you angry? Then why don't you leave the cell?" the voice said again.

Anton could not endure anymore. He put an effort to stand up, looking at the equipment left by the crazy guy. With fury in his eyes, Anton decided to accept the bet. At least, Kevin's suffering would end to some degree. 

Even though all his muscles and tendons were riddled with pain, Anton wore the light armour and equipment. His body felt heavier than usual with the weight of the equipment. 

"Stop now," he said, but the beating continued on. 

"I said stop now," Anton yelled, throwing a dagger at the cell. The dagger moved swiftly to pierced on the shoulder of the red-faced man. It was not mana infused as his maha mana was sealed, but by only his sheer force, it struck a painful blow to the guy. 

The beating finally stopped.

"Sorry, Kevin," Anton muttered. "You have to suffer alone for a while." 

He picked up another knife and notice the missing middle finger again. Fury rose as he started to inscribe with it on the wall of his cell. 

He left a message for Ben, and as well for the Scythe, before leaving the cell.

His legs were shaking, but Anton tried his best to walk straight, not showing any weakness to those men. He eyed them coming out of his cell. Even though it was day, the underground prison was shrouded in darkness. His gaze searched for the red-faced man in the men, before he said again:

"Tell your boss, I'll come for him."

Giving a second look at the pitiful figure of Kevin on the floor, Anton strode away from the underground prison.

___________

End of Chapter: An Unexpected Bet.

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