Slap!
"Hurry up and get moving! The construction period is approaching! If it is not completed by this month, you will all be filled into the river and sacrificed to the gods!"
"Hurry up and get to work!"
Under the scorching sun, a large number of slaves at the foot of the mountain were shackled. Under the supervision of a large number of local guards, they were constantly digging stones and digging rivers. Thousands of slaves were digging and building along the river, which had yet to be opened. Looking into the distance, one could see even more silhouettes. This huge project was spreading all the way into the distance.
This was a canal that had yet to be opened. Construction had begun three years ago. The Crete Empire had recruited nearly 200,000 slaves from within its borders, and it had begun to build from the southern part of Crete all the way to the Red River Plains. From the very beginning, it was destined to be a river made of blood and tears. The lives and flesh of countless slaves had been used to fill this huge project. The road was littered with the corpses of slaves, and the blood and tears of hundreds of thousands of slaves could be seen in every corner.
This was the largest man-made project in the history of the Alen Continent, and it was carried out under the auspices of Prime Minister Tembor. Once it was completed, it would connect the Nami River in the south and the Red River in the north. At the same time, it would pass through the three major lakes in Crete, forming a transportation network that would connect the north and south of the Crete Empire.
At the same time, Salt City, which was located not far from the Red River Plains, was also within the scope of the transportation network of this canal. It was the largest salt producer in the central and northern regions of the continent, as it was a natural salt field.
The formation of life and daily needs not only required water, but also salt. If one traced back to the ancient tribal era, one would find that the migration and settlement of those tribes had not only migrated along the water veins, but also along the salt production areas. Without salt, it would be difficult for life to survive. Since ancient times, salt had been a necessity for everyone to survive. It was also a hard currency comparable to gold.
The Red River Plain had been the largest natural saltworks in the central region since ancient times. Beastmen and humans had waged war and massacre over this saltworks. The ownership and master of the Red River Plain had also changed with the changes in history. It could even be said that the war between the Golden King Ahenaten and the Wolf King Costa of Sakya had started because of this.
The construction of the canal was partly due to the geographical location of Salt City, as well as the growing demand for salt in the Crete Empire. Originally, the transportation of salt had to cross thousands of mountains and rivers. Even though the Crete Empire had specially built salt roads to transport salt, it could not meet the demand of the entire Crete Empire. A large number of merchants who relied on salt transportation for a living emerged, but even so, it could not meet the growing demand.
After hundreds of years of peace, the population of the Crete Empire had also experienced an explosive growth. At one point, the population of the Crete Empire had exceeded 15 million. This number was a few years ago, but there was no place in the Crete Empire that could produce a large amount of salt except for Salt City. In order to meet the demand for salt, as well as to expand and increase the connection between the north and south of the Crete Empire, Duke Tembor issued a project to dig a canal after coming to power.
At the same time, in order to win the consent of the Crete people and most of the nobles, Tembor issued the bloody and inhumane "Orc Slave Act." After the Emperor and the Prime Minister jointly signed the "Orc Slave Act," the large number of orcs and mixed-blood orcs living in the Crete Empire were all reduced to slaves.
Overnight, hundreds of thousands of orcs in the Crete Empire went from being ostracized and suppressed to slaves with no human rights or status. A large number of orcs were captured from all over the Crete Empire and sent to the various canal construction sites to build the canal.
Hundreds of thousands of slaves were tied with ropes and shackles. Day after day, they worked for the humans of the Crete Empire, building huge projects that would allow them to further develop and make everyone's lives happier. However, no one remembered that every part of this project was filled with the cries and complaints of these orc slaves.
No one had ever thought that their happy and stable life was actually built on the pain and sacrifice of a large number of people. They lived a life of luxury, but they didn't know that every drop of liquid in the glass was the blood of others.
Jorkins was a capable feline orc. At his age, he should have been helping his mother with the farm work and taking care of his younger siblings. In a few years, his father would help him find an orc girl of the same status to set up a family and continue to work as a tenant farmer for the nobles. Although life in the Crete Empire was difficult, it was relatively stable.
Three years ago, after Tembor signed the "Orc Slave Act," his life had changed dramatically. His father, Jorkins, and his younger brother had been sent to build the canal, while his mother and younger sister had been sent elsewhere to work as slaves for the Crete Empire.
Two years ago, Jorkins's father passed away due to old age. Half a year ago, Jorkins's younger brother died after being hit in the head by a falling rock while digging a river. Jorkins knew that he would be next. How long would it take? Half a year? A year? Or one or two days?
If this continued, he would die here one day. His fate was already sealed. He was just a consumable. No one treated the orc slaves as human beings. If he wanted to change his fate, he would have to …
Jorkins immediately thought of the Beastman slaves that contacted him a few days ago. They were different from other Beastman slaves. They were tall, muscular, and had wolf-like gazes. There were many of them among them.
They were not slaves, so why did they sneak in? What were they trying to do? Jorkins was sweating profusely, feeling a little dizzy from exhaustion. His whole body was like a walking corpse. At this moment, he remembered the words of that man.
"Orc! Never be a slave! "
These words, which sounded like a low roar, made Jorkins' body tremble involuntarily. He roared along with it, like a slogan that ignited all the flames in his heart, making his blood surge.
It was already late at night, but the two sides of the canal were still lit up with lights. Among the shadows of people, everyone was still digging the canal with all their might. The deadline was approaching. If they couldn't complete it on time, most of them would be killed.
At the same time, the guards and officials in charge of this section of the canal also had to bear the responsibility. Hence, these humans had been driving them with whips and making them dig the canal day and night. More than ten days ago, there had been orc slaves who couldn't take it anymore. One by one, their corpses died of exhaustion or illness on this section of the canal. They were then dragged down. Regardless of whether they were corpses or not, they knew that these guys would be thrown out as corpses.
No one dared to speak or discuss. These construction workers and soldiers were staring at them like vultures. As long as they made the slightest movement, they would be dealt with as a rebellion. However, Jorkins could feel a deep resentment and anger hidden in everyone's hearts.
All it took was a fuse or a spark to instantly detonate this place and release the anger and resentment in everyone's hearts.
"Fire! Fire! "
At this moment, there was a sudden fire in the distance. Everyone raised their heads and looked into the distance!
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