The three oasis countries stood tall in the desert, forming a triangle. The center was where the forbidden zone was located. No matter where one went to the forbidden zone, there were no oases on the way. There were only many rocky areas.
In a sense, those places were oases for desert travelers. They could be used as a temporary place to rest and replenish their food. As long as they had enough salt on them, it would be fine. After all, the worm pot was one of the special features of the Kentia Desert.
Among the rocky areas, the Red Rock Canyon was the most important. It was the stronghold of the desert bandits and also one of the few remaining oases in the desert.
The three oasis countries hated the desert bandits to the core. However, the Red Rock Canyon had plenty of resources and was easy to defend but hard to attack. If they joined forces to attack, it was very likely that they would be dragged to their deaths before they could exterminate the desert bandits.
The desert bandits believed in the strong and had a rather abnormal competitive mindset. They could accept anyone who was willing to join them, but they would never allow weaklings in their team. As the saying goes, don't be afraid of a god-like opponent, but be afraid of a pig-like teammate.
At present, there were more than five thousand strong men in the Red Rock Canyon, all of them experts. There were also close to a thousand young women living in the abyss of suffering. There were also close to eight hundred people captured in the dungeon, ranging in age from seven to seventy to eighty years old. There were also a few women.
The huge rock was buried deep underground, and the parts that were exposed to the outside were also extraordinarily majestic. The dungeon was chiseled into the rock that was buried underground, and it never saw the light of day. There were only a few lamps that were burned with oil to provide the dungeon with a weak light.
The materials used to build the dungeon were mostly taken from the ground. Wood and steel were rarely used. Most of them were stones. In terms of practicality, it was full of loopholes. Even so, those who were locked in the dungeon had no chance of escaping.
In a dimly lit cell, there was a nauseating stench.
A woman leaned against the wall near the stone railing. Her body was smeared with unknown feces. It had long dried on her skin, but it still emitted a foul stench.
There were close to forty people in the cell. Most of them were men. They were far away from the woman, almost huddling in the corner.
This group of people had withered yellow complexions and dumbfounded expressions. They looked at a certain spot in the darkness without saying a word, and they didn't move at all like statues.
The woman's face was painted into a funny mask using feces. Her mental state was different from the others in the prison. Her head was slightly tilted, and through the limited gap between the stone railings, she looked at the burning oil on the wall. She had never given up on escaping.
If Law was here, he could barely recognize this woman. She was Milia, who had worked with Master Zerath before.
"I want to escape!"
Miriya muttered in her heart.
More than half a month ago, she followed a convoy from Elba to Wat. Unfortunately, they encountered desert bandits on the way. Due to the large number of bandits, even if she had good skills, it was impossible for her to defeat them.
She knew that with her beauty, she would definitely be miserable if she fell into the hands of the desert bandits. Even if she died, she would not be able to escape the fate of being defiled.
So, she used a more inhumane method. She took a lot of feces and smeared it on her body. Then she took out the poison sac and put it under the tip of her tongue. She resigned herself to her fate and waited for death. Unexpectedly, the desert bandits not only did not kill her, but also left about thirty of them alive.
She was a woman, so it was normal that she was not killed by the desert bandits. But most of the survivors were men, and only a few were women.
She didn't know why the desert bandits' actions were different from the rumors. Before she could think about it, she was hit hard on the back of her head and fainted.
When she woke up again, it was night time. She and the three women from the convoy were thrown on a rocky ground. There were several bonfires burning around them. Countless pairs of eyes were staring at them. The figures in the light of the fire were like ghostly shadows that chilled one's heart.
She heard a few short words of conversation.
"Leader, do you want to wash that disgusting woman with water?"
Pa!
It was the sound of a palm hitting the forehead. Then a cold male voice sounded, "Is that woman more important than water?"
Then, she saw the three women who came with her being pounced on by a group of desert bandits like wolves. They let out tragic cries. She was taken to the dungeon by two desert bandits with a face full of disgust. She was locked up with more than forty men.
This was her first time in the desert bandits' lair. She also saw many things that were different from the rumors.
The desert bandits … for some unknown purpose, they imprisoned countless people. And the prisoners did not have any requirements. They did not even let the children and the elderly go. It was as if they chose their prisoners according to their mood.
Twelve days had passed. She did not know how the three women were doing. She was lucky to escape, but she was also deprived of her freedom.
Knock knock …
A soft, sharp sound rang rhythmically in the cell. It was the sound of Miriya grinding stones.
Before she was locked in the cell, all the valuable things and weapons were removed, including the hairpin. Only the poison sac hidden under the tip of her tongue was not found.
The special nature of the dungeon allowed her to find a stone. She wanted to grind a dagger to protect herself. The hidden poison sac could also be fed to the dagger.
While grinding the stone, Miriya was always vigilant. Even if it was not the time to deliver food, she still stared at the end of the corridor, listening for any sudden footsteps.
The sound of grinding stones suddenly stopped. Light footsteps could be heard in the silent cell. It was very dense.
Miriya's face flashed with surprise. Even if it was the time to deliver food, there were only a few desert bandits doing it. She had never heard such dense footsteps. There were fifty of them? Or even a hundred of them?
Then, she saw groups of desert bandits rushing into the dungeon like never before. They divided the work clearly and opened the cells. They used a cold tone to let the younger people out.
Seeing this, Miriya quickly cut off her hair and wrapped the palm-sized flat stone in her hair. Then, she hid it in the cleavage in front of her chest and tightened her clothes.
Not long after, a desert bandit came to the cell she was in. He opened the door and said coldly, "Get out, all of you."
The people locked in this cell were all young people, so there was no need to filter them.
Hearing the voice of the desert bandit, everyone stood up like walking corpses and walked out of the cell. They were ordered to stand in a messy formation.
Miriya was mixed in the crowd. She could not avoid being glanced at by the desert bandits with disgust.
The desert bandits were like herding beasts, herding everyone out of the cell onto the ground.
Everyone who saw the sun again closed their eyes tightly. They were pushed or kicked to a huge open space. There were about six hundred people.
With great difficulty, Milia allowed her eyes to adapt to the strong light and slowly opened them. She only saw that on the spacious rocky ground, there were many desert bandits riding on armored bulls in a huge group. At a glance, she could not tell how many people there were.
There was a rough man with a ponytail at the front of the group. He glanced at them coldly and said, "Give them food. After a meal, they will be on their way."
Hearing this, Miriya felt like she was in an ice cellar. On the other hand, there was a small group of people who had an intense fear reaction.
The desert bandits were already prepared. They took out a lot of food and water and placed it in front of the crowd.
After a while, the crowd frantically snatched the food and water on the ground.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
