Upon hearing Anna's statement, the guards rushed towards them, brandishing their swords, heading towards the bodies of the teenagers.
"Be careful and stay together, there are more of us than them," shouted Anna, directing the other slaves.
As they got closer, they quickly cut the slaves' bodies, causing them to bleed or, for the most unfortunate ones, die. However, being so close, they were surrounded by the teenagers, who attacked them, focusing on their legs, which made it easier to knock them down and take their weapons.
"We need more weapons! If you don't want more people to die, everyone has to hurry!" thought Anna, grabbing a sword and instantly cutting off a guard's head.
The few guards who were present at the time were surrounded and killed in cold blood, although the slaves did not fare any better, for even though few lost their lives in that encounter, it was a worse outcome than originally expected.
"We have to hurry, reinforcements are coming!" warned another teenager, who was carrying a child on his back.
"Anna!" Ghislaine shouted from behind, who had been delayed fighting other guards earlier. "We have to hurry, if that woman comes, everything will fail," he said, feeling a chill as he remembered the woman who had caused the previous escape plan to fail.
Anna nodded, hurrying the others along and helping the children move faster.
<<>>
Meanwhile, Jumyeong ran inside the orphanage, meeting other slaves, grouping with them, and running straight to the storeroom where the weapons that would aid their escape were kept.
When they arrived, they saw a thick door with locks, designed to prevent others from entering. Knowing this, they moved away from the door and let Jumyeong take care of it. This was because the black-haired boy had access to mana and could use Qi.
"Step aside," said Jumyeong, standing in front of the door.
He prepared to strike with all his strength and open the door with this blow. After a few seconds of concentration, Jumyeong struck the door hard, causing a loud bang as it broke and revealing the interior. Inside were various weapons such as swords, daggers, and spears.
"Quickly, grab something and carry what you can," ordered Jumyeong, who had picked up a sword and daggers and put them in his belt to keep them safe.
The group of slaves did not hesitate and quickly grabbed the weapons, mainly swords, as they were more familiar with them. When they finished arming themselves, they were ready to leave, but they were interrupted by some guards determined to kill them.
"Kill them all, leave no one alive!" shouted the leader, lunging at the teenagers, ready to kill them.
"Dodge as best you can, we need to be in good condition to escape!" said Jumyeong, going head-on and deflecting the man's sword to the ground, then throwing a punch at his throat.
Without wasting any time, everyone else clashed swords, determined to kill each other. The most inexperienced received several cuts, causing them to quickly retreat.
Jumyeong managed to win the sword duel, pushing the slave trader back and preparing for his next attack. Thanks to the strength he had quickly gained, he approached and with a great leap buried his sword in the guard's head, killing him instantly.
"Kill the others, we need to reduce their numbers," he ordered, lunging at another guard who was aiming to kill a teenager, stabbing him in the back with his sword and killing him instantly.
Thanks to Jumyeong, who managed to use Qi to strengthen his body, they were able to easily get rid of the guards, killing the last guard in no time, only to resume their journey to the exit of the 'orphanage' with the aim of reuniting with the others.
<<>>
"Where am I?" wondered Conan, who had just woken up and felt intense pain throughout his body. "There are beds, but I don't see anyone around," he thought, looking at the empty room. "It doesn't matter, I must hurry and get out of here to meet up with the others."
He sat up and jumped out of bed, feeling a sharp pain shoot through his body, so strong that it left him kneeling on the floor.
"This hurts too much... Did Anna do something wrong...?" he wondered, holding his side as he walked toward the door, opening it and hearing loud screams and banging coming from outside.
As he approached a window, Conan could see the scene outside. Outside, there were many slaves fighting to escape. He covered his mouth and closed his eyes when he saw the corpses of the slaves with fresh blood flowing from their bodies.
"I need to hurry," he said, feeling the pain in his body intensify as he held back the urge to vomit. "Wait for me a moment, I'll be right there!" he told himself courageously, ignoring the pain as best he could and running outside.
From afar, he could hear several people entering the room where he had been, then leaving a few seconds later, clearly furious. Hiding behind a pillar, he could glimpse the woman who had burned his neck on the first day he arrived, causing him severe phantom pain in his neck, evidence of the trauma he had experienced that day.
"Find him and capture him! By interrogating him, we'll find out who organized this!" said the angry woman to the men who were now running in the opposite direction from where he was. He looked toward the window, making a disgusted expression at the scene. "I need to call for backup now." He walked with a firm step in the opposite direction from where the men had gone.
"I need to tell Anna this. If they call for more help, we won't escape," thought Conan, turning around and running as fast as he could out of the place.
After a few minutes of running, he could hear footsteps approaching him, which made him sharpen his senses as soon as he heard several steps. He leaned against a wall, nervously peeking his head out, only to let out a sigh when he saw that it was Jumyeong and some of his friends. He ran towards them, waving his hands above his head.
"Jumyeong!" he shouted, running towards them while raising his hand to get their attention.
"Conan!" he said, leading the group and approaching the boy. "We thought you were dead after those people took you away," he said to the boy with a smile, glad to see him alive.
"No, I was in another room, but they're looking for me. We have to go," said Conan, his voice filled with emotion at seeing his friend.
"Yes, we were just about to go outside. Anna is with the others, so we have to hurry. But first, take this." He pulled a dagger from his waist and gave it to Conan.
"Huh? Why are you giving me this and not a sword?" he asked curiously at Conan's choice of weapon.
"Swords are too heavy for you, so use this," he said, before starting to run without letting the conversation continue.