Arthur moved through the narrow corridors of the underground facility under the auction house, while constantly changing his disguise as he passed by the guards. Sometimes he disguised as a grizzled middle-aged man, sometimes a stocky, bald man and so on.
When he finally reached the door of the underground chamber, a lone guard was now pacing outside, absentmindedly humming to himself, and tapping his spear lightly against the ground. Arthur hid behind a corner while weighing his options, he decided to neutralize the guard.
But just as he was about to act, the guard stretched, letting out a bored sigh, and wandered off around the corner.
Arthur waited for a moment, then came out from his cover and silently slipped inside the chamber, the door clicked shut behind him.
The people inside the cages seeing a guard entering the chamber tensed up, some even sighed believing it was time for them to be auctioned off. A few people lowered their heads, with resigned expressions on their faces.
Someone sighed, gripping the bars of their cage. "He's not coming back, after all." They had hoped that Arthur would come back to save them, but it seems they had hoped for too much.
Arthur stepped into the faint light coming from the torches, the guard uniform still wrapped around his frame. Just then the nanobots helping Arthur disguise himself shifted and changed his appearance into the one he was using when he entered the chamber previously.
The people seeing this finally realised it was the person who promised them he would save them, a gasp echoed across the room.
"You really…!" one man nearly blurted out loudly, his voice laced with disbelief and hope.
Arthur interrupted him by raising a single finger to his lips, and shushing him. As that might attract the guards here.
The man caught himself and went still, he appeared a little sheepish, and nodded apologetically.
Arthur didn't pay attention to his reaction, he reached into his dimensional storage and took out the control plates, the people gasped seeing that he really did manage to get those.
"Are those…?" someone muttered seeing them.
Arthur nodded as he looked at Sylas. "Yes, these are the control plates, I got them from the auction house manager as you said." Sylas was the one who said the control plates might be with the manager.
For a moment, no one knew what to say.
Arthur scanned the room once again and asked. "Do any of you know how these work? How do I use them to undo the seals?"
Most stayed quiet, unsure of what to do.
From the corner Sylas replied excitedly, "It's quite simple really, you just have to break those plates to free us. Each one is linked to a specific seal, when the plates get damaged, the mark disappears."
He hesitated, his voice lowering with a trace of doubt. "But... they're forged from extremely durable materials. It's supposed to be unbreakable without…"
Before he could complete his sentence he heard a cracking sound and as he lifted his head up again, his eyes widened as he saw pieces of a control plate falling from Arthur's hand.
Sylas blinked in amazement. His mouth opened a little, but no words came.
He stared at the fragments on the floor, then back at Arthur. "You... You just broke it."
Arthur gave him a sideways glance while shrugging. "You said you would be free if I break them."
Sylas sat back slowly, a storm of questions swirling in his head. 'Just how strong is this guy?'
Others might not know, but he was a noble before and had heard about slave seals and how durable their control plates were, they were specifically made in such a way that even if a slave got their hand on their control plate somehow, they would be unable to break them. So seeing Arthur break them like it was a cookie he was extremely surprised.
Just as Arthur broke the control plate, the slave seal on the hand of a woman started to glow in the slightly dark room, then it started to disappear into motes of light.
The woman muttered as she rubbed at the spot in disbelief. "It's…really gone."
Arthur watched her for a moment, he nodded seeing the method worked and started to break the control seals one by one.
Though there were only fifty three people here, he had got more than a hundred control plates with him, and since he did not know which control plate belonged to whom or how to find that out, he started to break them randomly.
One by one, the seals began to vanish from the bodies of the people, freeing them from the binds of their slave contract.
Tears welled in the eyes of more than a few, and some just watched in silence.
When the last of them was free from the slave seal, Arthur still had three control plates left with him. He kept it inside the Spear of Heaven and asked the guardian to analyze them.
"We're finally free." A woman slumped against the cage bars burst into tears, pressing her forehead against the cold bars of her cage.
Even Sylas looked excited as he can now finally seek his revenge, though he quickly looked away when his sister gave him a knowing glance.
Arthur turned to face them again. "I'll open the cages next. I have a way to get you all out of here undetected."
Then using telekinesis he started to break open the locks placed on the cages. After everyone was out of their cages, Arthur said, "Don't resist."
The now freed people felt a sudden pull and they vanished from their place. Arthur had put them in one of the chambers inside the Spear of Heaven, otherwise it would be difficult to take them out of here silently.
He then remembered something and took out the guard he knocked out before, and after throwing him in one of the cages he left the chamber.
…
Arthur moved silently through the dim corridors, retracing his path out of the underground facility.
He passed through the main hall, then out into the back exit he had taken earlier. Once outside, the buzz of the auction house faded into the background as he moved deeper into the alleys, winding his way through the city until he arrived at a secluded clearing hidden by thick trees and undergrowth.
Few moments ago…
Sylas suddenly felt a pull like when you are being teleported and the next moment, he and the others were standing in a vast dome-shaped chamber. The floor looked metallic, and the ceiling stretched high above them.
Syara stood beside Sylas, her eyes scanning her surroundings. "Where are we?" she asked, her voice a mix of awe and caution.
Sylas shook his head slowly. "I don't know… but we were definitely teleported."
Others were equally confused, standing in clusters, some whispering nervously, while others simply started to look around them.
But before the unease could fester, in less than five minutes they entered this place they felt another pull tugging at their senses. And suddenly, they were outside once again.
The group now stood in an open clearing surrounded by tall trees and shrubs, with Arthur standing before them.
He stepped forward, as his eyes scanned the group.
"I will give you two choices now," he began, his voice even. "You can either come with me. I'm developing a settlement on a nearby island. You'll be given shelter, food, a place to live and work."
He paused briefly, letting his words sink in.
"Or," he continued, "you can go your own way. I won't force anyone to come with me, it's your decision to make."
The group looked around at each other, uncertain. Some exchanged glances, unsure what to do.
Seeing the confusion in their eyes, Arthur added, "I'll give you some time, think it over."
Saying that he stepped back, giving them space.
At the far edge of the group, Syara and Sylas stood close together.
"Big sis, we should go our own way," Sylas said, his voice low but was filled with emotion. "We still have to take revenge on that bastard… for killing our parents!"
Syara sigheded slowly and said. "Calm down, Sylas. Don't be impulsive."
"But…" he started.
She raised a hand, cutting him off and sternly said. "Do you really think we're strong enough for that right now?"
Sylas clenched his fists but said nothing.
Syara continued, "Think about it for a moment. Do you honestly believe after learning what happened here, the duke's son will leave us alone? He will definitely send assassins after us, to finish off any loose ends."
She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"We need time, it will be better if we go with him and hide for some time"
Sylas's shoulders sagged. His anger hadn't vanished, but it dulled realizing the reality of their situation. "You're right, big sis." he muttered. "I… I'm sorry for my recklessness."
Syara offered a faint smile and patted his head. "Don't worry, we will definitely take our revenge when we get stronger. Just not now."
…
Although Arthur was some distance away, due to his sensitive hearing he heard everything, but he didn't comment on it.
It wasn't his place to intervene. Whatever had happened to them, whatever they planned to do next, that was their story, not his.
Almost ten minutes later, one by one, the group began to gather in front of Arthur.
A middle-aged man with tired eyes raised a hand. "Sir… some of us… we still have our family. If we choose to go with you… would you let them stay with us too?"
Arthur nodded. "Don't worry, I'll send someone tomorrow to pick them up, you might have to go with my subordinates though."
After hearing Arthur's confirmation, the people agreed to go with him. Even those who had considered leaving slowly stepped forward. They knew even if they went their separate ways the people from the auction house wouldn't just write this off, so they thought it was better to go with Arthur.
Arthur, seeing everyone agreeing to go with him, simply raised his hand, and a sleek black VTOL appeared behind him, and the rear hatch hissed open to let the people enter.
Gasps rang out as soon as it appeared.
"What is that…?"
"Is that… a ship?"
"I've never seen one like that before."
Many of them were surprised to see a ship as they have never seen one before, but there were also some who have seen some powerful people use them, so they were not as much surprised. Though the design looked different and much more sleek they thought it was just a more costly ship.
Arthur gestured towards the hatch. "Hop in."
Once everyone was inside, Arthur stepped in and the hatch sealed shut behind him.
The VTOL lifted into the air without causing much disturbance, it then vanished, its cloaking activating as it headed towards Avalon.
***
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