"The last one, Daong City, the son of the Siberian Viscount, the Younger Viscount Siberi! Please step forward!" On the platform, Eaglero Officer finished reciting the names and slammed the name list shut with a "clack". At the same time, the last hopes of countless Cezhi prisoners were also sealed. The prisoner exchange ceremony between Cezhi and Eaglero, which had lasted for a long time, finally came to an end.
In that moment, countless pairs of eager eyes finally closed weakly, and countless clenched fists loosened weakly. Tense mouths that were almost about to convulse let out a stream of reluctant resentment.
Zhan Ye Hong slowly moved his body among the crowded crowd. At this moment, he seemed not to care about the question of why he was not on the list. He now seemed only to want to find a slightly quieter place to stay for a while. His appearance was neither depressed, nor nervous, nor sad, but completely carefree.
"Ha ha ha... Ah ha ha ha, I'm finally free again! I can finally go home! Ah ha ha ha!" The lucky one who had broken the shackles waved his hands and excitedly shouted to the crowd behind him. However, the response he received was only more people's collective sighs and helpless crying.
Under the scorching sun, the empty battlefield had not even a dry wind. The tears of the prisoners fell onto the ground and were evaporated immediately, as if these young lives themselves, now, who was keeping track of their survival and extinction? Prisoners, those who could not be bought or exchanged, were equivalent to slaves, equivalent to gladiators, equivalent to free miners, equivalent to street sweepers, equivalent to all lowly occupations.
The soldiers of Eaglero began to whip the prisoners who were crying pitifully. Roughly pushing them, the wailing sounds suddenly turned into a chorus of lamentations and helpless crying.
These young people who were finally abandoned by their homeland now seemed to have only this one way of venting left.
And these earth-shattering cries and sighs seemed to make Zhan Ye Hong even more irritable and unhappy. His eyebrows above his forehead were tightly knitted, and his slender figure kept moving forward in the crowd, and the force of the crowd gradually became more intense and larger.
"Zhan Ye Hong Young Lord! Wait a moment, don't rush to leave!" Suddenly, a voice stopped Zhan Ye Hong who was crowded in the middle. The owner of that voice was familiar to Zhan Ye Hong, so familiar that he didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. But he still turned his head back.
When he turned around, he saw the triumphant expression of Siberi, the one who had just been released.
Yes, it was him. The two families' territories were adjacent for generations, and the two had known each other since childhood. Even when they joined the army, they were in the same regiment. But these two young people who both liked to be competitive not only did not become childhood friends, but became rivals instead. This was the same as their parents. Now, one continued as a prisoner, and the other was released. At this point, of course, they had to taunt each other.
Siberi bowed to the Eaglero soldiers beside him and said something before walking over gracefully, holding his hands up and looking at Zhan Ye Hong from head to toe, "Zhan Ye Hong Young Lord, I really don't understand you. You were destined to be a slave for life, but you still have this carefree and unconcerned expression."
Zhan Ye Hong spread his hands and said, "Not being carefree is not bad. At least you won't be sad or cry over some insignificant matters, nor will you get angry over some boring people's boring words."
"Oh, really? Then I really have to admire you" Siberi reached out and picked at the already damaged collar of Zhan Ye Hong, smiling, "It's really a pity. We joined the army together, and we were captured together. But I will return to my home country tomorrow to enjoy the treatment of a hero, while you will die old here. Tsk tsk... People are really different!"
"Haha..." Expanding his smile, Zhan Ye Hong said to Spurrier Faide: "Then congratulations to Spurrier Faide, my dear. May I wish you that you won't choke on the water while drinking, won't choke on food while eating, and won't encounter any accidents on the road." Hearing this, Spurrier Faide's expression instantly froze. Their gazes collided in an instant, sparks flying everywhere.
Looking at Spurrier Faide's indifferent expression, the countless ways that he had just thought of to humiliate Zhan Ye Hong suddenly seemed useless. He sneered and suddenly leaned close to Spurrier Faide's ear, grinning maliciously and saying: "Do you still want to go back? Don't dream anymore. You will die here. You can't go back. Maybe it will be some nobleman's stable, or some toilet's sewer... Hahaha, your little bastard's life is destined to be buried here, do you understand? Idiot!"
"Oh, you stayed here just to say these things to me?" Zhan Ye Hong spat out the grass roots in his mouth and didn't respond to Spurrier Faide's provocation. Instead, he lazily yawned again and lazily looked at Spurrier Faide, clearly telling him "You are so boring".
"Of course not. I'm just giving you a kind reminder." Spurrier Faide walked slowly around Zhan Ye Hong, and the prisoners beside him had already been driven away. In the spacious battlefield, only the two of them still stood in the same place. Spurrier Faide snorted and said: "Zhan Ye Hong, don't think I don't know. You were injured in the death row duel a month ago, and the injury was very serious."
Zhan Ye Hong's fist suddenly clenched tightly in an instant, but his face still wore a smile, still maintaining that carefree expression. Spurrier Faide continued: "And I also know that your original level of a third-class swordsman has decreased a lot by now! Don't deny it! Haha, the aftereffects of the injury seem quite strange. Aren't you strange? I am very strange too! If I were you, I would be even more curious. How could I know it so clearly!"
Spurrier Faide suddenly put his mouth close to Zhan Ye Hong's ear and gritted his teeth in hatred, saying: "Now I'll tell you the truth. Because I have been paying attention to you. I have always wanted to watch you being tortured to death here! Little bastard, since childhood you have always wanted to be better than me in everything. You are taller than me, you have mastered better than me, even when joining the army you were the centurion of the central legion, one rank higher than mine! But now? Right, you are still stronger than me. You died before me... Hahaha, rest assured, I will tell my father to take over your Kusaburg territory! I will help you govern your hometown in the future! Hahaha... Hahahaha!"
Sporinfa did not pat the smooth red skin of Zhaoye Hong's cheeks. Instead, he swaggered towards the exit on the other side of the battlefield, where comfortable carriages were waiting for this group of free people on their journey.
"Sporinfa! Damn bastard!" Zhaoye Hong suddenly muttered under his breath, raising his eyes and looking at Sporinfa's back. Everyone has their sensitive spots, and Sporinfa's last few words had completely enraged him.
Zhaoye Hong's eyes suddenly began to slowly turn red, and his body started to tremble violently. Anger, intense anger, was constantly accumulating.
He suddenly took a step in the direction Sporinfa was headed, the shackles on his body clanking loudly, and a strange black tattoo inexplicably appeared on the part of his chest that was exposed through the collar of his shirt.
Around him, a dangerous aura gradually began to spread.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, a crisp sound of a whip was heard, and it finally struck Zhaoye Hong's back. The intense pain immediately brought Zhaoye Hong back from that strange state. The black tattoo on his chest also mysteriously disappeared, and no one noticed it, as if it had never appeared.
Zhaoye Hong's teeth clenched tightly, and in the hot weather, cold sweat streamed down his face. He turned around, and his peripheral vision swept over the eagle-roper who had just struck him. But the eagle-roper had no warning and struck Zhaoye Hong again with a whip, hitting his shoulder. The eagle-roper shouted at him, "Still dazed? Move! You useless piece of trash!"
Far away, Sporinfa had already stepped aside and sat in the carriage. At the moment he lowered the curtain, Zhaoye Hong could still see his arrogant smile.
Zhaoye Hong muttered something and did not refute the eagle-roper's words. But his eyes still looked at Sporinfa's carriage.
When Sporinfa's carriage had gone far ahead of the other released people, Zhaoye Hong's expression slowly returned to his usual carefree demeanor, following the other prisoners and grinning wildly towards the exit of the battlefield. There, he would be taken back to the slave concentration camp and then wait for further distribution - distribution like that of livestock.
When he was beside the crowd, Raoul slowly walked over and patted Zhaoye Hong on the shoulder. He had already roughly heard the content of Zhaoye Hong and the eagle-roper's conversation. He said somewhat helplessly, "Alright, Brother Zhaoye Hong, don't be depressed... Yes, it will get better."
Raoul was Zhaoye Hong's friend in the prison. They had spent three months together in captivity. Under the influence of Zhaoye Hong's sociable personality, their relationship was as solid as brothers. However, now, brothers could not share even a little bit of their troubles. They had all been ruthlessly abandoned by their homeland.
Zhaoye Hong shook his head, loosened the shackles in his hand, and grinned at Raoul with his teeth bared. "Relax, I'm fine. You should take care too. Don't die too soon. I'm still waiting to go back to Sizhi with you guys."
Back to Sizhi, what a beautiful word. But what a cruel reality.
Raoul knew in his heart that the last prisoner exchange still had no one whose name had not been called. In fact, it was already destined for a lifetime as a slave. Fate was like this, and what was the use of an agreement between people? This was just Zhaoye Hong's wishful thinking, a mere fantasy. He was always so carefree, never knowing what true despair was, and there were no unrealistic things in that beautiful head.
Raoul merely gave Zhaoye Hong a symbolic smile, and then parted ways with the eagle-roopers under the whip.
But Zhaoye Hong slowly turned around, his black eyes looking towards the blue sky in the south. He murmured, "How dare you think of my hometown... Wait for me, Sporinfa, I will definitely go back! I will definitely go back to Sizhi. You wait here!"