Chapter 55
The commander looked at me with wide eyes, his mind seemingly unable to comprehend what was happening. Fear appeared in his eyes, and every ounce of the false courage he had shown before evaporated. He looked humiliated.
"And the same goes for you, Kaya! Don't move!"
I muttered when I saw Kaya trying to sneak up behind me.
I quickly stepped back to get them in front of me, raising my weapon and threatening them seriously.
Kaya remained silent, staring at me with red, swollen eyes, his mouth bleeding profusely. It looked like he had lost one of his front teeth.
The commander knelt, writhing in place, unable to believe what had just happened. His face reflected the anger, shock, and collapse he was feeling. "Move toward the cell! Now! And don't make a sound, or it will be the last sound you ever make!"
I said in a decisive voice, without any hesitation, as I pointed sharply at them to walk toward the cell I had just come out of.
My fist remained tight around the handle of the weapon, my other hand pointing clearly toward the cell.
They had no choice but to obey. Fear of me had paralyzed them.
The commander and Kaya walked slowly toward the cell, their steps heavy and hesitant, their swollen faces filled with fear and despair. Their movements were more like dragging their feet than walking.
The commander tried to resist before entering the cell, a final, insignificant act of defiance.
Boom!
I pushed him hard against the bars, punched him once, then again, then once more.
Not with force, but to show that any attempt at resistance would be futile. I didn't stop until I felt that he was no longer resisting, surrendering to the weight of his trembling body. His face was covered in blood, his eyes swollen shut.
The commander's body looked extremely thin, and incredibly emaciated, as if he were not the commander of a group of soldiers.
What kind of commander has such a frail body? I know that strength is not everything for a commander and that intelligence and leadership skills are more important than raw power, but he needs to train a little! As a wizard, I had a magnificent and powerful body, capable of endurance, so how could he be a commander?
I pushed them both violently into the cell, locked the bars tightly, and threw the keys into a dark corner.
From inside the other cell, I heard the old man laughing sarcastically, "What a sight! Who would have thought that I would see the commander in a cell, suffering the bitterness of humiliation? Oh, the fate of these days!" He began to touch the bars of his cell with his hand as if he were touching the bars of the cell in which they had imprisoned him.
After making sure the cell was securely locked, I went to the other cell where the old man was imprisoned. "It's time to go, wise man," I said and opened the door of his cell.
The old man looked at me with a broad smile, his eyes shining with a kind of appreciation after seeing what I had done. "Are you sure this is what you want? Are you ready for what awaits you?"
"I have no other way," I said seriously, my eyes shining. "I need to try something... something to end this." Then I looked at the dark corridors, gesturing toward them. "Now, let's go before the rest of the soldiers wake up or the guards outside notice they're missing. Every second we're here, we're in danger."
I paused for a moment, then scratched my head in confusion. "But... how exactly are we going to escape from here?" I looked at the old man, who was staring into the dark corridors. "We can't go out the front door, they can easily see us and there might be patrols outside right now."