“Warden, the bronze-level death row inmate Tabu attempted to escape, killing over a dozen noble’s undercover guards. He has been captured by the soldiers, but his neighbor, Baiya Ifir Krolom, successfully broke out and is currently on the run.”
The prison guard yawned as he reported to the Warden.
The Warden nodded, his interest waning as he raised his hand and pressed the ring on his ring finger to his lips.
“Gentlemen, a slave has escaped. I will send over her information shortly. Report complete.”
After speaking, the Warden collapsed limply on the desk, utterly dispirited.
“Damn it, why escape prison? Do they really want to see hell…”
After the guard left, the Warden muttered with a yawn. He couldn’t understand whether the old timers in the prison had failed to impress upon Tabu and Baiya the severity of attempting escape. Honestly, those little noble brats must be thrilled right now.
“Only one slave got out; the nobles will fight over her. Should be a good brawl.”
He closed his eyes and said this before drifting off.
*****
The slave has escaped!
This news spread quickly among the noble circles. The great nobles sneered in disdain, but the minor nobles grew wickedly excited. They all dispatched their subordinates, commanding them to capture Baiya before anyone else could.
The nobles were thrilled. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to be this bold. Here, there was no hope—if there was, they would crush it with their own hands.
The idea of breaking a hopeful escaped slave and molding her into a desperate plaything—this notion was truly delightful.
“Baiya Ifir Krolom, former princess of the Empire? Interesting.”
At the banquet, a handsome young man in a blue gown leaned against the corner wall, his face twisting in disdain.
“My Slave Girl, bring her back.”
As the youth spoke, the shadow beneath his feet rippled faintly.
“Master…”
A girl’s voice, audible only to him, echoed in his ear. The youth frowned and raised his voice. “Hurry up!”
The ripples on the shadow grew violent, then after a moment, the shadow eerily vanished.
One Slave Girl had now set her heart on killing Baiya; it was all because of her that she had to leave her own master’s side.
Protecting her master was her sole mission.
“The Prince has sent out a Slave Girl. It seems he’s taken a liking to that slave. Should we tell our men to stand down?”
One fat noble nudged a skinny noble’s ribs with his elbow. The skinny noble shrugged off the elbow, a fox-like cunning smile spreading across his face.
“It’s a good thing that the Prince is interested in her. Catching her and presenting her to the Prince would be a great achievement!”
“Exactly, hahaha.”
Amid the nobles’ disgusting laughter, the forces to capture Baiya mobilized.
Baiya had no idea she had become the hottest prize. Had she known, she definitely wouldn’t be happy.
*****
“Seriously, is this really a ship? It’s basically an island.”
Baiya grabbed a handful of soil beneath her feet and crushed it to powder. There was no doubt—she was standing on solid ground.
According to the script, she should be on a slave transport ship now. If that were true, an incredible scene was unfolding—soil on the ship, and a large amount of it at that.
On this land were lakes and forests.
Baiya climbed up the canopy of a thick tree, which took considerable effort. Standing atop the branches, she looked out as far as she could.
In the distance lay an endless ocean. At the edge of this island was a huge dragon-shaped prow. Steel walls lined the island’s edges, atop which armored knights stood watch. On both flanks of the island, countless magic arrays shimmered. Baiya noticed the ship’s acceleration matched the flashing frequency of the magic circles—they must be the source of this vessel’s power.
The owner of this slave transport ship was the King of Amidar.
Amidar was the strongest nation in this world. Its national strength could be seen even from a single slave transport ship.
“Huff, uncle got caught. His life should be safe for now. I have to return before dawn. The longer I wander outside, the higher the chance of getting caught.”
Baiya muttered to herself as she climbed down the tree, shaking leaves from her hair. She glanced at the moon and sighed.
“Well then, the operation time is temporarily set to ten hours. I must find a sliver of hope within these ten hours and overturn the tragic ending of [SLAVE] Chapter One. If I can’t pull this off, I won’t be able to go home. Sounds difficult, but also interesting!”
Baiya clenched her fists. Her heart now held only nervousness and excitement—no fear.
As a top-tier gamer, Baiya loved challenges. The higher the difficulty, the more thrilled she became.
Her situation now was as dire as it could be. Normal people would despair and wait for death, but she… loved challenges most of all!
A life-or-death challenge, a challenge imposed by others, a challenge set by fate—Baiya was extremely excited.
She would give it her all and complete the challenge!
“In the script, I should be sitting in prison waiting for death now, but I’m out.”
“The script has already changed, but it’s still far from enough to change the tragic ending. I need more support.”
Baiya headed toward the direction she came from—the western part of the island. There lay the nobles’ mansions and entertainment venues, as well as the slaves’ hell.
The key to changing the ending was there. Baiya lifted the corners of her mouth.
“Kidnap the most powerful noble on this ship! Cause a huge commotion! That way, the script will definitely be in chaos, and I’ll achieve my goal of changing the ending. I’m so clever!”
Baiya laughed heartily, hands on her hips, completely unbothered by how unbecoming her pose was. She had absolutely no sense of decorum as a girl.
Swoosh!
An iron arrow whistled past Baiya’s cheek, embedding itself in the tree trunk.
Her laughter stopped abruptly. She touched her face and found her hands covered in blood.
She looked ahead.
From the forest came noisy voices, tinged with excitement.
Baiya immediately took off running. She didn’t want to guess who they were—right now, running was the only option.
On this ship, she knew few people and trusted even fewer. Those who posed a threat to her were countless.
“Damn it, why did you alert her!”
A scruffy man pushed aside some bushes and cursed at the confused archer beside him, waving for his men to give chase.
They were guards of a minor noble, sent to capture Baiya on his orders.
The noble guards each had designated search areas. Their zone was the forest on the eastern side of the island. They hadn’t expected to actually find Baiya.
The archer shook his head, casting aside unnecessary worries. He pulled an iron arrow from the quiver on his back and nocked it onto a finely crafted bow. He had just missed, but this time he was determined to hit!
The scruffy man kept cursing nearby. The archer felt helpless. He never meant to alert Baiya. He had aimed for her right hand and was confident he wouldn’t miss. He had practiced archery for over a decade and was deadly accurate within a kilometer.
Moreover, Baiya was only a few hundred meters away, with no obstacles in between.
Yet in the end, he had missed. He could only blame his own poor state.
Fully focused, the archer aimed at Baiya’s running legs. Thanks to the magic powder Mingguang Fen, the night’s darkness barely affected his vision.
This arrow had to hit Baiya’s right leg and immobilize her.