Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 41: Tension

Before the day ended, during the high afternoon, Taiwo came to visit him after learning he was "sick"—the story they told everyone else. She arrived and just watched him flatly without saying anything for a long time before she asked, "Will you get better?"

Atrox was baffled before he understood her. In the Borderland, a lot of people died from "sickness," so he nodded solemnly and assured her he would survive.

It didn’t take long for her to leave after she glanced at Tiber and Slya, telling them she’d cover for them.

Closer to evening, his headache had eased enough for him to leave the Nyxori building and head into the mine. He ignored Tiber and Slya’s warnings about overtaxing himself. He meant what he said to Arvas about not being dead weight.

His right hand was still weak, but he didn’t need it to shoot blasts of essence. He filled his core and killed imps. The next day, he did the same thing throughout, training himself and replenishing his core.

All the while, he tried to determine when the assassin might strike again and when Kade would be found—dead or alive. Atrox didn’t hold much hope for the latter, but the man’s return might provide more clues.

The next day, the day of the operation, Atrox woke early and had his bath with Tiber and Slya. They didn’t speak much, and Atrox felt the tension between the two.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Atrox asked as they made their way to the Nyxori building. The morning was cold, and the sun had yet to make an appearance. The camp was still slumbering.

Tiber grunted and barked a laugh. "Yes. Maybe you’ve forgotten, but normal humans like us are afraid of monsters and the like. Especially in a ruin like that... of course we’re having cold feet!"

Slya sighed. "We’ll go, though, because this is the only way to actually change our lives for the better."

Atrox looked at the two of them for a while before speaking again. "Why, though? There’s a high chance of death—why are you doing it?" He was genuinely curious.

Slya snorted. "We wanted more out of life, more than hacking away at rocks all the time. The only way to do that is not with cold steel but one infused with essence."

Tiber only grunted.

Atrox could somewhat understand them. He also wanted more out of life than just staying in a dark prison or wishing for death. He wanted a dream he didn’t dare utter yet, lest it break under the weight of the words.

Maybe it was the thought that the ruin might lead to their deaths, or that they were the closest people he knew in this cruel Borderland, but Atrox asked them a question he hadn’t wanted an answer to before. "How did you two end up here in the Borderland?"

Slya looked at him and raised her brows. She didn’t reply immediately, as there was an unspoken rule in the Borderland not to share one’s past. But perhaps she felt the same melancholy. She shrugged. "Nothing special. I was with a mercenary company, and my team had to hurl some criminals here. One night, on the way, I got careless and let one of the criminals escape, so my team replaced me with that one.

"I didn’t know until they left me here and traveled back. Those days, I wanted to run, but I saw what happened to those who tried to leave the Borderland without permission." She smiled bitterly, then gestured at Tiber.

"His story’s different. He was a soldier for a smaller clan under Soryu, even a captain, but he wasn’t content with his pay, so he started taking bribes. One of the soldiers under him reported him with enough proof."

Tiber grunted. "I deserved it. I was a thief."

Atrox was silent. To him, the reasons they were here seemed so simple—it was their own fault. He realized the silence had gone on too long and asked Tiber, "Were they underpaying you? Do you have a large family?"

Tiber snorted out a laugh. "No. I have no family to look after, and the pay I was getting was enough. I was just greedy. I wanted more, so I looked for a way to get it."

He paused. "Now that I think about it, buying good clothes and drinks cost a lot. That’s how I spent most of my money."

Atrox shook his head. He had thought they’d have similar experiences to his as the reason they were here, but it turned out they were just normal. If they had been Squires when they joined the Borderland, they’d be part of a team and out there already.

Tiber sighed. "I have a feeling you won’t tell us why you got sent here." Slya nodded, assuming that a powerful Squire like him could only have been sent to the Borderland after committing a heinous crime.

Atrox smiled faintly. "You’re right."

They made the rest of the trip in silence and soon reached the Nyxori building. It was still early in the morning, and the hall wasn’t open to the general public. Everyone there was preparing for the ruin hunt.

Most were normal humans, but well-fed workers with the hardened look of those who’d handled weapons before. Atrox scanned the crowd quickly. ’Of the thirty people here, we have about nine Squires. That includes Taiwo. But no Knights’

"Issssh. Everyone’s on edge," Slya muttered.

Tiber nodded. "We can’t help it. We have all been planning towards it but now that it’s here, we’re all feeling the heat."

All of them were avoiding each other’s gaze in the silence of the room, instead they stared at the ground. Tension hung like a heavy shroud. Then, they heard the click of footsteps descending the stairs, and all heads turned toward the sound in relief.

Kren and Arvas came down and following behind him was a team, made up of three Knights.