The sky was gloomy, and the dark clouds enveloped the earth as if they couldn't see the edge.
The fighting in Ice Rock City has stopped, but the hearts of the people are still heavy.
Especially those slaves who surrendered, they were shackled at the foot of the city wall, their hearts were full of despair.
"Hey, lame, do you think the lord is going to starve us to death?"
The lame slave touched his head and muttered, "How would I know?"
"Is there even a need to think about it?" Another slave slumped on the ground and said weakly, "Right now, there is a shortage of food in the city, so how can the lord waste food on us?"
"Then... shall we wait to die like this?"
"Otherwise? Do you still want to kill it?"
Asking the slave's body trembled uncontrollably, as if recalling the terrifying scene of the black cavalry charge, he shut up immediately.
The breath of despair grew stronger.
The dead air exuding from the slaves even attracted a few vultures to hover in mid-air.
They are quietly waiting for the coming feast.
The lame man was a bit unwilling, he was still young and didn't want to die yet, looking at the soldiers patrolling all around, he hesitated for a while, and seemed to have finally mustered up his courage.
But just as he was struggling to stand up and was about to walk towards the soldiers, he suddenly saw the city gate not far away open.
Amidst the clattering of horseshoes, a huge caravan slowly drove into Ice Rock City.
Lame doesn't care about the caravan, all he cares about is the food.
"My lord, my lord..."
"Are you calling me?" The soldier looked at the approaching lame leg, held the handle of the knife with his right hand, and said vigilantly, "Stay where you are, don't come closer!"
"Yes Yes."
"What's your business?"
"My lord, I'm really hungry, can you give me something to eat..." The lame man bowed his waist and begged, "I'm very strong, and I can help you with work, anything!"
"Don't worry, I will arrange your work later."
"Then... is there anything to eat?"
"Yes, as long as you are willing to work!"
"Really?" Lame still couldn't believe that such a good thing would actually happen.
"Why am I lying to you?" The soldier waved his hand impatiently, "Go back and be honest."
The lame leg didn't go back, but asked nervously: "My lord, my lord, isn't there a shortage of food in the city now? Why do you still give us something to eat?"
The soldier pointed to the caravan entering the city: "Do you know what those cars are carrying?"
The lame shook his head foolishly.
"It's food!" The soldier said proudly, "The lord brought back a large amount of food from the half-elf kingdom, enough for you to eat!"
"Really...really?" The lame eyes were shining, and his whole body trembled with excitement.
The soldier didn't want to talk to this annoying slave any more, and waved him to go back quickly.
The lame legs softened, and immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowed in the direction of the Red Castle, and muttered:
"Thank you Lord Lord, praise Lord Lord!"
His strange behavior also aroused the curiosity of other slaves, and they gathered around to ask.
Then the lame told the other slaves the good news he had just received.
Soon, the news spread like a plague, and more and more slaves began to learn how to be lame, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, praising the benevolent lord.
In an instant, the entire Bingyan City seemed to come alive, and the dead air covering the city gradually dissipated, and the frightened vultures flapped their wings and scattered away.
It didn't take long for the soldiers to divide the slaves into groups of about ten people. Each group was led by a soldier and assigned different tasks, such as repairing the city walls, cleaning the streets, and building refugee camps...
Lame was assigned a task of repairing houses in the city, and when he followed the leading soldiers to the collapsed house, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed—
Because he remembered that he had taken advantage of the chaos and rushed into this house and snatched some things...
With a trace of shame, the lame leg immediately stepped forward and began to work.
A slave next to him asked the leading soldier with some doubts: "My lord, when will we have something to eat?"
"It's at noon, hurry up and go to work!"
"well!"
As soon as the slaves heard that there was food to eat, regardless of their hunger and exhaustion, they immediately started working.
…
Finally at noon, the already exhausted and lame squeezed into the long queue of slaves and walked to the place where they received food.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, he finally smelled a faint smell of meat.
Gulp.
For a while, the sound of swallowing saliva came and went.
The lame leg stretched its neck and looked forward, but could only vaguely see a high platform and a huge iron pot on it.
After a long wait, the lame finally came to the high platform.
The soldier handed him three slices of black bread, and a bowl of steaming broth.
It is said to be broth, but in fact there is no shadow of meat in it, only a layer of fat floating on it and a faint smell of meat, which proves that it is indeed not water, but broth.
Faced with such food, the lame cry directly.
It's not that the food is bad, it's that it's good.
As a slave, he had never eaten meat in his life.
Now that he can actually have broth to drink, the lame feels that his life is worth it!
After dipping in the broth, the lame leg stuffed the black bread into his stomach after a few mouthfuls, and then poured all the broth in the bowl into his stomach without being too hot.
Feeling the warmth from the abdomen to the whole body, the lame suddenly felt full of energy.
"My lord, is there anything to eat after work in the afternoon?"
"Of course there is."
"What about tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow too."
"What about the day after tomorrow?"
"You're never finished!" The soldier was angry, and he stared at his lame leg. "As long as you work for the lord, you will have food to eat."
The lame leg didn't know what to say at the moment, the Lord Lord seemed to be at the same height as the Lord of Radiance in his heart.
"Not only food." The soldiers gathered all the slaves in their group and explained, "There are also points."
"Points?" The slaves looked at each other, completely unaware of what this meant.
"Can the points... be eaten?" The lame asked tremblingly.
The soldier sneered, shook his head and said, "Points cannot be eaten. But they are of great use."
Before the slaves could continue to ask questions, the soldier announced, "The one who worked hard this morning is lame. Do you have any objections?"
The slaves shook their heads, the lame leg was indeed the one who worked the most today, and everyone saw it.
"Okay, then I will be crippled for one point this morning." The soldier immediately took out a roll of parchment and began to record it.
The lame leg is still at a loss: "My lord, points... what are they for?"
"Points, it can help you get rid of your slave status and become a free citizen!"
"Free people?"
Now the rest of the slaves couldn't sit still anymore, they gathered around the soldiers one after another and asked, "My lord, how many points do I need to become a freeman?"
"I don't know." The soldier spread his hands, "The lord said that there will be an evaluation every month, and the ten slaves with the most points in the city can become freemen!"
Wow—
The slaves cried out in excitement.
They didn't know how many slaves there were in the whole city, and how rare the quota of ten per month was.
But they have seen hope—the hope of a class leap!
This kind of hope makes their mental outlook completely new, as if they have completely become another person.
When the work in the afternoon started again, all the slaves rushed to work like crazy, for fear of being compared with their peers.
A wave of fanaticism gradually enveloped Ice Rock City.
(end of this chapter)