Chapter 234: A Ridiculous Riot(1)
"I’m seriously speechless. They’ve only just arrived for a single day, and they’re already thinking about causing trouble. After I fed them and even planned a path for them to earn their freedom..."
Far away in the grand winery, Phield shot to his feet in anger. "They actually dare lay hands on my territory. I can’t afford to be lenient."
Taking a few deep breaths, Phield controlled the black crow circling in the sky, keeping watch over their every move, while he slowly calmed himself and sat back down.
"No wonder those two were acting so sneaky. Judging by what they said, they’ve got quite a few accomplices."
Though Phield couldn’t monitor every slave, he deliberately singled out the more vicious ones for closer observation.
"Wait... no need to hang them just yet. Drawing the snake out of its hole might be a better idea. Once all the ill-intentioned ones gather, I’ll uproot them in one sweep. That way I won’t end up with some revenge plot turning into a ticking time bomb."
"Sam, come in. I have a task for you."
Tapping on the table, Phield chose not to stop them immediately, instead having Sam gather the guards first.
...
Elsewhere, as part of the oldest batch of slaves, the siblings Clara and Jane each carried a clay jar in their arms.
"Why is the grain-drying yard so far away? We even have to carry the wheat there to sift it."
Jane complained softly, then hummed an unknown tune as she strode forward. The two girls, after spending time in Nightfall Domain, were still dirty, but they had begun to look like normal children again rather than skeleton-like figures.
During the harvest, quite a bit of wheat had fallen into the soil. After collecting it, the sisters had to sift out the stones before storing the grain. Even after a good harvest, food was still scarce—nothing could be wasted.
"So many new people..."
Soft-voiced Clara murmured in awe, "It feels like Nightfall Domain is going to become a big city."
"It’s not our city. No matter how big it gets, it has nothing to do with us. Do you think they’ll give you an extra half loaf of bread? No, they won’t."
Jane poured cold water over her enthusiasm without hesitation.
"Y-yeah..."
Not daring to argue, Clara lowered her head and followed half a step behind, like a little tail.
But deep down, she didn’t believe her sister was right.
Here, they had food every day, enough rest, the older women chatted and laughed, and the territory was safe. Clara couldn’t imagine a better life.
As they walked along unsteadily, they suddenly heard suppressed whispers nearby.
"Does this thing really work?"
"Cut the crap, or I’ll stab you twice to test it."
"Get lost, you snake’s lackey, you ugly mangy dog."
Jay, Anwei, and more than thirty slaves were secretly prying wooden rods off a fence. Using farming tools, they split the ends into cross-shaped openings, inserted sharp stones, and tied them with rope—just like that, crude spears were made.
Some of these men were Jay’s former bandit companions; the rest were thugs stirred up by agitation. They had spent quite some time gathering like-minded people.
"When it gets dark, we riot. Hahaha."
Jay gripped a stone spear, thrusting it forward twice, full of force.
"Remember, don’t fight the guards head-on. Kill the overseers, then create chaos or start fires. Once a few hundred slaves are thrown into disorder, no one will be able to control us."
Anwei grinned. He was very familiar with this process.
Humans were creatures easily swayed by the crowd.
"W-what are they doing? That’s not... normal work, right?"
Clara subconsciously took two steps forward. But when she heard the words "kill the overseers," her whole body froze, and she instantly realized the danger.
Lacking survival experience, she almost screamed, only to have her mouth covered by her sister.
"Shh!"
Jane shot her a glare, tucked the jar against her waist with one arm, and quietly led her away. Only after the group disappeared from view did Jane let out a breath of relief.
"I-it’s the new arrivals. They want to start a riot." Clara’s eyes widened in disbelief, tears welling up. "But why? They already have food to eat."
"No idea."
Jane set the jar down, looked around cautiously to make sure no one was following, then said, "Probably because they don’t like someone, or it’s some gang issue. It’s none of our business."
There was nothing surprising about slaves forming factions.
"I have to report this to the lord, or his property will suffer losses."
"No."
To Clara’s surprise, her sister rejected the idea without hesitation.
"If they find out, we’re dead for sure. Better to have one less trouble than one more. Just pretend we didn’t see anything. We’ll take a detour, deliver the wheat to the drying yard, then go back to collect our copper coins."
"But..."
Clara timidly raised her head, trying to argue.
"No buts. You have to listen to me—I’m doing this for your own good. And even if we report it, those arrogant nobles won’t listen to us. We’re slaves. And even if they do listen and deal with those bad guys, if even one of them escapes, we’ll be killed."
After rattling off her reasoning, Jane didn’t wait for a response and dragged her sister away.
...
After finishing their work and dinner, it was already evening.
Jane yawned as she returned to the female slave shelter and collapsed onto the bed, mumbling, "Go to sleep quickly, or you won’t grow taller."
Clara was left lying beside her, uneasy. She glared at her sister, thinking, How can you sleep at a time like this?
Blinking, Clara stared outside as night slowly fell, her anxiety growing stronger.
Her old home had already faded into memory—she had fully become part of Nightfall Domain.
"Big sister, I remember when we caused trouble, the lord only made us pick up chicken droppings instead of punishing us. We should repay him. Besides, the lord is a good person—he gives us food!"
Gathering her courage, Clara sat up from the straw bed and spoke quickly.
Jane’s response was a steady, even snore. "Zzz..."
"She fell asleep already... that fast. As expected of big sister."
The little girl didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But then she thought about her stable life, the familiar people around her—things that might disappear because of her silence.
"No. I have to tell the lord."
She quietly climbed out of bed, slipped outside, and had barely run a dozen steps when a knight on a tall warhorse blocked her path.
The knight pulled on the reins, halting the horse. In his right hand, he carried a heavy lance, its tip bearing the black wolf banner of Nightfall Domain.
Sidhem had once served a noble family as a light infantryman. After the suppression campaign, when his lord died in battle, he was taken in by Phield.