Chapter 325: Burn Or Dismember?
Julie’s eyes softened as she began, her voice calm but carrying the weight of long-kept memories.
"Skadi...she’s not from some big fancy place, you know. She actually came from a small town, just outside the Holyfield Estate."
"It wasn’t anything grand or important. Just a quiet, peaceful little place nestled away from the rest of the world. Mostly demi-humans lived there, people like her. They weren’t hurting anyone. They lived simple lives. Joyful ones. Tight-knit."
"I remember when I visited, the air even felt different. Like it hadn’t been touched by the filth of the world yet."
Her expression dimmed, and she sighed.
"But it didn’t last. One day, bandits came. I don’t know if they stumbled upon it by accident or if someone told them about it, but they descended on that village like vultures. And they weren’t just after supplies."
"No...demi-humans were far more valuable in the slave market than normal humans. Stronger bodies, unique features. Rare. Exotic. All the usual sick reasons."
Julie paused, folding her arms and biting her lips as she recalled the past.
"So they plundered the place. Slaughtered half the villagers without hesitation. Burned homes. Stomped over lives like they were nothing...And the rest?"
"The rest they bound up like cattle, planning to sell them off later, probably after breaking them down a little first. I still remember the sight...it made my father’s old war stories seem like children’s fables."
Cassius remained silent, watching her with steady attentiveness.
"I wasn’t even supposed to be there." She went on. "I’d been on a scouting mission nearby. Checking a potential hideout along the ridge. That’s when I heard the commotion."