Chapter 408 "Welcome to your new home"
"Eh?" Evan uttered, "So, I'm not the only one transported here."
Evan looks at the group of people who arrive at the same time as him.
As he gazed toward them, his eyes scanned their unfamiliar faces except for two.
He recognized Albert's wife and son, the people he had met briefly during the banquet that now felt like a distant memory.
Their expressions mirrored his own—etched with the weariness of uncertainty of being thrust into this unfamiliar prison island.
They looked dishevelled as if shaken by the same inexplicable journey that had brought them to this desolate place.
Evan assumed that they, too, had been subjected to the same treatment as him.
Seeing familiar faces on this desolate island offered a small flicker of comfort to Evan's heart.
"Obviously not,' the soldier who escorted Evan remarked with a roll of his eyes. "Who would waste resources to exclusively transport you alone?"
The soldier impatiently then pushed Evan forward, prompting him to walk toward a dulled grey building that loomed ominously in the distance.
Evan, like the rest of the captives, found himself compelled to comply with the push from the soldier.
The same scenario played out for the others.
Each prisoner, ushered by their respective escorts, was urged forward toward the grey building.
As they approached the building, the tension heightened and the air became more oppressive.
A disconcerting sight met their eyes.
Guards stationed at the top of the roof stared down at them with intense scrutiny. Their weapons were ready and aimed at them.
Gulp-
A collective gulp echoed among the prisoners, including Evan. At that moment, he knew better than to entertain any thoughts of doing something "funny."
Screeeech-
The sound of the gate opening sliced through the air like a knife tearing through eardrums.
Once inside, the reality of their surroundings was far worse than the ominous exterior.
The air was thick with staleness. Together, it came with a package of pungent smells that greatly disturbed their sense of comfort. Also, the pervasive dullness of the interior seemed deliberately crafted to break the spirit.
The weak-willed among them already cracked under the strain despite nothing being done to them yet.
Regret crept into their hearts.
It didn't matter whether they had escaped the death penalty or not.
The mere prospect of living within these walls was sufficient to kill their souls.
The soldiers, seemingly indifferent to their plight, led the disoriented group through a labyrinthine pathway. Each step feels like a descent into a deeper abyss.
....
Bam!-
The last iron-grilled door was slammed shut harshly by the soldier. This is because one of these new prisoners clings on the soldier's leg, begging the soldier to take him out.
If seeing the interior of the building makes some break into tears of despair, seeing the condition of the cells which will be their new home makes all of them lose their strength and drop to the ground.
Albert's wife found herself unable to cope with the abrupt shift in her circumstances.
Imagine living a well-off life since childhood, then, that life turned horribly wrong in a span of a week or so.
Overwhelmed with this fact, she fainted and crumpled to the floor.
The weight of her altered fate was too much for her consciousness to bear. Thus, the system shut down on its own.
Nevertheless, the soldier was unperturbed by the emotional upheaval around him.
He approached Albert's wife and hoisted her unconscious body with a callous disregard, as though she were nothing more than a lifeless object.
He tossed her unceremoniously into one of the cells before closing the door behind her with a resounding clang.
Once he was done throwing every one of them into their respective cells, the soldier cleared his throat with a gruff sound that reverberated through the cold and unwelcoming corridor.
Stepping forward, he assumed a position where all eyes were on him.
He began his template-like welcome speech.
"Ehem... Welcome to your new home, the most prestigious prison in the entire kingdom. I hope you remained sane while being here."
His words undoubtedly carried an air of mockery toward the newcomers but he didn't care in the slightest.
Before he left, his gaze fell upon one particular cell. A cell belongs to Wagner Fischer, an admiral from Blande who was captured a long time ago.
Wagner, once an admiral of the republic, had become a mere shell of his former self.
He's one unlucky guy who had his spirit broken, lost hope in everything and was already dead inside.
While all the prisoners from Barlia have been fortunate enough to secure their release through negotiations between their nation and Ryntum, this man had been forsaken by his own country.
The United Republic of Blande had deemed it was not profitable and unworthy to retrieve this admiral, dismissing him as expendable that could easily be replaced by a new one.
'Poor guy,' the soldier shook his head before promptly leaving the dark floor of the prison. He doesn't want to spend an extra second in this terrible place.
As the soldier reached the ground floor and moved towards the exit of the foreboding building, a guard stationed at the entrance greeted him with a nod. "Finished handling the newbies?"
"Yeah, I hope they can settle down."
"Hahaha! You're asking for the impossible. Their minds aren't as strong as those of Barlia's soldiers. I guarantee you some would die by the end of this week." the guard replied.
The soldier sneered, "I guess you're right. Even that Fischer guy had been mentally broken. We should hasten the interrogation process before they go crazy."
"Fischer?' the guard asked, "Ahh! That poor admiral. He has totally lost it."
"Why is he still here? Just get rid of him and free up some space. I believe we had extracted everything from him." said the soldier. He couldn't care less about the broken admiral.
The guard shrugged, "How could I know? Higher-ups decide to keep him. Maybe they have a use for him in the future."
New novel chapters are published on fr(e)ewebnov(e)l.com