Like a wandering soul whispering into my ear, instinct told me the extra I needed to save was the young man pinned against the tree.
Suspended in the air by his throat, a blade buried deep in his stomach, his suffering was obvious even from a distance. Blood slid slowly down the silver sword, dripping onto the dirt beneath his feet.
Just one glance at him made my chest tighten.
Yet despite struggling at death's door, his ocean-blue eyes looked strangely calm. Dull. A faint smile rested weakly on his lips, like someone who had already accepted his fate and was simply waiting for the end.
That expression alone made panic surge through me.
Because if he died...
I will die too.
"Nooooo—!"
The scream tore out from the depths of my lungs before I could stop it.
The young man turned toward me, shock flickering across his pale face. His expression almost seemed to ask why someone was foolish enough to stand there watching instead of running away.
Yes.
Unfortunately, that fool was me.
Torchlight flickered across the trees as one of the slavers raised the glowing stone embedded in his lantern. The orange light swept over my muddy cloak and stopped directly on me.
"Who's there?" one of them barked.
Another tightened the chains connected to the captives, making the frightened women and children stumble together with muffled cries.
Too late to hide now.
I'd already been seen.
"What's a beggar doing out here?" the slaver sneered.
I blinked and pointed at myself.
'Beggar… me?'
Looking down, realization hit immediately.
'Ah… no wonder.'
With mud smeared across the oversized feathered cloak wrapped around me, I honestly looked like I'd crawled out of a ditch.
"I-I'm j-just sleeping here…" I stammered, my voice still rough after being muted for so long. "S-sorry for disturbing you. P-please continue."
While speaking, my body subtly leaned backward, fully prepared to sprint away at the first opportunity.
But the flashing red warning window hovering beside my face stopped me cold.
[Warning! Target remaining HP: Rapidly decreasing.]
I swallowed hard.
I wanted to save him immediately, but the situation made my instincts scream otherwise. Every slaver here looked dangerous, especially the scarred man standing beside the wounded young man.
For a brief moment, I genuinely considered running.
But… sigh, this was literally life or death.
Mine included.
I forced myself to calm down and quietly steady my breathing. Panicking would only get me killed faster.
Observe first.
Think carefully.
Move carefully.
The scarred man slowly turned his head toward me. An ugly scar stretched from his eye down to the corner of his mouth, twisting every expression into something monstrous.
The moment his cold gaze landed on me, my spine stiffened.
"Bring him here."
His voice came out low and emotionless as he suddenly yanked the sword out from the young man's stomach.
A sickening wet sound echoed through the forest.
Blood immediately gushed from the wound.
The young man collapsed onto the ground, coughing violently while crimson stained his lips.
Around him, muffled sobs spread among the captives. Women trembled while children cried helplessly, iron chains clinking softly as they huddled together in fear.
They could only watch as the person who tried to save them slowly bled out before their eyes.
None of them dared move.
They were too terrified.
Too broken.
One of the slavers approached me while casually pulling the weapon from his waist. A dirty cloth was tied around his forehead, and the crazed grin on his face made my stomach twist uneasily.
Then... he licked the blade.
A cold shiver crawled down my arms.
"O-oh, no need for that," I said quickly, raising both hands. "I-I'll come peacefully, so p-please don't hurt me."
Trying my best to look harmless, I slowly walked toward them with stiff awkward steps, like a newborn deer struggling to stand.
The crazed slaver burst into laughter.
To him, I probably looked pathetic... a coward willingly walking toward death.
[Warning! Target remaining HP: 698 / 10,000]
I bit the inside of my cheek.
'I needed to hurry.'
A quick glance around the area helped me assess the situation.
Three slavers.
Two lackeys.
One leader.
If memory served me right, there should've been more than ten escorting the slave convoy.
Which meant these three were most likely sent to retrieve escaped captives, the same captives the young man had probably freed.
Most of the slaves were children and young women dressed in filthy torn rags. Bruises marked their skin, and fear filled their hollow eyes.
Fortunately, these men were likely only E-to-D Rank.
The real threat—the boss—should still be somewhere deeper within Annonno-o's Forest guarding the convoy.
And if the story followed its original route…
Kaiser would eventually slaughter them all.
"Stop that."
The scarred man's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. One of the lackeys suddenly pressed a blade against my neck.
Cold steel touched my skin.
"Your eyes keep wandering," the scarred man muttered. "It's irritating."
"Haha! Big bro, should I pluck out his pretty eyes?" the crazed slaver laughed while sliding the blade dangerously close to my face. "Those crimson eyes could sell for a good price."
I flinched instinctively. That only made him laugh harder.
"Don't damage the goods," the scarred man said before kicking the wounded young man on the ground like discarded trash. "He'll make a decent replacement. That should calm the boss down."
His tone remained completely indifferent.
No guilt.
No mercy.
To him, people were just merchandise.
Still, the man wasn't stupid. He knew killing an expensive slave would anger his superior. Losing one meant losing profit.
But now, by sheer coincidence, another replacement had wandered straight into their hands.
Me.
"Tie him up," the scarred man ordered before glancing toward the captives. "Move the slaves."
The minion carrying the torch immediately yanked the chains forward.
Some captives hesitated, unwilling to leave the wounded young man behind, but fear eventually forced them to move.
No one wanted to share his fate.
I quietly inhaled.
The young man's HP had already dropped below 500.
At this rate, he'd die within minutes.
"This is seriously do or die…" I muttered under my breath.
The moment the crazed slaver lowered his weapon to tie my hands, I immediately reached into my inventory.
Then,
WHAM!
'Taste the slap of capitalism!'
The heavy bag of coins smashed directly into his face.
While he staggered in confusion, I followed up with the strongest punch my pathetic stats could produce and slammed my fist beneath his chin.
"Knocked out!" I shouted instinctively like a boxing announcer.
Even though pain immediately exploded through my knuckles afterward.
"You—!"
The scarred man's eyes widened with fury.
Without wasting another second, I hurled the bag of gold toward him.
Instinctively, he slashed it apart midair.
The bag burst open.
Hundreds of gold coins scattered everywhere beneath the torchlight, glittering like fireworks across the dark forest.
And just as expected, human greed reacted faster than logic.
The remaining lackey immediately dropped the chains and dove toward the coins like a starving animal.
Several captives scrambled after them too.
Chaos erupted instantly.
The chains tangled together as panicked slaves stumbled over one another trying to escape.
For the first time since I arrived, the scarred man froze in complete disbelief.
I smirked.
My plan worked.
And somewhere far away, the slavers' boss was probably about to develop high blood pressure.