With a great effort, I pressed both hands against the ground.
Slowly, I managed to sit up, using the tree behind me for support.
I was gasping for air.
My entire body was still trembling.
I looked at Black Snake, waiting for his answer.
He was sitting a short distance away, staring at the ground while playing with his fingers.
"Kid," he finally said. "I told you I would tell you my name."
He paused.
"But honestly, I thought you would die."
I coughed.
The movement sent another sharp pain through my ribs.
"No offense," he continued, "but after seeing the condition of your body, I thought you wouldn't survive."
I coughed again.
"You told me you'd tell me your name."
I stared at him.
"So tell me."
He sighed.
"Okay."
He looked at me.
"My name is Seban."
He paused for a moment.
"I am the seventh scout of House Branadle. Black Snake is the name I use during missions."
I nodded slightly.
Even speaking was difficult.
"I have a few questions."
"Can you answer them?"
Seban gave a small smile.
"Kid, we have nothing but time. Ask."
I took a slow breath.
"First…"
I looked at him.
"Why didn't any of the lizardmen follow us or attack us while we were running?"
"Second…"
I glanced around.
"Where are we?"
"And third…"
I looked toward the sky.
"When are the Northern Knights coming?"
As I finished asking my questions, Seban stood up.
He stretched his body, slowly working out the stiffness in his muscles.
Then he looked at me.
"Kid, our goal was to cause chaos in the center of the lizardman army."
"You think they wouldn't be shocked after the explosion and after we suddenly rushed through their formation?"
He shook his head.
"Some lizardmen did follow us."
"But what do you think the other scouts were doing?"
I remained silent.
"They weren't sitting around watching us."
"They were waiting."
Seban pointed toward the forest behind us.
"Every lizardman that followed us into the forest was taken care of by the other scouts."
"That is why we stopped here."
He pointed at the ground.
"This is the first checkpoint."
"The scouts prepared several places like this throughout the forest."
"If the lizardmen follow us, they think they're chasing us."
"But in reality…"
He smiled.
"They are walking straight into another trap."
I looked toward the dark forest.
"So the scouts are still hunting them?"
"Exactly."
Seban nodded.
"We prepared several temporary resting points deep inside the swamp forest."
"This is only the first one."
I was silent for a moment.
Then I remembered the Northern Knights.
"What about the Knights?"
Seban's expression became serious.
"The last report I received said they had reached the nest."
"They were discussing their next move with Commander Azpen."
I nodded.
Then another question came to mind.
I looked at Seban.
"Why are you so strong?"
Seban looked at me.
"What?"
"The way you move."
I tried to remember everything I had seen.
"Your movement…"
"Your weapon usage…"
"You seem to know exactly where to move and when to attack."
I paused to catch my breath.
"How did you become that strong?"
Seban stared at me for several seconds.
Then he gave a bitter smile.
"Kid…"
He shook his head.
"Do you think I wanted this?"
I didn't answer.
Seban looked toward the distant trees.
"I was on the road one day."
"I was just a normal boy, making small pockets of money here and there."
"Then I was kidnapped."
"I was dragged into a cave…"
His voice became quieter.
"There were hundreds of children there."
"Children around my age."
"We were whipped."
"We were force-fed potions."
"We were forced to train."
"We weren't allowed to sleep properly."
"We were even forced to fight each other."
He clenched his fist.
"Children died."
"Only twenty of us were left."
I stared at him.
"We were eventually sold to noble houses as slaves."
"They called it an auction."
"I still don't know why they chose me."
He looked at his hands.
"But somehow, I became a scout."
His voice was calm.
Almost too calm.
He looked back at me.
"You asked why I became strong."
He smiled bitterly.
"I didn't become strong because I wanted to."
"I became strong because I didn't have a choice."
I coughed again and placed my hand against my stomach.
"Can you escape?"
Seban gave a short laugh.
"Do you think the nobles are idiots?"
"They know exactly how to keep us under control."
He paused.
"During training, they force-feed us special poisons."
"Not enough to kill us immediately."
"The purpose is to make our bodies resistant to poison."
"But it doesn't give us complete poison immunity."
I stared at him.
Seban continued.
"We still need to take a special medicine called Antode."
"Every ten days."
"If we don't take it in time, the poison inside our bodies becomes active again."
His expression hardened.
"And we die."
I swallowed.
"So even if you become resistant to poison, you still need Antode to survive?"
"Exactly."
Seban nodded.
"That's how they keep us under control."
"I tried to escape several times."
"Every time, I searched for a pharmacy or somewhere that might have Antode."
He gave a bitter smile.
"But I never found one."
"Without Antode, escaping is meaningless."
"I would only be running away to die."
I looked at him silently.
"So you've tried escaping many times?"
"Yes."
He looked away.
"Kid, I've tried everything."
"But I still have ten years left on my contract."
I frowned.
"Ten years?"
"Yes."
"I've already been doing this for three years."
"Three years?"
"I'm still only in my third year."
His expression hardened.
"I've tried to escape many times."
"But what can I do?"
"If they give me poison and tell me to die…"
He looked down at his hands.
"I have no choice but to obey."
His voice became quieter.
"That is my fate."
I stared at him.
"Then…"
I hesitated.
"You want to know how I became strong?"
Seban looked at me.
"I became strong because I was trained in hell."
The words came out of him like arrows released from a bow.
There was no pride in his voice.
Only pain.
And fear.
"Kid…"
He looked directly at me.
"Don't feel sorry for me."
"This is my life."
"I'll survive my ten-year contract."
"And when it's over…"
He paused.
"I'll escape."
Seban looked at me again.
"You still have your own power."
"You still have your own choices."
"Don't throw them away."
He turned toward the forest.
"For now, rest."
"Your body is barely holding together."
"We'll regroup with the other scouts tomorrow."
"Then we'll decide our next move."
Seban walked back toward the tree.
I slowly lowered myself against the trunk.
My body still hurt.
But his words remained inside my head.
Trained in hell.
Maybe that was the difference between us.
I had trained because I wanted to become stronger.
Seban had trained because he wanted to survive.