Rise of The Holy-Realm Rebel

The ear-grating sound of metal clashing against metal was the medium they had adopted in bringing our minds back to the realm of the living. An effective method, but an infuriating one nonetheless.

Armed men trooped into the hall, swords drawn and all in defensive stances.

As slaves, we had been relieved of our binds, allowing us a measure of our ability to fight back—something no one wanted to see.

"On a single file!" One man commanded, hands behind his back and a hardened expression on his features. He looked fierce, and his tone spoke of that truth.

I took a moment to inspect his features when my eyes cleared of sleep, and from what I saw he looked to be in his mid-forties. Although trimmed short, he sported a head full of brown hair, enough not to hinder his sight. A defined jawline increased the aura of masculinity he carried, and the scar stretching from the left side of his forehead to his right jaw caught most of our attention.

We wondered how he had not gone blind seeing as the scar traveled right across his left eye. However, upon closer inspection, we realized he indeed had been blinded in his left eye.

The world was still rather dark, but the slight orange tinge far to the east spoke of the rising sun. It wouldn't take time before the day broke. The atmosphere was cool and the ground wet, forcing me to wish I had something to protect my feet.

Going into the underground tunnel, I had never expected to awaken powerless. Plus, wearing shoes when I knew I would be down there for entire centuries would have been pointless.

Besides, my body had been virtually impervious—With only monstrous attacks in the peak of the Sky-realm being capable of harming me. Then, footwear had only been out of habit.

We encountered the others from the other hall. Our lines merged, and we were led towards the gate together.

My heart leaped for joy at that sight, even if that feeling quickly vanished.

'Why are we going outside?' I wondered inwardly, several possibilities crossing my mind… most being dark ones. Only then did I realize I had never thought of what we'd do when we got here.

Slaves were employed to carry out tasks. Which tasks would we be carrying out?

Still, on a single file, we were escorted outside of the camp's insides with no less than 15 armed men divided between both sides.

I felt hungry but refreshed—most of us did. So we could follow without many issues.

Outside of the camp, we were counted and then ordered to return to a single-file formation; before being led into the forest surrounding the camp.

The cleared field between the camp's walls and the forest was about 30m in diameter. A wide enough space to easily see what was up ahead.

Our direction was east of the camps position and in no time we were within the forest. At this point, the sun had started to rise, allowing for visibility, but a dark mood hung above us nonetheless.

The whole thing felt unsettling and paranoid thoughts crossed my mind. It wasn't far-fetched that they wanted to dispose of us right after we got there.

'But why go through all that trouble?' I thought, my question being a suitable answer to dismiss that possibility.

'Maybe for sports?' Another consideration that more or less backed up the last sprung up.

Then again, it was too early for such things. Besides it was war. They could not be having such fun, except they were certain about winning. Still, it was too early for sports. The war hadn't been running for up to two months, after all.

The breaking point that'd allow us to feel relief had not arrived yet. My mind raced.

According to the info I had gained, there remained several large settlements that had not been conquered by the Empire yet. As it had moved out to take out the weaker ones within Yukov. This was the reason for the low presence of 'Rebels' amongst us slaves.

I calmed my mind and limited myself to watching, albeit difficult, since paranoia was in the air, but I managed to pull through.

Our journey through the forest had not been straight, revealing that there was indeed a specific destination. The collective sound of our marching further increased the tension, as even our captors limited themselves to silence.

It took over thirty minutes of walking before something different from the tall trees around us, unfolded in our gazes.

It was a large field cleared of all forms of plant life. At the edge of its four corners stood stone pillars, acting as markers of sorts. At least upon first inspection that was the case.

The field was large enough to contain all of us including the guards and about triple our numbers if we lined up side by side.

How they had cleared that area felt too artificial too. I confirmed it to be the work of Earth-Craft.

Upon getting to the field we were allowed to huddle up together since we'd be addressed.

"This is where you'll serve the empire for the next few months or more. Your goal is simple. Dig until you find something strange. Alert the guards the moment you do," the man declared pausing.

"The first to find something will be rewarded." He added, and eyebrows rose on the faces of many, our task was much too vague. But no one summoned the courage to ask.

Towards the right side of the field was a small wooden building. Another armed individual stood in front of it. And we were directed toward him to receive our digging tools.

Apparently, in two hours, we'd be given something to eat.

"So far they don't seem too harsh on us," my sleeping partner, who was also my pair on the field, commented and I could only nod in agreement. That level of thoughtfulness was least expected especially since we were war slaves.

I would have attached this hospitality to the fact that time had passed since I last walked the earth. Maybe things were done differently now? But my partner's surprise disproved that. The Empire knew what it was doing. And treating us well would end up favoring it in the long run.

Having each received a pickaxe and a hoe; that give or take weighed more than my body could handle, we walked towards a random spot on the large field and began.

At this point, the sun had risen properly and we could very well see what we were doing.

I raised my axe and struck the hard ground with it. The struck portion of the soil came loose at the power of my tool, marking the beginning of an arduous work session.

Even after two hours of nigh-consistent digging, no one found anything.

We were given rations at a few hours past noon and when sun-down reached we were ushered back to the camp. An unsuccessful day. And honestly, it was only the first among many.