--Cyline City, Arcadina--

.

9 Days!!

That's how long Connor, James, and their men, were locked up in a rat infested dungeon by Mr. Death.

In here, their royal attires and knightly clothes had been completely stripped off.... and now, they all wore peasant outfits within the cells.

Of course during these days, their breakfast consisted of bread, that had been thrown onto the dirt and soaked in water.... making it mushy and disgusting.

As for their dinner, Mr. Death had been compassionate enough to give them small portions of plain white rice and water.

Of course, they didn't have the luxury of having lunch.

The guards had told them that if they were truly hungry.... then they should bite off the heads of those dungeon rats, and eat away to the hearts content.

.

Having the option of soaked bread for breakfast, dead uncooked rats for lunch.... and a small portion of plain rice for dinner, the men immediately realised that they couldn't be picky with what they had.

Hence they had no choice but the wolf down the soaked bread.... and dead rats.

Even water was scarce, as it was given only during dinner.

Apparently for breakfast, the water was present in the soaked bread... and the rats blood also acted as water during lunch.

As they Looked at their menu options, they couldn't help but miss their homes immensely.

'We want to go back!'

'__'

.

Of course the meals weren't the only things that they had to worry about.

To put it simply, the cells smelled like shit!!.... making it very hard for them to eat happily, or rest properly.

Ever since they stayed here, they had done their business in the buckets within the cells.

And so far, the buckets hadn't been changed or emptied even once.

Im essence.... Each cell had 20 people within it, as well as 10 buckets too.

Hence it was expected that throughout the duration of their stay here, they were meant to use those same buckets until Mr. Death decided to set them free.

So the shit form 9 days ago, was still in the same cell as them..... it was within the buckets.

The guards were sure as hell not going to change them when they got filled... So they had no choice but to control the amount of shit and piss that they realised daily.

They had also been given several strands of rope and leaves, to wipe their butts with when they do their business.

'Squeak! Squeak!"

'zzzzzzzzzz!'

The rats and flies danced around their bodies, as they ate, slept and spent their entire time locked up in the cells.

Ugh!!... the site was utterly disgusting!

Of course for lower level peasants or slaves, such an environment was very common for them.

For sure, if there was an epidemic right now, these people would definitely catch it in a heartbeat.

The living conditions were truly revolting.

.

Sitting in his cell, James felt like he would go crazy any moment from now.

He was a Noble for crying out loud!!... and a royal one at that.

So when had he ever been subjugated to such extreme conditions before?

Scratch that, when had he had to share his shit bucket with lowly knights before?

Throughout his entrapment..... there were several times during his sleep, that he'd accidentally swallow flies while eating or sleeping.

In fact, he was pretty sure that he had seen a fly lay an egg on his soaked bread once.

Everything about his situation made him want to scream out at the top of his lungs.

He felt like if he saw Mr. Death again, he would definitely ring the bastard's neck till he dropped dead.

Right now, he was imagining it like how Hommer Simpson always tries to strangle Bart.

'Just you wait!', he thought.

.

Connor on the other hand was pissed as well..... of course not for the same reasons as James.

What made him mad, was the fact that he had lost a good chunk of his power just like that!

With his forces reduced, how the hell was he supposed to compete with Eli?

Every prince was officially given 10,000 official knights... and throughout the years, he had managed to secretly recruit an additional 2200.

For this mission, he had used all his secret troops... as he didn't want to use the official ones.

But now, everything that he had struggled to attain.... had all been destroyed in just one night.

So how could he not be mad?

A person like Eli, probably had his own secret troops as well... in addition to his official troops.

Hence, if all he had was his official troops, then wouldn't that mean that he was currently weaker than Eli?

He inwardly cursed Death and his damn employer a hundred times over.

As he looked over at James' cell, he couldn't help but want to break the idiots head over and over again.

It was all due to this fool's actions, that he ended up in this mess.

This was just too hateful!

.

On the 10th day of their entrapment..... after eating their usual breakfast, the men were finally let out.

It seemed like it was time for those so called 'games' to begin.

'Jingle! Jingle!'

Several guards quickly came towards the cells, and searched for the keys to the cells unhurriedly.

"While we open these cells, I expect no funny business from you all!

We've got more than 3000 men guarding this 0lace, so dong think you can escape from here anytime soon." The Chief guard warned, as the other guards struggled to open the cells.

The men truly went thinking of running away, as they knew that they couldn't escape as well.

Plus, they really wanted to know who had hired Mr. Death to trick them so much.

Only by following Mr. Death's rules, would all their questions finally be answered.

'Click!'

The cell doors were opened.

.

As they walked out of their cells, several guards who were standing around the cell doors.... quickly kicked, slapped or hit them harshly, as they moved forward.

"Get out, you worthless pieces of trash!"

"Com'on, keep up!"

"Do you think we have all f***king day?

Move it!!"

"__"

Once they had gathered up at a tiny courtyard, more guards came forward.... blindfolded them, and quickly led them to an unknown destination.

The men felt a mild panic attack, that began like a cluster of sparks in their abdomens.

Their breathing immediately became more rapid, as they tried to stop their primal urges to flee.

But of course, some people couldn't handle the pressure of the unknown, and tried to run away.

"No! No!... I don't want to go!

Please, I'll do anything"

"Me too!... please kind sir, please spare me."

"Please! Please! I don't wany to die yet!"

"__"

Some people were pinned down as if they were psychiatric patients, while others were knocked hard in the head..... instantly falling unconscious or dead from the hard hit.

.

As the blindfolded men moved forward... Tension swiftly grew in their faces and limbs, as a thousand possibilities immediately emerged from within their minds.

'What sort of game were they really going to play?'

'Could they really win?'

'And if they did, would that mad man truly let them go?'

The men were truly depressed, as they didn't know what to believe anymore.

Right now, they had no choice but to take the risk.

James trembled in fear, while shaking like a falling leaf in Autumn.

On the other hand, even though Connor was truly scared.... he quickly began counting his steps, as he tried to memorize his way within his shrouded state of darkness.

.

The men walked for quite sometime, before they were finally able to hear several sounds coming from above them.

And for a moment, they were utterly speechless by what they were hearing.

"You pieces of trash deserve to die."

"Boo!!"

"Kill them!"

"Boo!!"

"__"