-A day later-

-At midnight, In the Loop Mines-

I was in a horse-drawn carriage with my hands chained, heading for the mines with the other prisoners. In the carriage were a few prisoners I didn't know, and a few ordinary soldiers of the epic.

The soldiers were taking me to the mines. Just as we planned with the others, everything was going well. All I had to do was open the entrance for them to get in. I sat quietly until I reached the mines.

After an hour's drive, the carriage arrived at the mines. I moved a little and looked up. But I was surprised when I looked up. The mine was covered with big nets so no one could escape from here.

When the carriage stopped, the soldiers pushed us out of the car. When we got out of the carriage, they told us to move to the entrance to the mine, putting us in one line.

I looked around and saw if there was any entrance, but everything seemed to be intact.

That meant our only way out was the entrance door in front of me.

When I entered, I saw that the number of soldiers was incredibly large, there were dozens of soldiers everywhere at the entrance to the mines. At any sudden move, twenty guns, maybe more, could have shot me in seconds.

I continued to move forward, as the soldiers said, calmly, without any problems. When I entered the mine, I suddenly remembered the days when I was imprisoned in the mine, and I was nervous and uncomfortable, whether I wanted to or not.

But I had to focus on my goal, and if I can do what Ryuu and the others said, I could get out of here before morning.

A soldier suddenly gave a pickaxe to my hand,

"Start digging, we'll let you go to bed when the digging time is over, Panda."

I started digging with the other prisoners. There were a lot of prisoners working here. There were more people than the King said. With the people here and with us, we could really have hope in war.

I looked around to find the entrance to the pipes, but they weren't where I was. A bearded, middle-aged prisoner next to me started to talk without looking at me,

"Did you lose something?"

"No, I'm just looking at where the pipes are."

"The pipes? Why would want to know that?"

I looked around if there were soldiers, and then I approached the prisoner, I said quietly,

"I need to use the pipes to let my friends outside in."

"Strange, usually everyone wants to get out of here."

"Actually, to be honest, you people are the reason why we're here."

"Why would you do a thing like that?"

"The leader asked us to do this. Also, we can't leave innocent people like this."

"Help? The King has left us in this hole. And now, years later, he wants us out of here just because he needs us?"

"He only thinks of for himself- "

"Even if this is the case, your king is someone who will give his life without even thinking about it. He said many times that he tried, but he failed. He even asked us for help. As much as he can't help you, he's not going to give up on you either."

He slowly stood up and sighed, "After all these years here, How can I believe you? How can I believe the King? Can you give me the answer to all of this?"

"You may want not to believe in the King. It's up to you, but at least you can believe the people around you. We'll help you, and then you'll have a chance to escape. But for that, you have to trust us."

He looked around a little, and said,

"It's impossible to escape from here, but I'd rather die trying than die here."

It made me happy to hear that,

"And remember, I'm not doing it for you, nor for the King, I'm only doing it for my family and comrades. That's all."

"I see. But you will have to help me find the pipes."

"Don't worry, I have a plan in mind. See the two soldiers holding the entrance in front of us?"

"Yes, I can see them."

"I'll distract them and give you a signal when the soldiers leave. You'll enter there with my mark."

"What do I have to do after the entrance?"

"I'll catch you don't worry. We'll go to the pipes faster together."

"Alright, thank you for understanding our situation."

"Don't thank me just yet."

He looked around again and started moving towards the prisoner in front of us. I was waiting for the sign to come in my place. The man winked at the prisoner in front of him and suddenly threw a shoulder. For a little while, I didn't know what it was, but then I realized it was all planned. He knew he was going to get hit and he let him do that. Then they started a fake and noisy fight between them.

The prisoners were screaming. The soldiers went to them to separate them so that there would be no problems. Several soldiers, including soldiers in front of the entrance, gathered around the prisoners. He gave me a signal to go to the entrance with his head. I quickly managed to enter the entrance without being seen by anyone.

After I passed, he made a small move with the prisoner who had created the fake incident and scattered the dust around.

The dust made me invisible to the guardians for a short time. The soldiers couldn't see around them. He approached me, turning this chaos and dust to his advantage.

He said while gasping for air,

"Let's find your friends."