Chapter 50: Trial VI

The purple light gradually spread across the rear wagon.

At first, nothing seemed to happen.

Then, a faint clicking sound came from beneath its wooden floor.

Click! Click! Click!

Liam raised an eyebrow.

’What’s that?’

A moment later, the wagon began shaking.

The wooden panels on both sides suddenly shifted, revealing several hidden mechanisms. The outer wooden structure slowly separated, and the entire wagon seemed to unfold.

The knights and merchants nearby stared in disbelief.

"What is happening?!"

"That wagon...!"

Before anyone could react, the outer panels fell apart, revealing a large metal cage hidden inside.

It was an enclosed prison compartment, reinforced with thick iron bars and covered by the wagon’s ordinary wooden structure.

Several people were locked inside.

Their hands and feet were bound with chains, and their clothes were dirty and torn. Some looked exhausted, while others appeared to have suffered injuries.

The moment the prison was exposed, the battlefield fell silent for a brief moment.

"What...?"

The middle-aged knight stared at the wagon in disbelief.

His expression quickly changed as he looked toward the Guard Captain.

"Captain! What is this?!"

The Guard Captain, who was still fighting the heavily armored man, glanced toward the rear of the caravan.

His face immediately turned ugly.

The armored man noticed his reaction and burst into laughter.

"HAHAHAHA! So you finally understand!"

He swung his battle-axe, forcing the Guard Captain to retreat before continuing.

"Did you really think you could take another route to the Execution Grounds under the cover of a merchant caravan?"

The Guard Captain’s expression became even worse.

"Shut your mouth!"

He immediately charged forward, attempting to silence the man.

However, the armored man easily blocked his attack.

"What’s wrong? Did I expose something you wanted to keep hidden?"

He grinned beneath his helmet.

"How amusing. You people went through so much trouble to disguise this prisoner shipment, yet you didn’t even realize that we had already discovered your little secret."

Liam watched the exchange quietly.

’Prisoners?’

His gaze shifted toward the exposed cage.

So that was what the caravan had been transporting.

The merchant group was merely a cover for a prisoner shipment.

No wonder the attackers had been so interested in the wagons.

They hadn’t come here simply to rob the merchants or eliminate the escort team. Their actual objective was the prisoners.

’And the original caravan disappeared because of this?’

Liam considered the possibility.

If the attackers had successfully eliminated the escort team and taken the prisoners, they could have made the entire incident look like a robbery or a monster attack.

There would have been no surviving witnesses to reveal the truth.

’Interesting.’

Meanwhile, the middle-aged knight had finally understood the situation.

He looked toward the prisoners with an expression of disbelief.

"Captain... You told us this was an ordinary merchant escort!"

The Guard Captain didn’t answer.

Instead, he continued exchanging blows with the armored man.

His silence was enough to make the middle-aged knight’s expression turn pale.

"Was the entire escort team kept in the dark?"

The armored man laughed again.

"Of course! Did you think they would willingly participate if they knew what they were protecting?"

He glanced toward the surrounding knights.

"Most of these fools probably believed they were escorting ordinary merchants and their goods. What a convenient arrangement!"

The Guard Captain’s face twisted with anger.

"Enough!"

He released another surge of mana and attacked with all his strength.

However, the armored man simply raised his battle-axe.

BOOM!

The two weapons collided, and the Guard Captain was pushed backward once again.

Liam watched the exchange with growing interest.

’So the Guard Captain was involved in this.’

That explained his strange behavior earlier.

His delayed appearance, his careless attitude, and the way he had allowed the battle to develop without immediately protecting the wagons...

Perhaps he hadn’t been planning to protect the caravan at all.

He had been protecting the secret of its cargo.

Liam glanced toward the exposed prisoners.

There were quite a few of them, and judging by their condition, they had been transported for some time.

’An execution shipment disguised as a merchant caravan. That’s certainly more interesting than a simple robbery.’

Beside him, Miriel had also stopped fighting.

She stared at the prisoners, then looked toward the Guard Captain.

"Wait... Does that mean he was transporting prisoners without telling the other knights?"

"Looks that way," Liam replied.

"But why would they hide something like this?"

Liam shrugged.

"That’s what we’re about to find out."

He looked toward the armored man, who was still laughing as he pressed the Guard Captain backward.

The situation had become considerably more interesting.

And Liam had a feeling that the prisoners inside that wagon were far more important than the attackers had initially let on.

"Captain, what exactly is going on here?!"

The middle-aged knight finally lost his patience.

He had been following the Guard Captain’s orders throughout the journey, believing they were escorting an ordinary merchant caravan. Yet, the wagon had just revealed an entire group of prisoners.

The Guard Captain ignored his question.

Instead, he glanced toward the exposed cage and shouted, "Don’t just stand there! Protect the prisoners!"

His sudden command only made the middle-aged knight more confused.

"Protect them? But Captain, why are these people being transported in a merchant wagon? And why weren’t we informed?"

"That’s an order!"

The Guard Captain’s voice was filled with irritation.

However, before the middle-aged knight could respond, the armored man burst into laughter.

"HAHAHAHA! Look at that! Even your own subordinates don’t know what they’re involved in!"

He raised his battle-axe and pointed it toward the Guard Captain.

"Tell them! Why don’t you tell them where those prisoners are being taken?"

The Guard Captain’s expression darkened.

"Don’t listen to him! He’s trying to confuse you!"

"Confuse them? What a joke!"

The armored man shook his head.

"These prisoners are criminals sentenced to death. They’re being transported to the Execution Grounds under a royal order. However, rather than using the official route, your captain decided to disguise the entire shipment as a merchant caravan."

He paused before continuing.

"Of course, there’s a reason for that. Transporting so many prisoners openly would attract unwanted attention. So they chose a quieter route and hired a merchant group to serve as cover."

The surrounding knights exchanged uncertain glances.

Some looked toward the Guard Captain, while others stared at the prisoners.

"Is that true, Captain?"

"Are we really transporting condemned prisoners?"

The Guard Captain gritted his teeth.

"Silence! I don’t have time to explain everything right now. Just follow my orders!"

His response only increased their doubts.

Liam observed the situation with interest.

’So the prisoners were sentenced to death and were being transported to the Execution Grounds.’

That explained the hidden compartment.

However, something still didn’t add up.

If this was an official prisoner shipment, why had the Guard Captain gone to such lengths to conceal it from his own escort team?

And why had the attackers specifically targeted this caravan?

Liam looked toward the prisoners again.

Most of them appeared to be ordinary people. A few were clearly wounded, while others wore expressions of fear and exhaustion.

But one prisoner caught his attention.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t looking at the knights or the attackers.

He was looking directly at Liam.

Their eyes met for a brief moment.

The prisoner immediately lowered his head.

Liam narrowed his eyes.

’Oh?’

Before he could examine the man further, the armored leader spoke again.

"Enough talking. We’ve already wasted too much time."

He tightened his grip on his battle-axe.

"Men! Secure the prisoners! Kill anyone who tries to stop you!"

"YES!"

Several masked attackers immediately broke away from the battle and rushed toward the exposed wagon.

The middle-aged knight finally made his decision.

"Knights! Protect the prisoners!"

He raised his sword and charged toward the approaching attackers.

Even though he still didn’t understand the entire situation, he couldn’t simply stand by while armed men attacked a group of helpless prisoners.

The remaining knights followed his lead.

The battlefield immediately became chaotic again.

Meanwhile, the Guard Captain took advantage of the distraction and attempted to retreat toward the wagon.

However, the armored man wasn’t going to let him go so easily.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

He swung his battle-axe horizontally.

The Guard Captain barely managed to block the attack, but the tremendous force sent him sliding across the ground.

"Your opponent is me!"

The armored man laughed.

"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you die before your precious prisoners are taken away!"

The Guard Captain’s face turned pale.

Liam watched the exchange before glancing at Miriel.

"Well, what do you think?"

Miriel looked confused.

"About what?"

"Who do you think is telling the truth?"

She hesitated.

"The Guard Captain said the other man was trying to confuse us, but he hasn’t denied anything directly."

"Good observation."

Liam smiled slightly.

"However, there’s no reason to trust either of them yet."

Miriel nodded.

She then looked toward the prisoners.

"But if they’re really going to execute these people, shouldn’t we help them?"

"Why?"

"Because they’re being transported to their deaths!"

Liam gave her a strange look.

"And how do you know they’re innocent?"

Miriel opened her mouth but couldn’t immediately answer.

Liam continued.

"We don’t know what crimes they’ve committed, whether their sentences were justified, or why these people are so important that someone would organize an entire ambush to rescue them."

He looked toward the armored leader.

"Until we understand what’s happening, there’s no reason to take sides."

Miriel frowned slightly but didn’t argue.

Liam then glanced toward the exposed wagon once more.

’Still, that prisoner...’

His eyes briefly returned to the man who had looked at him earlier.

There was something unusual about him.

Liam couldn’t quite identify what it was, but he had a feeling that this particular prisoner might be the reason behind the entire operation.

’Let’s see what happens next.’