Snowfield Operation

I followed Tam through a corridor and out of the arena. It was my first time leaving the arena gates since becoming Zhao Xin, and my first time seeing a Noxian town.

The place was bustling with markets, and the streets were packed with people. As we walked, I listened to Tam explain:

Doco was the largest town in northeastern Noxus. Its security checks were very strict, but many Freljordians still managed to sneak in to trade furs. Quite a few Ionian people had also crossed the sea to come here. Along with the locals and the slaves brought in from elsewhere, the population was a real mix.

Yet everyone was used to living alongside one another. That was typical of most Noxian towns: cultural tolerance.

Private brawling was illegal in Noxus, so when people had a dispute, they generally settled it publicly in the arena. Noxians were naturally combative, and a town like Doco, with its complicated mix of people, was especially prone to conflict. As a result, the arena was extremely popular.

Tam had opened his arena here because he'd seen the opportunity, and he'd made a lot of money. But he never said a word about his own past.

We headed north and left Doco behind, braving the bitter northern wind until we reached our destination.

Tam pointed ahead. I saw a group of people in the distance, around thirty by my rough count.

What surprised me most was the huge carriage in front of them. More than a dozen horses were harnessed to its massive frame, and several iron chains as thick as a forearm lay on its bed. It looked like a land-going warship.

"Boss." The group greeted Tam in unison.

"Hant, this is Zhao Xin. Take him along with you."

Tam left me with the man named Hant and headed back. On the way, I learned that the group was going on a hunt. Their prey was somewhere in the northern snowfields.

Hant was a seasoned hunter and the leader of the expedition. From what he told me, we were hunting a Man-eating Bear.

One hunter, ten fully armed guards, and twenty gladiators. With a force this large, it was clear the beast was no harmless creature.

Man-eating Bears usually lived only in the frigid far north. For some reason, this one had wandered into the snowfields not far from Doco, and it was injured. But it wouldn't be easy to subdue, which was why Tam had sent so many people.

We walked for a whole day before reaching our destination. Night had fallen, so we pitched tents beside the carriage and prepared to set out the next day.

Doco was a full day's journey away. If we chose to run, its guards wouldn't be able to catch us.

The thought took root in my mind and wouldn't go away. I figured a lot of people were thinking the same thing, because as we sat around the fire, everyone kept glancing at one another.

There were only ten guards here. Even with the hunter Hant, that made eleven. Even unarmed, twenty brave gladiators could easily take them down.

I longed to return to Demacia. I longed to see Fiora. The only thing holding me back was that Tam had treated me reasonably well. He might have had his own reasons for doing so, but slipping away without a word still didn't sit right with me.

In the end, I put my doubts aside. If the others chose to rebel, I'd escape with them. In this icy wilderness, it was better to have others around to look out for me.

Just then, someone stepped forward. He was strong and broad-shouldered, with a deep voice that made him seem dependable. He shouted:

"Brothers, we don't know whether we'll live or die on this hunt. We shouldn't go on. No one's watching us here, and no one's threatening us. Warriors who yearn for freedom, come break out of this cage with me!"

His few impassioned words stirred everyone. Their eyes lit up. I thought that if he gave the word, they'd all follow him into battle.

The commotion naturally drew the guards' attention. They surrounded us, though ten men surrounding twenty looked a little ridiculous.

Hant stepped forward. "You don't know what the reward for this hunt is, do you? If we capture the beast, everyone gets ten gold coins. And now I'm making you another promise: anyone who stays put and doesn't join the rebellion will get ten more. That's enough to buy your freedom. But if you insist on this foolishness, then prepare to die!"

Twenty gold coins were enough to buy your freedom? No wonder Tam gave me such a good life but never any gold. So that was the reason. But how could that compare to winning freedom outright? I couldn't help worrying about Hant's intelligence.

Yet what happened next proved me wrong. When the guards came over, everyone stood perfectly still except the ringleader, who fought to the death. The others didn't even lift their heads.

I'd been about to stand up, but when I saw how the others reacted, I sat back down. I watched helplessly as the man who'd taken the lead shouted curses and was killed by the guards, his blood staining the snow.

I didn't know whether everyone else had also been "about to stand up," but not a single person acted. I'd underestimated the allure of twenty gold coins.

It seemed that even someone with the makings of a leader and the right opportunity wasn't guaranteed to succeed. He also needed people willing to follow him.

After the man who'd started the rebellion was killed, the gladiators grew unnaturally quiet. No one said a word.

Some had been tempted by the gold, while others had never wanted to rebel in the first place. Perhaps they had only themselves to blame for their lack of freedom.

At daybreak, we picked up the Man-eating Bear's trail and soon found it. No wonder they'd prepared such a huge carriage. The beast stood four or five meters tall, like a small hill in the open snowfield!

Hant handed out weapons—wooden clubs—and told us not to kill the beast. We had to capture it alive. That was Tam's order.

Though injured, the Man-eating Bear was still ferocious. Nineteen men with wooden clubs against a Man-eating Bear more than four meters tall—I could only describe it as a bloodbath.

The clubs barely fazed it, but if one of the gladiators so much as got struck by the beast, he was injured at once. The worst ones spat blood and collapsed. The Man-eating Bear was clearly much better suited to the snowy terrain, too.

The guards hadn't come to help us at all. Their only job was to keep an eye on us. Now they watched from a distance, and some even laughed. Hant had spent the journey teaching us how to handle all kinds of emergencies, but now he stood off to the side and watched the show.

We struck the Man-eating Bear's head and legs again and again, wearing it down while driving it into a frenzy. One by one, people fell, until only four of us remained. Only then did we manage to knock it down. It panted hot breaths as Hant led the guards over to chain it up.

"You did well. When we get back, everyone will receive twenty gold coins. I keep my promises." Hant wore a smile. He didn't seem to regret the people who'd died at all.

I had no idea how the survivors felt. If they'd known how things would turn out, would they have chosen to rebel the night before?

When we returned to town, Tam greeted us with a smile. He even came over to touch the Man-eating Bear, now bound tight. On the way back to the arena, he asked me:

"Why didn't you take the chance to escape? I really didn't expect you to come back. These people couldn't have stopped you."

"You've shown me kindness. How could I leave without a good reason?"

"That's one reason. The other is that you were afraid you wouldn't survive alone in that endless snowfield, right? You don't need to worry. Ask Hant what I told him."

Hant smiled faintly. "The boss said that if you wanted to leave, I shouldn't stop you. He even told me to escort you out of the snowfield. But you never asked for anything like that."

I didn't know what to say. It was as if everything had been part of Tam's plan. Was he playing me?

He'd helped me grow stronger and didn't seem to care at all whether I left. I'd wondered about his motives more than once, but I'd never been able to figure them out.

"Boss, I heard that twenty gold coins are enough to buy back your freedom. Is that true?"

"What, you want to leave now? I gave you the chance and you didn't take it, and now you come asking to buy your freedom. But don't worry. In a few days, I'll give you another task. If you complete it, you'll be free—or at least, I won't keep you here anymore."

I had no idea what he was up to. Was it like in the stories?

Give me hope first, then destroy it?