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After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World-Chapter 1328: A Mysterious Prisoner
He took the keys tied in the guards' belts and hoped he wouldn't have trouble entering later on.
In order to save time, he used a weaker version of the [Wind's Touch] to determine which cells held people. Anyway, since these were all cells and just one floor, he didn't need to use as much energy as before.
From there, he found out which cells had life in them, and for now there seemed to be an 80% occupancy rate, with most of the cells actually occupied with half-dead people.
He encountered some unconscious guards along the way and he got rid of them, too, hoping to reduce the trouble when they woke up.
He went through a few cells to see that he didn't know any of them. Their conditions were horrible, as if there was no part of their body that had not been damaged. The more he saw, the more unsettled he was.
He went through all of the few 'live' prisoners, and none of them were Chris.
His heart clenched and he headed to another cell—seemingly the final one—and his shoulders slumped at what was inside.
"Not Chris…" he mumbled, disappointed to see it was not who he was looking for, his mind rushing to figure out what to do next.
Where was he, then? Was there another basement?
Is he alright!? How is he now?
"Hey…" the person in the cell called, pulling Eagle back to the present.
It was only now that Eagle gave him a second look. In retrospect, the fact that he was wide awake despite Eagle's Sleeping Bomb also indicated he was quite a bit stronger than level 30.
It was an unfamiliar man with tanned hair, brilliant red hair, and sharp grey eyes. He was huge, too, and Eagle noticed how there were some patterns tattooed on his body.
His physique was definitely human, but his form reminded him of the half-orcs' with how muscular he was.
This must be why he was covered in chains while his hands were tied at his back.
Anyway, despite being covered in blood and grime, he had a pretty strong presence.
Compared to the others, he was also in much better shape. He was just bloody, but at least his body didn't look shriveled or all messed up.
However, Eagle had no time for him. This was until the man spoke again.
"There are other cells," he said, voice raspy, and it was obvious the man hadn't had water in a while.
Eagle raised his head with renewed hope. "Where?"
The man didn't speak and Eagle immediately took a bottle of water and got him to drink it. The guy was extremely parched and he consumed all that water within a few gulps.
"That new guy, Fargo—i think that was his name—dragged someone else there. He's a wind elementalist, you see, and the lord didn't have enough tools except to get him in a place where there was practically no air.
"That's him!" Eagle exclaimed. "Where is it?"
"He had been here for a few hours, probably bleeding. Not sure if he's still alive."
"Where is he?" Eagle asked again. "Do you know how to get to him or not?"
"I do," he said. "But first… can you take this necklace away?"
"Necklace?"
Eagle's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the necklace. The man was half-naked so the so-called necklace was indeed quite visible. It seemed to be made of an unknown metal with small flattened pearls embedded on it.
Eagle didn't know what the necklace was for, but anyone with some sensitivity would know it was definitely a magic tool. What if he got stabbed in the back?
"What is it for?"
The man smiled. If girls were here, many of them would feel weak in the knees. "It's an anti-aether necklace," he told him. "It weakens me."
Eagle blinked. He hadn't heard of such a tool before. Of course, the aborigines couldn't have said everything until something specifically reminded them of it.
Still, there were many things that did not make sense. "You're strong, way past level 30. A tool that can weaken you is not inferior. Bentro has such a good tool?"
"It was mine, ironically," he said, looking away, definitely embarrassed. "How could a small town have it?"
Eagle narrowed his eyes. "I'll let you go as soon as I get to him."
"He might not last that long. Those guards are stronger than you think," he said. "They should be waking up soon…" he said with a sneer and Eagle knew he had some hostility in him against the guards.
"What makes you think I can untie you?"
"I heard it," he said. "You got all the keys."
Eagle seriously considered it. To be fair, his instincts weren't flaring now, but it could also be that his worry for Chris was clouding his decision. They could not make oaths now, and he was really pressed for time.
"He's probably bleeding to death while you're hesitating."
Eagle gritted his teeth and grabbed the man's necklace. His eyes widened when he felt it sucking energy out of him and he immediately let go.
"This—"
"I should've warned you I guess," the other man said, appearing nonchalant. Eagle wanted to smack him, but he decided against it.
He went behind the man and found the clasp and carefully began to untie it. It wasn't a straightforward clasp and felt a bit more like a puzzle. It was probably on purpose, to make it more difficult for the 'prisoners' to escape.
To avoid being affected, Eagle used thick gloves and a lot of dexterity, though the gloves made it a bit more difficult to control his fingers.
While Eagle handled the necklace, the man turned back a bit. "Don't you have healing potions?" He asked, and his time Eagle glared at him, sword swiping his neck. "The last ones are reserved for Chris."
The man smiled and shook his head. "You could've just said No."
Eagle seriously wanted to slap the back of his head. "By the way, don't go hurting innocents when you're out," he told him. He was large and had a good level. Who knew if he'd go berserk? "The Lord is dead and so are most of the evil men."
"What?"
"They're losing a war," he said and the man looked away, interest in his eyes.
When the necklace finally parted from the big man's tanned skin, sudden energy came out of him. He was definitely past level 30 and a strongman. Even the dense metallic chains that held on to him appeared to crack a bit just by him flexing his muscles.
However, it'd still take some energy—something the man clearly lacked due to the necklace—to completely escape so Eagle still used the key to conventionally remove the chains.
"Finally free!" He yelled, standing up. Eagle blinked when he realized the man was more than a head taller than he was. For a Terran, Eagle was quite tall already.
Anyway, the redhead's lackadaisical expression remained while he took an extra shirt made of silk from his space and wore it over his head. He also had a water container in his space, though it seemed like it was alcohol rather than water.
After taking a few gulps, he seemed to have regained new energy.
His eyes were sharp, cracking his knuckles. "Time to make those damned guards suffer."