Like the previous few days, Richard was again cutting stones for his new owner and master while the same girl as last time was carrying the rocks. The girl looked quite dissatisfied with intense labor; She was prettier than most girls and received occasional softer treatment. This mostly depended on which guard had guard duty in the place since she occasionally offered her body up to some of them. Even though it was forbidden to fuck the goods and property of the master, some guards decided to do just that. They pull out before their orgasm and hope for the best; if the girls don't get pregnant, they'll most likely not get in trouble. Unfortunately, one of the other girls has gotten pregnant over the last few months, which in turn caused a shift in guards, thus making this particular girl have to do the work that everyone else did. This change of labor wasn't appreciated by the girl, who was dissatisfied with the cold treatment she received from Richard. The girl gave a somewhat cute pout before complaining.

" Can't you cut the rocks a little smaller? "

Richard didn't care too much and was quick to give a simple.

"No"

Once again, the girl gave a dissatisfied pout, which made Richard wonder how an enslaved person could have such an attitude. After being ignored for a while, the girl once more spoke up.

"Why don't you help me out? I might make it worth your while."

She gave the cheap and dirty cloth she was wearing a soft pull; It was loose enough to show her cleavage if she did just that. To which Richard scoffed; even if he could perform the task, the fact that the girl wasn't offering but merely mentioned that she " might " reward him disgusted him. He was enslaved but not her slave, so he quickly retorted.

" Do I look like a guard to you? Do you know what my quotas are like? If you think I have any energy left to fuck you after a day of work, you surely overestimate your beauty. You'd have to turn into a fucking succubus for that to happen, and even then, I doubt you'll succe.... "

Richard was interrupted by a sharp pain that tore into his back. A guard had walked up and hit his back with a nasty whip. The guard spoke in a tone that was even colder than his own.

" If you have enough time to talk, you're clearly not working hard enough. You can switch with someone who's pushing the carts; now, go! "

Richard gave another look at the girl who was giving him a hidden grin. She stood opposite to him and saw the guard walking towards them. Rather than providing a warning or something like that, she remained silent, Allowing him to receive the brunt of the whip. She was quick to prostrate afterward, and he heard the guard speaking towards the girl while walking away.

"Layla, was it right? You can't fool around. Get back to work. You haven't been meeting your quota for the last few days.

Richard could hear that the girl got a stern talking to, but it was clear that she was treated favorably. Unlike him, she didn't get hit. As he walked away, she could hear her subtly shifting the blame to him and something about the rocks being purposefully mined bigger because she didn't want to spend the night with him or something like that. Richard had half a mind to turn around and clarify the situation, but that would be equal to admitting that he was eavesdropping, which usually resulted in another beating. He also wasn't sure whether the guard was sleeping with her or taking pity on her, so he left and did as instructed. Thinking it was better to clear the situation at a better opportunity, He could always explain himself if the guard reached out to him.

He reached the area he was instructed to go to and switched off with a familiar face. It was someone whom he had fought alongside just recently. They were mining right now to repair a stronghold that they captured, and slaves such as themselves were frequently used as frontline fodder to increase the survival chances of more expensive and better-trained free men.

The guy expressed his appreciation, then hurried up before someone else stole the offered work. Richard took over his work, which was essentially pushing a heavy cart up. Similarly, other people are pulling it up with a rope. They didn't have any animals for the heavy lifting because they were used upstairs to transport stuff for the soldiers and construction workers.

"WATCH OUT!"

He heard a heavy shout from above, after which the weight of the cart suddenly increased. Not long afterward, he felt himself getting pushed back and dragged under the cart as he got pushed over. As he fell, he saw some guards and slaves similar to him who watched the situation with various expressions. Some were worried, some looked disappointed at the increased workload this caused, while others didn't care. No one jumped in front of the cart to help him push it back or anything of the sort. Just like always, he was all on his own. He didn't know how to feel or whether to laugh or to cry, Everything went rather quickly, and the last thing he did was curse the people that just watched him, Curse his parents that sold him into this life, Cursed the girl that screwed him over just now, His worthless master and the world itself as well as god If such an entity existed.

• Updated 1 February 2024