PAMPERED BY MY THREE BROTHERS: THE RETURN OF THE NEGLECTED HEIRESS-Chapter 1806: Struggle in the Shadow

"Are those kids?!"

Slater’s eyes dilated, catching sight of some women, but mostly children, inside. It seemed all of them were sedated, as they were sleeping in various positions. A few were awake, but they just stared up at him, their dark eye bags and barely evident life a stark contrast.

Slater instinctively moved the lantern for a better look, but just as he did, a small hand suddenly grabbed him. With her tiny arm, she was able to reach out.

"Please, no more." Suddenly, a gaunt face pressed against the metal bars. "My little sister can’t breathe anymore—please, get us out of here!"

Slater’s eyes widened, staring at the child’s gaunt face, one eye badly bruised.

"Hey!" one of the guards yelled, marching forward. "This kid really—"

As the guard moved closer, the little girl kept muttering to Slater, not letting him go. Before Slater could say anything, a baton struck the child’s arm.

"Ah!" Her yelp faded as the baton also hit the metal bar, producing a sharp metallic noise. She quickly drew her hand inside, holding her arm, her eyes fixed on the man who had struck her.

The man hissed once more, clicking his tongue irritably. However, he didn’t bother with her anymore as he faced Slater.

"You—aren’t you listening?!" he raised his voice, annoyed. "I told you to keep your distance!"

Slater gulped, his eyes discreetly falling to the little girl.

"I’m sorry," he said, though his words felt more for her than for the man. At the same time, he faced the guard. "I was just checking, making sure—orders."

"Tch." The man scowled. "You done? If so, then leave."

Slater darted his gaze at the two men, then nodded. With that, the man stepped aside and gestured for him to walk away first. He glanced at the cells over his shoulder before he started marching out.

But just as Slater reached the second guard who was standing beside him, he paused.

"What are you doing?" asked the first guard. "Keep walking."

"Right," Slater breathed out, slowly turning around to face them. "I forgot to tell you..."

The rest of his words died in his throat as he studied the two men. After a deep breath, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes appeared on his face.

"...I have something else to do."

The second those words rolled out of his tongue, he quickly grabbed the rifle slung across the man’s body and pushed it up, hitting him right under the chin. At the same time, he raised his foot and kicked the other man in the gut.

"Ugh—" the second man who got kicked tumbled back. Meanwhile, the one who was hit under the chin had his head cocked back. However, the latter didn’t fall because Slater was holding the rifle across his body.

Both lanterns fell, landing on the stone floor with a sharp clack. That very second, the lights inside instantly died, leaving nothing but the sparks from the rifle to see.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Following that, Slater used this time to pull the rifle’s strap from the other man and twist it. In the blink of an eye, the strap was wrapped around the man’s neck while Slater stood behind him.

With the lanterns inside turned off, their only source of light was the faint light coming from the open door. In it, Slater and the man’s struggling shadows stretched past the prison cells.

The imprisoned people didn’t know what was going on. They knew there was a struggle, but all they could do was watch Slater’s and the other man’s shadows from their vantage point. Some, who were conscious, weakly perked up just to watch this struggle through their shadows.

Those who were in and out of consciousness forced their eyes to open just to see if help had finally come. A few moved—crawled to the metal bar just to see. But Slater and the man were in a blind spot for all of them.

In the next second, all they heard was a thud.

All eyes remained on the men’s shadows, watching as one of the bodies went limp in the fall. Now, all they could see was a man’s figure standing in the middle of the light.

Slater huffed, wiping the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand. When he stabilized his breathing, he turned around and walked toward the open door. He peeked his head from left to right.

’Thankfully, this place is very quiet and isolated,’ he thought. ’I don’t think I could open fire without gathering attention if it were somewhere else.’

But he didn’t think much of it now as he walked back into the cell. Slater used his flashlight to find the lantern, picking one of them as the other rolled close to the cell. He then moved to the other guy and searched him, finding a lighter and then lighting up the lamp.

Once light spread a small distance again, his eyes fell on the guy he had strangled with his own rifle and the one he had shot previously. He gulped, but shook his head.

Marching toward the cell, he stopped at the first two opposite each other. He held the lamp and put it in the middle to give them some light. He didn’t say a word as he picked up the other lantern and lit it up. This time, he placed it between the second and third cells.

As he crouched down and placed the second lamp down, his voice was finally heard.

"Do you know if there are other lights around here?" he asked, turning his head to the second and third cells on his right.

There was nothing but darkness within the cells from this distance. It took a moment before a pair of hands slowly clasped the metal bar as a man leaned over. Just like everyone else, he was injured. His entire face was covered with dry and fresh blood, and one of his eyes was closed with an evident slash across it.

Through his one eye, the man studied Slater, who was also wearing the same uniform as the others. However, he was also sure Slater was not a member of the Shadow Order. So...

"Who are you?"

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