My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 521: Chapter 177: ”Miss Sazanoko, Stand Down, It’s All Right Now!” [Massive 15K Release]_5

Sazanoko slightly lifted her eyelids, glanced at the small cockroach crawling past her feet, then half-closed her eyes again,

Before half-closing her eyes again, Sazanoko casually glanced at Nakamura Tsuki beside her... Nakamura Tsuki was drooping her head, her tiny chin tightly pressed against her collarbone, her eyes vacant and hollow.

In these days, she and Nakamura Tsuki had been confined in this cellar.

Not allowed to move freely, they could only be tied to the wooden pillar with hemp rope.

They had hardly seen any living people, the person they saw the most was a woman with very thin lips, this woman seemed to be specifically responsible for taking care of their basic needs.

Though this woman often met with Sazanoko and Nakamura Tsuki, she had almost no interaction with them, always leaving hurriedly after taking care of them.

Unable to do anything, they just sat there idly; they didn’t even know what time it was; didn’t know why they were tied here; didn’t know if they would ever regain their freedom... the intense sense of helplessness, an atmosphere of suffocation.

Nakamura Tsuki, tormented both physically and mentally, no longer even knew how to cry, only stared with her blank, wide eyes.

Compared to Nakamura Tsuki, Sazanoko’s spirit was undoubtedly much better.

Since waking up, Sazanoko had been persistently doing one thing.

One thing that kept her spirit positive till now.

One thing that could become their hope for escape.

—Ugh...!

The sudden soreness in her right thumb nearly made Sazanoko cry out.

She quickly bit her lower lip to resist the urge to scream from the pain.

When the soreness in her right thumb slightly eased, Sazanoko steadied the nail she had pulled from the wooden pillar between her right thumb and middle finger, and continued to cut the hemp rope binding her hands with the slightly blunt tip of the nail.

Sazanoko had been using this nail to cut the hemp rope on her hands... except for sleeping and occasional rest, she had hardly stopped.

The hemp rope binding her and Nakamura Tsuki’s hands was almost as thick as two fingers, and the nail Sazanoko luckily pulled out was very blunt due to its historical age and rust.

Cutting such a thick hemp rope with such a blunt nail tip... Sazanoko’s fingers had cramped countless times for this purpose.

Just like earlier—a cramp in her thumb once again, and if Sazanoko hadn’t reacted quickly and bit her lip in time, she might have cried out.

Sazanoko endured countless pains relying on her resilient willpower during these days... and now, the rich fruit formed from those pains was finally about to blossom.

After using the rope to forcefully cut the hemp rope on her wrist for a moment, Sazanoko forcefully twisted her hands.

The previously tightly bound hemp rope became very loose due to her having cut several strands with the nail.

Sazanoko took a deep breath, gathered all her strength, and pulled her bound hands apart with force—the hemp rope snapped, and her hands were finally free.

In the darkness, Sazanoko touched her wrists, sore and swollen from the rope, and although she felt joy, her face remained impassive.

Freeing her hands... was merely the first step in successfully escaping.

Sazanoko rubbed her wrists, still held behind her back, while raising her gaze toward the wooden stairs leading out of the cellar not far ahead...

She silently clenched her right fist, letting the sharp nail head protrude between her index and middle finger, and then...

”Ugh...! Ugh...! Ugh...! Ugh ugh...!”

Sazanoko closed her eyes tightly, furrowed her brows, showing a painful expression while frantically twisting her body and screaming at the top of her voice.

Startled by Sazanoko’s abnormal state, Nakamura Tsuki quickly turned to look at her.

Miss Sazanoko, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell—Nakamura Tsuki asked anxiously with her eyes toward Sazanoko.

Sazanoko ignored the eyes Nakamura Tsuki cast her way, continuing to twist her body and scream.

Her mouth was bound with a cloth, unable to make a loud noise... but the sound easily reached the guard outside the cellar.

Soon, hurried footsteps resounded from the stairs connecting the inside and outside of the cellar.

”What’s going on? What are you doing?”

A dwarf with a wakizashi at his waist impatiently strode down the stairs to Sazanoko.

”You filthy woman! What the hell are you yelling for? Need to crap, huh?”

Sazanoko lifted her head towards the dwarf, stretched her neck, her mouth bound by cloth repeatedly opened and closed as if she had something to say.

”Tch... such a nuisance...!” the dwarf clicked his tongue, irritably leaning down to remove the cloth from Sazanoko’s mouth to hear what she wanted to say.

At the instant the dwarf leaned his body down, Sazanoko’s eyes suddenly focused sharply.

Then, with lightning-fast speed, she brought her recently freed hands from behind her back, clamping the dwarf’s mouth with her left hand and using her right fist to forcefully hammer the carotid artery in his neck.

The dwarf’s eyes bulged forward like a goldfish, countless red veins appearing in the whites of his eyes.

When Sazanoko retracted her right fist, the nail between her fingers was covered in blood.

Punch, retract, punch, retract... Sazanoko continuously repeated this set of motions.