"The new president is a monster!"
"He is eating the flesh of his own comrade!"
"We must elect a president that is worthy of…"
"We must gather up arms to usurp this tyrant that sits above…"
Outside, in the plaza, the leaders of the other minor Cities were currently screaming their lungs out; scattering and spreading the news about what happened yesterday. They have been so for more than an hour now and have already garnered the attention of a lot of people.
"Our new president is a monster?"
"He looks so small and normal, though."
"True, true. He reminds me of my son."
The people, however, were completely in disbelief, their whispers almost making the other leaders frustrated.
"He is a monster!"
"If you saw what he was doing for yourselves, all of you would run away for your lives!"
"A monster! A monster I sa--"
Before one of the City leaders could finish what he was going to say, a reverberating noise echoed throughout the plaza as the gate of the castle slowly opened up. The other city leaders quickly shut their mouths as Van walked out of the castle, his hair now fully pulled back, revealing the scar that adorned the left side of his face.
Latanya, Gil, and Cynthia were following him from behind.
One of the leaders was about to open his mouth, but before he could do so, Van stared at him.
"..."
The once rowdy and lively plaza was now surrounded with nothing but silence as Van scanned the faces of each and every city leader. Afterward, he looked at the people that were gathered around the plaza.
"Get ready," he said, "We are heading for the Portal in 3 days."
"A… already?"
The people once again started to whisper amongst each other.
"Miss Latanya and mister Gil will tell you about the plans here in a few hours," Van continued, "It is up to you whether or not you will join and come…
...And it is also up to you to be stuck here in this place forever. But I am telling all of you now... that this place may be your home, but it is also your Graveyard."
Van looked at the people for a few seconds before heading back to the castle, leaving the Prisoners with eyes filled with resolution. Although they could potentially live a new life here, Van was ultimately right-- This place is a Graveyard. A thousand years of the Portal being active proved only one thing, the resources were finite. Soon, this place will no longer provide any Crystals… They were barely even seeing any monsters.
Although most of them have not explored the entirety of the Pit, they know enough that it could soon no longer support the human population that continues to grow every day.
Rick, the former leader of the Eastside of the Encampment, was currently beside Xinyan and Gerald, nodding to each other as the three of them walked away from the plaza.
The Locals, however, still had a trickle of doubt in their eyes. They had no idea what they were really fighting for, they had no idea whether it was worth it or not… but one thing they do know is that if there is a bigger world out there-- then they want to see it.
Slowly, the crowd on the plaza dissipated, leaving the other city leaders talking to air. And soon, without even knowing it, the date of their war for freedom has come.
Some remained in the confines of the City, uninterested with whatever this so-called real world will lead them. The Pit was everything they ever knew, and for them, there was just no point in disrupting that.
They were, however, the minority.
Most of the Locals were now standing inside the Wall. Almost all of them have never seen the Wall before in their life as they were prohibited from even coming near it. To see that there was actually such a grand infrastructure hidden to them, their excitement could not help but double.
But it wasn't until their reached the center of the Wall that their jaws truly dropped.
"T… that's the Portal that the others keep mentioning?"
"It… it looks so cool!"
"First time?"
Their eyes almost glowed due to the White Portal reflecting on their eyes.
"Listen up!"
As soon as Latanya's voice echoed from the center of the Encampment, the clamor of almost a thousand people quickly died down.
"As planned, the Prisoners will be the ones going in first to clear the guards waiting on for us on the other side!" Latanya said as she waved her hand, standing on a pedestal of earth made by one of the Mage-types, "They are more used to fighting the people outside and more aware of the layout of what awaits us on the other side!"
"Hm." Most of the Prisoners nodded their head as they stepped forward.
"We assure you, their numbers will be smaller than ours. With all of us working together, the freedom that you did not know that awaited you will be finally in our grasps!"
"Y… yeah!"
This strategy was the same one that Latanya did 60 years ago, now she will do it again. The only difference now was that they had strength in numbers, a lot of it. If there was anyone that was going to lead this attack, it would only be proper that Latanya would be the one to do so.
The Prisoner Enhancer-types that were chosen to go first all started to stand in front of the Portal, their body completely covered in a layer of earthen armor.
"Kill all of them!" Latanya hollered as the Prisoners started entering the Portal swiftly.
"Tch, I should be one of the first ones to go in," Gerald crossed his arms. He volunteered to go first, but for some reason, he was not allowed to do so.
A few more seconds passed, and the other Prisoners that were chosen to be the first wave finally all entered the Portal, leaving only a dozen Prisoners left inside the Pit.
Even with their numbers almost a thousand, the Encampment was almost silent; only their nervous and stuttered breaths lingering in the air as they waited for the signal for them to enter from the first wave.
And finally, after a few more minutes, a hand emerged from the Portal. As soon as the people in front saw that, they could not help but cheer and clamor. However, before any of them could take a step forward, the soldiers of the City blocked their paths, not allowing even a single one of them to go in.
"It's the signal! Let's go inside!"
"What are we waiting for!? The reinforcements of the guards will be coming anytime soon!"
"I thought we were going to ambush them!?"
"W… what's going on?" Xinyan could not help but look around in confusion. Wasn't the plan to ambush the reinforcements from the inside of the dome with their overwhelming numbers? So… what exactly is going on right now?
"Rick… Do you know what's going on?"
Xinyan noticed the unusual calmness on Rick's face even as the guards were not letting any of the other Prisoners that were left inside to go through the Portal. Hearing Xinyan's whispers, Rick could only let out a long and deep sigh.
"It's… a Culling," he muttered.
"A what?"
"Orders from Van and Latanya," Rick continued, "We just need to wait here."
"Wait for what!? Our first wave would all die even with their numbers if the reinforcements arrive!"
"...That is exactly what we are waiting for."
"What?"
"For all of them to die and reduce the numbers of the reinforcements as much as possible," Rick whispered, "The Prisoners that were sent first were all chosen by Boss according to Van's orders… They were the Prisoners with the worst of crimes. In truth, I should be there."
"Wait… so they are a sacrifice!?" Xinyan's voice could not help but rise as she heard Rick's words, "Why didn't you tell us? I thought we had an agreement!?"
"...Sorry," Rick let out a tiny scoff, "But my loyalty is with Boss."
As a matter of fact, Xinyan had approached Rick a few days ago and had been talking with him about the world outside. She told him of what the Circle was doing in the hopes that she could gain some comrades in her revenge against the Circle for killing her younger brother. After all, Rick used to lead almost half of the Prisoners that were present right now.
But alas, their conversation had been going straight to Van and Latanya's ears.
"Hahaha!" Gerald, who was listening in on the two's conversation, could not help but let out a laugh, "So the first wave are just sacrificial pawns? I knew they didn't choose me for a reason!"
"..."
Xinyan didn't know where to look as her eyes scanned the remaining Prisoners. Considering their confusion, it would seem that they also had no idea of what was going on.
"This… this is a stupid and reckless move! Just what exactly are the two of them thinking!? We could just kill the reinforcements as soon as they arrive with our numbers!" Xinyan once again voiced out her complaints.
"Hm," Rick nodded his head in agreement, "If my thoughts are right… then Van wants something else than freedom."
"...What?"
"War."
***
"What the… When was the last time the Prisoners did something like this?"
"How many of us died!?"
"Around 50… the ones that were in duty are all dead."
"Damn it! If we didn't arrive then some might have actually escaped!"
Inside the Dome, the clamoring and grievance of almost a hundred guards of the Pit were echoing in the air, their only recipients were the corpses of both Prisoners and their comrades that littered the ground.
"Should we call for more reinforcements from the Circle?" One of the guards suggested, "There might be more coming."
"...I don't think so," their Captain scoffed, "They probably already know that we're here. They would be fools to attempt another attack."
"But… shouldn't we call for more reinforcements just in case?"
"That's enough. Let's not waste any more manpower and clean this place up," the Captain sighed, "Just throw the corpses insi--"
Before the Captain could finish his words, a series of footsteps could be heard coming out from the Portal.
"Tch, seriously?" The Captain once again scoffed, "Fools. Men, Kill them before they even-- W… what…"
The Captain could not help but stutter as an almost infinite number of people suddenly rushed out of the Portal. And like the raging waves during a storm, their steps were enough to cause the Dome itself to tremble.
"C… call…
...Call for more people now!"