Chapter 14 Encounter A Brown Bear Cub

Under the clear sky, in the oval-shaped Colosseum, the seats that sloped from high to low erupted with the cheers of bloodthirsty nobles. However, in places they didn't notice, on the collarbones of countless patrolling guards were hidden dark-colored slave tattoos. Beyond that marble-like building, behind the high platform, deep darkness lurked, and the roars of countless animals could be heard. The guard, holding a long spear, stood in front of the arch of the beast-holding area, yawning continuously. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a column of soldiers approaching from the opposite side. "What are you doing?" Atar looked up and threw the antelope he was dragging beside the guard. The abdomen of the antelope had been slit open by a weapon. Blood had meandered a long trail, and it seemed to have lost its breath. Atar's voice sounded arrogant as he demanded, "How can you still talk? What you chose couldn't even hold on for a while. The masters are very dissatisfied." The guard glanced at the antelope's corpse, which was suddenly thrown over. He mumbled, "That can't be right. Weren't the masters all—" Weren't they all sounding quite happy? "Are you questioning me?" The guard was so frightened by the threatening voice that he shuddered. His eyes caught sight of the identity nameplate hanging around the other person's neck. He immediately lowered his head, took a step back, and dragged the antelope's corpse away at the same time. "No! Sir, please come in." The guard's retreating body kept shaking. The ranks among soldiers were very distinct. It was quite normal to be killed if one offended a superior. Damn it. He hadn't recognized the symbol of the other person's identity just now. With his downcast eyes, he could see the movements of the figures. The one ignored him, and walked straight through the arch, along with his subordinates. The guard secretly let out a sigh of relief and mustered his strength to stand guard again. The dome of the building was very high. The wind whistled down from above. In the dark beast-holding area, there was a cold, damp and heavy smell that made one's spine tingle. Click, click. The long leather boots stepped on the stone slabs in the beast-holding area, making a neat and regular sound. The iron nameplate hanging on Atar's chest swayed with his steps. It was the officer's nameplate taken from the bearded man. Shapur, who was walking at the back, quickly stepped forward and walked side by side with Atar. "Atar, it's so scary here. Can we walk faster?" Before Atar could speak, Farrokh behind him sneered first. "No one asked you to come. Now you're scared when you'er here?" "What are you talking about? I... I'm just worried about Atar." Shapur retorted right away, bristling like a cat. Farrokh was about to say something, but when Atar raised his hand, he immediately understood and deliberately lowered his voice. "Did you find something?" Atar nodded, lightened his steps, and quietly walked towards the corner. Suddenly, he stopped. He looked down at the small beast that had bumped into his leg. His eyes softened when they landed on the cub. He squatted down halfway and picked up the small ball. It looked tiny, but Atar had difficulty holding it. Its brown - black fur thinly covered its body, and not-so-sharp claws grew between the five toes of its bear paws. The claws rubbed against Atar's forearm as the little brown bear moved, but they couldn't pierce through the thin layer of clothing. Shapur was left speechless. Pointing at the little brown bear in Atar's arms, he looked shocked. "Why is there a wild beast here? Shouldn't it be locked in a cage? Does that mean the wild beasts in the beast-holding area are allowed to move freely? Then we're—" "Don't think so much." Atar shook his head, finding Shapur's wild imagination rather amusing. His heart, which had been gloomy, seemed to brighten a bit. "Didn't we say before that there would be a brown bear 'performance' tomorrow? But it's an adult brown bear that will appear in the performance. So this one should be its cub." It was normal that the iron cage for the big brown bear couldn't hold the smaller cub. "What are you going to do with the big bear?" Farrokh stared at the little brown bear for a while before moving his gaze away and asking. Adult brown bears are huge, extremely fierce and aggressive. It would be easy to just throw those noble lords into the brown bear's cage and feed them to the bear. However, Atar rejected this proposal. Atar teased the tip of the little brown bear's nose. The cub didn't seem to be very afraid of people and had no strong aggression. It was having a great time playing with Atar's hand. His eyes still held a bit of tenderness as he replied, "I want to set them free. They don't belong here." As he spoke, he fed the little cub the biscuits he had with him. Animals originally lived freely in the wild. But the nobles caught them for their own pleasure, deprived them of the right to eat, and forced them to fight with slaves. In the end, they either died by the slaves' swords or from serious injuries with no cure. "What did you say?" Farrokh was a bit annoyed. He grabbed Atar's hand, his voice low but with a hint of anger in it. "Some of us died by the claws of these wild beasts!" "Slap!" Atar slapped Farrokh's hand away, making a clear sound. Meeting Farrokh's eyes, he denied it. "No, that's not true." "They're just like us. If they die, it's because of the corrupt nobles in this city. We're innocent, and so are they." Shapur looked at Farrokh, then at Atar. He felt his head was about to explode. But in the end, he stood by Atar's side. "Yeah, Farrokh. Atar is right. They don't want to be caught either." After Atar slapped his hand away, Farrokh's heart started to waver slowly. With every word Atar said, his head drooped a little more, yet he was still being stubborn. "I got it, but you have to come up with a way. It's not easy to move so many animals out. " If not handled properly, the slaves would also suffer heavy casualties. "Of course I know that. Don't worry." Atar said with a smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. He wouldn't put the lives of animals above those of his companions. While ensuring his companions' freedom, he would also help the animals that shared the same fate as them. "Roar!" The deafening animal roar echoed through the corridor, accompanied by the sounds of stomping and scratching at the iron bars. The floor vibrated slightly. The cub that had been sitting obediently in Atar's arms just now immediately turned its head, wriggled out of Atar's embrace, and rushed towards its mother. "Hey! It's running away!" Shapur watched as the little brown bear nimbly jumped onto the floor and scurried away on all fours. Shapur instinctively took a few steps forward to chase it, but then he saw the two motionless people and was a bit dumbfounded. He walked tremblingly to Atar's side and asked. "Brother Atar, aren't we going to chase it?" "The place it's going is to its mother. If you want to go, Shapur, you can." Atar said in an ambiguous tone, teasing Shapur who looked very scared. Shapur didn't understand the hidden meaning in Atar's words. He turned his gaze to Farrokh beside him. Farrokh, however, gave him a look as if looking at a fool. "Why on earth is this!" Shapur wailed to the sky. Atar shook his head helplessly, with a relaxed smile still on his face. He patiently explained, "Before the performance, the wild beasts will be starved for a whole day to ensure they have full energy during the show." While talking, the three of them didn't forget to keep walking. They happened to reach a door. Atar had already memorized the structure of the Colosseum. As he pushed open the door, he said to the other two: "We should prepare a small gift when we go to visit Mrs. Brown Bear. Otherwise." Atar deliberately leaned close to Shapur's ear and whispered, "You'll be the gift." Shapur, who was a bit slow to react, suddenly woke up and shook his head frantically. "No, no, I know I was wrong, brother." Atar laughed, and without paying more attention to Shapur's reaction, he walked inside. With a swish, the candle lamp was lit, and the layout of the room came into the view of the three. The room was filled with carts, and the tall items on the carts were covered with black cloth. Atar took one more step forward, reached out and lifted a corner of the black cloth on the cart, and understood what was inside. Farrokh followed Atar's steps and also saw the food revealed under the black cloth. "This must be the food storage room of the beast- holding area." "After all, only when they're full will they be less likely to attack us." Atar said. "Well, let's push some and go visit Mrs. Brown Bear and other Mr. Beasts." Creak, creak. The sound of the wheels was particularly obvious in the empty corridor. Shapur was trembling and couldn't help asking, "Atar, why aren't there any other soldiers here?"