Chapter 55: Customs of Battle

In the early morning, just as the sun rose, Tina arrived at the stone prison. Perrin poked her head out of the sleeping bag, twisting her body uncomfortably. Her hands were still tied behind her back; after spending the night that way, the blood circulation had been cut off, leaving her numb.

"Good morning!" Tina gently placed a wooden bowl on the ground, then reached out to help the immobilized Perrin sit up. "You must be hungry. Have something to eat!"

"My hands are numb. Could you untie me?" Perrin said. "And I can't eat like this, anyway!"

"If I untie you, I won’t be able to beat you if you attack me," Tina shook her head softly. "How about I feed you?"

"Sleeping like this all night was extremely uncomfortable!" Perrin replied without expression. "Untie me and let me stretch a little. I swear by the name of the greatest God of War that I won’t attack you!"

"What if you run away? Keen will be angry..." Tina shook her head, worried.

"I swear by the name of the God of War that I will not run," Perrin said, locking eyes with Tina.

"This..." Tina hesitated for a moment. "Alright!"

For a warrior, swearing in the name of the God of War was a solemn oath. Generally speaking, no warrior would break such a vow.

Once the ropes were untied, Perrin did not attack Tina, who watched her with anxious vigilance. She moved her hands to restore feeling, the numbness gradually fading. "Much better," she said.

"Let's have breakfast," Tina said, holding up the wooden bowl to Perrin.

"What is this?" Perrin asked.

"Honey-roasted meat!" Tina smiled. "A delicacy you've definitely never tasted before."

Skeptical, Perrin picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. A unique sweetness immediately filled her palate, spreading through her entire body. Then the aroma of the roast followed, bringing her immense pleasure.

She devoured one piece after another, and in the blink of an eye, the whole bowl of honey-roasted meat was gone. Still unsatisfied, she gazed at the empty bowl, licked the remaining honey from her fingers with her soft, pink tongue, then patted her now-round belly and muttered, still expressionless, "Delicious."

"Isn't it?" Tina grinned, pleased that Perrin liked it. "This honey is a rare treasure, you know!"

"Tina!" A boy's startled voice called from outside the prison. "Why did you untie her? She’s a city guard—she’s dangerous! Come out quickly!"

"Amber, don't worry!" Tina called back, turning to him. "Perrin means no harm."

"How do you know she isn’t lying? What if she grabs you to threaten Lord Keen?" Amber exclaimed, anxious.

"Amber, a person's eyes never lie." Tina looked at Perrin and smiled. "Right?"

"Traitor Amber?" Perrin turned her gaze to the boy outside the iron bars, her face blank.

"I’m not a traitor!" Amber shouted indignantly. "Tina, Lord Keen is calling for you. Hurry up!"

"Alright," Tina nodded, then turned to Perrin. "I’ll go see Keen. Sorry you’ll have to stay here a few more days."

Perrin said nothing, merely nodded. From beginning to end, her face remained expressionless, like a wooden doll.

Once Tina left, she locked the door and, carrying the wooden bowl, walked with Amber toward their home.

Before dawn, Justin Keen had already used iron ingots he’d smelted the night before, along with timber and arrows, to build two arrow towers in each of the four directions around the base. He also constructed a low stone-brick wall on the perimeter. Even this minor project had exhausted him, and it was clear that raising the outer walls to a sufficient height would be far from a task completed in a day or two.

Whether in his previous world or in this strange new one, building city walls was never something a single person could accomplish easily. Even a small inner wall required hundreds, if not thousands, of workers. Justin Keen, using his golden finger to do the work of thousands, naturally found it exhausting.

After hard labor, a bit of relaxation was in order. After breakfast, he summoned Tina and Wolf, planning to ride the triceratops together and explore the forest near the base. He wanted to discover what foreign creatures inhabited the region, whether there were more edible wild fruits, and to identify the locations of mineral resources.

Amber had wanted to join them, but his father, Old Harlan, called him away to help cultivate the farmland.

Justin Keen brought along twenty-five kobold crossbowmen and one kobold scout; the remaining twenty-five, under the kobold chief’s command, stayed behind to guard the base. With them, plus the eight arrow towers, even a sudden attack would allow Amber’s family and Tina’s parents to retreat and regroup safely.

As they were about to set out, Perrin shouted loudly from within the stone prison.

"What did she say?" Justin Keen looked at Tina, bewildered.

Tina used her broken command of Chinese and a few gestures to convey Perrin’s meaning. Justin Keen finally understood: this warrior woman, whose face seemed frozen and utterly emotionless, disliked being kept as a war prisoner and wanted to invoke the traditional combat customs of this world to win her freedom.

If Perrin won, according to custom, she would shed the status of prisoner and Justin Keen would be obliged to release her unconditionally. If she lost, she could be killed, conscripted, or even sold like a commodity by the victors, without complaint. This brutal custom, passed down from ancient times, was strictly followed by all warriors devoted to the pursuit of strength.

As the challenger, Perrin had no right to choose her opponent or the form of the duel. All she could do was strive to defeat the method and target set by the challenged side.

"Is this kind of challenge common here?" Justin Keen asked Tina, matching words with gestures.

"Warriors with strong pride will often make such requests for freedom in certain situations. They believe in the justice of the God of War," Tina explained haltingly, using gestures and awkward Chinese. "So, in various nations, there are even contests where captured warriors who worship the God of War are made to duel, for the entertainment of the powerful and influential."

"So what should I do?" Justin Keen asked.

"Such challenges usually can't be refused," Tina said. "Unless you surrender outright, letting the other side win by default. But that would damage your reputation."

"So, since she issued this challenge, I have to accept?" Justin Keen considered. "Well, I can choose the fighter and the rules, right? Wolf, you’ll fight her!"