The Debt Of Fate
Chapter 56: Chaos

Chapter 56: Chaos

Edward reacted quickly, knocking the fearful man unconscious just as the door opened.

"What was that noise?" the first guard who entered asked.

Edward looked at the guards with a calm, steady gaze. "This man was having a nightmare. He suddenly spoke in his sleep and bit my hand," Edward answered.

The guards were not easily fooled. They scanned the room. The other men looked scared, but that wasn’t unusual. They counted the prisoners. Seeing that the number was complete, they turned around and left.

This time, they made sure to lock the door.

"You... how did you get back?" the man next to Edward asked in shock.

"I came back to ask who is willing to escape with me. Three men from the other rooms followed me. I can guarantee that the path from here to the storeroom is safe. We need more people if we want our plan to succeed," Edward explained. He then showed the old man, who had expressed interest earlier, the sword he had taken from one of the guards.

"I’m willing," the old man said, standing up.

"Who else?" Edward asked. He was surprised that the others were still so afraid, even after he had left and returned safely.

The man next to him hesitated, then stood up. Another followed. The others looked willing but hesitated, clearly still fearful.

"Then the four of us will leave shortly. We’ll wait until the guards finish their rounds," Edward said.

They waited for a while, listening carefully. When they heard no more doors opening or closing, Edward stepped forward and picked the lock open again.

The remaining prisoners watched as the four of them slipped out. Seeing the opportunity, two more men followed.

Edward then went to the room where his men had been waiting. Since only Edward had returned, the men doubted his words, so only two people from the first room joined. One person from the second room and three from the third room followed. He didn’t bother checking the other rooms. As he already had enough people to carry out the first stage of his plan.

The journey to the tool room was smooth.

Upon arrival, Edward signaled for the others to hide. He stepped forward to confirm that his men were still the ones pretending to be guards before calling the rest forward.

"The third man isn’t back yet?" Edward asked.

"No," the two disguised guards shook their heads.

"Let’s wait a bit longer before sending two people to check," Edward said.

They waited, but the third man didn’t return.

"I’ll go with you to check on the situation," Edward said, pointing at the second man disguised as a guard.

"No, I have been here the longest. Let me go with him," the old man suggested.

Edward considered his reasoning and nodded. He allowed the two to go.

Shortly after they left, hurried footsteps echoed in the darkness. Edward immediately signaled for everyone to stay quiet and hide.

Only the first disguised man remained in position, continuing his act as a guard on watch. He soon noticed that four people were approaching. Two of them were supporting another person. It was already dark, and without an oil lamp, he couldn’t make out their faces from a distance. He gripped his sword tightly, ready to fight.

As they got closer, he recognized them as the two men who had just left and the person they were helping was the third man who had left earlier. The fourth person was the young lady who usually served food.

"What happened?" he asked in a low voice.

"We found this young lady supporting him on our way, so we decided to return first. He is injured," the second disguised man explained.

Hearing the familiar voice, Edward stepped out from his hiding spot.

"What happened? How was he injured?" Edward asked them, though his sharp gaze remained fixed on Dorothy, who stood slightly aside. A suspicion crept into his mind ’was she a spy for the owners of the mine?’

"I was in the kitchen getting oil for the lamps when I found him there, wounded. He had killed one of the guards on watch. I didn’t have time to check if the second guard was dead or just unconscious. He asked for my help to bring him here," Dorothy explained. She met Prince Edward’s suspicious gaze without fear.

"How convenient," Prince Edward said, his tone filled with doubt.

"I know you suspect me, but if I were really a spy for the mine owners, I would have exposed you to the guards earlier. Besides, this man was already injured, and he killed two guards. Why would I help him get here if I could have just reported him? You wouldn’t have been able to hide once the alarm was raised for a search," Dorothy countered.

"She’s right. She has no reason to follow him here," the old man added.

The others also murmured in agreement.

"You really want to escape?" Prince Edward asked.

Dorothy nodded confidently. Edward was impressed by her courage. He hadn’t expected a young woman to be braver than most of the men in the mine.

"We have to move quickly. Did you manage to find the oil?" Edward asked the third man.

"No," the man shook his head.

"I know where the oil is, but there’s only a small quantity available," Dorothy said.

"As long as it’s enough to start a fire," Prince Edward replied.

"What exactly are you planning?" Dorothy asked, echoing the curiosity of the other men. Everyone knew that past escape attempts had focused on finding hidden passages.

"Of course, we are going to start fires in two locations," Prince Edward said.

"Are you crazy? A fire will attract the guards to us!" one of the men objected, suddenly anxious and regretting his decision to follow Edward.

"Exactly. If it attracts the guards, it will also serve as a signal to the army outside," Edward explained.

"You have a point. With the army surrounding the area, all exits are heavily guarded. We can’t just sneak out, but we can lure the army in," the old man agreed.

"So, we’ll split into two groups," Edward continued.

"One group will set the kitchen on fire. The other group will set the miners’ quarters on fire," Edward announced.

"But there are still people inside!" someone objected, he just wanted to escape not kill people.

"Yes. That’s the point. If we set the quarters on fire, everyone will be forced to run outside. This will give the second group a chance to blend in with the escaping miners," Prince Edward explained.

He chose the kitchen because it had a lot of wood and would be difficult to extinguish once set ablaze. The miners’ quarters was to create chaos; so even if the guards suspected anything, they wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the instigators. Their focus would be on controlling the fire and preventing the soldiers outside from noticing anything unusual.

The more chaos, the better their chances of survival.