Chapter 29: Planning

As soon as he stepped out of the room, Rod was immediately seized by two strong guards and taken back to his cell. He was thrown inside carelessly, and with a dull thud, the iron door was slammed shut!
“Boss… are you… are you okay?” Kambi asked anxiously, rushing to support Rod.
“Damn it, that bastard Roger! I’ll kill him!” Sambik glared with his bell-like eyes and shouted loudly, seeing Rod’s miserable state.
There was no need for Rod to speak—his severe injuries spoke volumes about what had happened to him.
“Boss, how are you?” Jim asked worriedly after gently laying Rod on the ground.
“Ugh…” The pain from his wounds as he touched the ground made Rod gasp.
“It’s fine. I’m not dying yet. Damn Roger! Don’t let me get a chance! Cough… cough… Please apply some medicine to me first. It hurts so much!” Rod said angrily, handing the bottle of medicine given to him by Kiro to Jim with a trembling hand.
“Ow… be gentle! It hurts so much!” Moments later, Rod’s screams filled the prison, echoing throughout the cells and causing fear in many.
“Phew… finally done!” Jim said with a wry smile after wiping the sweat from his forehead following the last scream.
“By the way, boss, where did you get this?” Kambi asked curiously after helping Rod catch his breath. He didn’t think Roger would be kind enough to give medicine after torturing him.
“Kiro gave it to me. That silver warrior!” Rod replied after a moment of thought.
“That guy?” Jim and the others were surprised. It was strange—after hurting the boss that day, how could he…
“Enough talking. The most important thing now is to recover and find a way to escape! Damn Roger! I’m not done with him!” Rod said firmly, taking a deep breath to cut off their chatter. Staying here wasn’t an option. Though he was temporarily safe thanks to Kiro, the same thing would happen again sooner or later.
The physical pain and humiliation filled Rod with rage. He had to escape and seek revenge!

For a moment, silence filled the room. As for this prison in Fire City, they already knew everything about it; it seemed impossible to escape with their current strength. With their heads lowered, no one spoke at that moment!
……
“Boss, stop practicing over there. Think of a practical way to escape!” That day, while Rod was diligently practicing, he heard Kambi whispering in his ear.
Frowning, Rod completed the last cycle of cultivation before slowly drawing his combat energy back to his dantian and exhaling a puff of air. He opened his eyes, a hint of excitement appearing on his lips as he assessed his current situation.
It was already the fifth day he had been in this prison. Over these five days, Roger hadn’t come to see him at all. As for Kiro, he had visited once, bringing him medicine without saying a word before leaving.
Throughout these five days, everyone had racked their brains but failed to come up with any escape plan. They were also growing anxious for Rod—time was running out. He believed Roger wouldn’t be that patient. If he could endure five days, how long could he wait for ten? It was likely Roger would come looking for them again in less than ten days. So finding an escape method as soon as possible was crucial.
Yet Rod hadn’t wasted time either. Aside from eating, he spent almost all his time practicing every day.
Perhaps because his meridians had been unblocked, combined with those repeated battles, his combat energy had seemingly risen to another level! Just now, he even sensed a new bottleneck emerging. Needless to say, those intense battles, which had pushed him to the brink of death, had fully unleashed his potential. He was now at the peak of an intermediate warrior’s level. Once he broke through this bottleneck, he would reach a new level and join the ranks of advanced warriors.
It wouldn’t be long before Rod reached that goal. Given the right opportunity, he would ascend to the level he had once only admired from afar. Feeling this, his excitement was evident—he had even forgotten he was still in danger.

All the good news gave him hope once again. As for his physical injuries? Rod couldn’t help but marvel at his own physical resilience—his severely injured body had recovered most of the way in just five days, with scabs forming and some areas even fully healed! Such condition would no longer affect his combat abilities at all! Of course, the medicine given to him by Kiro also played a significant role, something Rod was well aware of.

“Boss… Boss! What are you thinking about? Did you hear me?” Cambi shouted frustratedly, pushing Rod, who was sitting there smiling foolishly. He had no idea what the guy was thinking—calling out to him for so long with no response at all.

“Damn it, why keep calling? Do you think I can’t hear you? Hell, your shouting is about to deafen me!” Startled by Cambi’s shout, Rod almost jumped up. After taking a deep breath, he stood up and kicked Cambi back, shouting in response.

“It’s because I was worried you wouldn’t hear me! I’ve called you for so long with no response!”

Cambi, who had been kicked to the ground, got up, patted his pants, and muttered unhappily.

“Boss, have you come up with a plan?” Jem asked eagerly as he approached Rod. Rod’s smile made him think in that direction.

“No!” The decisive answer extinguished the hopes of the three of them.

“But I will soon have one. Damn it, my injuries are almost healed. If that Roger shows up, I’ll kill him! Hmm, no—maybe I can use him as a hostage to break through!” Rod’s eyes lit up as if he’d come up with a good idea. He lowered his voice, glanced around warily, and spoke excitedly.

“That’s it! Damn, how didn’t I think of that?” Sambik’s eyes also lit up as he agreed, his smile showing his joy—as if Rod had suddenly untied the blocked meridians in his body, bringing instant relief.

“Sambik, you idiot! Don’t get in the way!” Pushing Sambik aside, Cambi walked angrily to Rod’s side and said with a grim face, “Boss! You’re not serious, are you? This is his territory! Not to mention those Silver and Bronze Warriors—aren’t there any experts in the city lord’s mansion? Doing this is just asking for death!”

“Maybe this is the only way! If Roger shows up and we all seize the opportunity to fight hard, we might have a chance!” Jim, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up. He stepped forward and said in a calm voice.

“Yeah, it’s the only option. Otherwise, we won’t find any chance here at all!” Rod added with a bitter smile.

“Do we really have to do this?” Kambi asked reluctantly, frowning at them.

“Damn it, Kambi, you coward! If you don’t join in, learn from that jerk Jerome—just side with Roger! Anyway, I’m sticking with the leader! If we don’t fight, we die; if we fight, there’s still a chance. Even if we die, it’s just a big scar. What’s there to fear?” With a cold snort, Sambik walked up to Rod, stood straight, glared at Kambi’s grim face, and spoke disdainfully.

“Damn you, Sambik! Who… who the hell said I’m scared? I’ll crush his balls! If we’re going to do this, who’s afraid of whom?” With another cold snort, Kambi became anxious too and rushed forward, shouting in frustration.

“If you want to die, go ahead!” Jim said coldly, watching the two arguing.

As soon as he spoke, the cell fell into silence. No one spoke anymore, as if they had all realized the seriousness of their situation.

“Alright, enough talk. Since everyone wants to follow me, Rod, let’s discuss the details. We can’t proceed without a plan!”

After pondering for a moment, Rod said with a bitter smile. He hadn’t expected his impulsive suggestion to gain everyone’s support—it was beyond his expectations.

Next, the four of them carefully scanned the surroundings to ensure no suspicious people were around, then gathered in the center to start planning their escape.

Lowering their voices, each used their skills to contribute ideas. After some coordination, they finally came up with a preliminary plan.

Tap, tap, tap… Suddenly, clear footsteps were heard. Hearing this, their expressions changed instantly. After giving them a glance, Rod quickly ran to the corner and lay down, pretending to be weak and injured. Kambi sat beside him, pretending to care. The other two remained in their seats inside the cell. According to their plan, Rod couldn’t reveal that he had recovered from his injury. They had to keep Roger trapped in the valley—only then would they have a chance.

As expected, who else could appear this time but Roger? Seeing Roger and his group, Rod gave them a subtle glance, as if conveying something.
“Hehe, Knight Rod, don’t pretend to be dead over there—get up! You two, go in and bring him out… oh, no, bring all of them out!”
Seeing Rod’s reaction, Roger flashed an excited smile before turning to the nearly twenty guards he had brought with him.
Instantly, several guards entered one after another and headed toward the four people in the cell.