As the group of five descended the stairs, just as Xia Nan had guessed, what came into view was a very crude underground dungeon.
Due to a long lack of ventilation, a rotting, fishy stench surged into the nostrils with every breath.
The overall area of the dungeon was not large; under the flickering light of the torches on the walls, one could see the far end at a single glance. The ceiling was barely a person and a half high, forcing the party's half-orc, Hog, to lower his head from time to time as he moved.
The ground consisted of slightly packed soft soil. A specially cleared path extended from the entrance to the wall at the end of the dungeon, with locked metal bars standing on either side.
Clearly neglected for a long time, the surfaces of these metal bars were rusted, and many of the joints were slightly twisted, showing obvious signs of deformation. Some of the iron doors could not even be closed properly and were instead forcibly bound tight with iron chains.
Nineteen people were imprisoned in the iron bars like this.
Their beds were filthy piles of straw in the corners, and food and water were kept in iron basins in a manner similar to how livestock were raised in his previous life, currently emitting waves of stench.
Men, women, young, and old—they were stuffed into this cramped subterranean space like cargo. Their clothes were in rags, and the exposed skin of their bodies revealed numerous wounds, some already scabbed over and others still bloody and crimson, not to mention bruises and ulcerations.
An elderly man, whose body had gone completely stiff, sat alone in a shadowed corner where the torchlight could not reach. His head hung at an unnatural angle, his purple-blue left leg was twisted beyond recognition, and the sleeve hanging down was empty. His eyes, which would never open again, were permanently buried in the deep shadows cast by his brow bone.
A mother held her child tightly, her eyes hollow. Though she clearly lacked the strength to speak, she continued to rhythmically pat the back of the infant in her arms as if by instinct, silently comforting her offspring who was similarly on the brink of their limit.
There were no roars, no wailing.
Prolonged imprisonment had slowed the mental functions of these people; driven only by the will to survive, they lay or sat quietly in their places, motionless, reducing all unnecessary loss of energy.
Despair, exhaustion.
Even when they saw Xia Nan and the others descending the stairs—whose temperament and attire were completely different from the pirates—these prisoners initially showed no reaction.
The deathly silence persisted for a full five seconds before the people locked in the dungeon gradually realized that the situation seemed to have changed, and faint ripples of emotion began to emerge.
Looking at the sallow, emaciated, and scar-ridden ordinary humans behind the bars, Xia Nan's brow furrowed unconsciously.
Silently, he pushed his perception to its maximum.
Judging by their similar clothing, temperament, and common honey-colored skin, it was highly probable that they were all locals from the Southern Islands.
But...
Why were they imprisoned here so cruelly, in such a wretched and tragic manner, as if they were criminals?
Xia Nan pondered. Combining this with the series of experiences he had accumulated recently, a few ideas began to form in his mind.
*Clang!*
Perhaps it was their attire, so distinct from the pirates, that provided hope. Gradually realizing that Xia Nan and his companions did not seem to be part of the Ebb Tide Gang, these tortured civilians summoned the last flicker of courage before it vanished.
Near the exit, the one with the lightest injuries among the prisoners—a young man covered in mud but with intact limbs—practically slammed his body against the iron bars, giving the half-orc Hog a start.
Ignoring the intense pain radiating from his forehead and chest, the loud sound of metal colliding echoed through the underground space.
"My Lord!" His voice was raspy to the extreme. He pressed his entire face between the bars, his ten fingers gripping the railing tightly. "Save us, my Lord!"
In response, the reactions of the Iron Rock Shield party were exceptionally cold.
The captain, Habick, gripped his one-handed flanged mace, his vigilant gaze sweeping over the figures behind the bars.
Though also human, Celi acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, staring coldly at the young man pleading for help, her thoughts unknown.
The gnome rogue, Agu, hid deep in the shadows, as if everything happening on the scene had nothing to do with him.
Hog had the most intense reaction; he felt anger.
But he wasn't angry at the abused humans; rather, he was annoyed that the young man's sudden movement had startled him. His round eyes glared fiercely at the other.
Under normal circumstances, facing the glare of such a strange and powerful adventurer, an ordinary civilian like the young man behind the bars would likely have fallen to their knees begging for mercy the moment those eyes swept over them.
At this moment, however, it was as if his nerves had been paralyzed by death; he only clung to the bars and called for help weakly.
As a human with normal values, Xia Nan naturally could not be as haughty as the members of the Iron Rock Shield party.
His keen perception allowed him to confirm that those currently locked in the dungeon were ordinary people without supernatural powers, posing no danger.
He immediately took two steps forward and arrived in front of the iron bars.
*Sshht!*
Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound of tearing air, a flash of pink, sharp light appeared and vanished in an instant.
The personal short dagger named [Honey Orange], which possessed the "Enhanced Toughness" effect, unsheathed in a flash and was tucked back into his waist in the blink of an eye.
*Clatter—*
The broken, rusted iron chains, along with the parts that had been tightly binding the metal bars, were cleanly sliced in two and fell to the ground.
Gripping the now-unfettered iron bars, with just a slight exertion of strength in his arm, he pulled open the previously locked gate from the outside.
He casually supported the young man's shoulder, steadying the youth who had almost fallen over due to the violent vibration while pressed against the bars.
Xia Nan's deep, dark eyes looked at the other's mud-covered face.
"Where are you from?"
"Ta... Talos Island." The torn-open bars seemed to give this young man unprecedented hope. His voice, which had been growing weaker, unconsciously became louder, and his depressed mood gradually turned to excitement.
"Elpha Island, and Silver Reef Fishing Village... we, we were all captured and brought here, my Lord!"
Xia Nan had heard of the place names mentioned; they were all small, remote human settlements similar to Crag Isle.
"Meaning, you were all plundered from your original villages by these pirates?"
"Yes, my Lord..."
The burst of excitement just now seemed to have exhausted the last of the young man's energy. His condition withered at a visible rate, yet he continued to answer Xia Nan's question.
But in the next second, he suddenly looked up and shrieked
"Mermen! My Lord, be careful of those mermen!"