(MC POV)
Surprisingly, they actually did put all the sacrifices together in one giant hall.
I had half expected each of them to have their own separate cell to be locked up in, just in case to avoid the sacrifices colluding together to work against their captors.
But it seems like they have some form of Quark inhibitor inscription laid around the area that severely limits the usage of Quarks.
Any Technique that a Practitioner tries to materialise will be absorbed and dispersed by the inscription, destroying the Technique even before it can be manifested.
Normal Practitioners probably wouldn't be able to use any Techniques while inside this inscription, which is most likely why they aren't worried about the prisoners banding together. With the thick stone walls and the steel reinforced doors, no normal mortal can get out of here easily even if they grouped together.
The Abyssal Knights tossed me onto the stone floor, not even acknowledging anyone else in the hall before turning back to slam the door shut.
I pushed myself off the ground, dusting myself while I inspected my surroundings.
The hall itself was spacious enough to fit a few thousand people without issue, though there were only a few hundred or so people currently in here. A small hole was present at the very top of the ceiling to let in a little bit of sunlight, but that hole was too small to fit even a child and way too high up for anyone to reach.
The fact that the hall is so huge is rather unnerving though, since it probably means they were expecting a lot more sacrifices than this.
I was still in the midst of considering my next course of action when a group of five men approached me.
The one in the middle was a big and fat fellow that was a head taller than I was, I could almost feel the ground shake from each step he took.
The other four following him were obviously his lackeys judging from their generic appearance and obvious non-importance.
The fat guy raised his chin at me when he reached me, "New guy eh? You want to survive in here, you either obey me or you suffer every single waking moment, got it?"
Wow… I mean, you guys are literally on the chopping block you know? Despite that, you guys are still trying to establish a hierarchy here? Like… Why?
I crossed my arms, "Really now? And who the hell are you supposed to be?"
One of his lackeys stepped forward, "Huh?! You mean to say you don't know who our Boss Zhu is?! Where the hell did you come from huh?!"
I took a moment to consider what to say, remembering who that Abyssal Knight guy assumed me to be before he had those things bring me here.
"Well, I was under who they call 'Betrayer' and I don't think I've ever heard of you."
"Cheh, you must be new then to even refer to the prince by that name… I bet this was literally your first infiltration mission huh?" The fat guy, or rather, Boss Zhu guessed.
Prince? So I guess one of them is the real mastermind. The third prince is dead, the crown prince is a complete mess, so the second prince is the mastermind?
"I was not here by choice," I grumbled.
"Heh, a rebellious one boss. Probably under a slave contract I reckon," Another lackey commented.
The fat thing smirked at me, "Ho ho… We will have so much fun with you indeed. How about you take off that robe of yours first?"
Are.
You.
Serious.
This is the hall where everyone here is going to be dead sooner or later right? Where do they even get the mental capacity to think up such things even here?
Are you humans just that trashy?
Ah… Now that I think about it, that's probably the reason why.
Since they knew they were already going to die anyway, there won't be any consequences to their actions.
And since everyone here has been relegated to a non-Practitioner, numbers would normally triumph here seeing how most Practitioners never bothered training their own martial skills.
I had taken the chance to inspect the rest of the people within the room and most were either purposefully looking away or actually grinning and watching us, enjoying the show.
Of course, I have no intention of going along with their whims, even I have limits ok?
I raised a finger, "Here's a suggestion, you do your own stuff and I do mine. Neither of us needs to care about each other."
The fat boy and his lackeys looked at one another before laughing out loud.
"Hahaha! Listen boy! I don't know how it works with your group and I don't care how high of a position you might have occupied back at your branch. But in here, my words are law. Got it?"
I tilted my head slightly, "I am only offering this once. Go your own way and leave me alone, or you'll be picking up your teeth from the ground."
"Ohhhh, big and scary now aren't you? Boys, strip him!"
The one closest to me stepped forward, his hand reaching out to grab my right shoulder.
It never reached its destination as I made a grab for his wrist, twisting it to force him down on a knee before slamming my fist into the back of his elbow.
There was a loud crack when his arm bent the other way, the man letting loose a shriek of pain as I released him to cradle his broken arm.
I took a small step to the side to avoid the punch thrown towards my head by the next guy, my own fist burying into his abdomen and knocking the wind out of him.
Grabbing him by both his arms, I pulled downwards to slam his chin into my raised knee. The guy was sent flying backwards to collapse onto the ground, unmoving.
The last two tried to come at me together, one of them moving behind me while the other came from my front.
The one in front attempted a wild haymaker towards my head, an attempt I easily stopped by blocking his wrist with the back of my hand.
Using my other hand to grab his arm, I pulled and twisted my body around, slamming my captive against the last guy who had been charging towards me from behind.
The collision sent the other one sprawling onto the ground, giving me time to pull the front guy back on his feet.
I braced myself before kicking his right knee, snapping it with a loud crack before silencing his screams with a punch to the side of his face to knock him out cold.
The last guy was in the midst of pushing himself off the ground before I sent an uppercut to his chin, permanently putting him back down for the next hour or so.
I turned my head slowly towards the fat boy before starting my slow walk towards him.
His eyes grew wide before he started taking a few steps back, his hands raised in some kind of defence.
"Hey… Hey… That er… That was just a joke you know? You er… You don't have to…"
"Clench your jaw," I ordered, stopping an arm's reach away from him.
"Wha… What?"
"Clench your jaw."
"We… We're all working for the same person right? We're… We're colleagues! You… You don't support infighting right? I can…"
"I won't ask again. Run and I will break your limbs."
He clenched his jaw.
I smashed my elbow across his face, knocking out most of his teeth from his mouth.
With the fat boy dealt with, I turned back to address the room, "Anybody who was enjoying the show of the fat boy picking on the new guy… Either you have your heads shaven by the time the sunlight disappears from that hole or I do it for you. And I will use a spoon to scrape it off your goddamn scalp if it comes down to it."
The ones who were guilty of it paled, a few of them already scurrying away.
Well, guess those times I get locked up in the Spiritual Family's prison for attempting to escape actually came in handy!
You learn things you never knew you needed in the weirdest of places.