Chapter 539 Northern Crimson Prison
Northern Crimson Prison was located in the center of the Alosara Desert northwest of Chanaea. Along with the Pozydon Underwater Prison in Anglandur and the Frozen Prison in Remdik, it was known globally as one of the three harshest prisons in the world.
As Northern Crimson Prison only housed criminals of the worst sort, ordinary murderers weren’t even eligible to be confined there. Northern Crimson Prison wasn’t exactly difficult to find, but it was near impossible to escape from.
Despite it being used as a prison, it was actually the headquarters for Dorian’s Mysonna Army. The facility was about the size of a small county and was divided into four sections, one in each corner of the building.
Each criminal was assigned to one of the four sections according to the nature of their crime and their physical strength. Surrounding the four sections was a military barracks that housed a hundred and thirty thousand Mysonna Army soldiers.
With that many elite soldiers around, even the craziest and most violent of criminals became as gentle as lambs. Outside the prison and military barracks was a recreational compound where the soldiers could relax and unwind.
Due to the harsh environment of the desert, it barely had any visitors all year round. To have the troops be on high alert at all times would place a huge amount of stress on them.
In order to counter this, Northern Crimson Prison was equipped with entertainment facilities much better than the ones in the cities.
Standing atop the walls on the north end of Northern Crimson Prison with his left arm in a cast, Hayes and Malcolm were watching the prisoners toil away in shackles.
“Say, Malcolm, are all these criminals sent here to do hard labor?” Hayes asked.
Malcolm let out a hearty chuckle after hearing that.
“You’re absolutely right, Hayes!” He then took a huge puff of his cigarette as he continued, “We’re in the middle of the Alosara Desert at the border of Chanaea. Ibica is just west of us. They’ve tried invading this border countless times in the past, and they still do today. While the Alosara Desert may not be rich in resources, it is still Chanaean soil, so we can’t let them have their way.
However, due to the desert’s harsh environment, it would be difficult to provide the troops here with the supplies that they needed. One thousand and three hundred years ago, the person in power decided to heed the advice of his minister and had an observation base constructed here in this oasis.
That formed the basis of Northern Crimson Prison. Because very few craftsmen were willing to come here to repair the building back then, the people in power sent criminals who had committed serious crimes here to do it instead. Even after Asura’s Office took over, that tradition still remains till this day.”
“Oasis?” Hayes stared into the distance after hearing what Malcolm said, but all he could see were sandy plains everywhere. Malcolm burst out laughing when he saw Hayes’ response.
“That oasis was from a thousand and three hundred years ago! There’s no way it’d still exist now!” Hayes flashed him an awkward smile in response.
“By the way, Malcolm, I hear Northern Crimson Prison is famous for having zero escapees. However, your guards here don’t seem all that strict when performing their duties. In fact, I spotted quite a few possible escape routes while we went for a walk earlier. You guys have tons of incredibly violent criminals here, and some of them are even highly intelligent. Has no one ever tried to escape?”
Malcolm grinned gleefully as he replied, “Look around you, Tiger. Even if they manage to escape, where could they possibly go? There’s nothing but sand everywhere! For your information, multiple large-scale riots have broken out since the construction of the observation base.”
“What happened, then? Did the escapees all come running back after a few days?” Malcolm tossed his cigarette aside and pointed at the desert outside the walls.
“Look over there, Tiger. Sometimes, when the wind isn’t blowing the sand all over the place, you’ll be able to see some heavy artillery units stationed about dozens of miles away. One would have to be a part of a large group of soldiers in order to get past all that firepower. Otherwise, they’ll just end up being cannon fodder.”
Being a highly-trained military commander, Hayes began observing the terrain around them after hearing that. Sure enough, it had lots of choke points that were easy to defend from, making the prison a near impenetrable fort.
“You’re right. It’s practically impossible to escape from here!” Hayes exclaimed.
“Stop worrying about them making an escape, Tiger! You’re quite the gutsy one, challenging the Excalibur King of War on your first day here at Northern Crimson Prison. I know you’re only here due to formalities. Just try to relax while you recover from your injury. Mr. Goldstein will let you out of here when the time comes,” Malcolm said with a chuckle.
Their conversation was interrupted by the loud noise of a fighter jet. The two of them turned around and saw a dark-colored object zooming toward them in the sky.
The door to the observation tower beside them opened, and a soldier came running out as he yelled, “Commander, we have a drone closing in at high speed!”
“Impose Level One martial law! Activate anti-aircraft systems and lock on to that drone!” “Yes, sir!”
All the prisoners in Northern Crimson Prison looked up in surprise when they heard the air raid sirens blaring all over the facility.
“Get down!” Hundreds of soldiers then fired warning shots at the sky to shock the prisoners into submission.
Although such incidents were rare, the soldiers were trained to shoot first and ask questions later if the prison came under attack from external forces.
The purpose of that was to prevent the prisoners from starting a riot during the chaos. As the prisoners there were all on death row, it wouldn’t make much of a difference even if they killed them anyway.
“Get down, all of you! Men, you are authorized to open fire at any prisoners still standing in three, two, one…”
Orders like that were being barked all across Northern Crimson Prison. The incoming drone suddenly raised its altitude when it got close to the prison walls.
That was when a hoarse voice rang out on all wireless communication systems in Northern Crimson Prison.
“Attention, Northern Crimson Prison! Attention, Northern Crimson Prison! I am from the Second Special Forces of the Eastern Army! I repeat, attention, Northern Crimson Prison…”
