Chapter 120 Slave Market

The slave trade was one of Blizzard City's pillar industries. The major slave traders of the Luying Empire kept a large number of slave-catching teams in the north, specializing in capturing slaves.

The frost troll, frost giant, and demihuman races of the Frozen Wasteland were popular commodities in the slave market.

There were also some rare small ethnic groups. Like the little people in cages, less than a foot tall, with dragonfly-like transparent wings, were "Flower Sprites." They possessed a decent level of intelligence and were skilled in simple magic for cultivating flowers. They were often kept as pets in the back gardens of wealthy nobles.

There were also gnomes, lizardmen, troglodytes, half-elves, snow maidens... As long as they weren't human, all kinds of intelligent humanoid races were objects of capture and sale for slave traders.

These rare slaves were very popular in the upper class of Luying.

Blizzard City had a large market specifically planned for slave trading, located in the eastern part of the city.

It was a huge building with a wine-red roof, resembling a train station.

When Suren arrived, it was dusk, the busiest time for market transactions.

On both sides of the street were slave shops with various signs hanging. Each shop had a large iron cage in front, containing some "samples" for display.

The prices of the goods were posted at the entrance.

"High-quality demihumans, 100,000-200,000 Resso each, discounts for large quantities."

"Adult giants, starting from 800,000 Resso each."

"Rare snow maidens, starting from 5,000,000 Resso each."

Here, at the point of origin, the prices listed on these signs were much cheaper than at Gadolundt Port in Luying.

After all, the transportation of slaves also had a high loss rate.

Shipping them overseas to the territory of Luying involved storms, plagues, pirates, and a series of uncertain factors. There was also the possibility of complete annihilation. A survival rate of five or six out of ten was considered pretty good.

In addition to the shops, there were also stalls run by neutral mercenary groups and slave-catching teams in the market. These scattered slaves were chained in a row with anti-magic chains, led around like livestock and sold on the street.

The streets were crowded with people. Here, one could pick first-hand slaves at the most affordable prices. Wealthy masters and ladies dressed in fancy clothes were wearing gas masks, choosing the slaves they liked, and bargaining over prices.

…

The natives of the Frozen Wasteland rarely bathed, and the animal skins they wore had a strong odor. Especially trolls with their thick fur who never bathed in their lives, one could smell a pungent odor from a long distance. The slaves also had no toilets; they ate, drank, and relieved themselves in the cages, so the air in the slave market was filled with a strange smell.

Suren walked down the street, specifically looking for shops selling demihumans.

If possible, he wouldn't mind buying the Dalu tribe's slaves. But there were too many slaves here, and his financial ability simply couldn't afford to buy them all. What's more, there was a constant stream of slaves being caught every day. In this dog-eat-dog world, buying and selling wouldn't solve the fundamental problem.

Suren looked at many shops, trying to find someone who spoke Common and could communicate. Like the elder Pasu who had given him a prophecy last time.

But he didn't find one.

In the end, after wandering around for a long time, he arrived at the large slave trading area in the market.

Just as he walked over, he saw several stewards from large slave trading firms chatting idly at the entrance of a warehouse.

Even without deliberately listening, he picked up some information.

"Damn it, recently, several of our chamber's slave-catching teams going to the Silent Forest have been attacked. They had clearly caught a lot of good stuff, but the slaves were released!"

"It must have been Hoge of the Fist of Justice... I heard that guy is now forming some kind of resistance army, rebelling against slave doctors. I heard that he has united some alien races to resist slave capture on the Frozen Wasteland. The slave-catching groups of the major chambers of commerce are frequently attacked, and many of them are caused by that gang."

"That damned guy, he shouldn't be a bounty hunter, but why does he want to interfere in the slave business! This is a regular business permitted by the imperial law! Oh, those guys who scold 'the slave business is shameful', do they know how much tax revenue we create for the empire? Without us, the Empire's fleet would be at least two percent smaller! Two percent!"

"Yes, business is getting harder and harder to do..."

"..."

Suren walked over.

A steward with a goatee was sharp-eyed and saw him. A smiling face immediately greeted him, "Sir, are you here to buy slaves? Oh, you've come to the right place. Our 'Sun Slave Trading Firm' has the most complete variety and the highest quality slaves!"

As he spoke, he sized up Suren in his hunter's attire and subtly reminded him, "Sir, how many slaves do you need?"

This was a large-scale wholesale market and didn't do small business.

Suren had an impression of this "Sun Slave Trading Firm," one of the largest slave trading firms in the imperial capital. The batch of slaves he bought at Gadolundt Port before was sold by this firm.

He tossed a silver coin as a tip and said, "Take me to have a look. I want to buy some demihumans."

The goatee steward saw that Suren was generous and was overjoyed, "Alright. Sir, this way please. There are some samples in the shop. If you're not satisfied, we can go to the warehouse. There are more there."

Suren remained silent and followed him over.

The large trading firm had a lot of slaves, like a farm. The slaves were divided into categories and kept in rows of iron cages.

To make it easier for customers to inspect the goods, many slaves, especially female slaves, were displayed wearing only thin animal skins. They shivered in the cold wind, and their skin showed signs of frostbite.

"Sir, what are your requirements for demihumans? For example, species, skin color, age, gender, height?"

The goatee steward constantly flashed a professional smile at Suren.

While inquiring, he pointed to the demihumans in the cage and introduced, "If you want to buy a maid, I recommend buying a deer tribe demihuman. They are relatively gentle and easy to tame. If you want a more enjoyable life experience, rabbit and fox tribe demihumans are even better... I guarantee with the reputation of the trading firm that we sell first-hand goods that no one has ever touched! This can't be compared to those inferior goods of unknown origin outside..."

Suren asked expressionlessly, "Are there any demihumans here who can speak a little Common?"

The goatee steward showed a troubled expression, "Oh~ that's very rare. Only a very few demihumans can speak Common. Usually, they are not easily captured..."

Suren said in a wealthy tone, "Price is not a problem."

Hearing this, the goatee's eyes lit up, and he said, "I'm not too sure either. Why don't we go take a look at the warehouse?"

Suren nodded silently.

…

Suren followed the steward around the back of the shop. Through a heavily guarded iron gate, they arrived at a large underground warehouse.

The lights were very dim, and all he could see were iron cages, mostly covered with canvas.

Suren sensed the soul flames and estimated there were probably several hundred people.

Hearing someone coming down, there was a rustling sound in the cages.

With a "whoosh" sound.

The steward called out to the workers behind him to lift the canvas of an iron cage and introduced, "This was brought back by the hunting team the day before yesterday. They are mostly very precious snow fox and wolf tribe demihumans. These are truly top-quality goods..."

Suren glanced at them. These demihumans were almost indistinguishable from humans, except for the furry ears on their heads and the tails behind them. They looked well-behaved. Their ages were just right, from their teens to their twenties.

But he also saw pairs of eyes full of hatred.

At this time, the worker also threw a few black bread in. There were a dozen people in a cage. No one scrambled for it. An older demihuman picked up the bread, broke it into pieces, and distributed it to everyone. That small piece of bread was probably only one-tenth of what a normal person would eat in a day.

The steward keenly caught Suren's attention and explained, "Sir, as you know, the demihumans who have just been captured are very wild. We can't feed them too much, otherwise, they will have the strength to make trouble, which will be very troublesome."

He actually knew that there were no demihumans in this batch who could speak Common.

Even if there were, they would hide it and never communicate with humans.

Bringing Suren down was just to let him see this batch of goods. If they could be sold here, the profit would be relatively higher.

Suren naturally knew this problem. He was thinking about how to pick out someone who understood Common.

He was thinking of trying again with the only Dalu language he knew, like last time. Unexpectedly, at this time, there was a sudden "clatter" of iron chains in the distance. It was as if a beast locked in a certain cage had suddenly awakened and was struggling violently.

In his perception, that group of soul fire was higher than all the demihumans here, probably equivalent to a Third Order professional.

Suren cast a questioning look, "What's that?"

The steward looked a little embarrassed and said, "That's a demihuman who was just caught yesterday. She's very wild. The hunting team said that she seemed to be a survivor of this fox tribe, who followed them all the way to Blizzard City. Yesterday, she sneaked into the warehouse to try to rescue this batch of slaves. Hehe... she almost succeeded."

Suren naturally knew that the warehouse didn't seem heavily guarded, but in the dark, there was actually a Fourth Order guard lurking.

Hearing this, he became interested, "Take me to see."

Among the Dalu tribe, the stronger the strength, the greater the possibility of knowing Common.

The steward seemed a little reluctant and led him to the iron box in the corner. He lifted the canvas, but it wasn't a person, but a huge beast, like a fox, like a wolf, with snow-white fur that looked very noble, but it was covered in blood. Runic chains pierced through the snow fox's limbs, and blood flowed freely.

But even so, she was still struggling, trying to break free from the chains.

Seeing someone coming, she stared fiercely at Suren and the two men outside the cage, and a terrifying roar came from her throat.

The murderous gaze made the steward's scalp tingle. He explained, "I don't know why she can still maintain her beast form. She should be a very rare species. To catch her, our trading firm lost several people."

After a pause, he said to Suren, "Distinguished guest, let's take a look at the others. This kind of slave is very troublesome to tame. If you buy it, it may be dangerous to you..."

Suren shook his head, walked to the iron cage, and asked, "Can you speak Common? If you can, I will buy you."

As soon as he finished speaking, as expected, the snow fox in the cage only responded with a roar.

At this time, Suren didn't say much. He glanced at the steward, and suddenly said, "You're a little sleepy..."

The steward happened to meet the light in Suren's eyes. His head didn't react, and his pupils instantly dilated, as if he was frozen there.

This was visual hypnosis.

Suren's current mental power made it easy to hypnotize an ordinary person.

He ignored the steward and turned to the snow fox in the cage and said, "&*%ф%￥e￥..."

This was the only Dalu language he knew.

Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the snow fox suddenly became quiet.

Those azure blue eyes stared at the human in front of her in disbelief.

Suren didn't delay and said again, "If you can understand Common, nod your head. I have no malice towards you. I know Elder Pasu, if he is still alive."

The white fox obviously understood. She looked at Suren, hesitated for a moment, and nodded slowly.

Sure enough, she understood!

Suren was overjoyed, but he knew it wasn't the time to chat.

The guard lurking in the distance had already noticed something.

The steward also returned to his senses from a moment of trance. It seemed that he didn't remember what had just happened. He patted his head, "Oh, where were we? Oh, sir, should we go take a look at something else?"

Suren pointed to the snow fox who had quieted down in the cage and said, "I think this one is good. How much is she?"

The steward looked embarrassed, "But..."

Suren shook his head and said, "Just name the price. I'll be responsible if anything happens."

Hearing this, the steward didn't say much. Merchants only cared about profits, and his mind immediately became active, "This is a rare breed that can completely transform into a beast. If she were at the Imperial Capital Auction House, I think she could sell for at least ten million Resso!"

Suren didn't want to be taken advantage of. What's more, he didn't have much money on him now, "That's why I'm interested in her because she's a rare breed. A final price of three million! That's already ten times the price of an average slave!"

A shrewd look flashed in the steward's eyes, and he pretended to look embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I can't make the decision. I have to ask the boss. Of course, if you can offer five million, I don't think the boss will blame me if I sell her..."

Suren knew there was room for bargaining, but he didn't want to waste time, "Okay!"

As he spoke, he took out two large bags of coins from his storage ring and handed them over, "Count the money."

The steward didn't expect the deal to be concluded so easily and secretly cursed himself for asking for too low a price.

But since the money had already been handed to him, he had no choice but to accept it and count it. He said, "Sir, the slave is yours."

…

Not long after, the slave trading firm sent people to move the iron cage wrapped in canvas to the warehouse of the "Owl Inn" where Suren was staying.

Waiting for the people to leave, Suren lifted the canvas and saw the white fox in the cage, looking weak.

With such serious injuries and having been starved for two days, the fierceness in the trading firm was clearly just an act.

Suren opened the iron cage and then unlocked the rune chains that pierced her limbs. The chains had toxins that prevented the wound from healing, and because of the previous struggles, the injury was not light. A large pool of blood flowed out when they were pulled out.

The white fox looked even weaker.

Suren temporarily gave her his ring imprinted with the Isaac family crest. While disassembling the iron chain, he introduced himself, "My name is Suren. I need you to help me with something. It would be better if I could meet the Great Daluoi of the Dalu tribe. A descendant of the Isaac family asked me to bring a few words..."

After saying this, the last trace of tension in the white fox's eyes relaxed. She spoke in a very weak voice, "My name is Yuta, a Druid of the White Wolf Tribe..."

Suren nodded, signaling her not to say more.

But looking at her four-to-five-meter white fox body, he frowned.

It wouldn't be convenient to bring her into the inn like this.

He asked, "By the way, can you transform back into human form?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the white fox wanted to say something, but suddenly fainted.

Then, that huge beast body shrank visibly, and the snow-white fur receded like a tide, turning into a naked human form. This was a demihuman woman with short snow-white hair and a red inverted triangle totem on her face.

Suren looked at Yuta curled up in the corner of the iron cage and sighed slightly.

Too weak, she finally fainted.

The inn's warehouse was very cold, and it wasn't the time to treat her injuries. He took out a cloak, wrapped it around the white-haired girl, and then picked her up.

After using a potion to deal with the blood in the cage, he carried the person and walked up the inn's stairs.

Then he came to Room 303 on the third floor.

The room had heating. After entering the room, Suren put the person on the bed.

Blood was still flowing, and soon a large area of the snow-white sheets was soaked red.

If he didn't deal with it quickly, this injury could take her life.

Suren didn't delay and took out the potion for treating wounds, carefully cleaned her wounds, and then the Eight-Armed Spider Spear controlled the surgical instruments, rapidly suturing the wounds.

Suren was multi-tasking. One person was equivalent to an entire medical team, and the surgery was proceeding in an orderly manner.

A not-too-difficult surgical operation was basically resolved in half an hour.

Yuta still had a fever, and he injected a healing potion.

The Dalu tribe and humans were completely different races, and Suren wasn't sure if human medicine would be effective.

But after observing for a few minutes, the injury was improving, so it seemed to be useful.

Suren cleaned up the blood on the bed, covered Yuta with the quilt, and covered her scantily clad graceful figure.

No wonder the Dalu tribe was so sought after by the rich in the slave market. Their limbs and waists were of the kind of strength and symmetry, and they did have a wild beauty different from human women.

However, Suren was also very curious about what kind of demihuman this Yuta was.

When he was treating her injuries just now, he also saw that her hair color was a very high-grade snow-white, she had a pair of furry pointed ears, and there was a very soft tail on her coccyx. Everything else was the same as humans.

Suren wasn't sure if she was a fox tribe or a wolf tribe.

Hearing her breathing had stabilized, he was completely relieved.

Outside the window, it was already dark, and night had fallen.

Snowflakes had accumulated a thick layer on the windowsill. Looking out, he could see the orange lights in the opposite house.

It would probably take some time for Yuta to wake up.

Suren sat in front of the window and began to tinker with his hair.

The Eight-Armed Spider Spear took out a micro-carving knife and began to carve the hair.

Now that he had advanced, untreated witch hair was not enough to deal with enemies above the Third Order.

Like when he killed "Poison Frog" Boone before, the silk threads were easily corroded and broken by the poison.

He needed tougher hair.

Fortunately, after killing that guy, he stripped off an almost complete "Fourth Order Water Element Law". After the rune was engraved, the water element enveloped it, which was enough to increase the toughness of the hair several times. The next time he encountered a Fourth Order professional, it wouldn't break so easily.

"Swish," "swish," "swish," "swish"...

A dense, fine sound rang out in the room.

Suren carved at lightning speed.

Before, it took him a day to engrave runes that increased toughness on the hair, and he could only do dozens of meters.

Now that he had awakened multi-tasking, his carving was smooth and efficient, increasing the efficiency dozens of times.

Before long, he had created a large number of rune hairs.

In the second half of the night, he also thought that carving was too boring. While a few spider spears were making hair, he also took out the puppets and mechanical materials he had bought from the black market during the day and began tinkering with his new puppets.

The [Cold Iron Ore] produced in the Northern Wasteland was a rare material that could carry Fourth Order Frost Runes. With this thing, Suren could mass-produce new types of [Frost Dolls]. When this puppet was formed, spraying frost all over the sky, the control shortcomings of his puppet army would be greatly improved.

There was also the [Alchemy Golem] studied by his teacher Xili, with a high-level magic core, and he could also start researching it.

…

Suren bought Yuta, but he didn't know that a team of people in Blizzard City was also watching that batch of demihuman slaves.

"What, that Druid was bought?"

"Yes. Half a quarter of an hour ago."

"Damn it! We finally found a tribe with a Druid. We were about to set sail, and she disappeared again?"

"No, boss, she hasn't disappeared yet. That person lives in the 'Owl Inn', and the demihuman slave is also there."

"Keep a close eye on them! As soon as that person takes her out of the city, notify me immediately. This 'rescue plan' must not fail again."

"Yes, boss."