"Master butler?" Unas immediately seized on the key point, "Is this how you address Fran?"
"No, no, Master Fran is not here, so the butler is the butler..."
"Fran isn't here? Where did he go?"
It turns out that although Fran wasn't one of the top arms dealers, he was quite famous for his weapons collection and had a good personal relationship with Thaurissan. After the Dead Gate was attacked, he took a few confidants and bodyguards and hid in the Imperial Palace, while his housekeeper stayed behind to look after it.
Without their leader, and seeing so many human troops attacking only their family, the fortress was thrown into chaos. The steward hurriedly ordered the only human remaining to come out and negotiate, raising a white flag.
It's unclear when it started, but slave owners began keeping female slaves of different races. The more types they kept, the more prestigious they were. Anxi was a human female slave that Fran bought and raised from a young age. She had long forgotten where she was from. Today was the first time she had seen so many of her own kind, and she felt both strange and familiar with them.
What a wicked slave society! Hearing her story, everyone felt a pang of pity. Unas said, "From today onwards, you are a free woman. You will no longer be a slave to anyone."
Anxi, however, did not show much joy. She had been raised as a slave since childhood and had only learned to obey her master. She had no idea how precious freedom was.
"Are there any female slaves inside who look like me?" Nightmoon interjected.
"Eve is an Elf with long ears, but she doesn't have purple skin like her sister."
Huoye couldn't help but ask, "Do you look similar to me?"
Seeing Anxi nod silently, Huoye suddenly became restless, Unas gestured for him to calm down.
"Have you seen a dark red crystal sword near Fran? About this long and this wide..." Unas gestured, describing the appearance of Firekiss to her.
Anxi knew, "Yes, this is the master's favorite weapon lately. He always carries it on his person and plays with it whenever he wants."
"Damn it, did Fran take it with him?" Unas asked anxiously, "Did he take this sword with him when he left today?"
"I don't know, I was locked up at the time."
Unas could only ask the others inside. He immediately sent several loud-voiced soldiers to shout into the fortress, asking about the whereabouts of Firekiss and offering them a way to avoid death if they laid down their weapons and surrendered.
A moment later, the other party threw a large black package down from the window. The package hit the ground with a loud thud. When opened, it was full of gold bars, silver ingots, and jewelry, worth about ten thousand Gold Coins, along with a letter.
The letter expressed the intention to remain neutral and revealed the whereabouts of Firekiss —it hadn't been taken by Fran, but was hidden in his treasure vault. However, the vault's magical lock could only be opened by someone who recognized Fran himself, so they were asked to find Fran first.
Unas was not swayed by the small amount of money or the weak rhetoric in the letter. He took the protection money and then had the soldiers who had challenged him change their lines: If they did not surrender within five minutes, all the enemies would be drowned once he stormed in.
Dwarves fear water most of all, and fittingly, a shallow layer of seawater finally reached this place, but Fran's steward still hadn't made up his mind to surrender.
Huoye, timing it perfectly, unleashed a Pyroblast at the gate five minutes later. The iron gate was instantly blasted and warped. Angela also used an ice wall to block the arrow vents, preventing the enemy from retaliating.
Seeing this, before the second Pyroblast could even hit, the door shook a few times and was suddenly flung open from the inside. A group of Dwarves carrying white cloths walked out, looking at them as if they were wearing mourning clothes.
The leader was a meticulously groomed Dark Iron Dwarves, impeccably dressed and impeccably groomed, who must be Fran's butler.
He seemed to want to introduce himself, but Unas didn't have the time. He simply ordered his men to tie them all up. There were also more than two hundred guards in the fortress, but they all laid down their weapons and surrendered. He occupied Fran's hometown without losing a single soldier. The power of the mage was truly formidable.
The surrendered men were all cooperative, Unas didn't make things difficult for them; he simply tied their hands and feet and locked them in the room where slaves were originally held.
Unas had his steward lead the way, taking the two mages straight to Fran's treasury. As expected of a weapons collector's home, the rooms they passed through were decorated with all sorts of weapons and armor, and all of them were genuine and of good quality. It was a good opportunity for everyone to change into their new clothes.
Unas himself didn't hold back either, casually putting any good loot into his backpack. His men followed suit, and soon Fran's house was completely ransacked.
The imprisoned slaves were all released, and the most eye-catching among them was Fran's multi-racial "harem," which had a very wide range of aesthetics, including short and ugly female Goblins and huge female Ogres.
The most beautiful of them all was the High Elf Eve. Upon suddenly seeing her fellow elf Huoye, she couldn't help but rush over. Although the two Elves didn't know each other before, they embraced and wept like old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.
Unas urged them several times before they reluctantly let go. Judging from their eyes, if they continued hugging, Huoye might become the one left holding the bag.
Fran's treasury was located behind his bedroom, accessible only through a secret door, which the butler unlocked to reveal itself behind a row of shelves.
The butler gestured for them to proceed. "This is all I can do for you. The secret door is enchanted; no one but Master Fran can open it. If you try to force it, the vault might lock automatically."
Angela and Huoye immediately went to the secret door to investigate. With a little stimulation, a faint Magic Circle appeared on the wall. The two mages studied it for a long time but couldn't find any clues. Neither of them knew much about esoteric magic, so they were at a loss as to how to deal with this magic lock.
Are you sure Firekiss inside?
"Yes, the master left in a hurry and didn't take many things with him."
Good things often come with difficulties. Unas suppressed his frustration, thinking that he might have to wait until Rendaen breached the palace before he could capture Fran.
The group retreated, somewhat dejected. The temporary antidote was almost worn off, and the feeling of weakness was returning to the gladiators.
Fortunately, Fran's house was large enough that Unas arranged for two hundred gladiators to rest there, while leaving Fran's original slaves and one hundred slave soldiers to take care of them.
Once outside the gate, Unas felt a sudden loss of purpose. He had heard that Thaurissan's Imperial Palace was the most fortified stronghold in Blackrock Depths, and with the addition of three thousand Ironrage Army, it would not be easy to take it down. Even Rendaen had planned to occupy other places first and then slowly besiege the palace.
"Blackbeard's residence is nearby, shall we go and take a look?" Nightmoon suggested, noticing his absent-minded look.
Unas recalled the dimly lit torture chamber and the humiliation he had suffered, and his pent-up resentment flared into a raging fire. "Lead the way! We're going to wipe out this wealthy district, and we'll start with Blackbeard!"