This time, when he went to Kadlo Province, he planned to visit his cousin Brian first and buy some weapons before finding a way to purchase a batch of slaves.
In truth, he preferred recruiting Freemen, but no fool would come live beyond the dangerous borderlands.
Still, the situation was not impossible to change. That monster assault might prove to be a good opportunity.
On the morning of June 8, Velin dressed himself, loaded a carriage with food, brought five empty carriages, and led Orlando, four knights, and a squad of soldiers toward Ridge Territory more than two hundred kilometers away.
As Belder watched his lord depart, he felt the burden on his shoulders grow heavier. But this was also an opportunity.
The territory was still in its early stages of development. The more he could prove his worth, the more weight he would carry in his lord's heart, and he would not be overshadowed by Orlando, the Guardian Knight.
Even someone as dull as he had picked up some clues over the past half month. His lord intended to cultivate Orlando and had even recruited a lowly serf as a Knight Squire. Those were dangerous signs.
"During this time, I must not only manage the territory well, but also make the entire territory run efficiently." Belder clenched his fists and made up his mind. He absolutely could not be abandoned by his lord.
As a knight of common birth, he wanted to rise through the ranks, become a commander, achieve fame and success, return to his hometown, and grind those young minor nobles who had looked down on him into the dirt.
Inside Ridge Castle in Ridge Territory, a Butler entered Brian's room and respectfully reported, "My lord, Lord Velin has arrived."
"Who did you say?"
Brian stopped writing and looked up at the Butler.
"My lord, it is Lord Velin, who visited you a month ago. He has led a convoy and is waiting outside the castle."
"He came after only a month? Could something have happened to him?"
Brian rose to his feet and headed for the castle gates, concern appearing on his face.
Halfway there, the Butler saw his worried master and explained, "My lord, there is no need to worry. Although Young Master Velin has few men, every one of them is a warrior. He most likely came to purchase weapons from us."
"I hope so."
Hearing that, Brian answered the Butler and quickened his pace.
"Cousin Brian, it has been a long time."
When Velin saw the familiar figure emerge from the castle, he stepped forward and greeted him with a smile.
"Velin, what happened? Did you run into bandits? Did your expansion fail? If you need it, I can lend you some men." Brian saw the bloodstains on Velin's clothes, noticed that he had brought far fewer people than last time, and saw the more than twenty bandits tied up nearby.
"Thank you for your concern, Cousin. It is all bandit blood, so there is no need to worry." Velin was touched by his honest cousin's concern and replied with a smile, "This time, I have come to bring you a big deal."
Hearing that everything was fine, Brian let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Business? Don't tell me you have already established yourself in the Toxsic Region."
"Of course. With my abilities, I occupied a territory in less than half a month."
Before a relative who cared about him, Velin could not help showing off his achievements.
"By the way, what business were you talking about?" After chatting for a while, Brian asked.
"It is like this, Cousin. I..." Velin slowly explained what he needed to do. "Right now, I need slaves and weapons to guard against a monster counterattack."
"Weapons are easy. I still have over two hundred sets of leather armor and more than a thousand longswords that I can trade to you." Brian changed the subject and continued, "As for slaves, to be honest, my territory is short on people everywhere. If you need them, I can give you a few blacksmiths and fifty serfs, but I cannot spare any more."
Hearing that, Velin hurriedly said, "Cousin, I appreciate your kindness. My main purpose in coming this time is to trade for weapons. As for slaves, I plan to buy them from the noble territories closer to the Provincial Capital."
"Alright, then how many weapons do you need this time?"
"One hundred sets of leather armor and three hundred longswords. Work out the price."
"A set of leather armor costs 80 Gold Coins, and a longsword costs 30 Gold Coins. One hundred sets of leather armor and three hundred longswords come to a total of 17,000 Gold Coins."
"Cousin, that price seems off. Why is it so much lower than the market price?"
"We are brothers. How could I use market prices to rip you off?" Brian laughed heartily and explained to Velin with a sincere expression.
Velin understood perfectly. He took seventeen Gold Notes worth one thousand Gold Coins each from his clothes, along with a letter tucked among them, and handed them all to his cousin.
Brian did not even inspect them before stuffing them directly into his pocket.
Afterward, Velin temporarily left the twenty-three Bandit Slaves in Brian's castle. He would collect them along with the weapons when he returned.
Eleven days after leaving Lake of Star Prayer, Velin arrived in the noble territories surrounding Cadro Province.
The closer the territories were to the Provincial Capital, the safer they became, and the larger their populations were. Accordingly, the practice of selling slaves was also more widespread here.
This time, Velin was headed for a city called Bagamoio. As a famous slave trading center in Cadro Province, it held a large number of slaves.
Velin intended to buy a batch of serfs there to replenish the territory's population.
After settling the others outside the city, Velin entered Bagamoio, the slave city, with Orlando and two other knights.
Perhaps to put customers at ease, the city's environment was much better than that of the Provincial Capital. Soldiers also patrolled the streets to prevent riots.
"My lord, I know Bagamoio very well. May I serve you?" A boy of thirteen or fourteen approached, bowed, and looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"Orlando, give him a Silver Coin."
Velin looked over the maze-like streets and realized that he truly needed a guide.
The boy looked at Orlando, who was about the same age as him, with great envy. He respectfully accepted the Silver Coin and carefully tucked it into his pocket.
"My lord, where would you like to go?"
"A place that sells strong slaves." Velin thought for a moment, then added, "There should be many of them, with a wide variety."
The boy's eyes were earnest as he immediately replied, "My lord, please follow me."
After several turns, the group followed the boy to a secluded slave market.
The area was deserted. Velin frowned, displeasure in his voice. "Are you fooling me?"
At his side, Orlando drew his Knight's Shortsword and placed it on the boy's shoulder.
Seeing the sharp shortsword, the boy read in the knight's eyes that if he failed to give a satisfactory explanation, his head would be separated from his body in an instant.
"My lord, I did not deceive you." The boy immediately dropped to his knees and explained rapidly, "The slaves sold here are very varied. It only looks like this because of harassment from a noble lord. Once you go inside and take a look, you will understand that I was telling the truth."
"I hope that is the case. Otherwise, I can only offer the local nobles ten Gold Coins."
After saying that, Velin led his men into the slave market.
Once the boy saw the customers enter, he went behind the merchant association and knocked on a door.
A while later, a bag of coins was tossed out.
The boy carefully scanned the surroundings. Once he saw no one, he picked up the money bag, tucked it into his pocket, and disappeared into the streets.
Before you continue