Goblin Merchant Guild

"Training a batch of strong warriors?" Andres froze for a moment.

Inori said, "Ironstone Town will be my territory in the future. I need to train some people to maintain peace within the territory."

Hearing Inori's explanation, Andres thought of something deeper.

He felt that things were not so simple. Inori claimed it was to protect the territory, but she was probably planning to cultivate a group of her own loyal followers to fulfill her ambitions.

If that was the case, she truly needed someone she could trust completely.

After my former self blocked that blade for her, he must have gained her trust, Andres thought.

"Please rest assured, my lady. I will not fail you," Andres said.

Inori nodded in satisfaction. "The Goblin Merchant Guild deals in slaves, and among them are some children with decent talent. Go pick some out. Start with one hundred people. You needn't consider the price; the most important thing is that their backgrounds are clean."

"Yes," Andres replied.

The Goblin Merchant Guild was the largest merchant guild on Noah Continent and even Sacred Tree Continent, run by the goblin race.

They were involved in a wide range of businesses, including the slave trade.

There had also been slave trading in the original novel. Reno, the protagonist Linley's close friend, had once been sold as a slave.

Inori intended to buy some slaves with decent talent through the Goblin Merchant Guild and train them.

After giving Andres a few more instructions, Inori dismissed him.

Instead of returning to his home in the East District, Andres headed straight for the Goblin Merchant Guild.

He also wanted to use this opportunity to see whether he could find any geniuses he could bind.

The Goblin Merchant Guild had branches in all three human kingdoms of Noah Continent, and its branch in the Oga Kingdom was located outside Oga City.

Because many of its dealings could not be conducted openly and were inconvenient to handle within the city, the Goblin Merchant Guild had built an enormous estate outside Oga City.

A group of guards stood watch outside the estate. After Andres identified himself, he was quickly invited inside.

The entire Oga City now knew that Inori stood behind Andres. Inori was currently the Oga Kingdom's foremost genius and at the height of her fame, so the Goblin Merchant Guild did not dare neglect him.

Andres was led deep into the estate, into a quiet courtyard.

There, he met a goblin.

Goblins were one of the major races of Sacred Tree Continent. Though individually weak, they were exceptionally skilled at calculation and were natural-born merchants.

The Goblin Merchant Guild founded by the goblin race controlled immense wealth, and the goblins used that wealth to nurture and recruit many powerful warriors to protect them.

Even on Sacred Tree Continent, where powerful races stood everywhere, the goblin race possessed immense influence.

The one who appeared before Andres was a middle-aged goblin. He was only thirty or forty centimeters tall, with an oversized head disproportionate to his body, green skin, and blood-red eyes.

He wore an extravagant robe and sat in a specially made chair. Each of his ten knobby fingers was covered in precious gemstone rings.

"Baron Mitchell, I am Ivan Marco, the Goblin Merchant Guild's chief representative in the Oga Kingdom. You may call me Ivan," Ivan said as he rose from his chair and came forward to greet Andres.

"Mr. Ivan." Andres bent down and shook Ivan's hand.

"Baron Mitchell, please have a seat." Ivan gestured invitingly.

This courtyard was clearly where Ivan received distinguished guests. Tables and chairs had already been prepared, and the table was laden with expensive fruits.

Andres sat beside the table and explained the purpose of his visit.

"You wish to purchase some child slaves with cultivation talent? Easily done." Ivan was straightforward. He clapped his hands, and a well-dressed middle-aged man wearing a top hat and carrying himself elegantly entered from outside the courtyard.

After Ivan gave the man a few instructions, the man hurried away. Before long, he returned carrying a thick parchment book.

Ivan took the parchment book and placed it on the table. "Baron Mitchell, aside from a newly arrived batch whose talents have not yet all been tested, every slave currently at this branch is recorded in this book. You may choose as you please."

Ivan pushed the parchment book before Andres, then said to the middle-aged man, "Robert, introduce them to Baron Mitchell."

"Yes." The middle-aged man, Robert, stepped to Andres's side and opened the book for him.

"Please take a look, Baron."

Every page in the parchment book contained an introduction to a slave.

A portrait was placed in the upper-left corner, while the rest listed information such as name, gender, age, and life history.

The slaves recorded in the parchment book varied in age. Robert skillfully picked out the children under ten, turning the pages one by one for Andres to examine.

"Melissa, eight years old, female, from Twin Forest Town in the Oga Kingdom. Her family was poor, and she was sold by her parents. Talent: Water Element, Medium Grade."

The first person Andres saw was a girl named Melissa, whose cultivation talent was Water Element Medium Grade.

There were no mages in this world, only warriors. This cultivation talent referred to a warrior's talent.

The human kingdoms had a unified standard for warrior cultivation talent.

Generally speaking, Medium-Grade Talent meant one had a high chance of becoming a Level Six Warrior and some hope of breaking through to Level Seven.

High-Grade Talent meant one had a high chance of becoming a Level Seven Warrior and some hope of breaking through to Level Eight.

Super-Grade Talent meant one had a high chance of becoming Level Eight and some hope of breaking through to Ninth Rank.

Super-Grade Talent was the highest classification. There were no further divisions beyond it.

Having Medium-Grade Talent meant that this girl named Melissa would most likely become a Level Six Warrior in the future.

As for Water Element, it meant she was suited to cultivating Water Element Battle Qi.

In the original novel, mages absorbed the elements of heaven and earth and transformed them into "magic power."

A warrior's cultivation of Battle Qi was similar to a mage refining magic power. They likewise absorbed the elements between heaven and earth, refining and purifying them within their bodies into "Battle Qi."

Therefore, apart from special bloodlines like the Four Ultimate Warriors, most warriors' Battle Qi had elemental distinctions.

Before Andres entered the Warrior Academy of the Oga Kingdom, he had also undergone a talent test. He possessed Wind Element High-Grade Talent and cultivated Wind Element Battle Qi.

Medium Grade is acceptable, Andres thought.

Most people had Low-Grade Talent. High Grade was rare, while Super Grade was extraordinarily scarce.

At the bottom of the parchment page containing Melissa's information, "1,000 gold coins" was written in large, eye-catching letters.

That was the price required to purchase Melissa.

In the three great kingdoms, an ordinary commoner could earn twenty or thirty gold coins in a year.

For soldiers in the military, an ordinary soldier's annual pay was one hundred gold coins.

The price was not low, but considering that Melissa had cultivation talent, it was acceptable.

Andres silently remembered the girl named Melissa and placed her on the list of candidates.

Robert continued turning the pages. Most of the children only had Low-Grade Talent. Few reached Medium Grade, fewer than ten had High-Grade Talent, and there was not a single one with Super-Grade Talent.

"Mr. Robert, are there any children with Super-Grade Talent?" Andres could not help asking.

His main purpose in coming here was to see whether he could discover any geniuses he could bind. Such geniuses could only be found among those with Super-Grade Talent.

Robert was slightly taken aback and instinctively glanced at Ivan.

Seeing this, Andres thought there might be a chance.

Ivan merely smiled. "Baron Mitchell, children with that level of talent are extremely rare. Even for the Goblin Merchant Guild, they are not easy to find. And even if we did have one, we would not sell them. We would keep them to train ourselves."

Hearing that, Andres could only feel helpless.

The Goblin Merchant Guild was unwilling to sell, and there was nothing he could do. With his current strength, he could not force the Goblin Merchant Guild to comply.

Just as Andres was about to select a few children and finish this errand, a youthful-looking goblin suddenly rushed in, his face full of excitement.

"Arnold, why are you behaving so disgracefully? Can't you see I'm entertaining a guest?" Ivan said in displeasure.

Yet the goblin, Arnold, seemed not to notice Ivan's displeasure at all. He excitedly said, "Father, the test results for the newly arrived slaves are out. One child named Teresa has Wind Element Super-Grade Talent!"