The slave trade was actually a new industry within the Silver Blood Society of Profound Candle Prefecture. Aside from a few merchant fleets willing to be the first to try it, none of the other merchant associations had gotten involved.
It was not because the merchants had consciences. They simply believed that although the profits were high, the risks were even greater. They could already make a fortune by holding on to their existing businesses. If they had a chance to pick up free money, they would do so—but if picking it up carried even the slightest risk, they would politely decline.
The slave trade did not involve shipping slaves from the East Sun District elsewhere to be sold as indentured laborers. To be fair, the East Sun District was actually rather short on people. Setting aside major slave-owning families like the Jing family, even the merchant associations that ran factories preferred using slaves in place of workers. Any local merchant association dealing in people who sold themselves into servitude could absorb them on its own; there was no way to sell them elsewhere.
The process of the slave trade actually began in Profound Candle Prefecture. They transported important supplies such as weapons and grain to the Skyline District, sold them to the Skyline Warlords in exchange for gold and silver, and purchased prisoners of war and refugees to turn into slaves. They then transported them to the sparsely populated Scardy for sale. After obtaining large quantities of agricultural products from Scardy's landowners, they would return to Profound Candle Prefecture. A single round brought in enormous amounts of money and produce, making it obscenely profitable.
The process itself made it clear that the slave trade had only risen after the Skyline District fell into chaos. There were simply too many