Slave Market

After determining his next objective, Loren walked out of the room and summoned Fiana and Anor.

The moment Fiana saw Loren, her brow furrowed.

She felt that Loren had become different, yet she couldn't quite pinpoint what had changed.

"Anor, prepare the carriage. Also, call Robert. We're going to the slave market."

Loren's calm voice interrupted Fiana's thoughts.

"Yes, Lord Loren."

Anor respectfully replied before immediately turning to lead the way.

The girl pondered Loren's retreating figure for a long time but found no answers, so she decided to stop thinking about it.

The three set off again.

Anor couldn't explain why, but he always felt an innate fear around Loren, as if the person beside him wasn't human but an ancient dragon, sending chills down his spine.

After awakening his Bloodline Power, his senses became sharper, and his heart was constantly shrouded in unease.

The carriage arrived at the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild amidst a strange atmosphere.

Robert, who had just returned, was called by Anor and followed Loren to the largest slave trading market in the entire northern region of the Silver Moon Kingdom—First District.

"Decker City is located in the Endless Wasteland, so we can capture Orcs, half-orcs, Dungeon Races, Lizardmen, and so on from there.

Therefore, the slave trade in Decker City has always been very prosperous.

Lord Loren, if you need to purchase slaves, it would be more advantageous to buy from the merchant guild under the City Lord's name, using the Orchid Family's name.

The City Lord controls the largest slave trading channels. With your status, he will undoubtedly offer the best slaves."

In the carriage, Loren listened to Anor's words and nodded slightly. "Let's check the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild first. If we don't find anything suitable, we'll discuss it further. Are there any changes in slave prices now?"

Anor shook his head.

"Due to the prosperous slave trade, and the fact that the Endless Wasteland, a source of slaves, is just outside the city, the price of slaves in Decker City is much lower than buying them within the Silver Moon Kingdom."

"What are the prices?"

"Black Iron Grade slaves are about twenty thousand Puck each, Bronze Grade are 50,000, Silver Grade are 150,000-200,000, and Gold Grade are around 2 million. As for Platinum-grade..."

Anor secretly glanced at the expressionless Fiana as he spoke, instinctively shrinking back slightly and whispering.

"Platinum experts possess terrifying strength and are very difficult to capture, so the price is around 50 million Puck."

"And these are just slaves who haven't awakened their bloodlines. The price often doubles after awakening their bloodlines."

Fifty million for Platinum-grade? And it doubles after awakening their bloodlines?

Loren nodded thoughtfully.

The price of the slave trade was directly linked to strength, which made him abandon the idea of directly buying a few Gold Grade slaves.

He currently had 20 million in cash and a 5 million credit limit at the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild. Even using it all, he could only buy 10 Gold Grade slaves, or less than two hundred if he bought Silver Grade.

It wasn't cost-effective.

He couldn't spend all this money here. After buying slaves, he would still need to purchase weapons and equipment for them, which would be another significant expense.

Loren felt a headache coming on, thinking that he would need to find ways to make money in the future. Twenty million wasn't very useful.

About half an hour later, the carriage slowly stopped in front of a cluster of obelisk-shaped buildings that resembled a palace.

The outer walls of the building complex were carved with bas-reliefs of sky knights riding griffins and fighting a group of twisted, filthy monsters. They looked ancient and grand, filled with epic sorrow.

Loren wasn't interested in the building itself. After getting off the carriage, his gaze was mainly focused on the surrounding crowd.

Robert took the initiative to introduce.

"Lord Loren, this is the largest slave trading market in the northern region. It was built when Decker City was first founded two hundred years ago.

It has the most complete variety of slaves. If you wish, you can even buy sea creatures from thousands of miles away, mummies from the Golden Desert, or bone dragons from dimensional planes!"

"Our Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild also has a shop inside."

After saying that, he puffed out his chest, seeming exceptionally proud of this fact.

Loren found it somewhat amusing and ignored him. After observing the exotic-looking building for a moment, he nodded slightly.

"Lead the way."

"Yes, my lord. Believe me, you will be able to buy any slave you desire in here."

Although Loren's reaction was calm, Robert's enthusiasm did not diminish. He immediately had two guards clear the way ahead to prevent anyone from bumping into Loren.

When the surrounding people saw the noble robes and the noble crest on Loren's chest, their faces immediately showed caution, and they spread out to the sides, not daring to approach.

In this world where status was clearly defined, the Nobles, who were the rulers, were not people that ordinary adventurers like them could afford to offend.

The slave market was bustling with people: warriors carrying greatswords, thieves with shifty eyes looking around, and sharp-eyed archers with longbows on their backs.

Some of these professionals were here to sell slaves they had bound securely, while others were here to buy them.

As he ventured deeper, Loren discovered the slave market was much larger than it appeared from the outside, with shops lining the streets. Slaves confined in iron cages were treated as ordinary commodities here.

The expressions of these slaves ranged from resentment, numbness, indifference, to outright murderous intent.

Occasionally, passing nobles or merchants would take a liking to a particular slave and immediately wave stacks of Puck to have the slave owner bring them out of the iron cages.

The slaves sold in the shops were mainly Orcs and Lizardmen.

One type of Orc was powerfully built, possessing the head of a beast and the body of a human, such as the Lionkin, Tigerkin, and Werewolf, making them very suitable for combat.

Another type had a few beast-like features, like the Catkin, who, apart from a long tail and two furry ears, were indistinguishable from humans.

Besides Orcs, Lizardmen were the most numerous.

These medium-sized, cold-blooded creatures were extremely ugly, their gaping mouths filled with fangs emitting a nauseating stench.

Their rough, sand-like skin acted as natural armor, and their sharp claws gleamed with a chilling coldness that inspired awe.

Powerful Lizardmen could even tear through the armor of Human Warriors with their claws.

The Silver Moon Kingdom and the Lizardman Empire were neighbors, frequently engaging in war, with the Endless Wasteland serving as another battleground for their conflicts.

These Lizardman slaves were subordinates of the Lizardman Empire's Pioneer Lords, becoming slaves after their territories were conquered by humans.

In addition to these two main types of slaves, there were rarer races, such as Dwarves, half-elves, Medusas from the Dungeon Race, Blood-eyed Minotaurs, and so on.

There were even some strange races whose names Loren couldn't recall.

The variety of peculiar races opened his eyes, allowing him to deeply understand what a magical world truly was.

After wandering around, Robert led Loren to a shop in a relatively secluded area with few pedestrians.

"Lord Loren, this is the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild's shop."

Upon seeing Robert, the dozen or so staff members inside immediately came out to greet him. When they saw Loren, dressed in noble robes, they all lowered their heads in unison, trembling and afraid to say another word.

Loren paid them no mind and looked at the iron cages on the left and right sides of the shop.

There were about a few dozen slaves confined in the cages at the moment.

Unexpectedly, most of these slaves were Humans, with only seven or eight half-orcs.

Seeing Loren's puzzled expression, Robert explained.

"My lord, these Human slaves were purchased from other cities. Some were forced to sell themselves into slavery to survive after their cities were overrun during the Bloody Day.

Others were prisoners of war captured during conflicts."

"Don't be fooled by their low strength; these slaves all have special skills. Among them are tailors, carpenters, and blacksmiths. They are very suitable for your territory.

Moreover, because their strength is not high, they are cheap. Each one costs only twenty thousand Puck. There are 67 people here in total, so one million Puck would be a good round number."

Loren turned and looked at the listless slaves inside, his heart trembling.

Is this the real world?

He mused with some emotion, thinking that not only in this world, but even in ancient Huaxia, there were plenty of commoners who sold themselves into slavery during times of famine.

The commoners at the bottom and the nobles had never been from the same world.

The institution of slavery should have been swept into the dustbin of history long ago. Enslaving humans as tools for production is terribly inefficient.

Loren shook his head, keeping his thoughts to himself.

Once individuals possessed extraordinary power, systems would inevitably tend towards extremes. Coupled with the monthly pressure of the Bloody Day, this further exacerbated this extremism.

After a moment of thought, he turned to the Thief beside him.

"Anor, is it feasible for us to directly recruit refugees from Decker City to our territory?"

Population was the foundation for territorial development. Without people, everything else was meaningless. But relying solely on purchasing slaves to fill the population would require an immense amount of capital.

Buying these few dozen people had already cost him over a million. Without three to five billion, how could he achieve the population he desired?

Anor's eyes lit up, but then a hint of bitterness appeared on his face.

"Lord Loren, while Decker City doesn't lack refugees, pioneering in the Endless Wasteland is extremely difficult.

Few refugees are willing to venture to a newly established territory; after all, no one wants to court death.

This is also why Pioneer Lords often purchase slaves first."

Loren did not feel discouraged upon hearing this. After pondering for a moment, his gaze intently fixed on Robert.

"President Robert, if a High Noble from the Silver Moon Capital, carrying a large sum of money and top-tier Platinum-grade powerhouses, were to establish a territory in the Endless Wasteland and needed to recruit commoners, how many people do you think would be willing to join?"

The eyes of the few present lit up. This idea seemed promising, but a second later, they changed their minds.

"Furthermore, that benevolent noble master has decided that all commoners who follow him will receive free land to cultivate.

And for two years, no taxes will be levied on the commoners.

That ambitious noble, backed by his family and aiming to establish a second Decker City in the Endless Wasteland, is none other than a descendant of the Orchid Family—Loren Grant."

As these words were spoken, Fiana, Anor, and Robert stared at Loren in utter shock.

"Free land?? And no fees for commoners for two years?"

Robert's tone was filled with disbelief.

"Lord Loren, if your words get out, they'll cause a huge sensation!!"

Anor looked at Loren with even greater shock.

After a Pioneer Lord established their territory, the fastest way to acquire funds was by selling land and collecting taxes; this was the foundation of territorial development.

"Lord Loren, doing this goes against all rules and common sense."

The lord provides military protection, and the residents provide taxes; this was a rule unchanged for millions of years.

Land and taxes were the greatest wealth of a lord. Once a Pioneer Lord gained a foothold, they would often choose to sell land within their territory to obtain funds.

Some Nobles or commoners who couldn't survive elsewhere would choose to buy land from those powerful Pioneer Lords.

Now, Loren was directly giving away land for free and not collecting taxes for two years, which directly challenged their ingrained beliefs.

Even Fiana, who wasn't usually concerned with such matters, looked at Loren with confusion.

Robert couldn't help but speak up to persuade him.

"Lord Loren, if you do this, the territory likely won't have any income for a very long time, and your investment costs might increase tenfold, twentyfold."

Even if Loren was a descendant of the Orchid Family, he shouldn't be acting so outrageously, distributing land to those lowly commoners?! Why?!

And without land, what was the point of being a Pioneer Lord?

Goddess above, some demon must have blinded him!!

Loren looked at them, his eyes deep, unwavering.

People themselves were the most valuable asset.

Everything in Gray Eagle Territory was currently blank. With people, everything would follow.

People, as the most important means of production, were absolutely irreplaceable by anything else.

However, he didn't refute their points. Certain rules might not be correct, even extremely unreasonable, but since they could persist, there must be a reason for their existence.

Moreover, he didn't need to change these ingrained rules formed over millions of years.

He only needed to leverage their advantageous points to strengthen himself, and that would be enough.