Tianzhen Falls into Trouble and Is Betrayed

On the evening of the third day, Matthews sat with the group around the campfire. The members of the mercenary group were in high spirits; their adventure in the Magic Beast Mountain Range had yielded a level seven Magic Beast Core. With Matthews acting as a walking noble gold mine, they were set to make a tidy profit from this trip.

At a signal from their leader, a subordinate brought out a set of ornate clothes that clearly didn't match the mercenary group's style. Under the reluctant gaze of the female mage, they were handed to Matthews, who took them with a look of surprise.

He pointed a finger at the clothes, then at himself, and asked, "For—me?"

The leader nodded and said, "Yes!"

The thin, sharp-featured warrior who had accompanied Matthews on the hunt earlier gestured with a smile, "Our—leader—says—this—is—a—gift—for—you—before—we—part—ways."

Matthews felt he had truly met good people; such fancy clothes clearly weren't cheap. He swore to himself that once he made it big in the future, he would definitely repay this mercenary group well.

After they were finished, he put on the ornate clothes under their enthusiastic encouragement. Although they didn't fit quite right, he still made a point of spinning around to show these kind-hearted people, giving them a thumbs-up in gratitude.

Matthews was so happy that he drank a few extra cups and fell asleep early.

"Leader, do we really have to put such nice clothes on him?"

Raymond, the leader of the Mad Python Mercenary Group, looked at the strongest female mage in his team and said, "Yes, the money for the clothes will be deducted from this mission's earnings."

"But, this was a gift I bought for my father when we passed through that city last time."

Seeing this, the sharp-featured warrior stepped forward to explain, "Don't be stingy. If he doesn't dress up nicely, how can we convince people he's a fallen noble? How else can we sell him for a good price?"

"Hmph, it's not like it was your stuff that got contributed!"

At this moment, the leader, Raymond, displayed his authority and said directly, "Alright, you can have ten extra gold coins from his sale."

"Leader, what about me? I was the one who suggested it!"

"You won't be left out."

"Thanks, Leader! The boss is mighty!"

Raymond waved his hand and said, "Enough, keep an eye on him. Even though we drugged him, the archer reported last time that his body is exceptionally strong. Don't let anything go wrong."

"Hehe, don't worry, Boss. My drugging is foolproof. Even if he were a level six warrior, I can guarantee he won't wake up until tomorrow evening!"

Seeing his subordinate pat his chest in assurance, Raymond nodded. He then signaled everyone not to let their guard down; even though they were relatively close to the city, with so many mercenary groups gathered here, incidents of backstabbing were common.

Matthews slept soundly, completely unaware that he had been brought to a gathering place for slave traders by the very people he thought were kind-hearted.

"Fei Angsa, I've got goods."

Following a familiar shout from the sharp-featured warrior, the gate of a courtyard opened. A shrewd-looking warrior emerged, looked them over, and said, "Oh, it's you. Didn't you go off to be a mercenary? What kind of goods do you have?"

"Hehehe, we're all old acquaintances. Would I ever lie to you?"

Seeing that it was indeed an acquaintance, the warrior named Fei Angsa opened the gate and welcomed the members of the Mad Python Mercenary Group inside.

At a signal from the sharp-featured warrior, the men carried out the sleeping Matthews. Fei Angsa noticed at a glance that the clothes on Matthews didn't fit, and he said bluntly, "You're being boring. I thought you had some good goods."

The sharp-featured warrior pointed at Matthews and said, "Would I lie to you? We're old friends. This is definitely a fallen noble that I happened to come across."

Fei Angsa walked over and checked Matthews' hands; the skin was indeed delicate, without the calluses that come from labor or wielding weapons. His teeth were perfect, and his facial skin was smooth. A sense of nobility radiated from him!

After all, Matthews had been a college student, and with a body newly nurtured by Sovereign Power, he was naturally mistaken for a noble by this slave trader!

"How much do you want?"

"We're old friends, eight thousand!"

"Too much. Take him back."

"Look, you're being boring now. Tell me, what can you offer?"

"Four thousand!"

The sharp-featured warrior refused directly, "I'm not a rookie. Give me an honest price."

"Fine, for the sake of our friendship, I'll add five hundred!"

"No, you're just making things difficult for me."

Fei Angsa glanced at a strong warrior standing to the side who hadn't spoken. He estimated that this warrior was at least level seven. The level seven mage leader here was out enjoying himself, otherwise, they might have tried to rob them.

"I can offer five thousand at most."

The sharp-featured warrior looked at Fei Angsa's expression and estimated that this was near the limit. He looked at his leader, and Raymond, the leader of the Mad Python Mercenary Group, spoke up: "Five thousand five hundred, and he's yours."

"Fine, deal!"

Just like that, Matthews was sold to the slave trader for five thousand five hundred gold coins by the people he thought were his benefactors.

"Lock him in the solitary cell. Check him for magic power and Battle Qi."

After Fei Angsa gave the order, Matthews was carried to the dungeon. After an inspection revealed that Matthews had neither Battle Qi nor magic, they didn't bother using any anti-magic or anti-Battle Qi equipment on him.

At the same time, the sharp-featured warrior asked his leader, "Boss, what should we do with his weapon?"

A Sovereign Artifact requires a god to unleash its true power, and this leader was only a level seven warrior. Naturally, he didn't recognize that the item in his hand was something that would drive many powerhouses in the divine plane crazy; he had tested it and found it was merely quite sharp.

The leader weighed the weapon in his hand. He used a heavy hammer, and this Death Scythe didn't feel right to him, so he said, "Let's auction it off when we reach the next city."

Matthews was woken up by hunger in the evening. Yesterday, he had been so happy about going to the first city in this different world, and with those people enthusiastically plying him with wine, he had drunk too much.

Matthews rubbed his still-dizzy head and opened his eyes.

"Clatter—"

As he raised his hand to rub his head, the movement dragged the iron chains shackling his wrists. It was then that he noticed something was wrong!

"Ah—"

"What the hell—"

After Matthews sat up, he discovered that his hands and feet were all shackled. Looking at his surroundings, he saw it was a dim basement, with other people shackled up nearby as well.

"Someone help, save me!"

In his desperation, Matthews shouted for help in Chinese, but the person next to him just shook his head while watching his actions.

Sure enough, someone walked in after a short while, shouting at the imprisoned slaves, "What are you making so much noise for? If you annoy me, I'll kill the lot of you."