Lin Lei's Reward

Three days later, at the Lord's Mansion in Flower Territory.

Lord Edward had awakened from his coma. Over the past three days, Flower Territory had once again returned to its former tranquility.

At that moment, Lin Lei was attending Viscount Aixing's funeral at Ai Mansion. Aierlan, her father and mother, and all their relatives and friends were there. The atmosphere was silent and grief-stricken.

Standing beside Lin Lei, Aierlan began to cry again. She had spent three days coming to terms with it, but the moment her grandfather's body was placed in the coffin, all the grief she had kept bottled up surged back.

Her tears soaked Lin Lei's clothes. Lin Lei didn't share Aierlan's feelings for Aixing, but the scene still weighed heavily on his heart.

To the mournful music, Lin Lei and the others saw Aixing off on his final journey.

The same was true of other families these past few days. White banners hung outside every home, and yellow paper covered the streets.

"Centurion Lin, this is a letter from the lord."

Just as Lin Lei was keeping Aierlan company, a soldier came over and handed him a letter.

"What's this?"

Lin Lei took the letter and opened it without hesitation.

"Appointment of Centurion Lin Lei as a baron of the kingdom, with the land within a hundred kilometers of Crouching Dragon Ravine and the Gloomy Forest."

Lin Lei could hardly believe his eyes. Had he really become a noble so quickly?

Aierlan noticed how delighted Lin Lei looked after reading the letter. Curious, she took it from his hand.

"You're celebrating too soon."

Aierlan poured cold water on Lin Lei's excitement.

"This year's hunt was supposed to take place at Crouching Dragon Ravine, but after the Curse Cult attacked, the lord and the others had no choice but to cancel it. That means the area is probably crawling with monsters, with all kinds of monster tribes everywhere. Your territory is an empty shell.

"And without land, a noble is only a noble in name. A duke in name has less influence than our lord, the earl, let alone a baron like you."

"But I happen to have inherited a piece of land myself. Why don't you give up Crouching Dragon Ravine and come manage my territory instead?"

Aierlan changed tack and made Lin Lei the offer.

But Lin Lei was a male chauvinist. How could he accept that suggestion, even if the territory she had been granted was far better than the one he had been awarded?

"No. I want to give it a try."

Lin Lei smiled as he refused, his tone firm.

"The Gloomy Forest lies within the territory too. It's undeveloped virgin land. There are plenty of dangers, but plenty of opportunities as well. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

"To the east of Crouching Dragon Ravine is a stretch of coastline facing the sea. They may not realize how rich the ocean's resources are, but as a modern man, I know. This is clearly a prime piece of land," Lin Lei thought.

"I'm planning to leave for Crouching Dragon Ravine tomorrow. Will you come with me?"

Lin Lei met Aierlan's eyes.

"If you don't want to go with me right away, you can wait until the territory is stable before joining me."

"No, I'll go with you."

Aierlan didn't hesitate. Lin Lei smiled.

"Good."

After leaving Ai Mansion, Lin Lei went straight to the Lord's Mansion to pay Lord Edward a visit.

"You've read the letter, then?"

"I have. Thank you for the reward, my lord."

"You've earned it. When are you planning to leave?"

"I'll finish handing over my duties and leave tomorrow."

Edward nodded.

"A month ago, Alice recommended you for the position of centurion, and I disagreed. What could a mere hunter prove, even if he'd killed a silver-ranked monster? That alone didn't prove you were capable.

"Later, I realized I was wrong. I heard from others about your bravery. You're a warrior worthy of respect. This is the second time I've misjudged someone."

As Edward said this, pain flashed across his face. It was gone in an instant, but Lin Lei was sure he had seen it.

He tactfully didn't ask about it.

Edward continued in a slower voice.

"Given your abilities, I should keep you by my side. But this year's situation is too unusual. Our territory's military strength has taken a severe blow, and we have no choice but to pull back our defenses.

"With no one clearing out Crouching Dragon Ravine this year, some of the tribes are bound to grow restless and attack human villages.

"That's why I've granted you Crouching Dragon Ravine. Your golden-ranked strength should be enough to defend it."

Edward went on at length. Lin Lei suddenly realized that Flower Territory, which he'd thought was so powerful, was now little more than an empty shell. Its only golden-ranked fighter was him.

After speaking with Lin Lei, Edward gave him a black pouch, identical to the one Alice had given him. It contained ten thousand gold coins as well.

Edward waved for Lin Lei to leave. Looking at Edward's weary face, Lin Lei saw a man in his prime who seemed like an old man nearing the end of his life, with a faint aura of death about him.

Once outside the gates of the Lord's Mansion, Lin Lei headed straight for the slave market to the east.

The slave market had also suffered heavy losses during the uprising. A place steeped in blood and violence, it had been among the first to erupt in rebellion when the Shadow Council launched its attack.

Strong warriors and powerful members of other races had broken out of their cells and escaped the city. If they were lucky, they might have found shelter in some mountain forest and made a life there.

But most were discovered by people from nearby towns and captured again, or died in some nameless corner, their bones left to rot.

None of that concerned Lin Lei, though. He wasn't looking for anyone strong; after all, no one in the slave market could be stronger than him.

He had come to buy ordinary people—freedmen who could survive and build things.

As he entered the slave market, it grew busier. While other places remained desolate, business at the slave market was as brisk as ever.

Merchants cared about profit. The slave trade brought in money hand over fist, and none of them would turn their backs on gold coins.

"Hm?"

Lin Lei stopped and looked at the stall in front of him.

"Those two are halflings, right?"

"Good eye, sir. They're the purest halflings from the western continent. Don't let their small size fool you; they're very capable. They're skilled at cooking all kinds of delicious food, and they're both excellent archers. Best of all, they're cheap."

The stall owner looked Lin Lei's uniform over and spoke obsequiously.

"Oh... How much?"

"Twenty gold coins each. That's already a third of what they used to cost. If I weren't desperate for money, I'd never part with them."

"Sounds good. I'll take them."

Lin Lei made up his mind and spoke at once.

"What are their names?"

"The one on the left is Kuimu, and the one on the right is Kuiya."

The stall owner accepted the twenty gold coins Lin Lei took out and handed him the keys to the halflings' chains.

"No need. Just unlock them."

Lin Lei stepped over to the halflings and used the keys to remove the chains from their hands and feet.

"I want to buy a thousand human slaves. Do you have that many?"

Lin Lei turned to the stunned stall owner.

"Yes, yes! Everyone with any strength has run off this time. All that's left are these meek ones without a shred of power."

As he spoke, the stall owner led Lin Lei down the alley behind him.

The halflings, newly freed but still bewildered, followed close behind Lin Lei. Years of watching people's expressions had taught them that he was surely not a cruel man.

In an unfamiliar place like this, staying close to their new master was their best choice.

The stall owner led Lin Lei to a large gate. Once it was opened, Lin Lei saw a whole group of guards and slaves.

The owner opened a cage and had someone drag out one of the people inside. He turned to Lin Lei.

"How about it? They're all in good health. You can put them to work as soon as you get them home, without needing to let them recover."

Lin Lei studied the disheveled man in front of him. His steps were steady enough to show that he hadn't been abused; he was simply thin from malnutrition.

"Not bad. Where did you get these slaves? They aren't our kingdom's freedmen, are they?"

Lin Lei asked casually.

"Of course not. They're all prisoners we captured in wars with other countries. Some are from Dalaran, others from the Storm Kingdom. Don't go making things up."

The stall owner sounded utterly certain. For people like them, kidnapping their own kingdom's freedmen was a grave taboo, even if it was something they all did secretly from time to time.

"I want three hundred adult men and three hundred adult women. The remaining four hundred should all be children, around ten years old. How much will that cost?"

"Two gold coins per adult man, one per adult woman, and one per child, boy or girl."

Without hesitation, Lin Lei took three hundred gold coins from his pack and handed them to the stall owner.

"This is a deposit. Have them delivered to the City Defense Department entrance first thing tomorrow morning. Is that a problem?"

The stall owner accepted the cloth pouch Lin Lei tossed him with a grin, weighed it in his hand, and replied,

"No problem. For a big customer like you, home delivery is only right."

Lin Lei nodded and left the enclosed area with the stall owner accompanying him.

Since he still had plenty of money, Lin Lei didn't return to the City Defense Department. Instead, he continued browsing the slave market.

Apart from a few members of other races, most of the slaves on display were beautiful women who couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag. They were every bit as attractive as Aierlan.

"Anyone got more than ten thousand gold coins? Come on, is there a higher bid?"

Following the calls, Lin Lei made his way to a stall surrounded by a crowd.

"Why are they so expensive?" Lin Lei muttered.

A wealthy merchant standing nearby heard him. He was about to mock Lin Lei for making a fuss over nothing, but when he saw Lin Lei's uniform, he swallowed his words and forced a smile.

"Centurion, you may not know this, but that young woman isn't an ordinary person. She was the eldest daughter of a duke in a neighboring country. Somehow, she offended the king, and her father was stripped of his title.

"Without the king's protection, her family was wiped out by their enemies among the other noble houses in less than three days. After that, the duke's daughter was passed from hand to hand until she ended up here."

"I see."

Lin Lei looked thoughtful.

"How did you find out? That sort of thing should be a state secret. How would you know about it?"

"The stall owner told us. He's been spreading the story all over the market since yesterday. Almost everyone knows by now."

"People will believe anything they hear."

Lin Lei smiled and said nothing.