A Transaction Full of Justice and Kindness

The next day.

William was licked awake by the three bear cubs on his bed...

So he flicked his wrist and threw all three in succession—multi kill!

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The three cubs were skillfully tossed back into their little nest. Unfortunately, bear cubs were extremely dependent. After sulking for a while, the three little fellows climbed back onto his bed again, babbling in their baby voices.

"Someone, feed those three little guys some milk." William rolled his eyes and got out of bed. The sun had only just risen, yet he already had to break the seal of his blankets. It was maddeningly painful.

When he got dressed and pushed open the door, three maids were already waiting outside.

"My lord, the cubs are growing quickly. In another half month, they'll be able to eat meat."

"If there are any expenses, tell me. Feed them first." William nodded and walked out of the room.

Watching the workers who had risen early already busily constructing houses, William wore a vampire's sunny smile. He was in a good mood.

"My lord~"

"Good morning, Lord!"

"May the glory of the Gods forever shine upon you, Lord!"

Along the way, William encountered quite a few newcomers who greeted him respectfully. They were all citizens of the Steel Duchy and the Blackrock Duchy.

They had come here to work and hoped to settle here for a long time. Naturally, when they saw William, they wanted to ingratiate themselves with him. They did not expect the lord to remember their faces; simply getting to say a word to him was enough.

William merely nodded lightly in response, showing his friendliness.

Yet that slight nod moved many of them deeply. The nobles of human nations always held their heads high in arrogance, treating commoners and slaves as ants. How could they possibly respond to them?

They had heard that the lord of the town was an Elf, and a friendly, kind one at that, so they had dared to greet him. Unknowingly, these outsiders had come to believe that Border Town was far better than the two duchies.

The expansion work continued.

William did not need to do anything himself, nor did he lead anyone out to complete territory missions that day.

As time passed, when the sun finally hung high in the sky, William, standing at the edge of the cliff, finally spotted a large force on the plains.

"So many people?" Lotner was a little confused. They had agreed on only three thousand ordinary slaves and five hundred professional-class slaves, yet there were no fewer than five or six thousand people here. What was more, he noticed that this massive group actually had five hundred soldiers escorting it!

Or rather, preventing the slaves from escaping...

"Kuri has some skill." William raised a brow. Slave trading was legal in many human nations.

But as far as a nation was concerned, only domestic slave trading was legal. Population outflow was illegal.

Still, no one disliked gold coins. Although nations did not like slaves being taken abroad, policies always had countermeasures.

The nobles within those nations often had all sorts of trading channels.

William was now certain that Kuri was not a supplier, merely a middleman. These slaves had likely been provided by some great noble.

The mountain path was difficult to climb, but it was the only route. The group could only pull long faces as they climbed the steep cliff.

William had no plans to build a road for the time being. On the contrary, he felt that the harder this path was to traverse, the better it was for the territory's safety.

After Kuri led the large group to the outskirts of town, he proactively waved for the five hundred soldiers to retreat down the cliff first. The town's soldiers naturally went forward to take custody of the slaves.

Seeing William's puzzled expression, Kuri did not explain immediately. Instead, he let out a hearty laugh. "Honorable Lord, I have brought you the people you wanted. What do you think of their quality?"

"Very good. They're all strong, healthy men and women, but isn't the number a little high?" Rather than being pleased, William frowned. Was Kuri planning to force a sale on him?

But with only the five hundred soldiers he had brought, was he not being a little too confident?

Kuri seemed to understand William's confusion. Small gifts between business partners were not unusual, but this was simply too much.

So he invited William to a secluded spot and said bluntly, "My lord, the extra two thousand ordinary slaves and two hundred professional-class slaves are all gifts for you!"

William beamed and patted him on the shoulder. "Brother!"

"Just say what you need. As your big brother, I'll do my best to solve it for you!!"

Kuri's mouth twitched. Was he really this realistic?

And was he actually older than me?

But although Kuri was of high rank, he did not dare truly address William as a brother. He glanced around and said carefully, "My lord, there really is something I'd like to trouble you with!"

William nodded noncommittally, signaling for him to continue.

"I am a viscount of the Blackrock Duchy, and my father is a count. However, I am my father's second son...

"My father fought in wars for decades in his youth. In his old age, all his injuries and illnesses returned, and now he is barely clinging to life. But I want to inherit his title as count!"

Kuri spoke very directly.

After all, he could tell that Lord William before him was an even more straightforward Elf.

Although that did not quite match the Elves in his memories, such an Elf was easier to communicate with.

"You want me to kill your older brother?" William raised a brow.

"Yes. Three days from now, my brother will come to Blackleaf Forest to hunt. This is my only chance, and my last chance.

"If I cannot seize it, then after Father passes away, my lord will likely never see me again..."

Because of his merchant caravan, Kuri knew many great nobles.

But the intrigues among nobles and their vampire-like greed were even harder to speak of. He did not dare ask other nobles for help.

Even if some great noble truly helped him, he could only end up becoming a puppet.

"That wouldn't be very good..." William did not agree immediately. He felt this could work, but he had an Elf persona to maintain. It could not collapse yet, and he could not appear too greedy.

Kuri hardened his heart and immediately said, "Five thousand ordinary slaves and six hundred professional-class slaves. Those will definitely be gifts delivered to you after I inherit the count's title."

"Hiss... that wouldn't be very good..." William drew in a breath. He could not help feeling that this bargain had come too easily.

"Six thousand ordinary slaves and seven hundred professional-class slaves. That is the absolute limit of what I can promise right now. My lord need not fear that accepting these slaves will provoke the Blackrock Duchy. I will handle the negotiations.

"Most importantly, even if I inherit the count's title, the merchant caravan will remain. From then on, all transactions will be offered to you at the lowest discount." Kuri would rather trust an Elf than seek out an Assassin.

After all, the honesty and trustworthiness of Elves had been renowned across the continent for far too long.

William's expression turned solemn. He stroked his chin and asked doubtfully, "What if I kill him, but you refuse to give me those slaves?"

"My lord must be joking. I am willing to swear a contract before the Gods!" Kuri's smile was sincere, though it also carried a hint of ruthlessness.

"Which god?" William suddenly asked.

"..." Kuri's smile gradually vanished. His mouth twitching, he said, "The God of Light."

William immediately laughed freely. "Hahaha, then rest assured. Leave the rest to me.

"Brother Kuri, all you need to do is tell me when and where your brother will be hunting. Everything else will be no problem.

"After all, as an Elf filled with justice and kindness, I truly dislike those older brothers who are about to inherit noble titles, especially when they turn out to be such heartless and faithless people."

"Then I'll leave everything to you, my lord." Kuri felt some pain in his heart, but he still nodded. After all, in his eyes, slaves were far cheaper than gold coins.

The profits from slave trading were simply unimaginable.

And the sources of those slaves were unbelievably simple...