Before long, several more items had been sold. Though none fetched a particularly high price, each was exceptionally rare.
The auction house had clearly spent plenty of time and Beli setting the mood.
"Now, we come to the highlight of our auction.
Our next offering is a type of human rarely seen at Kokinis.
But you all know that every human slave offered by Kokinis is of the finest quality."
The host signaled backstage again. Several guards in ridiculous outfits promptly dragged a burly, bearded man onto the stage.
The man wore a slave collar around his neck. They hauled him up like a dog, striking him as they went.
From his seat below, Werther could tell that the man had some strength, but the light had gone out of his eyes. Whenever someone approached, his body flinched on instinct—a reflex born of prolonged beatings.
Werther knew the signs because he, too, had spent several years in the Underworld.
He had killed more slave traders and slave owners than he could count, and had seen this many times.
At first, Werther had felt pangs of conscience. A few times, he had freed slaves like this man and given them their liberty.
But he had eventually realized it was futile.
Years of inhuman treatment had changed them profoundly, in both mind and body. After that, whenever Werther encountered someone in this state, he gave them a swift death with his sword.
"Now, allow me to introduce this offering.
Look at his height and those powerful muscles.
He is a bounty hunter from the South Blue who once defeated a pirate with a seventy-million-Beli bounty. His fighting ability is extraordinary.
Not only can he serve as your bodyguard, but whenever something displeases you, he makes an excellent punching bag. As long as