LRAB Chapter 382 Nobles and Slaves
Chapter 382 Nobles and Slaves
Chapter 382 Nobles and Slaves
The giant was tall, over four meters high, standing out from the crowd. However, at this moment, his feet were chained with thick iron chains, which clanged against each other with a dull sound.
A numb look appeared in his eyes, as if he had long been accustomed to the current situation. He could only move forward step by step with heavy steps. He carried a large bag on his back, which looked like tools for setting up the platform.
As the giant passed by, the crowd parted to make way, and Tang Zijun and the others saw the large army following behind the giant.
The first thing that catches the eye is a group of dwarves. Although they are short in stature, they have thick limbs and bodies as strong as steel. Most of these people are men. Their proud beards have been shaved off, and they wear collars around their necks. The ropes on the collars are connected together, forcing them to stand close together in a line.
At the end of the line were more than a dozen well-proportioned humanoid creatures, both male and female, each with silver-white hair and pointed ears, and smooth, fair skin, making them seem out of place with their surroundings.
"Those are elves," Gloria whispered to Tang Zijun, then muttered, "...I didn't expect the rumors to be true."
"An elf?"
Tang Zijun gazed at the figures walking at the end of the line. They were graceful and beautiful, but they were also wearing shackles, signifying their status as slaves.
The only difference was that, compared to the stinking giants and the slovenly dwarves, these elves were dressed very well, as if they had taken a bath. Tang Zijun could smell their fragrance from a distance.
All merchants would do their best to package their goods and present them in their best condition in order to sell them at a higher price, and slave traders were no exception.
To sell their slaves, they need to show the buyers their greatest value, and for elves, their innate beauty is their best selling point.
As this unusual group of people passed through the market, the surrounding crowd immediately cast curious glances at them.
Some people looked surprised, while others looked greedy, as if calculating how much profit these "goods" could bring them.
Not far behind the elven slaves were several richly dressed men. The one in the lead had a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, and he was very satisfied with the expressions of the people around him.
Although most of the onlookers were just watching from a distance and no one had come up to ask about the price, the amount of attention it had attracted was enough for him.
Slaves were like pets; they were basically playthings of the upper class.
To put it bluntly, these guys wandering around the market wouldn't have been qualified to look at slaves in the past.
But times have changed. With food shortages and scarcity of supplies in various places, many people can barely feed themselves, so how could they possibly be willing to spend a lot of money to buy slaves?
In order to avoid this batch of goods becoming a burden, he had no choice but to resort to a crude method: parading all the slaves in the streets. He didn't ask for much; he just wanted these poor wretches to spread the word.
As the largest human settlement in the vicinity, the slave traders believed that it wouldn't be long before news of these slaves spread to the surrounding city-states, and by then, someone would be willing to pay for them.
Of course, this would be the best outcome. If he couldn't sell these slaves for the nobleman, then he would have no choice but to open a cattery and let these female elves continue to serve.
As for the giants, dwarves, and male elves, we'll have to see if the lords on the river front need laborers.
As the slave caravan continued its advance, a murmur arose among the surrounding crowd. It must be said that this novel scene did indeed bring a breath of fresh air to the recently stagnant river front.
Tang Zijun and the others also stopped to watch. Chang Lei and Glorialando curiously examined the strange-looking alien races. Although Glorialando was a "local", this was the first time she had seen living alien races. Even Hyacinth poked its head out of Tang Zijun's pocket.
After a while, some people finally couldn't resist approaching the group of slaves and talking to the slave traders. However, after hearing the shocking price, they all left disappointed.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the richly dressed slave trader wore a smile and patiently answered everyone's questions.
Noticing this, Chang Lei rubbed his hands together slightly, looking somewhat eager to try.
"What, you've taken a liking to it?" Tang Zijun asked casually.
Chang Lei didn't hide his thoughts. "Pretty much. I was thinking of buying two Pokémon. Luan Luan loves these creatures from the anime, so I'm sure she'll enjoy having two as pets."
Tang Zijun.
Sometimes he subconsciously forgot the fact that Chang Lei was not a normal person.
"You've got some nerve. These aren't just flowers, birds, and fish; you're buying two to keep as pets. Putting aside the potential repercussions of bringing these slaves back, aren't you afraid of Deputy Director Qiu coming to check your account with this abuse of power?"
Hearing this, Chang Lei chuckled awkwardly. "Just kidding, just kidding. I was only thinking about it, I didn't actually say I wanted to buy it..."
However, before he could finish speaking, Tang Zijun slapped him on the shoulder.
"No, you can buy it."
"Huh?" Chang Lei was stunned.
Not only him, but even Grilando looked completely taken aback.
She really didn't expect that Tang Zijun, who seemed so upright on the surface, would actually be interested in these foreign women in private. However, Grelando was only slightly surprised; she wouldn't actively try to influence the thoughts of a knight.
At this moment, Tang Zijun was not thinking about anything erotic. Although he was indeed curious about the physical structure of these alien races, the current conditions did not allow him to have such messy thoughts.
In fact, what Tang Zijun valued was not the identities of these alien races, but the knowledge they possessed about the world.
Whether human or other races, their understanding of this world is extremely one-sided. In this wild world, various civilizations and races have feudalized their own traditions, and very few people are willing to look at this world from a more magnificent perspective.
To truly understand the dream world and figure out the Great Old Ones who reign supreme over it, as well as the gods of nightmares and the Void, it is necessary to integrate the knowledge of all races. The knowledge in the minds of these alien slaves is the best piece of the puzzle.
Unlike humans, who have short lifespans, giants, dwarves, and elves have relatively long lifespans. Some elves can even live to be 1,500 years old, and even dwarves have an average lifespan of 180 years.
With such racial advantages, they possess far more knowledge than humans. Moreover, according to Grelandor, all elves belong to the Elf Forest, and these elven slaves are very likely to know some of the truth about the great fire in the Elf Forest.
That's why Tang Zijun had the idea of buying these foreign slaves the moment she saw them.
"Wolf Riders, there are so many of them, I'm afraid we can't bring them all back," Chang Lei said, opening his mouth slightly before lowering his voice. "Besides, we've never tried to bring creatures from the dream world out of this world before, and nobody knows what the consequences will be."
When Chang Lei said this, he had already used his deception skills. Apart from Tang Zijun and Fengxinzi, no one else could hear what he said.
What Chang Lei said was naturally what Tang Zijun was thinking as well, but Tang Zijun waved her hand slightly. "I never intended to take them away from the dream world. For Black City to develop, fresh blood is essential."
"You bought Black City..." Chang Lei looked at Gloriand beside him, then nodded slightly. "That's true, building a greenhouse does require some labor."
Having made their decision, the group didn't waste any more words and walked directly toward the slave trader.
The slave trader had just finished talking with a merchant who had been scared away by the price when he noticed several strangely dressed people approaching him. His smile remained unchanged, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Although I don't know who these guys are, the fact that the two men are still wearing short sleeves in this cold weather is clearly proof that they are powerful superhumans.
In other words, he didn't know about Tang Zijun and the others. After all, who would have thought that two of the three people in front of him had just come from a world with temperatures of 30 or 40 degrees Celsius?
If Chang Lei hadn't tricked them by mistaking their body temperature, Hyacinth would probably have been shivering from the cold long ago, let alone wearing short sleeves.
The slave trader greeted Tang Zijun and her companions warmly with a smile. "Gentlemen, is there any merchandise that catches your eye? All the goods here are of the finest quality; you won't find such good stuff anywhere else."
"What's the price range?" Tang Zijun and Chang Lei remained silent, but Grelando stepped forward and asked.
"Hey, let's make friends. I'm just doing business for a noble lord. This price was set by the higher-ups, so it might be a little expensive, but it's negotiable." Slave traders wouldn't say this to ordinary people, but when facing a few superhumans, he naturally used a different approach.
Gloria frowned slightly. "Stop talking nonsense, just say it."
The slave trader didn't react to the disgust in Grelando's tone. Having traveled all over the country for so many years, he had met countless people and experienced all sorts of things in this line of work, so he didn't care at all.
Moreover, he understood that the female mercenary in front of him was just a lackey; the real decision-makers were the two behind her.
Thinking of this, the slave trader said in a deep voice, "Giants from the northern mountains cost five thousand gold coins each, dwarves cost five hundred gold coins each, and as for elves, males cost fifteen thousand each, and females cost thirty-five thousand each."
As he spoke, he grinned again.
"How about picking two to play with?"
Upon hearing the price, Grilando gasped in shock. She had expected these alien slaves to be expensive, but she never imagined they would be this pricey.
After all, slaves aren't a one-off deal. These guys are mouths to feed, and you have to keep spending money to support them. No wonder the merchants only came up to ask a few questions and then left. The price was outrageous. The price of just one dwarf was enough to buy a brick house on the front lines of the river region.
Tang Zijun simply nodded calmly in response.
"OK."
"Make it cheaper, I'll take them all."