Chapter 75: Centennial Contract and Human Slaves

The entrance of the Green Leaf Association.

The tall and slender Blood-wing Demon 'Ti'er' followed closely behind a black dragon, expressionless.

That black dragon was Lai Ang.

It stopped, turned its head to look at the fourth retinue it had just contracted, and slowly spoke,

"You really don't want to become my retinue?"

"." Ti'er said nothing, merely giving Lai Ang a faint glance.

That attitude alone was enough to make it clear.

Lai Ang couldn't help but sigh.

As expected, forced melons aren't sweet.

This retinue, forcibly brought over, is no different.

However, Lai Ang still had no regrets about this choice.

It pondered for a moment, then said lightly, "How about this: you work hard for me for a hundred years, and after a hundred years I will dissolve our contract."

Hearing this, Ti'er's pale gold, indifferent pupils twitched slightly; she turned her head and spoke in a low voice,

"All right."

"But we need to sign a contract."

Fine. Is this distrust of it? Lai Ang chuckled inwardly, but also knew the other's caution was not unreasonable, after all black dragons are notorious for their deceitfulness—lying is completely normal.

"All right." Lai Ang nodded slightly, agreeing to Ti'er's request.

Rather than acquiring a lazy alchemist retinue, it would be better to get a diligent laborer who works for free for a hundred years.

Given Lai Ang's growth rate, after a hundred years it might still not deem Ti'er worthy.

After the agreement, the dragon and the demon signed the contract on the spot.

As the light flashed, the contract split into two streams of light that entered Lai Ang's and Ti'er's bodies.

"From today on, within this hundred years, I, Ti'er, will wholeheartedly assist Your Highness Lai Ang." Said the talented beauty of the Blood-wing Demon clan with a firm tone.

Beside her, the young black dragon's pale yellow eyes were as still as an ancient well, unknown what it thought, merely nodding slightly, which counted as accepting the other's 'loyalty'.

"Your Highness, what should we do next? What do you need me to do?" Ti'er quickly slipped into the role, though her tone remained somewhat stiff.

After all, for a sixth-rank peak alchemist who is also a sixth-rank peak spellcaster to break through to seventh rank is inevitable; yet for a Blood-wing Demon genius to suddenly become the servant of a fourth-rank black dragon is quite a drastic change in status.

Anyone would feel unsettled and need some time to adjust.

"First go pack your things; we'll set off for Fish Spirit Marsh later. I'll wait for you at Thorn Market." Lai Ang said.

"All right." Ti'er said nothing more, nodded, and left here in the light of the teleportation spell.

Lai Ang, meanwhile, leisurely walked toward Thorn Market.

Thorn Market is a large slave market; Lai Ang intended to go there to have a look.

The Dark Scale Tribe is still developing in all aspects; even the maids and guards who usually serve its eight giant dragons are not quite competent or professional.

Having grown accustomed to the professional maids' service at the Jade Academy, returning suddenly to a primitive lifestyle naturally feels somewhat unaccustomed.

As for enjoyment, Lai Ang never refuses.

It seeks strength not to refuse enjoyment, but rather to be able to indulge freely within the rules it sets for itself.

The Thorn Slave Market is very large.

Lai Ang, whose body reaches nine meters in size, walks down the street with still ample space on both sides.

When monsters see Lai Ang, most will choose to make way for him; only a few with aloof, arrogant demeanors, whose whole bodies exude a strong aura, will pay no heed to his identity as a member of the Black Dragon Clan.

Lai Ang has long been accustomed to this.

The law of the jungle is very evident in Jade City.

Even if you are a giant dragon, if you are still in your weak youth, it is hard to earn the respectful gaze of monsters.

Even if you are a goblin, if you can tame powerful magical beasts and your own strength is great, you can strut through the city streets and garner the respectful gazes of many monsters.

Lai Ang casually wandered through the slave market; suddenly it stopped, its gaze drawn to several iron cages to the front left.

To be precise, it was humans inside those iron cages.

"They still wear leather armor, and their aura doesn't seem weak—are they adventurers?"

Lai Ang looked at the dozen or so people locked in those large cages, exhausted and covered in blood.

Humans are rarely seen within Jade City, for the city lies at the heart of the Gloom Mire Forest; humans wishing to traverse the vast Gloom Mire Forest to reach here, without some strength to rely on, can only end up buried in the forest.

Moreover, the monsters of Jade City seldom specifically capture humans to sell as slaves; one reason is that humans are too weak, making them poor slaves—what monster slave has thick skin and tough flesh? Another, and the main reason, is that humans are the rulers of this world, and the Jade Dream does not wish to provoke this formidable enemy.

Thus, often only those humans who venture deep into the Gloom Mire Forest, encountering Jade City's monsters, who deem them worth selling, are possibly captured and brought here for trade.

"Your Highness, are you interested in these humans?" The seller of these human slaves was a tall, slender lizardman.

In appearance, lizardmen resemble dog-headed persons by about fifty to sixty percent, but lizardmen are stronger and taller; adult lizardmen basically reach first rank.

Lizardmen are likewise the most numerous monster species in the Jade Dream, with many strong individuals in their clans.

As for this lizardman before him, Lai Ang felt it was no lower than fifth rank, likely reaching sixth rank.

"A bit, after all, humans are rarely seen in Jade City." Lai Ang's dragon eyes flickered with an imperceptible dimming of light, and it replied without changing expression.

The dimming of that light in its dragon eyes consisted of two minor tricks: elemental detection and mental power detection.

Just now, in terms of elemental and mental perspectives, among the dozen or so humans imprisoned in those cages, a 'youth' emitted a conspicuous glow.

Lai Ang glanced at that 'youth' as if it were nothing.

Short-haired, with a rather handsome appearance, his brows and eyes revealed a resolute hue.

Even though imprisoned in a cage, stared down by monsters and giant dragons, though fearful, he remained quite calm.

He was far better off than many other humans adventurers whose faces were filled with panic and despair.

"Superior affinity with natural elements, and superior mental power," Lai Ang drew a deep breath inwardly.

Picked up a bargain.

The lizardman merchant continued to patiently explain to Lai Ang the origins of this batch of human slaves and their strength.

"The weakest of these human slaves is Second Rank, and the strong ones— that big-bearded guy and that bald guy— have reached Fourth Rank. Your Highness, whether you buy them back to eat or to raise as slave attendants, you won't lose." The lizardman merchant enthusiastically promoted.

When it said the word 'eat', several of the human slaves in the iron cages who understood the monster language shuddered all over, becoming even more fearful.

If they weren't bound by the alchemical array on the iron cages, they would probably have done something unsightly.

"Eat?" Lai Ang tilted his head slightly; five-colored dragons indeed have many that like to eat humans, and to them, human flesh is more tender and tastier than that of many monsters.

But Lai Ang obviously didn't have that appetite, and he felt it was too wasteful to spend money buying humans as food.

"Alright, give me a price—I'll take all these humans." To avoid any mishap, Lai Ang put on an impatient expression.

After all, no one knows when a spellcaster might appear here and, by fortunate chance, use these two tricks— elemental detection and mental power detection— on these humans, thereby discovering that human genius.

Upon hearing that the Black Dragon Prince before him intended to buy all these human slaves, the lizardman merchant's eyes instantly lit up with joy, and he hurriedly said,

"Your Highness, if you wish to buy, I'll give you a favorable price— how about five hundred gold coins?"

After saying that, the lizardman merchant looked expectantly.

"Three hundred." Lai Ang directly cut the price in half, causing a stiff expression to appear on the other's face covered in fine scales.

The black dragon opened its huge mouth, and three hundred exquisite gold coins engraved with dragons poured out, falling to the ground with a clear ringing sound.

Under the sunlight, this pile of gold coins emitted a charming glow; faintly, strands of elemental energy were drawn to the small heap of coins and swirled around.

The lizardman's stiff, dissatisfied expression turned greedy upon seeing the solid pile of gold coins; after a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, three hundred gold coins is simply too little— among these humans there are two Fourth Rank experts; just those two alone exceed the value of three hundred coins, let alone the other dozen or so Second and Third Rank human slaves."

Lai Ang opened his huge mouth again, pouring out another thirty gold coins from his treasure-storing belly, then looked at the lizardman merchant and said, "Three hundred thirty— that's the highest price."

"The value of those two Fourth Rank human slaves indeed exceeds three hundred gold coins, but you should also know that they are well-trained slaves, not freshly captured wild rebels."

Hearing that, the lizardman merchant blushed slightly, closed his mouth, and then picked up the small pile of gold coins from the ground into his money bag.

"Your Highness, these human slaves are yours now. I'll also give you these two alchemical iron cages." After saying that, the lizardman merchant packed up his stall and left in a carefree manner.

Lai Ang watched its retreating back, feeling the few gold coins in his treasure-storing belly and the lone two sixth-rank water system magic cores.

"This is worth it."

Lai Ang turned his gaze to the human slaves he had purchased, more precisely, to that 'youth'.

The dragon claw reached into the iron cage; after touching the cage, the alchemical array on it lit up, but instantly dimmed, paying no heed to the intruding claw.

Before leaving, the lizardman merchant specially informed Lai Ang of the method to activate and deactivate the alchemical array on the iron cage.

Lai Ang grabbed that human 'youth' from the iron cage in one motion; after leaving the alchemical iron cage, he regained his ability to resist, but offered no resistance, merely nervously staring at the pitch-black beast before him.

"Your little gadget is quite interesting."

Lai Ang's dragon claw hooked the necklace worn around his neck and pulled it out.

The 'youth's' face slightly changed; he obviously knew his disguise had been seen through by this black dragon.

Lai Ang grinned, but he also didn't expose the other's disguise here.

A flash of teleportation light passed.

The Blood Wing Demon Til appeared behind it.

"Your Highness, I'm ready."

"Huh, this human?" Til suddenly looked at the 'youth' caught in Lai Ang's dragon claw, and let out a sound of surprise.

(End of chapter)