Chapter 54: A chance encounter with Wei Er Ke Weila! Collect some interest first!

Next, their targets were the slave market and various material procurement points.

The development of Vanguard Valley required a constant stream of population and resources.

The streets of Pu La Da City were still bustling with noise and excitement, with heavy traffic.

Roko's group shuttled through the crowd; Martina looked at the shops on both sides with great interest, Fura guarded Roko's side vigilantly, and Hart observed the surroundings silently.

Just as they turned a street corner and were about to head to the area where the slave market was located, Roko's footsteps suddenly paused slightly.

His gaze fell on a somewhat familiar figure not far ahead.

That person was tall and thin, wearing luxurious clothing, and was scolding a roadside vendor with a group of attendants in a haughty manner.

Wei Er Ke Weila.

That son of the Count who had spoken rudely to him outside the teleportation array and had joined forces with Baron Carter to try to make a move on him.

It really was a narrow road for enemies.

A cold, icy glint flashed in Roko's eyes.

Martina followed Roko's gaze and asked curiously.

"Roko, do you know that guy? He looks quite arrogant."

Fura also felt the trace of coldness emanating from Roko and tightened her grip on the sword hilt.

Hart reminded him in a low voice.

"Master, it's Wei Er Ke Weila."

His voice was steady.

"This is Pu La Da City, Duke Auston's territory; it is not appropriate to have a direct conflict with a noble."

A meaningful arc curled at the corner of Roko's mouth.

"I know that, of course, Hart."

His voice was very soft.

"I won't kill him here."

He just wanted to collect some "interest."

Roko whispered a few words to Hart.

Hart nodded slightly, a trace of understanding flashing in his eyes.

Afterward, Roko's group walked past Wei Er Ke as if nothing had happened, as if they hadn't noticed him at all.

Wei Er Ke was immersed in the pleasure of scolding the vendor and didn't notice Roko, who had brushed past him.

He didn't know that he had already been targeted.

A moment later, when Wei Er Ke walked into a relatively secluded alley with his attendants, feeling satisfied.

Several black shadows flashed out from the darkness like ghosts.

Hart led the team personally; the knights he selected were all agile, and they were not wearing the standard armor of the Raymond family.

The battle, or rather, the crushing, happened in an instant.

Wei Er Ke's attendants, who were of average strength, didn't even have time to react before they were cleanly knocked to the ground, losing their ability to resist.

Wei Er Ke himself was gagged by a powerful hand and dragged into the deeper darkness.

Deep in the alley, the light was dim.

Wei Er Ke was roughly pressed against the cold wall, the arrogance on his face already replaced by boundless fear.

When he saw Roko standing in front of him with a cold smile on his face, his pupils shrank sharply.

"Wu, wuwu..."

He wanted to beg for mercy, wanted to call for help, but his mouth was blocked tightly, and he could only make desperate whimpering sounds.

Roko, wearing a black mask, walked forward slowly and looked down at him from above.

Afterward, he gave a look to Hart.

Hart stepped forward expressionlessly, raised his foot, and then brought it down heavily.

"Crack!"

A tooth-aching sound of bone breaking was exceptionally clear in the quiet alley.

Immediately following was Wei Er Ke's face, twisted to the extreme by intense pain, and the shrill, tightly suppressed screams from deep in his throat.

One of his legs was bent at a strange angle.

"I'll collect this bit of interest first."

After saying this, Roko didn't look at Wei Er Ke again and led Hart and the others to disappear silently at the other end of the alley.

Leaving only Wei Er Ke and his attendants struggling in endless pain and fear.

Martina watched the whole process with great interest from afar, excited light flashing in her pure white eyes.

"Roko, you're really ruthless."

She said in a low voice, but her tone carried a trace of admiration.

"However, will this cause trouble?"

Roko said lightly.

"Just a piece of trash exiled to the border by his family; what trouble could he cause?"

"As long as it's done cleanly, who would provoke the Raymond family for his sake?"

Roko still had this bit of confidence.

After dealing with this "small interlude," Roko's group continued to the slave market.

The slave market in Pu La Da City was far larger than any Roko had seen before.

It was crowded with people, and the air was filled with a complex scent of sweat, fear, and despair mixed together.

Slaves of various races were kept in simple cages like goods, waiting for the selection of buyers.

Humans, Goblins, Kobolds, other Orcs, and even some rare Dijing and Chailangren.

Roko opened his 【Attribute Panel】 and carefully searched among the slaves.

He hoped to encounter surprises like Fura, Martina, or Talos again.

However, reality is often cruel.

He carefully checked thousands of slaves, and the talents of the vast majority only hovered at D-Rank and C-Rank.

Occasionally seeing a few B-Rank talents could already be considered a pleasant surprise.

As for A-Rank, or even S-Rank and above talents, none appeared.

Roko couldn't help but feel some helplessness in his heart.

High-talent talents are indeed hard to come by.

One cannot expect heaven-defying luck every time.

In the end, he still prioritized practicality and selected nearly two thousand slaves who were physically strong and looked relatively healthy.

Most of them were humans, and there were also a small number of Goblins and Kobolds to supplement the growing labor demand of Vanguard Valley.

This slave purchase cost Roko nearly twenty thousand gold coins.

Martina watched the numbers on the ledger decrease rapidly, and her small face almost wrinkled into a bun.

But she also understood that these investments were necessary for the development of the territory.

Afterward, Roko took Martina and purchased a large amount of supplies.

Grain, cloth, seeds for various crops, iron ore, copper ore, and a large number of tools.

These supplies cost about thirty thousand gold coins.

The quantity of supplies was so large that it filled dozens of carriages.

The number of gold coins in hand instantly decreased by one-third, which made Roko feel a bit of heartache.

After everything was prepared, Roko did not stay in Pu La Da City for too long.

He led the two thousand newly purchased slaves and the caravan full of goods, and left the prosperous provincial capital in a grand manner, embarking on the journey back to Vanguard Valley.

Returning to Vanguard Valley was several days later.

Martina immediately threw herself into the tense and busy work.

Settling these two thousand new slaves was not an easy task.

Registration, assigning residences, distributing food and clothing, arranging work...

Fortunately, Martina had amazing talent in management.

Under her coordination, everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

The arrival of these two thousand new slaves accelerated the already rapidly developing Vanguard Valley once again.

The speed of farmland reclamation greatly accelerated, the mining volume of ore climbed steadily, and the construction project of the castle changed with each passing day.

Time passed quietly amidst busyness and construction. ===== CHAPTER 55 =====