Chapter 331: A Microcosm of the Divine War

Lei En glanced at the slave trader; his soul eye indicated the other was a high-level Wizard.

A high-level Wizard running such a large slave market must have either a powerful patron or be from a noble family.

However, judging by the soul's emotions, this person's mindset is fairly calm, and he worships the deity of trade and wealth.

In Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng, followers of the trade‑and‑wealth deity Wokjin rank second, only behind the God of Magic, and outnumber the followers of the Empire's other two gods, Justice and Mother Earth.

The Wealth Temple in the coastal district is the headquarters of the Wokjin Church in the mortal world.

"Allow me to introduce you both."

Shiweifute pointed at the middle‑aged man who entered, "This is Kangbas Gerui, the master of this place. Sir, Kangbas's grandfather was a student of the Lord of Hestaff City."

He clearly pointed out Kangbas's background, then proceeded to introduce Lei En.

"Wait…" Kangbas kept staring at Lei En, his gaze sweeping over the six formidable Extreme Warriors, then his eyes lit up, "Sir, are you the Earl of Glamorgan?"

"A pleasure to meet you." Lei En nodded in acknowledgment and proactively shook his hand.

His hand was only half out when Kangbas eagerly seized it, exclaiming, "Lord Earl, welcome, welcome! No wonder this morning when I prayed to my lord, I seemed to receive a revelation—so it was the Earl's arrival, truly priceless!"

Kangbas flattered while shaking his hand nonstop, as enthusiastic as if meeting a benefactor.

Lei En remained unmoved, gently withdrawing his hand.

Kangbas's soul emotions fluctuated, but not as exaggerated as they seemed; clearly a merchant putting on a show, he said very respectfully, "Lord Earl, please come in; I will gladly host you and ensure your satisfaction."

"No need for hospitality; take me to see the slaves," Lei En said coolly.

"Very well." Kangbas was slightly taken aback, quickly recovered, and asked, "May I know what kind of slaves you wish to purchase, any specific requirements?"

Without waiting for Lei En's answer, he rapidly introduced, "I currently have over twenty extraordinary beings, mostly Iron Guard, Spearmen and Rangers, all below level three. The strongest is a Berserker at level seven; if you are interested, two thousand Gold Shields will secure him."

"If you dislike extraordinary beings, I also have many non‑human races."

"There are a few elves, dwarves, trolls and orcs. The most sought after is a young high‑elf female, very young, possessing decent spellcasting ability, roughly a level‑four mage, an exquisite personal attendant…"

Kangbas spoke incessantly, spitting saliva, like a telemarketer from a past life, giving no one a chance to interrupt.

Lei En's head ached; he had no interest in any elf maid.

He slightly activated his True Dragon Body, pupils standing tall, a faint dragon aura emanated, causing Kangbas and the entire squad of extraordinary guards behind him to feel their hair stand on end, as if terrible danger approached; two guards dropped their weapons with a clatter.

Unexpectedly, Kangbas himself was barely affected; he seemed to wear some protective talisman for the mind, and finally closed his mouth.

Lei En reined in the dragon aura and whispered, "I only want ordinary human slaves, about three hundred to four hundred."

"Ah…" Kangbas's expression froze, then his eyes brightened; even a few hundred ordinary slaves would be a huge deal.

"Do you have them?" Lei En asked, frowning.

"Yes, yes…" Kangbas nodded repeatedly; he seemed to have gauged Lei En's temperament, gave no more idle talk, and replied succinctly, "I recently took over a batch of people, brought over by the Weina from the sea—over a thousand in total, all Ke Meier people."

"Ke Meier Principality's subjects?" Lei En searched the data on his phone.

Weina people and Ke Meier people are both branches of the Mi Shao Peninsula's ethnic groups; they differ little from the Empire's Auren people, only slightly smaller in stature, skin a bit darker, and hard to distinguish.

The Mi Shao Peninsula borders the Empire's southwestern frontier, dense jungles, rich resources, area only one‑third of the Empire, yet divided into dozens of kingdoms and principalities, perpetually war‑torn.

The main conflict of these countries stems from belief.

Coastal residents and states of the peninsula worship the Lord of Storms; inland states mostly worship the Mother Earth Goddess.

These two deities are universally known mortal enemies!

The Mother Earth Goddess is an extremely peaceful deity, one of the oldest, highly revered, maintains good relations with other gods, and has only one enemy: the Lord of Storms.

The Lord of Storms is capricious, impossible to predict, has almost no allies among the divine camps, and many foes. He holds the divine offices of "Sky" and "Ocean," coveting the "Earth" office for a long time; thus his followers worldwide incite disputes with the Earth Church, weakening the opponent's faith.

They strike believers, reduce faith power, weaken divine power, and finally engage in direct confrontation.

These are the steps of a divine war.

The Mi Shao Peninsula is merely a microcosm of the divine war occurring in the mortal world; the slaves produced there are not even cannon fodder.

The Weina Kingdom, coastal, has all its people worship the Lord of Storms, while the Ke Meier Principality widely worships the Mother Earth Goddess; being weaker, it remains in defensive posture, invaded by the Weina.

Hundreds of years later, both sides have long harbored a blood sea of hatred, beyond reconciliation.

The Lord of Storms himself is a cold, ruthless deity; his followers are likewise brutal and bloodthirsty, quick to burn, kill, and loot.

Weina people raid Ke Meier people to sell them as slaves; such acts have become commonplace.

Throughout the Ke Meier Principality, nobles and commoners alike are heavily influenced by Empire culture; most can speak a few words of the Empire's language, noble youths study in the Empire, and the ruler's greatest wish can persuade the Empire to act and defeat the Weina Kingdom.

Lei En thought for a moment and said, "Bring a few up for me to see."

"Please wait a moment, sir."

Kangbas whispered a few orders to a guard, who left on command.

During the wait, Lei En inquired in detail about this batch of Ke Meier people.

Before being sent to the Empire, the Weina had already screened them; the over a thousand slaves are healthy youths aged eighteen to thirty, likely from a recently razed small town; men number about seventy percent, over eight hundred, women fewer, under three hundred.

A few minutes later, twenty young men and women entered the hall.

Each had shackles on their wrists, all linked together by a chain, and, urged by the guards, they stood before Lei En like merchandise for inspection.

According to Kangbas, these people have been slaves for no more than a month; the Weina, to fetch a good price, did not abuse them and had not yet tamed them, so their health is fine.

However, their complexion is numb and gray, lacking vigor.

Lei En could understand this.

No matter who they are, having their homes burned by an enemy nation, families killed, and then becoming slaves, they cannot retain optimism. If these people were not followers of the Mother Earth Goddess with extraordinary endurance, they would have collapsed long ago, like walking corpses.

"Raise your heads!" a guard shouted loudly.

The slaves reluctantly lifted their heads, saw Lei En standing before them; a spark of curiosity flickered in their hollow eyes, and an inexplicable hope ignited within.

Lei En gave them a warm smile.

At the same time he observed with his soul eye; most of these Ke Meier souls have average strength, each bearing a Blood Soul Curse, only a few two or three men slightly above average. Even then, after training, undergoing a Soul Transformation ceremony would be almost impossible.

Using normal methods, their chance of becoming extraordinary beings is extremely low.

But Lei En didn't mind; the method he devised is extraordinary, requiring little soul strength; if successful, the chance of becoming extraordinary exceeds ninety percent!

Of course, this requires a massive investment of Gold Shield and resources.

And it also must guarantee their loyalty.

"Swap a batch."

Lei En did not show any intention to purchase, so Kangbas thought he was dissatisfied and hurriedly had another twenty Kemeier brought in.

"Swap a batch." "Swap another batch…"

After watching more than ten batches of slaves, totaling over three hundred people, Lei En still demanded to keep swapping.

Kangbas couldn't help asking, "Lord Count, do you find none of these ordinary people suitable? Shall we switch to the extraordinary?"

"No need." Lei En had already gauged the potential of these Kemeier; further viewing was of little use, better to select carefully later, so he said directly, "I've bought all the Kemeier; set your price."

Kangbas was overjoyed, patting himself on the back, "Lord Count, how swift!"

"Kemeier are hardy and diligent, in high demand as workers and farmers. A male slave costs twenty Gold Shield, a female a bit cheaper at fifteen Gold Shield…" He calculated rapidly, and in an instant had a total, "Lord, all the slaves add up to twenty‑four thousand Gold Shield plus a bit; I'll round off the change, just a whole number."

Lei En saw through his Soul Eye that Kangbas was not inflating the numbers.

The price seemed normal; the other side surely made a profit, but the figure wasn't unreasonable. Shiweift, standing nearby, also nodded slightly, indicating it was fine.

Lei En did not haggle, took out a gold ticket and paid.

Then he said, "Arrange a ship for me, deliver everyone to Glamorgan's Sea Bridge Port. Freight and escort fees I'll settle with you later, but you must ensure no one is missing; for each missing person I'll deduct that amount."

"Alright, no problem." Kangbas replied quickly, "Lord, rest assured, transporting people is my specialty; it's on me."

Lei En nodded, turned and was about to leave.

Kangbas's eyes flicked, and suddenly he said, "Lord Count, since it's rare you visit Thus: Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng, in a few days the black market will host a grand trade fair. Rumor has it there will be many fine goods, even superlative Element and epic equipment. I wonder if the Lord is interested?"

(End of chapter)