Chapter 64 - 63: Purchasing Slaves

In the end, Anthony compromised. In his own words, for the sake of the friendship between the Poisonous Snake Slave Exchange and Ronin, he was willing to take a loss this time to strengthen his relationship with Mountain Forest Town.

Such words were best taken with a grain of salt. In any world, how much truth does a merchant really speak when doing business? He claimed to be taking a loss, but whether he actually lost money, or how much he made, was impossible for an outsider to know.

For Ronin, it was enough that he could purchase this group of slaves at the lowest possible cost.

Of course, buying slaves involved a selection process.

Ronin didn’t go in person this time. He had no desire to set foot in the sales area of the Slave Exchange ever again; the sights in there were too unsettling.

And so, this glorious and grand task fell to Tom and Gallon.

Fortunately, selecting slaves wasn’t a difficult task. It was nothing more than haggling with Anthony and trying to pick out the young, able-bodied men and the buxom young women.

However, Ronin was prepared for the possibility that a few slaves with poor Constitution would be mixed into the group.

After all, he had driven the price down rather ruthlessly. Since Anthony couldn’t secure a larger profit from the price, he would have to make up for it in the "quality" of the merchandise.

This was only to be expected, and Ronin understood.

Slipping in one or two subpar slaves was acceptable, but he wouldn’t stand for it if Anthony tried to palm off too many.

"My Lord, why are you buying these slaves? Is the territory short on laborers?" Ridder asked, confused.

The question pulled Ronin back from his thoughts. ’This new Knight of mine knows very little about the situation in Mountain Forest Town.’

"Mountain Forest Town doesn’t have many people right now. Everything is still in its early stages, so we’re short on all kinds of labor."

Ridder nodded slowly, his expression worried. "Then purchasing slaves is a good option. It’s just that managing them and putting them to good use will be difficult."

Ridder must have some knowledge of management to make such an assessment.

Perhaps due to their "domestication," the slaves’ cognitive abilities had degenerated to some extent.

Their efficiency and the quality of their work would be lower than that of normal Peasant Slaves. They would also be slower to learn and accept new things, only functioning under the constant threat of a master’s whip.

Helping them recover would be a long and arduous process.

In the early stages, Ronin decided to adopt a "carrot and stick" approach. He wanted them to work hard for him, but he also wanted them to understand that as long as they did their jobs well, even slaves could earn rewards.

Ultimately, what Ronin truly wanted was to turn them back into normal people, to free them from their zombie-like state, and even to rekindle their sense of initiative.

Fortunately, he wasn’t buying a large number of slaves this time, which would make them relatively easier to manage. It was also a good opportunity for him to gain some experience in managing slaves and prepare for the future.

"Ridder, Macken, after we return, I want you two to work together to conduct intensive training for our Guards and improve their combat effectiveness. We need to field Cavalry, Infantry, and Archers."

Ronin looked at the two Advanced Level Knights beside him and began to prepare for the next stage of his plans.

"There are quite a few Wilderness Tribes active in the Forest Land to the east and north of our Wushan Territory. Rather than spending money on slaves, I’d prefer to conquer them and incorporate the Wildmen into Mountain Forest Town."

Hearing this, both Ridder’s and Macken’s eyes lit up—especially Macken’s.

He’d been quite envious of Elron lately. Elron was not only able to spread word of their Lord’s benevolence, raising his prestige among the people, but he could also create Magic Scrolls to generate wealth for him.

Meanwhile, all Macken could do was help train the Guards and manage the territory’s unchallenging defenses. He felt his contribution was far too small.

Now, the thought of conquering the Wilderness Tribes for Ronin gave him a clear purpose. Suddenly, the path ahead seemed bright.

"My Lord, what is the scale of these Wilderness Tribes you speak of?" Ridder began to assess the relative strength of the two sides.

Ronin could only spread his hands in response. "Sorry, I can’t answer that. I don’t have any detailed intelligence on the Wilderness Tribes, either. I couldn’t find any useful clues in the former Civil Servant Princest’s study, so we don’t know their exact size."

’That said, the Wilderness Tribes haven’t invaded Mountain Forest Town in a very long time. That must mean they aren’t very large, right?’

Ridder stroked his chin thoughtfully. "In that case, once we get back, I’ll act as a Scout. I’ll search the woods and see if I can find any trace of them."

He glanced at Macken as he spoke. "Macken can continue to be in charge of training the Guards and overseeing defenses."

"No problem!" Macken shot back.

Perhaps because of their former relationship as superior and subordinate, Macken had no objections to Ridder’s arrangements and readily agreed to follow them.

...

Selecting from a hundred-odd slaves was a time-consuming and laborious process. Gallon and Tom kept Ronin’s instructions firmly in mind, carefully inspecting nearly every individual, determined not to let Anthony easily slip a subpar one past them.

But Anthony was, after all, a veteran of the Slave House. He had conducted thousands, if not tens of thousands, of transactions. He always had a way of packaging slightly inferior slaves as prime merchandise and slipping them in when the customer wasn’t looking. As long as he didn’t overdo it, the customers wouldn’t make a fuss.

After more than an hour, Gallon and Tom had finally made their selections: fifty men, fifty women, plus one Carpenter and one Mason.

The two exchanged a glance and let out a long sigh of relief.

Even now, if they closed their eyes, they could see all sorts of bodies flashing through their minds. The sight of the completely naked slaves had been a shock to them as well.

’Thank goodness they were with Ronin and wouldn’t have to endure a life fit only for an animal.’

Once the selection was complete, Anthony led the slaves to a vacant hall. He made them kneel on the floor and chant Ronin’s name loudly and repeatedly, forcing them to sear their new master’s name into their minds.

After that was done, Anthony gave each slave a simple linen tunic and fed them two pieces of Black Bread to give them strength for the journey.

By the time the 102 slaves were escorted out by Anthony and his guards, more than four hours had passed.

During that time, Anthony had arranged lunch for Ronin. The food, it had to be said, was actually quite decent.

Ronin sat on horseback, looking at the group of slaves standing before him. They remained silent, their heads bowed and their faces expressionless.

However, Ronin keenly noticed that some of them were trembling. It was likely from fear of the unknown, as they had no idea how their new master would treat them.

"Raise your heads, slaves!" Ronin shouted.

Perhaps because they didn’t know the speaker was their new master, only a few of the slaves raised their heads.

Anthony roared from the side, "Your master told you to raise your heads! Look at him! Memorize his face! He is the one you will serve until death!"

"From this moment on, your bodies and your very souls belong to him!"

"Now, kneel before your master, call out his name, and pledge your loyalty!"

Anthony’s roars echoed as the slaves began to chant:

"Lord Ronin..."

"Lord Ronin..."

"Lord Ronin..."

The chanting was sparse and listless.

Ronin glanced at Anthony. ’Clearly, his words carry more weight as long as we’re still in the Slave House,’ he thought.

His gaze fell back upon the group of slaves, and for a moment, he found he didn’t know what to say to them.

After a moment’s thought, he finally spoke. "From now on, you are people of Mountain Forest Town. As long as you work hard, I will provide you with food and clothing, and I will build you a place to live!"

"Now, stand up and move out!"

This time, Ronin’s words got a response. It was hard to say whether it was because they had accepted him as their master, or because they were moved by his promise of shelter and food.

They rose to their feet, murmuring things like "Thank you, Lord," "We’ll work hard," and silently fell in behind the column in response to Ronin’s command.