In the martial arts training ground, dozens of men wearing simple leather armor were fighting each other with wooden sticks. These people were divided into two groups. One group was slightly larger, with about thirty people. The leader was a middle-aged man with a full beard and long hair. The other group was only about seventeen or eighteen people. The leader was a tall young man with black curly hair. This young man had a face as tough as a statue, especially his straight eyebrows and protruding jaw, which gave people an unusually resolute feeling. And from his arms and the gaps in the leather armor, you can see many large and small scars, which made him look more bloody.
The young man stood at the front of his group, fighting with the enemy with sticks and shouting commands. Although they were few in number, they coordinated very well. A small square formation of more than ten people easily resisted the slightly chaotic siege of the people around them.
The middle-aged man shouted loudly and raised his stick to chop at the young man. The stick was so powerful that it made a gust of wind. However, the young man held the stick with both hands and thrust forward, firmly catching the blow.
"Roger, your strength is beginning to recover." The middle-aged man said in an almost inaudible voice as he and the young man named Roger were fighting with each other with sticks.
Roger's narrow eyes suddenly opened, "You too? Could it be that in the morning..."
"Yes, it must be! I know there's something wrong with the priests' medicine." The middle-aged man swung his stick and hit it a few times, then put the sticks together and said in a low voice, "No matter what they want to do, in two hours, this damn place won't be able to hold me back. Shall we go together?"
Roger shook his head without hesitation and said, "I won't leave alone. I must take my brothers with me." As he said that, he pushed his stick forward, causing the middle-aged man to take a half step back.
"You fussy fellow." The middle-aged man attacked again, deflecting Roger's stick, and chased him until he was forced out of the team. He looked around and saw that the other slaves and guards were some distance away from them, so he said, "Listen, I have a plan. Once our fighting spirit is restored, the two of us will kill the guards here and release everyone. Then, we will break through the gate as quickly as possible. After we leave the city, we will walk together. We will be a small target, fast, and not afraid of pursuers. As for the others, let them take their own fate."
"Ralph, if I'd left my team behind, I wouldn't be here. I have to take every one of them with me!" Roger insisted.
"Damn it, those people have no fighting spirit, they will only slow us down!" Ralph looked anxious and almost couldn't hold back his voice.
"Would you dislike your brother for walking slowly?" Roger asked back.
"You... bastard!" Ralph cursed, and he swung his stick and hit Roger's stick hard.
"Okay, save some energy. No matter what, we have to get out of the camp first." Roger said calmly.
Ralph wanted to argue something, but at this moment, the door of the training ground opened and Manager Cohen walked in with a few people.
Roger and Ralph turned around and their faces changed. They saw that the man and woman behind Cohen were both wearing magician's robes, and there was a tall female warrior with a two-handed sword on her back, accompanying them.
"Magician?" Roger looked stern. No magician was easy to deal with. These people looked weak, but in fact they all had many strange tricks. The appearance of two magicians at this time was really a big trouble.
"Not just the magician." Ralph clenched his stick and stared at the female warrior with a sullen face. "I didn't expect her to come too. Roger, that woman with a sword on her back is a big trouble."
"Do you have a grudge?"
"Hey, if you can find a chance to kill her, I'll do whatever you say."
These were all battle-hardened warriors, this was Xiao Chen's first impression. Although those fighting were just practicing, they could still make people feel a murderous aura. Especially the black-haired young man and the middle-aged man fighting together, which gave people a great sense of pressure.
"These are our most elite slave warriors," Cohen introduced with some pride, "two of them are even masters who have mastered the intermediate level of fighting spirit. They are rare in the entire slave market."
"You still have fighting spirit warriors imprisoned in your village?" Luo Ling glanced at the low walls around them and asked, "You must have used some method to prevent them from exerting their strength, right?"
"Ms. Luo, you guessed right. We regularly give them a secret medicine that prevents them from using their fighting spirit."
"But what happens after we buy them? How can we guarantee that they won't betray their owners?" Luo Ling asked.
Cohen smiled and said, "If you buy a horse, you will definitely buy a horse that you can control. The same goes for slaves. Since you two are powerful magicians, what do you have to worry about? I heard that many magicians have secret methods to control people, and this kind of warrior is naturally their favorite."
Xiao Chen and Luo Ling looked at each other, their eyes full of helplessness. Cohen seemed to understand their difficulties and continued, "Of course. Not every mage is good at this skill, and most nobles don't have this ability. However, they usually give these warriors enough benefits and limit the service years. After all, strength should be respected, even if the other party is a slave."
Xiao Chen nodded and said, "What are the origins of the two leaders?"
"The middle-aged man is called Ralph. He is good at using spears and riding very well. He is very suitable to be the leader of slave cavalry. He is one of the best masters here. You only need 500 gold coins to get him." Cohen said as if introducing a product.
Xiao Chen looked at Ralph, but found that he stopped and looked at Kalanda beside him with strange eyes. Sure enough, Kalanda sneered and said, "Manager Cohen, why don't you introduce this man as a long-time gangster?"
"this… "
"No need to hide it. Half a year ago, I joined the expedition team organized by Count Bellano in Sweet Potato Castle and wiped out several bandits. I caught this Ralph with my own hands. I didn't expect that the Count didn't kill him. You dare to sell such a person? Aren't you afraid that he will turn against his master?"
Cohen shook his head and said, "Bandits, criminals, prisoners of war, and slave warriors are all bloodthirsty guys. As long as they are well disciplined, what can't they do? Ralph has been here for more than three months and has never caused any trouble."
He waved to the soldiers, and they stopped fighting and came over to form a square in front of Xiao Chen and others.
"Ralph. You should remember Captain Kalanda, right?" Cohen patted Ralph's shoulder like a monkey patting a lion's shoulder.
Ralph grinned, looking like a seasoned veteran. "Captain Kalanda, I have to thank you. If you hadn't spared my life, I would have died on the mountain that day."
Kalanda raised his eyebrows and said, "Don't be so hypocritical. I know what kind of people you are. The villages and towns around Sweet Potato Fort have been harmed by you. You don't have to pretend like this."
"After I was captured, I understood a truth: if you live by the sword, you will die by the sword. I should have died that day, but the life I have now is well earned. Hehe, this is all thanks to you." Ralph said in a gloomy tone. He looked at Xiao Chen again, without saluting, and said with his chest and belly protruding, "Master Magician, do you need warriors? As long as you promise to exempt me from slavery in a year, I will sell my life to you."
Kalanda said to Xiao Chen with a stern face, "Sir, I don't trust this man. And what he said about serving for a year is nonsense! How can you buy a slave to use only for a year?"
Xiao Chen could see that Ralph was clearly trying to ruin the deal. Although he didn't know why, he would never hire such a scum. He nodded to Karanda and asked Cohen, "Do you allow slaves to bargain with buyers like this?"
"Well... after all, these people are warriors with fighting spirit. They are considered strong no matter where they are. Letting the buyer reach an agreement with them in advance will save a lot of trouble... However, the one-year statement is indeed too much!" Cohen explained, but he was also puzzled. It is said that serving a magician is the best opportunity for a slave. Serving a magician has excellent conditions and does not require much hard work. It may be more comfortable than being a bandit. He scolded: "Ralph! How can you talk like that? Who agrees with your one-year statement?"
Ralph shrugged and said, "One year is my limit for being with Miss Karanda."
Cohen was a little annoyed, so he took the whip from the guard and hit Ralph's arm hard a few times. But Ralph looked up at the sky without caring, as if the whip didn't hit him.
"Lock him up in a small dark room and let him starve for a few days!" Cohen waved his hand, and two guards rushed up and took Ralph away.
"Don't listen to that clumsy idiot, he will be taught a lesson soon. Look at this one." Cohen quickly introduced the next product, the black-haired young man Roger.
Roger is a handsome man, and his sales are several levels better than Ralph's, which makes everyone's eyes light up.
"Roger is a knight of the Purple Eagle Empire. Although the Purple Eagle Empire is our enemy, I still want to say that he is a noble knight. During a battle, his team got lost and was surrounded in a small ravine. They persisted for five whole days before being captured by Count Belano because they had no food. Count Belano thought highly of him and wanted to subdue him, but he sternly refused, preferring to be slaves here with his subordinates." Cohen was obviously more concerned about Roger and introduced him very carefully: "Roger is good at commanding the team, and of course his personal martial arts are also very good."
"Since he is a noble, why hasn't anyone paid the ransom to bring him back to his country?" Luo Ling interrupted. She had heard and seen a lot of things in recent days and had some understanding of the rules of this world.
"When he had just arrived here for a month, his family's steward came to pay the first ransom, but... Roger used the money to redeem his thirty subordinates and let them and the steward return to the country. But for some reason, more than a year has passed, and the steward has never come again."
After hearing this, Xiao Chen and the others felt a little respect for Roger. If what Cohen said was true, then Roger deserved the title of "loving his soldiers like his own sons."
"Sir Roger, if I need you to serve me, what are your conditions?" Xiao Chen asked directly, ignoring Cohen.
"As long as you buy and release my remaining brothers, I will serve you for ten years." Roger replied, pointing to the dozen or so people behind him.
"Sir, this is not possible. You cannot be a slave."
"Sir, the ransom must be on the way, please wait a little longer." When his former subordinates heard him say this, they all started to make a fuss and tried to stop him from doing so.
"Roger, don't be impulsive." His adjutant rushed over and grabbed his arm. "You have done enough. My brothers and I can wait."
"Yes, Master Magician, please buy me. We will work for you, please let Master go."
"Shut up, everyone." Roger pushed his adjutant away and said to Xiao Chen, "As long as you agree to this condition, I will swear on the honor of the Purple Eagle Empire Knights to treat you as my lord."