Kalanda leaned against the wall, watching a group of thugs walk away from the corner of the front street. She waved back, and Luo Ling, Cohen and others quickly followed her across the wide road and hid in the next corner.
The fortress of Juan's family was right in front of us. From a distance, the fortress looked like an octagonal cake, made of stone, square and with two arrow holes on each of the eight walls, narrow on the outside and wide on the inside. With the faint light from inside, we could see the flashing figures of people.
The main door at the bottom was made of iron, about one and a half meters tall. There was a small open iron window in the middle, and someone must be watching them from inside.
"Go!" Luo Ling pushed Cohen.
Cohen took a round shield from the guard, carefully exposed half of his body from the wall, and shouted towards the fortress: "Are you from the Juan family? I am Cohen, the steward of the Dain family, and I have something important to discuss with you!"
Cohen shouted three times before someone behind the iron bars responded, "There is no place for you here. Find a way to escape."
"We are not here to escape. I am accompanied by the magician of Suero City, Lady Luo Ling, and the leader of the Blue Flame Mercenary Group, Miss Kalanda. They have something very important to discuss with your family head. It concerns your lives!"
Apparently Luo Ling and Kalanda's identities played a role. After a long time, the iron door opened a crack. A guard stuck his head out and ran over nervously.
He glanced at Cohen and Kalanda, who he obviously knew. When he saw Luo Ling, he asked hesitantly, "Are you really a magician?"
Luo Ling smiled, stretched out a finger, pointed at the guard's forehead and said: "Do you want to see my magic?"
The guard immediately broke out in a cold sweat, "Ah, no no, everyone please come in, the masters are waiting for you in the fortress."
Soon, Luo Ling and her group sat in the reception room of the fortress. The luxurious atmosphere here was far from that of the Dain family. A few swords and axes and two sets of armor hung on the bluestone wall were the only decorations here, which had a rather tough style.
Sitting opposite Luo Ling were the heads of the Juan, Bart, and Lynch families. These people were probably the only big businessmen left in the entire market.
She sat with her legs sideways, with Kalanda and Cohen standing on both sides of her, and behind her were four strong guards, looking very imposing.
"I really like the style here. It's tough and capable, and reminds me of the good qualities of all soldiers." Luo Ling touched the hardwood chair and said to the head of the Juan family.
"My grandfather was a knight of the kingdom." Roman Juan had a big, neat beard and looked a bit like a soldier. "So, I like to speak directly. I want to know, Miss Luo, why are you here?"
"I'm here to save your lives." Luo Ling said with a calm look in her eyes.
As soon as these words came out, the faces of the people present changed slightly. Roman Juan said, "We are very safe now. The fortress is well defended, and there is enough food and water. What does Miss Luo mean by this?"
"Is it safe? Although I am a woman who doesn't know how to fight, I have thought of several ways to easily break into this castle. The key question now is whether there is someone to do it and when to do it."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I just want to make an analogy. If I were a thug, I would find people to hold up some door panels and shields at night, bring some weeds and firewood, and pile them up around the fortress. I don't think your bows and arrows can do anything to those people. Then they just need to light these weeds and fire, and the smoke and fire will last all night, and everything will be solved. Of course, I will also arrange people at the door. If the people inside can't stand the heat and want to break out, they will fall into my pocket."
"The slaves are busy looting. What good will it do them to go through so much trouble to attack a fortress?" asked the head of the Bart family.
"Does revenge count? Most people just follow blindly. As long as there is a leader who is against you, and you shout that the fortress is full of treasures, are you afraid that you won't find people to fight for you? ... Hehe."
The three family heads all fell silent. As slave traders, the slaves who had grudges against them could almost form several circles around Suero.
Luo Ling was not in a hurry. She picked up the tea on the table and drank it slowly in small sips. The tea was a scented tea mixed with spices and milk, sweet and sour.
"You...is there any solution?" Roman Juan changed his address to a respectful one, finally no longer looking down on the young girl in front of him.
Luo Ling smiled, her bright eyes swept over the three middle-aged men, seeing their struggles, "Of course, a leader in my hometown once said: Don't fight a battle you are not sure of winning. I have a companion who is a powerful spiritual magician who is good at controlling the will of the crowd. At a certain price, he can solve this problem."
"What's the price?"
"Take away all the slaves he controls."
"What? This is impossible. Do you know how much these slaves are worth in gold coins? These gold coins are enough to hire several great magicians!"
"This is blackmail! You're going too far."
"We can pay the wizard a sum of gold coins, but the slaves must be returned to us!"
Luo Ling looked at the three of them quietly, tapping her legs a few times with her fingers. Unconsciously, the room seemed to have cooled down. Roman Juan felt a chill on his spine and suddenly sneezed. He subconsciously wanted to warm himself up with the tea, but when he drank it, he found it was as cold as ice water in winter, mixed with some ice crystals.
"Calm down." Luo Ling's voice was soft, but chilling.
Roman looked at the lady opposite him and thought she was a goddess of ice and snow. He then remembered that she was also a magician. If he really angered her... He coughed twice and changed his tone, "We have to say so much. After all, there are people behind most slave businesses. The lords of various places and the adults in the capital have interests involved. Even some high-ranking magicians have a thousand connections with this place. You have to know that we are just some pawns in the front."
"I only have three questions." Luo Ling seemed not to hear Roman's complaint.
"First, if the roving thugs are not stopped, how much gold will be lost?"
"Second, after the lords suppress the riot and plunder the camp, how many living slaves will be left and returned to your hands?"
"Third, who will be held responsible for all the losses in the end, those big shots or you?"
The people present were suddenly speechless.
Luo Ling stood up, stroked her forehead and said, "I'm a little tired. Please prepare a room for me so I can take a nap. When I wake up, it'll be time to leave. I can still come and go freely in a small place like this."
In the upstairs lounge.
Luo Ling covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed lightly a few times. Her mouth was full of fishy and salty taste. When she took away the handkerchief, she saw a hint of bright red in the middle.
She frowned slightly and sighed. The book spirit's warning was indeed true. When her spiritual consciousness was not yet complete, reading the "Shadow Scroll of the Sea of Consciousness" had already caused a change in her mental power. For her, magic became a matter of hurting others and herself. Today, she only made a small move downstairs, but it hurt her heart. If this problem is not solved, no matter how high her magic skills are, they will be useless.
I don’t know what Xiao Chen’s situation is like, but at least he doesn’t hurt himself when using his power, so he is much luckier than me.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
"Miss Luo," Cohen said with a salute. "I asked the servants. They all felt that the fortress could not be defended and were very pessimistic. In addition, the heads of the families have been in the reception room and seemed to be arguing fiercely."
"You are thoughtful. Don't worry, their quarrel is just the nature of greedy businessmen. When people fall into the water, they will grab even a straw, not to mention that we are a ship that can really save lives."
"Miss Luo, are we pushing them too hard?" Cohen asked uneasily. All the people he had just met in the reception room were real bigwigs in this industry. Cohen had never seen anyone talk to them like this.
"This is an unequal negotiation. We have more cards in our hands than they do. Of course, there is no need to be polite. You have to know that the same negotiation will yield very different benefits in different atmospheres." Luo Ling seemed very confident. "Don't always look at these things from the perspective of a manager. Learn to stand higher."
"You're joking. I'm just a manager."
"Haha, maybe not soon."
Just when Cohen was puzzled, someone knocked on the door again. It was Roman's butler. He invited Luo Ling to come downstairs to chat under the pretext of having afternoon tea.
The same people were still in the room, but after the continuous quarrel, the three of them were a little depressed. Luo Ling, on the other hand, looked a little better after resting.
Several people exchanged glances, and finally Roman Juan spoke up: "Lord Luo Ling, after careful consideration, we have decided to accept your proposal. But there is a prerequisite, that is, the losses cannot be further increased, especially the fortress cannot be affected."
"Except for the personal safety of the three of you, I will not guarantee anything else. This is a gamble in the first place."
"The three of us?"
"Yes, Captain Kalanda and I guarantee that we will not leave you until the matter is resolved. Of course, our companion, Master Xiao Chen, will do his utmost to resolve this crisis. If you don't have the ability to control the mind like him, what's the use of you finding a few magicians who can throw fireballs?" After hearing these words, the three family heads felt more at ease, and they finally agreed to Luo Ling's request.
"Okay, we've discussed the first condition. I have an additional small request." Luo Ling waved to Cohen and asked him to sit in the chair next to her, facing the three people.
"Butler Cohen is an old man under Dain. After this disaster, many slave-trading families were completely eradicated. The slave market is a bit large now, and there are a few merchants. Therefore, talents like him should be given a chance to play a role. From now on, Cohen will be one of the merchants here. I hope you will support him."
"Sir! This..." Cohen was very shocked. He had only known these mages for less than half a day. How could such an arrangement befall him
"Don't be nervous. I think the heads of the families would agree with this. What do you think?"
Roman and the others knew that Luo Ling was clearly going to interfere in the future affairs of the slave market. However, the situation was stronger than the person, so what could they say? Moreover, the slave market had been reshuffled, and everyone's share was much larger, provided that they could eat them alive. And the mage in front of them was the guarantee of this premise.
"Mr. Cohen is indeed a capable man. With such a businessman joining us and the support of mages like Miss Luo, the slave market can be restored to its former state much faster."
"Not bad, not bad, everyone will have to take care of me in the future."
Several family heads said this.
"Very good! In this case, we can wait for the news with peace of mind." After saying this, Luo Ling felt a little weak due to the double fatigue of mind and body. She supported herself on the armrest with her hands, took a sip of tea, and the sweet taste made her want to vomit.
All those toughness, indifference, and confidence were just appearances. From the moment she stepped into this fortress, she was like a clockwork, cautious and not daring to show any fear. And now, she can finally live up to that guy's expectations. She glanced at the smoky sky through the narrow window and thought to herself: Xiao Chen, it all depends on you from now on.