Mechanical Alchemist

The slave trade was one of the pillar industries of Blizzard City, and every major slave merchant in Emperor Luying's empire bred large teams of slavers in the north, specializing in capturing slaves.

The three major races of the icy plains—trolls, ice giants, and subhumans—were hot commodities in the slave markets.

There were also some rare, smaller tribes, like the tiny beings less than a foot tall with dragonfly-like transparent wings who were enclosed in birdcages known as "flower fairies." They were not less intelligent and excelled in simple magic related to flower cultivation. Often, they were treated as pets, kept in the back gardens of grand nobles.

Other races, like dwarves, lizardmen, cave dwellers, half-elves, and frost maidens... As long as they were not human, various humanoid intelligent races were targets for slave merchants to capture and sell.

These rare slaves were very popular in the upper echelons of Luying society.

Blizzard City had specifically planned a large market for the buying and selling of slaves, located in the eastern part of the city.

It was a building with a wine-red roof, resembling a massive train station.

Su Lun arrived at the time when the evening market was at its busiest.
Continue your adventure with empire

Stalls displaying various signs for slave vending lined both sides of the street. Each store had large iron cages at the entrance, containing some "samples" on display.

Tags with the prices of the merchandise hung at the entrances.

"Prime subhumans £10-20W Riso each, better prices for bulk purchases"

"Adult giants from £800,000 Riso each"

"Rare species frost maiden from £5 million each"

Here, at the place of origin, the prices listed were much cheaper than those at Gadronte Harbor in Luying.

After all, the rate of loss during slave transport was also quite high.

Transporting them across the sea to Luying's territory, they might encounter storms, plagues, pirates, and a series of other uncertain factors, and there was also the possibility of complete loss. A survival rate of fifty to sixty percent was quite good.

Apart from the shops, the market also had stalls set up by neutral adventure groups and slaver teams. These scattered slaves were secured with anti-magic chains in lines, like livestock, and led along the street for sale.

The streets were crowded with people, and here one could pick first-hand, the most affordable and best slaves. Wealthy gentlemen and ladies in meticulous attire were selecting slaves with their respirator masks on, haggling over the prices.

....

The natives of the icy plains bathed rarely, and the smell of their animal hides was strong. Particularly the trolls, who were hairy and never bathed in their lives, emitted a pungent odor that could be smelled from a distance. There were no toilets for the slaves; they ate, drank, and relieved themselves all within the cages, which contributed to the peculiar smell in the air of the slave market.

Su Lun walked along the street, specifically looking for a shop that sold subhumans.

If possible, he also wouldn't mind purchasing slaves of the Dalu tribe. But there were simply too many slaves here, and his financial abilities could not possibly cover the cost. Moreover, a constant stream of slaves was being captured each day. In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, buying and selling did not address the root problem.

Su Lun visited many shops, looking for one that could speak the common language, capable of communication, just like the Dalu elder Pasu who had prophesied for him last time.

But he found none.

Eventually, after quite some time, he arrived at the large-scale slave trading section of the market.

Just as he walked over, he saw several overseers from major slave trading firms idly chatting at the entrance of a warehouse.

Even without deliberately listening, he picked up some information.

"Damn it, our guild has had several good slaver teams attacked in Silent Forest recently. Just when they had captured a good number of slaves, those slaves got released by someone!"

"It must have been the work of 'Fist of Justice' Hodge... I heard that guy is now organizing a resistance, opposing the slave trade. I heard he's rallied some different races on the icy plains to resist slave capturing, and many of our guild's slaver teams have been ambushed frequently by those people."

"That damn guy, he should have stuck to being a bounty hunter instead of meddling in the slave trade! This is a legitimate business allowed by imperial law! Oh, those people who decry 'the slave trade is shameful,' do they know how much tax revenue we generate for the empire? Without us, the empire's fleet would be at least two-tenths smaller! Two-tenths!"

"Yeah, the business is getting harder and harder to run..."

"..."

Su Lun walked over.

A goateed overseer, quick to notice him, immediately approached with a smile, "Are you looking to buy slaves, sir? Oh, you've come to the right place, our 'Sun Slave Trading Firm' has the most comprehensive variety and highest quality slaves!"

As he spoke, he sized up Su Lun's Scavenger attire, and subtly hinted, "Sir, how many slaves do you need?"

This place was for wholesale, not small trades.

Su Lun remembered the "Sun Slave Trading Firm," one of the biggest in the capital. The batch of slaves he had previously bought at Gadronte Harbor had indeed been sold by this firm.

He tossed a silver coin as a tip and said, "Show me around. I'd like to buy some subhumans."

Seeing Su Lun's lavish tipping, the goateed overseer brightened up, "Right away, sir. Please, this way. We have some samples in the shop, and if you're not satisfied, we can go to the warehouse where we have many more."

Su Lun remained silent, following him.

The major trading firm held a large number of slaves, housed like in a breeding farm, with slaves categorized and locked in rows of iron cages.

To facilitate inspection by customers, many slaves, especially female ones, were only dressed in thin animal skins for display. They shivered in the chill wind, their skin showing signs of frostbite turning purple and blue.

"Do you have any particular requirements for the humanoid creatures, such as type, skin color, age, gender, height?"

The goat-bearded manager always flashed a professional smile at Su Lun.

While asking, he pointed to the cage and introduced, "If you're looking to buy a maid, I recommend the deer-type humanoids. They are relatively gentle and easy to domesticate. If you want a more pleasant living experience, the rabbit-type and fox-type humanoids are also good... I can guarantee with the reputation of our business that what we sell are top quality goods and untouched by anyone else! It's not like those inferior goods out there that you don't know how many hands they've passed through..."

Su Lun, expressionless, asked, "Are there any among the humanoids who speak a bit of Common Language?"

The goat-bearded manager showed a troubled expression, "Oh~ those are very rare. Only a very few humanoids can speak the Common Language. Usually, they're not easily captured..."

In a tone full of wealth, Su Lun stated casually, "Price isn't an issue."

At these words, the goat-bearded manager's eyes brightened, and he said, "I'm not too sure myself. Perhaps, we could go to the warehouse to check?"

Su Lun silently nodded.

....

Su Lun followed the manager around the back of the shop and through a heavily guarded iron door into a large underground warehouse.

The lighting was very dim, a sea of cages largely covered with canvas.

Su Lun felt the soul flames, estimating there were probably several hundred people.

The sound of rustling emerged from the cages as they heard someone descending.

With a "clatter".

The manager signaled to a worker behind him and lifted the canvas off one of the cages, saying, "These were just brought in by the hunting team the day before yesterday, mostly rare snow fox and wolf-type humanoids. Truly high-quality goods..."

Su Lun glanced at them; these humanoids were nearly indistinguishable from humans, except for the furry ears on their heads and tails behind them, and they appeared gentle. Their ages also seemed to range from teens to twenties.

But he also saw pairs of eyes filled with hatred.

Meanwhile, that worker threw a few black loaves into the cage. About ten people per cage, no scrambling over food occurred, as an older humanoid picked up the bread, broke it into pieces, and distributed them among the group. The small piece of bread they each received was barely a tenth of what a normal person would eat in a day.

The manager, catching Su Lun's gaze, explained, "You know, the humanoids we just captured are very wild. We can't feed them too much; otherwise, they'll have the energy to make trouble, which can be very problematic."

He had known all along that among this batch, there likely weren't any who spoke the Common Language.

Even if there were, they would hide it, absolutely unwilling to communicate with humans.

Bringing Su Lun down was intended to show him these good quality goods.

If he could sell them here, the profits would generally be higher.

Of course, Su Lun was aware of this, and he was thinking about how to select someone who understood Common Language.

He had hoped to try the one sentence of Druidic he knew, like last time. Just then, suddenly from a distance within the warehouse, there came a rattling of chains. It was as if a ferocious beast confined in one of the cages had suddenly awoken and was struggling violently.

He sensed that this soul flame was higher than all the other humanoids here, roughly equivalent to a third-level professional.

Su Lun cast a puzzled look, "What is that?"

The manager looked slightly troubled and shrugged, "That's a humanoid we caught yesterday. Very wild, very fierce. The hunting team said she seems to be the one who evaded capture when their tribe was taken. She followed all the way and came to Blizzard City. Yesterday she sneaked into the warehouse trying to free these slaves. Heh, she almost succeeded."

"..."

Su Lun naturally sensed that the warehouse seemed lax in security, but in reality, there were fourth-level guards lurking in the darkness.

Upon hearing this, his interest was piqued, "Show me."

The stronger the individual within the Druid tribe, the more likely they were to speak Common Language.

The manager reluctantly led him to the corner and to the iron cage.

Upon lifting the canvas, what was revealed was not a person but a huge beast. It resembled both a fox and a wolf, its body covered in noble white fur which was stained with blood. Rune chains pierced through the limbs of this snow fox, and blood flowed freely.

Despite this, she continued to struggle, trying to break free from the chains.

Seeing someone approach, she glared ferociously at the two outside the cage, emitting a terrifying growl.

This murderous glare made the manager's scalp tingle, and he explained, "I don't know why she still maintains such a beast-like form; she must be a very rare species. To capture her, our company even lost several men."

After a pause, he turned to Su Lun, "Esteemed guest, let's look at the others. This type of slave is very troublesome to domesticate, and if you buy her, it might be dangerous for you..."

Su Lun, however, disregarded these words, walked up to the cage, and asked, "Do you speak Common Language? If you do, I'll buy you."

Just as he finished speaking, predictably, the only response from the snow fox was a growl.

Seeing this, Su Lun didn't say more. He turned to glance at the manager and suddenly said, "You're feeling a bit sleepy..."

The manager, having just made eye contact with the glint in Su Lun's eyes, hadn't had time to react when his pupils dilated, appearing to freeze in place.

This was visual hypnotism.

Su Lun's spiritual power made hypnotizing an ordinary person easier than ever.

He didn't bother with it anymore, turned his head toward the cage containing the snow fox, and spoke, "&*%ф%￥ё￥..."

This was the only sentence of the Dalu language he knew.

As expected, upon hearing this, the snow fox immediately calmed down.

Always so effective.

Those deep blue eyes looked at the human in front of them, filled with incredulity.

Su Lun didn't delay, and said, "If you can understand the common tongue, just nod your head, I mean you no harm. I know Elder Pasu, if he is still alive."

Clearly, the white fox understood; she looked at Su Lun, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

She really does understand!

Su Lun was pleased, but knew it was not the time for small talk.

Guards hidden in the distance had discovered something.

The steward snapped back from his momentary daze, not remembering what had just happened, patted his head, "Oh, where was I just now? Oh, sir, shall we go see something else?"

Pointing at the now calm snow fox in the cage, Su Lun asked, "I like this one, how much is it?"

The steward looked troubled, "But..."

Su Lun shook his head, "Just name your price, I'll take responsibility if anything happens."

Upon hearing this, the steward didn't say more. Businessmen only care about profit, his mind immediately became active, "This is a rare breed capable of complete transformation. At the Imperial Capital's auction house, I think, she could sell for at least ten million riso!"

Clearly, he had just blurted out a price just then.

Su Lun didn't want to be taken for a fool; moreover, he didn't have much money on him now, "It's precisely because she is a rare breed that I'm a bit interested. A fixed price, three million! That's already ten times the price of an ordinary slave!"

The steward, with a flicker of shrewdness in his eyes, pretended to be in a difficult position, "I'm sorry, I can't decide on this. I have to ask the boss. Of course, if you can offer five million, I think even if I sold her, the boss wouldn't blame me..."

Su Lun knew there was still room for bargaining, but didn't want to waste time, "Fine!"

As he spoke, he took out two large bags of coins from the Storage Ring and handed them over, "Count the money."

The steward had never expected the deal to be concluded so briskly and internally cursed himself for quoting too low a price.

But the money had already been handed over, and he had no choice but to accept it and count it, then he said, "Sir, the slave is yours now."

.....

Before long, the slave trading company's staff moved the iron cage wrapped in canvas to the warehouse of the "Owl Inn" where Su Lun was staying.

After waiting for the people to leave, Su Lun lifted the canvas and saw the weak-looking white fox inside the cage.

The severe injuries, compounded by two days without food, had compelled her to feign fierceness at the slave market, evidently using the last of her strength.

Su Lun opened the iron cage and then unlocked the rune chains that pierced through her limbs. The chains contained a toxin that prevented wounds from healing and, due to her previous struggles, were covered in blood. When he pulled out the chains, a large pool of thick blood followed.

The white fox appeared even weaker.

Showing her his ring engraved with the Isaac family crest, Su Lun introduced himself while removing the chains, "My name is Su Lun. I need a little help from you. It would be better if we could meet with the Grand Druid of the Dalu tribe. The heir of the Isaac family asked me to relay a few words..."

After hearing this, the last trace of tenseness in the white fox's eyes relaxed. She spoke in human language, her voice very weak, "I am Yuta, a druid of the 'White Wolf Tribe'..."

Su Lun nodded, signaling her not to say too much.

Yet, looking at her four to five meter long white fox body, he frowned.

It wasn't going to be convenient to enter the inn in this shape.

He asked, "By the way, can you transform back into human form?"

No sooner had he spoken than the white fox seemed to want to say something; her eyes dimmed, and she suddenly fainted.

Then the huge beastly body visibly shrank, and a tide of snow-white fur receded, transforming into a sleek human form. This was a sub-human female with short snow-white hair and a red inverted triangle totem on her face.

Seeing Yuta curled up in the corner of the cage, Su Lun sighed softly.

Too weak, after all, she couldn't hold on.

The warehouse of the inn was very cold and not a place to treat injuries. He took out a cloak, wrapped it around the white-haired girl, and then picked her up.

He cleaned the blood stains in the cage with a potion, carried the girl, and went up the stairs of the inn.

He then arrived at room 303 on the third floor.

The room was warm, with heating.

After entering the house, Su Lun laid the person on the bed.

The wound was still bleeding, quickly soaking a large area of the snow-white sheets in red.

If not treated quickly, the injury could cost her life.

Su Lun didn't delay, took out a potion to treat the wound, carefully cleaned her wound, and then, with an eight-arm spider spear, manipulated surgical instruments that rapidly stitched up the wound.

He multitasked efficiently, equal to an entire medical team by himself. A not too complicated surgery was basically resolved in half an hour.

Yuta was still feverish, and he injected another dose of healing medicine.

Being a different species from humans, Su Lun wasn't sure if human medicine would work on the Dalu.

But after observing for a few minutes, the injury was improving, seemingly effective.

Su Lun cleaned the bloodstains on the bed, covered Yuta with a blanket, and hid her graceful figure.

No wonder the Dalu were so highly sought after in the slave market by the wealthy, with their appearance and figures leaving little to be desired. Their limbs and torsos were powerfully toned, indeed possessing a wild beauty different from human females.

However, Su Lun was also curious about exactly what sub-species Yuta belonged to.

Earlier while tending to the wound, he noticed her hair was a high-quality snow-white, she had a pair of furry pointed ears, and a soft tail attached to her coccyx. Other than that, she resembled a human.

Su Lun wasn't sure if she was from the fox tribe or the wolf tribe.

Listening to her breathing stabilize, he finally relaxed completely.

....

Outside, it was already dark, and night had fallen.

Snow piled thick on the windowsill, and looking out, he could see the orange glow of lights and the smoke rising from the chimney of the house opposite.

It might still take a while for Yuta to awaken.

Having found the right person, Su Lun was no longer in a hurry.

He sat by the window and started messing with the witch's hair.

The eight-arm spider spear took out a micro-engraving knife and began to carve runes.

Now that he had advanced, facing enemies above the third rank, the untreated witch's hair clearly wasn't enough.

Like when he had killed "Poison Frog" Bonn, the thread had easily been corroded and broken by the toxin.

He needed more durable hair.

Fortunately, after killing that guy, he stripped almost a complete "Fourth-Tier Water Elemental Law", the rune inscription after wrapping it with water element could increase the toughness of the hair several times. Next time he encountered a fourth-tier professional, it wouldn't break so easily.

"Swish," "Swish," "Swish," "Swish"...

The room was filled with a dense, fine noise.

Su Lun's engraving speed was incredibly fast.

Previously, inscribing runes for increased toughness on the hair, he managed only several tens of meters a day.

Now that he had awakened the ability to multitask, his engraving was seamless, and his efficiency had increased tenfold.

Before long, he had produced a large quantity of rune-inscribed hair.

Later in the night, finding the engraving too monotonous, while some spider spears worked on the hair, he also took out puppet and mechanical materials bought from the black market during the day, and started tinkering with his new puppet.

The Iron Ore produced in the Northern Ice Plains was a rare material capable of carrying Ice Runes of the fourth tier and above. With this material, Su Lun could mass produce the new variety of "Frost Dolls". Once this puppet army was formed, spewing frost everywhere, the lack of control in his puppet army would also be significantly compensated.

There were also the "Alchemical Golems" that his teacher Seraya had researched. Now that he had high-grade demon cores, he could begin his studies as well.

.....

Su Lun had bought Yuta, but unbeknownst to him, a team in Blizzard City was also eyeing that batch of subhuman slaves.

"What, that Druid was bought?"

"Yes, just half an hour ago."

"Damn! Having finally found a tribe with a Druid, just about to sail out, and she disappears?"

"No, boss, she hasn't disappeared. The person is staying at the 'Owl Inn', and the subhuman slave is there too."

"Keep a close watch! As soon as that person leaves town with her, immediately notify me. We can't fail this 'rescue mission' again."

"Yes, boss."