Game of the World Tree

“Sure enough, a lot of elves have been imprisoned. It seems that there is some benefit in allowing players to explore the human society.”

Evé muttered as she attentively observed the multiple live feeds being broadcast on a large interface hovering before her while seated upon her throne within the Celestial Domain of the World Tree.

In it were the various real-time perspectives coming from every player that’s currently exploring Maple Leaf City.

However, at the moment, she paid no heed to most of it as she focused her attention onto the live-feed at the center, which shows the perspective of both Li Mu and Demacia.

Through their eyes, Evé could clearly see vivid images of elves being imprisoned in rows of cells. All these enslaved elves wore anti-magic collars upon their necks with some even had their limbs restrained with chains.

Each of them looked extremely haggard, with their pointed ears drooping low as their eyes gleamed with despair and desperation.

Evé: “….”

She could only let out a deep sigh after seeing all these.

Some elves were even staring straight at the screen, with their eyes carrying boundless anger as if they could pierce through the fabric of space and discern that she was secretly watching them.

Of course, she knew that what their truly focusing on was actually both Li Mu and Demacia, but she couldn’t help but feel that they were also naturally watching her…

—Silently judging her.

Observing the deep-seated anger within their eyes, Evé pondered, “These elves should be members of the Oakhand Resistance Group mentioned by the steward earlier.”

“When the players eventually rescues all these imprisoned elves, this local resistance force might come under my command.”

She then proceeded to tap the armrest of her divine throne with her fingers in a rhythmic fashion, as though she were deeply immersed in contemplation.

A few moments passed and her eyes suddenly gleamed as if an idea formed within her mind.

On the other side of the screen, both Li Mu and Demacia wore startled expressions after seeing the system message hovering in front of them.

⤷ Hahaha! Bro, I told you so! Involving ourselves with anything related to elven slaves almost guarantees a hidden quest! And look, the rewards are quite huge too!

Demacia excitedly sent a written message in their chatroom.

⤷ Well, it still depends on whether we can rescue everyone here successfully.

Li Mu was equally enthusiastic.

Successfully rescuing one elf meant gaining 5000 EXP and 3000 CP.

Additionally, even though the rewards for half-elves was lesser compared to their pure-blooded counterparts, it was still a considerable amount, to say the least.

Thinking of reaping such huge rewards, both their gazes towards the enslaved elves had changed.

If we somehow managed to save all of these elves, then the amount we’re gonna get would be substantial enough for the two of us to buy ourselves a piece of legendary golden equipment!

After noticing the undisguised fervor and greed within the youngsters eyes, the last trace of concern vanished from Caige’s heart.

These two…were not members of Oakhand!

Their greed was a good sign!

Since he could stroke their greed and secure a favorable deal for himself!

Seeing their eager looks, Caige smiled slightly and said to them, “So how about it? These are our elven slaves. This scale of numbers can’t be found anywhere else here in Maple Leaf City! And you can rest assured…the quality of our slaves is very high!”

Li Mu and Demacia exchanged glances, and the latter promptly said, “Name your price!”

Caige’s smile became even brighter.

He pointed to one of the cells containing young elves and said, “The ones in this cell are those with strong potential for growth. Each female is worth 8,000 gold coins, while the males is worth 5,000 gold coins.”

Then he pointed to another cage with young elves, “These are all ready-made.¹ 6000 gold coins for females, 4500 for males.”

Finally, he gestured to the last cage, “The elves in here are older or isn’t a pure-breed. They are much cheaper, all at 4500 gold coins each.”

“Hehehe, but don’t be fooled by their apparent age. They’re only a few hundred years old, which is still young for elves. Moreover, some customers of mine specifically prefer these older slaves.”

“Not only that, but these older elves also knew a lot of things. If you can extract some elven heritage from them, then you’ll definitely reap some huge benefits.”

“As for the half-elves, they are even cheaper. 2000 gold coins for females, 1500 for males, and you can get a discount for buying in bulk.”

Caige spoke warmly as he smiled again and said:

“How about it? This price is quite fair, right? Considering you’re friends of Anders, I’ll give you a 20% discount.”

“Furthermore, if you buy a lot, then I can even throw in a few sturdy domisticated orc slaves as a bonus. Each can be sold for 300 gold coins,” Caige said cheerfully.

Based on the players’ previous experience in doing business back in Blackrock City, the pricing of Sauron Guild is indeed quite fair.

Li Mu nodded silently.

However, they weren’t actually here for business, and they certainly didn’t have that much money either in the first place…

Moreover—

“No, no!”

Unlike the silent Li Mu, Demacia on the other hand looked at the elves and dramatically shook his head like a rattle:

“Mr. Caige, I’m sorry but there seems to be an issue with these elves of yours…”

“Their condition looks quite poor. How long has it been since they’ve eaten? Could they be those insurgent fanatics that’s part of that resistance group? These elves would rather die than become slaves so they’re not worth the price you’re offering us, Mr. Caige!”

Demacia then let out a long and exceptionally loud sigh.

“For these rebellious elves who are tough to handle, maybe the only option is to control them forcibly through mind manipulation. But, the downside is that magic messes with their sanity, turning them into basically dolls! Plus, their worth would plummet by at least half if we go that route!”

Listening to Demacia’s convincing words, Caige’s reaction aside, Li Mu was left awestruck.

⤷ How do you know so much?

He couldn’t help but type distractedly in their chatroom.

⤷ Hehehe, selling myself in Blackrock City was really beneficial. My experience from back then had teach me which types of elves can fetch a good price and which ones doesn’t. Don’t worry bro, I’m really experienced at this stuff! Why else do you think I took on this task?

Demacia stood more proudly afterward.

Li Mu: “…”

Caige, likewise, looked at the red-haired attendant with astonishment, never expecting the guy to be so knowledgeable and could immediately spot the issues with these elves.

In fact, he had already tried to adjust the lighting within the showroom to make the elves’ conditions less apparent.

“So… what are you suggesting?”

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Mr. Caige, it’s your mistake. Although the quantity of these elves is high, their quality on the other hand is really poor. In my opinion, the price should be cut by at least half.”

Demacia shook his head once more whilst feigning a disappointed look. He then pointed to a certain area much deeper into the room.

“The Elves over there are certainly better, but… still not worth this price!”

Over there?

Caige raised an eyebrow.

What Demacia was pointing at was actually the personal elves that their company isn’t selling. These elves weren’t part of the Oakhand batch that the guild recently purchased from the Borderlord but rather, the elves that have been in the company for years already.

Therefore, all of them are already well trained and relatively obedient.

Of course, Caige doesn’t have any plans to sell these elves to these two youngsters. After all, the company have meticulously chosen these elves from all the slaves they’ve acquired throughout the years, and the majority are women distinguished for their boundless beauty.

In human society, they were like the cream of the crop, the rare top-notch commodities not easily accessible to their ordinary customers.

In fact, if the batch they bought from the Borderlord weren’t suitable enough, Caige was planning to use these rare elves in the upcoming auction instead.

As long as these elves is properly dressed and presented, they could spark a bidding war amongst the nobles that would attend the auction.

Yet… this young red-haired attendant claimed that these elves were not worth the price?

This irritated Caige, who had been involved in elf trading for a long time.

This red-haired attendant clearly understood the intricacies of their trade, yet he was making such a bold statements.

Wasn’t he looking for trouble?

Are they really here for business?

“Mr. Demacia.”

Caige evenly said with a hint of cold tone.

“I admit, the elves I’ve introduced to you earlier do have some flaws. However, it’s not as serious as you say. As for those elves in the deeper area… those are our company’s personal treasured darlings. Even if you double the price, I won’t sell any of them to you.”

Li Mu: “…”

“…Treasured darlings?”

Demacia chuckled when he heard this, wearing an expression of ridicule that made anyone who saw it feel an urge to beat him up.

“Are they treasures just because they look a bit better and resist a bit less compared to others? Haha, you call these guys treasured darlings, but can your ‘darlings’ even fully submit themselves to you?”

Hearing his provocative question, Caige’s expression became somewhat unsightly.

“Mr. Demacia.”

His voice now carried a hint of anger.

“Seeing that you understand our trade well, then you should’ve known also that taming elves is extremely difficult.”

“Making these stubborn elves obey someone is already a very difficult task even for a seasoned slaver. And slaves that do become partially tamed are very expensive. Not to mention the truly obedient ones which are almost priceless.”

Caige then slowly walked towards Demacia and stood in front of him.

“Let me tell you this, I’ve been in this business for so long, yet I haven’t seen a fully obedient elf in my life!”

“Hah! those truly obedient elves you mentioned only happens because some high-ranking nobles bought them when they’re very little and raised for who knows how many years. Have you ever considered how much they’ve invested in training one?”

“These kinds of rare fully obedient elves are ‘treasured darlings’ of each high-ranking noble household, and you cannot buy them since they are almost priceless!”

Hearing Caige’s explanation, Demacia wasn’t fazed at all and merely shook his head while sporting a disdainful expression.

“In the end, it just mean your just a bunch of amateurs who don’t know how to properly tame an elf. Those who truly know how to tame one don’t need so much trouble. Take me for example, just give me a few days and I can make any elves obedient like little kittens…”

“Humph!”

Caige sneered, looking at Demacia with increasingly cold and disdainful eyes.

“Oh, you don’t believe me?”

Demacia raised an eyebrow before moving his hands in a grandiose manner.

“Perfect! I just happened to have recently brought quite a few goods myself, all of which are high-quality elves. Their quality is way beyond comparison as to what you have here in your company.”

“Today, let me show you what true elven slaves are! What the pinnacle of true obedience actually means!”

— 277 —

【 YOUR ELVES WON’T DO! WATCH US 】

¹ 现成 – I tried researching on this but ‘ready-made’ is too broad of a term. I got confusing results but I think what the author is implying here is the slaves are already trained? or sexually sullied? I’m not too sure tho.

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