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Chapter 168: Slave Liberation 1
Chapter 168: Slave Liberation 1
Chapter 168: Slave Liberation 1
Slaves existed everywhere on the Eeth Continent.
Prisoners of war, as well as those who committed felony crimes and those who were bankrupt continued to emerge.
However, in most kingdoms, it was forbidden to take ordinary innocent people as slaves.
If the kingdom’s citizens were enslaved, the lords’ financial situation would become unstable and the number of soldiers to be mobilized for war would decrease.
While peasants could not be called completely free people, since they could get evicted from their residence, they were quite different compared to slaves who were subjected to exchange, inheritance, and trade.
However, slavery was legalized in the Talis Kingdom, so there were many cases where nobles used vicious tricks to enslave the people of the kingdom.
Because of this, slave traders have benefited greatly since ancient times, and some of them regularly paid the lords who would protect them in return.
Dragonlord Ivanov used this fact cleverly to make all of them pay the royal family, which resulted in the secret ledger hidden in the treasurer Alexei’s office.
The sources and origins of all sorts of dirty funds flowing in the Talis Kingdom were recorded within.
Therefore, with the cooperation of the King of Izuna, Woohyuk closed all ports of the Talis Kingdom and began to capture all the famous slave traders.
“I’ll, I'll give you all my fortune, so please spare my life!”
The obese man sharing his bed with a dark-skinned gorgeous woman trembled and begged Woohyuk.
He believed that Woohyuk was an assassin sent by his enemies.
In truth, it wasn’t surprising that he believed that since Woohyuk was holding a blood-stained Vampiric Dagger in one hand.
“Do you believe that your life is worth sparing?”
“Pl, please...! If you are not interested in gold and silver, I will give you beauties from all over the continent! Do you have any preferen...”
Slit!
The Vampiric Dagger pierced the wall behind him and blood began to flow down the slave trader’s cheek, staining the bed.
Once the man shut his mouth and sat with cold sweat running down his neck, Woohyuk spoke up again.
“I am only interested in one thing. The Valkyrie's Dagger. Do you know anything about it?”
“Va, Valkyrie's Dagger, you say…? There are many daggers with elegant decorations in the warehouse, and...”
The man was trying to keep Woohyuk's attention for as long as possible.
He knew that if he acted as if he didn't have the Valkyrie's Dagger, his head would be flying.
“Guide me there right now.”
“Un, understood.”
The man got up and retrieved a key from a drawer.
Woohyuk followed him to the secret warehouse in the basement.
“He, here it is.”
Upon reaching the destination, the man opened the iron door.
When Woohyuk stepped inside behind the fat man,
Bam!
The iron door shut close out of nowhere, and a blue magic circle spread out on the floor.
The man who saw it appear chuckled and distanced himself from Woohyuk.
“You moron. Did you think I hadn't prepared anything for thieves like you? You will die a dog’s death here!”
The magic circle on the floor contained a curse that petrified intruders.
However, Woohyuk had two hidden classes of the dark attribute, and the Basilisk’s Curse.
Most petrification spells would have no effect on him.
Thwack!
Woohyuk's fist struck the man's abdomen, who in turn spat out and gasped for air.
“Cough...!”
“Don't do anything unnecessary, you swine.”
Woohyuk personally didn't like slave traders very much.
They always thought they were smarter than monarchs, so they grovelled in front of them but always tried to stab them in the back whenever they had the opportunity.
As Woohyuk kicked the fallen man, he heard footsteps behind the iron door.
It was the woman who was lying in bed with the man a while ago.
“Uh, um...”
“What do you want?”
“The item you are looking for isn’t here. He has a separate warehouse where he stores his valuables.”
The woman knew many of the slave trader’s secrets because she was his favorite sex slave.
Woohyuk nodded and summoned the undead Amy.
“If he does anything unnecessary, cut his head off right away.”
All he needed was the Valkyrie’s Dagger and the slave trader’s properties and fortune, not the slave trader himself.
Leaving behind the man groaning on the floor, Woohyuk walked towards the firmly closed entrance.
Then, the copper-skinned woman opened the iron door with the key she was holding.
“You brought a spare?”
“Yes, it took me a while to find it because it was hidden on top of the bookshelf in the office.”
The woman had a favorable opinion of Woohyuk.
Recently, rumors had been circulating that someone was killing slave traders in the Free City and liberated the slaves.
While Woohyuk seemed to have a different purpose right now, he didn't seem interested in her naked body.
"Your name."
“It’s Cynthia.”
“Lead the way.”
Cynthia led Woohyuk to the stone chamber on the third floor of the mansion.
There were various types of traps installed there, similar to ruins.
“Please be careful. They were all designed and installed with great care by a skilled engineer.”
“Don’t worry.”
Woohyuk was an expert when it came to things like this.
As he broke through the traps and reached the other side, Cynthia watching in admiration from the entrance.
“You’re incredible.”
“Where are his valuables?”
“Please touch the statue of the monster on your side.”
There was a stone statue of a fire-winged bird with its wings spread out.
It was a device that opened the door to the secret warehouse.
As Cynthia explained, Woohyuk took out the archaeologist's golden magnifying glass and looked closely at the statue.
'There is a magic circuit in it.'
The device would activate after a specific authentication procedure.
However, it was a pain in the arse to return and question the slave trader, so Woohyuk summoned Carnelian.
“Try to force it to work.”
“I'll try.”
Carnelian touched the statue with her eyes burning like small flames.
Eventually, the sound of rolling machinery and grinding gears could be heard inside the stone statue.
The stone wall split open and a hidden entrance was revealed.
“Good job, Carnelian.”
"Thank you."
Carnelian smiled as she received a piece of chocolate from Woohyuk.
Then the silent Cynthia carefully began to ask a question.
“Is that child...”
“She’s a dragon. They’re now known to be extinct though.”
“My goodness... Then you must be...”
Cynthia's eyes widened.
In recent days, there were rumors of Dragonlord Ivanov’s fall and that a new monarch had taken over the Talis Kingdom.
Woohyuk nodded as he did not find the need to hide his identity.
“Yes, I am the new ruler of this Kingdom. If you follow me, you will all be liberated from your masters.”
“Why are you going so far for us? The nobles will greatly oppose your rule and resist your forces...”
Cynthia was curious about Woohyuk's purpose.
Woohyuk gave her a concise answer before entering the secret warehouse.
“Because a grand unification of the continent is necessary. All the kingdoms that fail to resolve their internal conflicts will be destroyed.”
The peaceful days since the end of the War of Gods and Demons were over.
The 72 Demon Kings, who were released from their seals, were competing against each other and conquering the Eeth Continent, while Lilith was trying to destroy the world.
There would be no hope for humanity if the disputes within countries and between countries intensified.
While he could not completely erase slavery, a slave revolt was required in a corrupt kingdom like the Talis Kingdom.
“You have a great ambition. I wish I had served someone like you from the beginning.”
“I will give you the chance to serve me if you want.”
After liberating the slaves of the Talis Kingdom, Woohyuk wanted to turn the country into a powerful force that could back him.
Therefore, he needed the cooperation of the kingdom’s citizens
To do that, there needed to be communication and conversations between him and the people.
If slaves were suddenly liberated, they would want help to solve the problems of their livelihoods, receive support and a place to call home.
Cynthia's mission was to become their leader and pass on Woohyuk’s will and intentions.
She had a slave’s stigma on her body, so she was more than qualified to become their leader.
If the mission was successful, she would be greatly rewarded.
At Woohyuk's suggestion, Cynthia happily nodded.
“I will do whatever I can for you since you freed me from Antonius.”
The slave trader Antonius was a pervert and had great sexual desire, so his female slaves suffered from his abuse every night.
One time, a female slave ended up dying as she couldn’t endure the torture.
Therefore, Cynthia wanted to leave the mansion despite being favored by Antonius and despite the fact that she had no home to return to.
Her home had been annihilated by outlaws long ago.
Woohyuk pitied her and her tragic story.
“You no longer have to give your body to someone you don't like. I will change things so that it won’t happen again.”
“I would be fine with you. You may not be interested in a dirty and soiled woman like me, but if you were to ask for it...”
Cynthia was currently wearing clothes made of light blue fabric with high exposure.
Her curvy body was reflected in Woohyuk’s eyes without any need for adjustment.
However, Woohyuk did not pay much attention to it.
“Ah, I’m fine. And try not to get too involved with me. You’ll become misfortunate. All sorts of evil groups are aiming for my life and trying to find my weaknesses.”
“Is that why you don’t get physically involved with women? How regretful. If only I could comfort you a little...”
Cynthia fluttered her sky blue negligee and approached Woohyuk like a butterfly elegantly flapping its wings.
Although Woohyuk had cleared the traps there might’ve been some remaining inside the chamber.
However, she showed no signs of hesitation and fear as she walked towards him.
“You’re a lot bolder than you look.”
“In truth, I have been used as a tool to eliminate Antonius's enemies. I received a strict training in assassination.”
In the Talis Kingdom, sex slaves were often raised as assassins.
The most typical assassination technique was to expose the vagina to poison from a young age to make it adapt and get resistant to it.
Afterwards, they would spread poison on it while in bed with their target to assassinate them.
As she knelt and kissed Woohyuk's hand, Carnelian came out of the secret warehouse with a golden dagger.
“Lord Asura, I have found a dagger in the warehouse.”
“Is it the only one?”
“Yes, the rest are cosmetic products that have no utility.”
Woohyuk took the dagger from Carnelian and analyzed it.
[The Widow's Shortsword]
Type: Weapon
Grade: B
Durability: 18,000
Effect: Can transform into a ring. Can be manipulated by the owner within a radius of 250m without holding it in the hand (only in its dagger form).
“It doesn’t seem to be the Valkyrie's Dagger. You can have it.”
“Is, is that okay? Such a valuable object...”
“I have countless useful artifacts already.”
It wasn't a waste to invest this much in Cynthia, since he had entrusted her with an important task.
As Woohyuk calmly stared at her with confidence, Cynthia wept tears of joy.
The lid on the emotions she had kept suppressed so far had burst open.
“You are so generous. It may be late, but may I have the honor of hearing your name?”
“It’s Chun Woohyuk.”
Although he had inherited Asura's name and became a demon-like being, his human identity still remained.
As Cynthia wiped her tears behind him, Woohyuk headed inside the secret warehouse.
It was already the fifth day since he had started searching for the slave traders.
He had to find the Valkyrie’s Dagger no matter what.