Chapter 1: The Picked-Up Slave

  The gray sky, the scorching sun robbed the last bit of moisture from the earth, turning it into steam that rose into the air. The desolate Gobi was composed entirely of yellow soil and broken rocks, stretching all the way to the horizon without a single hint of greenery.

  On the scorching twisted horizon, three rows of gradually advancing blurry black shadows slowly became clear.

  On both sides, there were six robust men, and behind them followed two sturdy ponies carrying large packs. The group was armed with either long knives at their waists or large swords on their backs, holding long spears in their hands. Their robust muscles had already been tanned to a shiny bronze color from the sun. They wore upper body armor made of old, yellowed brown leather, and cowhide water bags hung obliquely from their waists.

  Their footsteps are neat and steady, their movements form a subtle formation, it's clear that they all have impressive strength and rigorous training.

  Although they were all covered in dust, the eyes of these twelve people were filled with excitement and agitation, occasionally casting their gaze at the figure being escorted in the middle row, like a commodity.

  They were not exactly human shadows, but a row of twelve people, all wearing heavy handcuffs and footcuffs, with thick, rusty iron chains as thick as a person's wrist connecting the twelve individuals in a line, making a "clanking" sound with each heavy step.

  His face was human-like, but coarser than ordinary people, with a slightly protruding mouth and dense black fur covering his iron-like muscles. His lower body was only wrapped in crude animal hide.

  A robust body with intersecting scars, most of the old ones being claw marks, while the new ones are mostly whip marks, still oozing faint bloodstains, and large green flies are attracted to the bloody smell, buzzing around the wounds.

  If that were all, they would merely be somewhat more robust humans, but the fluffy prehensile tail poking out from under the animal hide covering their lower body clearly tells everyone that they have a different identity from humans.

  "Captain, this time we caught... twelve Mank beasts, and sold them to the slave market in Sarnia. Each one can be sold for at least 100 gold coins, that's 1,200 gold coins! Captain... I could sleep in the Buffett Inn for a year and still not use up that many gold coins!"

  A blond young warrior with a flushed face shouted excitedly, unable to contain the excitement in his heart, gesticulating wildly like a large monkey.

  "Sleep for a year? Little Phil, your small body must have been sucked dry by the girls at Buffett's tavern long ago... Haha...". The people behind him immediately started teasing, causing a burst of laughter, and it was clear that this harvest had put everyone in a great mood.

  "Old Bal... Powerful Phil always finds ten of the best girls to accompany him every time he goes to Buffett's tavern..."

  The young warrior known as Phil looked flustered and then loudly protested.

  "Ten?..." A loud and exaggerated shout came from the crowd, "I'm afraid this little body of yours can't even feed a single woman, haha..."

  The crowd burst into laughter, covered in dust, and the stern-looking captain finally managed to crack a smile. Seeing the young warrior's face turn bright red, he smiled and intervened, "Don't tease little Phil anymore. I declare that after selling this batch of goods, everyone will take a ten-day break. As long as you don't kill anyone, do whatever you want in Salernia..."

  "Long live the squad leader..." The crowd erupted in cheers immediately.

  "Kampas god is above, and will surely punish you despicable humans..." The gnashing of teeth in anger, the strong body struggling against the iron chains that clanked loudly, but to no avail.

  "Bang..."

  Among the cheers of the crowd, especially after being called "goods", a sturdy Mink tribe beastman who was walking in front, with a face full of hatred and shouting unfinished, the whip sound rang out, instantly leaving a deep red blood mark on his rough face.

  "The barbaric monkey, dare to speak more and I'll cut off your tongue!" The big man with the whip was obviously resentful of the previous words that ruined the atmosphere, so this whip was extremely heavy. The half-face of the Mank beastman immediately swelled up.

  The monk beastman who was beaten did not speak again, but glared at the man with a resentful gaze. The man saw him yield and shut up, and his face involuntarily showed a triumphant smile.

  "Captain... look... it seems like a person..."

  The embarrassed Phil looked around in all directions, suddenly pointing to a vague and distorted black shadow on the left horizon of the crowd, shouting loudly.

  "Phil... look back... be careful... others defensive formation..."

  The squad leader furrowed his brow, cautiously instructing that this was the Shattered Stone Wasteland, a place where even beastmen struggled to survive, so how could there be someone here for no reason.

  As the squad leader spoke, the crowd that was laughing just a moment before immediately fell silent, their faces stern and uniform as they dispersed in all directions, drew their weapons, and surrounded the Mongolians' camp in a circle, cautiously scanning their surroundings.

  "Yes..." Phil responded with a single word and quickly ran towards the black shadow, the young warrior apparently did not take the captain's orders to heart.

  Pain...

  A chaotic and buzzing head, as if someone had given a heavy blow to the back of the head.

  "Hmm..."

  Xia Sha's voice was weak, her body heavy and numb, no matter how hard she tried, only her fingertips trembled slightly.

  "Captain, come quick and see... it's a little monkey... still alive..."

  In the midst of a dazed and excited shouting, Xia Zuo's mind shook again and he fainted.

  "Really...?"

  The team leader's face couldn't help but show a hint of joy, his sturdy legs striding forward, his robust body surprisingly swift and agile, in just a few flashes he appeared beside Phil.

  A thin body lay on the ground, looking like a fifteen or sixteen year old, with strange black short hair, bare-chested and dry, with a crude animal hide wrapped around his waist. If it weren't for the tail that hung limply from the animal hide to the ground, this youth would have been indistinguishable from a human being.

  "High Orc..."

  The squad leader couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes filled with an uncontrollable look of excitement.

  "Squad leader, now we're really prosperous..."

  Phil's mouth was stretched so wide it almost reached the back of his ears. It is well known that the purer a beastman's blood, the more human-like their appearance will be. The Rhein and Tegu tribes of the Kampa Beastmen are said to be nearly indistinguishable from humans in terms of looks.

  In the slave market, the purer-blooded beastmen are, the more willing those noble lords are to pay a high price for them. Having pure-blooded beastmen as slaves is a symbol of status and identity for those high-and-mighty lords.

  So don't look at the lean young beastman in front of you, but except for a tail, there is no other beastman feature, just based on this point, it is more expensive than the other twelve Munk on the slave market.

  Whoever it is would laugh like a flower when they pick up such unexpected windfall gains.

  "Bar... old Bar... damn it, bring water and food quickly..."

  The young beastman on the ground had his chest heaving slightly, his intermittent breathing seemed like it would disappear at any moment. How could the captain let this windfall that was already in their grasp be taken away by heaven? He immediately shouted loudly to the nearby squad.

  The crowd guarding did not see the situation here, but the team leader's anxious roar could still be heard. The rest of the people continued to guard, and the sturdy man who had previously beaten the beastman hastily opened his two short legs and quickly ran towards the two men.

  "God is above... one... high-ranking beastman..."

  Baru, who was called by the team leader with a puzzled face, walked to the two men's side and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

  After years of being a mercenary, at this time, where is the need to follow the captain's orders? Looking at the more than 1,000 gold coins that were about to be taken away by God, he completely threw aside the beastman's filthy savagery and hastily opened the leather water bag, not caring in the slightest as he poured it into the mouth of the young beastman on the ground.

  Half a canteen of water later, the young beastman's breathing finally slowed down and became steady. The three mercenaries who had been holding their breaths finally let out a sigh of relief, exchanging a look full of surprise.

  "Phil, go get the handcuffs."

  The captain's stern face was completely replaced with a smile after picking up several thousand gold coins, and this smile became even more radiant as the young beastman's breathing stabilized. He warmly instructed the young man beside him.

  "Alright..."

  Phil happily agreed and ran back with his legs open, without any indication of being sulky.

  "Wait a minute..."

  The squad leader suddenly stopped him in a hurry and looked at the thin beastman on the ground, then said "Take a bundle of ropes anyway..."

  Don't look at it as just a pair of handcuffs, the entire body is made of refined iron, weighing over 200 kilograms, even ordinary horses would struggle to carry it, otherwise those strong and sturdy Mank Beastmen wouldn't be so obedient.

  Looking at the thin and gaunt appearance of this little beastman, with those shackles on him, he's likely to be summoned by their Kampas war god within a day. He didn't want the gold coins in front of him to fly away like that.

  "Heh heh... Don't worry, Captain..."

  With a burst of excitement, Phil sprinted away in a cloud of smoke and by the time his words had faded, he was already running back to the ranks, his barely contained smile leaving the remaining guards looking puzzled.

  "Heavens... High-ranking Beastman..."

  "Prospered... prospered..."

  But soon they understood the reason. When Old Bar brought back the young beastman, the solemnly defensive troops suddenly burst into an uproar.

  Pairs of eyes gazed greedily at the beastman youth, as if staring at a large pile of moving gold coins.

  Although the Beastmen were driven to the Kampa Highlands by humans, the powerful Beastmen Kampa Empire was still not a place where humans could enter at will, especially for these mercenaries who caught and sold Beastmen as slaves, they would be brutally besieged.

  They belonged to a mercenary group that was not very powerful, so they could only operate in the desolate gravel plains between the Kampa Highlands and the border city of Sarnia, capturing some scattered beastmen to sell for a living.

  It's already a huge harvest to capture twelve Mongolian beastmen this time, but I didn't expect to encounter a high-level beastman that only appears in the depths of the Kampa Highlands.

  In the mercenary corps, some people have already begun to whisper prayers to God, thanking Him for His blessings. Their reverent appearance is probably more devout than that of the priests in the temple.

  "Despicable humans, what are you going to do to this poor child..."

  The appearance of the beast boy also caused a commotion among the twelve beasts, especially after they confirmed that he was one of their own kind, and they struggled even more violently.

  Firstly, he is still just a child, and secondly, the purer his bloodline, the greater his potential. How could they allow a future beastman powerhouse to fall into the hands of despicable humans?

  They were just shackled in iron chains, but their struggles at this time seemed powerless. Their angry roars only brought down one heavy lash after another.

  A crowd of mercenaries struck one after another, even the tough Kampas warriors were bloodily suppressed under the whip marks.

  The squad leader sneered and waited until the beastman quieted down before saying, "Old Bal, this little thing is handed over to you, take good care of it for me..."

  "Don't worry, Captain! I'll take good care of this little treasure..." Old Barl vowed with a thumping chest, as the matter concerned over a thousand gold coins.

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