Chapter 2 - 2

Dragon-man Species 2: 2.

Dragon-man Species Mr.

Fisher followed Colin to a corner of the tent that Colin had opened and looked inside; within the darkness, stacked cages captured his attention.

Pairs of eyes, bright and dull, full of hatred, all turned towards the entrance.

He leaned on his hand cane, pulled his hat brim slightly higher, and walked ahead of Colin,

“No need, just take me to see.”

“Sure, right this way,” Colin said, gesturing with his hand and following Mr.

Fisher into the small tent.

As soon as Mr.

Fisher entered, a low growl erupted from a cage beside him, resembling a cat’s hiss.

He glanced sideways and saw a young Cat-man curled up in the corner of the cage, his pupils almost completely vertical, warily watching Mr.

Fisher enter, especially observing the hand cane in his hand.

But when Mr.

Fisher’s calm gaze met his, the young Cat-man lowered his head as if startled, simply growling softly.

“You damned thing!”

Seeing this, Colin fiercely moved forward and kicked the iron cage containing the Cat-man.

The heavy impact made the Cat-man slam against the edge of the cage, and the chain around his neck glowed as the slave seal illuminated, causing the Cat-man to let out a painful howl.

However, the howling only lasted a few seconds before it stopped, and upon looking again, the child seemed to have lost consciousness.

“Sorry, sorry for startling Mr.

Fisher,” Colin came back, wiping the sweat from his forehead as if the act of kicking the cage had been strenuous.

“These creatures don’t understand human language, training them is quite troublesome…

Please, come this way, the Dragon-man is here.”

Mr.

Fisher stared at the silent Cat-man in the cage for a moment or two before shifting his gaze and following Colin deeper into the tent.

The arrangement of cages inside the tent was meticulous; the more valuable and cherished demi-humans were kept further inside.

The outer cages held Cat-men, Dog-men, and Werewolves—demi-human species still relatively abundant in the wilderness.

Walking deeper, Mr.

Fisher, lit by fluorescence, discovered a male Grey Bird demi-human with white feathers, barely clinging to life, seemingly not long for this world.

These beings, even lower than slaves capable of labor, had no basic rights and were scattered throughout the world.

Since the chimneys and steam machinery emitting the glow of human civilization had been built, humans were driven by various interests to plunder everything in the world, generating more value.

Geographical distances shrank, productive capabilities increased daily, and the human world prospered and thrived…

But who could foresee that the future might be destroyed by these seemingly inferior beings?

The rooftop fluorescence flickered, and Colin stopped in front of another cage, clapping his hands.

The fluorescent light above, as if coming to life, fell down exactly on the cage ahead, illuminating the scene inside.

Mr.

Fisher’s gaze was drawn to the cage’s center, first lit by the fluorescence, showcasing dark red hair, as deep as blood.

Following that, Mr.

Fisher saw what looked like human arms thinly covered in clearly defined scales, and a slender tail gently wrapping around her curled-up legs.

Sitting there was a young girl, wearing a dirt-covered linen tunic that she had been wearing for who knows how long.

Her limb ends were not human but resembled the sharp claws of Dragon-types.

Her eyes unnaturally glowed green, and after her eyelids opened, another layer revealed gem-like emerald pupils.

This was a young, red-haired, red-scaled, long-tailed Dragon-man, likely the target Mr.

Fisher was seeking.

Mr.

Fisher’s examining gaze met her emerald eyes, and in the next moment, golden pupils sharply narrowed, expressionless yet chilling to the bone, as if the creature before him could tear him apart the next second.

“This is the treasure we caught with great effort, injuring many of our slaves,” Colin somewhat gritted his teeth and again kicked the cage holding the Dragon-man girl, but unlike the Cat-man, the girl inside remained silent, just quietly watching the people outside.

“But indeed, they are treasures…

Their blood can be refined into ‘Dragon Blood,’ hehe…

That’s some good stuff, especially for a handsome gentleman like you; you particularly need this.

Ah, and the dragon scales too, you can do quite a lot with them, I’ve heard that nobles in Schwali like using their scales as warm pads, during winter, it’s really…

heh..”

Speaking thus, he looked at the girl’s scales inside the cage like they were precious treasures.

Dragon-man scales, even when removed, could stay warm because they could absorb the energy of the Sun, making them a favored household item among nobles and merchants, especially during winter.

And Dragon Blood wasn’t the actual blood of true dragons, as there were no true dragons in this world.

So-called Dragon Blood was merely a purified substance from the blood of these Dragon-man demi-humans, which upon consumption by humans, could enhance vitality and health, and was a highly prized medicinal ingredient.

Mr.

Fisher looked up at several cages around him, containing female Dragon People, two white, one blue, and one yellow.

“Okay, I’ll take…”

“Three things,” Mr.

Fisher nodded, holding up three fingers to Colin, “First, give me the slave seal; second, have them bathed; third, five new linen tunics.”

“No problem, no problem.”

Colin waved his chubby hand, and the cages containing the Dragon People gently began to move.

On closer inspection, he saw that beneath those heavy iron cages, dozens of dwarf-like beetles were rolling, forming a moving track that transported the large cages out.

The smell inside was unbearable, and after one last glance at the scene inside, Mr.

Fisher walked out and waited by his carriage at the entrance of the circus.

This place was the wilderness near Brian City, and there was a month-long journey ahead to reach Cal Port, the harbor that could take him to Saint Nali.

Unlike the Western Continent, the South Continent lacked a comprehensive rail system and infrastructure; it only had vast wilderness and monsters.

Of course, for those money-hungry folks from the Western Continent, this place was filled with unmined gold.

“Mr.

Fisher, it’s all ready…”

Colin, holding a deep brown leather scroll, jogged from inside the circus.

His fat jiggled with his movement, and sweat fell like raindrops.

Behind him, several women dressed as maids led a few chained Dragon People out following Colin.

At that moment, as they emerged from the dim tent, Mr.

Fisher could fully see the entirety of those Dragon People.

The female Dragon People weren’t very tall, which is in comparison to the male species that stood about two meters tall; yet, they were generally around 1.7 meters tall.

Particularly, the red Dragon Person stood a head taller than the others.

A long dragon tail hung behind them which, due to their height, did not touch the ground.

The eyes of the Dragon People behind her were dead, but the leader, the red one, had calm eyes.

Yet, within those eyes, green like a lake, hid unknown turmoil.

“I’ve instructed the maids to ensure that every scale and gap of these Dragon People is washed clean.

Here is the Contract Emblem Book, please place your hand on it.”

Mr.

Fisher did as instructed and placed his hand on the brown leather scroll.

A series of purple light glowed up his arm, and after two to three seconds, a strange sensation surged through his mind.

Faint heartbeats emerged in his ears, and those sounds seemed tangible—he could slow them down, speed them up, or even stop them if he wished.

Now, he completely owned these Dragon Man Species.

The maid came forward, handing him the chains that bound them.

Mr.

Fisher stepped into the carriage first, opening the door and motioning for the Dragon People to enter.

As he stepped aside, the young Dragon girls glanced at him warily before entering the carriage one by one.

Mr.

Fisher didn’t enter with them; he gently closed the door behind him and, as he had when he arrived, placed his hand cane aside and took hold of the horse’s reins.

“Goodbye, Mr.

Colin.”

“Take care, take care.”

Colin’s body quivered with his bow, trembling as he waited to lift his head again.

By then, the black carriage thundered off toward another part of the Brian wilderness and soon disappeared from sight.

As he watched the carriage slowly vanish from his view, he muttered to himself,

“Unbelievable, to meet such a person…

I must leave quickly.”

He slowly walked back to the area covered by tent curtains, his bulky figure gradually disappearing, only the sounds of clapping could be heard.

As the claps followed, the whole circus’s lights and music suddenly burst into life, as if coming to life, the white curtains spinning faster and faster, until it enveloped the entire circus, which then began to shrink while the music grew louder.

“Kexie Ning!

Kexie Ning!

Kexie Ning!”

The chants grew louder, but the circus became like a basketball, and in the next second, the white basketball vanished, along with the soaring music, leaving only a sack containing a corpse and the perennially watching Earth Spirits on the ground.