Chapter 32

Slave Trader (Note: Explanations regarding the Darkmoon Elves will be provided later)

"Stop struggling. Surrender yourself."

A human laughed arrogantly as he pressed down with the greatsword in his hand.

Before him, an elven ranger used a one-handed sword to parry the attack.

However, as the human's strength increased, the elven ranger was nearly unable to hold on.

"The blessing of nature shall be with us."

A melodious voice rang out, catching the attention of all present—everyone noticed Lola's arrival. As she chanted, specks of emerald green light descended from the sky.

The lights landed on the elf guards, merging with their bodies, and instantly, a powerful aura erupted from each of them.

"Haah!"

The elven ranger who had just been engaged in combat with the human warrior suddenly surged with power. In terms of strength, he was now no weaker than his opponent.

"What!?"

Seeing the elven ranger slowly raise his greatsword with a single hand, the human warrior's eyes filled with disbelief.

It wasn't only this elven ranger—after Lola had applied the blessing of nature, the strength of all the elven guards was raised by a whole level.

Although they were greatly outnumbered, the elves now had the power to fight. With the blessing of nature, they were fully capable of breaking through the human encirclement.

"Damn it, charge in! Take out the elven priestess first!"

The one-eyed man roared furiously, commanding the human warriors to rush toward Lola.

Facing the human onslaught, the remaining elven guards were unafraid. They stepped firmly in front of Lola and the young elves. Though they could only form a thin defensive line, they swore not to retreat, even at the cost of their lives.

The two sides clashed and were quickly locked in a stalemate. Serea and Celia watched the battle unfold from the rear, but for now, they had no intention of joining in.

Serea wanted to see what kind of strength Lola—the so-called 'Elven Royalty'—possessed.

"Mother Earth, grant me strength to protect the forest—Awaken!"

Another spell was chanted. Under the influence of magic, robust vines sprouted from the ground, rampaging across the earth and inflicting heavy casualties on the human warriors.

"Aaah!"

The human warriors screamed miserably; each strike from the vines caused serious injuries. In just a dozen seconds, three men had fallen, badly wounded.

"Haa!"

The one-eyed man swung his sword, severing a vine. With the obstruction gone, he saw Lola further back, who was in the midst of another incantation.

She could not be allowed to continue chanting or he would not only return empty-handed, but risk significant casualties among his ranks.

However, to stop her, her chanting needed to be interrupted by an attack—but for now, breaking through the guards' defensive line was impossible.

"You leave me no choice!"

As he spoke, the one-eyed man grabbed Vina, who had fallen to the ground, and pressed his blade to her neck.

"Stop immediately, or I'll kill her!"

He shouted loudly, instantly drawing Lola's attention to the hostage.

"Human, let her go!"

Lola cried out anxiously, and the vines closed in on the one-eyed man.

"Let her go? Only if you put down your weapons and stop attacking!"

With a hostage in hand, the one-eyed man was completely unafraid of Lola. He saw the concern for her companions in her eyes, and this, to him, was the fatal weakness of the elves!

"Ugh..."

Vina's throat was being crushed. She tried to speak but could not, and as she struggled in pain, Lola clenched her teeth tightly.

The elves ceased their attack, and the humans quickly realized the opportunity, grabbing the elves they had just captured.

"Drop your weapons now!"

"Yeah, drop your weapons or we'll kill them!"

The captured elves became hostages in human hands. Facing over a dozen of her people at swordpoint, Lola's fists tightened.

"Your Majesty, what should we do?"

The few remaining elven guards looked anxiously at their queen; seeing their companions taken hostage, they didn't know what to do.

Though Lola was the Elf Queen, she was still a child, chosen only because of her royal blood. Now, faced with a choice over her companions' lives, she hesitated.

Seeing this, Serea shook her head.

"Queen? In the end, she's still just a child. If she hesitates now, none of them will escape with their lives."

Serea muttered to herself. There was something that particularly caught her attention: although there had been deaths among the humans, the elves were only lightly injured at worst. It seemed as if the human group was intentionally holding back.

"Dohr, my people once saved you, but you've repaid our kindness with betrayal. Not only did you capture my kin, you also raided our lands. Why would you do this?"

Lola's voice was filled with anger. The one-eyed man, Dohr, met her gaze without the slightest fear and responded with a mad laugh.

"Hahaha, why do you ask!"

As he spoke, he reached up and tugged at his eyepatch, revealing a closed eye, crusted over with dried blood.

He flung his eyepatch away and roared in rage.

"This is the handiwork of you savages!"

In his rage, Dohr's grip on Vina's throat tightened until her face turned bright red.

"Vina!"

Lola cried out, then shouted at Dohr again.

"That happened because you committed an unforgivable crime against us!"

Serea listened from the side. Based on the black badge on Dohr's chest, she could already piece together most of what had happened.

That was the badge of a slave trader. In the Erila Empire, those holding this badge were protected by the Empire when trading slaves.

Within Erila, where slave trading was legal, slaves included not only humans but other intelligent races as well; elves were among them, and as slaves, they were seen as rare treasures that fetched exorbitant prices.

In the Empire, a healthy human slave could be sold for 5 to 20 gold coins, but an ordinary elf could start at a staggering 300 gold coins—that's 30,000 silver or 3,000,000 copper!

As for why elves commanded such a price, it came down to their racial traits.

The elves were one of the oldest races in the Five Continents. They possessed the most perfect bloodline.

Thus, every individual elf was extremely beautiful, and their looks could remain unchanged for hundreds of years.

On top of their "nonhuman play" appeal, many nobles and their ladies gladly parted with their wealth for a slave like this.

As for the uses, it didn't take much imagination to guess.

Now, with the information she had, Serea knew that the man named Dohr had been saved by the elves, but, coveting their value, he betrayed them and captured the elves.

Dohr's wounded eye was likely injured by an elf during a capture, explaining the previous scene.

ps: The elves are indeed powerful, but why the Darkmoon Clan is so weak, and why such a weak clan would produce an elven queen—these will be explained later.

(To be continued...)

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=