Steward Cohen took Xiao Chen and the others into a wide and comfortable carriage, which already had the prototype of a modern European carriage, with square carriages and windows on both sides. The four of them sat opposite each other, and from the window they could see the monotonous street scene of the slave camp.

Cohen is a very different man from the talkative Inda, a quiet man, but he can be very detailed when the guests have any questions. After hearing that Xiao Chen wanted to use slaves as guards, he thought for a while and said, "Lord Xiao, ordinary slaves are not good guards, you have to find a group of trained warriors. We have some prisoners of war from the Purple Eagle Empire here, and with a little training, they are a good group of people. ”

"With prisoners of war, is this safe, will they defect?" Xiao Chen asked.

"When it comes to escaping, prisoners of war are no different from other slaves. If your life is here, there is more hope than running away. Why are they running?" Cohen asked rhetorically, "Not to mention the obvious appearance of the Purple Eagle Empire, they are paler and taller than us southerners. We usually also put your insignia on their faces, making it difficult for them to sneak back to the Empire. You know, all the lords and levels will not hesitate to hang the fugitive slaves. ”

"He's telling the truth. "Very few slaves escape back to the empire alive. As long as the owner is not too harsh, he may live longer. The most terrible thing is not to be bought, but to be rented out by slave traders, which is like walking at the gates of hell. Isn't that what Steward Cohen is?"

"Captain Kalanda, some of the claims are just rumors. Cohen replied with a blank face.

"Oh? Then you can clarify. Luo Ling is quite interested in this topic.

Regardless of the two magicians and a warrior staring at him, Steward Cohen just shook his head and said, "Miss Luo, these things are not in my charge, and I am afraid that the explanation I gave will not satisfy you. ”

"So, Kalanda, can you tell me?" Luo Ling asked Kalanda again.

"Slave traders, after accepting large numbers of slaves, often did not sell them quickly, so they would lease them to some lords to work, so that not only would they not have to support them, but they would also earn extra rent......," said Kalanda.

"But the lord won't treat the slaves well because they are rented?" Luo Ling continued.

"They will be used to death, because even if the slave dies on rent, the money paid to the slave trader is much cheaper than the price of buying the slave. I've seen slaves who were dragged to the quarries, and up to six out of ten came back, many with wounds. ”

"If all the slaves die in this way, won't the slave traders have to lose money?" Xiao Chen was puzzled.

Luo Ling shook his head and said, "You really don't have a business cell, how can a slave dealer do a loss-making business! They must have a supporting plan, for example, a skilled slave will definitely not be used to open a mine." ”

"Yes, the best slaves are not rented out to work, and the beautiful ones are dressed up and learned to serve. Those who are strong will undergo military drills. Those who are old, weak, sick and disabled will have difficulty finding buyers anyway, and they can exchange them for rent before they die of exhaustion...... It's always a good deal, right?" said Kalanda, looking at Cohen with a somewhat unkind expression.

"You may or may not be telling the truth, but my assessment doesn't change anything. Cohen bowed slightly, "That will only waste your time, the car is almost here, let's go pick someone." ”

Xiao Chen saw that Cohen was tight-lipped, so he had to nod and say, "Then let's go see the prisoners of war." ”

After Luo Ling got out of the car, she pulled Kalanda behind and asked her softly: "How do you know so much about slaves? Don't tell me it's hearsay, ordinary people definitely don't know these inside stories." ”

Kalanda hesitated and replied, "I've introduced quite a few people here to buy slaves. ”

Luo Ling glanced at Kalanda and saw that she didn't have any shame, "I believe that you must be doing this not just to be a broker." ”

"I'll only introduce some good people who can be trusted, and the slaves will be bought back by them, and life may be much better. ”

"But there are so many ...... slaves"

"I know I can't change anything, but I can change the fate of a few people, you know, even if one person's fate becomes better, that's a very unusual thing. ”

Changing a person's fate is also a very unusual thing. Luo Ling read this sentence silently, and suddenly felt that this sentence was heavy but powerful.

"Once, I asked a kind knight to buy a sick slave girl so that she did not die in a slave camp. Later she became a maid to the knights, and later he had a child with a male servant. I had seen the child, who was the same as his mother, and had another pair of light green eyes, like jewels. If it weren't for what I did, this kid wouldn't have had a chance to come into this world. ”

"No wonder you volunteered to bring us here, you did something amazing. Luo Ling looked at her and saw the persistence in the female warrior's eyes, "But, I think there is always a reason for you to start doing that." ”

"It's ...... Because of Katarina, I bought her from the slave market. Her father died in the mine. From her, I learned a lot about what happened to slaves......"

After disembarking from the carriage and walking a few more steps, they came to a fenced place, and four warriors stood guard at the gate with spears in hand.

Xiao Chen looked inside, this camp was half the size of a football field, and most of them were two- or three-story stone houses, unlike the other houses in Suero, these houses had few windows, and the few few were so small that even cats couldn't climb out. The camp was empty, and apart from the guards who were armed patrolling, there was hardly anyone outside.

"This is where the merchants watch over the slaves. Cohen stood in the doorway and pointed to several other camps nearby, "Lord Dyne is not the biggest here, but it is indeed the best quality, and our Chamber of Commerce has military connections, so there are the best slave fighters." ”

As he spoke, three large carts emerged from a fork in the road and slowly walked diagonally to a camp diagonally opposite. The cart was similar to the ancient prisoner cart in the movie, and the back carriage was made of wooden strips with the size of a bowl, and the distance between the wooden bars was only large enough for an arm to stretch out. Some rags hung on the carriages, blocking everyone's view, but some people in tattered clothes could still be vaguely seen evacuating or lying or sitting. In front of and behind the car were two dozen riders dressed as mercenaries.

Cohen glanced at a tall, thin, one-eyed man walking in front of him, and then glanced back and forth at the convoy, his brow furrowed.

"Steward Cohen, is there anything strange about this team?" Xiao Chen noticed the surprise in Cohen's eyes.

"Nothing, sir. They were just mercenaries transporting slaves to the Oaks family opposite. I just didn't expect the One-Eyed Val to have a new mercenary group, and these people who came here with him were very eye-catching. Cohen replied.

"I also know that the one-eyed val is the scum of the mercenaries. Kalanda's tone was full of disdain, "I've heard that he did the work of abducting mountain people into slavery. ”

Xiao Chen's eyesight is excellent now, and he found that this Val looked like he had lost all his gambling money, his whole face was wrinkled from top to bottom, and the faces of the people around him were not very good-looking, and they seemed to be a little ...... Nervous. What is even more striking is that there is a man in a black cloak who walks on horseback on the side of the Vaal, he is hidden in the cloak, and he has no armor or weapons on his body, but he has a unique bearing.

Could it be a magician? Is there a magician involved in the slave trade?

Xiao Chen's gaze seemed to trigger the person's attention, he turned his head to look here, no one else could see the face in the shadow of the cloak, only Xiao Chen saw a pair of narrow and divine eyes, which did not look like a human, but had a strange charm.

It was a woman...... Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes and tried to secretly use his mental power to release a reconnaissance spell. This spell also comes from the inheritance of the ring, which can roughly understand the strength of a person's mental power.

"Xiao Chen, why are you in a daze?" Luo Ling pushed him.

Xiao Chen came back to his senses and found that the convoy had already walked over and entered the camp of the Oaks family. Xiao Chen was a little afraid, the woman's eyes seemed to contain a spiritual power, countering his aggressive spiritual power, making him fall into a long period of distraction, if this was a battle, it would be enough for him to die many times.

"Ha, don't I like to be in a daze? Before Xiao Chen turned around, he threw another look at the convoy, feeling faintly uneasy in his heart.

Cohen led Xiao Chen and the others into a large house in the camp. The house is a cloister structure, the corridor is very dark, and there is even some stagnant water and moss on the ground. Only a little bit of stingy light came in through some small windows, and the air was filled with an uncomfortable strange smell, which reminded Xiao Chen of the livestock pen in a farmer's house.

Xiao Chen's dark vision came into play again, and through the wooden fence door, he could clearly see the rooms where the slaves were held, most of which were empty, except for the straw mats spread on the ground, and most of the slaves were lying or sitting. If it weren't for the occasional tick-catching motion, it would be difficult to tell if they were alive or not.

"Steward Cohen, this is the warrior you're going to give me? I think they're all dying. Xiao Chen said dissatisfied.

"My lord, they're just lazy, and you'll see their vitality when the food comes. As if to confirm his words, two guards dragged in a large bucket of porridge, and the room around it became lively, and the slaves rolled over and got up, crowded to the door, stretched out their clay bowls, and slapped their hands against the railings, and some of them howled like wild beasts robbing food. The two guards each untied a horsewhip from their waists and slammed it on a few hands that were stretched too long, and after a dozen screams, the room slowly fell silent.

"The most important thing for a warrior is discipline, and what I see is a pack of beasts. Xiao Chen said with a calm face.

"Most of these are bandits, bandits, and mercenaries, so naturally they can't get into your eyes. Please keep coming with me, I have a better one for you. ”

Walking through this corridor to a heavy wooden door, Cohen used the key to open a large lock and led Xiao Chen into a very large backyard.

It turned out to be a training ground, with arrow targets, dummies and stone locks, and a fresh breeze blew, which made people feel refreshed. The sunlight shining in the courtyard and the prison behind him seem to be two worlds.