You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 66 The Slave's Craving

Today marks the 86th day since Roman arrived in Sig.

Daken last visited Sig town more than a month ago.

Over time, the number of people in his caravan increased significantly, reaching about twenty.

He started as a general store owner and then became a salt merchant and slave trader.

This mainly stemmed from what Roman had told him: the town of Sig would use salt to buy all the slaves he had.

The nobleman's promise gave Daken ample confidence.

He hired many guards and even chartered two medium-sized merchant ships from the Gulf port.

These merchant ships were constructed using a splicing method. The hull was short and wide, about ten meters long and three or four meters wide, with a huge cargo capacity. It was no problem to fit seventy or eighty slaves in the cabin, who could also be used as rowers when necessary.

Several of the slaves he brought last time died due to overcrowding, hunger, and other factors.

This time, Daken did not repeat the same mistake, and even increased his daily ration from half a catty of mixed grains to eight ounces of mixed grains.

The six boats were packed with people.

People were packed together, jostling each other, pressing down on each other, and piling on top of each other.

It looks a lot like the legendary slave ship.

After navigating the rapids of Silver Dragon Canyon, except for two slaves who tragically fell off the boat and drowned, Daken arrived at Sky Town unharmed.

When Roman arrived at the dock with his guards.

They spotted the slaves in the distance at a glance; there were even more heads than last time.

The horse stopped moving forward.

Roman pulled on the reins, and it could only pace in place.

Daken trotted up to Roman, bowed, and said, "Lord Roman, I have over four hundred slaves on my ship now."

To be precise, there were 417 slaves in total.

This is the result of his month of hard work.

I haven't eaten or slept well these past few days, and I've been traveling from place to place. In order to gather the required number of slaves, I can say that I've mortgaged all my savings on this.

Roman didn't disappoint Daken either. He sat on his horse, looking down at people with his nostrils, and simply gave a faint "hmm".

This shows that he accepted all the slaves in their entirety.

The businessman happily discussed the specific details of the transaction with Seth.

Ultimately, the town of Sige offered 40 catties of salt per slave, averaging 8 copper coins per slave, which was lower than the market price.

Last time, the average price of a slave was one silver coin. Nearly two hundred slaves were exchanged for 4000 catties of salt, and Roman had also paid a deposit of ten gold coins in advance.

But this was a case of "spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones," using the method of "moving a log to establish trust" to build Daken's trust in him.

Don't even think about selling it at the high price it was last time.

Daken knew this reason, so he had no complaints.

He knew that the quality of his batch of slaves was slightly better than the previous batch, but it was still difficult to sell them for a high price, let alone exchange them for a large amount of salt.

However, after delivering the salt to Sige Town, he was able to haul away more than 16,000 catties of salt, which would bring him at least 60 gold coins in profit.

This means that he could double his value each time through the slave and salt trade.

Daken couldn't wait to load the salt onto the ship, completely blinded by the huge profits. He quickly left Sig Town and began eagerly preparing for the next transaction.

Watching the departing merchant ship of Daken.

Roman waved.

Moore immediately came to his side.

Roman gestured and said, "Have the mess camp prepare a meal as soon as possible, and set up the shelter..."

These slaves are now his property, and if they starve to death, he will also suffer a loss.

Let's have a meal first; forget about finding a place to stay for now.

There's not enough room for all these people to sleep in the livestock shed.

Roman had no choice but to set up a temporary shelter in the forest or grassland for them to stay for a few nights.

It's already early summer, but the nighttime temperature isn't freezing.

“Yes, yes.” Moore nodded repeatedly.

There is a shortage of manpower everywhere in Sig Town. It is obviously unrealistic to expect the new slaves to work on the same day. Roman had no choice but to bring the calves from Sig Town to the mess camp to help with cooking or build shelters.

It has to be said that these oxen and horses are becoming more and more useful. Although they can't do anything big, they are like bricks, ready to be moved wherever needed.

No wonder children over ten years old are considered basic labor force.

……

It's approaching evening.

He brought his sister to the food station.

Ten guards stood tall and straight in the distance, holding long spears with steel tips that gleamed coldly.

They shouted every half minute, warning the slaves in line.

"Don't cut in line! No pushing! Everyone stay one step apart! If you dare to push forward again, I'll teach you a lesson!" There were some bloodstains on the ground, proving that this was no exaggeration.

The guards made them line up before the wagons brought the food.

However, faced with the aroma of food wafting from the carriage, most of the slaves couldn't control themselves and rushed forward without prior arrangement.

The scene immediately spiraled out of control. The guards, standing in a line like an impenetrable wall, immediately stood in front of the carriage to block their way.

After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade them, they decisively resorted to force to suppress the crowd, wielding spears and showing no mercy, leaving the throng bruised, swollen, and bleeding from the head.

Fortunately, seeing the situation was not good, he quickly pulled his sister back to hide, thus escaping this disaster.

It took more than ten minutes to restore order to the queue.

The carriage contained wooden buckets, baskets, and stacks of wooden bowls and plates.

The woman serving the food was a white-haired woman with a rather robust build, probably in her thirties or forties.

He knew that most of the white-haired people came from the northern lands, and he had heard his elders speak of the terrifying legends about the frost giants and other giant beasts from that land.

The woman's movements were very skillful; she picked up an iron ladle and scooped a full bowl from the wooden bucket with a casual stroke.

The broth was very thick, and not a drop spilled out.

Another woman placed a wooden bowl filled with mixed vegetable soup, three thick slices of black bread, and two thin wooden sticks on a plate.

After seeing the person in line take their tray, the woman holding the winter coat shouted, "Next!"

After the slave in front of him left, he too became the slave standing in front of him.

He carried his wooden tray, waiting for his sister behind him to finish her meal. Unlike the other slaves who wolfed down their food on the spot and were subsequently driven away by the guards, the two went to a tree, leaned against it, and slowly began to eat under its shade.

My sister quickly recovered from seasickness and never said anything about dying again.

She gripped the two wooden sticks with her five fingers, poked at the vegetables in the bowl, and then tilted her head to bite the cabbage hanging on the sticks.

"Brother, there's meat!" she exclaimed in surprise.

As he stirred the vegetable soup, he also noticed the pieces of meat in his bowl.

I originally came to check for pebbles or gravel, but I found that the soup was surprisingly pure. After taking a small sip, I discovered that the main ingredients of the soup were not entirely vegetables. It must have been mixed with flour, salt, and chunks of meat.

Since he has it in his bowl, his sister must have it in hers too.

After all, their food was all scooped from the same wooden bucket.

"Eat quickly," he simply instructed.

The two of them started eating without really understanding what was going on.

"Brother, the master here is really nice. I wish every meal could be this good."

The younger sister licked her lips. Although she was young, she had been forced to learn a lot in this era.

She had witnessed the plight of slaves in small fishing villages and, while on the boat, she feared that she too would suffer such a miserable fate.

It's better to die than to live.

She was afraid every day: after that arduous journey and the final turbulent torrent, would they ever find peace?
Looking back now, perhaps that's true.

But who knows what their next meal will be? It might just be the best meal of their lives.

The slave traders fed them only those unpalatable coarse and rotten foods every day.

"maybe."

Upon hearing his sister's words, the image of a figure riding a white horse and carrying a large bow flashed into his mind. The man was dressed in hunting attire, his clothes stained with obvious blood, as if he had returned from a hunt, appearing noble and valiant.

Even slave traders had to grovel before him, like lapdogs wagging their tails and begging for a reward.

After eating and regaining his strength, he felt a surge of heat coursing through his body when he thought about that scene, as if waves were crashing in his heart and a fierce tide was sweeping across the beach.

He could sense the source of that emotion.

That was the blood flowing in his heart. The embers of the fire that remained after the small fishing village was burned down!

Hatred doesn't disappear just because you become a slave; it only smolders in your heart.

Upon seeing the figure approaching on light, the flames roared to life!
He desperately wanted it.

If he had power and authority, he would never have fallen to this state!

He was in constant pain and anguish every day as a slave, on the ship, on the road.

He hated his powerlessness and was annoyed by his weakness.

But no one could hear the rage in his heart, nor could anyone hear the roar of a slave.

Because the voices of slaves cannot be heard in this era!

He could only lie low, just like an ordinary slave. His primary task was to survive.

Survive!
Look for opportunities!

He gained the favor of the nobility!

He's determined to climb up no matter what!

Gain power and strength, then fight back!

……

(End of this chapter)