After being reborn, the villain comes with a spoiler tag.

Outside Black Mountain City, a sizable caravan was silently parked on the open ground outside the south gate.

At the very front of the procession were two enormous, domesticated beastmen—they resembled lizards but were far larger than ordinary lizards.

The heavy, dark brown scales gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen in the dim light. Its limbs, as thick as stone pillars, sank into the earth, each breath a heavy exhale that kicked up clouds of dust.

Behind each giant beast were ten "carriages".

These carriages are made entirely of black ironwood, making them incredibly sturdy. The roofs are covered with solid metal canopies, with only gaps less than the thickness of an arm left on the sides.

Each pair of carriages was connected end to end by a thick iron chain, like two silent giant pythons coiled beneath the city wall.

Just ahead of the convoy stood several Spirit Race soldiers clad in heavy armor. Their armor was of superior quality, far superior to the standard black armor of the Black Mountain City soldiers. A faint spiritual light flowed between the intricate patterns engraved on the armor plates.

The leader was a towering figure, as imposing as a mountain, and wore the most magnificent armor. The ferocious beast head carvings on his shoulder armor gleamed eerily in the dim light; he was the owner of this caravan.

At this moment, the group of Eldar stood before Ub, who was leading a small squad of city guards, and waited for their report with relaxed expressions.

Ub was not surprised by what he saw – newly built cities like Black Mountain City are always short of labor, so the first to arrive are often these slave caravans that move between cities like vultures.

However, the situation in Black Mountain City is special: apart from their garrison, there are no permanent residents in the city.

Soldiers lived in military camps and were strictly prohibited from keeping slaves. Only officers of the rank of deputy general, like Uber, were allowed to own private residences and keep slaves, but Uber had no interest in this.

In addition, Black Mountain City is currently in dire need of reconstruction, and he still lives in the military camp with ordinary soldiers. Even if he buys slaves, there is nowhere to put them.

Considering that the General's Mansion was newly established, the General might need to supplement some servants to manage daily affairs, which is why he sent the mixed-blood Valley Dragon to ask for instructions on how to deal with this caravan.

Upon seeing Huo Yu and his entourage arrive at the city gate, Wu Bai immediately stepped forward, gave Huo Yu a standard military salute, and reported in a deep voice:

"General, this caravan came from Blackwater City and is carrying 237 Spirit Clan slaves. After preliminary inspection, they are all usable laborers."

Before Ub could introduce him, the owner of the caravan strode forward behind him.

He was tall and imposing, his steps steady and powerful. His face wore the warm smile typical of a businessman, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Huo Yu and said loudly:

"I am Liyan, a native of Blackwater City. I have come to offer my congratulations on the new city that has sprung up here, and to congratulate the general on his expansion of territory!"

His voice boomed like a bell, and his body faintly emanated demonic energy equivalent to the late Nascent Soul stage—his cultivation was even slightly stronger than Wu Bai's. He seemed more like a seasoned mercenary than a merchant.

Li Yan's words and actions were more like those of a martial artist. He made no mention of Huo Yu and his group's physique, which was obviously different from that of the Spirit Race, and he completely ignored the horns on the mixed-blood Gu Long's head that indicated the bloodline of the Celestial Race, as if all of this was perfectly normal.

Huo Yu remained indifferent and did not respond to his polite remarks.

Li Yan didn't seem to mind Huo Yu's coldness at all. His smile remained unchanged as he stepped aside to make way for the convoy behind him, waving to signal the caravan behind him, and said cheerfully:

"General, the new city is newly built, and all industries are waiting to be developed. You must be short-handed. These are the congratulatory gifts that I, Li, have carefully selected for you—"

He pointed to the two rows of slave wagons that resembled giant black pythons, his tone generous.

"Of these slaves, the general may freely choose ten that catch his eye and take them away, as a small token of my appreciation!"

At this moment, Liyan stood between the two giant earth lizards, with a caravan of slaves lined up behind him like two heavy chains stretching into the distance.

In the slave transport wagons closest to Huo Yu, four or five members of the Spirit Clan were detained—Li Yan explained that these were "high-ranking slaves."

The Elven race members locked inside the carriages were all burly and male, their physiques almost matching those of the black-armored guards behind Ub.

Even imprisoned, their backs remained ramrod straight. Most of them, when looking at Li Yan and Huo Yu and his group behind him, showed no sign of submission in their eyes, but rather a burning, unyielding rage.

Li Yan remained calm under those murderous gazes, a slight smile even playing on his lips, seemingly quite pleased. He stepped aside to introduce Huo Yu:

"As you can see, General, these are all tough nuts to crack, but with the Demon-Locking Ring in place, even the toughest nuts will have to obediently lie down."

He spoke as casually as if he were commenting on the quality of a weapon.

"Although this batch of people are currently still in the Transformation stage, each of them has excellent bloodline aptitude, and it's only a matter of time before they break through to the Body Transformation stage. If the General needs good guards, they are definitely worth more than their price."

Long Yucheng stared at the black collars around the necks of the slaves, which gleamed with an eerie light, his gaze growing cold—he had worn such things himself and knew their power all too well.

If it weren't for the restrictions on this circle that were firmly suppressing the demonic power within them, these tall, sharp-eyed spirit slaves would probably have already launched an attack, causing bloodshed within five steps.

Huo Yu's gaze swept over the slave wagons but did not linger.

Seeing this, Li Yan didn't say anything more. He calmly raised his hand and led everyone towards the middle of the convoy.

The slaves in this carriage were noticeably shorter. Although they also wore demon-locking rings around their necks, their eyes were no longer filled with hostility. Instead, they instinctively shrank back as Li Yan passed by, revealing obvious fear.

Each carriage was crammed with more than a dozen Eldar slaves, shoulder to shoulder, and the further back in the caravan went, the more crowded the carriages became.

Liyan's tone was also somewhat indifferent when introducing this group of slaves:

"Although this batch is of average strength, their aptitude is decent, and they are docile and obedient, making them suitable as household servants and bodyguards. If the master is willing to invest resources in their training, they can also enter the Transformation stage."

Seeing that Huo Yu remained unmoved, he continued walking, leading the group forward.

As they reached the back of the convoy, the scene before him made Long Yucheng frown deeply—

Every slave wagon here was packed to the brim, so tightly that there was no room to breathe. The slaves were crammed together like cargo, their limbs overlapping, with no room to even turn around.

The murky air was thick with the stench of sweat and a deeper, more suffocating atmosphere—despair itself.

"As for these, they are the cheapest low-level slaves. This batch of goods has poor quality and will only be able to reach the Transformation stage in this lifetime, but the advantage is that the price is low - one demon crystal each, and the price can be negotiated for large quantities."

Liyan's tone remained cheerful, as if he were simply introducing the most ordinary product.

“Such goods are not worthy to be presented to such an important person. However, I think that the general has just established a new city and all industries are waiting to be developed. There is a great need for basic labor. Although this batch of goods is not very useful, it is more than enough to fill the soil, pave roads, build platforms and houses.”

His words did not stir up the slightest ripple in the slave wagons; in the eyes of these lowly slaves, there was not a trace of resistance.

They didn't even have demon-locking rings around their necks, yet not a single slave tried to escape.

All the slaves had blank, numb eyes, unresponsive to everything happening around them, simply waiting silently for their fate of being consumed.