Chapter 656: Theolonium Trade Deal I
CH656 Theolonium Trade Deal I
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Alex’s voice remained calm, almost indifferent.
"Raise your head. If you want our help, do not beg. Convince —not with tears, but by telling
what I stand to gain from helping you."
Slowly, the woman raised her head to look at him, stunned by his bluntness.
Then despair quickly filled her expression.
She had nothing.
Her skills? This group had slaughtered the very n who had captured her and her people—they were clearly stronger than she was.
Her beauty? The woman who had first spoken to her rivalled, if not surpassed, her own appearance. And the woman who had descended into the dungeon beside this ’white-haired’ man was so breathtakingly beautiful that comparison felt almost insulting.
How could she hope to charm a man already surrounded by such won—especially in her current dishevelled state?
Alex saw the answer in her expression and shook his head lightly.
"It seems I wasted both my breath and my ti."
He turned and began to walk away.
Then, in that mont, the barbarian woman noticed the ore still in Alex’s hand.
Her eyes widened.
"That!" she suddenly exclaid.
Alex paused.
"I can show you where they mined it," she said quickly, desperation and urgency flooding her voice.
Alex stopped in his tracks and turned back to face the woman.
"You know where they mined this ore?" he asked. "Where?"
"Help
take revenge, and I will tell you," she replied.
Alex stared at her for a mont before speaking again.
"What is stopping
from simply torturing the information out of you?"
For a brief instant, fear flashed across the woman’s face. She recoiled slightly.
Then she bit her lip, forcing herself to et his gaze head-on.
"This is the only thing I have left to offer you. If you want to torture , then go ahead. Whether I die first, or whether I break and tell you... let us see which happens first."
She said it with as much defiance as she could muster.
Udara subtly nudged Alex from the side, hidden from view.
’I know, I know,’ Alex replied inwardly. ’I’ll stop pushing her now.’
’But just to be certain...’
Spirit Sight Lv.2!
Alex silently observed her and gave a small nod to himself. There were no traces of hostility or malicious intent directed towards him or his party. At the very least, she was not lying with the intention of harming them.
[Detection]!
On a whim, Alex cast his rune-slot inspection spell on the woman.
A grin nearly ford on his face. Only the fear of being misunderstood as so kind of creep kept him from smiling too obviously.
"Very well. My party will help you reclaim your village. In exchange, you will tell
where this ore was mined. However, make no mistake—we are only helping you recover it. We will not remain behind to defend it afterwards," Alex stated clearly.
The woman clenched her fists.
"When we get there, you must kill every bandit you find."
Her voice was low, but the rage and hatred within it were unmistakable.
"That can be done," Alex replied with a nod. "Then let us seal the agreent."
The woman straightened herself.
"I swear upon the na of my Andaroga tribe that I shall uphold my end of our agreent."
"And I shall uphold mine—upon my honour and the na of House Fury," Alex replied.
The two of them spat into their palms and shook hands.
The deal was sealed.
From that mont onward, Alex no longer had any real concern that the woman would betray them.
Another reason the native barbarians of the Wildlands made such valuable slaves was their absolute devotion to vows made in the na of their tribe. Once such an oath was sworn, they would uphold it—even at the cost of their own lives.
Slavers like the Lost Heathens took full advantage of this by coercing high-value slaves into making vows of servitude upon their tribal nas.
Once the vow was made, it did not matter whether it had been given willingly or under force—the barbarians would honour it without exception.
However, this particular vow of servitude could only be made once in a lifeti. That was why it was usually reserved until after a slave had been purchased, or their intended use had already been decided.
For a people who would honour even a coerced vow of servitude, a far lesser oath of agreent carried an even lower risk of betrayal.
Or so Alex had heard.
"So, where is your village?" Alex asked.
"In the direction of the rising sun—about a day’s ride on horseback," the barbarian woman replied. "The location of the ore mine is in that sa direction."
She hesitated briefly before adding,
"The mine is located in the mountain range behind our village."
This woman was none other than the sa barbarian beauty who had tried to defend her tribeswon from the lustful bandit before he was killed by the Lost Heathens’ Vice Captain.
’I see... so the Lost Heathens attacked their village to keep news of the mine to themselves,’ Alex realised.
"Can you leave imdiately?" he asked.
"I can," the woman answered without hesitation.
"Master..."
Udara gently pulled him aside.
"The plan..." she reminded him quietly.
Alex frowned.
She was right. Their current operation was ti-sensitive. They could not casually afford the full day of delay that travelling to the barbarian village would cost them.
A mont later, an idea ford in his mind.
"Co with ," he said to Udara and the barbarian woman.
The three of them moved outside into the open area before the two-storey warehouse building.
High above, Senu suddenly descended from the sky, landing gracefully before Alex with regal elegance.
She lowered her head towards him, and Alex reached forward, gently patting her before resting his forehead briefly against hers.
"I need to ask a great favour of you, my queen," he said softly. "I need you to help
take Udara—and this lady here—to sowhere far from here.
"Can you do that for ?"
Senu lifted her head from Alex’s and turned her sharp gaze towards Udara.
The great eagle gave a distinctly human-like nod, which Udara returned without surprise.
However, when Senu’s eyes shifted towards the barbarian woman, there was a very noticeable pause... and clear hesitation.
She did not like anyone riding on her back aside from Alex. She would tolerate Udara—reluctantly—but she was entirely unwilling to allow soone she did not know to mount her.
That would be an affront to her majesty.
"She is soone in need of help," Alex said gently. "It is a royal duty—a higher form of noblesse oblige—for a queen such as yourself to aid those beneath you, even when it may slightly inconvenience your dignity."
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