11: Kim Cole

"What a barren land."

The fat, middle-aged man in flashy clothes, who was riding at the head of the Slave caravan, sighed with a look of dismay: "Trying to sell Slaves here, I'm afraid it would be harder than ascending to heaven."

"Is that so? I don't think so." A hearty laugh suddenly rang out.

It was Lister and his companion, who had just emerged from the tavern, walking up to the front of the caravan with smiles on their faces.

Seeing the young man before him, who was also well-dressed and possessed an innate noble bearing, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up immediately; sharp-eyed as he was, he knew business had arrived.

"I am the steward of this Slave caravan, named Kim Cole." The middle-aged man dismounted and performed a kingdom etiquette: "May I ask how you are addressed, sir?"

Lister smiled and said: "I am the lord of Ironthorn Territory, Lister Howard."

"Oh~, so it is the noble Lord. Please forgive my clumsy eyes." Kim Cole bowed to apologize.

"May I ask what kind of Slave you are looking for, my Lord?"

"Hmm, I would like to take a look first." Lister said calmly: "Steward Kim, can you introduce them to me?"

"Of course, no problem. Please, follow me, my Lord." After saying this, Kim Cole led Lister to the center of the caravan where the Slaves were held.

Each carriage had been turned into a cage, and inside each one were Slaves, ranging from two or three to seven or eight; at a glance, there were about thirty of them.

Kim Cole introduced them: "My Lord, these Slaves all come from the west of the kingdom..."

"Because their territories were frontier territories, frequently facing invasions from alien races and magical beasts, many of them could not survive after their lords died, so they had no choice but to sell themselves as Slaves."

As he spoke, he pointed to a male Slave and said: "This one is named Tate Sam; he was originally a blacksmith, and now his price is 1 gold coin."

"The one next to him is Dode Neil; he was previously a beast tamer, and his price is 3 gold coins..."

After the series of introductions, Lister felt slightly surprised. He hadn't expected that all these Slaves were talented individuals with skills, with not a single common serf among them.

Yet they had all become Kim Cole's Slaves. It was clear that this fat middle-aged man had a very good 'source of goods,' and for a moment, Lister had the thought of befriending him.

After all, the current development of Ironthorn Territory required a large population, and talented individuals with skills were even rarer.

If he could establish a good relationship with Kim Cole, he would be able to obtain the necessary talent in a steady stream in the future.

While deep in thought, he heard a long-awaited name spoken from Kim Cole's mouth.

"My Lord, this Slave has quite a background. His name is Spartacus Bulk, from the small, fallen nation of Sebul in the western desert, and he possesses immense strength..."

"Look at his muscles; he is simply born to be a gladiator. This time, I was planning to take him to the royal capital to sell for a good price."

Watching Kim Cole's smug look, the corner of Lister's mouth twitched.

A gladiator?

A future Golden Knight being treated as a gladiator was simply a waste of potential.

However, thinking that Kim Cole did not possess his divination ability, he felt it was reasonable; after all, no one could predict that a Slave would become an existence like a Golden Knight.

Coming back to his senses, Lister asked: "How much is he?"

"Hmm, does my Lord wish to buy this Slave?" Kim Cole looked surprised.

Lister frowned: "What, are you afraid I can't afford him?"

"No, no, my Lord, you misunderstand." Kim Cole quickly explained: "I just felt that such a rough Slave wouldn't match your elegant demeanor."

"If you truly want him, I can lower the price—20 gold coins. What do you think?"

20 gold coins!

Considering Spartacus Bulk's past experiences, it was actually a bit high, but Lister, knowing his future achievements, felt he was making a killing.

Seeing that Lister didn't speak, Kim Cole, thinking he found it expensive, said with some embarrassment: "My Lord, this is already the lowest price. If it were any lower..."

"No problem, 20 gold coins it is. I'll take him." Lister said boldly: "By the way, I want all the other Slaves as well. Calculate the total and give me a price."

"You want them all!" Kim Cole's voice rose, sounding a bit shrill, but immediately, an indescribable joy and excitement appeared on his face.

He hadn't expected the lord of this barren land to be so generous. One had to know that transporting these Slaves to the royal capital would not only take a long time, but the intermediate costs would not be small either.

If he could sell all the Slaves here in Ironthorn Territory, which was not far from the western frontier territories of the kingdom, he would save a lot of energy and money.

Not only that, but he could also return to the west of the kingdom and bring over another batch of Slaves, greatly increasing his work efficiency.

Without hesitation, he quickly calculated and then said with a fawning smile: "Noble Lord, I have just calculated; these Slaves total 53 gold coins, plus the 20 gold coins, making it 73 gold coins."

"Fine." Lister nodded: "However, I don't have that many gold coins on me. Come with me to the castle to get them."

Kim Cole naturally had no objections, and the group headed towards the castle.

...

Inside the castle, having received the money, Kim Cole grinned as if he were the Dragon King returning home.

Seeing this, Lister said: "Steward Kim, you can see that my territory is currently in a period of development, so I need a large amount of talented individuals with skills."

"If you have more Slaves like these in the future, you can sell them to me, and I will also accept any precious treasures."

"Of course, no problem, noble Lord." Kim Cole said with a face full of smiles: "For a lord as generous as you, I believe anyone would be willing to prioritize doing business with you. Consider your requests taken care of by me."

"Haha, good." Lister laughed with satisfaction.

After seeing Kim Cole off, he turned to the group of Slaves and said: "I presume you all heard what I just said."

"From now on, I will have you work in Ironthorn Town. As long as you work hard, food and clothing will certainly not be a problem, and your Slave contracts may even be dissolved."

After some inspirational talk, the numb-looking Slaves couldn't help but show joy and thanked him repeatedly.

Leaving Spartacus Bulk behind, Lister instructed Thomas to lead the other Slaves away.

The youth was a bit confused; he didn't understand why this Lord wanted to leave him behind alone.

Suddenly, a bad thought arose in his mind. Could it be...

Seeing the strange look in the sturdy youth's eyes, Lister immediately saw through his dirty thoughts and scolded: "Kid, what are you thinking about?"

Pausing for a moment, Lister continued: "How old are you this year?"

"Replying to my Lord, I am sixteen this year." The youth said respectfully.

"Sixteen, you don't quite look like it." Lister shook his head, then got to the point: "Are you willing to learn the Breathing Technique and become my vassal knight?"