He wasn’t worried about the other side playing tricks, even though a silver professional had already appeared in this small tribe.
Perhaps on usual days he would be cautious of the Half-Beast, but this ti the other side certainly dared not act recklessly.
Because this transaction was agreed upon by the Half-Beast Royal Court of the Death Desert and the high-ranking mbers of the Sorren Comrce, and it was said to be backed by an even stronger presence...
Andris himself led only one among the many Sorren Caravans trading with the Half-Beast.
Sipping sweet sand spring water, Andrews sat in the shade, eating his rations while squinting at the Half-Beasts excitedly dividing the equipnt on the wagons.
The thing that surprised him was that it wasn’t just Sharu whose strength had improved; these Half-orc Warriors had also beco stronger.
From what he understood, the average strength of the Desert Orcs should have been at Black Iron Middle Rank, with only a few warriors reaching the upper rank.
Yet nearly half of these orcs fighting for equipnt had already advanced to Black Iron Upper!
That left Andris a bit surprised, and he speculated internally that it was most likely the work of the Hunting Church again.
A mont later, a few more Half-Beasts pushing wheelbarrows, led by a priest, arrived in front of him.
There were three wheelbarrows, each filled to the brim with fur.
This was the fur of a rare demon beast unique to the Death Desert, the "Sand Leopard"; it was incredibly beautiful and was considered a luxury item of imnse value in the Human World, with extrely high smuggling profits.
The furs in these three wheelbarrows, when sold to the Human World, would be worth enough to buy seven to eight hundred sets of fine armor and provide enough food for a small Half-Beast tribe for three months.
"Great!"
Andris’s expression was one of satisfaction upon seeing these furs.
However, his gaze did not stop; rather, he looked expectantly toward the back.
"Is there more? That... you know, contraband."
He chuckled, hinting with deeper aning as he asked.
Hearing Andris’s words, the Half-Beast Priest first laughed, then nodded with the sa depth of aning,
"Of course, there’s also contraband."
Then, he gave a look to the Half-Beast behind him, who nodded discreetly and, with another Half-Beast, pushed a wagon tightly covered with a gray cloth toward them.
Andris’s eyes lit up. He quickly moved forward and carefully lifted a corner of the gray cloth.
Beneath the gray cloth was a cage.
Inside the cage, three young, beautiful Elf won were tightly bound and shivering.
"Only three?"
Andris frowned.
"Hey, that’s already quite difficult. You know the Elf Forest has been really troubleso lately. We caught these three while blocking the road to the Dark Mountain Range. They were all planning to return to the Elf Forest from the Aries Kingdom."
"But, it’s the limit. The Dark Mountain Range has started to have those evil elves appearing too, and we’ve lost quite a few n."
The Half-Beast Priest shook his head.
After hearing this, Andris also frowned slightly.
Elves were the most expensive luxury slaves in the black market and the original capital for Sorren Comrce’s rise.
However, starting last year, an elf from the Elf Clan who inherited the True God’s duties erged, causing the trade in elf slaves to plumt into a slump...
This True God, nad Eve, was rumored to be a sub-god supported by the Death God.
She had defeated the Half-Beast army that invaded the Elf Forest last year, and also assisted the Underworld’s Silent Castle City alliance in defeating the Dark City State Alliance. Her mythic presence had beco increasingly prominent over the past year.
It was rumored that she created an Undead Elf Army using the power of the Death God, and it was through the strength of this army that she repeatedly won victories.
However, the specific details were shrouded in rumors everywhere.
No one knew what the so-called Undead Elf Army truly was.
So said they were creatures from beyond the skies, others said they were resurrected Elf Undead. So even claid they were elves corrupted by abyssal forces, or that the Undead Elf Army never existed at all because elves were not suited to be warriors, and those so-called Elf Army mbers were just the Death God’s heroic spirits in disguise...
In short... it was puzzling and extrely mysterious.
Even in the Human World, many adventurers and minstrels had recently beco curious about her, and so even planned to venture into the Elf Forest.
This was exactly why the True God publicly announced her protection of the elves, which caused a decline in elves entering the black market, along with a large-scale escape of elves who had been living quietly as slaves.
The profits of Sorren Comrce had thus suffered a heavy blow.
However, with the decrease in elf slaves also ca a rise in prices. These three female elves, if sold now, would probably fetch several tis the price they would’ve gotten a few years ago.
*With this thought, Andris felt sowhat comforted.*
*Likewise, he could almost predict that the price demanded by the Half-Beast would probably be higher as well.*
And indeed, after showing him the elf slaves, the Half-Beast Priest quickly said in a low voice,
"Moreover... the Royal Court now forbids us from capturing elves. We’re required to execute any elves caught on the spot... These three, I kept them especially for you in secret."
"I took a big risk, so... you know, heh heh."
"You’re a good friend! I’ll buy these three elves at double the price!"
Andris patted the other’s shoulder and said heartily.
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