Chapter 25: The Slave Catchers

To the surprise of the three swordsmen and archers from the slave catchers, Vladkov also gave them no chance. His sharp spear, charged with dark energy like lightning, struck swiftly. Within just two rounds, two of the slave catchers’ swordsmen realized how formidable this expressionless man was—he didn’t give them any chance at all; their swords were shattered into pieces. The other swordsman and archer, trying desperately to dodge, were engulfed by a barrage of fireballs. After struggling, they ended up on the ground, at the feet of the Black Flame Knights who showed no intention of drawing their swords.

Neither the two dark elves nor the four members of the slave catchers could immediately figure out who these people were—those who slowly emerged from the bushes. They acted without hesitation, striking fiercely almost without any warning, not even giving their own side a chance to ask questions or explain.

Vladkov calmly sheathed his knight’s spear back in its scabbard, staring coldly at these men.

To be honest, Vladkov didn’t have any goodwill toward them. As for the dark elves, they were obviously the targets of this operation. Those who had infiltrated the Red Tree Forest surely weren’t good people—other than scouts, they must be spies.

As for these slave catchers, whose faces still showed a defiant expression, Vladkov felt even less goodwill toward them. Though he wasn’t a staunch anti-slavery advocate, he despised slave trading, especially the violent methods used to capture slaves. In his eyes, it was a vile act that defiled life.

“State your names,” Vladkov said coldly, his voice carrying an unyielding firmness that made refusal impossible.

The two dark elves seemed to realize this was a chance to change their fate of being captured. They weren’t sure who these people were, but it was clear they weren’t part of the slave catchers’ forces. On this land, aside from those from the distant slave catchers, only the Assyrians could be so powerful.

“Delingha, Demihu.”
“Dark elves?”

“Not bad. May I ask if you come from the Assyrian Kingdom?” In the eyes of ordinary elves, humans looked and spoke no differently from each other, just as elves were hard to distinguish in the eyes of humans. Although Vladkov and his companions seemed different from the Assyrians they had seen before, since Assyria was now allied with dark elves and cave elves, it was not surprising that they would send their strongest fighters to participate in various affairs.

“The Assyrian Kingdom?” Vladkov retorted. He originally disdained using any means to obtain what he wanted to know, but since they had asked, refusing their kindness would seem too arrogant. “Hmm, so?”

The two dark elves, however, were very shrewd. They immediately realized that Vladkov definitely did not come from the Assyrian Kingdom. If they truly did, they would never treat them in such a manner.

“You’re not Assyrians?!”

“When did I say we were Assyrians?” Vladkov replied coldly. “It doesn’t matter whether we’re Assyrians or not. Right now, you two need to answer some of my questions.”

The two dark elves showed anger and defiance, clearly provoked by Vladkov’s attitude.

“Why should we answer your questions?”

“Just because your lives are in my hands, as are theirs.” Vladkov said without any nonsense. “If your answers don’t satisfy me, sorry—your lives will end here.”

Vladkov’s calm and icy words carried a chilling intensity that made the two dark elves and the slave catchers exchange glances. Clearly, he was not joking.

“What do you want to know?” one of the dark elves reluctantly replied.

“Why are you here? Don’t lie—this isn’t your territory.” Vladkov’s words dispelled any remaining doubts the dark elves might have.

“We’re here to gather some information.”

“Gather information? What kind of information?”

“Sorry, we can’t tell you.” The dark elf’s attitude grew firmer. “Whoever you are, you have no right to treat us like this.”

“Is that so? Then I’m sorry. If you refuse to speak, you two will just have to wait for now.” Vladkov didn’t want to ask more in front of those slave catchers. He had plenty of time to deal with those two. “What about you? Tell me, where are you from? What are you doing here?”

Seeing Vladkov’s gaze fixed on them, the members of the slave-catching party grew restless. “Honorable knight sir, we come from the Mikka Autonomous Region on the Continent of Mist. You must already be aware of our purpose here. We hold a slave-catching license from the Mikka Autonomous Region; we are a legitimate and lawful slave-catching party.”

“A legitimate and lawful slave-catching party?” Vladkov’s smile became even more peculiar. “Is anything that’s legal on your Continent of Mist also allowed to operate freely here on our Continent of Azure?”

“Uh, knight sir, I’m sorry. Although there’s no mutual legal agreement between the Continent of Azure and the Continent of Mist, this land doesn’t belong to any human regime. To be precise, it’s an inhabited area by elves. According to the laws of our Mikka Autonomous Region, elves are not protected by human laws until they receive recognition from a human regime, so we have the right to capture them.”

One of the swordsmen spoke confidently, clearly having prepared this legal justification in advance—after all, they had traveled thousands of miles, so thorough preparation was necessary in every aspect.

“Hmm. Then how long have you been here? Where did you come from? And how long do you plan to stay?”

“We’ve been here for over two months. Of course, we came by sea. As for how long we’ll stay, it depends on our catches.” The slave-catching party members were also trying to gauge Vladkov’s intentions.

“By sea? Hmph. I mean, where is your base on this land? Have you been to places like the Misty Flower Hills?” Vladkov began to probe them.

The slave-catching party members became alert. “Knight sir, it seems you want to know something?”