Chapter 6 : Chapter 6
Chapter 6. Setting Sail! The Rising Dawn
On the morning of the third day, the dim, gray light of dawn had just begun to brush against the towering spires of Black Castle.
Eli stood by the window. With a slight movement of his mind, he summoned the pale blue system interface.
“Daily intelligence—draw!”
At his command, a streak of white light swept across the screen.
【Your mother is feeling delighted at your departure.】
Damn!
“Estor!” Eli called out.
The scrawny servant darted in from outside the door like a startled rabbit.
“Y-Yes, Young Master?”
“Notify everyone. Assemble at the castle gates. We depart in a quarter of an hour!”
“Yes! Young Master!” Estor stuffed the bread into his clothes and bolted off at full speed.
Eli pinned the raven emblem that signified his status as a member of the family onto his chest. Then he walked over to an exquisite bird stand by the window.
Perched there was a jet-black raven with glossy feathers and a somewhat foolish look in its eyes.
This was his “little companion.” Its name… Coalball…
“Hey, Coalball.” Eli extended a finger. The raven lazily tilted its head and rubbed against it.
“Time to work. Come with me and see what the real wilderness looks like.”
“CAW!” The raven flapped its wings and landed on a leather shoulder perch Eli had specially prepared for it.
A quarter of an hour later, the massive oak gates of Black Castle stood open, and the group had assembled.
“Move out! Destination—Blackstone Town!”
Eli mounted his horse and waved his hand.
Blackstone Town was a fief under one of the family’s vassals, not too far from Black Territory.
Riding at full speed, they reached it in less than two hours. Soon, its crude and rugged walls came into view.
The streets were packed—mercenaries, merchants, adventurers, and refugees all mixed together, creating a deafening bustle.
Following the intelligence guidance, Eli led his group straight to the northwest corner of the town—to a vast open ground enclosed by rough wooden fences.
The slave market.
Iron cages, wooden stocks, the crack of whips, the coarse shouting of slave traders, and the numb or despairing gazes of those being sold all intertwined into a grim scene.
Eli’s sharp eyes swept across stall after stall until, at last, he spotted his target in a crowded corner.
More than a dozen Wolf-kin.
They were unusually tall and powerfully built, with distinct wolf ears and other lupine traits. Shackled together with heavy chains, they were confined within a specially made iron cage.
At the front stood the most imposing of them all. Even kneeling, he towered over the others.
Wolfgang Frostclaw.
“Damn beasts that don’t know their place!”
A fat-faced slave trader lashed the cage with a whip soaked in saltwater, trying to break their defiance.
“Show your fangs again and I’ll knock every last tooth out of your mouths!”
“Stop!”
A clear voice rang out.
Eli parted the crowd and stepped forward with Brandon, Bol, Aika, and other fully armed knights.
The whip froze midair.
The trader, Barlow, narrowed his triangular eyes and sized them up.
The young man at the front wore luxurious clothing and carried himself with an extraordinary bearing. But when Barlow saw the Black Raven Crest on his chest, his pupils shrank.
A member of House Black!
“Young… master?” Barlow put away the whip and forced a merchant’s smile onto his face.
“Are you interested in these… goods?”
Eli ignored him entirely, his gaze fixed on Wolfgang inside the cage.
Wolfgang raised his head as well. His icy blue wolf eyes collided with Eli’s in midair.
“Estor. The ointment,” Eli said calmly.
Estor hurriedly pulled out high-quality healing medicine from his large pack and passed it through the bars.
The Wolf-kin watched warily, not moving.
Wolfgang stared at Eli, as if trying to gauge his intentions.
“Give it to them,” Eli said, his tone firm.
After a moment of silence, Wolfgang let out a low growl.
A younger Wolf-kin hesitated before taking the ointment and carefully began applying it to the others—especially Wolfgang.
Barlow’s eyes lit up at the sight.
Someone was taking them off his hands? And from House Black, no less?
These Wolf-kin were unruly, heavily injured, and nearly impossible to sell. If this dragged on, he would take a huge loss.
“Young Master is truly kind-hearted!” Barlow rubbed his hands, his smile growing more obsequious.
“These are rare Wolf-kin warriors! Strong, enduring—top-notch fighters!
As for the price… since you’re a noble from House Black, I’ll give you a fair deal.
A bundle price—200 gold coins! How about it?”
“200 gold coins?” Eli scoffed.
“Do I look like some naïve fool who’s never seen the world?” He pointed at the battered, dying Wolf-kin.
“A bunch of troublemakers on the verge of death, and you want 200? I wouldn’t even pay 50.”
Barlow’s face stiffened. “Young Master, that’s not fair. These are only external injuries. That’s more than a dozen Bronze-tier fighters!”
“Bronze-tier?” Eli raised a brow exaggeratedly, pointing at Wolfgang.
“Except for that one, the rest have unstable auras and severe injuries. It’s questionable how many will even survive!
Fifty gold. Take it or leave it.”
“W-Wait! Young Master, wait!” Barlow panicked.
“The price… we can negotiate! 150! 150 gold coins! I can’t go any lower!”
“80.”
“120! Young Master, I need to make at least something!”
“I said 80.”
At the same time, Bol, Aika, and the others stepped forward in unison, hands resting on their sword hilts, their gazes sharp and intimidating.
Barlow felt the invisible pressure and began to sweat.
He looked at the young master before him, then at the knights behind him, and finally at these unsellable burdens…
Gritting his teeth, he gave in.
“Fine! 80 gold coins! Consider it a gesture of friendship. They’re yours!”
Deal struck.
Barlow quickly took out a parchment inscribed with special magical runes—the slave contract.
It bore the names of Wolfgang and the other twelve Wolf-kin, along with a trace of their heart-blood aura.
Whoever held the contract controlled their lives and deaths.
“Young Master, please take it!”
Eli accepted the contract without even glancing at it. He walked straight up to Wolfgang, who had just finished applying the ointment and was staring at him coldly.
The cage had been opened.
“You despicable human…” Wolfgang’s voice was hoarse and cold. “Don’t think we’ll serve you.”
Bol and Aika immediately stepped forward to guard Eli.
But Eli waved them back.
Ignoring the predatory ferocity in Wolfgang’s eyes, he walked to within less than a meter of him.
At this distance, if Wolfgang attacked, Eli would have no chance of survival.
“Someone who wants to die wouldn’t bother applying medicine.”
Eli’s voice was calm as he stared into those icy blue eyes.
Wolfgang’s pupils contracted.
At that moment, when everyone held their breath, Eli leaned slightly forward.
In a voice only the two of them could hear, he spoke slowly and clearly:
“Your tribe’s destruction… don’t you want revenge?”
“!!!”
Wolfgang’s entire body trembled violently!
His wolf eyes shrank to pinpoints, filled with disbelief and raging fury!
How did this human know?!
This was a secret carved into his soul with blood and fire.
Eli straightened.
Then, to everyone’s shock—including Brandon—he did something unbelievable.
He casually handed the slave contract—the very thing that controlled their lives—directly to Wolfgang.
“Take it,” Eli said calmly.
Wolfgang froze completely.
He looked at the parchment, a symbol of humiliation and bondage, then back at the young human before him.
There was no mockery in those eyes. No pity.
Only a kind of unwavering confidence.
What… was he trying to do?
With a trembling hand, Wolfgang slowly accepted the contract.
“Now,” Eli said with a faint smile, “can you still walk, demi-human?”
Wolfgang took a deep breath and suddenly stood up.
Though the movement pulled at his wounds and made him grunt, his massive frame stood as straight as a spear.
“Human… do not underestimate the resilience of the Wolf-kin!”
“Good.” Eli nodded in satisfaction and turned away. “Follow me.”
Wolfgang stood there, gripping the contract tightly.
He looked at Eli’s unguarded back, then at his equally stunned and confused tribesmen.
At last, a low growl rumbled from his throat.
He stepped forward.
With his thirteen warriors, he silently followed Eli’s group.
With his back to them, Eli let out a long, silent breath.
His palms were drenched in sweat.
That moment had been incredibly tense!
The intelligence system might be godlike, but facing a desperate Mid-Silver Tier Wolf-kin far stronger than himself—anything could have gone wrong.
Fortunately, he had won the gamble.
The group expanded once more. The silent, oppressive presence of the Wolf-kin trailing behind caused the townspeople of Blackstone Town to step aside instinctively.
Eli did not linger. His destination was clear—the grain shop and potion shop operated by House Black in Blackstone Town.
They arrived at the grain shop, marked by a massive Black Raven banner.
The steward nearly dropped his abacus when he saw Eli arrive with such a large group.
“Y-Young Master Eli? You… what is this…?”
Eli glanced at the warehouse piled high with sacks of grain and the transport wagons parked outside.
“I’ll take it all. And those wagons—hitch them up for me.”
“W-What?!” The steward’s eyes nearly popped out.
“Young Master! All the grain? And the wagons too?
This… this violates the rules! I need to report to Young Master Royce…”
“Rules?” Eli cut him off impatiently. “Who am I?”
“You are… Young Master Eli Black…”
Cold sweat streamed down the steward’s face.
“And who owns this shop?” Eli pressed.
“It belongs to… the family’s merchant caravan. Young Master Royce oversees it…”
“I already have Royce’s approval,” Eli said without batting an eye.
“Follow my orders. Inventory. Load everything. Immediately!
Can you bear the consequences of delaying my frontier expansion?”
The steward looked at the formation, then at Eli’s unquestionable gaze.
And then at the place Eli was about to go…
“…Yes! Yes, Young Master! Right away!”
With a miserable expression, he immediately ordered the workers to start loading.
Inventory? A rough estimate would do.
Soon, he reported the total.
“Young Master, all the grain, plus seven wagons and draft horses… a total of… 123 gold coins!”
“Mm. Fine.” Eli didn’t even blink.
“Young Master… the payment…” the steward said cautiously.
“Payment?” Eli raised a brow. “Do I need to pay to take my own family’s goods?”
The steward’s expression grew even more complicated.
Using the same method, Eli led the group to the family’s potion shop.
With the same approach, the steward there was even more submissive, practically in tears as he emptied the inventory—healing medicine, antidotes, insect repellent powder—everything.
After the “raid,” Eli mounted his horse and stood at the front of the convoy.
Brandon was checking the reins of the ten fully loaded wagons.
Eli cast one last glance at the distant, fading silhouette of Black Castle.
He took a deep breath.
“The Western Wasteland…”
“Move out!”