Tick-tock! Tick-tock!
Inside the dim stone chamber, the swaying candlelight kept flickering.
On the wall, a slender black shadow appeared long and stretched under the faint glow of the candle.
Following the source of the firelight, a man was tied up with iron chains, clearly standing against a wooden stake.
A brown burlap sack covered his head, and his entire body was covered in bloody wounds.
Suddenly, someone loosened the sack, removed it, and threw it aside.
The moment the man opened his eyes, the darkness mixed with specks of light made him feel momentarily uncomfortable.
When his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, he widened them.
He moved his body, and the sound of steel clashing entered his ears, his limbs were completely locked down.
When he lifted his head, he saw countless mysterious people surrounding him in a circle.
They were wrapped in black-ash cloaks from head to toe. Half their faces were covered, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed, staring at him.
"You! Do you know who I am?!"
The people around him didn't speak, but a voice sounded from the side.
"Do YOU know who I am?"
Liya sat on a leather chair, one leg crossed over the other.
She held a sharp carving knife, idly polishing her nails as if she were simply bored.
The man focused his eyes. When he finally saw Liya's delicate face clearly, he froze on the spot.
Liya Clavenna.
The Clavenna family was now extremely famous throughout the entire capital, with a reputation no less than the royal family.
Not to mention, in the city of Briston, the Clavenna family was practically able to cover the sky with one hand.
Even a stray dog walking by on the street would have to wag its tail twice at Victor and bark "woof woof, my lord."
What, you say stray dogs can't talk?
Drag it away and stew it.
At this moment, he would never have imagined it.
He had just been eating and singing in the most luxurious restaurant in Briston.
Then suddenly, his vision went dark, and he was actually kidnapped by the Clavenna family?
The man's body trembled uncontrollably, his lips kept shaking, and cold sweat drenched him from head to toe.
"Miss Liya… you… what is this…?"
"What, never seen a kidnapping before?"
Liya spun the carving knife once in her hand and stood up.
With her movement, the cloaked mysterious figures followed behind her and closed in.
The man's body shook violently, fear seeping into his eyes.
Liya lifted the carving knife and pressed it against the man's throat, lifting his chin.
Her seductive eyes carried a hint of amusement, her tone laced with curiosity.
"Weren't you just asking us whether we know who you are?"
"I'm quite interested now. Go on. Tell me."
The man's mind instantly went blank, even forgetting to tremble.
His throat stuck with saliva he didn't even dare to swallow.
Standing beside Liya, Leon said softly, "Miss, his name is Hannah."
"He's a transporter for the Lesser family, delivering goods for them both north and south of the Empire."
Liya raised an eyebrow as she listened to the report.
"Oh? From the Lesser family?"
"You know what kind of grudge your family has with ours, and you still dare to wander here?"
Cold sweat dripped down Hannah's forehead, rolling along his nose, and he didn't dare move a muscle.
"Miss Liya, I… I just got lost…"
"Lost?"
Liya suddenly flicked her wrist, and the carving knife flew straight at Hannah, stabbing hard into the wooden plank behind him.
He could even feel the sound of impact and the slicing wind as the knife hit the board.
Hannah's breathing grew heavier. If it had been just a hair closer, the speeding blade would have slit his throat.
Liya looked at him with squinted eyes and smiled lightly, "The Clavenna territory is so big, yet you just happened to get lost right in front of my house?"
Hannah trembled and closed his eyes, not daring to say another word.
Liya reached out, and Leon, understanding immediately, handed her an alarm clock.
She wound the clock tightly and placed it beside the man's ear.
DANG!
A crisp chime burst out.
The ticking followed right after, continuously echoing like the death knell of a grim reaper.
"Where's the cargo hidden? Say it."
"If you can't say it before the alarm goes off, your head moves to a new home."
At the first tick, Hannah screamed in terror.
His facial features twisted together, his expression agonized, like he was about to burst into tears any second.
"Crying?"
A cloaked figure stepped forward and slapped him across the face.
PAH!
With a sharp crack, his almost-crying wail was abruptly cut off.
Liya touched the alarm clock, smiling sweetly, "Crying also counts as using up your time."
Riiiiing!
The clock suddenly shook violently, metallic ringing echoing through the narrow, dim basement.
Around them, the chilling sound of blades being drawn rang out.
Hannah widened his eyes, staring at the silver daggers glinting under the candlelight, and he frantically nodded, "I know! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
"That batch of goods… is hidden… at Sano Port!"
Liya smiled and picked up the alarm clock again, rewinding it so the hand made another full turn.
Hannah froze, staring at her in confusion, "Miss Liya, you… what are you doing…?"
"Giving you one more round of time."
Liya narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Only one hiding spot? I don't believe it."
Hannah forced a smile, his face stiff, tears squeezing from his eyes in fear.
"R-really only one, really only one!"
But Liya only smiled as she took out a bottle of red potion from her pocket, waving it in front of him.
"You know what this is?"
Hannah stared blankly at the red potion.
The Clavenna family's magic potions were famous throughout the entire Empire. One bottle cost a thousand Geo, and on the black market, it was even more expensive.
Priceless.
But the red potion in front of him, with identical packaging, confused him.
"A new product from my family. Two thousand Geo per bottle."
"Want to try it?"
Seeing the half-smile on Liya's face, a bad feeling slowly rose in his heart.
Riiiing!
The alarm rang again.
Liya's smile grew even more delighted.
"Leon."
The elf behind her stepped forward and unsheathed his dagger in an instant.
"Bleed him."
In the dim room, a cold flash streaked across the man's neck.
Along with a warm sting, blood gushed out violently.
At that moment, Hannah's eyes widened.
He felt a wave of weakness engulfing his body, something warm being forcefully drained from him.
Silently, he looked at the smiling woman before him.
Only feeling that seductive smile… was like a demon.
———
The bright moonlight shone through the thin, misty clouds and spilled onto the cool blue sea.
At the port, dozens of cloaked figures stood quietly in an open area.
This was the stockpile location forced out of Hannah.
Many guards were stationed here, patrolling and watching over the goods.
Soon, the cloaked figures moved.
Their movements were swift and deadly, like leopards on the hunt, quietly killing off the patrolling guards.
They dragged the corpses into the darkness and tossed them into the raging sea.
The night was their best camouflage.
Only when the surrounding guards had been mostly cleared did they regroup.
Large cargo crates, covered tightly with blue cloth, sat in the center of the square.
From the gaps beneath the cloth, one could see the steel-cage-like material beneath.
If you leaned in quietly, you could even hear breathing from inside.
They exchanged nods.
One of them placed a hand on the communication crystal at her ear, passing on the report.
The gloom drifted aside under the wind, and moonlight poured over the massive iron cages.
All the shadows had already taken full control of the area; the guards had been completely wiped out.
In the bright moonlit port, only the cloaked, hooded figures remained.
Liya slowly walked out from the shadows, with Leon, dressed the same as the others, following behind her.
The moment everyone saw Liya, they bowed respectfully.
"Miss Liya."
"This is the last hiding spot."
Liya circled the enormous cages, examining them closely.
"Alright. Let me see."
At her command, the shadows leapt up onto the platform and flung the large cloth aside, revealing the "cargo" within.
Inside the iron cages were living "people."
Each had soft animal ears, catlike, doglike, and other distinct, nonhuman traits.
They curled together in the cages, huddling for warmth.
Fluffy tails raised, pointed long ears twitching as they sensed the surrounding danger.
Perhaps feeling the faint light of freedom, they lifted their heads.
Seeing the crowd watching them, fear and panic rippled in their eyes.
Liya looked at them and sighed, "You poor children.'"
Demi-humans.
They were similar to humans, but not truly human.
They had nearly human appearances, yet carried distinctive animal features.
Within the Empire, demi-humans were rarely seen.
The Empire had strict racial divisions. Humans were supreme.
Thus, demi-humans were not allowed to enter the Empire.
And if they did appear, they would either be forced out…
Or be freely disposed of by whoever captured them.
That's right, demi-humans were not regarded as people at all.
To most, they were merely thinking, moving pets.
The Calencia Empire had no slavery system.
Anyone human, even a beggar, could not legally be bought or sold.
Of course, that was only on the surface.
Noble lords could naturally ignore the rule.
As long as they didn't go too far and flaunt it in front of the Emperor… someone would always "look the other way" for them.
So what if someone wanted cheap, disposable labor?
Just buy some "demi-human slaves."
Hiring humans cost money and taxes.
But demi-humans? They were stronger, more enduring than humans.
As long as they were given food and water, they would work themselves to the bone.
As long as they didn't starve, they'd work until death.
Thinking of this, perhaps feeling some pity, Liya sighed.
"From now on, you're free."
As she finished, Leon drew the wooden sword at his waist.
Green fluorescence flickered faintly on the blade.
Dense magic surged upon it.
With magic-infused strength, Leon slashed the cage twice horizontally.
The huge steel bars split open, enough to allow escape.
The edges still flickered with green light.
But the demi-humans inside didn't move.
They only shrank deeper into the cage in fear.
Seeing this, Liya gave a look to the hooded shadows.
They immediately understood and removed their hoods, revealing their own animal ears, pointed, drooping, cat, dog, even long rabbit ears.
A clear message. They were the same kind.
Sure enough, after seeing this, the demi-humans in the cage relaxed slightly.
Their raised, tense ears slowly drooped down.
Liya smiled at the demi-humans who finally dared to stand.
"Now, do you believe me?"
"Yes, I do believe." Suddenly, a sharp voice sounded.
Everyone immediately looked up toward the source.
Unknowingly, a man had appeared, sitting atop the massive cage.
On his back rested a very luxurious greatsword, looking extraordinarily impressive.
The man looked down at the people below from his high vantage point, grinning slightly.
But the powerful pressure he exuded weighed down on everyone's heads.
Sensing danger, Leon moved in front of Liya.
The man stared at Liya with a smiling squint, "I was wondering why every shipment delivered to Briston kept getting stolen."
"So it turns out, the famous Clavenna family keeps a group of demi-humans as shadow guards."
A cold chuckle followed.
"Well now… that really opened my eyes."
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