King
Chapter 135 - 135 103 Immigration_3

135: Chapter 103, Immigration_3 135: Chapter 103, Immigration_3 If it weren’t for the orders of Duke Cavadia, he wouldn’t have wanted to undertake this cumbersome task of transporting slaves.

“Captain, what are you afraid of?

These worthless creatures, used probably just to let the new recruits of Baron West get their first taste of blood, are no significant loss.

Given the reproduction rate of these scum, it doesn’t really matter whether we lose a couple thousand more or less.

It’s not a big deal.

The only main concern is to not lose too many of the strong slaves, particularly the bunny girls, fox girls…

they are the focus of Young Master West’s attention.”

Had these words not come out of Alicess’s mouth, they may not have sounded so callous.

The cautious middle-aged officer quickly reprimanded, “Shut up, Alicess, you fool.

Is it your place to speak about such things?

Remember, Alicess.

Young Master West desires these slaves for the development of his territories.

Even the bunny girls, fox girls, cat girls on the wagon…

they are for noble to noble relations.

As for everything else, no matter who asks, you know nothing!”

Serving the Felix Family for generations, this middle-aged officer had come to realize something about the harsh realities of the struggles within great families.

Maybe the big figures involved won’t suffer too much, but the small figures who get involved typically do not fare well.

Similar transport troops had set out for the Southeastern Province with the same intention.

By now, this news had spread throughout the Northland.

Everyone knew that the noble territories in the south were in need of labor.

The north had the same problem with its labor shortage.

Due to constant Orc invasions, the Northland’s population had never been able to grow significantly.

Even with the Kingdom’s constant support, it barely maintained a balance and could not support the southern territories.

Transferring Orc slaves became the only solution.

After all, the Southeastern Province was thousands of miles away, completely unaffected by the Orc Empire, so taming Orc slaves was free from disturbance.

As for whether the Orcs could become qualified farmers, this question remained unanswered for now.

After all, there are many Orc species; perhaps one is suitable for farming and could be tamed.

When the truth came out, many families that followed suit in slave hunting were greatly hurt.

Seeing their neighbors continuously sending slaves to the southern territories, their hearts were bleeding.

Investing a great deal of effort in adventuring to the Northland to capture slaves from the Orc Empire, they never imagined them to become sunk costs.

Viscount Rex of the Snow Peak Territory was one of these unfortunate souls.

That’s when he thought he could sell these “garbage” from the Orc Empire, he immediately sent his clan’s slave hunters into action.

As a result, after capturing several thousand slaves of various kinds, they suddenly discovered that there were simply no buyers in the market.

“Humph!”

“Damn Hank Kage!

He dares to think he can acquire the slaves, who I worked so hard to bring back, at a wholesale price of five copper coins a head!

Isn’t it just because he has more sons and has a territory in the south?

He’s always showing off, but now he even wants to profit from others’ misfortune.

If it weren’t for…”

His rage frightened all the servants in the house.

A lack of sons was Viscount Rex’s biggest weakness.

Whereas he had tried very hard to cultivate the land, unfortunately, he only had one child.

For a clan, a single heir was indeed rather dangerous.

But if the Lord of the Dawn didn’t bless him, Viscount Rex had no choice but to accept the situation.

In any case, having a single child was preferable to not having any at all and being forced to work for others.

This self-consoling thought was something that only Viscount Rex could secretly entertain.

If anyone else dared to speak of it, it would certainly lead to trouble.

Every time this issue came up, the household servants would scatter to avoid being blighted with anger and having it burn them.

The old steward who happened to be directly in front of him and couldn’t hide tried to urge him forward, “Master, if Viscount Hank Kage doesn’t appreciate your kindness, then we don’t have to offer these slaves to him.

There are dozens of nobles developing territories in the south, not all of them can have gathered enough slaves.

If we sell at a discount, no need to worry about not finding a buyer.”

Although he deeply understood Viscount Hank Kage’s position, he was bound by his role to support his master.

“It’s too late, all of the houses have already sent their slave transport teams.

Only that fool Hank Kage is still dilly-dallying.

If even that idiot finished gathering enough slaves, how could anyone else be lacking?”

Viscount Rex responded unhappily.

Only because he stayed a few more days while visiting friends did he miss the best time to unload the slaves, causing thousands to end up stuck in his hands.

Even though there were slave traders that showed interest, they were only interested in a few races.

Over ninety percent of the slaves were like goods that even giving away wouldn’t find any takers.

Selling them mixed together was difficult.

If people took away the good ones, there would be even fewer left to sell.

If it weren’t for the fear of gaining a reputation for brutality, he would long have ordered the worthless slaves to be killed to save on food.

Butchering them was not an option, nor was releasing them.

Man and beast were destined enemies, the blood feud accumulated over countless years had seeped into their bones.

When it came to dealing with the Orcs, the Nobles of the North had unwritten rules.

No one had ever heard of a slave being captured and then unconditionally released.

If they were to be released, the Orc tribes would have to offer a ransom for him to save face!

Otherwise, he would be laughed at for a lifetime.

Regrettably, his proposal was ignored.

Even after he sent letters to the Orc tribes, no one came to redeem them.

“Master, it’s not a solution to continue letting them live off us.

If we leave them to work the land, that could also lead to potential collusion with the Orc Empire and threaten the safety of our territory.

How about we follow what the other houses are doing and send the slaves to the south, to see if any nobles are interested?

Even if we can’t still sell them, at least transportation back and forth should thin their number by a third.

If all else fails, we can hire someone to rob them en route.

As long as people aren’t in our hands, whatever happens afterward is none of our business.”

The old steward suggested reluctantly.

The master cared too much about his reputation, even troubled by handling these slaves.

If it had been some cruel noble, these slaves would have long been dealt with.