008. 100-year contract
Even if somewhat stable, Hortonwalk was the front line facing the ban. As the day goes by, monsters come rushing in and a battle ensues.
Naturally, the slaves who gather at Horton Walk are mostly those who are rather rough and have excellent fighting skills to match their effectiveness.
Is that so? The elf was rather muscular. No, he was very muscular.
“How did you get here?”
A merchant who was jotting down papers on a desk on one side of the communal found them and approached them.
After exchanging a few words with the guide, they smiled and rubbed their palms.
“Haha, you want a good slave. Welcome. Would you like to take a look around first?”
“You don’t have to.”
Berge stepped forward and stood in front of the iron cage where the elf was trapped. The closer I saw, the more I liked it.
“Elf, you are interested in elves!”
The merchant let out a greedy laugh.
Elves are expensive. After the war with the different races ended and slavery of the other races was officially banned, the price went up even more.
“Strictly.”
“Ah, the elves are so good that they break any shackles and leave. This is pretty basic.”
“Your eyes are good.”
His gaze was fixed on the elf all the time.
Her green hair, which should have been brilliant, had not been maintained for a long time and was dirty and dirty. Still, I liked the dark green pupils like Angry Beasts. It was good that he did not lose his fighting spirit even when his limbs were bound with chains.
I feel more and more anger towards humans.
However, the only drawback was that he could not open his mouth due to the gag in his mouth.
“I want to talk.”
“He’s a tough guy. If you remove the gag, you may run into trouble…”
“What if it’s still okay?”
“still···.”
“Even if the elf dies or a problem arises, I will take responsibility for it and purchase it myself.”
“Ah, if that’s the case…”
“How much?”
“As you know, elves are a bit expensive. It is 4 gold coins, or 5 gold coins.”
He took out a gold coin and flicked his finger lightly. The merchant who accepted the sparkling gold opened the door of the iron cage with a smile.
“Then have a good conversation!”
“You go too.”
“I will be waiting outside.”
Bark and the merchant disappeared. Berge entered the iron cage and raised his magic.
“Woo!”
The elf’s pupils widened. No matter how mana is restricted in the constraint, elves cannot be ignorant of the most energy-sensitive among sub-races, of course, magic.
released the gag. The opened elf’s mouth could not be closed.
“You can’t bite your tongue. I can’t even move. So give up and listen.”
The guy didn’t have a choice.
“I just bought you for a fair price. So you are my slave.”
There was blood in the man’s eyes. His trembling snout was ready to pour out even a swear word.
I can’t though.
“I think the anger would be great because I was enslaved by human hands and suffered humiliation.”
“I will give you a chance.”
“Are you going to end your life as a slave in a cold cage like this?”
“Or will you take my hand and take revenge? I will tear the limbs of those who made you like this and help you bring down humans.”
“How are you?”
There was no answer. However, the shaking pupil was shaking no matter who looked at it.
“If you don’t bite your tongue, I’ll break the magic. Nod your head if you agree.”
The elf nodded. When he retrieved the Magi, he gasped for breath.
“Demons, why are the demons to me?”
“You just have to answer.”
“The suggestions of the demons always come with a terrible price.”
“I am different. You just have to work hard for me. 50 years. If you will be my faithful servant for just 50 years, I will set you free after 50 years. How are you?”
50 years isn’t a very long time for an elf, so you don’t think it’s a bad offer?
“Do you want me to believe in the words of the demons who eat lies?”
“You don’t seem to have any objection to the proposal itself.”
“It has been five years since I was captured and enslaved by humans. There wasn’t one or two humiliations that I’d rather die.”
The heartache that has been grieved over the years has piled up and has become irreversible.
“If I could tear apart the people who made me like this with my own hands, I wouldn’t be able to sell my soul to the devil.”
The elf growled in anger. The flesh bursting out of it was so sharp that the skin stood up.
“But you can’t trust me because I’m a demon?”
“There is a proverb among the elves. I would rather be friends with a dwarf than trust the demons.”
“There are proverbs among us. The most unbelievable of these races in Middle-earth are humans, but the worst of them are elves.”
Elves are known to hate demons more than any other race. It was true to some extent, but it wasn’t like a sacred duty to protect the world.
Because the world tree they serve sustains the world. Because the demons are trying to destroy the world supported by the World Tree.
“Do not touch the World Tree while you work for me.”
“I would have said that I couldn’t trust your words. Why did the demons open their hands to the elves in the first place?”
You’re stabbing a sore spot.
“I swear by the standard and the great Demon Lord. I will never break what I said.”
“··········!”
Standard and Demon are like life for all demons. It is a simple faith, but since they are ignorant demons, they protect it as if it were their life.
How severe it was, the creatures of Arain also knew the standard of demons and the love of demons.
“In return, swear to the World Tree that you will faithfully serve me.”
This was the reason why Berger wanted to make an elf, not a human, the most important key component.
Unlike humans, who do not have reliable means of coercion, elves have clear means.
Their parent tree, the oath of the world tree.
It was not simply a faithful practice such as faith. It was a direct affix that was dependent on mana.
Those who break the oath will take the protection of the forest from the World Tree.
And for the elves, losing the protection of the forest was more painful than death.
So it can be trusted.
“How are you?”
“…and indeed a demon.”
The elf murmured.
“You’re making an offer I can’t refuse.”
Berger held out his hand. he grabbed his hand
“name.”
“Granada of the Maple Tribe. I will swear in front of the demon king who sent you.”
“Then you can do it now. Because I am the Demon King.”
“···········?”
* * *
The merchant shoved the gold coins into his pocket. Beside him, the guide and Bark swallowed dry saliva.
‘Heh heh, he’s a huge hogu-kun.’
The rarity was added because elven slaves were officially banned. Of course, elves are expensive.
However, it was also highly individual. Women were more expensive than men, and younger elves were more expensive than older elves.
But that wasn’t the elf’s problem. poisonous. No one wants an elf who curses humans without losing their fighting spirit even after 5 years have passed. He even bit his tongue from time to time and tried to commit suicide by forcing himself to be gagged.
If it had been a pretty woman, I would have bought them at the expense of other meanings, but that was impossible. Until now, the money was not wasted, but the value of the product was not at all.
But to buy something like that for 5 gold coins. I never imagined that I would receive the same amount as I had called.
“Bark, did you say you were the one you brought?”
“you’re right.”
“Where are the successful merchants? Or are you a member of a giant mercenary group?”
In his opinion, there were only two cases where he had to come to Hortonworks and buy an elf.
Whether you’ve come all the way here to find an elf that suits the taste of a rich man, or buy it to use as a combat member.
“I was also commissioned. We cannot reveal the identity of the client.”
“Hey, we haven’t seen each other in a day or two, can we be so stiff?”
“·················ogue.”
“Ttt, well, that’s good. In any case, I sold that treasure trove. But unfortunately, you probably won’t get that elf. You’ll probably bite your tongue the moment you unlock it.”
“You mean you did that even though you knew it?”
“Because you said it doesn’t matter. I got the advance payment.”
The merchant calmly shrugged. It was cool. The elf who tormented him also died and he made money.
“If you ever need another slave, please let me know. Then I’ll take care of you so you don’t get upset…”
Then, the closed door opened. Hogu walked out slowly. The merchant rubbed his palms and approached him.
“Are you out? How did the story go…?”
His gaze turned to Hogu’s back. there was. Obviously, the elf, who had to bite his tongue and fall on the cold iron cage floor, was following him calmly.
“Put your eyes on it. you pig Before I tear it apart and kill it.”
Judging by the growling, it wasn’t that his temper was dead.
“Well, you did well. We will stamp it.”
The merchant continued the conversation as casually as possible with superhuman mind control.
“Not required.”
“Yes? But without the Slave Seal…”
there would be problems
The slave seal was not simply a sign of slavery, but a magic circle that made it impossible to harm the caster. It was designed to inflict pain upon memorizing a spell.
“If there is a problem, let me handle it.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Bark hurriedly followed behind. When he came up to the ground, everyone’s attention was focused. It is surprising that the elves have been sold to someone.
‘How did you tame that elf?’
Bark also knew about the elves, as he had previously suppressed them with other mercenaries at the time of a riot to escape.
The rice cake of the picture that is so wild that it cannot be tamed. It was very popular among slave traders.
They say it will never be sold, and if you want to get out of the cage, you’ll have to die and get out…
“Your mission ends here.”
“Ah yes.”
Berger flicked his finger lightly. A silver coin naturally landed on Bark’s hand.
“I liked it more than I thought, so this is a tip.”
“thank you!”
“How long are you going to be in this city?”
“If there are no major problems, we will be there for a long time.”
“Good. Please come back later.”
“Yes, please always find that Bark or the Red Hawk mercenaries in the Mercenary Guild!”
Bark hoped that the generous client would come to visit him again.
* * *
The first thing the Demon King did was to buy him food.
The elf, who had survived on a minimal amount of food, devoured it in an instant and pounded its stomach with satisfaction.
“Is the tower really on top of Mount Erzest?”
“I have a lot of doubts.”
“When you call yourself the Demon King, consider yourself lucky that your fists didn’t go out.”
In the opinion of the elves, it was impossible for the Demon King to personally come to the slave market to purchase slaves.
Nevertheless, the reason I agree and accompany is because the other person was confident that he would prove himself by showing the tower.
betting on the standard.
“You keep your promise. Indeed, if I were the Demon King, I would have decided not to take 50 years but double that amount as a mortgage.”
“An elf always keeps a word once spoken. Unlike the demons.”
‘It’s kind of annoying.’
If you keep tickling, your liver must be swollen. Let’s start by losing a few.
The Demon King pondered for a moment, but then shook his head. Anyway, the moment you get to the tower, your tail will be in full bloom, so it was quite pleasant to be patient for that moment.
On the other hand, the elf thought that the demon in front of him was quite unique.
‘The demons are thinking of controlling other races…’
It was common for demons to not trust anyone but themselves. It was natural. They are the invaders and all the races of Arain have been invaded. Since they were incompatible enemies, lack of trust was inevitable.
“By the way, this is not the direction of the mountain…”
The demon king who introduced himself as Berge, who would become his master for the next 50 years, did not go to Mount Erzest.
“market. There is nothing to eat in the tower.”
“···········?”
‘…a market?’
It was kind of intuition. The spine of his back became cold at the unfamiliar strong feeling.
He called himself the Demon King. Even if that’s a lie, it’s definitely a demon.
And Granada has lived as an elf for over a hundred years and has never heard of a demon who shopped. In the first place, the demons who are locked up in the tower and do not come out are going to the human market.
“…are you really the Demon King?”
“There are too many doubts.”
“There must be many!”
Even with his suspicious eyes, the Demon King purchased more than 10 ingredients. After shoving them all into the subspace, he smiled with satisfaction.
“Come on, let’s go now.”
Avoiding the guards’ gaze, he secretly jumped over the wall.
“Mount Erzest is full of monsters. How do you climb it?”
He spit out the questions he had always had.
“Like a Demon King.”
The answer was scrambled. The meaning soon became clear.
‘Monsters do not attack.’
Even when they saw them, they ran away from them instead of running. What does this mean?
‘Is the whole mountain already the realm of the Demon King?’
swallowed dry saliva. Maybe it’s really the Demon King. No, it wasn’t just that. How many monsters were there in Erzest? If all of that is in the hands of the Demon King.
‘It’s a huge disaster.’
Perhaps he was the most powerful among the demon lords who descended on Arain.
“Come on, you have arrived. This is my tower.”
The elves thought so when they arrived at the tower in the hard-to-find basin, even when the tower was only five stories high. This is because the shock that the entire mountain was a territory did not go away.
But open the door on the first floor.
through the second floor.
The moment you get to the 3rd floor.
“···Oh My God.”
It was disappointing in another way. I realized why the demon king himself came to the slave market of humans to purchase himself, and why he had bought ingredients.
“You don’t have anything?”
There was really nothing in the famous Demon King’s Tower.
“I like being modest. I call it the beauty of blank space.”
“If we get rid of it just twice, the tower will disappear.”
“But wouldn’t it be enough to have a slave who would faithfully serve me for 100 years?”
The elf trembled at the sinister smile. The Demon King has already been proven. There was nothing, but the proof was that the tower had met its owner.
Now it was his turn to keep his promise.
However.
“It’s a scam! This is a scam!”
could not admit
In the Tower of the Demon King, there is something basically a framework that people think of.
There are weak monsters on the first floor, and there are traps. If you go up a little higher, the demonic demons will greet you, and if you go further up, the demons will welcome you, and at the top the demon king sits on a golden throne and solemnly welcomes the hero.
And in the end, he rescues a prince or princess from prison.
There may be differences in detail depending on which tower or demon king you are, but the main stem does not change.
That was what Granada wanted. Although he was a slave, he thought he would be able to take revenge on humans by becoming an officer of the Demon King’s army, as he was quite successful in the elf world.
It’s not a future where dreams and hopes are trampled on by nobody, nothing.
That moment-
Quang!
A thick grip gripped Granada’s collar.
“ね・・・!”
His face turned red at the immense power he could not resist. He struggled with his choked breath.
raised mana.
“That’s all for watching.”
However, his mana was cut off as he sharply digs his body.
cool living. The elf felt with his whole body that the opponent in front of him was the Demon King.
“Keep your promise, elf.”
“Hey, it’s a scam! I’ve never heard of a tower like this!”
“I never said no.”
“After all, I didn’t believe the words of the demons!”
“Regret is always too late, no matter how early.”
Yeah, it’s already too late. Granada had completely entered the realm of the Demon King, and he could not get out by himself. Life and a 100-year slave contract. It was clear which one was better. And maybe they will really succeed in revenge.
The impact at the tower was strong, but the afterglow felt while climbing the snowy mountain was still strong.
“I will serve you.”
I swore in the name of the great world tree. The mana of the heart created a bond. If he breaks his oath, his bondage will be broken and all the protections that have been given him will be lost.
“Good.”
The Demon King smiled satisfied. Then, he threw a bag of ingredients that he had bought in the village.
“If that’s the case, please bring me some rice first.”
“···········?”
The elf was not aware of the situation for a moment. And soon became angry.
“I am a noble elf! He was doing well in Elven too…!”
“But now I am just a cheeky slave.”
“Are you sure you want me to cook something?”
“It’s not like that.”
The demon clenched his chin.
“For now, I just want you to shut up and do something.”
It wasn’t like he was squealing all the way up the mountain.
It’s just that there aren’t any living beings in the tower that can cook like a cook.
thought the Demon King.