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Chapter 32: What is Magic

Sure enough, when it comes to dealing with someone like Seventh Master, using force is far simpler and more effective than bribing with money.

After displaying my overwhelming strength, Seventh Master didn’t dare push his luck any further and immediately revealed everything he knew.

It turns out that while the Ghost Thieves seem to have withdrawn their people from the underground market, and even stopped collecting the usual fees, it doesn’t mean they have truly lost control over the area; their eyes and ears are still well-informed about events big and small.

In fact, not long ago, a large poaching gang that was second only to the Ghost Thieves saw an opportunity in this unregulated area and aimed to take it over, even wanting to seize part of the lucrative business controlled by the Ghost Thieves.

However, before the other three major powers in the underground black market could express their stance, this gang didn’t last long after showing their intentions. In a major poaching operation, they lost their footing, and most of their team—hundreds of people—were completely wiped out by magical beasts in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons.

Seventh Master wasn’t clear on the specific reasons and circumstances, but he later heard that it was highly likely that there was a traitor among that gang, and this traitor held a rather high position, misguiding their judgment of the situation, ultimately leading to their demise at the hands of powerful magical beasts.

Though there isn’t concrete evidence pointing to the Ghost Thieves, the fact that this large gang has been around for decades and coincidentally ran into trouble at this time suggests that outside interference is likely involved, and nobody would really believe otherwise.

As for more valuable secrets, like how many hidden bases the Ghost Thieves have in the southern region and where they are, that’s something someone like Seventh Master wouldn’t know.

Regarding the items he was selling, given the track record of the so-called Snow Mountain Ice Lotus, Miss Vilyric didn’t trust this guy to sell anything decent. Even the materials wouldn’t be of interest to the Priestess, so she left, taking the bald owner, now holding a cracked horse-cutter and looking like he just survived a disaster, along with Little Dragon Daughter as they walked away.

The black market isn’t like an auction house; without specialized appraisers, the quality of items varies wildly, which requires buyers to have keen judgment. If not, they might end up being conned into buying a bunch of junk, with little recourse to complain.

Following the direction pointed out by Seventh Master, Vilyric and the Priestess headed south and soon entered another area that was evidently different from before.

It was clearly more chaotic and disorderly; in many places, blood was splattered directly on the walls, while vendors below maintained a calm demeanor, selling their wares.

Over 90% of the stalls here were set up by small to mid-sized poaching teams, mostly offering strange and dubious drugs without proper documentation, smuggled goods, or valuable materials ripped directly from magical beasts.

It seems that guy wasn’t lying; this is indeed the Ghost Thieves’ turf.

As they ventured further, Vilyric noticed that alongside the usual banned drugs and materials, there were many magical beast cubs caged up. Strangely enough, there were even humanoid beings huddled in large iron cages, half-covered by black cloth, undraped clothing barely covering their bodies, both male and female, but mostly quite young and attractive.

From their distinct racial features, it was clear these weren’t human but magical beasts that had been captured by poachers, fitting the aesthetic standards of humans.

Even more shockingly, some of the passersby had thinly dressed magical beast slaves following closely behind, and the vendors treated these people with visibly more enthusiasm, as if the presence of those slaves not only made them uncomfortable but had become a peculiar status symbol.

The unseemly practices of this culture have been magnified in the dark underground world, where civility tears away its hypocritical facade, and malice and servitude are instead hailed as proper honors. Vilyric even saw someone street-side, beating a small magical beast girl simply for walking too slowly, or branding slaves with hot irons to mark them as their property.

The girl screamed in agony, while the human onlookers remained expressionless, some even laughing and applauding, as if their own dissatisfaction and negative emotions were being vented through such actions.

“…”

“Master, are you feeling displeased? Would you like me to kill all those humans?”

Perhaps sensing the turbulent emotions from the contract, Little Dragon Daughter, feeling nothing for the harm between lower beings, made this suggestion.

“… No, it’s just that this trip hasn’t been in vain.”

They weren’t heroes or champions of justice; this was merely a corner of the southern area of the black market in Demon Town. Perhaps Xiao Guang could easily wipe out all the humans around, but what would that achieve?

From the eyes of the magical beasts they passed, Vilyric saw not a shred of resistance. Even when sold as items and tortured, they merely lamented their fate, seeking forgiveness and mercy.

Perhaps deep inside, they too yearned for salvation, but that so-called redemption has never appeared from thin air.

To give a somewhat inappropriate example, if sisters Leila and Renée had given up resisting after being captured and resigned themselves to living as slaves, they would never have met Vilyric by chance and found a chance for new life.

Every cause has its effect; if they gave up hope for themselves, who would come to save them?

… Stripped of dignity, pitiful to the extreme, ridiculous to the extreme.

“Let’s go on and see what’s ahead.”

I must say, the variety of goods in the underground black market is indeed plentiful, but there are pits one after another.

Occasionally spotting some seemingly impressive magical gear or spellbooks at roadside stalls, they looked good on the surface but had glaring defects or ridiculous side effects that couldn’t be overlooked, enough to fool ordinary people, but impossible to deceive someone as sharp-eyed as Miss Vilyric.

However, as previously noted by the character with bangs, these folks are truly unafraid of selling anything and doing anything; in just this brief time, Vilyric had already seen several internationally recognized prohibited items.

Some even casually walked the streets, consuming obviously hallucinogenic drugs without a care, while a few magical beast girls followed behind them with dazed and eager looks, fixated on the drugs in hand, clearly suffering from severe addiction.

Controlling rebellious magical beast slaves with addictive substances is one of the common tactics used by poachers.

As they walked, Vilyric and the Priestess reached a stone building that appeared much more legitimate than the small stalls, with no strange liquids staining the corners and two burly guards standing at the entrance.

Above, a sign hung with four gilded characters — “Universal Shop.”

This should be the marketplace of a large poaching gang. In such a cutthroat underground black market, no one would dare to show off without sufficient foundation and strength.

Let’s go in and take a look; if I keep walking outside, I’m worried I’ll lose control and… turn all those scum to ashes.

Uh… I hope I don’t need any pass or membership for this.

Well, if necessary, I can just get one; after all, in business, you can’t just turn away customers.

After greeting, the Priestess led Little Dragon Daughter straight towards the entrance.

Surprisingly, those two rough-looking guards didn’t stop Vilyric and the Priestess; they merely glanced at them and let them pass.

That saves a lot of trouble.

The shop was bustling; many scantily clad maidens were leading customers around, seemingly introducing and promoting the goods.

This place was indeed much more upscale compared to those small stalls outside. Not only were there obvious signs directing to “Equipment Zone” and “Drug Zone,” but the area was also kept quite clean—not spotless, but at least free from any strange odors.

This shop also sold slaves.

In the notably spacious arena marked “Slave Zone,” there were many massive cages made of steel, where Vilyric could see the situation inside at a glance.

A considerable number, perhaps two to three hundred slaves on display, mostly magical beasts living in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, but there were also humanoid beastmen, and even mixed-blood creatures that closely resembled humans. In the innermost iron cage, Vilyric even spotted a few beautiful winged people, trembling in fear.

Speaking of which, in the eyes of human criminal poaching gangs, winged people are indeed hot commodities, especially the strikingly attractive blue-winged ones, the highly magically talented silver-winged ones, and the rare and precious white-winged ones, which hold the highest value.

The first category is typically sold for sexual slavery purposes, while the latter two not only serve as tools for pleasure but also provide combat strength. Especially the white-winged ones, due to their scarcity and inherent outstanding abilities and beauty, along with the possible trace of angelic bloodline, are said to be seized and sold at high prices whenever they appear.

Vilyric isn’t particularly sure of the specific details, but remembering Renée and Leila’s past experiences, there must also be poaching gangs that specifically hunt winged people within the Kingdom of Azure.

And most likely they are human.

Wait a minute, if winged people slaves that should be far to the south are showing up here, could the organization that captured Leila and Renée back then also be in Demon Town, perhaps being part of one of these large gangs?

As she pondered, she noticed one of the maidens, having seen Vilyric and Xiao Guang enter, quickly approached them, bowing humbly.

“Welcome to Universal Shop. May I ask what you two need?”

When she first saw it outside, Vilyric couldn’t help but find the name “Universal Shop” quite arrogant.

Unable to resist, she decided to tease this maiden, who exposed much of her rounded curves and skin.

She feigned a mischievous smile.

“So your Universal Shop means one can buy anything? You know, if I wanted to buy you…”

“?”

The maiden’s body shook slightly, then cautiously raised her head, eyeing the elegantly confident black-haired girl before her. A flicker of surprise appeared in her eyes, and she quickly shifted back to her extremely humble tone.

“Of course, you can. As long as you pay a sufficient price, you can buy anything here, including me.”

“You see, there are indeed things you can’t buy. This is false advertising… huh?”

Now it was Vilyric’s turn to be surprised.

“Are you serious? The United Kingdom prohibits human trafficking… wait…”

The Priestess studied the other’s body that was nearly indistinguishable from a human’s, scanning up and down, furrowing her brows.

“You… are a Demon?”