“Please let us off!”
“We promise not to do it again!”
“I swear I’d do whatever you want in the future as long as you’d let me go!”
As the darkness enveloped them, it sealed their powers. They panicked—they had only traded humans for gold coins to improve their quality of life. They were all cowards, shameless as they were.
“Killing you?” Lin Ming sneered.
The Headman stared into Lin Ming’s eyes and nodded. The darkness dispersed—no one died. They had no injuries, but Lin Ming had injected Tier 9 Dark Magic into the rope binding them. With their powers sealed, they couldn’t break free.
“Thank you, sir, for sparing our lives!” Everyone fell to their knees, praying for a miracle.
“Please, forgive me. I’ll serve you from now on!”
Eager pleas surrounded Lin Ming. They had thought Lin Ming would slaughter them all earlier, but now that Lin Ming left them unharmed, their hope sparked—maybe Lin Ming wanted to subjugate them instead, and he was trying to scare and manipulate them into submission.
“Who says I’m going to kill you? No. It would have gotten my hands dirty,” Lin Ming scoffed.
The men gasped. “What?”
“Since you fancy human trafficking, I shall send you off to the Giant’s Kingdom as well. To me, the fairest thing in the world is to give someone a taste of their own medicine.”
Since they treated humans as objects, trading them, Lin Ming thought he could get back at them the same way. Though the humans devoured and killed by the Giants wouldn’t come back to life, the traffickers would receive the retribution they deserved.
Dying—Lin Ming wouldn’t have allowed an easy death. He turned to the Headman. “You, go check their mouths. Do not let them commit suicide.”
“Aye!” The Headman nodded and searched each of their mouths.
Holding the map in his hands, Lin Ming announced, “Let’s set off to the next Giant City.” Not the previous city because Lin Ming had just slain half of the Giants—it would’ve caused more panic, and they dared not to accept Lin Ming’s trade.
“Go!”
As he had many passengers with him, Lin Ming took out his most advanced commuting spiritual treasure. With its rapid speed, they arrived at another Giant City in less than two hours. There was some distance between this and the previous city, so the news of Lin Ming’s massacre had not yet arrived.
Lin Ming had the Headman wear their organization’s clothes, swaggering towards the city gate as he stepped forward with a sense of familiarity. “Take a look at this batch. What do you think?”
“I’ve never seen your organization around before,” the Giant frowned and said. That organization had led the captives to the first city Lin Ming went since their levels weren’t high enough, the highest being a Tier 8 Mage. Hence, the Giants there had never seen their clothing before.
“Heh, we are new to this line of work, but our boss is powerful. The goods we sent you are fine,” Lin Ming chuckled, yanking a Tier 8 Mage before the Giant.
“A Tier 8 Mage!” The Giant sucked in a breath of cold air. He was no match for one—a Tier 8 could defeat him in a fight that went on for too long. And now, Lin Ming was casually holding one in his grasp.
“If this goes well, we’ll supply you with all of our goods for the coming years.” Lin Ming patted his chest.
“Is there any tricks you’re hiding?” The Giant’s brows furrowed, unwilling to let them pass.
“You might have a big torso, but how is your gut this tiny? Our boss sealed their powers. They have zero ability in resisting,” Lin Ming scorned.
The Giant checked the goods. Sure enough, they were all tied up and restrained, their powers sealed. “I’ll call the General over and liaise with you.” He headed into the city. Not long after, he returned with an even brawnier Giant.
“How many gold coins do you want?” The General asked.
“50,000 gold coins for the Tier 8 Mage, and the rest of the Tier 7 Mages 10,000 to 40,000,” Lin Ming replied.
“You’re asking for too much, kid!” the General sounded dissatisfied. Before that, they had been trading commoners—the price was lower.
“Are you saying no? But have you ever tasted a Tier 8 Mage? Do you understand the benefits that it would bring you? Sure, your physiques are strong. Yet, if you could absorb magic power like this, you’d be invincible,” Lin Ming ridiculed.
“Hmm…” The General hesitated—Lin Ming had a point. Though the price was higher than commoners, a Tier 8 Mage was worth it.
“Maybe we should go.” Lin Ming turned to leave.
Seeing that Lin Ming was about to leave, the General hurriedly stopped him. “Wait, I’ll take them!”
Lin Ming went back to them and completed the transaction. The General was satisfied as he handed the Tier 8 Mage over to his superior.
It was necessary—being part of Lin Ming’s show, not following through would’ve earned the Giants’ suspicion. After he left the city, Lin Ming waved his hand at the men from the organization. Now, everyone realized their fate of being part of the trade.
Lin Ming looked over his shoulder. “There must be a powerful existence in the city, which is why the empires haven’t launched any attacks.” It was the only explanation why all empires overlooked their offenses.