Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

Chapter 142

Slavery, a despicable act that denies the basic right to live with free will.

Forced to be in a state in which one has to live under the absolute commands of another and obey them with none whatsoever rights of their own.

Slaves are people who are treated as objects that are sold for money and compelled to do hard labor or detestable activities against their will.

Measured by their appearance, race, ability, and pedigree, slaves are auctioned to the rich and privileged at high prices that amount to thousands of gold, depending on the market value.

If they are to protest or deny complying with their master's orders, they would be subjugated to harsh punishments and, in the worst-case scenario, death.

Constrained by magic and bound to their owners, they live a life of fear that is condemned by society until the end of their time.

It was a practice that stood against the very foundations of the Orion Empire, a country that empathizes with the values of free will.

Any involvement in acts of slavery was deemed a high criminal offense under imperial law.

While slavery was illegal in Orion, the same was not the fact in the neighboring continent Nasia. Which in turn made it a major source of income for corrupt Orion nobles to make quick money without having the need to pay taxes.

For years, the imperial government has been tracking down and closing illegal slave trade rings all across Orion and rehabilitating the recovered people back into society.

However, like a demon that spawns two heads in place of one, each time the government cuts down one operation more emerge to take their position.

Slave trafficking has spread like a virus, as corrupt nobles started selling the people in their domains by concealing their existence and falsifying records.

As a part of a confidential investigation to find Saintess Oralia, the Dark Wolfs raided a slave auction in a small town in southern Orion that was trafficking adolescent humans, elves, and beastmen to the Asclepius Empire of Nasia. 

The auction also contained dangerous relics from the ancient kingdom that have been surfacing in numerous excavation sites. The relics were in high demand in the market owing to their authenticity and sold for high prices regardless of the dangers they possess.

According to the information received from the prisoner, the Serpents had ties to the slave trade ring having purchased dozens of slaves for sacrificial ceremonies and experiments. 

The Dark Wolfs directed a surprise raid in the middle of the auction, during which the organizers of the event and its employees were arrested along with the participants.

Somehow anticipating the Knights' arrival, the Serpents had evacuated their lair in the nick of time to avoid capture.

Aside from a few corpses and empty barrels, there wasn't anything left to be considered as evidence.

As for the people rescued from the event. They were transported to a remote location, where they will stay for the time being until returning to their daily lives. 

Although they were imprisoned against their will, the people had no knowledge about their capturers except for being kidnapped or sold to slavery by debt collectors, some even their own family members in exchange for money.

The prisoner in the cellar could no longer be useful since he had entered a catatonic state, rendering him unresponsive to any form of interrogation.

In the end, we were back to square one.