Chapter 400: A Clash of High Stakes

With a subtle glance, the Youth smirked as he watched the soldiers in the cage glare at him with burning eyes, as if to humiliate him, and he began to speak:

“Still staring? Fine, later you’ll see your companion’s body. Tsk tsk. Judging by your sorry state, I bet even her tiny hand is too precious for you to touch!”

“Lucky for you, you get a feast for your eyes too!”

A cold sneer curled in his mind as a perverse thrill surged within him. After so many days in the Bone-Crushing Arena, he had long grown tired of new sensations.

He knew these border soldiers were renowned for their unity, treating comrades as kin.

And because of that, he was even more eager to savor the look of despair on their faces.

Ready to strip them?

Onstage, several Slave-Capture Team members exchanged hesitant glances. They didn’t mind doing this—they only worried that after stripping, the bigwigs might back out. But the Youth appeared ready to buy it all, opening up endless possibilities for mischief.

After a few seconds’ pause and amid the increasingly excited murmurs of the crowd, the senior madam took matters into her own hands. She knew exactly what these men craved.

“Waaah!! Waaah!!”

Inside and outside the cage, as the madam prepared to humiliate her comrades before everyone, both the soldiers and the girls cried out in grief and anger. They would rather die than face such disgrace.

They couldn’t fathom why – though they were charged with guarding the border and protecting these people – they had to suffer this fate.

Behind them, the slaves sold off in the first batch now shut their eyes with reluctant sorrow, their hearts heavy with guilt and helplessness.

Many of these soldiers had been captured largely because they stayed behind to protect their companions and were too late to escape.

But being slaves themselves, what could they do?

“Young Yenir! Yenir, Officer! These are our soldiers!”

Eyes blazing with fury, Huang Yuanhao clenched his fists, nearly ready to rush forward and hack the Youth and the Slave-Capture Vendor to death. Such blatant humiliation stoked the anger of this seasoned soldier.

Staring at the greedy eyes around him, he failed to see that those he was meant to protect now barely resembled human beings.

At the same moment, Yenir’s gaze turned icy as he raised his hand:

“Hold on!”

“Canglang Safe Zone! 400,000 Trade Points! Take everyone—I’ve got them all!”

As his voice rang out, the madam onstage, poised to act, froze. The crowd below gasped in unison, staring in shock at the sudden appearance of Yenir.

Holy shit!?

400,000 Trade Points!? That’s a staggering amount! Which high-up from the Safe Zone is this?!

Like everyone else, the Youth from the Bone-Crushing Arena hadn’t expected anyone to dare compete with him. In an instant, he shot a dark look toward Yenir, as if about to speak.

But before he could utter a word, a calm, cold voice suddenly rang out from the crowd:

“410,000. Bloodshadow Legion business. Everyone else, scram!”

The voice dripped with arrogance. In the blink of an eye, a surge of soldiers pushed through the crowd toward the dais. The leading Third-Stage Officer didn’t even glance at Yenir—as if convinced that no one would dare defy the Bloodshadow Legion!

The entire crowd buzzed with astonishment as many survivors stared in disbelief at the unfolding scene.

No one could have imagined that today’s seemingly ordinary slave sale would attract so many high-profile figures.

With the Bloodshadow Legion striding in, silence fell over the assembly. Even the Youth, who had been ready to retort moments ago, now stood mute and stiff-faced.

Don’t be fooled—though he had been cocky when competing with Yenir earlier, facing the Bloodshadow men, even a middle-ranking member barely at Third-Stage Beginner made him hold his tongue.

The Bloodshadow Legion’s fearsome reputation made this their territory; not even a hundred bold moves would get him to speak up.

Onstage, the Slave-Capture Vendor clearly hadn’t expected the Bloodshadow Legion to appear in person. Several members exchanged nervous glances and quickly plastered on forced smiles, not sparing even a glance at Yenir.

Canglang’s people? 400,000 Trade Points?

Under normal circumstances, such figures would be treated with deference—the price was about right. After all, among these warriors, the captain and the female soldier were the prized ones; together they commanded just over 200,000, while the rest were mere Second-Stage Beginners, far less valuable.

That price was hardly low. Theoretically, a Second-Stage fighter cost about the same as a decent Blue-Grade Gear, which was a bit absurd, but that was the undeniable truth.

Not only did the purchased slaves require training, but if one wanted them to fight properly, additional costs for armament were inevitable. In the end, buying a few Second-Stage soldiers for protection was far more practical than shelling out for equipment upgrades.

“Oh, my lord! How come you’re here in person! Just say ‘Bloodshadow Legion business’ and we’ll hand them over immediately!”

The Slave-Capture Vendor, groveling and cautious with a strained smile, muttered to himself. They had no idea why the Bloodshadow Legion was interested in this lot, but it didn’t matter.

It was just a pity that the price couldn’t be driven up further—judging by the moment, they might have fetched a few more tens of thousands.

Disregarding the sycophantic convoy, the leading Bloodshadow officer said no more than necessary. He tossed a trade card as a signal to leave with his team.

This batch had been specifically chosen by the higher-ups, so he cared little whether there was any competition.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, many noticed Huang Yuanhao’s face drain of color behind Yenir.

But it was natural—in a place like this, who dared defy the Bloodshadow Legion?

Canglang Safe Zone? A reputable force, but compared to the Bloodshadow Legion, they were as insignificant as ants.

“Take them away!”

At his command, the leading Bloodshadow officer ignored Yenir and his group, preparing to leave. But just as his order faded, unexpectedly Yenir spoke again:

“420,000. I want the lot.”

“Highest bidder wins. That’s the rule of the Bloodshadow Safe Zone.”

Without glancing at the vendor, Yenir calmly fixed his gaze on the Bloodshadow Legion’s Third-Stage member who had spoken.

Suddenly, both onstage and off, every head turned—someone was challenging him. The legion leader stared at Yenir in disbelief, his face darkening.

“Rules? Hah…”

“430,000!”

“From the Canglang Safe Zone? You really want to compete with me?”

Without further ado, the man scrutinized Yenir before raising his bid. Yes, the Bloodshadow Safe Zone had such rules, though hardly anyone dared mention them. But since Yenir had brought it up, there was no need for further talk.

Yet his tone carried an unmistakable threat, as if pounding into Yenir the importance of his position.

Before he could add more, Yenir, as if utterly unbothered, spoke once again:

“440!”

“You bid what, I bid what!”

As Yenir’s words rang out, the crowd looked at him in astonishment.

Was he really going toe-to-toe with the Bloodshadow men? Do people from the Canglang Safe Zone really have that much guts?

No one had expected Yenir to defy them so repeatedly. The Bloodshadow legion leader, now visibly incensed, erupted with the aura unique to Third-Stage cultivators, locking his gaze onto Yenir.

“Kid, do you think your status in the Canglang Safe Zone makes you special? How dare you defy me?”

The blunt threat came as the Third-Stage Awakened strode toward Yenir, his displeasure plain to see.

With his rank, not even the Deputy Commander of Canglang would dare cross him!

“Got money? What nerve!”

He sneered. If it weren’t for the throng around him, he’d have pounced on the kid in a heartbeat—in true Bloodshadow fashion, he would have taken him down long ago.

Then, before everyone’s eyes, Yenir casually flipped a trade card he had exchanged with Tang Hai. The card boldly displayed a value of one million.

“Is one million enough? If not, I’ll add another hundred.”

Without a trace of emotion, as Yenir’s words faded, the entire crowd sucked in a collective breath, shock written on every face.

In that moment, everyone realized the Youth was truly ready to clash with the Bloodshadow Legion. One million? Two million? Such astronomical numbers were almost beyond imagining.

Meanwhile, the Bloodshadow legion leader, listening to Yenir’s almost arrogant bid, suddenly froze. The mere thought of two million nearly frightened him. At the same time, the Slave-Capture Team, ignoring Yenir’s dangerous provocation, looked upon him as if he were their savior.

If possible, they secretly hoped the two sides would clash.

Inside the cage, the few captured soldiers were stunned by the figure. Gazing at Yenir’s back, disbelief glistened in their eyes. Even if the money was for buying them, such astronomical figures were simply outrageous…

Unmoved by the shocked, admiring, or envious stares, Yenir remained impassive.

It wasn’t that he wanted to show off; he had another reason.

The reason was simple—he recognized the girl onstage.

After all, in his previous life he had almost no memory of the Far Frontier; the only people he remembered were those pivotal to the cataclysm’s outcome!

Once he was sure it was her, and having planned to rescue these military soldiers, Yenir naturally decided to compete.

As for whether two million was too audacious a bid?

Frankly, if he weren’t hiding his identity, for Yenir even tens of millions would be trivial! More money? Ha! Huaguo’s top-tier resource command could crush anyone—not to mention the huge stash of resources he could bring back.

A twitch betrayed his realization that he lacked the authority to marshal such funds. The Bloodshadow Third-Stage Officer glared at Yenir with steely intent.

“Canglang? I haven’t seen you before. I know most of your Safe Zone people. Why do you want to buy this batch?”

“Don’t tell me your Canglang folks were involved in that incident?”

Suppressing his anger, the Third-Stage Awakened regained his composure and suddenly found Yenir rather suspect.

Challenging him like this wasn’t the style of the Safe Zone. Besides, Yenir didn’t seem to faze him at all. With heightened alert, he began to harbor suspicions.

In an instant, the Awakeners behind him caught on to his doubts and swiftly surrounded Yenir and his group.

Seeing Yenir’s actions intensify their suspicion, two of Tang Hai’s trusted aides shuddered and hurriedly began to explain:

“Sir, this is the nephew of our esteemed Tang Hai from the Safe Zone. It’s his first time here in your territory; please forgive his inexperience—children do what they do!”

As they spoke, the two exchanged frantic glances at Yenir.

Their identities were easily verifiable. If questioned, they’d have to explain everything!

“Nephew!? I know Tang Hai—when has he ever had a nephew? Seize him! Lock him up! If you intend to take these military personnel away, state exactly who you are!”

With a sharp command, the atmosphere instantly turned tense.

Noticing the highly alert, partly menacing stance of the Bloodshadow Third-Stage, Yenir’s expression darkened.

He knew that his actions in contesting for these soldiers had indeed drawn unwanted attention.

But fortunately, he had a plan.