[Bitter Maja, Wilwatikta Kingdom]
"SEA ELF!! SEA ELF!! FRESHLY CAUGHT! STILL FRESH!! ONLY TWO PIECES LEFT!!" a goblin shouted enthusiastically, promoting his merchandise.
"RIVER ELF! RIVER ELF!! JUST CAPTURED TWO DAYS AGO! THEIR MEAT IS STILL FRESH!! COME CLOSER, DON'T MISS OUT!!" a sylph flapped his wings and shouted with all his might.
"VOLCANO ELF!! VOLCANO ELF!!! CLEANED AND SKINNED BY OZ THE SKINNER HIMSELF!!! GUARANTEED NO HAIR LEFT IN THE MEAT!!!" a goblin with a headband slapped the meat in front of him, covered with feathers to keep flies away.
"NIGHT ELF!! NIGHT ELF!! NIGHT ELF MEAT BRINGS GOOD FORTUNE!! AKUNDO IS THE PROOF!!!"
"ABSOLUTELY TRUE!! THIS MORNING I ATE NIGHT ELF MEAT AND IN THE AFTERNOON, I SUCCESSFULLY HID FROM MY ANGRY WIFE!!!"
The goblin duo took turns promoting their merchandise.
"WOOD ELF!! WOOD ELF!!! We have one that's still intact!!! Only 20 years old!!"
As the voice rang out, buyers in the market immediately flocked to their stall.
"Still intact? Are you not lying?" asked a female goblin.
"That's right, ladies and gentlemen! I obtained this Wood Elf directly from the Asuras! They managed to capture him while he was trying to escape!" the seller replied.
"Really? Show it to us then!" another goblin visitor asked.
"Currently, I cannot bring the Wood Elf to the market! You must purchase it first to see it!"
"Ah! You're lying! The kingdom prohibits the sale of live elves!" shouted a goblin who had the habit of reading the Kingdom Press every morning.
"I'm telling the truth! If you don't believe me, ask the orc next to me!" the seller gestured to a monster behind him to step forward.
The young-looking orc patted his chest and said, "It's true, this Wood Elf was captured by my brother! He brought him home secretly and hid him in the carriage along with other captive elf women! You know yourself, the appearance of male Wood Elves is almost identical to female Wood Elves, so no one realized it!"
All the buyers nodded, knowing that the physical appearance of male Wood Elves closely resembled that of female Wood Elves. It was challenging to distinguish between them, causing hobgoblins to sometimes make mistakes in their captures.
However, before any buyers began to negotiate, a voice was heard from the back of the crowd, "HE'S LYING! DON'T BELIEVE HIS WORDS!! ORCS HAVE A SENSE THAT CAN DISTINGUISH ANY CREATURE'S GENDER!!"
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice. A young alraune stood confidently with hands on hips. Seeing the young alraune, the young orc became flustered and tried to cover his face.
"DIRU!! It's useless to hide! I've seen your face!" shouted the young alraune.
"AH! Who are you? I don't know you! Don't believe the words of this visitor! I am an orc, and orcs don't have any sense like she claims!" the young orc named Diru quickly retorted.
"If you don't believe me, just ask Uncle Didi!" he pointed toward the goblin seller who had mysteriously disappeared at some point.
All the visitors realized that Diru was lying, and their anger flared up. They were almost deceived into buying a live Wood Elf that didn't exist.
"YOU DAMNED CHILD, HOW DARE YOU DECEIVE YOUR ELDERS!! GET HIM!!" In unison with the eruption of anger, the visitors stormed Diru, who was taken aback.
*SMACK *THUMP *SMACK *SMACK *THUMP *SMACK *SMACK *THUMP *SMACK *SMACK *THUMP *SMACK *SMACK *THUMP *SMACK *SMACK *THUMP
Without mercy, the visitors beat Diru until he was bruised and battered. When he was nearly unconscious, they finally stopped. With satisfied snorts, as they hit the face of the swindler, the visitors left the stall and continued their shopping.
Diru, almost on the brink of death, sat back down with clearly visible wounds that began to heal. The regenerative power of the new generation of orcs was not the same as that of the old generation. These offspring of the Asuras had regenerative abilities several times faster than their ancestors.
"YUNIIIII!!!!! FUCK YOU!!! Why did you interfere? Look at the consequences of your actions! I'm a mess now!!" Diru pointed to the remaining bruise on his face.
"Hmph! It's your own fault for lying! Have you not considered the consequences if someone were to report your actions to the Ku? Your own father would be the one to behead you!" Yuni, the young alraune, snorted at Diru without feeling the slightest hint of guilt.
"No one will ever report it! Before they can see the live Wood Elf, I'll claim that he committed suicide rather than face harassment, leaving only his lifeless body!" Diru explained his seemingly foolproof scam plan.
"Regardless, they will still feel deceived, you dimwit!" Yuni ruthlessly tapped Diru's head with her vines.
"Ouch!! Why are you so rough? Are you really my friend?" Diru held his now swollen head.
"Stop whining! You're an orc, so act like one! Ugh... the younger generation truly frustrates me!" Yuni lifted her imaginary glasses, imitating her mother's demeanor.
"Ugh!..." Diru could only remain silent, suppressing the pain to avoid embarrassing his race. He stood there with glassy eyes, glaring at Yuni in frustration.
"Let's go home, your mother is looking for you!" Yuni pulled Diru's hand.
Diru simply nodded, and they walked hand in hand out of the market.
Little did they know that Diru wasn't actually lying. The live elves were indeed present in this market, precisely located beneath it, separated by a rocky barrier. Despite that, they could still hear how the monsters sold their own species' meat as if they were selling fish and beef in their market.
When it came to supplying food and women, Nezena was far more adept than Nevare. She not only managed to solve the food shortage problem in the Wilwatikta Kingdom but also doubled the number of women available for the Asuras to marry.
The secret lay in Nezena's cruel policy, which was a nightmare for the elves but the most brilliant idea for the monsters.
During Nezena and her troops' raids on elven villages, she didn't immediately kill all the male inhabitants and abducted the females. Instead, Nezena separated them based on age. Any elf over a hundred years old would be promptly killed, except for their women. The rest, below a hundred years old, would be captured and taken to the Wilwatikta Kingdom.
The younger elves, below a hundred years old, were still easily influenced and brainwashed. Moreover, most of them hadn't yet become mages, making them highly susceptible to the control of the Asuras.
This did make the journey home longer and riskier, as their tracks could be discovered. However, with Nezena's cunning, she created false trails and hidden passageways to temporarily conceal their prisoners. Then she led her troops to raid other elven villages until the hiding tunnels became full.
Eventually, the captives were taken back to the Wilwatikta Kingdom through a secure route that Nezena had discovered.
Unlike Nevare, who used psychological tactics and brainwashing to persuade human women to become Valkyries, Nezena employed a carrot-and-whip strategy to force her captives to choose the life she desired for them.
Every male elf was given the choice to submit to the Wilwatikta Kingdom and become their slave or end up as minced meat sold in the market. Every female elf was forced to choose between becoming a Valkyrie or facing an even worse fate.
What Nezena meant by a worse fate was to revive the orc culture that had previously been eradicated by Moku. However, this time the culprits were not the orcs, as they were too preoccupied with the Valkyries who constantly demanded their attention like dogs in heat. Instead, it was the male elves who had willingly chosen to become slaves of the Wilwatikta Kingdom.
Nezena would command the elven slaves to rape the female elves who refused to become Valkyries until they became pregnant. The children born from these unions would be raised by the Wilwatikta Kingdom and indoctrinated from a young age to see becoming a Valkyrie as their highest aspiration.
All the elven slaves and the female elves who rejected becoming Valkyries were gathered in a place Nezena named Elf Husbandry. To further emphasize the psychological impact of resisting the Wilwatikta Kingdom, Elf Husbandry was built beneath the Kingdom Market.
Elf Husbandry became an ingenious idea since the establishment of the Wilwatikta Kingdom. Ez even wrote about it in the history book taught to children at The One Church School. Nevare learned a great deal from Nezena's idea, and she was currently busy revising her policies to increase the number of Valkyries from the human species.
As Diru and Yuni walked hand in hand, they heard the commotion coming from their side. When they turned to look, they saw a tall circular structure. It was the Colosseum where the thirtieth Palaka of the year was currently taking place.
Diru's eyes filled with envy as he couldn't wait to evolve into an Asura and participate in the Colosseum battles. Yuni, observing this, could only shake her head. As an alraune, she could never understand why the orcs were so eager to engage in life-or-death battles like that.
As she glanced at the colosseum, Yuni could only imagine her fellow alraune sisters frantically trying to save the lives of the Asuras who were attempting to kill their own kin. She hoped that she wouldn't grow up too quickly, so she wouldn't have to partake in the most troublesome event for her alraune race.
Follow current novels on (f)reew𝒆bnovel