Lord of Rot

Bode continued to browse with Leech.

There were a few items that Leech found particularly enticing.

An unhatchable, dead Giant Dragon egg, priced at 1,000 Jinri due to its high collection value.

A set of exquisite Magic Armor, priced at 200 Jinri. It looked extremely light, but its defensive capabilities were comparable to heavy armor.

A deformed girl with three legs, priced at 10 Jinri.

There was no shortage of nobles with peculiar tastes. They were gathered around, all wanting to buy the three-legged girl.

Bode, standing beside Leech, was one of them. His breathing was rapid and tense. "I’m so curious what race she is."

’Race?’

In Leech’s opinion, the girl likely had three legs because her mother had been pregnant with twins, and for some reason, her sister was absorbed in the womb, resulting in the third leg. The girl was simply a deformed human.

She was beautiful, and the extra, deformed third leg was so perfectly formed that it made her look like a three-legged Sub-human.

In some places, she might even be considered a god.

Several nobles were already bidding against each other for the deformed girl. Leech pulled Bode away. There was no need to spend over ten Jinri on her. Besides, if she fell into the hands of another noble, she would at worst become a treasured lover. But if she fell into Bode’s hands, she would definitely be dissected!

Fortunately, Bode wasn’t too desperate for the three-legged girl. After looking at a few more things, his attention shifted.

Leech and Bode stopped. Before them was a miserable woman locked in an iron cage.

Her left arm had been severed and was crudely bandaged. The amputated limb, tied up in a cloth, was slung around her neck like a piece of trash.

A gruesome wound marred her chest. She was on the verge of death, but some force was sustaining her, keeping her from dying.

Bode said, "She’s like us. She has obtained that kind of power."

A female Transcendent Warrior!

His fight with Stacy had only given him a taste of a Transcendent’s power, but Stacy would never become his puppet, to be studied at his leisure.

"How much?" Leech asked.

The one in the black robe was a burly man who carried the stench of blood.

"100 Jinri. She wields an extraordinary power," the man said. "We lost 60 men to defeat her."

’Against a Transcendent, what good would 60 men do? Even 160 would be useless.’

Leech shook his head. "You’re right, she does possess extraordinary power. But she’s missing an arm, and she’s about to die."

"How much are you offering?" the man asked.

"10 Jinri," Leech said. "I’m very interested in her."

He had just offered a tenth of the asking price.

"Impossible!" The man shook his head, fuming. "For less than 100 Jinri, we won’t even cover our losses!"

Leech wasn’t in a hurry. He said, "I’m guessing she has another day to live. Maybe half a day. I’ll just stand here and wait quietly. Once she takes her last breath, how much do you think you can sell her for?"

He added calmly, "At that point, I’ll only be willing to use Silver Moon to buy a corpse."

"You!" The man was furious, but he knew Leech was right.

A living, breathing Transcendent Warrior could fetch a hefty sum. But a corpse? She wasn’t a Giant Dragon. Dead, she was just a body—worthless.

Bode, however, chimed in happily, "He’s right. We don’t need a live one. We’re going to dissect her anyway. A dead one would be cheaper."

The two of them waited quietly. Although Bode wanted to wander off and see other things, he chose to stay and back his cousin up so Leech could get what he wanted. If anything unexpected happened, the name Wisdom would be very useful.

After a long while, the woman in the cage’s breathing grew weaker and weaker.

"Fine!" The man finally caved. He said, "10 Jinri!"

"A pleasure doing business with you." A smile formed on Leech’s face behind his mask.

For anyone else, buying a Transcendent who was sure to die would be a huge loss. But for Leech, she represented an opportunity: he could finally have a Transcendent corpse!

His real price limit had been 50 Jinri. If he didn’t have enough, he would have borrowed from Bode or used the funds from his honey sales in advance. Who knew the seller wouldn’t even try to counter and would just let the situation drag on.

The result was delightful!

Just as he’d said, a dead one would have worked too. But the sooner she died, the less fresh the corpse would be. Live was better.

Bode’s retainers immediately arranged for a carriage to take the dying female Transcendent away. The retainers would have people take good care of her and ensure she stayed alive as long as possible until Leech returned.

Since Bode had been a huge help, Leech decided to return the favor by continuing to browse with him for a while, even though he was dying to rush to the female Transcendent’s side immediately.

Bode said, "That man must be from the desert. I can smell a dry stench on him."

Leech didn’t understand how a stench could be "dry," but that didn’t stop him from asking, "The desert?"

The area at the border of the Endor Plateau and Giant’s Foot was a desert region. There were deserts elsewhere, but that was the one everyone thought of first.

"At Stacy’s ball this year, the son of the lord of Mama City from the desert will be attending," Bode said. "It’s a town of horse traders. They train horses for Leon City and sometimes sell them to other regions. I heard they were in a big fight when they left the desert, and a lot of people died."

"I see," Leech said, indicating he understood.

He guessed that the people from Mama City had captured the female Transcendent and tried to extract the secrets of her Extraordinary power, but they had failed. Without proper care, the Transcendent’s condition had worsened, so to recoup their losses, they had no choice but to sell her at the Black Market.

In short, he’d gotten a real bargain.

Bode stopped in front of a stall, his eyes on an exquisite Longsword. It was inlaid with gems and looked more suitable for a noble lady to use as a decoration.

"2 Jinri," the seller said in a calm tone.

"110 Silver Moon."

"Are you trying to rob me? You damn skin-flayer!" the man in the black robe said furiously. "This is a treasure I found in a ruin! It was resting right beside the tomb owner’s corpse! It has a mystical value! The story behind it is priceless!"

Bode calmly replied, "But the craftsmanship is mediocre, and the blade isn’t balanced correctly. It’s front-heavy, so it would be easy to lose your grip. You could easily cut yourself swinging this sword."

Leech had a feeling that Bode and the man in the black robe knew each other. They were probably friends just taking the opportunity to argue with each other while hidden by their black cloaks.

His gaze swept over the items on the stall.

Daggers, earrings, rings—it was a typical street stall collection. Who knew where the black-robed man had dug up all this stuff.

Suddenly, Leech’s gaze froze.

It was a withered, pitch-black claw. The moment he looked at it, he felt his Spiritual Power being rapidly drained away.

One unit.

Two units.

Three units.

Four units!

He immediately looked away.

’It can absorb Spiritual Power? What is this thing?’

Leech interrupted the bickering pair and asked, "How much for this?"

"That’s a Magical Curiosity," the black-robed man arguing with Bode said, taking a moment to look over. "3 Jinri."

"1 Jinri," Bode immediately countered, "and you have to throw in the sword."

"No way!"

"Then you can let it rot in your hands."

"A ’Curiosity’?" Leech was surprised. He hadn’t expected the pitch-black claw to be one of the legendary curiosities. But why did no one want it?

Bode seemed to sense Leech’s confusion and explained, "That Curiosity is called [Poisonous Touch]. As far as I know, some idiot spent a fortune to get it."

’The idiot he’s talking about,’ Leech thought, ’is probably the stall owner.’

’So what’s the point of wearing a mask, then?’

"Its only function is to poison."

’Poison? Isn’t that really powerful?’

"It poisons the holder," Bode said. "It doesn’t affect anyone else."

Leech: "..."