Injustice

Bribery.

In his previous world, the term was regarded as a criminal offense, particularly if caught red-handed. If there were circumstantial evidence, then the person who bribed and the party who willingly received pecuniary or material benefits could be penalized. Such offense was not tolerable, in a legal sense.

In his previous line of profession, the act of bribery, even giving gifts to officials or military officers constituted certain penalties depending on the severity of the act or the judgment of the court.

The principle, he believed, for imposing ramifications to the act of gift-giving to officials was the obstruction of fairness and equity in the government. But he also believed, that those who upheld this act in the penal law, were among the primary offenders.

The absurdity of certain provisions in the penal law made Sigmund to further realize the complexity of modern civilization.

In this world he was now part of, the law in effect aside from the Cosmic laws of the Universe 108, was the law of the jungle. Those who have the strength could impose the law. The strong must remain strong for them to be above the law against those who were weaker than them.

The law of survival could be deemed harsh but they lived through it and most accepted this as part and parcel of their civilization.

In Greston Village, the law of the territory was the will of the village chief. The Villagers must abide by the will of the village chief or consequences might ensue even those who were subordinates to him.

Below the chief, a hierarchy of village elders, officials, and village security personnel including the armies must conform and adhere.

Sigmund knew that there was an unwritten constitution of the village except for decrees and the usual rules that villagers must follow. Bribery seemed not to be part of it. Or at least giving gifts could not be constituted as bribery with certain legal consequences but a practice to appease people with the hope to gain favors. Its rationale was more leaning toward pragmatism rather than upholding equity.

With the Chua, Sons, and Company's drastic moves inside Greston, Sigmund justified his actions to link with the strong people in the village to be in alignment with his plan. Helping the villagers deal with incoming threats became part of the agenda, eventually.

As for the other rules of the village, Sigmund observed an unusual harmony in the village despite the presence of various races– from mortals, mages, and demi-humans including shapeshifters.

To retain public order, fighting on public roads was not allowed or they would be penalized if caught. Guards were always on patrol.

Mortals inherently received protection in the village, but this privilege might be deemed an illusion if certain mortals brazenly offended mages and demi-humans with magic power.

In his previous world, there was a history in certain continents that put those people suspected of possessing magic in burning stakes.

In this world, however, where magic was a common occurrence, mortals gained privileges and certain security but they could also be bound to become victims. Greston, however, imposed certain restrictions on the harassment of mortals. And these rules must be adhered to accordingly or erring mages, even dwarves and elves, might be severely punished if apprehended.

However, the will of the strong should place higher conformity over others. Again, it seemed harsh especially if those weak people were caught in slavery.

Slave trade and slavery were not tolerated outside of the primeval forest, especially in Liberty city-states where this practice was abolished. Slavers, if caught and put to trial, would be convicted of a capital punishment

In the primeval forest, abolishing that practice varied from one village to another, town, city, or kingdom. In cities that emulated the practice of the Liberty city-states, this was completely outlawed.

In Greston, the law against slavery was lenient. But it was not allowed to trade slaves publicly or there would be extreme ramifications for the slavers.

As the village developed its civilization, people involved in slavery were socially denounced but many would turn a blind eye if the personalities involved were more powerful than them.

While Harry was utilizing his time to woo the general of South Gate, another of Sigmund's clones was tasked to transact with a slaver group.

In an underground floor of a commercial building in the north area of the Greston commercial district, Perry was selecting a group of men and women lined up in rows within a large indoor area.

Each of the captured slaves was in their undignified blatant display in slumber, drugged to disturb and eventually omit their memories. The only item worn by each slave was a round necklace. But the object would be apt to be called a leash.

Most of the men appeared to have strong build while the women possessed alluring feminine features. All in the display were attractive, appearance-wise.

But for Perry, seeing this display was demoralizing and completely not pleasurable. As a clone of Sigmund's consciousness, he was aware that engaging with the slave traders was illicit and unethical.

"Our items are of top-class as you can see. They can be your servants especially those with a muscular build, while the female ones can be your bed-warmers." Slaver one with an obnoxious, short appearance appeared to emulate a traveling salesman, with his persuasive and practiced pitch.

Perry and the other party composed of two slavers were gradually treading the row area of the slave display as the customer was searching for the items. Slaver one often played the role of a convincing salesman.

"Whichever you fancy though, for your bed is alright by us. We don't judge. Hahaha!" Slaver Two was annoying. Perry couldn't wait to put that person in perpetual silence. His thinking, however, was more of punishing that slaver to remove his voice box. The stout large body of the Slaver two with the pot belly didn't appeal to him.

Perry was even sure that these two might have made their way toward these slaves to assuage their carnal desires.

He may be at a God-rank level to raise his experience points, but seeing this kind of person made him see the dark sides of humanity. These two beings even possessed mana.

Slaver one was a mage rank 4, while the other was a mage rank 3. They could be considered among the powerful in the village. With their level, they could even form and lead their respective tribes.

Since knowing the existence of the underground slave trade in Greston, Sigmund entrusted his clone imbued with his even-handed personality to deal with the slave traders. However, his personality extended to exercise chastisement, expelling injustice if he experienced one.

In this case, there was no need to justify it being circumstantial evidence as right before his eyes, the injustice was too severe and inhumane for him to ignore it.

"How much will that be if I buy them all?"

"Huh?"

"Uhm… Mr. Chua, I believe I heard you asking to take them all?" Slaver two asked.

"Do I have to repeat myself?" By this time, Perry's silver eyes gleamed with a penetrating effect that temporarily stunned the two slavers.

"No, No! We were asking to make sure." Slaver one displayed a fearful look as he was stuttering.

"I guess, you are still new here in Greston. We haven't checked your background thoroughly but I have already asked our scout about you being part of the new merchant's company. We know how rich you are but you see…" Slave Two prattled which began to annoy the other party.

"Are you threatening me?" Perry, with his imposing demeanor and aura, muttered. The two slavers eventually realized the other to be unfathomable.

"Mr. Chua, you see, we have this rule here that allows only up to ten slaves to be sold per account. We set this limitation because we don't want to arouse the suspicion of the higher-ups." Slaver one tried to placate the increasing tension though his intention was also insincere. "Hehehe…" He gratingly chuckled, which seemed to negate his attempt.

"I don't want to leave here if I don't buy them all. What are you going to do about that?"

The two slavers looked at each other, which didn't escape Perry's notice.

"I think we can work out a better arrangement. You can buy ten for now, then tomorrow, it will be another ten. And then the day after. I am sure we can work like that without us having to, you know…" Slave one was almost gibberish when he chattered, matching it with a tense smile to try to appease the customer.

"I don't have time to stop by here every day. It's stupid. Why do you even have that restriction when you are in a black market? That doesn't make sense." Perry, now annoyed, raised his voice as he spoke. The soundwave stunned the two slavers, making them frozen in shock for a minute.

When the guards on standby watched their bosses being paralyzed, they immediately reacted to retaliate. But in just a second, all the lights were mysteriously shut off.

After ten seconds, the lights of the dark underground resumed but all the slaves on display disappeared.

Enigmatically, Perry was still standing near them with an intimidating look.

"What did you do?" Slaver one asked, incredulity painted on his face.

"Didn't I tell you I wanted to buy them all?" The attractive young man with a tall, muscular build, garbed in a dark midi coat grinned with vexation.

After a few seconds, Perry sensed an approaching series of wind blades and lightning strikes towards him.

He parried the strikes with a block of his right arm as simple as that and all those magic attacks instantly perished, making the slavers and their group stare in disbelief. A click of his fingers immediately lulled the other party to faint in unconsciousness.

Perry extended his spiritual sense to detect any objects that might have recorded the activities inside. After destroying them, he went to a part of the underground facility to transfer the children placed into slavery. Using his mystical consciousness, he moved all those children in slumber to disappear from their cages.

After sensing his business was concluded, he instantly teleported out from that area, leaving the party inside with their memories removed.