Lucius sent away the slave trader Anandieb and returned to the slave market, feeling much lighter on his feet.

He walked alone under the scorching sun in the empty arena, then climbed the steps along the spectator seats and entered a simple VIP box, sitting in the chair that Ashur had once sat in, overlooking the arena floor covered with yellow sand.

Countless blood from gladiators and beasts soaked the arena.

Even the layers of yellow sand covering it could not hide the faint scent.

Lucius smirked and greedily breathed in the air with this scent.

Lucius was from the Schwartz family, a fallen silver family.

The ancestors of the Schwartz family were priests of the ancient gods, managing the most fertile lands between the two rivers on behalf of the temple, and planting tens of thousands of acres of "Forget-Me-Not" for the temple.

Thousands of years later, this plant has a more daunting name: opium. But in the era before the pyramids, its extract was the medium for priests to communicate with the divine and for doctors to cure various ailments.

The glory of the ancestors has arisen, and this is the reason for their rapid decline now.

Two months ago, the Ber family, who had held the position of head priest for generations, were defeated in a political struggle and were charged with "improperly touching the wrath of the righteous gods" and "embezzling temple property." In the Lion Capital of the Empire, this is the only outcome of such a defeat- a collective attack by numerous prestigious families, resulting in the extermination of the entire family.

That day, the capital of the empire ran red with blood.

Imperial soldiers who hunted down members of the Ber family roamed the streets and executed anyone they deemed suspicious before confirming their identity.

The massacre lasted an entire month and banners made of human skin were flying all over Niniwe.

If it wasn't for Lucius's idea given to his black priest friend, the Schwartzenegers would have already fallen behind the Bells.

The Bells secretly funded street children to change their appearance and enter the priest schools, using this method to spy on anti-Bells among the priests and ensuring that the power of the priesthood would never fall out of the hands of the family.

These street children are known as "The Shadows of Bell".

One of the black priests who appeared to be strongly anti-Bells was actually one of them.

Before the outbreak of the massacre, he reported to Lucius. Lucius also acted quickly and returned the favor.

One night, the sky-burning fire illuminated Niniwe.

The largest temple in Lion City, Niyara Temple, built by the Bel family, was broken into by masked thieves who stole all the gold silver, and ritual vessels and set the temple on fire.

Everyone was stunned.

No one thought the Bel family would burn down their own temple, as the temple was home to not only the deity's seat but also the spirits of numerous Bel family ancestors.

The blame was naturally placed on the anti-Bel priest.

Everyone was worried that such madness would anger the gods.

As a result, all actions against the Bel family and its affiliated families were called off.

The Schedvin family's name was also crossed off the list of planned massacres and eventually ended with the outcome of having their land and property confiscated and exiled.

"You're truly a mad mixed breed." When the government hall announced the final punishment for the Bel subsidiary families, the black priest said this to Lucius in amazement.

"How dare you use the gods to play tricks and fool the entire Niniwei."

"Wrong, 'mad mixed breed' isn't me, it's us," Lucius corrected him.

Lucius coldly laughed, "Do you think eternal gods will care about our ant-like lives? Do they have the same values as us? You, me, this empire, all lives, and the entire world, since it all belongs to the gods, why would they care about a mere temple and its possessions?"

"Besides, do you think all the wealthy are fools and no one would realize it was done by the Bel faction themselves?"

"The powerful all desire the destruction of the Bell family, to share power and wealth, but none want to see complete chaos, which means the situation is completely out of control. So once the situation begins to spiral out of control, they will call a halt, ease the situation, and reassess. The powerful themselves are order."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The black priest had no words for his "fallacy."

"Chaos will eventually be resolved," Lucius smiled as he does now, "Believe me, I'm not fooling anyone, I'm just riding the tide."

Standing in the death match arena's VIP room, Lucius patted his face, stopping himself from further reminiscing about the difficult journey he took to protect his family.

Now is not the time for grand reflections, the plan is far from over...

Lucius silently calculated.

Suddenly, the tall, slender, and white-bodied northern woman appeared in Lucius's mind, making him feel a burst of heat.

The silver-white mother lioness...

He determined to reward himself properly.

After the slave trader Anandiyebu liquidated his assets, he quickly left, taking all of the hired hands with him except for a few female slaves he transferred to Lucius.

Lucius walks alone in the prison, his footsteps echoing in the chilly corridor.

He has a false impression as if he is heading towards the lair of the lion.

It is still that narrow cell.

Lucius sees that in the corner of the cell, a massive snow-white body is curled up in the pile of straw, without a single strand of clothing on. The finely woven linen that women wear to see Cynthia is very expensive, and no slave trader would let a slave wear such expensive clothing in a dirty and smelly prison.

He coughed once.

"It's me," he said, "You're mine now."

His pronunciation was odd, but he spoke pure Northern language.

A metallic clanging sound echoed in the straw pile as the woman slowly rolled over and sat up.

In the darkness, a pair of yellow-red eyes glimmered.

She didn't say anything, just stared at him.

Lucius felt the same feeling as when they first met: that suffocating gaze, straight at his face, cold as a blade.

"I know a little of your language," Lucius said.

The woman remained silent.

He had to continue: "I didn't speak Northern with you last time because that slave trader might have overheard. I didn't want him to know."

"Anandiebube, that's the name of the slave trader. The last time I came to see you, my goal was actually him.

"He's the henchman of those who killed your family, so he wants you dead to appease others. I came to sabotage his plan. I asked my priest friend for help, and he gave me a little bit of help... Of course, for this to be successfully resolved, you still have to rely on your own bravery and skill in battle. I heard later that it was a thrilling fight. You also refused Cinxia and saved me from having to use my backup plans...

"Anyway..."

As Lucius spoke, he carefully observed the woman's eyes and expression.

Unfortunately, he did not receive any information.

"It's okay now, I've bought this place, and you, too," he said. "You are mine, I own you."

The woman lay back onto the straw pile without a word, turned over, and faced Lucius with her back and butt.

"But the next moment, a sentence from outside the fence made her muscles stiff all over:

"I can help you find your younger sister."

She was silent, stretched her limbs from the straw pile, propped herself up against the wall, dragging her shackles, accompanied by the crisp and fine metal ringing, slowly crossed the light spots left on the ground by the sun, until she came to the front of the cell fence and stopped, facing Lucius one barrier apart.

Lucius looked up at the towering and oppressive body and swallowed involuntarily.

"You've seen my priest friend, he gave you food, remember? It was I who asked him for help. He told me- I can help you find your younger sister."

"What do you want?" The woman asked Lucius for the first time.

Her tone was low, perhaps because of dehydration, and her voice was hoarse.

"You came here specifically to talk to me about nonsense like 'possession,' but I'm already your slave- captured by you, unable to give you a ransom, and unable to escape, I have to be your slave. This is also the custom of the people of the glacier."

Lucius stared into the opposite jade-like eyes."

"I want you to be more than just my slave," he said dizzily, "I want you to completely submit to me and give me everything. I want to be your master, to control your life and will!"

Her expression was somewhat surprised, and then her yellow eyes narrowed dangerously.

"No one can be my master, not even Freya," she said.

Lucius was sweating profusely as she stared at him, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "I want to try."

Hearing Lucius' answer, the killing intent condenses in her eyes, and her originally yellow-red pupil gradually becomes redder.

"You are very brave..." she said softly.

"I can agree with you. Help me find my sister and let my family reunite... you, are my 'master'."

Somehow, this extremely peaceful tone made Lucius feel the urge to run away.

Lucius said, "A word is enough. But I need you to do one thing."

He fumbled with the keys, thrusting them into the keyhole of the gate. The key turned creakily in the lock a couple of times, but the door didn't open.

While Lucius was focused on the gate lock, she moved her hands and gently pulled out a small piece of metal from a small, inconspicuous wound at the edge of her palm.

This metal originally belonged to a copper coin Lucius lost in the prison last time.

She strongly folded the coin in half, breaking it into two pieces. She kept the smaller piece, tirelessly grinding its broken edge, eventually forming the small metal thin slice in the shape of a crescent moon now.

She poked her palm with it, hiding it under the skin.

Although this small piece of metal is not yet sharp, it is already enough to pry open her shackles. Translated into English in sections.

The southern boy may be more cunning than anyone she has ever seen. But after only two brief encounters, she has already noticed a fatal flaw in him.

He is too confident and loves taking risks.

So much so that he came here alone, without even bringing an assistant, to open her prison cell.

Maybe ... the reason he came alone was to do something with her without interference.

This thought made her more eager to kill.

The metal piece quietly pierced the lock of her handcuffs, gently turning.

Lucius is still turning the key back and forth, the more he turns the key, the more he can't open the prison door.

"I seem to have made a mistake in the direction of unlocking," he explained to her, sweating profusely.

She narrowed her nearly half-red yellow eyes and smiled at him without any humor.

Just then, two "clicks" sounded simultaneously, as if one voice.

The handcuffs on her wrist loosened slightly.

The cell door opened.

She comfortably blinked and watched Lucius carefully crawl into the cell, counting her heartbeat at the same time.

The heartbeat was as steady and calm as always.

Just like when she kills as usual.