Chapter 121: Illegal Immigrants

If our arrival opened the long-sealed gates of the Holy Fox Highlands, allowing the native people here – especially the Lumburi tribespeople – to open their hearts to the civilization of the outside world for the first time, and thereby take their first step toward the open world beyond, then the arrival of Hugh Enrique and his unprecedentedly massive caravan played a crucial role on the path of the original inhabitants of the Holy Fox Highlands toward civilization. From then on, this primitive land that had almost never been developed by humans began to accelerate along the track of human civilization’s evolution. Once this revolution of humanity’s pursuit of progress began, it could never be stopped.

All of this began on an ordinary morning…

“Mr. Guderian…” Outside our training field, the Chieftain of the Running Wolf Tribe, the tall Rotis, shouted as he ran toward us.

Ever since we had forced the Cretan army out of the Holy Fox Highlands with a loss of fewer than a thousand men, the chieftain of the largest tribe of the Lumburi people had shown us great respect.

He believed that what we had done against the enemy far exceeded the limits of what a brave warrior could achieve. Such astonishing military feats forced even our native friends, who had always detested schemes and tricks, to marvel at Fred’s wisdom.

“Good morning, noble Son of the Running Wolf.” Fred warmly welcomed our guest. He took hold of Rotis’s arms and gave him a friendly Lumburi-style embrace.

“You look out of breath from running. Has something happened?” Seeing that Rotis’s expression was not quite normal, Fred asked with confusion.

“We found a caravan. They have a great many people and are behaving strangely. It doesn’t seem like they want to trade goods with us, but rather that they are searching for something. I guessed this might have something to do with you, so I came to tell you.”

“Thank you very much. Where are they now? I think we should go and take a look at them.”

“They are at our tribe’s camp. I have never seen a caravan with so many people. If I had not seen the goods on their wagons, I would have thought it was an army.”

Before long, we rode to the camp of the Running Wolf Tribe. Before I even saw the tents, I heard a familiar voice shouting loudly in the way we knew all too well.

“Look at this, what a fine spear this is! Sharp and shiny – no shield or armor can stop its edge. I promise you will never see a spear this good again. Take this spear, brave warrior. Just three wolf pelts and it is yours. Oh my, you look so handsome. Pretty girls will love you to death. What are you waiting for? If you wait too long, it will belong to someone else.”

“Don’t give him a single wolf pelt.” Hearing this voice, we exchanged knowing smiles. I rode forward and shouted from a distance, stopping a shameless scam. “Give him that mangy fox pelt on your shoulder, then take the spear. Don’t worry, I guarantee that is more than enough. He is my friend. From now on, whenever you see this face, remember – you can call him the Shady Merchant. That is what we usually call him. Right, Shady Merchant?”

“You cursed drunk who ruins good deals!” A young face glared at me resentfully, then looked at the fox pelt in his hand, whose original color could no longer be recognized, and swallowed hard in resentment. Then, he could no longer hold back a joyful face, and rushed over to give me a warm hug.

“You damned man! The moment we meet, you have cost me at least ten gold coins in profit. Hey, Fred, Poirot, long time no see. I finally found you.” This young merchant was none other than the young president of the Enrique Chamber of Commerce, the heir to the vast wealth of the Clouded Leopard Dynasty, a merchant richer than a nation, our friend Hugh Enrique.

“You bastard, if you converted your wealth into gold coins, you could build a palace of pure gold. I never thought you would still be making small money here with shoddy goods. Having a friend like you is truly embarrassing…” Poirot walked over and embraced Enrique as well.

“Times are hard. Who is like you all, lying around here doing nothing but desperately burning my money. Where do you think the bread in your mouth comes from? It is not like we scraped it out from between our teeth bit by bit.” Enrique pretended to cry poverty, completely ignoring how his words had created an ambiguity that was very bad for digestion.

Suddenly, Hugh broke free from the arm Fred was tightly holding, dashed quickly to the wagon full of goods, and shouted loudly with spit flying at a native child with a long green snot trailing from his nose, who looked underage: “What? Are you interested in this shield? You really have good taste. I guarantee you will never have another chance to see a shield this sturdy. This is the masterpiece of a great craftsman who poured his heart and soul into it. Even a dragon cannot bite through it. What? You don’t know what a dragon is? Well, you must at least know what a tiger is. It is that big creature with sharp teeth that roars loudly. Ah, no, I am not talking about a dog. You are the one who sounds like a dog… Ah, sorry, I am too excited. Anyway, this is an incredibly sturdy shield. No weapon can pierce it. What? That spear from earlier? Yes… it… it is also sharp. Why do you care about it? We are talking about the shield, aren’t we? Just three wolf pelts, three wolf pelts, or two red fox pelts, and it is yours…”

Watching Hugh hold up that piece of junk made from scrap iron and endlessly pitch it to that child with a running nose, we all felt a bit dizzy. I felt lingering fear about having dealt with him for so many years. Oh, right, my sword seemed to be a standard product I had bought from him. It seemed it had not been maintained for a long time.

A chill ran down the back of my neck.

“Hugh is not greedy for money…” Fred sat helplessly to the side, watching the busy Hugh, and made his conclusion. “He is just a bit addicted to doing business…”

That was the most fair assessment I had heard all year.

That night, we brought Hugh’s massive caravan into our camp. It was truly the largest caravan I had ever seen. It had nearly two thousand people and instantly filled our camp to the brim. To make room for them, some soldiers had to set up their tents again.

“As soon as I received your letter, I gathered the needed supplies as quickly as I could. But the Cretans had blockaded the Umberlian Valley, so we had to take a long detour and transport everything from Radsenia, which delayed us quite a bit. I was originally worried that the supplies might not arrive in time and cause you trouble, so I traveled day and night to get here. This place is too big. I did not know where you were, so I had no choice but to search while traveling under the guise of trade.” In a large wooden cabin, Hugh said to us.

“If I had known your relationship with the natives was so harmonious,” he looked a bit annoyed, with an embarrassed smile still on his face, “I would have just asked them directly. I would not have wandered around this damned, awful place for so long.”

Even though we freely teased and insulted each other in conversation, I could tell that this young merchant must have gone through considerable hardship recently. His eye sockets were dark purple, his eyes were sunken deep, his face bore many small scratches from tree branches, and his hair, once bright and delicate, now looked dry, yellow, and messy. Waves of warmth flowed through my heart. I believed everyone present felt the same way.

We all knew what kind of risk Hugh had taken to get here. Even the most battle-hardened army would not dare to stay long in this vast jungle region when the future was uncertain. Yet Hugh, our friend, had led a caravan deep into this place, and it was entirely for the sake of our friendship.

No one had a way to express this bond of friendship. In front of it, language seemed pale and powerless. We quietly listened as he talked. That was the greatest gratitude we could express. This gratitude, we could not say out loud. It seemed that as soon as we said it, we would be insulting the deep friendship Hugh held for us.

“I brought enough food to support you for half a year, though I can see you can last even longer – the game around here is quite good.” Hugh said as he stuffed half a wild rabbit’s hind leg into his mouth. “There are also some weapons and equipment. Maybe not a lot, but enough for you to use. Also, clothes for the changing season have been prepared, but they might not arrive until a month from now. Considering you will be staying here long-term, I brought some good things. I think you will like them…”

The young merchant smiled, walked out the door, and led us to a few wagons.

“Here are wheat seeds. These are cotton seeds, and seeds of some other crops. If you farm them well, I think by this time next year, you will no longer need me to provide food for you.”

“My goodness, you have thought of everything!” Kelsey could not help voicing our amazement.

“That is not all yet, Miss Pirate.” Our surprised expressions made Hugh quite pleased. He led us to several other wagons.

“Here are some iron-smelting and logging tools. You will not have to use your swords to cut down trees anymore. Also, damaged weapons can be repaired on your own. I brought you some craftsmen. I think you will find them useful…”

At this point, our surprise could not grow any greater. We knew Hugh was a person of careful thinking and meticulous consideration. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to run a chamber of commerce so successfully. But no matter what, we never expected he would think of everything so thoroughly. Not just tools, but he even brought us craftsmen.

“They are going to… stay?” Eliot asked in surprise from the side.

“Almost all of them.” Hugh answered firmly. “They all lost their homes in the war and have nowhere to go. To take them in, I paid a considerable price. Now I have finally unloaded this big burden onto you. Ah, what a relief…”

“Besides that…” At this point, Hugh hesitated, as if wanting to speak but stopping. He looked at Fred, then at the three ladies, and showed an embarrassed expression.

“Go ahead, Hugh. There are no secrets between us. You know that.” Fred said to him.

“Then you have to promise not to be angry after I say it. I know you too well, Fred. Your sense of justice is a bit excessive. You might not be able to accept these things. And you, Kelsey, hand me your sword. I know what you did at sea. I do not want to take this risk…”

Hugh’s behavior surprised us a bit, but out of trust, Fred and Kelsey did as he said anyway.

“I brought over a thousand people. Most of them are women, Fred – young women. They… are not from the chamber of commerce…”

“They are slaves. Slaves I bought.”

At this moment, Hugh’s expression was extremely serious, completely different from the proud look he had when showing off his goods just now. His words shocked us greatly. I did not know how to express the surprise in my heart.

“What did you say?” This news instantly ignited Kelsey’s fury. If we had not pulled her back in time, she would definitely have pounced on Hugh and beaten him up. Indeed, Kelsey had always deeply hated illegal slave trading. I remembered she had once killed the owner of a slave ship at sea. That also seemed to be one of the few atrocities she committed during her time as a pirate. Hugh’s precautionary measure was not without reason.

Millia did not say a single word, but her expression showed just how much disgust she had toward this matter. She had been standing warmly beside Hugh, but when she heard this repulsive news, she left him without hesitation, walked over to our side, and left him standing alone in the middle of us.

“Why? Why would you do this?” Fred’s voice gradually became low and deep. His voice revealed some confusion, but more than that, disappointment and anger. My friend had never been able to stand these dark and despicable transactions. His noble character could not accommodate even a speck of filth. To make him forgive this kind of human trafficking was more difficult than fighting a lion with bare hands.

“War creates a great many helpless people, Fred. So, under the indulgence of some people in power, many slave markets were born. They are bought and sold almost openly. Women, men, children, the elderly… all kinds of people. Whoever you are, as long as you have money, you can buy the people you want, as many as you want…”

“I do not want to hear this. I only want to know, why did you do this?” Fred’s voice sounded almost like a roar.

“For you, for your army, for your ideals! Your Majesty the King!” By now, Hugh had also been stirred to anger by this accusation. He raised his voice to respond to Fred’s interrogation.

“Your army, your soldiers – they follow you, they trust you, they believe you are a true hero, their king and ours. But that is not everything. You cannot replace everything.”

“They have lost their families. They no longer have wives or children. Fine, right now you can still control them with discipline and orders. But how long can you control them like this? They are human too. They need warmth, they need families, they need something closer to them, something worth fighting for! Do you understand? They are human too!”

“Yes, I bought slaves. In your eyes, I am a criminal, knowing the law and breaking it. But I do not think I did anything wrong. I bought them and brought them here, not to have them abused here, waiting for death in despair, but to give them a new life, and likewise to give your soldiers a new life. They cannot live in a military camp for their whole lives. They should live in a city, in a nation. This place should have everything they want. Some things we can find ways to replace, but some we cannot, such as…”

“…such as women.”

Hugh’s voice carried grievance and anger. His words left us with nothing to say. I had always felt that slave trading was something that must be stopped, whether the slaves being sold were humans or anything else. This act deeply violated the most basic dignity of intelligent beings. It was unacceptable to anyone who still had a shred of reason and compassion. If our wisdom came from the gods who created the world, then slave trading was the greatest blasphemy against the gods. This was also why all religions regarded slave trading as one of the greatest evils.

But this time, I could not oppose what Hugh had done. On the contrary, I thought he had done the right thing. This kind of thought tormented me. It challenged my moral bottom line. No matter how I reacted, it seemed I was being degenerate.

“I think…” Dakla was the first to break this awkward silence. “I think there is nothing bad about what Hugh did…” Millia silently shot him a glance, and he immediately shut his mouth and said nothing more.

“Sometimes, Fred, we cannot be stuck on methods to judge a matter.” Poirot also spoke up for Hugh. “There was no ill intent in what Hugh did. On the contrary, he saved those poor girls and spared them from even more miserable circumstances. No matter who had bought them, they would not have received better care than being brought here, isn’t that so…”

Hearing my friends voice their opinions one after another, I finally made up my mind.

“Perhaps… we can consider this problem from a different angle, Fred.” I said with some uncertainty. “Look, you are the King of Delanmaya. You have the right to declare the slave system illegal, and you can free all the slaves. Legally speaking, Hugh should be one of your subjects, right? Yes, of course he is. The slaves he illegally bought must all be freed by you. As punishment for his crime, he should pay a fine to our treasury, which is his own chamber of commerce. This procedure can probably be skipped. That way, whether morally or legally, we seem to be able to solve this problem. It is just that Hugh becomes a criminal – and it would not be so bad to let this shady merchant be a criminal a few more times, right?”

I thought my words eased the atmosphere at the scene. Fred smiled a little at what I said. Even though he immediately put on a stern face again, that bright smile had already completely erased the rift between Hugh and him.

“I did not think it through thoroughly enough. My friend, I misjudged you. Please forgive me.” Fred apologized to Hugh with some embarrassment.

“You have always been that noble officer who cannot tolerate even a speck of filth, Fred. This is who you are. This is what our King should be like.” On Hugh’s face, I could not see a trace of resentment.

Even though Millia still could not accept such blasphemous behavior, her hostility toward Hugh had already been greatly reduced. She showed an embarrassed smile at Hugh, expressing reconciliation to our merchant friend.

Even though the atmosphere began to ease after I finished saying those words, I did not really think it was I who made Fred change his view on this matter. My friend was wise and reasonable. I deeply believed that after understanding Hugh’s reasons for doing this, he had already calmed his anger. At most, I had just cracked some jokes to relax everyone’s mood.

“In any case, the first thing tomorrow is to announce that all the slaves are free again. If they do not want to stay here, Hugh, we must send them back.”

“I knew you would do this…”