Chapter 650.5: 8000-Fold Profit!
The slave prices were indeed high—especially for drow who could catch more at any time.
Still, Sera was interested in the slaves.
But not for combat use—
But rather, some of the magical creatures here hadn't even been collected by Bay Territory.
Certain slaves with special skills and Extraordinary Feats were also considered "treasures" Bay Territory often sought to acquire.
Although Bay Territory's administrators, including Sera, didn't know that Matthew had powers like "Data Display" or "Ability Analysis"—
No one was stupid.
The territory database constantly updating with new, unique skills and feats—matching exactly with abilities of these special creatures—
Made it clear how important this collection task was.
It represented the growing depth and heritage of Bay Territory.
It required continuous collection and accumulation.
Though Sera thought this, she didn't show it. She simply scanned the area, calculated mentally, then nodded with satisfaction:
"Nice work. Now take me to the trade market."
Hearing this, Triss's heart skipped a beat.
She could vaguely sense that Sera was different from other drow Matron Mothers.
The latter were calm and composed, yet it was impossible to discern their intent after such a long walk.
Totally unlike the cruel and cunning types she was used to.
But that only made Triss, who knew the danger, more desperate to leave Sera's side.
For common folk, the more significant the affair they get involved in, the higher their chances of being crushed by sudden misfortune.
Triss didn't want to die just yet.
But she had no choice—Sera tossed her another pouch of gold!
She had to accept it—or things could get worse.
Sera had no idea what Triss was thinking. If she did, she'd surely be surprised by the drow's unique perspective.
After all, for most drow—
To survive, you must climb higher.
Otherwise, you become a target.
Life among drow was just that brutal.
With her thoughts swirling, Triss led Sera to the nearby trade market.
Unlike the noisy, chaotic slave market, the trade market was relatively quiet.
There were plenty of people—many drow had gathered here.
Pointing to a tavern crowded with drow, Triss quickly explained:
"That's where you can gather intel, trade information, or hire help."
Then she pointed to a massive warehouse:
"That's the supply and goods area—military rations and battle gear can be bought there…"
Beside the warehouse stood several tall buildings:
"That's the lodging area—temporary housing, protected by Suramar guards, so safety's guaranteed."
Implying, of course, that elsewhere, safety was not guaranteed.
Glancing over the vast, simple market—
Sera ignored the gazes coming her way and nodded at the towering Gatel beside her.
He led over ten Catachan warriors and marched ahead.
Seeing their Extraordinary aura and dazzling enchanted gear, most drow quickly stepped aside.
Knowing when to step back was key to surviving among drow.
With them clearing the way, Sera followed leisurely and imposingly.
Filtering out the chatter about her, useful intel streamed clearly into Sera's ears via the helmet's audio processor.
"Our slaves aren't selling—the prices Suramar offers are too low."
"Selling to Suramar is a loss. Maybe try other drow buyers..."
"Brought some rare metals—who knew prices dropped again…"
"Suramar's food stock is short—we'll need to dispatch supplies from the city…"
"Food prices are high—it's a good chance to make some profit..."
"Suramar's enchanted gear is great—but too pricey. No point giving such fine stuff to cannon fodder..."
"Potions sold out again? Gotta get here earlier tomorrow\..."
"They're not really sold out—just hyping demand. Let's go grab some magical plants, they'll sell out fast…"
"Don't overthink it—war's the top priority now…"
"Suramar's golems are holding the front—and I hear Mobliso is sending reinforcements too..."
"Which city's Matron Mother is that? Such powerful enchanted armor..."
"Forget it—just stock up on supplies while you can…"
"…"
Sera, quick-witted as always, instantly analyzed the incoming intel:
"Drow brought many slaves, mainly to trade for food."
"Most drow are desperate—for the upcoming war, they need enchanted weapons and gear..."
"So many of these drow fighters sent here must be losers from power struggles—cannon fodder!"
"Now they want to survive, so they'll work even harder."
Sera saw the hidden conflicts—and the faint glimmer of opportunity.
For other drow—
Acquiring some enchanted gear wasn't impossible.
The underworld had plenty of resources; rare metals weren't exactly rare.
But high-quality magical weapons? Not so easy.
Even with higher status, drow mages couldn't escape internal strife.
In fact, many faced more pressure because of it.
So unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn't craft top-tier weapons for anyone outside their faction.
What you sell today might kill you tomorrow!
High-grade magical gear was rare everywhere.
And now this place was packed with "afraid-to-die" drow—potentially rich customers in Sera's eyes.
Rather than letting them die too soon, why not extract some value first—fuel Bay Territory's development?
Of course, Sera wouldn't openly reveal her plans—or blatantly sell high-end gear.
This was Suramar. Selling such things would mean stealing from Suramar's rulers.
So, best not to make a scene!
Still, Sera was confident she could draw attention fast.
Besides lacking top-grade gear, the drow surely lacked consumables like scrolls and potions.
Especially protective and healing types.
These were precious lifesavers to drow.
Hard to find in peacetime—let alone now, during war.
They'd already seen how terrifying the Mind Flayer army was.
Surely they'd shell out for better supplies.
At the very least, it would boost their chances of surviving defeat.
When death looms, even drow will spend big.
Thinking this, Sera couldn't help but smile slightly.
But she didn't act immediately. Instead, she headed to the lodging area.
Just as Triss let out a sigh of relief, ready to escort Sera to rest and complete her final task—she heard something she couldn't refuse:
"Want to make more money?"
No!
And she didn't dare!
Yet Triss had to nod "happily," staring at Sera with excitement.
That performance easily scored over 150 points!
Sera, unaware, was having Famir handle lodging and casually told Triss:
"Spread the word—our city Azshara has plenty of food for sale."
"If anyone wants to buy, we'll trade for rare metals, magical plants, magical beasts, special slaves, or large quantities of regular slaves."
"Here's the price list. For each drow you bring who makes a deal, you'll get 100 gold as commission."
"No worries about safety—Gatel and his squad will accompany you."
Seeing Gatel approach, Triss could feel his overwhelming aura. With the towering Catachan warriors behind him, she wailed inside:
"I'm not worried about safety—I'm worried about you people!"
Still, Triss had to plaster on an excited grin and nod:
"It's an honor to serve you."
Utterly helpless, she took the price list from Famir, gave it a glance—and her heart began pounding wildly.
Not because Sera's prices were too low to attract drow.
But because they were too high!
Triss was sure—no drow could resist this "temptation."
But that meant she'd attract tons of attention.
Her plan to lay low and stay safe? Completely ruined.
With her mind in chaos, Triss didn't even process the document—smiling through clenched teeth, she rushed toward the market.
She looked just like a drow who had struck it rich!
Sure enough, once word spread among the drow—
That Sera's Azshara City—
Was willing to trade food at 100 times a slave's weight for regular slaves,
(E.g., a 70 kg person = 7,000 kg of food.)
500 times for special slaves,
Over 10,000 times for magical plants and beasts,
And over 1,000,000 times for rare metals like adamantine, mithril, kryptonite, and arcanite—
Those prices might be laughable on the surface world.
But underground? Completely different.
Even as more regions of the underworld were explored, population growth remained sluggish.
Take the drow—territory tripled, population only doubled.
Sure, long-lived species reproduced slower—but it wasn't as bad as some claimed.
Elves should at least reproduce at a third the human rate.
Thousands of years later, even if they didn't grow 20–30x like humans, 4–5x was realistic.
Even with bloody infighting—and Lolth occasionally feasting for fun—
The drow numbers still shouldn't be this low.
Another key to intelligent species' power: their incredible reproductive capacity.
Elves were especially hedonistic—silver parties all the time.
Cole Elves did it. Drow did it even more.
Cole Elf population soared from millions to over a hundred million.
Drow numbers, however, had stagnated for nearly a millennium.
Why? Because the underworld was too barren.
It simply couldn't produce enough food.
Rarity breeds value.
Food, in the underworld, was hard currency.
Even if drow didn't starve, their slave armies all had huge appetites.
Bay Territory's deal with Gray Dwarf Prince Kreiser—
The key commodity was enough food to feed tens of thousands of gray dwarves.
Otherwise, those devious dwarves would never share profits or help crush rival clans.
That's right—earlier, when Matthew gathered rare metals for his mage tower—
Besides buying, collecting, and mining—he traded food to pry metals from the dwarves.
Now, Sera, struck by inspiration, had set her sights on wealthier prey—the drow.
If she was going to play Matron Mother—she had to be one!
So the moment Triss shouted out, a swarm of drow came flooding in.
Seeing those probing, greedy, twisted eyes, poor Triss had no choice but to cling to Sera's leg and shout with feigned excitement:
"The customers are pouring in!"
Surrounded by lightning, radiating peak-Extraordinary might, Sera smiled at the incoming crowd and said calmly, confidently:
"Welcome. Azshara City values trade. Fair prices, honest business."
Just earning a little honest profit!
1,000 kg of food—for 1 gram of adamantine worth 800 gold.
With Bay Territory's rate of 1 copper per kg of food, 1,000 kg cost 1,000 copper = 10 silver = 0.1 gold!
Hah, just an 8000-fold profit!