In the carriage, the girl who could speak Veridian was named Adelaide Russell. Her maternal grandfather was from Veridia, so she had studied the language since childhood. Later, a great fire destroyed her home.

Her parents and grandparents all perished, leaving her as the sole survivor.

Her relatives, taking advantage of her being an orphan, conspired with outsiders to sell her to the owner of the carriage.

This man was a well-known local broker who specialized in buying people from poor, rural areas and selling them as servants to wealthy families in town.

According to Adelaide Russell, Aurora Sinclair had been sold to him by that father-daughter pair.

The broker hadn’t wanted to take her at first, but he relented after seeing how pitiful the father and daughter were.

To his surprise, Aurora Sinclair slept for three full days before waking, causing her to miss out on the job opportunities in the first town.

Now, the broker was taking them to the next town to find new work for them.

As they were talking, the carriage curtain was pulled aside.

A man with a kind-looking face brought food and water, distributing it to the girls inside.

"Oh, you’re awake?" the man asked in surprise. He climbed into the carriage and took her by the wrist.

A warm stream of Power flowed through her meridians and into her body.

Aurora’s pupils contracted. "You’re a Martial Artist?"

Adelaide Russell translated for her, but the man didn’t know what a "Martial Artist" was and simply smiled.

"What country is this?"

"Aurelia."

Aurora thought for a moment, stunned.

She had actually crossed The Southern Ocean and swum all the way to the Southern Hemisphere. Aurelia was a small vassal state on the Continent of Southeland, subordinate to the great Ocrean Empire.

It was said that most countries on the Continent of Southeland were monarchies that revered imperial and divine authority—the complete opposite of the nations in the Northern Hemisphere.

"Can you wrestle?" the man suddenly asked.

His gaze was filled with a hidden meaning as it lingered on her exposed arms.

After hearing the translation, Aurora replied, "I can, but I don’t have the strength."

A shrewd glint flashed through the man’s seemingly benevolent gaze.

Aurora tried to ask him if she could borrow a phone to contact the outside world, but he shook his head, claiming he didn’t have one. He even had someone keep an eye on her, as if to prevent her from escaping.

After seven or eight days of travel, they finally reached the next city.

The man drove the carriage to a place that resembled a marketplace.

Aurora had regained some of her strength over the past few days, but she pretended she hadn’t, planning to lower the man’s guard before making her escape.

The man led a few of the girls off the carriage and set up a sign nearby, advertising them as maids for sale.

Only the girl named Adelaide Russell was left in the carriage to watch her.

Aurora tried to reason with her. "Don’t you want to get out of here?"

The girl watched her warily and shuffled to the side.

’She’s already been brainwashed by that man,’ Aurora realized. She pressed on, "If you help me get away, I’ll take you to Veridia."

But the girl shook her head. "Mr. Enzo will find a good family for me. He’s the kindest broker there is. He used to be a royal Knight, and he has a Knight’s honor. Even though he sells us, he’s doing it to save us. Don’t worry, he’ll find a good place for you, too..."

Sometime later, Enzo returned with two of the girls, both looking deeply disappointed.

He even offered them a few words of comfort. "Don’t worry. Someone else will be interested."

The girls finally managed a smile, their faces filled with gratitude toward him.

Enzo then turned to Adelaide and Aurora, asking with a smile, "How’s the recovery coming along?"

Adelaide shook her head. "She still can’t sit up."

Enzo’s brow furrowed slightly. He stepped forward, took Aurora’s arm, and probed her meridians once more.

He replied gently, "Don’t worry. The next city has a larger clinic. I’ll take you to see a doctor there."

They stayed in the city for three or four days. Enzo returned with several more children, including three skinny boys this time.

Aurora discovered that Enzo was very skilled at winning people over. The first thing he did after buying children was give them new clothes and a full meal.

Once on the road, he would gradually reduce their food supply, claiming he was running out of money. He would even make a show of giving them his own rations, convincing the children that he was a good man and making them willing to be sold elsewhere.

"One of Aurelia’s larger cities is just ahead." Enzo parked the carriage in a small town just outside the city proper. He left the children with a friend he knew there, then carried Aurora on his back as he walked toward the city.

’This city is so much more backward than Veridia.’ There were almost no tall buildings. Instead, it was filled with two- and three-story structures that had a strong religious and monarchical feel.

Enzo carried Aurora to a two-story building and knocked on the door.

An old man emerged from inside. His hair and beard were graying, and his skin had a reddish hue.

"Joel, quick, take a look at her. She’s a real prize I picked up by the sea..."

The old man had him lay her on a bed, then picked up a pair of glasses and looked Aurora over.

He held a stethoscope, listened to Aurora’s chest, and then took her pulse. Finally, he said, "She has severe internal injuries, but nothing else seems to be wrong. Are you planning to send her to Lord Dees?"

"Of course. A female warrior like this is a rare find. Lord Dees won’t be stingy." Enzo’s eyes crinkled with a smile, and when he looked at Aurora, it was as if he saw gold coins.

The old man glanced at Aurora again, then held out his hand. "20 gold coins—"

Enzo stiffened, then said angrily, "Joel, that’s robbery! Lord Dees might not even give me 20 gold coins."

Aurora couldn’t understand what they were saying, but from their gestures, she guessed they were haggling. She couldn’t help but purse her lips.

After Enzo gave the old man 10 gold coins, the old man pushed Aurora into a treatment room.

The old man took dozens of silver needles of various lengths from his case and skillfully inserted them into her limbs.

’This needling technique is completely different from the Warner Family’s method in Veridia.’ Although she felt no pain, the sensation of the needles piercing her skin was strange.

She felt like a pincushion.

Next, the old man brought over a bucket of a dark, murky medicinal concoction and splashed it all over her.

A foul medicinal odor filled the room.

Aurora held her breath against the smell. A faint power seemed to flow from where the silver needles were inserted, following them into her meridians.

It slowly began to repair her damaged meridians and internal injuries.

After a day and a night, a thin layer of Power had finally returned to Aurora’s empty meridians. ’I could probably escape now,’ she thought, ’but I’ve changed my mind. I want to see just where this man Enzo plans to sell me.’

So, once she was able to stand with some difficulty, she obediently followed Enzo out of the clinic.

Enzo had the Veridian-speaking girl tell her, "Rory, you’re about to have a new home. The people there will let you eat and sleep well, and you’ll even be able to earn a handsome reward in gold coins..."

Aurora nodded to show she understood.

A few days later, once Aurora could walk steadily on her own, Enzo brought her to a luxurious mansion.

A line of bodyguards, both men and women, stood outside the mansion. Their auras were powerful; nearly all of them were at the level of a Great Martial Master or higher.

At that moment, inside the mansion, a man in opulent robes was roaring with laughter at a computer screen.

"So, even you have to come begging for help sometimes? This girl’s not bad-looking, either..."