"Esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen! I welcome you to the Annual Blackwater slave auction!" A powerful voice echoed through the old temple.
"In mere moments we will showcase our newest selection of fresh slaves! This year we obtained a selection of Harpies and Sirens! Of course, we also have Minotaur options for our lower ticket customers!"
As the voice finished its statement cheers erupted from the hall.
Not many were able to get their hands on a harpy slave, especially with them being prone to being in large groups, which made capturing vulnerable harpies almost impossible.
"Before we start please enjoy some of our procured foodstuffs!" The voice went quiet as the servants made their way out, carrying food and drinks.
Lana carried two plates, one containing many pastries and other various alcoholic beverages.
She balanced the heavy plates with a grace befitting someone of high stature.
She moved with grace towards the first row of guests, the high demon nobility.
"Servant! Bring me a drink." A masked Harpy noble called for her, his long gray hair pouring giving him a feminine look..
"Oke, coming!~" She spun towards the masked noble before gliding towards him.
"Which one would you like master~"
"Hmm, Ill take this red wine." Noble nodded before his gaze fell onto Lana.
"You should keep me company for a moment." He smiled as his hand gently wrapped around Lana's thigh before moving up.
With a small yelp she was pulled into his lap, plates almost falling and yet with Lana's expertise they wouldn't tip over.
"Such a cutie should spend time with a grand duke like myself you know~"
"Indeed~ Master is a grand duke?" Lana agreed.
"Of course I am. Aren't you glad to serve me personally~" He gently caressed her thigh before Lana leaned closer to his ear.
"That is good~ [Command], Rebel against the emperor Iguva, even if it leads to the destruction of your family and teritory, you will state a reason: Tyranny," Lana whispered a command into the grand duke's ear.
In a moment light in the duke's eyes dimmed as he acknowledged command.
"I will obey, I will rebel."
The command was an interesting skill, unlike mind control it didn't take over the mind by magical methods, instead, it would force the target to commit an action that the user commands them to do by implanting a thought into their mind.
The complexity of order scaled with user's power, for someone of low class they could command someone to move, approach, flee, or kneel.
However, at Ariel's level, she could command anyone even to end their own lives or even give a long complex commands like rebel without a time limit.
The command would implant a thought that the target thought was their own, which made the command undetectable, unlike traditional methods of mind control, which could be detected by a skilled arcanist.
It was not mind control after all, the target had their free will, a free will that was altered by the command of Ariel.
"[Command], release me and enjoy the auction." She whispered a simple command, letting her continue her hunt.
'So lucky! Getting to [Command] dukes and higher nobility instead of planned corrupt lower officials will make a rebellion more devastating for the empire.' She smiled warmly as if she had heard pleasant news.
'And to think all I had to do to get confirmation of who the dukes were was to play along with their little game ~'
If everything she knew about Iguva was true, then the rebellion would be crushed. However, with many duke-level nobility, they would inflict heavy damage to both their territory and Iguva's reputation.
If everything proceeded as planned the empire would destroy more nests by themselves by infighting and killing more demons by useless rebellion than she ever could do in such a short time.
Other nobles looked at them, thinking they agreed on something after the auction, some had a glint in their eyes, a possibility to have some fun with this servant seemed possible.
'Perhaps I should join the rebel army and make their rebellion gain some ground before they get crushed once I abandon them ~' Ariel thought of a possibility to have even more fun.
Once the nobles departed, this nest was to be eradicated as it was part of the buffer zone that Dad had ordered to be created.
It saddened her that she couldn't play with them more but the joy of eradicating demons made up for it.
"Little lady! Over here!" A hooded, Brown Minotaur noble called for her.
She approached and was once again groped by the disgusting hands of a demon.
"Give me some of those pastries." Minotaur moved one hand from her thighs as he gripped the small pastry.
[Command], she gave the same command as she did to the grand duke.
Many of these nobles would certainly fail to build a movement, which is why Ariel was casting as wide of a net as she could.
She knew from overhearing the Blackwater bosses that these were not Iguva's inner circle of nobility but instead only governors for this part of the empire.
They were pathetic, and so they fell into corruption as one would expect of a demon.
It was poetic in a way, Evil gripped them so firmly that they couldn't help but go full cycle and become the embodiment of that same evil.
Minotaur released her as he acknowledged a command.
She served each noble, making sure she had commanded the highest-ranked of them to rebel against the emperor.
Lower ones would be dealt with soon enough.
She had plans for Blackwater Cartel, however, they needed to be weakened.
They were too powerful and could influence Valar, a kingdom that Dad had supported.
She would not allow that.
As she finally finished serving the nobles, a voice echoed.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Let the Auction begin!" As the voice stopped, the torches extinguished only leaving magical lights on the wooden catwalk.
A naked minotaur woman exited the backstage, her fur had patches missing where the whip and branding had struck her.
The brand scar she had resembled a wavy ocean with 4 tentacles reaching out.
Her limbs and neck were shackled forcing her to approach the end slowly.
"As our first bid, we will start with lower-costing slaves! First, we have a Minotaur woman! She is 20 Cycles Old and has never been used before! Bidding starts at 100 Gold Pieces." The voice said with excitement
"150...200....300!" Voices bided mostly lower nobility with a preference for minotaurs.
"Going once, Going Twice"
"Sold to count Oli!" Voice exclaimed.
Ariel tuned out as the auction proceeded; she cared not for them and her part was done.
The nobility she was supposed to serve would not ask for anything, they were under her control now.
She had no need to play the role of a servant anymore.
'Minotaurs go for 200 for the most part huh?' She smirked as the stock of minotaur was sold to lower nobility.
She knew that Harpies were most likely to be bought by the high nobility she had controlled, which did not matter. She would have let them keep their toys for now, they would all be killed by Iguva.
"For our next selection! We have Sirens!" As the voice exclaimed, a young siren girl exited backstage, she wore the same shackles, she wore her branding on the lower part of her stomach.
Her scales had noticeable patches of blue and black, visible bruising. It was the same siren that distrusted Lana before, now she looked broken and had a dead eyes.
"She is merely 16 Cycles old! Bidding starts at 1000!"
In the next moment, the cheering and bidding war went crazy.
"1200, 1500!, 2000! 2500!"
Sirens would be sold for prices ranging from 2000 to 2500.
'You shouldn't have followed me ladies ~' Her lips curled as she witnessed demons being sold into life worse than death.
"And now for the moment, you all have waited for!" Voice Spoke with enthusiasm.
"This Auction's Selection of Harpies!"
After a moment the girl who promised to rescue Lana made her way forward, her wings were bound, and her legs and arms were shackled, and even her horns were sawn off just recently from what Ariel could tell.
Her eyes had a dead look in them as she walked forward.
"Merely 19 Cycles Old and has never been used before! Bidding starts at 3000!" Voice echoed.
"4000, 5000, 6000!"
The same Minotaur that had groped her had bought the harpy, he had a wicked smile on his cow-like face.
Most of the harpies ended up being sold to the high nobility Lana was supposed to be serving.
'At least they will keep their lives for a while longer if they belong to these nobles. ~' She giggled as she spun up her empty platters and moved towards the kitchen, and yet the kitchen was not her destination.
Ariel gasped for a second, almost as if she had forgotten something. She spun towards the nobles and commanded them to leave as soon as the auction was concluded. Very soon, another fun event would happen.