Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 1967: Human Marketplace II

The Seventh Prince waved his hand, indicating the Gnome to lead the way to his destination. The Gnome did not delay his task, taking the Seventh Prince in the direction of the place where those in the Sage Plane and below were gathered. After a few twists and turns in the marketplace, they arrived at their destination.

In this region, the Humans were not kept in cages like the previous part of the marketplace, rather, they had chains in their necks. These chains were made with special materials that could surprisingly seal the cultivations of anyone it was placed on.

Seeing the Humans being treated in such inhumane ways sent waves crashing in Grey’s heart. Doing his best, he made sure nothing showed on the Seventh Prince’s face. He was boiling with anger and wanted nothing more than to rip the Gnomes in this place to pieces, unfortunately he was currently the Seventh Prince of the Gnome Race and did not dare to expose his identity. It was not that he was afraid of being caught, after all, he was only using the body of the Seventh Prince. Even if he was caught, he would just cancel the mind control, leaving the Seventh Prince to his own demise. It was just that, the Seventh Prince was very useful to him at the moment, other than searching for the Principal to rescue, he was also able to gather information from the Gnome World while controlling him. If he lost such a valuable piece, he would be beside himself in anger, especially now that the Gnomes could launch a large-scale attack on the Human World now since ‘that’ seal had been broken.

There was no sign of the Principal, and as time went on he started to get a little agitated. If the Principal was still not here, then he did not know where he could begin his search for him. Walking through the marketplace, his expression was slowly getting more sour as the minutes went by. After almost an hour of searching, he was about to give up when he heard two Gnomes arguing.

“He barely has any essence left, what’s the point of even buying someone like him?”

“Humans like him are the best for the experiment. I need more like that.”

“There’s no more.”

“Can you help me put in a word to the Sirs to take note of Humans like him when next they go into the Human World?”

“Do you think it’s that easy to bring Humans over? Other than important and useful ones, the rest are directly killed. Do you know the resources and effort spent in bringing them here?!”

“Just a few, even if it’s just five. This is for the benefit of the entire Gnome Race. Please, you also know just how vital my research is.”

“Go to the Emperor if your research is so valuable. Why are you taking it up with me?”

“How can it be so easy to have an audience with the Emperor?”

The duo were in a heated argument when the Seventh Prince suddenly appeared.

This was the Royal Capital, there was no one who did not know the appearance of the Seventh Prince. The duo who were arguing were dumbfounded at the sight of the Seventh Prince and hurriedly bowed in greeting.

The Seventh Prince waved his hands nonchalantly, taking a closer look at the Gnome who was arguing with the shopkeeper, he noticed the Gnome was only in the Second stage of the Venerable Plane and looked to be around thirty years old.

“What research are you speaking of?” He asked curiously.

“Replying to Your Highness, it’s a way to curb that evil method that Human have been using to cut off our links to our Puppets. As you know, that Human has been making life difficult for every one he encounters. I’m developing a method that is full proof. Not just that, unlike the previous method where the Puppets are not powerful enough, my method can be employed to our already existing Puppets…” The Gnome excitedly told the Seventh Prince about his research and the outcome it would bring.

Hearing the Gnome’s words, a glint flashed through the Seventh Prince’s eyes. From what he was hearing, he could tell that if this Gnome was successful, then he would not be of any threat to the Gnomes anymore. This also answered a question he had been thinking about for some time. He had encountered some Gnomes who had Puppets that the link was visible, however, these Puppets were usually weaker than the Gnomes, contrary to the original aim of the Gnomes’ use of Puppets. From this Gnome’s words, he understood this method could not be applied to already existing Puppets, rather, they would need new Puppets.

Showing a curious look, he said to the Gnome, “Can I see what you have been working on then?”

An embarrassed smile appeared on the Gnome’s face when he heard this and he explained in a low voice, “I haven’t completed my research yet.”

The Seventh Prince’s gaze turned cold as he asked, “Does that mean everything you just spoke about is just in theory?”

The Gnome awkwardly nodded before explaining, “It’s all because I don’t have enough specimens to try out my theories. I was able to acquire a good specimen here yesterday and thought I would find another. I didn’t expect them not to have any.”

As the Gnome spoke he studied the Seventh Prince’s reaction, seeing nothing, he added, “If I can get more specimens, I can assure Your Highness that I’ll have a fruitful result within half a year.”

“Oh… you’re that confident?” The Seventh Prince asked, amused.

The Gnome nodded confidently. He might not be sure of anything else, but in regards to this current research, he was a hundred percent certain. That is if he could get the required resources.

The Seventh Prince nodded before saying, “I’d like to see what you have now. That will be the only way for me to confirm if this is worth taking serious or not.”

“Certainly, Your Highness.”