Icy Cascade led Noah toward the slave camps in the southern area around the Empire when she managed to discover something.
The conditions of the slaves improved as they neared the borders of the big nation and even their tasks began to change.
There were still half-naked chained men and women digging the terrain, but there were also many of them who dressed plain clothes and managed large farms.
Icy Cascade explained how the actual citizens of the Empire were mostly soldiers whose role was to fight and defend certain areas.
Yet, cultivators were still humans, and they had basic needs that had to be satisfied.
The Utra nation and Papral nation left those jobs to the commoners and encouraged them through the noble families and sects.
The Hive was a bit different since its territories didn't grant much space to reserve to the production of basic needs.
Most of the products required for the sustain of its human cultivators were imported from the other nations or fished by its weakest citizens in the sea around the archipelago.
The Empire, instead, used the slaves.
Vast farmlands began to appear as Noah, and the woman from the Wardens flew toward the southern border of the nation.
The number of slaves that filled those lands made Noah wonder about the number of wars that the strongest nation of the Mortal Lands had fought and won.
Also, all those slaves were cultivators of different ranks!
Noah was even able to spot some chained rank 3 cultivator every now and then.
'Beings at the peak of the human ranks forced to work as farmers or miners. What a strange view.'
The cruel fate of those cultivators created conflicting sceneries.
Humans that had strived to become aloof existences were forced to stare at the ground for the rest of their life because of their defeat.
"This way. The slaves that match your description are stationed in a mine of Hoslite, one of the main materials used in the creation of the inscribed chains."
Icy Cascade said as she pointed toward a dark gray mountain chain in the distance.
The rocky terrain visible on the surface of the mountain reflected its metallic features, but what caught Noah's attention was the state of the slaves working there.
Chained men and women in an evident malnourished condition used rudimentary pickaxes to break the hard terrain of the dark-gray mountain.
Then, they gathered the debris accumulated in the process and carried them in a structure ruled by cultivators wearing the robes of the Empire.
"Why are they treated so differently from the others?"
Noah asked when he saw the difference in their condition compared to the slaves working in the farms.
"The records about them aren't complete, you are asking about matters that happened centuries ago after all. It should be some kind of punishment toward the bloodlines that filled this region before the Empire conquered them."
Icy Cascade explained without showing a slight trace of emotion.
The descendants of the families that inhabited that independent region were still punished for something that not even their rulers remembered.
That cruelty made Noah curious about the nature of their guilt, but he didn't care enough to ask.
His mission was clear, and he was too close to an enemy nation, he would rather confirm the clues in his possession and return to independent lands.
"How can you ensure their survival?"
Noah asked.
There was one thing that concerned the slaves' matter that he didn't understand: Why did they even keep on living?
Cultivators generally had strong personalities and wills, they could settle for poor conditions to survive, but what he saw was a bit too much.
'Living in chain only to see your progeny bound by your same shackles, what's even the point in being alive?'
Those were Noah's thoughts about the matter.
The way he saw it, being alive was pointless if you couldn't pursue power, and the hoping that someone would restore your freedom was simply a delusional thought.
They were slaves of the Empire, the most potent force in the entirety of the Mortal Lands, who would ever be willing to go against its will just to free them?
"Our inscribed chains are our masterpiece. I'm not an inscription master, but I know that those items have peculiar effects on the mental spheres once bound to an owner. I can't be too specific though. I'm sure you'll understand."
Noah nodded when he heard Icy Cascade's explanation.
It seemed that the chains didn't only restrain the actions and freedom of the slaves, but even their mindsets.
'They probably can't kill themselves nor stop procreating. They are nothing more than livestock forced to work until they fall apart.'
That realization appeared in Noah's mind for less than an instant before disappearing.
The world was cruel, he had always known that.
That feature was enhanced in a world were humans could strive for powers that elevated their status and separated them from their mortality.
The only way to escape any cruel outcome was to have enough power to oppose those events.
"I need to question them, possibly alone. It would also be appreciated if you removed the chains for that period."
Noah said, but Icy Cascade promptly shook her head.
"I can make you analyze them, but you can't stop their work. Our economy has a tight schedule, one delay might result in a loss of tens of thousands of Credits. As for removing the chains, that's simply impossible. They aren't made to be removed."
Icy Cascade was extremely serious when she said that, and Noah could only agree with her for the moment.
He neared the group of slaves digging the surface of the mountain and began to analyze them with his mental waves.
The slaves didn't even notice his presence, but he instantly obtained a complete understanding of their cultivation level.
That allowed him to notice that one of the chained men had a body that exuded a peculiar firmness, it was as if he was naturally stronger than his peers.
A technique didn't cause that feature, it seemed something intrinsic to his bloodline.
"I wish to question him."
Noah spoke as he pointed toward that peculiar slave, but Icy Cascade shook her head once again.
"Our productive system nears perfection. We can't inter-"
"You! What is the value of the resources mined in this camp each day?"
Noah interrupted Icy Cascade's words to question one of the soldiers stationed in the structure that gathered the resource mined in the mountain.
The soldiers were only human cultivators, they instinctively lowered their heads when Noah moved his gaze on them, and they felt forced to answer him due to the pressure that it carried.
"A-a few thousand Credits, sir."
Noah nodded at that point and took out one hundred thousand Credits from his space-ring.
The shining crystals created a small pile when they fell on the ground, but the soldiers couldn't even begin to count them since another question reached their ears.
"This should be enough to cover the work of one slave, right?"