Chapter 346
Chapter 346: My Favorite Thing to Do Is Crash the Party!
At that moment, the auctioneer on the stage also launched swiftly into her introduction.
"Gaia Fine-Steel is said to be a steel that grows naturally deep beneath the earth, thousands of miles underground. As for its uses, I need not elaborate further."
"The starting bid for this item is 5,000,000 Geo, with a minimum increment of 30,000 per raise."
At that moment, Auguste noticed Viktor and Gwen's quiet exchange.
He caught the direction of Viktor's gaze—fixed on the Gaia Fine-Steel.
Then Auguste raised the paddle in his hand.
In that instant, the entire auction hall fell silent.
Everyone knew that seated in the premier box on the second floor was King Auguste.
And word had spread that the King was presently accompanying 2 distinguished guests from the Carencia Empire.
One of them was apparently someone called… Viktor Clavena. A madman who liked to blow things sky-high.
And so, not a single noble dared raise their paddle to bid.
Not out of deference to the King—but because nobody wanted to wake up the next day to find a deep crater where their home used to be.
In the end, the Gaia Fine-Steel went to Auguste without any competition.
The auctioneer seemed mildly surprised, but her professional composure held, and she moved swiftly on to the next item.
"The Mahazak Tailspike."
"This is the tail-spike harvested from the Mahazak—a phantom-like creature that dwells among the mountain ranges. It is a prized staff material coveted by Mages everywhere."
"Starting bid: 3,000,000 Geo, with a minimum increment of 200,000!"
This item drew little interest from the audience.
After all, nearly everyone present was a warrior. This was clearly something made for Mages—what use would they have for it?
And so, the moment the words left her mouth, Auguste raised his paddle again.
Viktor turned his head and let his gaze settle on Auguste.
Auguste turned back toward him, smiling as he said:
"Since Council Member Viktor has shown interest in the Gaia Fine-Steel, I imagine the Mahazak Tailspike would be of equal use to you."
"And if you have no need of it yourself, I can always gift it to Her Highness Princess Auréliane."
"As a Mage, I think she deserves to have a staff of her own."
Viktor said nothing. He only glanced quietly at Auréliane.
As though something clicked into place, he gave a soft hum and said no more.
After that, the remaining auction items failed to hold his attention.
Those antiques brimming with collector's value struck him as nothing more than ordinary trinkets.
But the dedicated collectors and lords who placed meaning in such things were wholly absorbed, waiting in composed, patient anticipation to bid at just the right moment.
Viktor even spotted antiques being exported from Duke Livi's household among the lots.
Not that it was surprising—Duke Livi's household was flush with wealth.
His antiques trade had reached all the way to foreign shores.
Viktor didn't believe for a second that no one in the Empire was smuggling his Magic Potions. It was just that his Magic Potions had never made it onto any auction block.
Perhaps because there weren't many Mages in the Kingdom.
Or perhaps the Cassidra Commerce Guild didn't dare openly auction his merchandise—after all, they had no interest in having a powerful Mage take notice of them.
Viktor thought it over.
It might actually be more profitable to sell those Recovery Potions here in the Kingdom.
Before long, items were claimed one by one.
After every rare material and ancient relic had been shown and taken, the auction reached its final segment.
The beautiful auctioneer raised her small hammer with elegant grace and gave a light tap against the table.
The weighty resonance of the strike carried through the silent hall.
"Your passion and enthusiasm tonight have filled all of us at the Cassidra Commerce Guild with deep honor."
"And now, we believe the final item of this evening will interest everyone very, very much."
She dipped in a slight bow, as if paying respect to an opponent worthy of admiration.
"This is something our Cassidra Commerce Guild paid an enormous price to obtain—something we were willing to purchase at the cost of several brave warriors' lives."
At her gesture, crimson-orange firelight illuminated the curtain, and a succession of iron cages was wheeled forward.
Those iron cages were packed full with all manner of Demi-humans.
Fox ears. Musk-deer antlers. Antelope tails. Each pair belonged to an extraordinarily rare variety of Demi-human.
Male and female alike, they were curled in the corners of their cages, their bodies bearing wounds.
The fear in their eyes was made all the more vivid by the firelight that cast their faces in relief.
The instant these Demi-humans appeared, Xiangyilan—standing behind Auréliane—felt every hair on her body stand on end, her pupils constricting sharply.
Even Auréliane herself couldn't help but startle.
She had heard nothing—nothing at all—about the final item in this auction being Demi-humans.
And there, among the cluster of rare Demi-humans, stood a single enormous iron cage at the center.
"And of course—tonight's most precious treasure: Half-beastkin!"
The auctioneer's voice rang out. She reached up herself and pulled aside the black curtain draped over the cage.
In that moment, feverish hunger spread across the faces of the lord nobles, and thunderous applause erupted.
Inside the cage were 2 powerfully built tiger-folk.
Auréliane was especially taken aback.
Half-beastkin—this was her first time encountering this race.
They represented an exceptionally rare and distinct branch among Demi-humans.
Perhaps their bodies had not yet fully evolved; apart from being able to stand upright and walk, their physical structure differed little from that of ordinary humans.
What remained on them, however, were every animal feature they should rightfully possess.
Like the 2 tiger-folk on display before the crowd.
The fur had never shed from their bodies; tiger-shaped heads sat atop their frames, like 2 tigers who had simply chosen to stand on two legs.
"Seeing the Demi-human guard unit you've brought with you, I suspected you might be interested in these Demi-human slaves."
Auguste watched Auréliane's moved expression and said with a smile:
"As it happens, the Commerce Guild has quite a wide selection of Demi-human slaves this time. What do you think, Your Highness?"
At this point, the auctioneer pressed her palm gently downward, signaling the nobles to quiet.
Then she began to announce the bidding rules:
"For the other rare Demi-humans, the starting bid is 1,000,000 per individual."
"For this matched male-female pair of Half-beastkin—starting bid: 10,000,000! Minimum increment of 1,000,000 per raise!"
As her words fell, the auction hall erupted in a roar of voices.
The nobles, faces alight with fevered greed, scrambled to raise their paddles, each terrified that the Half-beastkin pair might end up in someone else's hands.
Those nobles who could afford to bid on Demi-humans were, without exception, individuals of substantial means and deep-rooted influence.
Perhaps these Demi-humans might occasionally prove unruly—yet those noble lords didn't give that a second thought.
To them, Demi-human slaves were simply an effective tool for displaying power and exerting control.
But before the noise in the hall had even settled, a calm voice drifted down from the premier box:
"100,000,000. I'll take the lot."
The voice wasn't loud. But it carried with perfect precision to every corner of the auction hall.
Upon hearing it, a number of noble lords knitted their brows, their expressions shifting slightly.
They found that someone had actually come to ruin their fun—and couldn't help but feel a small flicker of irritation.
"Who's that? Someone thinks 100,000,000 is enough to walk out with all these precious Demi-humans?"
"Friend, you're being a bit unreasonable. We're all here to bid fairly—who do you think you…"
Suddenly, their voices dropped markedly.
Because they had all traced the sound to its source.
There in the box, having risen at some unknown moment, stood a man dressed in a pitch-black Coat.
His expression was calm and level, as if the whole world before him was beneath his notice.
In that instant, every noble lord fell quiet.
This person… seemed somewhat familiar?
Hmmm—!!
Almost instantaneously, terrifying Magic Formation rings erupted from behind Viktor like a violent surge.
A resonant, sonorous clang rang through the air as the surrounding Magic Power abruptly detonated into motion.
The elements in the air began to churn in chaos, Magic Power sharpening to a razor edge alongside them.
Beneath the dual suppression of that surging Magic Power and those elements, the surrounding space itself began to grow sluggish, bending and warping nearly to the point of fracture.
"What I mean is—100,000,000 Geo does not buy 2 Half-beastkin."
Viktor's voice was low and steady.
"It buys every last Demi-human here."
His gaze swept cold and cutting across the auction hall, pressing down upon every noble in attendance with an invisible, bone-deep weight.
Like a midwinter gale—piercing and merciless.
Like ten thousand invisible blades hanging suspended above those nobles' heads—deeply, profoundly unsettling.
"If I don't walk out of here with all of them tonight—"
"Then I take all of you instead."