Chapter 341: The Auction Began
“Young Master Casey, I was wrong. I beg you. Please stop hitting me.”
Glenn’s face was covered in blood when he collapsed. When Casey kicked him, he had no idea how many of his bones were broken. He could only plead for mercy.
He had determined Casey to be a gold-tier elite, and he did not expect his a.s.sessment to be incorrect. Initially, he intended to beat up Casey to vent his rage. After all, Casey was already wounded. However, Casey had vanished just as he was about to make a move. Then he experienced intense pain in his lower back.
Casey had already stepped on him by the time he reacted. During that time, he had intended to resist, but an unseen force engulfed him, causing the combat aura in his body to stop circulating. He could not even move.
As a result, he could only accept the beating. Casey had already kicked him for ten minutes since the fight began.
“If you say that you are not going to fight, then don’t fight. Doesn’t that make me look bad? Do you understand why I am beating you? I heard you took the stuff that I had lost. Tell me where Alice is right now. If you tell me, I might leave your family a body for burial.”
Watson stepped on Glenn and acted arrogantly, just like Casey would.
So that was what it was all about.
Glenn realized why Casey had raced into his room. It was not because he was inebriated; he was there for revenge. Only a few people knew that he had captured several mermaids. Where did he get that information? Was one of his subordinates a traitor?
Casey looked at the four men on the ground. They were already awake, but they were crouched at the corner with hands on their heads. When they stared at Watson, it was with terror. They wanted to help Glenn, but they were too afraid.
‘A s.h.i.+tload of garbage.’
While he cursed those subordinates in his heart, Glenn said, “Young Master Casey, it was a mistake. I had no idea the stuff belonged to you. My men saw a few mermaids in the city and mistook them for intruders, so they apprehended them! We would have sent those mermaids to your house if we had known they were your property. I apologize.”
“Do not change the subject now. Where is Alice?”
“I have no idea where she is right now. I gave her to the higher-ups, and they didn’t tell me anything.”
Watson grimaced when he heard Glenn’s words. He could tell Glenn was lying because he noticed his eyes straying as he spoke. It was not difficult for him, who had attained platinum-tier status, to carefully see all of Glan’s micro-expressions.
“Are you certain you don’t know? If you lie to me, the consequences will be disastrous.”
“I truly don’t know, Young Master Casey.”
“Very well.”
Watson nodded and did not ask any more questions. Instead, he turned to face the four other men, who were gathered in the corner of the wall. “What about you?”
“We are not sure either.”
The four men shook their heads in unison, their eyes flas.h.i.+ng.
Watson closed his eyes. “System fusion, activate.”
Following his voice, the four guys huddled in the corner transformed into flowing lights and entwined with one another, transforming into a muscular man nearly three meters tall with distinct muscles.
[Congratulations, Master, for fusing a gold-tier warrior attendant.]
[Gold-tier attendant: unnamed]
[Ability: master water and wind dual-elemental combat aura, as well as gold-tier combat strength.]
[Additional abilities: Muscle Hardening (when released, the muscles are as hard as steel, increasing strength by 100 percent and defense by 300 percent), Fearless (greatly increased immunity to spiritual attacks).]
“What is going on?”
Glenn stood there bewildered as his four subordinates vanished and were replaced with an unfamiliar man.
“I will ask you again. Where is Alice?” Watson asked the recently-fused gigantic man.
“Princess Alice was delivered to the Severed Fingers Gang’s higher-ups. They are planning an auction at the Iris Flower Tavern tomorrow. Princess Alice would most probably be transported to the venue.”
The tenacious man knelt on one knee. As he responded respectfully, the huge power caused the entire room’s floor to vibrate.
“Excellent.”
Watson turned around and stormed out after obtaining what he desired. At that moment, he was startled to hear a fearful voice behind him. “Young Master Casey, are you going to let me go?”
Glenn’s face had already distorted from fear. He could hardly fathom what Watson had done. Magic? Sorcery?
What kind of power could cause four of his gang members to merge and respond to Watson’s words respectfully? Whatever it was, he felt he had seen something he could not see.
“Of course, I will let you go, but at the same time, you will become a good person.”
Watson had grasped what was going on in the tavern just as he arrived. He did not plan to hold back against the sc.u.m like Glenn.
“No, Young Master Casey, I was mistaken. I was completely mistaken…”
“System fusion, activate.”
As Watson said that, Glenn’s voice came to an abrupt halt. He fused with the fused bodies of his four subordinates. After that, the attendant’s body had shrunk significantly. His face had also changed into Glenn’s appearance, but the aura from his body had grown stronger. He had reached the peak of gold-tier.
Compared to before, the attendant had an additional skill called the Hand of Theft. He could obtain items from other parties even more easily.
Watson stepped out of the room, carrying Glenn, who had just been fused. Elena and her friends were whispering to each other when he arrived. When they saw him, the two mermaids approached him and apologized to him. “We are sorry. We’ve misunderstood you, Young Master Casey. Thank you for coming to our aid.”
They noticed Glenn, who was standing next to Watson, while they chatted. They looked wary; magic ingredients swelled in their hands as they were ready to release magic, but Watson intervened.
“Don’t be scared. This person is now my subordinate. I have already determined where Alice is. She will be auctioned off later, and Glenn will lead the way for us.”
“Yes, my master. Please stay with me. I will take you right to the auction.” Glenn knelt on one knee and bowed his head to Watson.
What?
The three mermaids shook their heads in bewilderment. It did not seem like a mental control. How did Watson do it? It was too amazing.
“Did Young Master Casey truly subdue him? Could he be faking it?”
Bella took a step in front of Glenn and extended her hand to test him. Glenn, on the other hand, let Bella choke him by the neck. He only rolled his eyes and did not say anything.
“Okay, Bella. He will die if this continues.”
Elena intervened just in time to stop Bella. “It is much better if he dies. Based on what he did to us, dying a hundred times is not enough for him to alleviate my rage,” Bella growled.
“The most important thing right now is to find Alice. If you want revenge, I can give you Glenn after this,” Watson said.
He fused Glenn to gain information and incite friction between the Severed Fingers Gang and the Ptolemy family. It did not look like the Severed Fingers Gang would go down without a fight.
The Ptolemy family and the Severed Fingers Gang, in Watson’s perspective, were not good people. He had a limited amount of time in the floating city. It would be better to let the two forces fight each other, as both sides would suffer huge losses in the end. With that notion in mind, a daring idea came to him. Later, he would not only save Alice, but he would also work to clean up the city.
….
In the auction hall ten minutes later.
Watson sat in the first row of the auction hall; he was still acting like he was Young Master Casey. Three mermaid ladies stood by him. Elena sat on his lap, her fair arms wrapped around his neck. Bella and Rose sat on the seats on either side of him. They were both leaning against him, and their faces were hot.
The three mermaids wore simple outfits. Their legs were covered with a layer of mist-like gauze, and their upper bodies were only covered by sh.e.l.ls on their chests. Most of their beautiful skin was exposed because they were leaning against Watson. Their skin occasionally touched Watson’s body, causing their bodies to heat up gradually, and the air they exhaled was hot air.
“Young Master Watson, this position is very humiliating. Can we please sit further apart?”
Bella lowered her voice and murmured into Watson’s ear, feeling the envious and jealous gazes from all directions.
“I am sorry; please bear with me for the time being. I am not at ease in this role, either, but I am playing Casey. Others will be suspicious of me if I don’t do that.”
He got to hug two women from left and right, and he got Glenn to clear the seats on that floor so no one would sit next to him. It was to expose Casy’s pride and tyranny.
“That’s Young Master Casey, right? He has occupied the entire first row by himself. He’s too overbearing. Does he really think that his family owns the Crystal Palace?”
“Well, they do own the Crystal Palace. After all, the Ptolemy family is the largest force in the floating city! Even though the Crystal Palace has the Ptolemy family, Severed Fingers Gang, and other forces’ strongholds, the Ptolemy family still has the majority.”
A faint voice from the back row entered Watson’s ears and made him sigh in relief. It seemed that his acting skills were quite good. He did not notice that Elena, who was in his arms, had been watching him since the beginning. Her beautiful eyes glistened with tears.
It was highly unpleasant for Elena to be in the arms of a human, especially Casey, who had once kidnapped her. She did not, however, experience any dislike at that moment. Instead, she had wished for more time.
The marine race was not like humans. They had more females than males in their tribe. One could say that the social organization of the sea folks was primarily female. As a result, many of them were unable to find a partner. Some of the sailors had misheard the lyrics and believed they had fallen in love with the mermaid. That was the origin of the mermaid’s fairytale.
However, even though the young man sitting with Elena was a human, he was different from the average human. He clearly had greater power, but he was not arrogant or impatient—he was kind. If she could become a partner with such a human, perhaps it would not be a hateful thing.
Elena shook her head; her face had reddened. Then, she scolded herself in her heart. ‘Elena, you’re still not sure if Alice is safe, but you are actually thinking about nonsense here. You really have no shame.”
Even so, she still looked at Watson’s focused eyes and subconsciously tightened her arms. That young man always appeared at the critical moment when she was in danger. He had helped her so much, but she did not know how to repay him. Perhaps she could only repay him with her body. She thought of that out of grat.i.tude.
She must have felt thankful for him; that was probably what she was feeling.
Elena was still daydreaming when the emcee suddenly spoke, interrupting her thoughts.
“Distinguished Guests, sorry to have kept you waiting. The auction will begin immediately!”