Chapter 342: The Cursed Painting And The Undead Calamity
When Watson turned to face the auctioneer, he saw a man in a black clown mask and a tuxedo standing in front of him. A scarlet curtain draped the stage behind the man. It was unknown what was placed on the stage.
“I am an auctioneer from the Crystal Palace auction house. You can call me Mr. K. There should be quite a number of people here who know me! I know that everyone is impatient about the upcoming auction, so I won’t waste your time. Now, let’s introduce the first item in our auction house.
“This is a product from the Tudor dynasty about 1,200 years ago. It’s called the Undead Calamity!”
As the auctioneer’s voice boomed, everyone’s emotions were quickly roused. Other than Watson, there were also quite a number of wealthy people who were dressed luxuriously. Many of them were wearing masks. They did not want others to know their true ident.i.ties. Many young and beautiful women stood next to them.
Those women did not look inferior to the high-quality slaves who were easily sold for thousands of gold coins. Most of them were not with the n.o.blemen. Instead, they were the auction house’s handmaidens. They were scantily clothed, and their eyes were flirtatious. They were very good at arousing men’s desires.
Watson was impressed by the design of the auction house. First, the auctioneer would stimulate the audience’s emotions, and then those beautiful women would arouse men’s desire to express themselves. The price of the items would increase by multiple folds.
While he was lamenting, two equally beautiful maids dressed in revealing clothes walked out from the red curtain on the stage because of the auctioneer’s words. The two maids were holding a crystal tray in their hands. On top of the tray was a cage made of anti-magic materials. Inside the cage was a thundercloud the size of a human head that was constantly moving.
On stage, two similarly stunning maids emerged behind the crimson curtain while he was lamenting the auctioneer’s remarks. They held a crystal tray in their hands. A cage built of anti-magic materials sat atop the tray. Inside the cage was a moving thundercloud about the size of a human head.
It was a black thundercloud, and it had black lightning flashed continuously in it. Skull-shaped human heads emerged from the depths of the Thundercloud. Sometimes, they dissipated, and sometimes, they condensed into terrifying monsters.
[Gold-tier special item: Undead Calamity]
[Effect: formed from the undead, it can evolve continuously. The more undead it absorbs, the stronger its effect. Undead Summon (release the souls of the dead to fight the enemy), soul capture (can forcefully absorb the souls of others, weakening the effect on gold-tier elites and above), and Death Curse (cast a curse on a specific group of people, causing them to die within three days).]
[Additional effects: Black Goat’s Egg (allows all the undead within the Undead Calamity to devour each other, leaving only the strongest one. The remaining undead will evolve into the legendary Black Goat, gaining the strength of platinum-tier for a short period).]
“This is a gold-tier item. As the Tudor dynasty was too long ago, its historical records are difficult to verify. The appraiser has not thoroughly researched its effects, but its initial ability is very powerful! This item can devour the undead and release the undead to protect its owner. Possessing this item is equivalent to having an invisible army.
“Distinguished guests, you are all famous people in the bloating city. Nothing is more important than your safety. If your enemies ambush you, or if all of your guards die while you are out hunting, releasing the Undead Calamity will undoubtedly save you from danger! The price of this item starts at 1,000 gold coins. The price of each bid must not be less than 100 gold coins. Everyone, you may begin.”
The auctioneer’s remarks were certainly provocative. Someone on stage immediately began bidding when he finished speaking.
“1,000 gold coins!”
“I bid 1,200 gold coins.”
“2,000 gold coins!”
The gorgeous waitresses that accompanied those wealthy people began to speak after their bids were accepted.
“Wow, that man bids 3,000 gold coins. He must be extremely well-off,” one said.
“The man over there offered 5,000 gold coins. He is not just wealthy, but he is also a hottie. I would gladly switch places with the girl next to him if I could,” another said.
Those words inadvertently stoked the egos of the wealthy people near them. Those words unintentionally stimulated the pride of the rich people nearby. What did she mean by the boss in the distance was rich and handsome? Were they not all handsome?
Even if their physical appearance were a little lacking, they had no qualms about sharing their money with others. They would be humiliated if they allowed the gorgeous women sitting next to them to switch seats for the sake of convenience.
Under those circ.u.mstances, the price of the Undead Calamity quickly climbed to 10,000 gold coins. The cost soared by a factor of ten, and the increase was unabated.
“I bid 50,000 gold coins. I want that undead Calamity.”
At that moment, a voice came from the front row of the auction hall, causing the entire place to fall into silence.
The new bid of 50,000 gold coins was 50 times the starting price. Who had made such a high bid? Everyone else had raised the price by a few hundred gold coins, and some had raised the price by a few thousand gold coins. Yet, that person had raised the price by tens of thousands of gold coins in one go. Was it because his family had too much money, or did that person understand the Undead Calamity’s real purpose and knew that item’s worth?
The entire audience’s attention was drawn to a young man sitting in the first row, where uncertainties abounded. That young man had golden-brown hair and was dressed in a sumptuous royal blue robe, but he had kept to himself. One might not think that he was a n.o.bleman because of the bandages on his arms and the scars on his face.
“Isn’t that the Ptolemy family’s second young master?”
Many folks breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the bidder. It appeared that he was only looking to buy items out of interest and not because he was aware of its effect. The item’s scarcity discouraged many would-be buyers. Plus, the second young master had proposed such an exorbitant sum. They would offend the other party if they kept raising the price. It was not a good idea to irritate the Ptolemys with that kind of behavior.
“We have 50,000 gold coins! The Young Master Casey has offered to bid 50,000 gold coins. Is there anyone else who wants to raise the price? So, 50,000 gold coins going once, 50,000 gold coins going twice.”
At that point, the masked auctioneer deliberately glanced at the people in the auction hall. He knew that no one would want to raise the price anymore. He picked up a wooden mallet on the table in front of him and knocked it. “Yes, sold for 50,000 gold. This item shall belong to Young Master Casey.”
As soon as his voice fell, the two beauties on the stage carried the crystal tray and cage to the first row below the stage.
“Young Master Casey, the price of this item is 50,000 gold coins. Will you pay by cash or check?”
“Put it on my tab first. I still have many things to buy. I’ll pay after the auction is over.”
Watson pouted and gestured for them to write the check. The two beauties immediately took out the check and signed it as Casey after Watson nodded his agreement. Then, they placed the Undead Calamity at Watson’s feet.
“Watson, Casey merely sent someone to get 20,000 gold coins, and now you are asking for 50,000 gold coins?” Elena questioned worriedly as the two maids walked away with the check. She was in Watson’s arms. “Do you really have that much cash on you? You even bought it right from the start. Would you have enough money to buy Princess Alice later?”
Elena was not worried that Watson would not be able to fork out 50,000 gold coins. Watson must have ama.s.sed a sizable fortune to have achieved the platinum-tier at such a young age. She was only concerned about Alice’s safety and thought it was ridiculous for Watson to spend 50 times as much money on a non-essential artifact from the Tudor dynasty.
“Don’t worry. I will have enough money.”
Watson made a wish on his ring while he spoke, but his disguise magic obscured it. He had made a few wishes that day, but it was still not enough. If one had 30 chances to make a wish, one could multiply the 20,000 gold coins an infinite number of times.
“Furthermore, it is not a loss to spend 50,000 gold coins to buy that Undead Calamity because that item can unleash the power of platinum-tier for a short period. Even though there is only one chance, I will be able to change that problem with just a little bit of fusion.”
Watson did not say what was in his heart. He had an advantage over the other people because he could view all of the item’s details in the system and use fusion to boost its quality.
He no longer cared about money. He wished he had some of those enchanted stuff instead. Instead of auctioning off a few things to demonstrate his wealth, he wanted to buy everything at the auction to match Casey’s character. It was a gold-tier item anyway. He had no idea what was in store for him after that.
“Since the first item has already been auctioned off, let’s take a look at the second item. It is also a gold-tier item. It is called Daphne’s Eyes. It’s a painting! This painting was painted by a famous painter in the kingdom a hundred years ago. The painter died not long after he did the painting, and everyone who saw it died too, one after another.”
The auctioneer clapped his hands, and the two maids from before walked out with a tall shelf. There was obviously a painting on the shelf, but it was covered with a black cloth.
The auctioneer looked mysterious as he motioned for the two maids to remove the black cloth. “This painting is also known as the Cursed Painting Scroll. I will now display that painting in front of everyone. You must be extremely careful not to look at the girl’s eyes in the painting.”
It was tense after he made that remark. There was tension in the room, whether or not anyone realized it.
The canvas ripped off with a sound. Many of the attendees tensed up uneasily. However, they were relieved because the canvas was a painting of a young child crying and curled up in a ball. However, a little black cloth covered the young girl’s eyes. The auctioneer was clearly kidding with everyone and did not intend to put them at risk in the first place.
“The price of this painting starts at 2,000 gold coins. Each increment must not be less than 100 gold coins.”
He smiled smugly as he noticed how well the mood had been set by then.
As soon as he finished speaking, no one raised the price. Then, a familiar voice came from the front row of the auction house.
“I bid 100,000 gold coins. I want that painting.”