Chapter 437: A Complicated Auction (3/3)
Translator: Atla.s.studios Editor: Atla.s.studios
After bidding for the keys, Rhode had accomplished his mission. While waiting for the entire auction to end, he continued to entertain himself by watching the other n.o.bles bid for the remaining items. Got to say, the organizers indeed had impressive goods to attract the n.o.ble celebrities in Eagle City. There were some treasures and equipment which even Rhode couldn’t help but drool at. However, he didn’t bid for them because their prices were too expensive. Furthermore, Rhode’s rich experience in the game had proved that he could obtain equal or even mightier replacements if he had enough time to hunt for them. Therefore, it was meaningless for him to squander money on them.
On the other hand, Grendy struggled to bid against the n.o.bles for this particular magical sword. The price of the magical sword rose steadily and Grendy purchased the sword with Frost Attribute for a total of 50k gold coins. Anne shook her head as she couldn’t understand the point of spending 50k gold coins on just a sword. Rhode had no views on this and although he felt that the price was on the high side for a magical sword with only a Frost Attribute, the money eventually wasn’t his and he had no right to intervene.
After the bidding for the magical sword, the atmosphere in the entire auction venue was hyped. The originally quiet auction venue was now filled with soft humming as many n.o.bles seated below were whispering from ear to ear. At this moment, the auctioneer struck the gravel thrice, silencing the entire place and capturing everyone’s attention. A few seconds later, some fully armored guards stepped onto the stage and surrounded the auctioneer with solemn expressions. Furthermore, there were two Mages standing by the edge of the stage, gazing at the crowd vigilantly.
What’s that?
Curiosity took over Rhode as he observed this dramatic set-up. No matter what, this auction event was already considered a highly private event and for the organizers to be this strict in safety precautions, it went to show how unusual this next auction item would be. Rhode once again went through the list on his hand in detail. However, the list didn’t provide any information on this upcoming item. It seemed that the organizers were knowledgeable and extremely confident in their auction items. If not, they definitely wouldn’t organize it in such a way.
A few strong men lifted a wooden crate covered by a red cloth onto the stage carefully. The auctioneer glanced at the wooden crate that was larger than him and let out a cough before turning towards the crowd.
“Dear ladies and gentlemen, this next item that you’re about to see will be the most valuable piece of this entire auction…” The auctioneer snapped his fingers and tugged the red cloth off the wooden crate. Then, two of the guards stepped forth and unlocked the sealed crate, revealing its hidden content to everyone. In an instant, the entire auction venue shrieked in horror.
It was a ginormous beast.
The beast was wolf-like, however, it was larger than any ordinary wolf by multiple times. It was clear blue in color from its head to toe with a sparkling sapphire inlaid in its forehead. The beast seemed extremely exhausted, curling in the small enclosure and not moving an inch. Perhaps one would believe that it was dead if its eyes weren’t swirling.
A Demonic Beast?
Rhode was wide-eyed as soon as he recognized the round, gorgeous gem in the middle of its forehead. At this moment, the auctioneer began to introduce their exclusive. “After looking at this Demonic Beast, I guess everyone must be thinking that it is a living creature, right? But, it’s a pity because it isn’t a living creature. This is a grand result of alchemy.”
“Eh?!” The crowd was startled and as though expecting such a response, the auctioneer smiled proudly before wearing a bracelet on his left wrist and commanded the huge wolf. “Get up!”
The enormous wolf got up obediently to the auctioneer’s command and the crowd felt something was off as soon as the light shone on the terrifying creature. The wolf didn’t have any fur, unlike any other wild beasts. Instead, its fur was subst.i.tuted by iron-plated armor which knights wore and the armor shone under the magical radiance blazingly.
Is that a Construct?
The entire auction venue turned quiet and soon, whispers from the amazed n.o.bles broke the silence. After all, as a result of the ancient magical era, Constructs possessed formidable might. Furthermore, they wouldn’t die or rebel and they were the favorites for many Mages. However, due to various reasons, their creation methods were gradually lost over the years. Although there were Constructs in ruins and graveyards like the Golems, they were uncontrollable. There was once a team of adventurers that excavated a similar Construct; however, it became wasted material as they couldn’t gain control over it. And now, a controllable Construct stood before the n.o.bles’ eyes which piqued their interest.
The auctioneer gestured to the guards and they placed a full set of knight armor by the huge wolf. Then, the auctioneer pointed at the armor and commanded. The huge wolf snapped its mouth open, sucked in a deep breath and howled at the armor.
“—!” A green light beam blasted from its mouth and in a blink of an eye, the entire knight armor vanished in a puff of gray smoke. The crowd held their breath instantly as they couldn’t believe their eyes. Then, the auctioneer once again requested for the guards to place the exact same armor on the stage. Under the auctioneer’s command, the wolf began to claw and rip the armor with its teeth, shattering it into bits in a split second.
The auctioneer stepped to the center of the stage. “As all of you have witnessed, this is an absolutely perfect Construct.”
He lifted his hand with the bracelet and announced loudly. “It will serve you loyally forever and it will become your most capable guard which no one can ever defeat!”
There was an uproar amongst the n.o.bles instantly. Got to say, this auctioneer managed to peak their interest wonderfully. After all, all the n.o.bles were afraid of death and they couldn’t guarantee that their companions would protect them loyally. However, if they were to have such a wonderful Construct, what else was there for them to be afraid of?
But…
“Why would they sell it if it is really so good?” Anne laid on her stomach by the window and asked dubiously. “If Anne has such a wonderful thing, Anne will keep it for myself. Why must Anne sell it to others?”
“That’s not our problem to worry about.” Rhode gazed at the sapphire gem on the Iron-plated Wolf’s forehead with a slightly sunken expression. This gem wasn’t any ordinary gem; it was one of the ancient Spheres of Mystery: the ‘Endless Forcefield’.
Even though this Sphere of Mystery was one which Rhode didn’t own, he had seen it in the game before. It once belonged to a Mage guild and it held powerful attributes that could turn a territory into a magical forcefield. Furthermore, all objects with magical content within its range such as the alchemy potions, magical equipment, and even magic skills would be enhanced multifold. The development of the player guild flourished with this Sphere of Mystery. Initially, it was used with a purpose to threaten the position of Rhode’s Starlight. However, the guild leader and vice leader fought each other over a woman and split the whole guild apart. The Endless Forcefield went missing and many claimed that the vice leader had broken it while some claimed that the leader had sold it to another guild. Although the opinions differed, the whereabouts of the Endless Forcefield was still a mystery. Rhode had only seen a picture of this Sphere of Mystery and never did he expect to see the real thing here…
This is one excellent item.
“Minimum bid starts from 100k and every increasing bid is a minimum of 10%!” announced the auctioneer.
Multiple bidding plates were raised instantly. In a short period of time, the price of this Iron-plated Wolf had risen to 150k gold coins.
Rhode had no hesitations and he joined in the s.n.a.t.c.h. “200k gold coins.”
As soon as this bidding price was announced, the n.o.bles got into a frenzy. However, they had no intention of giving up just yet. One after another, the bidding plates were raised, and the price climbed steadily. When it was Rhode’s turn to bid again, the price had gone up to 300k gold coins.
“L-Leader, are we really buying this thing?” Anne stared at Rhode with widened eyes while Natasha and Grendy were bewildered. Why would a swordsman need such a thing? He shouldn’t need this to protect himself, right?
Rhode didn’t respond to Anne’s question. Instead, he revealed four fingers.
400k gold coins.
The entire auction venue fell into silence yet again. The n.o.bles exchanged looks and although they weren’t convinced, they had no choice but to give up. After all, 400k gold coins were much more than they could ‘splurge extravagantly’ on even though this Construct seemed to be as formidable as the auctioneer had guaranteed. Furthermore, this large sum of money was almost equal to their annual income and not anyone could just afford it. Although Eagle City was large and filled with n.o.ble celebrities, their wealth couldn’t be compared to the riches in the South. Therefore, most of them chose to back off. But not everyone gave up.
Soon, another man raised his bidding plate.
450k gold coins.
Rhode’s expression remained unchanged as he extended all five fingers.
500k gold coins.
He was dead serious on getting this Endless Forcefield.
However, it wasn’t only Rhode who took interest in this thing. Although the other bidder hesitated with Rhode’s counter bidding, he eventually increased his bidding price: 530k gold coins. Natasha stood up in shock, gawking at the compartment where the bidding plate was raised. Then, a trace of uncertainty and hesitation revealed on her face. “It’s the compartment of Earl Tyler. Mr. Rhode, I think you should forget it…”
“Earl Tyler?” Rhode twitched his brows while Natasha nodded in acknowledgment before sitting down with a fearful expression. “Yes, Mr. Rhode. Earl Tyler’s family is the second strongest here. Not only are they powerful, I have also heard a bad rumor about them… I heard that they were a.s.sociated with the Southern merchants and those who opposed them were eventually gone. Rumor has it that they were murdered or sold… And…”
“Earl Tyler has a huge influence in Eagle City too.” Grendy continued Natasha’s words with an aggrieved expression. “Many n.o.bles are terrified of Earl Tyler and don’t dare to go against him. You see, Mr. Rhode, you are the only one fighting with him over this auction item… Although you are our guest and we shouldn’t intervene…”
Grendy didn’t complete his sentence as he wished that Rhode could understand their plight. Judging from Grendy and Natasha’s gloomy expressions, it seemed that their family didn’t have a good relations.h.i.+p with Earl Tyler. If Rhode were to contest with him over this auction item, both Grendy and Natasha would be put on the spot. After all, Earl Tyler would definitely stand against them since Rhode was a guest which they had invited. Although Rhode was their benefactor, their relations.h.i.+p hadn’t developed to the stage where they were fine with putting their own family’s fate in order for Rhode to win the auction item.
However, Rhode wasn’t about to submit the Sphere of Mystery to others that easily. If that Earl whatever Tyler s.n.a.t.c.hed it, then…
Rhode rolled his palm.
600k gold coins.
Grendy displayed an unpleasant expression while Natasha sighed slightly. Not only them, even the guests in Earl Tyler’s compartment seemed rather hesitant. The auctioneer gazed at the silent crowd, puckered his brows, and announced with his lifted gavel.
“The guest of the city owner offered 600k gold coins. Are there any higher bidders? 600k gold coins!” The auctioneer struck the gavel heavily.
A burst of panic erupted in Earl Tyler’s compartment and the bidding plate was raised.
650k gold coins!
Rhode lifted the winegla.s.s and gave a toast to Grendy and Natasha. “Thanks for your reception, Miss Natasha and Mr Grendy. This auction was very interesting, and I enjoyed myself a lot.”
“Eh?” Both of them couldn’t believe their ears. They thought that Rhode would fight to the death with Earl Tyler. Instead, he gave up so willingly after listening to Earl Tyler’s bidding price?
“Mr. Rhode, have you given up?” asked Natasha curiously.
“That’s right,” Rhode nodded in acknowledgment. “I don’t have that much money to buy this thing…”
And since you don’t allow me to buy it with money, I won’t spend anything to get it then.