Chapter Twenty-Two: High-Price Auction

  Leaving the vast forest covered with countless trees, we embarked on the journey back to the Kingdom of Weiton. Unlike when we left, there were no empty cages this time. To avoid unnecessary trouble, a thick cloth was placed over each cage to prevent startling others.

  After more than a month, the fortress of Tis appeared before our eyes again, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Unlike last time, this time everyone was relieved to be able to get rid of those beasts.

  Don't even mention them, I'm also happy to get rid of these disgusting things. These guys who have never taken a bath in their lives, the smell on their bodies is... just talking about it makes me want to vomit. Plus, they defecate randomly inside their cages, making anyone within three meters of the cage need to cover their noses. Moreover, the ferocious beastly aura on their bodies frequently startles our horses, causing us to stop the caravan to calm them down. Feeding them is also a hassle; the demonic leopard doesn't eat much, a sheep's meat can last two days, and the horned deer just needs some grass daily. However, beasts like the razor-toothed tiger and the explosive-clawed ape can devour an entire cow in one day. On this journey, to feed them, we had to buy large quantities of cattle from tribes along the way, which is also a significant expense.

  But the cost is worth it, and soon there will be a huge return. We arrived at the auction venue of the fortress in a majestic manner, and when the clerk came up to ask us to show what we were going to auction off, Koro and the others removed the cloth cover from a cage containing a Glimmerbeast.

  The wild beast that had long been accustomed to the darkness was suddenly made very uncomfortable by the dazzling light, and it let out a loud, ear-piercing roar. The clerk who was standing less than a meter away from the cage was directly confronted with the terrifying sound wave of the ferocious beast, and I even saw some saliva splashing onto his body.

  With the ears hearing that roar which could completely destroy a person's soul, and with the eyes seeing those sharp teeth that could tear apart armor, this poor clerk did not say a word, and very simply fainted and fell to the ground.

  Very soon, the crowd nearby was attracted by this roar full of wild and overbearing aura. Everyone looked at the huge beast in front of them, which was furious about the sudden change in the scene, constantly hitting the iron fence. Every one of them was shocked by its terrifying appearance and couldn't speak out loud. With each impact, everyone was silently praying that the seemingly fragile iron cage could hold this human beast captive.

  "What's going on? What's going on? Who is making trouble here?" Along with a loud shout, a short-bearded man wearing a black suit pushed through the crowd and walked over, his eyes also fixed firmly on the roaring beast.

  "My god, how can such a monster appear?" He muttered to himself repeatedly.

  Lefman immediately recognized the newcomer - Charles, the boss of the Nites auction house. He strode forward and gave Charles a hearty slap on the back, instantly snapping him out of his stunned state.

  "Hey, old friend, how's the stuff I brought this time?"

  "Good heavens! Is this monster yours? Where on earth did you catch the thing?" Charles exclaimed in surprise.

  Liefman smiled: "This was caught from the Lost Forest, don't mention anything else, first give this saber-toothed beast an appraisal."

  "Lost Forest? You really have the guts, I admire that you're still alive. You say this monster is called a 'Crag Tooth Beast'?" He looked at the Crag Tooth Beast's mouth, which was full of sharp teeth over 10 centimeters long, and nodded in agreement. Then he lowered his head and started calculating in his mind: This animal had never appeared in all of Wighton, and it was so ferocious and powerful that those thrill-seeking nobles would definitely pay a large sum of gold coins to buy it just to show off, even if some particularly hunting-loving nobles used up 100,000 gold coins to buy it wouldn't be surprising.

  After a moment's thought, he looked up at Lifman and said, "I reckon it's worth at least 50,000 gold coins. You've made a fortune this time."

  50,000? Then our five-headed Wyvern shouldn't be worth at least 250,000. Plus there are other animals, this time we can make a profit of several hundred thousand gold coins. Not only is Lief excited, but it seems like gold coins are flying everywhere in front of my eyes.

  After two days of preparation, the auction house sent out notifications to various nobles and slave traders, and our auction officially began. The Tisfort was packed with people, and this originally unknown auction venue in Wighton was crowded with people, including noblemen in bright clothes, beautiful noblewomen with fans covering their faces, and several major slave traders. Charles couldn't help but smile, as he had never seen so many wealthy customers here before.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed sirs and beautiful madams, today we will be auctioning off something that our great merchant, Mr. Lievman, has brought back with his life on the line, a one-of-a-kind item from this continent - the terrifying monster from the Labyrinth Forest, the Gnasher Beast!!" As Charles' voice fell, the curtain on the stage was lifted.

  "Ahhhhhhh!!"

  A loud roar suddenly pierced the eardrums of the crowd, and the beast's angry bellow instantly caused several noblewomen to faint. However, the men did not display their usual gentlemanly demeanor in helping the fallen ladies; instead, their eyes were fixed on the giant monster that was pacing back and forth, their mouths constantly gasping for air.

  "Gentlemen and ladies, look at how powerful this monster is! Look at how sharp its teeth are! I dare say that even lions and tigers would tremble with fear in front of it. It is undoubtedly the king of beasts. Those who have been waiting for their biggest prey in life, your greatest enemy has arrived. It will brutally destroy your spirit, tear apart your body, and make your fearful soul tremble beneath its feet! I wonder if you have what it takes to tame this killer?"

  Boom, the atmosphere of the entire venue has been heated up by him. Those aristocratic hunters who take pleasure in hunting animals are all eager to get this exceptionally precious prey, and hang its skull specimen on their already crowded walls with animal specimens. Compared to it, those lions, dogs, and bears that were once used for show-off have lost their significance.

  "Alright, as determined by this auction house, this Saber-toothed Beast will start at a price of 50,000 gold coins. The highest bidder wins! Let the bidding begin!"

  As Charles gave a signal, various noble slave traders raised their price tags.

  "Sixty thousand!"

  "Seven tens of thousands!"

  "Seven fifty!"

  "80,000!"

  "One hundred thousand!"

  "110,000!"

  "1.3 million!"

  "1.5 million!"

  …………

  The price soared all the way up, and finally reached a staggering high of 300,000. Now only a few wealthy aristocrats and large slave traders are left bidding against each other.

  "Three hundred and thirty thousand!" An old man with white hair shouted out this high price, those small nobles and merchants who could no longer afford to bid retreated one after another.

  "Oh, isn't that Duke William? What is he doing here?" exclaimed Lievman who was watching with me from behind the stage.

  Duke William, he is the lord of this Ayrshire, and around here, only he is the richest man, how can those small nobles compete with him?

  However, the current Duke of Wilhelm still has an opponent, a man with a beard on his face, a sturdy body with a murderous aura, more like a soldier than a nobleman.

  "Three hundred and forty thousand!"

  "Oh! The Duke of Narpole from the Twitz family has bid thirty-four million gold coins, is there anyone who can offer a higher price?" It was said that the Duke of Narpole from the Twitz family was an aristocrat who loved hunting more than anything else. Every year, he would hold large-scale hunting activities on his own territory, and the animals he had hunted were enough to fill a room. Now, he has set his sights on this new prey, but it's unexpected that he would travel thousands of miles from his territory in Gondor County just for it.

  "Three million five hundred thousand!" Duke William, being the top noble in this area, how could he possibly lose to another duke, Napple? And thirty-five million was just a drop in the bucket for him, who owned the entire Aize.

  "Three hundred and sixty thousand!" The two dukes clashed, while the surrounding lesser nobles could only watch the excitement, unable to intervene in the competition between these two superiors.

  "You..." Duke William would never want to lose face in his own territory, gritted his teeth and reported a stunning high price: "Six million!!"

  "Bastard!" The corner of the Duke of Naples' mouth twitched, and the price tag in his hand wanted to be raised several times, but was put down again. Because he had rushed over hastily, he didn't bring too much cash with him at present, and the rule of the auction house was "one hand for money and one hand for goods". If he bid without money, it would become a laughing stock for the entire Wighton nobility.

  "Six hundred thousand for the first time!"

  "Six hundred thousand second time!"

  "Six hundred thousand for the third time! Sold! This terrifying monster has been acquired by His Excellency, Duke William of this county!" As Charles announced the successful transaction, the entire venue erupted. Six hundred thousand gold coins, ah, very few precious things could reach such a high price.

  While everyone was fawning over Duke Wilhelm, Lifman and I were on the verge of going crazy with excitement.

  "Six hundred thousand gold coins! My god!" Liefman's excited brain was swelling, and with a thud, he fell to the ground, his super-heavy body instantly kicking up a cloud of dust. No wonder he was so excited, six hundred thousand gold coins, already more than the total profit he had made in his past business trips.

  Charles gazed at the boiling scene in the field, a satisfied smile spreading from the corner of his mouth. Such a scene had not appeared for a long time, and after this time, his auction house would definitely be famous far and wide.

  "Gentlemen and ladies who are disappointed, please do not lose heart. Although the highest price for today has been marked by our beloved Duke William, there is still a saber-toothed beast waiting for everyone's bidding tomorrow. Please go back and prepare enough money, and come again tomorrow to compete!" At the right moment, Charles gave a shot in the arm to those disappointed people who wanted to leave.

  "Hah! The hall was abuzz with a loud roar, and there's another terrifying monster like this?! The nobles began to discuss it in an uproar. Duke Napple's originally ugly face revealed a cold smile as he gazed at Duke William, who couldn't stop admiring his own saber-toothed beast with a smile. He thought fiercely: "Tomorrow I'll bring a large sum of money here, and then let's see how this poor guy can compete with me, the wealthy Twitz family that fills the continent! Let him enjoy it for now." With that thought, he hastily left the hall and returned to his mansion to write a letter requesting funds.

  Haha, looking at those boxes and boxes of gold coins, Liffman and I were already grinning from ear to ear. After deducting a 10% handling fee, we still made a net profit of 5.4 million gold coins. I got 60% of that, which is 3.24 million gold coins. I'm now a rich man!

  The auction continued over the next few days, and we sold all of the animals except for the one magical leopard that Liveman insisted on giving to the king. All of the animals that were sold, except for the last one, a horned stag which was hastily purchased by the Yafen family, were bought up by Duke Nafleur at extremely high prices, his triumphant gaze constantly measuring William, as if he had already completely avenged his first defeat.

  His lavish generosity was a blow to the minds of both me and Lieberman, but it was like being hit with heavy gold coins.

  These past few days of auction, we made a total profit of 4.93 million gold coins, and I got 2.958 million gold coins. I gave those 8 thousand gold coins to Koro and the others, they were so happy that they expressed their gratitude towards me, you know that for their entire mercenary group, the most they would get from a mission is only around 1-200 gold coins, and that's after fighting tooth and nail, but this time each person got more than 200 gold coins, of course they were grateful to the point of being overjoyed.