Chapter 618: The Hunt Family and The Cure
Chapter 618: The Hunt Family and The Cure
As Rickston mentioned, the heart inside the ice crystal belonged to an ice-breathing dragon that lived in the treacherous ocean. It was the last of his kind. After the war between beastmen and the dragons, as well as the dragon clan's sudden disappearance, only a few dragons lived in the treacherous ocean. The ice-breathing dragon was one of them. The dragon's coldness could shatter even a Fusion stage cultivator's body. Since it lived in a treacherous ocean, none dared to bother the dragon until a brave adventurer managed to collect a few body parts of the dragon. As soon as Michael heard Rickston, he desired to get the heart for Nightmare. He could think of a few potions that could use the dragon's heart as an ingredient to give Nightmare a new ability. However, he doubted he could get his hands on the dragon's heart.
"If I started to list out the things you can do with the ice dragon's heart, we will all have to be here the whole day. So, I would directly begin the bidding instead of wasting everyone's time. The starting price of this treasure is ten million,"
People gasped for air in shock after hearing the outrageous price.
"Twenty million," right out of the bat, a noble doubled the bid by placing a twenty million bid.
"That's my current net worth," Michael sighed, thinking how poor he is compared to the nobles in Awor.
"Twenty-five million," another man shouted from a VIP room.
"Fifty million,"
Not even a couple of minutes passed since Rickston started the bid but they had already hit the fifty million mark. It was truly outstanding.
"Am I jealous of them?" Michael questioned himself after seeing the real wealthy people showing how rich they are to the world.
Michael was taken aback by surprise. Someone had increased the body by twenty-five million like it was nothing. Michael activated his thermal vision to locate the rich noble. His eyes scanned all the VIP rooms, but unfortunately, the one who bid was adjacent to their VIP room, which prevented Michael from looking at them. Unless Michael could get his head through the glass, he wouldn't be able to see the nobles. Michael had no idea these nobles who occupied the room next were Thusians.
"fifty-five million," A lady with a melodious voice bid for the heart next.
"Seventy million," The Thusians raised the bid once again, and this time, none bid against them. The Ice Dragon heart was a rare thing, but they didn't think it was worth seventy million.
"Who are these people?'' Nightmare asked, shocked by their wealth. They forked up seventy million like it was nothing. Although Gaya was a princess, she had never touched spent coins as lavishly as the other princesses because she knew how hard it was to earn them. Unfortunately, Salesi, Gaya's stepmother, didn't share her thoughts. Thus, she spent the coins on all kinds of expenses, driving the kingdom to near bankruptcy, Gaya knew the value of gold coins more than anyone. So naturally, she hated the nobles for giving away seventy million as there was no need to go that high. They could have increased the bid bit by bit and bought the dragon's heart for sixty million.
Since it wasn't her coins, Gaya didn't bother to say anything.
"Sold to VIP number two, the thusians!"
The moment Rickston uttered the word 'Thusians', Eve felt the temperature in the room drop by several degrees. Nightmare and Gaya immediately glared at Michael to see his eyes reddening. Not only did the veins in his eyes pop, but also the veins on his face bulged. Even with Michael's control over anger, he failed to remain calm when he heard the word thusians.
"Ghost?" Eve noticed the changes on his face. She slowly placed her hand on his shoulder, asking worriedly.
"Are you alright?"
"Why wouldn't he be?" Gaya quickly answered Eve before Eve could make any connection between Michael and Kingdom Thusia.
"I am fine," Michael took a deep breath. He could vividly see the images of his sanctuary burning, his elders drawing their last breath, the thusian soldiers brutally murdering everyone he knew and beating him to death flashed.
He would give anything to seek revenge against the thusians. If it wasn't for the soul part that grew on earth, Michael would have gone to the VIP room and started massacring them without a shred of mercy. Squeezing Michael's hand, Gaya wordlessly told him to remain calm.
"I am fine. Just remembered some things that I don't want to," Michael said, taking a few deep breaths.
"The next thing we will show you is a last-minute addition to the auction items. I am positive that all of you have heard about the molten plague. Kingdom Thera has been put on lockdown because of this plague. Although we haven't heard of anyone falling sick to the plague outside Thera, we cannot be sure. These are trying times. But if you have a loved one suffering from the molten plague or just want to be safe, worry not. The Aqua Palace acquired a cure for the plague,"
Upon hearing Rickston's words, the golden prince leaned forward on his sofa.
"So the spies are right. Someone did come up with a cure," The golden prince rubbed his chin. Unlike the other VIPs, the golden prince didn't have any guards around him. He came here alone, seeking the truth behind the alleged cure.
On the ground, Rickston flicked his wrist as a vial with glistening purple liquid emerged from the ground atop a pillar.
"We have examined the potion and can say with utmost certainty that this potion not only cures the molten plague but prevents anyone from getting infected by the plague. This miraculous cure was brewed by the number one alchemist in Elon, Master Ghost," As per the deal, Rickston promoted Michael on the grand stage.
"Ghost?" The golden prince tilted his head, searching through his memories to see if he had heard such a name before. In fact, many nobles did the same, but only a few heard the name Ghost. These nobles had some connections to Ozer and Elon, unlike the rest, who failed to recognize Michael. But, of course, the handful of nobles who recognized Michael included the Thusians. After all, Michael was the Thusian Alchemy Guild's leader. So naturally, they heard about Ghost even though they had never met him eye to eye. These thusians even had the audacity to feel proud, except for a few who opposed Ghost for giving the cure to Aqua Palace instead of His Majesty Maxim Barns.
"The starting bid for this potion that would change the fate of Awor is five million gold coins,"
"Seven million," Michael heard a stoic voice for the first time. Michael didn't see the man, but his voice made Michael imagine a Viking with a full beard and muscular body. Because the voice was rough, thick, and heavy.
"Ten million,"
Despite the bids, Eve saw no happiness in either of their faces. Yet, Eve chose not to question them as she heard about their deal with the Aqua Palace from Michael himself. No matter how much the nobles paid for the cure, Michael wouldn't get a single coin. Instead, all the coins would go to the Aqua Palace as a part of their deal. After putting the cure on the market, Gaya knew they couldn't put a ten million price tag on the potion. Ultimately, only a small percentage in Awor could afford something priced at ten million. So, to maximize their profits and sales, they had to come up with a lower price and wholesale the potions to each ruler in Awor. These kings and queens would then distribute the cures to their citizens.
"Twelve million," A man raised the bid.
"Twenty million,"
"Twenty-two million,"
Michael heard the nobles rapidly raising the price of his potion. However, he was surprised to see the golden prince remaining silent the entire time. He or the Thusians didn't bid because the golden prince knew the Aqua Palace would start distributing the potions for a much lower price and the thusians knew they could get the cure from the man who brewed the cure himself. So the two parties chose not to bid for the cure.
"The Hunt family bids twenty-five million," The rough voice resonated in the arena yet again.
As soon as everyone heard the voice, the bidding war had just stopped. None dared to bid against the man afterward. Awor had many prominent noble families, and the Hunt family was the second most powerful family among them. This multi-racial family was only second to the Gondolin royal family in terms of wealth and power. The Hunt family was known to produce prodigies, including the late Harriet Hunt. The latter shook the entire world with her heaven defying cultivation. The empress herself feared that Harriet might overtake her in cultivation with enough time. It was a pity that Harriet Hunt and her two sisters died in an unforeseen accident. Even after her death, many academies in Awor taught their disciples about Harriet. Moreover, the empress erected a statue of Harriet in Gondolin's capital as a sign of respect for Harriet Hunt.
However, none of them had any idea that Harriet Hunt was very much alive and living as Diana Winston in Elon.
"The Hunts are here huh? Now I have a feeling we might get some entertainment after the auction," Gaya grinned. She couldn't believe they were between the Thusians and the Hunts.
After noticing the silence, Rickston looked at the VIP room next to Michael's.
"Sold for twenty five million to the Hunts,"
Michael paid no mind to the Hunts. As far as he was concerned, they were just another one of the powerful families in Awor. Ignoring the Hunts, Michael focused more on figuring out the most brutal way to kill the thusians next to him.
Following the cure, Rickston brought three more treasures one after another. These three treasures were respectively obtained by the Hunt family, Thusians, and the Brugo family which hailed from the Kingdom of Orcs. Many nobles, like the golden prince, didn't bother to bid for these items because they knew these items were just a warm-up. The real treasures would only appear later in the auction.
The auction lasted for two hours with no items that interested Michael or Eve. Eventually, Rickston took a deep breath,
"The first day of the auction concludes now. Please return here tomorrow morning for the second day of Aqua Auction," Rickston said before ascending to the sky. Meanwhile, the crowd slowly began to disperse, including the VIPs.
"I hope you two don't mind staying in one room," Eve playfully winked at Gaya.
"All the rooms are booked. So I could only book two. One for me and one for the three of you,"