Chapter 239 - Old man in the back

"The starting bid will be five hundred arena coins!"

Despite it being only the second item that we put for auction, I wonder if some would already start to see the pattern. While Venna was eager to price all the items according to her own understanding of the market, I still decided against it. It was better to just start with uniform, five hundred and just let the people gauge the worth of the items themselves.

"Since the last item we presented was focused on defence, this time we are offering an offensive item according to the rule that the best defence is the offence! This inconspicuous ring is capable of unleashing a firestorm at the location wanted by the caster, capable of tearing apart even developing core level cultivators while dealing serious wound for the experts at the enriching essence level! This can become your ace card for the times when you will go out to hunt in the forbidden arenas and stumble upon a powerful enemy!"

While this ring could indeed help while fighting the beasts, it was far more suited in fights against other humans. But well, I couldn't just outright come and tell them that someone who would buy it could bring hell to some village?

"Additionally, it's not a single-use thing! As long as you infuse it with sufficient energy over at least a week worth of time, you will be able to use it over and over again! Just a small word of advice, trying to force it into action more often or overloading it with energy for the sake of shortening the cooldown of its ability might lead to it collapsing under the strain and shattering!"

While I pointed this out as a possibility, as something made with the use of my system, it was a certainty. Even with that, I was almost entirely sure that most of the interested parties would definitely try to overuse it, if not for the sake of bringing the firestorm twice in the row, then in an attempt to understand how it works!

"Seven hundred!"

This time, it wasn't some unaffiliated cultivator, but a mechanical shout coming from one of the VIP lodges. For the sake of keeping their information private, only I and Venna knew which longue represented which major power of the city. This time, it was war axe sect. Even if they were not as powerful as dracons or Heavenly sect, they still wield quite a bit of influence in the city!

"Eight hundred!"

Almost instantly, a voice came from the rows of the seat near the stage. Looking down, I saw a man who previously looked like he was eager to bid on the bracelet but was disappointed to see it being cancelled out of the auction. I guess not only major sect were rich enough to play in our game!

"One thousand! And if anyone dares to overbid me, I will make sure to teach him a lesson!"

Ugh… I knew that something like this would happen, but I hoped that Dracons wouldn't be taking part in this mess! I guess asking for them to steer clear from stirring up any trouble was far too much to ask for!

"Young gentleman here, you will either bow down and excuse everyone for your rude behaviour, or I will have to ask our backers to help you out of the compound. We do not accept this kind of behaviour in here!"

Without any delay, Venna's figure appeared behind the man that even raised from his seat to place his bid. Looking at the troublemaker, I could see that he was only at the developing core level, indicating that he had some sort of backer placed somewhere in the vicinity.

"Is that how you are treating your guests? I will let you know that I am a disciple of…"

It took only a moment of focus from me to cast a condensed shockwave below his feet. In an instant, there was a silent 'boom' and his figure flew to the air! To add insult to the injury, just as he reached the peak of his parabolic ascend, Venna appeared right beside him and with a single kick, she sent him flying out of the compound!

This is what you call a high kick!

"I would like to apologize everyone for this slight disturbance. It seems that some people overestimated their capabilities!"

I didn't just watch the guy getting beaten out. As soon as small ripples of energy appeared in my surroundings as I cast the shockwave, I saw a movement with the corner of my eye. While I avoided looking there directly, when I said those words, I boldly stared at the old man seated in the very back of the seats below the stage.

Noticing my stare, the old man didn't yield and kept the eye contact for a few seconds, before suddenly lowering his head down. I guess he understood that he would gain nothing from revealing and officially confirming his position or prowess. That also gave me the clue that in the end, we failed to get rid of all the spies.

"Let's go back to our auction then. The last accepted bid was eight hundred. Anyone is willing…"

"One thousand!"

Contrary to my expectations, this old man decided to act. Calmly raising his hand, he shouted the exact same prize as did his compatriot. I guess they really wanted to get their hands on this ring!

"One thousand for the first time, one thousand for the second time…"

While I said first two parts in quick succession hoping to urge someone to bid higher, seeing that no one wanted to go over it, I intentionally slowed down in hopes that someone would still overbid the old man.

"One thousand… for the… third…"

Going as far as to almost utter the last phrase, I closed my eyes and raised the small hammer that I used to dramatically narrate the auction. Combination of this pattern of speech and my gestures were also a sign that we decided on with Venna earlier.

"One thousand five hundred!"

Out of the sudden, one of the VIP lounges shone with a small, almost unnoticeable light when a mechanical voice allowed me to change the angle at which I was dropping my auctioning hammer to point with it at the longue and scream my lungs off.

"Fifteen hundred for the first time!

"Fifteen hundred for the second time!"

"Fifteen hundred for the third time, sold!"

Clack!

Dropping down the hammer on the small stool located beside me, I finished the auction of the ring. Even if I didn't make any real money on this item - it was heavenly sect that offered the highest bid after all - I had the feeling that this old man would make a bad use of any offensive item that he would buy off this auction. Be it using it to burn some villages or massacre some renowned experts, if the dracons of Katenaris blamed us later on for distributing such item freely, it would be hard to avoid public scorn! Even if in reality this kind of accusation was highly illogical and plain out stupid, with their connections and influence, it was a good hook for the public attention!

"All the items from this part of the auction will be distributed right away by our servants upon collecting the money!"

Passing the ring to the girl that approached me, I decided it was finally time to take out some big guns. After all, no matter how useful jewellery was, it was weapons that resided in the soul of a man!

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Let me present you, Dragon Slayer Sword!"