"Now, we will start with the first horse of the Empyrean Breed, the 3-Star Martial Beast, Golden Zaverian Mare, who is a few months shy of three years of age. She possesses the Lightning Element, and her Talent has been tested to be a 1-Star Indigo Talent. She is arguably better than all the Zaverian Horses we have auctioned today."
"Please keep in mind that the Empyrean Breed is a lot more prideful than the rest of their kind. Zaverian Horses are known for killing other Horses that their Masters ride, and the Empyrean Horses are known to even harm their Masters over this disrespect," the Beast Master warned the people, and then summoned the Golden Mare onto the Platform, where she was quickly bound in the Aura Chains.
Her cries and bursts of rage made people sweat, and the flickering Lightning in her eyes both enthralled and terrified the crowd. Arcs skittered along the chains with sharp little snaps.
"The bidding for this Mare will start from 150,000 Stones. Each subsequent bid cannot be less than 10,000 Stones over the last bid." Misa brightly smiled and then raised her right hand. "Let's begin!"
"500,000!"
The very first call was made by Keith, and, once again, the people turned to look towards the usual suspects.
They did not know which family the white-haired Princess was from, but they knew that she was a Princess and from a very Noble Family.
Even the Alchemists, who had been upset with what happened in the First Phase, had put aside their grievances.
Someone who could defeat the Royal Family of Krone in a Battle of Rights could never be a normal person.
So, it was unlikely that the girl was deliberately targeting them. She was probably collecting all the ingredients that her Family Alchemists required.
"Do we have anyone who wishes to bid more than 500,000 Stones?" Misa asked the audience, but she got no reply. "Sold to Golden 6!"
Inside the room, the Demiliore Family exchanged glances with each other, a little surprised that no one had followed their bid.
However, soon they all just shrugged and continued eating, an action that nearly made the Attendant burst out into giggles.
"Next up are the pair of these beautiful White Zaverian Mares, possessing an extremely rare affinity for the Plasma Element. They are also the youngest of the lot, only 2 years old, but are already 3-Star Martial Beasts. Both the sisters possess a 1-Star Indigo Talent," Misa smiled as she glanced at the Mares on the Platform, who were arguably more beautiful than any other Zaverian Horse. "The bidding will start from 300,000 Stones. Let's begin!"
As soon as she gave the green light, she glanced towards the Golden 6, and, sure enough, a call came from there.
"1,200,000!"
"We have 1.2 Million from the Golden 6. Is there anyone who wishes to bid more?" she asked the audience, but, to her disappointment, no one followed the call. "Sold to Golden 6!" she announced after the countdown ended.
The next auction, with the Black Stallion, ended quickly as well after the Golden 6 bid a whopping 660,000 Stones for it. Again, no one followed their call.
Inside the room, the girls were eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Financial Manager, not paying attention to the next Phase of Auctions, where Magical Beast Eggs were being sold.
Keith had already given the list of Eggs that he wanted to the Attendant, and he always gave her a window of Stones, a range in which she needed to acquire these Beast Eggs.
She was very relieved when he set an upper limit, which meant that he did not plan to take away the things at all costs, which would have forced the Royals and other Nobles in the Golden Gallery to run out of patience.
It was only a few minutes later that the old woman named Seven knocked on their door, and, after she came in, she brightly smiled at them before congratulating them on acquiring all the Zaverian Horses.
"Your total is 5,060,000 Stones," Seven said as she took out the Transaction Orb, and Rebecca paid for the Beasts through her account. "Thank you," Seven politely said, and then placed five Beast Storage Pouches on the table. "The Pouches are a gift from the House."
"We have noted your goodwill," the blonde lightly said, and then smiled at the old woman. "What's the letter for?" she asked, glancing at the letter that Seven had placed on the table as soon as she arrived in the room.
"It is from the Dynus Family," she said, and then stood up. "Please excuse me, I have things to attend to." She respectfully bowed to them and left the room.
Keith curiously picked up the letter, and, after reading it, he asked the Attendant for pen and paper to write a letter back to the Dynus Family.
"I suppose it was not a simple greeting?" Alana curiously asked after the Attendant left to deliver the letter.
"No." He smiled. "They have offered us the opportunity to purchase more Zaverian Horses directly from them. The Gold, Grey, and White Mares do not have Stallions. They deliberately did it to prevent people from breeding them. The same is true for the Black Stallion."
"We should get them," Kiara immediately said, and Keith nodded to her.
"We will. They have offered us a Black Mare, a Grey Stallion, a Golden Stallion, and a White Stallion of equal talent to the ones we have purchased from the Auctions."
"How much are they asking for?"
"2.5 Million Stones."
"Expensive, but I suppose it is fair," Rebecca shrugged, and then looked at the screen, where an Unidentified Egg was being auctioned and their Attendant was going after it. "Which Beast is this?"
"Surprise." Keith smiled, and then glanced at the door.
Soon a knock was heard, and then an Attendant entered to deliver another letter.
Rebecca received it and then raised her brow when she read through the content.
"Who is it now?" Ingvild curiously asked.
"It's from a Mercenary Guild, who had auctioned the pair of Tauron Magnus today. They are saying that they have more of these Beasts and better quality. However, they are only going to sell them in bulk."
"How many do they have?"
"One Bull, two Cows, and two Calves," she told them. "The Bull has a 9-Star Blue Talent, and it is a 4-Star Martial Beast, almost a 5-Star Martial Beast, 12 years old. As for the Cows, they are both 4-Star Martial Beasts with Blue Talent, marked at 4-Stars. The two Calves, a male and a female, both siblings and a year old, possess 8-Star Blue Talent. The mother Cow is 11 years old and is lactating, and the other Cow is nine years old and ready to mate." Rebecca informed them. "They are asking for a Million Stones."
"They are crazy." Alana shook her head. "The one who won them in the Auction overpaid. A pair is only worth 300,000 Stones maximum. Not to mention that raising these Beasts is not cheap. And two of them are only one-year-old Calves. The lot is not worth more than 600,000 Stones. Even that would be a little generous."
"You are right." Avriel nodded her head at those words. "They probably think that we do not mind throwing away money, so they are trying to rip us off."
"We do not really need them." Rebecca shrugged, and then picked up the pen to write a number and handed it back to the Attendant. "This is our reply."
The girl bowed to her and left the room.
"I have offered them 600,000 Stones. If they refuse, it is their loss."
"Good." Kiara nodded her head in agreement, and then cheered with Ingvild as they won the white-coloured Unidentified Egg from the Auction.
They did not even know what was in it, but, since Keith did not mind spending 300,000 Stones on it, the Beast was undoubtedly special.
The fourth Phase ended with the last Unidentified Egg, which too was won by Keith, and Seven arrived in their room again.
She completed the Transaction on behalf of the House as well as the Dynus Family, and left the lounge, leaving behind more Beast Storage Pouches.
Kiara was happily running her fingers through the Black Mare's Hair, and the Beast was pleased to be by her brother's side again.
The Attendant was visibly very nervous in the presence of two majestic Beasts, but, more than that, she was nervous at the fact that these Beasts were being very obedient as Kiara and Ingvild caressed their heads and manes. The warm animal scent and the soft rasp of breath filled the quiet between bids.
"Let me guess, you are keeping both of them," Rebecca smirked at her sister, and the raven-haired girl grinned at her.
"Yup. Mine!" Kiara placed her dibs, and they all shared a laugh.
She truly was fond of horses, and she had called dibs on both the Black Zaverians.
"Which one do you want?" she curiously asked, and the blonde smiled at her.
"I will pick one later. But I am interested in the Golden ones."
"We will decide later. I want to pick the one who is the most ferocious!" Ingvild grinned, and Avriel and Alana nodded to her words.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time for the most-awaited segment of tonight's Auction! We are going to see the Battle-Arts, Cultivation Arts, and the Auxiliary Arts that have been submitted to us by their respective owners. Hope you have prepared enough Stones because we have some really precious Manuals in the House tonight," Misa excitedly spoke to the Audience. "Let's get started with something good."
As soon as her words fell, an Attendant brought a copy of a Battle Art on the stage and placed it on the pedestal.
On the screens, the red cover of the Manual, with blurred and floating fists, was visible to the Audience.
"This is a 9-Star, Earth Grade Manual. A Fist-Style Battle Art that is perfect for Aurors with a Fire Attribute. This Battle Art is called the Fire Fist Judgement, and it has been entrusted to us for the Auction by a very distinguished guest," she said, and, up in the lounge, Rebecca and Kiara rolled their eyes at those words. "The Starting Bid is 200,000 Stones, and every Bid must be no less than 20,000 Stones over the last Bid. Let's start!"
As soon as her voice fell, the bids resounded in the Hall, and the Price of the Battle Art kept shooting up.
Rebecca had her calculations in mind, and she nodded her head when the Price shot past the 1.8 Million Stones mark.
The value of this Manual was anywhere between 1.8 Million and 2 Million Stones, depending on how much the buyer wanted it.
Luckily for them, the price closed at 1,940,000 Stones, just 60,000 shy of the 2 Million mark.
There was pretty much nothing that caught their eyes as the Auction continued.
Everything was so basic and boring that they soon lost interest.
It was only an hour later that they focused on their screens again, and it was because the second Battle Art that Keith had submitted was about to be auctioned as the most prized Manual of the evening.
"Tonight, we have a true treasure that is about to be auctioned. This is a 9-Star Earth-Grade Manual, but our Experts believe that it is, in fact, a Quasi Sky-Grade Manual. And it is even more precious than some Sky-Grade Manuals." Her words successfully grabbed the attention of the audience.
"Why is it more precious than some Sky-Grade Manuals?" a person in the Hall asked.
"The reason why this Manual is more precious is that it is a Formation-Style Battle Art," Misa smiled. "A Hybrid Formation-Style Battle Art with both Offensive and Defensive capabilities, and it can be used by individuals and groups. The more your numbers, the stronger the results."
The people in the Galleries were already aware of these things, but, when the guests in the Hall learned this information, there was complete pandemonium. The people were excited, and some were even fearful, wishing that such a Manual would not fall into the hands of their enemies.
Everyone realised that this was an invaluable treasure for any army around the World, and, when Misa announced its starting price, some normalcy finally returned to the Hall.
It was not something that just anybody could obtain.
"The Starting Bid is 1,000,000 Stones, and every subsequent Bid must be no less than 100,000 Stones..."