Weapon seller in the world of magic

Chapter 552: Mark's second annual auction (part-2)

Trying to build up suspense, Xie Mei paused for a couple of seconds and announced, "Earth-grade artifact, the Pagoda of Shennong. Congratulations, Adventurer Ryu Fang."

"Eh? An earth grade artifact?" Several nobles and princes on the first floor got up immediately; some of them had surprised looks while some of them had angry looks.

One particular guest broke the auction rules by shouting, "What's this, Lord Lu?" Everyone's attention was shifted to the source of the shout. It's King Yan of the Leon Empire, invited by King Shen Niu.

Unlike in other empires where there are provinces and lords or governors, the Leon Empire is comprised of 8 vassal states and the imperial city.

The rulers of 8 vassal states were titled Kings, who could maintain their own army and govern their land as they wished. The premise is that those army generals were appointed by the Emperor and there is a 20% mandatory tax payment to the palace.

While these vassal states are ruled by the same dynasty, who will become the king will be decided by the imperial palace, not the current rulers.

Yan Shengli was not just a ruler. He is a warrior in the legendary realm, the son-in-law of the current emperor, and very influential to the extent of changing a policy implemented by the palace.

Despite thinking of himself as higher than Shen Niu, he still accepted the invitation and came to the ceremony to meet Mark and see if he could fix a marriage alliance for his daughter, who was also accompanied along but was secretly gazing at Prince Feng Wu of Western Yan instead of Mark.

Seeing that her father didn't like the behavior of the weapon seller, feeling insulted to the extent of raising his voice against what seemed like an unfair bid, Princess Yan Jianxin clenched her fist and tried to suppress her smile.

As Mark furrowed his brows in displeasure and looked at him, King Yan continued to speak, "I offered a Sky-grade artifact for the pill. How could you choose an earth-grade artifact over mine? Or is it that you have already made the deal beforehand and was fooling us?"

A moment of silence filled the hall. His voice sounded thunderous as if he was extremely enraged. Some thought he was overreacting; some wondered what will the weapon seller do, now; and some wondered whether the allegations were true…

Amidst several gazes filled with various opinions, Mark got up on his feet and answered with a firm gaze on the guest, "A high-quality item isn't necessarily better than lower quality item. Its usage is more important, King Yan. A person of your status should have already known that. What I have been offered by Adventurer Ryu is far more valuable than yours or anyone else' for that matter.

It wasn't an unfair decision." As King Yan's face reddened in shame, Mark took a brief pause and added, "And please do maintain the decorum of the auction house. Pointless ugly arguments would not only waste our time but also tarnish our own dignity. Please take your seat and let our host continue with the proceedings."

King Yan furiously sat down, after observing some laughs from fellow nobles. "I will teach him a lesson. Who does he think…" As he gritted in teeth, his loyal General leaned his head to the side and whispered, "My King, that pale lady with pointy ears sitting beside him is someone not even His Majesty dares to offend. Don't forget the fact that he had two more demigods on his side.

Who knows how many supreme realm experts are there behind him? Lu Zhen is like a sleeping volcano. Don't make him erupt unnecessarily. Or else, our whole kingdom might vanish in the span of a night. Isn't that the main reason why no one dared to reject his invitation and came from even as far as the Xiezhi Empire?"

At once, King Yan realized his folly, and sweat beads appeared on his forehead instantly. As his servant brought a handkerchief on a platter, he couldn't help but mumble, "Let's forget this matter. It's best if I don't marry off my daughter to a person who won't be able to face any accountability for his actions."

"Really?" The girl's eyes lit up and she couldn't stop her chuckling as she snatched away the handkerchief from the servant and wiped off her father's sweat on her forehead, "Papa, you made a wise decision. But, it would be a waste to return empty-handed.

Isn't it better to form relations with a kingdom, that has its own place in this United Celestial Dominion but is weak enough to be controlled by us?"

"Hmm? What are you saying?" King Yan furrowed his brows, upon hearing the words of his daughter.

She was startled and pointed her finger at her mom, who was sitting beside her, "Mother suggested that. Not me."

"Eh?" King Yan's wife was taken aback at first but taking a glance at her daughter, she nodded, "Yeah, I think Emperor Shang Wei is a great match for our daughter."

"No…" The girl reacted quickly before her father gave his opinion on that. She further added, "Grandfather is interested in marrying off cousin Liufen to that Shang Wei. If she marries him first, she will become the Empress. I don't want to listen to the orders of that arrogant b*tch. I would rather marry Prince Feng than Shang Wei…"

"Prince Feng?" King Yan startled for a second before going into deep thought. Little did he know that his upcoming decision would soon change the map of the invincible Leon Empire forever.

Meanwhile, back at the auction, a hooded woman came out of the crowd and walked to the stage, handing over a prism-shaped locket to Chang Bo. The welpire raised his head to look in the direction of Mark, who gave his nod. Only after that did he give the pill to the mysterious adventurer.

Once she had taken her seat, Xie Mei looked at the scroll and then at the audience to announce loudly, "For item no. 2, the Peak Potion, the winning bid is the seed of light. Congratulations Adventurer Xu Shan."

Once again, the entire house filled with shock, this time as the hooded woman got up from her and started walking to the stage.

"What's going on here?" Everyone had the same thought.