Norton hid in the corner of the banquet hall as he listened to Morgan and Christine's argument. He put a piece of meat in his mouth; he looked envious.

It was great. Morgan and Christine were the first to become business partners with Blackmoon Castle. One was in the wine trade, and the other was in the business of flesh. They were much more powerful than him, someone with only milk produce. That was why Blackmoon Castle valued them.

He only had about 200 silver-tier magical beasts at his manor; it was enough to protect them from any invasion.

Some officials also surrounded him. Even though there were not as many people around him as Morgan and Christine, there were still quite a number of them.

“Lord Norton, I heard that you produce milk. It must be extraordinary milk that you supply to Blackmoon Castle.”

At that moment, Blackmoon Castle had become unfathomable to those officials. Even though they fawned over those manor owners then, they would not usually glance at them.

“It's not as impressive as you think; it is very ordinary. Young Master Watson sympathizes with my hard work, so he's willing to buy from me.”

He knew his worth, unlike Morgan and Christine. Those officials did not surround him because he was outstanding but because he had benefited from Watson.

However, the officials did not believe him. Just as they continued to question him, a cry of surprise came from the main seat in the banquet hall; it interrupted their thoughts. It was Gerant.

“Young Master Zeke, what did you just say? You have a Phoenix Egg, and you are willing to sell it to Monte Town? Did I hear it correctly?” Gerant stared at Zeke in surprise.

The Phoenix was a legendary platinum-tier magical beast; it was as rare as the Dragon Clan. Compared to the Dragon Clan, which had a low fertility rate, the Phoenix would lay eggs every day. Its eggs could awaken one's Phoenix bloodline, and it could also bring one back from the dead.

As a member of the Ptolemy family, Gerant's family had Pentacolor Fragrant Chickens that contained the Phoenix bloodline. Therefore, they knew a lot about those legendary magical beasts.

He did not expect Blackmoon Castle to have such a legendary magical beast's eggs.

“Well, the egg is not from a real Phoenix. It's from a hybrid Phoenix. Blackmoon Castle has a hybrid Phoenix and a dragon,” Zeke explained with a smile. He clapped his hands; Zenoah and Peter immediately went outside. A short while later, they returned with a huge box.

There were 35 crystal clear Phoenix eggs that looked like rubies in the box. There was a faint flame on them, which turned into the shape of wings as if they would fly away.

Everyone in the room looked at them the moment the Phoenix eggs appeared. Their eyes had a bright glint in them.

“Bathed in the sacred flame, with wings that were ready to fly—those were the characteristics of Phoenix eggs. Those are real Phoenix eggs.”

Gerant swallowed his saliva. His voice became hoa.r.s.e from his shock. He was very surprised when he saw the Phoenix eggs and heard what Zeke mentioned about the hybrid Phoenix and dragon at Blackmoon Castle. Where did they get those two precious magical beasts? Was Blackmoon Castle related to the royal family?

It was no wonder the astrologer had become Blackmoon Castle's eighth son's teacher. It was probably not because of his talent. The astrologer had not left the Temple of the Stars for a long time. He would not tutor anyone even when several n.o.bles offered him a high price for his service. Why did he take the initiative to take Watson as a disciple? Something fishy must have happened.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that that was the case. Blackmoon Castle had become even more in his heart. Gerant was silent for a few seconds before he opened his mouth carefully. “Young Master Zeke, how much are those Phoenix eggs?”

He would buy it even if Zeke wanted more than 10,000 gold coins for one. That egg could save him even if his limbs were broken and his heart was pierced. That was equivalent to a second chance at life.

“The price of the hybrid Phoenix eggs is 1,000 gold coins per egg, and it is non-negotiable. We have 35 of them for now. You're not allowed to resell them,” Zeke said.

Even though their hybrid Phoenix could lay 100 eggs per day, and they might still have many at home, he had to give priority to his family members. On the other hand, an item would be more valuable if it was rare and scarce.

“A thousand gold coins for one egg? I'll give you 40,000 gold coins. I'll take all of them.”

Gerant thought it was too cheap; he thought they would cost 10,000 gold coins for one, but he was prepared to spend a lot on them. However, it seemed like Blackmoon Castle was still very generous with their offer. He did not even hesitate about it. During his tenure as the mayor, he had earned about 100,000 gold coins. It was more than enough to buy those Phoenix eggs.

“Mayor Gerant, aren't you a little too greedy? You want to keep such a precious treasure for yourself?”

“I'll offer 2,000 gold coins; just give me one Phoenix Egg.”

“Then I'll pay 3,000 gold coins. My son will start his cultivation soon. He'll stand out with this Phoenix egg.”

The officials around them walked forward in anger.

“All of you, shut up. I'm the Mayor. I should be the one to distribute these Phoenix Eggs. Why are you speaking nonsense? Are you trying to rebel?”

Gerant slapped the table and stood up abruptly. “We need the eggs mainly to revive the dead. It's a waste to use it on one's strength. For example, the City Defense Force's director would not have died if we had the Phoenix eggs! I suggest we store these eggs in my family's warehouse and use them as needed. I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart.”

“Kindness, yeah, right.”

His words caused a wave of boos from the officials. It would certainly be strange if they would ever see those Phoenix eggs again. Gerant might even sell them at 5,000 or 10,000 gold coins for each one, and they would have to bear with it. It was a precious treasure; why would they care if Gerant was the mayor or not?

“I don't care. I have to get a Phoenix Egg today! Those eggs belong to Blackmoon Castle, not you, Mayor! They will decide on who to sell them to.”

No one knew who said that, but all the officials looked at Zeke with eager eyes. They did not fight for the magical beasts because it would not have mattered who bought them. However, it was different with the Phoenix eggs. It was consumable; it would be gone in a few bites.

“What should we do?”

Zeke tapped his cheek with his fingers with a deliberate troubled look on his face. “We would like to sell you a Phoenix egg each, but we currently only have 35 eggs. Some of you may not be able to get it. Why don't we bid for it? The one with the highest price will get it. I think that is fair.”

The officials looked at each other. They knew that Zeke had raised the price deliberately, but they did not care. It was expensive, but it was better than nothing. Furthermore, Blackmoon Castle had given them a lot of benefits; they should not be greedy.

“I want the first Phoenix Egg. I'll bid 8,000 gold coins!”

“I'll bid 4,000 gold coins for the second one. It's already a high price. Don't compete with me if you know what's good for you.” Since Zeke had set the rules, Gerant had no choice but to follow them. He had to partic.i.p.ate in the auction. “I'll bid 6,000 gold coins; your 4,000 gold coins bid is not high enough.”

“I'm the Mayor!”

“So what? Can the mayor do whatever he wants? I'll bid 6,000 gold coins. If you can, then raise the price. If you don't, then don't buy it.”

Zeke smiled when he saw the scene. 'Go on, continue to quarrel. The more you fight, the better it is for us. We don't care about the profit that much; we just want to create some conflicts amongst you. It'll be easier to control Monte Town after winter ends.'

Zeke wondered if Watson would be surprised to learn that his brother had managed to control Monte Town in only a few months?

'I wonder if Watson would be surprised to know that his master had brought him so many benefits?'

The astrologer stood on the back of a giant rock golem as he fiddled with the five rings on his fingers.

Those five rings were Sylvan's Song of the Nibelungs rings. Sylvan had intended to give Watson only two rings, but the astrologer insisted on all the rights. When Sylvan finally gave in, he had said, “Give Watson these five rings first. I will give him the remaining five when he comes to Fairy Castle after the winter.”

“He is so stingy with his own son. No wonder he is known as a stingy elf! It must have been because the border is so miserable every winter.”

There was a row of carriages behind the astrologer, led by Nightingale. Ten gold-tier warriors, who were also from the Shadow Guards, stood behind them. They guarded the weapons, armor, and other materials on the carriages as they put some rye bread into bags. Then they threw them randomly out of the carriages.

There were refugees everywhere on the road—groups of people that included adults and children, and some even carried senior citizens on their backs.

Those people were forced to flee because their houses and farmland had been destroyed by magical beasts when winter arrived. They were running toward Monte Town and some even further away.

There were always refugees looking for a safe place during the winter. They would only start farming again at the start of spring. Some people were reluctant to leave because their ancestors were from the border. Some had businesses there and could not go. They had one common denominator—their lives were hard.

“Thank you, thank you.”

The astrologer sighed when those refugees knelt on the ground to thank them before they wolfed down their food. He waved his hand gently and cast the platinum-tier earth-elemental spell, Dreamland. The ground bloomed with flowers, and its fragrance replenished those refugees' stamina.

He was the greatest mage in the kingdom, but there was something he could not do, and that was to interfere with the lives of others. The only thing he could do was to reduce the suffering of those within his sight. He could have used the teleportation spell to return to Blackmoon Castle quickly, but he would rather take the carriage and spend some time on the road.