Chapter 1274 – Frightening Wealth

Sirius’s bid silenced the venue.

“Is that guy nuts? Wasting 5,000 Gold once isn’t enough for him?” Sirius’s generosity stunned the players in the first-floor hall.

With 5,000 Gold, one could purchase considerably high-quality Epic Equipment…

Meanwhile, Melancholic Smile, who stood above the stage, revealed an excited smile. She had never expected the Holy City slots to sell for such a high price. Although she wouldn’t receive a single Coin from the sales, Zero Wing could earn so more money. They would have enough for the Guild’s development, reconstructing Stone Forest Town, and purchasing Diamond Wood.

Like the first round of bidding for the Holy City slots, none of the superpowers contested for the second. Following which, Melancholic Smile started the bidding for the third slot.

“Five thousand Gold!” Sirius shouted yet again.

“Have the Battle Wolves gone mad?” Nine Dragons Emperor frowned. “Do they really think we won’t challenge them?”

This time, the superpowers refused to let Sirius have his way.

“Five thousand, one hundred Gold!”

“Five thousand, three hundred Gold!”

“Five thousand, five hundred Gold!”

Both Nine Dragons Emperor and Phoenix Rain raised the price again and again. In the end, however, Sirius still won the third Holy City slot for 6,500 Gold.

As another purchased the first three slots, the various superpowers began to grow anxious, bidding even more fervently.

In the end, among the seven remaining slots, the cheapest had sold for 6,100 Gold, while the final slot sold for 7,000 Gold. The players in the venue were stunned.

Meanwhile, the various first-rate Guilds turned green with envy.

“Zero Wing made 62,400 Gold by selling ten slots… If Singular Burial knew about this, he would go mad.” Galaxy Past smiled bitterly as he watched the Candlelight Auction’s first phase come to an end. “I’m afraid that it won’t be long before Zero Wing becomes Star-Moon Kingdom’s overlord. It seems we’ll still have to s.h.i.+ft the Star Alliance’s development to other kingdoms.”

A Guild’s strength was reflected not only in its expert and elite players, but also in its financial prowess.

Although Zero Wing had been acknowledged the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom, it had far fewer elite players than first-rate Guilds. Zero Wing was only superior regarding tools of war and peak experts. In terms of management and deterrence force, wasn’t in the same league. The Guild’s range of influence, in particular, couldn’t compare to Blackwater’s, for example.

After Blackwater’s withdraw from Star-Moon Kingdom, Heaven’s Burial and the kingdom’s second-rate Guilds had rushed to take control of the abandoned territory. Even the Star Alliance had gotten in on the action in hopes of replacing Zero Wing as the kingdom’s overlord.

The Dark Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom had also harbored such thoughts as they frequently killed Zero Wing’s members and the players heading into Stone Forest Town.

Zero Wing had always walked the path of the elite and as a result, lacked manpower.

However, now that the Guild had obtained so much funding during the Candlelight Auction, it wouldn’t be long before the Guild could recruit a large number of high-quality elite members, compensating for its flaws.

If any Guild wanted to challenge Zero Wing Star-Moon Kingdom, they had to think twice. After all, with so much money, Zero Wing would not fear a battle of attrition.

Once the auction’s first phase ended, the second phase quickly began. Fortunately, no one had anything more to say about Zero Wing’s processing fees, obediently retrieving their prepared treasures and putting them up for trade.

Due to the 10-Magic-Crystal or 3-Gold processing fees, only items worth at least 10 Gold were accepted for trade. This guaranteed the item’s quality and made it easy for players to find what they wanted. Even the various major powers on the second floor found quite a few items they needed.

As the event died down, everyone’s final evaluation of the Candlelight Auction was quite high. The Candlelight Auction could definitely stand on the same stage as superpowers’ auctions.

s.h.i.+ Feng similarly browsed the trade list in the hopes of finding the Draconic Herb.

Players from numerous countries had attended the Candlelight Auction. Among those present, many were either major powers’ representatives or independent experts. The likelihood of finding the Draconic Herb here was much higher than searching for the herb elsewhere.

After all, to obtain the Draconic Herb, one needed both sufficient luck and sufficient strength. Players of this caliber weren’t necessarily willing to sell the Draconic Herb they obtained. Instead, they usually traded such super-rare herbs for items that could benefit their development.

What?! Is this for real?! s.h.i.+ Feng suddenly discovered a very familiar item as he read through the list.

The Hero’s Chapter!

Although this item was a tattered piece of parchment, not particularly useful to ordinary players, it was a treasure highly sought after by the various large Guilds.

Moreover, the Hero’s Chapter did not consist of a single page. Rumors had it that if one completed the Hero’s Chapter, it would be more valuable than a Legendary item. In reality, a single page was already worth more than an Epic item.

In the past, one page easily sold for 15,000 Gold.

The Hero’s Chapter had only one purpose–to summon a Hero to defend a town or city. The summoned Hero functioned like Guardian NPCs in an NPC city.

In the past, s.h.i.+ Feng had obtained a page and summoned a Hero to defend Shadow’s main city.

s.h.i.+ Feng had never imagined that the Hero’s Chapter would show up in the Candlelight Auction.

The owner sure knows how to drive a hard bargain. s.h.i.+ Feng was astonished when he saw the players’ price.

The other party requested a top-tier, Level 45 Dark-Gold greatsword and top-tier, Level 40 Dark Gold plate gauntlets and boots.

Aside from Epic and Growth-type Weapons, Level 45 Dark-Gold Weapons were the best available. As the various large Guilds’ players had yet to reach Level 45, it was very difficult to obtain Level 45 weapons, not to mention top-tier, Level 45 Dark-Gold Weapons.

Such a weapon could easily fetch over 1,000 Gold on the market.

As for the Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, each piece could easily fetch over 400 Gold.

s.h.i.+ Feng even began to wonder if the seller knew the Hero’s Chapter’s true value.

The Hero’s Chapter’s introductory text was very simple. It only stated that one could recruit a Hero that was Tier 3 and ten levels higher than the summoner to defend a town or city.

From the introduction, one could surmise that the Hero’s Chapter was on par with a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. Only, this Summoning Scroll did not have a duration. However, it could only help protect towns or cities, not help players grind or raid Dungeons. Hence, the chapter’s value should be limited. At this stage of the game, it’d be surprising if it could sell for 600 Gold. If it were an actual Tier 3 Summoning Scroll, though, it could go for a little more as it could help fight powerful Bosses.

What the introductory text had not mentioned was the fact that the Tier 3 Hero could grow. The introductory text only revealed the Hero’s base Attributes. Moreover, unlike Personal Guards, it was much easier to level Heroes. Even the weakest among them could grow to Level 180, Tier 4, while the more powerful Heroes could grow to Level 200, Tier 5.

Forget it. I’ll just have Melancholic smile trade for it. s.h.i.+ Feng then contacted Melancholic Smile.

Shortly after, s.h.i.+ Feng found the Draconic Herb. Similarly, the other party had asked for the high price of a piece of Level 45 top-tier Dark-Gold Equipment. Fortunately, this wasn’t an issue for s.h.i.+ Feng. There was plenty of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment in Zero Wing’s Guild Warehouse.

Time pa.s.sed quickly. Soon, the auction’s second phase ended as well.

Although each player had not put up many items for trade, a lot of players had attended. s.h.i.+ Feng earned over 2,000 Gold and 150,000 Magic Crystals during the second phase.

Only, as Phoenix Rain had borrowed quite a bit, he hadn’t earned as much as he would have liked.

After the auction ended, news of Candlelight Auction’s wealth spread to the various major powers.

…

“d.a.m.n it! How could this have happened?!” Singular Burial, in the distant Star-Moon City, felt himself age by several years when he read the report. He hadn’t thought that the Candlelight Auction would be such a huge success. Star-Moon City’s auction was a joke in comparison. Moreover, now that Zero Wing had earned a fortune, Heaven’s Burial’s development was at risk. Following which, Singular Burial contacted Flame Blood and asked, “Blood, how are things going on your side?”

“Guild Leader, I’ve tried my best to lure the small Guilds and adventurer teams over. Although some of them have started to wise up and grow suspicious, things on Abandoned Wave’s side are developing smoothly. I don’t believe it will be long before Heaven’s Burial owns Star-Moon Kingdom,” Flame Blood said excitedly.

“Notify Abandoned Wave that Zero Wing has secured a lot of funding. If we don’t hurry, the Guild will be even more difficult to deal with in the future,” Singular Burial commanded sternly. “Also, think of a way to help Abandoned Wave hasten his progress. I don’t care if you’re exposed in the process.”

“Understood.” Hearing Singular Burial saying so, Flame Blood could not help his surprise. Just how far has Zero Wing developed to make the Guild Leader so nervous?

…

Meanwhile, s.h.i.+ Feng had stealthily reached White River City’s city hall.

“Sir, how may I be of service to you today?” the female receptionist asked as she approached s.h.i.+ Feng.

“I’d like to construct a city,” s.h.i.+ Feng responded.