By late afternoon on the auction day, there was no time left for people to arrive in town to attend the special event.
With the end of the day approaching and the local temperature dropping after a sunny day, the long-awaited auction was only three hours away from starting.
But even with hours to go, the area around the Millfall Theater, where the auction would take place, was already buzzing with activity.
Rarely seen railings blocked some paths leading to the theater area's side streets. In contrast, several others separated the sidewalks and streets leading to the venue.
Several people, curious to see the arrival of the auctioneers, were already on the city's outskirts, crowding the edges of the sidewalks as they waited for the carriages of people who would soon arrive for today's event.
For the vast majority of people in this city, it wasn't easy to see powerful nobles and Mages. Therefore, even though none of these curious people had anything to gain by being there, hundreds of people arrived every minute to join the crowd that would be watching the arrival of the auction participants.
While the common people prepared to watch the auctioneers arrive, the soldiers of the royal army held their positions every ten meters, concentrating on keeping the area organized and preventing chaos.
Amidst the people's waiting and the work of many soldiers in the area, a large, well-made, and beautiful carriage would begin its journey through the area under observation, heading for the theater in the center of the city.
Seeing such a cart with the symbol of the royal family pass by, the crowd raised the noise in the area as they saw the vehicle with some of the materials that would be used in the auction arrive along with the auctioneers.
Only one person was in charge of the entire event during the auction. But behind the curtains, other professionals worked to maintain the data related to the auction, bureaucratic things that were necessary everywhere, whether on Earth or in Polaris Realm.
"This is going to be a busy night..." One of the men arriving at the local theater with the group sent by the royal family commented. "This city will suffer tonight. By dawn, we'll have a transformed Millfall."
"Will it?" A well-dressed middle-aged woman asked. "Some of the forces that will participate in this auction are not the kind that are easily suppressed. Few will have the courage to challenge them."
"Yes, but there are 20 items to be auctioned, but 13 of them are 3rd-grade ones... With over 30 Mages in Millfall tonight, things could get out of hand quickly." Another man commented in agreement with the first man's words.
"Anyway, it's none of our business." The leader of these people, an older-looking man with a beard and white hair, said in a calm tone. "Nothing will happen inside the theater. As for outside, it's nothing to do with us. It's the army's job to guarantee the royal laws in the city."
The three people with this man, a High-level Mage, immediately agreed with him.
After the arrival of this group, who would organize what remained to be organized, the minutes passed, and soon Nina and Eve would arrive at the auction site to watch the arrival of the event's participants.
Some families used events like this to keep in touch with other powers of equal or higher status, so these two would soon see the first groups of participants arrive, even though it would be dozens of minutes before the auction began.
Nina would see the Mages and several nobles from outside the Millfall region arrive in luxurious carriages, as well as members of the Awakening Temple and other forces in the kingdom.
The local blacksmith association was represented by its council elders. At the same time, similar groups from other professions would arrive well in advance.
Nina's eyes sparkled as she watched, somewhat impressed by the number of Mages present in the city that day.
'I want to reach that level one day.' She thought to herself as she looked around with a smile.
While admiring the power of people similar to the one who had taken Lauren, she saw the arrival of a famous local group, the Mazzanti family.
Nina and virtually the entire crowd, which now numbered over 4,000 people, looked in their direction as several men armed with rifles and body armor walked alongside a metal carriage.
"Tsk! The Mazzanti family is imposing! In such a short time, it has grown from nothing to the point where it can compete with the leading powers of the city."
"Cesar is a genius. What do you expect from him? Growing up is very easy for him. Don't be so surprised!"
"But will he be all right? He's getting into more and more frightening trouble. I myself still don't know why the Viscount hasn't dealt with him yet..."
Several people in the area commented to each other as Vice's carriage drove by, with only him and Layla in it.
Rory had stayed behind to protect the family headquarters. At the same time, Layla wanted to help Vicente solve his problems quickly so they could rescue Jasmine.
"Is everything going to be okay?" She asked as she looked at Vice.
"I can't guarantee anything," Vicente commented as he looked in the direction where Nina and Eve were, smiling under his mask. "It's uncertain nights like this that change fates. Let's stick to our plans and be careful.
If we do what we plan, we will have no regrets."
As they spoke, a woman cloaked in darkness and riding a strange horse came running through the area, quickly approaching Vice's carriage.
As she passed them, Vicente and Layla watched as she looked in their direction.
'Who are they?' The woman asked herself, noticing how unusual this group was but also how the crowd seemed very interested in these people.
But she didn't waste much time thinking about it and soon made her way to the theater.
Meanwhile, in the carriage behind Vicente's, a black-haired, sweet-looking woman was standing next to a man weaker than her, a Low-level Mage.
"Miss Mercer, what should we do?" This man asked the Mid-level Mage in front of him.
She kept looking toward the Mazzanti family's metal carriage, thinking about what she had heard about Cesar and that family.
She had heard everything the local powers knew about House Mazzanti, from the fact that Cesar was currently at level 5, had a Mid-level Mage basilisk, but also a special weapon model that seemed very problematic.
Her group didn't know where Casey and Layla were, two of the people they were supposed to eliminate on their current mission. But they thought these people were also somehow connected to Cesar, which meant that all their local problems could be solved through him.
But with so much power on his side, Cesar wouldn't fall so easily!
"Let's wait." She said. "Viscount Symons seems to have big problems with Cesar, and Cesar also has things to settle with him. Let's give them a chance to face each other after the auction. We'll act after that!"