Chapter 325: The Python's Hide
This is a powerful and savage magical beast. At birth, it possesses the strength of level thirty, and as an adult, it can even reach level thirty-five. That is the true Dark Python King—so formidable that even Title Archmages like Sylas West have suffered defeat before it. These creatures dwell in the undercastles of the Sungold Plane, ruthless and cunning. Most of the time, they blend into the darkness, only launching thunderous attacks when underground elves pass by. For countless millennia, no one knows how many underground elves have met their end in the belly of a Dark Venom Python...
Yet, even the underground elves who rule the depths of the Sungold Plane have few ways to deal with these ferocious and cunning magical beasts. They are simply too powerful. With strength as high as level thirty, they can directly challenge Title Archmages, and their innate mastery of dark magic grants them unparalleled might.
And what Leon truly valued were those dark spells...
The Dark Venom Python is born with mysterious markings all over its body—like the totems of berserkers, these markings grant immense power. The only difference is that berserker totems bring overwhelming physical strength, while the python’s markings grant unmatched magical power...
This means...
The python skin itself is a rare magical material, and the older the Dark Venom Python, the greater its value. In the hands of a skilled alchemist, it can easily be crafted into powerful magic implements.
For Leon, this was even more true...
The markings on this python skin were already deep and intricate. Leon could tell at a glance that it came from at least a level thirty-two or thirty-three Dark Venom Python. Though not as terrifying as the legendary Dark Python King, it was more than enough to serve as a component for the Doombringer Staff.
While the auctioneer gave a passionate introduction, Leon silently calculated how many gold coins it would take to win this Dark Venom Python skin.
However...
At that moment, a young man clad in gleaming silver armor, yet wearing a timid expression, walked over from afar...
"Saren Charlotte, what are you doing!" William Merlin stood up immediately upon seeing him. "Are you looking for trouble again? If I hadn’t pleaded for you earlier, you’d be crying at home with that roasted pig’s trotter right now..."
"I..." Saren Charlotte was startled. Seeing William Merlin like this, he suddenly didn’t dare to step forward. He just stood there timidly, his face full of grievance: "I just wanted to come over and apologize..."
"Ah, apologize?" William Merlin was momentarily confused. "Apologize for what?"
"I’ve already reflected on my actions. I want to apologize for my previous behavior." This passage shows that none of the young heirs from these great families are easy to deal with—even someone like Saren Charlotte, whom everyone calls an idiot, knows how to bend and yield when necessary.
After Saren Charlotte came over, he ignored how William Merlin and Ross Merlin looked at him, and didn’t care about all the onlookers. He directly rushed in front of Leon, wiping tears and snot, wailing with a sobbing voice: "Sir, I was wrong, I was really wrong. I shouldn’t have offended you just now. Please be generous and forgive me this time, for the sake of my youth and ignorance..."
... For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded. What was going on?
William Merlin’s eyes nearly popped out of his head...
At first, he thought he was mistaken, but after rubbing his eyes several times, he looked again—no doubt about it, it really was Saren Charlotte, the same guy who had disgusted him for years over a minor grudge...
But how did Saren Charlotte end up like this?
"Shut up and sit aside." While everyone else was dumbfounded, Leon was simply annoyed—the auction was about to start, and he had no time to deal with Saren Charlotte's nonsense.
"Yes, yes, yes..." Saren Charlotte acted as if he’d been granted amnesty, and after hearing this, he obediently sat to the side. His earnest expression was just like one of those students at Auckland Academy.
Next up, this Dark Venom Python skin will start at 100,000 gold coins, with each bid increment no less than 10,000 gold coins. Now, let the bidding begin!
As the auctioneer’s hammer fell, the auction hall immediately erupted into a new round of bidding.
Very quickly, the price for this Dark Venom Python skin reached 300,000 gold coins.
And it showed no sign of slowing down—the price was climbing rapidly...
After all, this was Dark Venom Python skin—magical material from a level thirty magical beast. Even just the power released by those mysterious markings was worth far more than 300,000 gold coins...
500,000 gold coins.
550,000 gold coins.
580,000 gold coins.
600,000 gold coins.
............
As the price for the python skin reached 800,000 gold coins, the bidding in the auction hall finally began to subside...
At this point, it became clear that those truly intent on competing for the python skin were all from the top-tier private boxes. An elderly voice came from the northeast corner, and a slightly younger one from the center. These two were clearly the main contenders for the skin.
After Leon quietly memorized these two people, he finally made his first bid.
"Two million gold coins." Leon’s first bid had all the airs of a nouveau riche.
...
The entire auction hall suddenly fell silent...
Countless eyes fell on Leon, everyone wanting to see what kind of lunatic would make such a crazy bid...
Damn, you’re being completely unreasonable...
If you play like this, can the auction even go on? If someone bids 800,000 gold coins, you could just bid 900,000 and beat them. Fine, even if you’re rich, you could bid a million or 1.2 million to show your resolve, and that would serve the purpose, right?
Why did you have to bid two million gold coins?
Damn, playing like this is really shameless...
For a moment, everyone was stunned by the two million gold coin bid. The auction hall was silent for a full ten minutes before erupting in heated discussion and protest.
"Young man, showing off too much isn’t a good thing..." At this moment, the elderly voice from the northeast corner of the top box finally spoke. "You must be that Mafa Merlin who just returned to the Merlin Family? I have some acquaintance with your family’s patriarch, Lord Hoffland, and I’ve heard a bit about you..."
Heh..." Leon chuckled, ignoring him.
But the elderly voice didn’t stop at all: "Take the previous incident, for example. Saren is a member of our Charlotte Family, and you completely ignored the friendship between our two families. You crippled so many of his subordinates and even forced Saren to beg you for mercy. Aren’t you afraid of affecting relations between our families?"
That’s really none of your business...
Leon didn’t really care about these words; he just curled his lip and replied casually...
But Saren Charlotte, standing nearby...
...broke out in a cold sweat on the spot.
He had already recognized that the person speaking from the top box was none other than Hanson Charlotte, one of the Charlotte Family’s ninth-level mages. By seniority, he should call him Uncle Grandfather...
But right now, Saren Charlotte really wanted to curse at his uncle grandfather...
Uncle Grandfather, can I just call you Grandpa instead?
Could you please stop talking, old man?
Can’t you see, old man, that I’ve already apologized and admitted my mistake? I’m just hoping to get away with it...
Seriously...
You’re sitting up in your high box, so of course you didn’t hear what Richie just said to me...
That’s a Gold VIP...
The person I attacked just now was a Gold VIP of the Blackhorn Consortium. If anything goes wrong, the entire Charlotte Family could suffer, and even the patriarch would have to step forward to explain.
But you, sitting up there talking about your friendship with Hoffland—just because you know Hoffland you think you can ignore the Blackhorn Consortium? If you have the guts, go say that to Hulardo and see if he doesn’t slap that old face of yours...
What a pity...
Saren Charlotte’s thoughts were completely unknown to the old man. After finishing his speech, he still didn’t stop: "Young man, I know you run a massive alchemy business in Thousand Sails City and possess terrifying wealth. But let me give you some advice: this is Auckland, not Thousand Sails City. Maybe you’re used to doing whatever you want with your wealth in Thousand Sails City, but here in Auckland, there are more people richer than you. The reason no one competed with you in the last two bids isn’t because they’re poor, but because they didn’t think it was worth it..."
So what?
Heh, young people really do have a temper. I’m just giving you some friendly advice out of respect for Lord Hoffland. If you don’t want to listen, I’ll stop talking. But for the next few auctions, don’t blame me for not giving the Merlin Family any favors. There are two items I must win...
What a coincidence..." Leon smiled toward the northeast corner of the top box. "There are a few items I must win in the upcoming auctions too. Seven, to be exact—including the finale, the Void Gem."