Chapter 327: Twenty Million (Please vote for the monthly ticket!)
Even a first-rate power would be severely shaken by such a sum. Aside from those truly ancient forces with millennia of heritage, no one else could possibly compete at this level.
For a moment, almost everyone unconsciously held their breath. They all knew that, although the bidding seemed slow now, this was actually the most intense moment of the auction.
This was the real boiling point.
Whoever caves first will lose the Starstone...
Everyone’s hearts seemed to leap into their throats. Necks craned, eyes fixed longingly on the two tightly closed private box doors, all waiting for that final bid to appear...
"Eight million five hundred thousand gold coins." After a full minute of agonizing deliberation, the central box’s occupant finally gritted his teeth and spat out the price.
Then, everyone saw the door of a box in the northeast corner suddenly swing open. Hanson Charlotte, with a head of white hair, stepped out, his face unusually calm as he raised a single finger high.
"Ten million gold coins. On behalf of the Charlotte Family, I bid ten million for this Starstone."
Boom...
The entire auction hall erupted...
An unprecedented high price was finally born at the Blackhorn Auction—a brand new record. Never before, in all the quarterly auctions, had a transaction reached ten million. This was the first!
For a moment, everyone’s gaze toward Hanson Charlotte grew complicated.
Everyone present was a notable figure in Auckland—at worst, a wealthy merchant. All knew that three hundred years ago, Thornton Merlin had burst onto the scene, crushing the Charlotte Family’s once-in-a-century genius, Fusen Charlotte, in the Auridge Mountains, and then led the Merlin Family to a meteoric rise. From that moment, the Charlotte Family began its long decline.
At its lowest, the Charlotte Family had even fallen to the level of a third-rate power in Auckland. Back then, even a small bandit gang dared to raid the Charlotte Family’s caravans—showing just how far they’d fallen...
Only in the last hundred years did the Charlotte Family begin to rise again, riding the wave of plane colonization. Drawing on their ancient heritage, they left rivals behind one by one, marking their presence across many planes. Even in Auckland’s grandest event—the struggle for the Blazeforge Realm—the Charlotte Family participated and managed to seize five fortresses. It was then that people realized, almost without noticing, the Charlotte Family had returned to the ranks of Auckland’s first-rate powers.
Now, among Auckland’s many families, the Charlotte Family firmly holds a top-three position—just behind the Merlin and Watson Families.
Many speculate that what was once a two-way rivalry has now become a three-way standoff thanks to the Charlotte Family’s rise. Some with keen insight have even begun to predict that a great war among the three families is inevitable—and when that day comes, many powers will have to redraw their borders.
However...
No one expected the Charlotte Family’s resurgence to be so fierce.
Yes, right here in the Blackhorn Auction Hall, Hanson Charlotte slammed down ten million gold coins in front of everyone...
Everyone knew that these ten million gold coins represented far more than just a Starstone. They were a demonstration of the Charlotte Family’s power and heritage—a declaration to all that the Charlotte Family had risen again, and was now a force on par with the Merlin and Watson Families.
It’s easy to imagine that after this auction, the Charlotte Family’s status in Auckland would only climb higher—perhaps even reaching true equality with the other two great families.
Anyone who wanted to question the Charlotte Family now had to reckon with the power of ten million gold coins...
At this moment, Hanson Charlotte stood outside the door of the top-level box, his raised finger lingering in the air as he calmly surveyed all the guests below.
Hanson Charlotte was born in the darkest days of the Charlotte Family, when they had fallen to a third-rate power in Auckland. Even a small bandit gang dared to rob their caravans. From childhood, Hanson was told that the Charlotte Family had once been a leading force in Auckland, that they’d produced prodigies like Thornton Merlin. Once...
But all that was just the past.
You could say that most of Hanson Charlotte’s life was spent longing for the family’s former glory. He poured all his energy into the cause of reviving the Charlotte Family, willing to pay any price for its resurgence...
At last, Hanson Charlotte’s wait was over...
Riding the wave of plane colonization, the Charlotte Family began to rise—growing stronger each day. Now, the entire family is intoxicated with dreams of the future, all waiting for the day when the Charlotte Family returns to the pinnacle of Auckland. Hanson knows that day is not far off.
Hanson Charlotte waited nearly a hundred years for this moment—to finally announce the Charlotte Family’s return with a ten-million-gold-coin bid in the Blackhorn Auction Hall.
The instant he named that price, Hanson felt that his century of waiting had all been worth it. From today on, everyone would know—the Charlotte Family’s wealth was second to none. They too could produce a fortune in the tens of millions. Only someone like Hanson, who had waited nearly a hundred years for this resurgence, could truly understand what it meant...
"Ten million gold coins! Mage Hanson, representing the Charlotte Family, bids ten million for the Starstone! Is there a higher offer? Is there a higher offer...?"
The Blackhorn Auction’s auctioneer was undoubtedly a professional. Though he’d nearly suffered a heart attack when Hanson bid ten million, he quickly regained his composure and, in an expertly provocative tone, called for new bids...
In truth, even the auctioneer knew his inquiry was pointless at this stage.
Ten million gold coins—it wasn’t a question of whether it was expensive, but whether anyone could actually produce such a sum. Even the Merlin and Watson Families would struggle to assemble that much wealth on short notice.
Everyone marveled at how the Charlotte Family had burst back onto the scene after centuries of quiet—making a stunning comeback with a bid that shocked all of Auckland.
At this moment, many eyes turned to the fifth row of the auction hall, to the young man who had previously swept the auction, snatching up seven ordinary lots in a row with a nearly unreasonable style.
Those looks were a mix of sympathy—and mockery...
"Young man, I told you before—Auckland isn’t Seaview City. Running your mouth here does you no favors..." Hanson Charlotte’s voice remained calm. "Now you see it: ten million gold coins. That’s a price you can’t even dream of reaching. Can you still compete with me?"
"Mage Hanson, you’re talking too much." Leon said nothing, but Ross Merlin beside him couldn’t hold back: "You’re using the Charlotte Family’s three centuries of savings to compete with my cousin for the Starstone. Do you really think that’s something to be proud of?"
"Heh..." For the first time, Hanson Charlotte smiled. "That’s right, I admit it—I am using the Charlotte Family’s savings from the last three hundred years. So what? You think it’s unfair? Young man, there’s no such thing as fairness in this world. When Thornton Merlin crushed the Charlotte Family as a Heaven-rank powerhouse, did anyone complain that was unfair?"
"You..." Ross Merlin was momentarily speechless. He knew Hanson’s words were off, but couldn’t find a rebuttal, and could only stand there dumbly, watching Hanson’s smug smile.
In the end, Ross Merlin could only snort coldly, full of frustration, and return to his seat.
"Sorry, Leon Merlin, the auction ends here." Hanson Charlotte looked at Leon, his smile brimming with satisfaction.
"Who told you the auction was over?" Only now did Leon slowly set down his crystal book page, glancing at Hanson Charlotte outside the box—he didn’t even bother to raise his hand for his bid: "Twenty million gold coins."
"How much?" The auctioneer had already started the countdown, his gavel raised, but when Leon’s bid came out, he nearly dropped it...
"T-twenty million gold coins?"
The auction hall erupted once again...
No one expected that the centuries-old auction record, once broken, would last only a few minutes...
For a moment, everyone doubted their ears, wondering if they’d heard wrong. How could such an outrageous bid appear—for a mere Starstone? How could it possibly fetch such an astonishing price?
Hanson Charlotte stood outside the box, his triumphant smile not yet faded, now mixed with utter shock. His expression was bizarre—half laughing, half crying.
A whole minute passed before Hanson suddenly screamed: "Impossible!"
At this point, Hanson Charlotte had completely lost his composure...
Just moments ago, he’d been lecturing his opponent with smug certainty. But in the blink of an eye, the other side had slapped him in the face with an outrageous price. It felt like standing there, full of pride, only to be suddenly struck across the cheek.
Stunned. Humiliated...
*************
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I’ve been really diligent lately—almost like a prodigal son returning home. If you want me to keep up this pace, a little encouragement in the form of monthly tickets would be just the thing...