42 Interference

"120 for the Vexio Merchants"

This new bid, which was loudly announced by a tall and masked man from the above cubicles, made the crowd act up even more. Nobody had directly named themselves so far, which made this change a huge deal.

As for why, it was simple : it was to intimidate and discourage others from bidding.

If the person was this confident in attaching their name, it meant they had quite a lot of resources at their disposal, but for Ji-ho, it was all about finding their breaking point.

But just as it was starting to get harder and harder, another voice, from a woman this time, pierced the crowd's noise.

"Hohoho… I see we're starting to play dirtier, uh? I never expected the Vexio's to stoop so low. 130 for the Alisa Corporation''

A raspy voice then exploded in laughter before speaking in turn.

"Alisa too? I guess we're also going to have to get involved. 135 for the Ocidien Union''

The already excited crowd became even louder, with the previously tamer ambiance slowly reverting to the earlier and wilder version.

After hearing the names, Alejandro became even more uneasy.

"Except for the first party, these last three are the largest slave trading organizations in Gruzia. They have huge reserves of capital and exert influence that shouldn't be underestimated"

This development made Ji-ho start to sweat profusely.

He had to revisit his strategy, and from where he was standing, he'd have to win with a decisive move.

The inherent risk, which was already tremendous considering the character they were trying to obtain, had suddenly increased even more due to the risk of offending three powerful parties.

For now, he'd just have to sit back and see where the bid would end up.

"The Ocidiens? I thought you guys were 'risk-averse', or have you changed your business model?"

"Those are big words coming from a group only employing women. Have you already exceeded your allowance? Bid if you're only going to say stupidities"

"It seems that both of you haven't changed much… Still as childish and petulant as ever. 140 for Vexio"

The exchange was derisive and acrimonious, causing everyone in attendance to become even more restless than before.

This sort of thing was excessively rare, with the decorum usually respected during the second half of the auction.

It appeared this opening act was well worth ruffling some feathers over.

After another couple of jabs and insults, the bid had stalled at 190, a colossal number for Park considering he had already spent 160 of his 500 gold coins.

The ones in possession of the bid were also the Vexio Merchants, with its spokesman seemingly unfazed by the other two parties' threats and provocations.

His actions had been swift and without hesitation, despite how fast the other two had raised their bids. This had given the engineer absolutely no indication about where his limit lied.

"No more bids? Going once, twice…"

After taking a deep breath, Ji-ho loudly raised his hand while shouting with authority he had rarely used before.

"250"

The crowd, which had completely forgotten about him since the three parties' entrance, suddenly became silent as their attention immediately shifted back to him.

Even the masked man's composure seemed to waver when hearing of the gigantic increase, with his eyes quickly going in his direction as well.

"HAHAHAHAHA! It's been a while since I've seen an outsider outpace one of us! How refreshing"

It had been a few seconds of complete silence before the Ocidien representative exploded in laughter, which was soon followed by Alisa's.

"Wow! Looks like the Vexio's have been surpassed"

The ridicule in their voice made everyone snicker, further causing the man's composure to falter. His previous demeanor had also turned to one of fury as he had suddenly been ridiculed in front of his peers.

"May I know my opponents' identity?"

His voice was spiteful and cold, which caused Ji-ho to steel himself for what was about to come.

"A merchant interested in this particular person. Nothing more, nothing less"

Park's intonation was neutral, but forceful, and it caused the room to quiet down again.

His confidence and borderline arrogance made everyone try to guess his identity.

Was this merchant actually representing another powerful organization?

Mundeok's physique also attracted quite a few more eyes, further amplifying the rumor mill.

As Vexio's representative began pondering, he soon realized he had very few options against an opponent with unknown financials, and most of all, unknown backing.

There was also the fact that using intimidation tactics was already a rare occurrence, meaning that pushing this episode any further could certainly tarnish his company's image.

This was, without a doubt, his loss.

"Very well"

These two words made everyone gasp.

Had Vexio, a powerhouse of the slave trading community, really bowed out against an unknown merchant?!

Of course, everyone present knew they were well capable of bidding over that amount, but since this was the first premium product of the evening, expanding this much capital was very much ill-advised when considering that the best listings were sure to come at the end.

"Going once, twice… And sold to the Merchant over there!"

Karina happily congratulated Park, whose heart began to ache from spending this much on a potentially massive headache.

As for the General, his gaze couldn't leave the boy, whose attitude hadn't changed at all during the process.

His hatred, anger, viciousness…

He was murderous clay ready to be molded into something the General had goosebumps even thinking about.

Even while reminiscing about his life, it was the first time a challenge excited him this much.

Elias, whose vicious smile had turned into one of glee, then thanked the crowd before leaving the stage with the boy in tow.

"Let's hope we can manage this fallout…"

As Park began to reassess his assets, he was now 410 gold coins lighter, meaning he had only 90 gold coins left assigned to this endeavor. It wasn't much, and he hoped another listing would fit his needs and respect his remaining budget.

And luckily for him, his prayers didn't go unanswered.

This time, the group of people taking the stage was fairly large at 21 members, including the seller. They were all equipped in fairly robust gear while sporting expressions that one could describe as sharp.

When seeing their behavior, the attendance, which had settled down, suddenly became excited again.

As soon as they all lined up, the spokesman, another well-dressed man in his fifties, then walked to the center of the stage and, as he had probably done hundreds of times before, began his presentation.

"Hello everyone! My name's John and I come today representing the Baxtron Family. Following up this opening act will be difficult, but I'm quite certain that these soldiers will interest you. Behind me are 20 soldiers the Baxtrons have personally trained since they were 10 years old, meaning they've been instilled with an iron discipline and are as cohesive a unit as you'll ever find. They come without the equipment, but it can be included for a price after the transaction's completion. Here's a demonstration of what they can achieve"

He then clapped his hands and one of the most impressive displays Park had ever seen unfolded before his eyes.