Chapter 68: Superpower
"Wait!!"
Once again, Rhuths’ shout cut through the electrically charged atmosphere of the hall.
He stepped forward, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
"Miss, I came to this auction in a hurry and didn’t bring many Black Diamonds with me. Can I..."
"Of course not!"
The Succubus interrupted him without the slightest hesitation.
She looked at him with a smile that seemed sweet but concealed a chilling coldness.
"Lord Rhuths should be fully aware of our guidelines. Before the auction ends, nobody is allowed to leave. Especially today. If the world discovers what is being traded inside these chambers, I can’t even begin to imagine the catastrophic consequences that would follow."
She paused briefly, letting the weight of that danger settle over everyone.
"However, if you successfully acquire her, it will be natural for you to leave immediately. From that moment onward, she will have no connection whatsoever to my merchant clan, and nobody will believe such a treasure came from our hands. Therefore, leaving early is strictly forbidden. Even though I trust the integrity of everyone present, if there is even the slightest chance of a leak, I simply couldn’t bear the losses."
The Succubus’ smile bloomed like an exotic flower, yet every one of her words sounded like a severe sentence.
Rhuths’ forehead was now covered in cold sweat.
He processed the situation at lightning speed and urgently said,
"Then give me just ten seconds to send a message to my men! They can transfer Black Diamonds to me immediately. Your clan wouldn’t let an astronomical profit like this slip away over a mere technicality, would it?"
"Please don’t make things difficult for me, Lord Rhuths. The reason our clan has prospered for so many centuries is, first and foremost, because we never break our own rules. Furthermore, when we sent out the invitations, we were very clear: bring as much as you can. I know many thought it was merely a sales pitch, but the warning was sincere."
"Don’t be foolish! My uncle is an inner disciple of the Thunderhead Divine Sect. He’s close to becoming a Sage, and he will certainly owe your clan a favor because of this."
The man spoke in an extremely serious tone.
But...
"Silence, brat. So what if your uncle is somebody? Do you think you’re the only one here with connections? If you don’t follow the rules, let’s see how you leave this place alive today."
An aged voice rang out, filled with malice.
The corner of Rhuths’ mouth twitched violently.
He was a powerful young man and had obviously brought a fortune with him.
But who could have predicted that a living legend would appear on the stage?
This was a treasure worth staking an entire family Bloodline on, a jewel rarely seen even on the Divine Plane.
The Succubus shifted her gaze away from Rhuths, ignoring his agony.
"One hundred million is the opening bid. Please begin your offers."
A deathly silence filled the stone chamber.
The air seemed to grow heavier as everyone desperately calculated their financial limits.
Just as the auctioneer opened her mouth to repeat the price, Priam slowly stood up.
His voice was steady and completely free of hesitation.
"Two hundred million!"
The impact of that bid caused every head to turn toward him instantly.
Two hundred million was an absurd amount, but everyone present could have gathered that much if they were allowed to ask for assistance from their people outside.
Everyone had brought an amount they considered reasonable for this auction.
Even those who brought much more than usual because of the warning in the invitations had not exceeded two hundred million.
After all, who in their right mind would carry hundreds of millions of Black Diamonds around?
With just a few dozen million, one could already buy practically anything.
Priam’s bid immediately doubled the starting price, causing ninety percent of the attendees to let out sighs of defeat and frustration.
If they were anywhere else, they could mobilize outside resources.
But here, isolated inside the auction, all they could do was curse their lack of preparation.
The Succubus studied Priam with a curious and predatory gaze.
"Lord Bruno is quite direct in his actions. I like people like that."
Rhuths, feeling the prize slipping through his fingers, ground his teeth so hard they creaked.
He possessed exactly two hundred and sixty million, an amount he had considered unbeatable just minutes ago.
"Two hundred and ten million!"
he shouted, his voice cracking with desperation.
It was his all-or-nothing gamble.
All he could do was pray that nobody possessed a significantly larger sum.
"Three hundred million!"
Priam declared in a voice devoid of emotion, as if he were tossing coins to a beggar.
It was a tactic he had seen in some anime or game before.
He was acting brutish and impulsive, as though money meant nothing to him, hoping to intimidate everyone else.
The hearts of everyone in the room trembled.
Another jump of nearly one hundred million in mere seconds!
The silence that followed was one of pure resignation.
Rhuths clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white before collapsing back into his seat, utterly defeated.
When the Succubus announced the previous bid, everyone had expected the competition to turn into a storm of frantic offers.
However, after Priam’s two brutal increases of one hundred million each, silence swallowed the stone chamber.
Countless pairs of eyes were fixed on Priam, trying to pierce through his mask and guess the identity of that mysterious young man.
Inside the cage, the little girl carefully tilted her head, watching the man who had just offered a fortune for her.
At that moment, for some unknown reason, a spark of hope, something that seemed to have been extinguished long ago, suddenly appeared in her previously dark eyes.
"Hehehe, this gentleman raised the bid to three hundred million in a single move. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen a Young Master act with such boldness."
The Succubus slowly swept her gaze across Priam’s body, evaluating every detail.
"Is there anyone else who wishes to outbid him? If not..."
"Three hundred and twenty million!"
A female voice, sharp and cold, echoed through the hall.
Only her golden eyes were visible behind the black mask covering her face.
As she made her bid, she locked eyes with Priam. A silent challenge shone within her pupils:
Raise it now, if you can!
’Challenge accepted!’
Priam’s eyes gleamed at the thought.
"Four hundred million!"
Without hesitating for even a fraction of a second, Priam announced the new amount.
His voice was cold and sharp, sounding out the very instant the woman finished speaking.
Once again, it was a direct jump of nearly one hundred million.
The golden-eyed woman stiffened as if she had been struck by a paralysis spell.
She remained silent, her mouth likely hanging open behind the mask in shock.
Four hundred million Black Diamonds was such a colossal amount that an ordinary person couldn’t even comprehend the scale of that wealth.
Even the Succubus lost her composure for a moment, her mouth remaining slightly open before she managed to recover.
No one else dared to breathe, let alone speak.
Every gaze was magnetically drawn toward Priam.
Although that humanoid’s power level didn’t appear extraordinary in the eyes of those present, his background certainly did.
Someone capable of spending that amount without blinking could only come from the very top of the pyramid.
’This is the power of being loaded! This is my fucking superpower, you broke-ass dipshits!’
Priam mocked inwardly, feeling a bitter satisfaction.
On the surface, however, he maintained complete indifference, as if four hundred million were merely pocket change.
"Four hundred million," the Succubus repeated, trying to regain the rhythm of the auction. "Is there anyone willing to raise the bid further? Remember, this is a Primordial Pristine Wild-Spirit. This may be the only opportunity of your lives. You cannot let her slip away!"
She persisted, throwing provocative glances at the wealthiest buyers, but nobody moved.
The financial ceiling of the room had been completely shattered.
"Then congratulations, Lord Bruno. This Primordial Pristine Wild-Spirit, possibly the last living specimen on the mortal plane, now belongs to you."
Under countless gazes filled with envy and disbelief, Priam calmly walked onto the stage.
He handed a spatial ring to the Succubus.
Inside it, a mountain of four hundred and eighty million Black Diamonds glittered silently.
After receiving the ring, the Succubus handed him another ring containing the Earth-Class Magic Art he had also purchased.
Priam looked directly into her eyes.
"Can I take her now?"
"Of course," she replied.
Up close, the Succubus’ smile was even more unsettling, exuding a natural aura that attempted to manipulate the senses and minds of everyone around her.
"She belongs to you from this moment onward."
With a gentle touch of her finger, the sealing inscriptions around the cage lit up and dissipated.
Priam stepped forward and grabbed the little girl’s arm.
What surprised him the most was that the moment the seal disappeared, she didn’t try to run or resist.
She simply allowed him to hold her, her small eyes fixed on his behind the mask.
"Sir," the Succubus said, her expression taking on an artificially sweet concern.
"Setting aside the rules of the Heralds, a Primordial is something even entities of the higher planes would covet. Although I trust our guests, secrets have legs. If news of this leaks, you will be in constant danger. It would be wiser to deal with this as soon as possible... the best option would be to extract the Core immediately and then..."
"No need. I have my own plans," Priam interrupted coldly. "Thank you for the warning."
Without wasting another second, he turned around and left with the girl at a quick pace, disappearing into the shadows of the exit under the attentive and predatory gazes of everyone present in the chamber.
