Chapter 446: Main item of the auction
One by one, many items were brought to the stage, each one of them quite rare and useful. They would give a significant boost in power for anyone who purchased, but at most, they went for a couple of thousand gold coins.
A vial of crystallized beast marrow, glowing faintly like liquid lightning, fetched a thousand gold. A chained thunder hawk chick, its wings clipped, sparks still jumping from its feathers, was sold off for three thousand. Even obscure curiosities like a mask said to let the wearer hear whispers of the dead found eager buyers.
Damon stayed quiet, his crimson gaze cold, simply watching as the parade of treasures rolled by. Most weren’t worth putting a spotlight on himself just yet. He wanted to see what the vampires were after.
Then came something interesting. A young girl in a cage. She sat curled against the bars, her emerald eye blank and distant.
"Look at the pointy ears and the pale skin. That’s a little elf chick caught by our skilled hunters. Now, who wants to taste elven flesh? Or perhaps have a little fun on the side from time to time. Elven women are strong and can take whatever you throw at them! And if you let this young chick grow, she might even blossom into a stunning beauty."
The auctioneer sold the product quite well. However, despite that, there was only limited interest.
"10!" Someone shouted a lazy bid.
"20 and not a single coin more for the flat-chested bitch." Another one gruffly grunted.
In the end, the rate only went up to 50, and no one was willing to pay even a coin more. The auctioneer was about to finalize the transaction when suddenly BloodReign’s voice weakly sounded.
"Master... get her..."
Damon did not understand why BloodReign would be interested in someone like her, but his hand instantly shot up. "60 gold coins. It’s been a while since I tasted elven blood." He laughed casually.
"Sixty? Ah, now that’s more like it! Do I hear sixty-five? Seventy?"
Silence. A few demons sneered, muttering under their breath.
"Crazy bloodsucker wasting gold on a twig."
"Sixty for a brat? He must be starving for elf meat."
No one raised the bid higher. Not even a single coin. The elf girl’s cage rattled faintly as she shifted, her emerald eyes flicking up just for a moment to meet Damon’s crimson ones before she once again went back to her indifferent state.
"Sold! Sixty gold to the vampire!" The auctioneer announced, and the cage was wheeled to the side, where attendants unhooked her and prepared for the transfer. Damon immediately received a new system notification.
[Ding! A new contract is available.]
Damon looked at the contents, and it was pretty much the description of a typical slave contract. The girl had to obey his every single command, and if she did not, he had the power to end her life with a mere thought.
Runes would be branded on her body using the Enslave skill, which would be activated if she disobeyed him, and the girl would be subjected to extreme pain and torture.
The cage was brought to him once everything was completed and left by Damon’s side. Damon accepted the contract, and the girl and the auctioneer moved on to the next item.
No one really bothered to spare him another look. Only the mysterious vampiress who had cornered him earlier shot him a glare before she turned her head back to the main stage.
The auction continued without pause, the auctioneer clapping his hands and announcing one treasure after another.
Damon frowned. He was genuinely confused. Right from the beginning, there was nothing special about this auction. Nothing really stood out. Even as the whole auction looked to be completed, there was nothing at all worth fighting for.
Soon, the last item of the auction was announced. Damon half expected some sort of legendary item to pop out, but everything became anticlimactic when the attendants dragged a woman to the stage.
Surprisingly, she was a human woman. She was wearing a white tunic, and Damon could sense the weak divine essence drifting from her tired body.
"Last but not least! The item everyone has been waiting for!" The auctioneer announced with full gusto.
The demons in the audience hissed and jeered, their bloodlust rising at the scent of divinity. The beastkin growled with excitement.
"Behold!" the auctioneer cried, spreading his arms wide as though he had captured the very sun itself. "A true rarity in these lands! A priestess of the Radiant Church, blessed by her god, now fallen into our grasp!"
"Now, who wants to play with a good little priestess? A pure virgin goddess? Imagine what her blood could do for your cultivation! Imagine what her prayers could be twisted into under your command!"
The crowd burst into chaos. Demons roared with glee, beastkin snapped their fangs, and even a few of the darker robed races hissed at the sight of her. The weak divine aura spilling off the woman was like perfume in the auction hall. Half the bidders looked drunk on the scent alone.
The auctioneer milked the moment, striding in a slow circle around the trembling priestess. Her wrists were shackled with glowing iron, and her lips moved soundlessly, as if in prayer. The auctioneer sneered and yanked her head up by the hair so everyone could see her face.
"A pure priestess of the Radiant Church. Do you know how rare such a catch is in our lands? Do you know what her blood and her blessings are worth? So tell me, how much will you pay for her?"
He spread his arms dramatically. "We will start the bidding at one thousand gold coins!"
Everyone instantly started bidding in a frenzy, the price exploding within seconds and reaching a whole five thousand gold coins.
Was this the moment he had been waiting for? Damon immediately became alert and waited for something to happen, anything to happen. His gaze swept across the vampires who still remained silent.
Damon frowned. What the hell were these people even here for?
All of a sudden a loud uproar sounded in the entrance, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Damon turned toward the source of the chaos. It was a single demon.
The newcomer was lean, with dark skin. Strange runes were etched across his arms and neck, tattooed in jagged, almost crude patterns. His aura was faint, only that of a D-rank. By all appearances, he should have been no one special. A pawn at best, a disposable lackey at worst.
And yet, the moment he walked in, the entire hall reacted.
"All hail the young master!"
"All hail the demon lord successsor!"
"Kneel! Kneel for the successor!"
Every demon and beastkin in the room rose to their feet in respect, their jeers and murmurs silenced. Even the rowdiest bidders lowered their gazes. Some of them, without hesitation, pushed forward the slaves or items they had just purchased, offering them up like tributes.
The hall practically shook with the chants.
Damon finally understood everything. The missing piece of the puzzle had arrived, and everything clicked into place. This was why the vampires had been lying low and keeping their heads down. This was why they had been waiting patiently all this while. They weren’t waiting for any treasures. They were waiting for him!
If what everyone was shouting was indeed correct, then this man should be a demon lord successor, a being in line to receive and ascend with astronomical power. This guy was essentially equivalent to a crown prince of a human empire!
It was no wonder that the vampires were plotting against him. A demon lord successor appearing openly in public like this was a huge opportunity, something that should never happen, and yet this guy was here.
Just as the thought crossed Damon’s mind, the vampires who had been sitting idly until now suddenly made their move. Half a dozen blood auras flared to life. Before anyone could react a massive blood circle with numerous blood sigils came to life underneath everyone.
It was clearly a domain skill but the skill was huge enough to encompass the whole auditorium. Damon only needed a glance to confirm that the mysterious woman was the caster. Her aura was the most powerful among all the attackers.
The entire floor lit up crimson, runes writhing like serpents across the obsidian tiles. They bled light and power, coiling upward into shackles of blood that tried to bind the entire hall. Whips and hands of blood rose up and clawed anyone that was within this circle.
Screams echoed as weaker demons collapsed instantly. Even the beastkin roared in panic, claws raking the ground, unable to bear the pressure of the domain.
Only the stronger ones silently erected defense mechanisms and were able to react in time. But even they found it difficult to escape the area marked by blood. The entire hall erupted into chaos and in the midst of this chaos, the vampires started attacking and going all out.