NOVEL NEXT Chapter 108: Prince
Richard suspected she might have discovered another treasure ground besides the Dragon Hall, and that she had already entered it.
'I must ask her. And the Teleportation Discs… I have to obtain them no matter what,' he thought before raising his hand.
"Twenty million," he said.
If he didn't double the price, how could he possibly intimidate others?
The hall fell into stunned silence, everyone too shocked to react.
Even Sophia, who already knew Richard's identity, looked at him in disbelief.
But she quickly smiled, understanding that Richard would not boast idly. Since he had entered the secret place of the Dragon Knights, it wasn't strange at all for him to possess an unimaginably vast supply of Nature Spirits.
Of course, for Richard, twenty million was already too much—nearly half of all the Nature Spirits he owned.
"Are you sure you can pay that?" Luca suddenly asked Richard, a question that even surprised Richard himself.
It seemed that the price had left him powerless. Frustration pushed him to question Richard's seriousness.
Richard glanced at him without a word, his expression radiating indifference.
And Sophia, clearly losing interest in Luca—who could no longer bid—shifted her gaze toward Olivia, holding out hope for her.
Yet Olivia too seemed incapable of bidding further.
Her eyes turned toward Richard, filled with curiosity about who he truly was.
"Miss Skylight, Olivia…" Sophia suddenly spoke, forcing Olivia to look at her, puzzled by why she had been called out.
"If I'm not mistaken, you obtained your wealth from the Secret Land of the Skylight Clan within the Holy Star Kingdom, meant for clan members born in this kingdom. I happen to have a friend from that clan, and I know the inheritance left there is far greater. There's no way you came away with less than twenty million Nature Spirits, am I right?"
"What?"
Sophia's words immediately stirred a great commotion.
"There really is a Secret Land belonging to the Skylight Clan. That must be extraordinary—their inheritance is among the best. They possess a peerless Codex. And their wealth is unquestionable, since it's reserved solely for one clan."
"Could it be broken into?"
"I think it's exclusive to their clan members. Perhaps, with enough strength, one could break in—but then the powerful figures of their clan would likely hunt you across the world."
"…"
At that moment, Olivia couldn't conceal her shock, realizing her source of wealth had been guessed.
She was finally forced to acknowledge that this seemingly composed auctioneer was not to be underestimated.
With a bitter smile, Olivia replied, "How could it be that easy? I too was tested for every single thing in that Secret Land. As for Nature Spirits, I only acquired twenty million, and I now have less than that left in my possession."
"Oh, what a pity… My friend had a similar experience when she was young, but at that time, she acquired even more," Sophia remarked, making Olivia's face twitch.
A few people chuckled at that, realizing Sophia was deliberately poking fun at her.
Clearly, personality couldn't be judged by appearance or impression alone. Sophia may have looked kind and trustworthy, but it seemed she had a hobby of provoking and needling others.
"Does no one else want these Teleportation Discs?" she asked the participants.
"You should understand their function. Both your combat and escape abilities would improve drastically with them. What use is hoarding Nature Spirits if your strength doesn't grow?" she added with a faint smile.
"Lady Whitewater, of course everyone wants them, but the problem is, none of us have enough wealth," Henry said with a carefree laugh, clearly unconcerned about who would win the item, since he himself had no chance.
Unfortunately, Sophia seemed far too disinterested to respond.
Just as everyone thought the item would inevitably fall into Richard's hands, the entrance to the auditorium was suddenly thrown into uproar as a group of people arrived.
"Seems I'm late, but luckily it hasn't been sold yet. Thirty million—all I have. I'll use it as my betrothal gift for my marriage to Princess Lilith. Would she still reject me if I presented her with a Teleportation Disc?" declared the leader of the group—a blond-haired man whose face was so strikingly handsome that one might think he was no human, but an angel disguised in mortal form.
He wore a coat-like garment, deep blue with crimson stripes.
Even the capital's residents looked at him as though they were country folk gazing at a city noble.
And they did not recognize him.
But he was clearly no ordinary figure. His guards were Sky-Armored Knights, each towering over two meters, along with two cold-faced middle-aged men who looked far more threatening than Luca's escorts.
Seeing him, Sophia's lips curved into a thin smile.
"Prince Holylight, Charles Holylight, I didn't think you would come to our auction," she said, immediately causing another wave of commotion.
No one expected this man to be a prince of the neighboring kingdom—the Holy Light Kingdom.
In terms of heritage, it was comparable to the Holy Star Kingdom, both founded by a Grand Sovereign.
It too had yet to produce a Second Grand Sovereign.
But the Holy Light Kingdom was newly founded, having only passed through two eras.
Though its royal bloodline was not as numerous as the Holy Star Kingdom's, its inheritance—left behind by the Holy Light Grand Sovereign—was still abundant, since the kingdom was so young.
Richard realized yet another troublesome character had entered the stage, but he was too lazy to care.
Since the price of the Teleportation Discs had been raised, he lifted his hand again.
"Thirty-one million," he said casually.
The prince had declared thirty million was all he had, so naturally Richard didn't raise the bid too high.
The confident smile on the prince's face instantly vanished as the price climbed higher still.
His expression nearly froze, but his gaze sharpened as it fell on Richard.
"Friend, are you sure you have enough Nature Spirits?" he asked.
Even a king, most likely, couldn't bring out such an amount at once.
It wasn't a matter of being rich or poor—many simply didn't store up that many Nature Spirits. Even if they did, it was usually because they had just liquidated vast amounts of treasure.
For the second time, Richard faced such a question. And once again, he didn't respond.
The prince's face twitched, clearly unprepared for someone to dare ignore him.
But even he didn't dare act recklessly in the Golden Leaf Auction House.
Perhaps it had been founded only by an Ancient Sovereign, but that very Sovereign still existed in this world, alive since the Ancient Era—while the Grand Sovereign of his kingdom had long since disappeared.
"Once!" Sophia began her count, attempting to provoke Charles into bidding higher. But it seemed thirty million truly was his limit.
"Sold!" she finally declared, her voice softer this time, as though dissatisfied.
In the end, thirty-one million was only the surface price. Because Richard was the winner, the 25% discount applied.
In reality, Richard only had to pay twenty-three million two hundred fifty thousand Nature Spirits—barely above his original bid.
Ignoring all the stares, Richard waited calmly for the Teleportation Discs to be delivered to him.
To his surprise, Sophia herself walked over toward his seat, carrying the Teleportation Discs in her own hands.