Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Chapter 145: Mephis's Surprise
auctions?
When Saxon and Andre heard that Julian was going to hold an auction, they had the same guess in their minds - could this be the intention of the second prince Charles?
Why would he hold an auction for no reason?
Taking the opportunity to make money?
Saxon must be very concerned about the various movements of his powerful competitor.

He looked at Julian with a questioning look.

Julian smiled apologetically.
"I'm not deliberately hiding this from Your Highness. It's just that everything about the auction hasn't been finalized yet, including the venue, staff, time, and invited guests.

So it hasn’t been announced yet.”

Saxon was obviously very interested and asked:

“What kind of auction?

Who are you planning to invite?"

Julian replied:
“It’s a relatively private, internal auction.

It is mainly aimed at some major customers and business partners that our company interacts with on a daily basis.

Of course, I will also invite important figures from our Quesarion."

Saxon nodded thoughtfully, his interest quickly fading.

In his opinion, this was a liaison meeting held by Julian for his partners.

The nature is very simple and should have nothing to do with the second child.

After hearing Julian's words, Mavis suddenly whispered something in Cohen's ear.

Looking at the intimate actions of the two, Saxon felt a flash of jealousy in his heart.

Why shouldn't such a top-notch woman belong to me? Compared with Mavis, what kind of women have I played with before?

After hearing what Mavis said, Cohen smiled bitterly and shook his head slightly.

Mavis bit her red lips and stared at Cohen, seemingly determined.

Cohen sighed, then realized that everyone was staring at him, his cheeks flushed, and he said:

"It made a few people laugh."

After that, he looked at Julian and said awkwardly:
"Your Excellency, Baron, I have a request that you would like to make. I hope you can consider it."

Julian laughed and said:
"Brother, just speak directly. There's no need to be so pretentious about our relationship."

Cohen breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"Just now, I heard from my brother that you haven't decided on the staff for the auction yet?"

Julian touched his forehead and said:

"Yes, I have a lot of official business here, and it's all complicated. I haven't decided yet."

Cohen continued:

"Then the auctioneer hasn't been decided yet, has he?"

Julian nodded.

"No, but I've asked my subordinates to look for a suitable candidate."

Cohen smiled bitterly and pointed at Mephis.
"I wonder if my wife could guest-star as the auctioneer?"

When these words were spoken, everyone in the room looked surprised.

Julian was also stunned for a moment and asked:

"Madam, do you want to be the auctioneer for this auction?"

Cohen ruffled Mavis's hair and said with a hint of pampering:
"To be honest, my wife studied hosting in college.

Also passed the Imperial Auctioneer Qualification and Professional Examination.

However, she married me right after graduation and never had the opportunity to actually host an auction in person, which I have always felt quite regretful about.

so……"

Julian smiled and nodded.
"No problem. I believe that with Madam's temperament and appearance, our auction will definitely be a great success!"

"Thank you very much!"

Upon hearing this, Saxon couldn't help but become interested in the auction again, and he winked at Andre beside him without leaving any trace.

Andre was familiar with the Third Prince's character. He was good in everything except women. He quickly understood Saxon's hint and spoke for him:

"The capital hasn't been this lively for a long time. I wonder if I'll have the honor of participating in this auction?"

Julian, upon hearing the music, understood the meaning of the invitation and immediately ordered his servants to bring two invitations, which he personally handed to Saxon and Andrew.
"Please be sure to come and enjoy our presence!"

After this conversation, the atmosphere at the dinner table became noticeably more lively.

As they drank and chatted, Saxon curiously asked Cohen about the auction items he brought this time.

He had long heard of the name of "Flaming Red Lips". Since they were willing to come all the way here, the things they brought must be very valuable, or even extremely rare.

Cohen smiled and said:

"Just a few necklaces and diamonds.

They are all women's ornaments, and Your Highness probably won't be interested in them."

Julian suddenly interrupted:

"Didn't you say there was a rare item, some ancient blueprint?

Take it out and have a look."

Cohen was stunned for a moment, then said:

"You mentioned that, I just mentioned it casually.

It may not be sold at auction.

The main thing is that I can’t determine its value.”

Hearing that it was an ancient blueprint, Saxon and Andre became interested at the same time.

Cohen explained to the two:

“This item is from my personal collection and I am very interested in collecting cultural relics.

I once bought this from an antique dealer at a high price.

I thought the pattern on it was very interesting, so I bought it as a collection.

Unfortunately, after studying for a long time, I still have no clue.

But it is certain that it is a blueprint for the production of something from ancient times."

Saxon pointed at Andre beside him and said with a smile:

"What a coincidence! Mr. Andre is a top student in the History Department of the Eastern Territory Imperial Academy.

He is very knowledgeable about things from ancient times.

Why don't you let him take a look at it for you?"

Cohen put on a surprised expression and exclaimed:

“I didn’t expect that Mr. Andre graduated from our Royal Academy. He is indeed a top student.

But I didn't bring the things with me.

How about this, I've looked at those drawings many times and can copy some of them. Why don't I draw a rough outline first and let Mr. Andre take a look?"

The two of them are incompetent.

Cohen took out paper and pen and began to draw seriously.

About half a moment later, Cohen drew out a part of the tampered pattern of the "Star Guardian Armor" and added some ancient characters on it.

Handed it to Andre.

Andre took the blueprint and was struck by a vague sense of familiarity.

The pattern sketched by Cohen was like an ancient totem, full of mysterious charm, and every detail was perfect and beautiful. Andre only took a glance and determined that the drawing in Cohen's hand was definitely passed down from ancient times.

This painting technique and style is not a modern product.

Of course, what Andre was most concerned about were the ancient characters next to them. Even he couldn't tell which race they belonged to at first glance.

However, the style and writing style of these texts are vaguely familiar.

Suddenly, he seemed to know where this familiar feeling came from.

He couldn't help but look at Saxon and saw the same look in the latter's eyes.

Andre shook his head slightly without leaving any trace, then looked at it for a while with a reserved look, and shook his head:

“I’m short-sighted and didn’t see what it was.

Could you please let us take it back and study it?"

Cohen said indifferently:

"Of course. If you really see something, please share it with me."

Andre smiled and said:

"Of course."

Cohen looked at the famous "Eastern Fox" in his previous life and chuckled in his heart.

The acting is quite realistic.

He was sure that Andre and Saxon had definitely seen some clues.

Because the words Cohen left next to the drawings are the same type as the words found in an ancient site in the Kingdom of Ceylon.

Since its excavation, this ancient site has been secretly owned by the Ceylon royal family and has never been made public.

Almost all the direct descendants of the royal family have studied this ancient site, and Andrew, who is familiar with history, must have been sent by the Saxons to study it.

I guess after they go back they will compare and translate the texts produced in this ancient relic.

After translating these words, Cohen was sure that these two people would not be able to sleep well at night!

After eating and drinking, everyone said goodbye to each other in a very harmonious atmosphere, each with their own thoughts.

Cohen and the other returned to the room. Mavis smoothed her hair, sneered at Cohen, and said:
"And you're saying you're not trying to take advantage of me?

Your hands weren't behaving properly at the dinner table just now!"

Cohen said confidently:
“I’m doing this for work!
You have to play the role of husband and wife perfectly to avoid arousing the other party's suspicion.

Otherwise our plan will be abandoned halfway.

I do this so that I can help you get the 'National Defense Sword'!
Do you think I'm willing to take advantage of you? I'm a man with a family!"

Mavis looked at Cohen, who looked as if he had suffered a great injustice, and a trace of suspicion rose in his heart. He asked uncertainly:

"really?

Is it that serious?"

Cohen's confident voice came out:
"Of course! We can't make any mistakes when facing that person!"

He lowered his voice and said:
"Does Miss City Lord know who we are facing?"

Mephis replied: "Isn't he the third prince of the Kingdom of Ceylon?"

Cohen shook his head and said in a deep voice:
"That Third Prince is nothing special. The middle-aged man next to him is a powerful figure."

Mephis carefully recalled the behavior of the middle-aged man named Andre, and after a moment, he shook his head and said:

"I don't see anything special about him."

Cohen's eyes flashed with sternness, and he said slowly:
“What if I tell you that this person’s true identity is actually the prince of the Eastern Territory Empire, Xia Zuo Tang, a spy planted in the Kingdom of Ceylon.

The purpose of approaching Saxon is to support him on the throne of the Kingdom of Ceylon. Do you still think he is just an ordinary advisor?"

There was a slight surprise in Mephis' eyes. As the intelligence officer of the Sequence Lord Belmodi, she also had a certain understanding of the situation in various countries on the human continent.

Naturally, I understand the weight of Cohen's words.

An imperial prince actually placed his confidants around the heir to a kingdom!
It can also make the heir obey the orders of the trusted confidants who have been placed there. What this means is self-evident!

Mavis calmed down and asked in a deep voice:

"You wouldn't tell me this for no reason. Logically, this person's identity should be top secret. Why are you telling me so much?"

Cohen admired Mavis's quick wit. It was easy to communicate with such people. He smiled and said:

“It’s simple, because I personally have a small conflict with Xia Zuo Tang.

Therefore, I need a capable and trustworthy person to help me keep an eye on his trusted advisor.

Miss City Lord, since you are already my [Intelligence Officer], I believe you will not refuse this simple task.

Mavis narrowed his bright eyes, thought for a moment, and said:

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Cohen said:

“Andre seldom trusts outsiders. He is only accompanied by two maids and a housekeeper he brought from the Eastern Territory Empire.

The butler should be a transcendent at the peak of the gold level, and is also responsible for Andre's safety.

It's not realistic to target this butler. I suggest you choose the two personal maids as your target.

With your ability, it shouldn't be difficult to control an ordinary maid."

Mavis suddenly let out two meaningless laughs:

"This is the real purpose of your coming to the Kingdom of Ceylon."

Cohen's face was calm as he replied:
"I don't deny that I have my own selfish motives, but I am sincerely searching for the 'National Sword' for you.

Wouldn't it be better to get the best of both worlds and deal with my mortal enemy at the same time?"

Mavis stared at Cohen for a long time and asked:
"What else do you need me to do for you? Tell me all at once.

You can't possibly go through so much trouble just to let me control an ordinary maid."

Cohen's admiration grew stronger, and he quickly said:

"Saxon has an elite force of 3,000 men called the Ceylon Oath.

The general who commanded this army was named Harrison, a cousin of Saxon.

General Harrison had six commanders under his command, each in charge of 500 men.

I need to control two of the commanders, can you do it?"

Mavis asked:
"What level of transcendents are the commanders?"

Cohen replied:

"Except for the Grand Commander who is at the Gold level, the rest are at the peak of the Sixth Level."

Mavis agreed:

"can."

Cohen felt a little warm in his heart, staring into Mavis' eyes, and said seriously:
"I promise that within ten days, I will help you successfully advance to the Half-Step Legendary level!"

……

As usual, Saxon should spend the night at the Dynasty Club with the twin lovers he brought with him.

But the blueprint Cohen took out completely distracted him.

On the way back, he and Andre were still studying the drawings that Cohen had drawn, especially the ancient characters on them.

After a long silence, Saxon spoke:

"The more I look at it, the more it resembles the writing produced in that place."

When talking about "that place", a strange light appeared in Saxon's eyes.

As a bastard-born prince, he was able to have his current status thanks to that place.

If he had not had a fortuitous encounter in that place, he would have been like those ordinary princes, and might have been sent to some remote village to become a local rich man.

Andre nodded solemnly:
"It should be correct, but I have to wait until I go back and look through the relevant materials to decipher what these words mean."

Saxon's eyes sparkled with excitement:
"If it really came from that place, then no matter what the blueprint is, we must get it!

It is rare to find such systematic texts and patterns from that place, and they are definitely much more valuable than those scattered finds."

Saxon couldn't help but be excited, because the ancient ruins called "Ashes Treasury" were said to be related to a god.

Since its discovery, it has been strictly controlled by the Ceylon royal family and served as a secret place for future generations to train.

Saxon gained many opportunities from it, including his three legendary three-legged dragon snakes.

After returning, Saxon immediately called together the scholars he usually kept to study the information in Cohen's hand-drawn drawings and texts.

In a spacious and slightly old research room, several focused scholars sat around a large wooden table piled with books and materials.

Saxon paced back and forth, a look of anxiety flashing across his face from time to time.

Andre was calm and composed, flipping through the ancient books casually, seeming to be very patient.

It lasted until late at night, but I still had no idea what was on the drawing.

Finally, a senior scholar with gray hair shook his head and said:

"Your Highness, this blueprint is too incomplete and lacks a lot of key information. It's impossible to tell what it is."

Saxon looked disappointed, looked out the door, and said to himself:
"Is there still no news from Father?"

In order to access the relevant information of the "Ashes Vault", the king's consent must be obtained.

Andrei put down the ancient book and said calmly:
"Your Highness, don't be anxious. The auction is still a long way off. I don't think Mr. Yann will be able to find a royal family member who can identify the origin of the drawing anytime soon.

Your Majesty should be in a cabinet meeting right now, and I'm sure he'll receive your request as soon as the meeting is over."

Saxon said impatiently:
"I'm just afraid that Julian will introduce him to the second brother!
The second brother has also been to the Ash Vault. What if he also discovers the value of it? "

Andre said calmly:
"Your Highness, rest assured. I have secretly sent people to monitor Yan and his wife. As long as the Second Prince makes any move, I will be able to detect it immediately."

Saxon's expression calmed down a lot, and after a while, the royal court's permission order finally arrived.

Saxon breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sent someone to get the relevant information about the "Ashes Vault".

When a royal guard entered the room carrying a thick stack of documents, Saxon impatiently ordered the scholars in the room to compare and translate them as quickly as possible.

The scholars flipped through the materials and compared them with the text on the drawings, sometimes frowning in thought, sometimes whispering a few words to each other.

As time passed, the clues were gradually pieced together, and scholars soon discovered hidden patterns in the text on the drawings.

The decryption work began immediately.

It wasn't long before the first word was cracked.

star.

Then came the second one.

Chen.

Stars?

Saxon's face was filled with confusion.

Andre suddenly frowned and fell into deep thought.

Soon, the third word was also sent over by a young scholar.

It’s the word “guard”.

When he saw the third word, Andre's eyes suddenly showed deep astonishment, and countless clues and memories flooded into his mind.

His memory quickly went back to the scene in the hotel during the day when he saw the drawings for the first time!
The sense of familiarity that comes to mind is more than just the words on the drawing!

When he heard the third deciphered word, he finally knew where that familiar feeling came from!

And those mysterious and strange lines and patterns!

He had seen something similar to that style before!
I have seen it with his real master, Prince Xia Zuo!
Production drawings of gods and demons’ equipment!
He suddenly raised his head, his eyes became extremely cold, and he shouted sternly:
"Everyone, stop everything you are doing immediately and leave the room!"

Combined with the extraordinary strength of the Golden Level, it was like a sudden thunder exploding in everyone's ears.

Saxon was also startled and stood there in a daze, not knowing why Mr. Andre, who was always calm and gentle, would suddenly do such an extraordinary thing.

Andre gave Saxon a look and continued to repeat his instructions:
"Everyone get out, now!"

Saxon understood Andre's hint that the other party must have discovered something that must not be known to outsiders.

He said to everyone in a deep voice:

"Everyone, go out and close the door. No one is allowed to come near without my order."

Everyone looked puzzled, but they still had to obey their lord's orders.

They each put down the documents in their hands and left the room in confusion.

When they were the only two left in the room, Saxon asked impatiently:

"Did you find anything, sir?"

Andre nodded solemnly:

“It’s truly something extraordinary!”

He lowered his voice and whispered four words in Saxon's ear:

"God and demon equipment."

Saxon was stunned for a moment, and then when he realized the true meaning of these four words, a huge shock and ecstasy rushed from his dantian to his brain.

With intense and complex emotions in his eyes and a hoarse throat, he asked in a trembling voice:
"Sir... Sir, what you mean is that this drawing is..."

Andre was also unable to hide his shock, and said in a complicated tone:
"'Star Guardian Armor' is one of the ten great divine and demonic pieces of equipment that have survived to this day on the continent.

If my guess is correct, the blueprint in the hands of the businessman named Yan should be the production blueprint for this set of divine and demonic equipment!"

Andre found it incredible that even the five major empires dominating the continent only had one copy of the production blueprints for divine and demonic equipment, and some of them were duplicates.

Now a new blueprint of divine and demonic equipment has appeared in the Kingdom of Ceylon. This is really unbelievable.

I guess when Prince Xia Zuo heard the news, he would not be able to help but send people to rob it.

Saxon took a few deep breaths. At this moment, he showed unusual calmness and asked:

"Are you sure?
Could this be a deliberate setup?"

Andre nodded and said:

"I think it's 80-90% likely that the text on it comes from the Vault of Ashes.

According to the information, the Ash Vault can be traced back to the Age of Gods ten thousand years ago and belongs to a certain god.

The blueprint in Yan's hand should also come from this god.

It is reasonable for a god to have the production drawings of divine and demonic equipment.

Most importantly, the Ash Vault has been kept strictly confidential since its discovery. It is impossible for a merchant from the Eastern Territory Empire to know these words.

The possibility of forgery is very small.”

Of course, the most important reason Andre didn't mention was that he had seen a blueprint of divine and demonic equipment with Prince Xia Zuo. The lines and painting style on it were obviously from the same source as Cohen's hand-drawn ones.

To put it another way, it wasn't his money that was being spent, so even if it was real or fake, Saxon would have to bear the loss himself.

Hearing Andre's firm tone, Saxon took a deep breath, a look of determination flooding his face.

He must get this blueprint!

at all costs!
(End of this chapter)