Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

The representatives of the twelve families standing to the side, also exuding arrogance, said to Xiao Ce, "Mr. Ce, are you worried about the 20 billion Sols you lent us?"

Xiao Ce hurriedly waved his hands, feigning trepidation, "No, no, no... of course not... that money is just a drop in the ocean for you gentlemen. I was just worried... but now it seems I was short-sighted. I still need to learn from you gentlemen... and I hope you gentlemen can give me more guidance, after all, a word from you can save me from taking several detours!"

Xiao Ce was very perceptive; his words indeed boosted their confidence once again...

"You're not just bragging, you really need to learn from us... After all, we started from different points. Even though you're very capable, there's still a significant gap between you and us..."

Xiao Ce nodded: "Yes, yes, yes, following you would be like standing on the shoulders of giants to see the world..."

After Xiao Ce said those words, everyone else's eyes lit up.

"Standing on the shoulders of giants to see the world... Well said..."

"Indeed, Mr. Ce, although you started from a low point, your comprehension is quite good... You're standing on our shoulders to see the world... a good metaphor..."

After exchanging pleasantries, a staff member placed a wooden box at the door containing clothes and a mask.

Since it's a dark auction, everyone can use these clothes to disguise themselves...

These clothes are also very loose, which can effectively conceal the contestants' various special characteristics.

Xiao Ce and Boudica changed into whatever clothes they wanted and went out, sharing the same number plate.

They dispersed, and their locations were all random.

Because these number plates are also out of order, no one knows who it is or where they are sitting.

I thought there would be a lot of people, but there aren't many here...

There are probably a maximum of one hundred people, but only a dozen or so will actually participate in the auction.

Most people were just there to watch the spectacle.

After all, it should be noted that both sides have prepared nearly 60 to 70 billion soles in funds.

They were curious about how much the auction would ultimately cost.

After Xiao Ce sat down, he wanted to look around. He was still confident that even dressed like this, he would still be able to find Yin Pan'er.

However, reality soon taught him a lesson...

It's really hard for people here to tell; he can't find where John Jonard and the representatives of the twelve families are standing.

...

In fact, Yin Pan'er was not actually in the auction house at that moment.

He is currently in Twin Castles; they did not participate in this auction.

Yin Pan'er was originally going to go, even if it was just to watch the excitement.

However, just before they were about to leave, the Mad Taoist, who had been missing for a long time, reappeared.

This time, the Mad Taoist returned with serious injuries. He had lost both arms and had several very large penetrating wounds all over his body.

The two already knew this mad Taoist was a monster, but they never expected that he would still be able to survive under such circumstances...

At this moment, the mad Taoist looked terrifying, not because of his wounds.

Looking at the battered and bruised mad Taoist in front of her, Yin Pan'er didn't know how to describe him for a moment.

He didn't know who had injured this mad Taoist priest, who was so abnormally powerful, like a monster.

However, before Yin Pan'er could ask what was wrong with him...

The mad Taoist didn't answer anything, he just gave an address.

"Wolong Manor!"

After saying that, he lay motionless and fell straight down.

Yin Pan'er and Xiao Yue were both frightened by what they saw.

The two looked at each other.

Yin Pan'er asked Xiaoyue in a questioning tone, "Xiaoyue, do you think he's dead?"

Xiaoyue frowned and shook her head: "He shouldn't even be considered human... Will he die?"

Yin Pan'er stared at the mad Taoist for a while, and only after confirming that he was not moving did she step forward and kick him.

After confirming that the Mad Taoist was not moving, Xiaoyue stepped forward and gave him a kick.

It was confirmed that the madman did not retaliate.

“He will die too…” Xiaoyue, now a little bolder, stepped forward.

He glanced again at the madman's wound.

He then said, "He really is a freak... His wound doesn't bleed... Is he even human?"

Seeing Xiaoyue about to reach out and touch it, Yin Pan'er quickly stopped her, saying, "Xiaoyue, stop... be careful..."

Xiaoyue then withdrew her hand.

After seeing Xiaoyue pull her hand back, she said, "It can't be poisonous, can it?"

Yin Pan'er smiled and said, "It's not that bad..."

Yin Pan'er looked at the corpse of the Mad Taoist priest with a thoughtful expression.

Xiaoyue asked from the side, "Sir, what do we do next?"

Yin Pan'er said, "Go get a quilt and a big box, put them in the box, and when no one is around at night, find a few trusted people to bury them in the back garden."

Xiaoyue nodded and continued to ask Yin Pan'er, "By the way, sir, what was the last thing he said just now?"

Yin Pan'er said to Xiaoyue, "Wolong Manor! Have you heard of this name?"

Xiaoyue shook her head and said, "This name doesn't sound Western at all; it sounds more like our Xiao Kingdom..."

Yin Pan'er shook her head: "No... We in Xiao Kingdom don't talk about manors... it's Western! Could it be that the death of this mad Taoist is related to this place?"

Xiaoyue nodded, then said to Yin Pan'er, "That's right, the master must be connected to that place... otherwise, he'd be so badly injured, he couldn't just come here mentioning a place name without saying anything else... that place must be something special..."

Yin Pan'er nodded in agreement: "That's right!"

Xiaoyue said to Yin Pan'er, "My lord, why do you seem unhappy... The Mad Taoist is dead, which is a good thing for us. No one is watching us anymore, right? Aren't we free?"

Yin Pan'er shook her head and said to Xiao Yue with a serious expression, "Xiao Yue, it's not like that... You're thinking too simply... This matter isn't that simple... Do you remember that man who claimed to be Xiao Ce?"

Xiaoyue nodded to Yin Pan'er, then said, "I remember... Master, wasn't that an old monster? If this mad Taoist is just a small monster, that one is the real big monster..."

Yin Pan'er said, "That's right. Although this mad Taoist is monitoring us, we've at least figured out his patterns now. We can even use these patterns to make them obey us... If we use him, he'll definitely be a very useful person..."

"Now that he's dead, we don't know if the man who called himself Xiao Ce knows, or if he'll send someone similar... Whether the new person will be like the Mad Taoist, we don't know..."

"And the biggest problem right now, and what worries us the most, is actually the Mad Taoist's strength. We all know... we thought he was invincible... but he was beaten like this. This just proves that the waters of this Western world are very deep..."

"If what the madman said is true, and his death was caused by the Wolong Manor, then if the people from Wolong Manor are targeting us next... are we doomed...?"

Xiaoyue's face turned pale after hearing Yin Pan'er's words.

After all, the problem Yin Pan'er mentioned is entirely possible...

Although Xiaoyue considered herself to know a little about martial arts, she believed she wouldn't last a single round against the Mad Taoist...

Not to mention someone who could beat the Mad Taoist into this state...

Seeing Xiaoyue's terrified expression, Yin Pan'er smiled and said, "Of course, Xiaoyue, don't be afraid... This is the worst-case scenario! I think those people from Wolong Manor aren't really after us... Otherwise, they would have already come to kill us..."

"There's no need to panic right now. Let's figure out what's going on first... Where is this Wolong Manor? What does it do...?"

Xiaoyue nodded, then glanced at the sky again, and said to Yin Pan'er, "My lord, judging from the time, the auction should have started by now."

Yin Pan'er nodded: "That's right, it has nothing to do with us..."

...

At this moment, the auction had indeed begun inside the auction house.

With the host's command, the auction began.

These people then started bidding against each other.

However, before anyone else could even begin bidding, John Jonard overwhelmingly offered five billion soles, a price far exceeding what was expected from outsiders.

As expected, after the price was announced, the entire auction hall fell into a deathly silence.

And this kind of auction doesn't require an auctioneer to hype it up.

Whether it's good or bad, it's just this thing; take it or leave it...

These people all came for this...

Although Xiao Ce couldn't tell who was who at first, he was able to quickly distinguish them after they started bidding like that.

Because this will create two parties bidding against each other.

Although it was a dark auction, John Jonard had always wanted to make an appearance...

Therefore, he did not ask someone to take the photos for him.

Most people who have met him can recognize his voice.

On the other side, the one calling out the price was neither Zion Jolton nor Yin Pan'er.

That was another person sent by the British Empire, William Armiten.

The two bid against each other, neither willing to back down.

William Armington's bid was clearly a bait-and-switch tactic...

He was afraid that John Jonard wouldn't accept the offer...

After calling for a while, John Jonard seemed to have clearly lost patience.

After all, they've been bidding for so long, and the price is still only 8.3 billion.

This is when John Jonard was talking about the other party shouting out 8.31 billion.

John Jonard removed the mask from his face.

Although it's a dark auction, this is still permitted.

John Jonard's action did attract attention.

“This is really boring, it's made my throat dry!” John Jonard said, raising the number plate high, palm open, then placing the number plate back in his palm…

His action caused an uproar throughout the venue.

After making this gesture, John Jonard declared with an air of arrogance, "This castle is ours for the East Asian Illuminati! No matter the price... I'll go all in!"

Xiao Ce didn't know what this gesture meant, but judging from the expressions and actions of these people...

With the auctioneer's explanation, Xiao Ce understood.

It roughly means lighting a sky lantern; by making this gesture, this thing, it signifies that he will follow to the end.

The increment is based on the auction house's minimum bid rule.

In a normal auction, John Jonard wouldn't dare to put on such a show.

After all, if there's one person who's just arguing and insists on shouting, then it's really easy to get messed up.

However, the situation at this moment is completely different.

Such auctions all require verification of funds, and subsequent bids can exceed the verified funds by 20%.

Furthermore, if the excess amount cannot be replenished within half a month, all verification funds will be confiscated and the auction will be restarted.

The money from before will not be refunded.

Therefore, this situation can greatly curb malicious auctions.

Xiao Ce listened to the explanation from the person next door and understood it.

The people next door were whispering again: "What if John Jonard's agent's verification of funds isn't enough?"

Hearing the question from next door, both Xiao Ce and Boudica perked up their ears.

After all, they were curious about this question too.

Sure enough, just as I said that, I received a reply very quickly...

“If the other party bids higher than John Jonard, the auctioneer will naturally announce that John Jonard does not have enough funds to continue, which would be embarrassing... There are no other losses, just that it looks bad.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ce thought to himself that this made sense.

After John Jonard did this.

But this delighted William Armington, who was already looking to raise the price.

They were under a lot of psychological pressure before...

They were afraid the other party wouldn't accept, but they now knew clearly that 20 billion was definitely a safe price.

As for how much more, they'll have to carefully consider that themselves...

However, raising the minimum guarantee to 20 billion would already achieve their goal.

Although William Armington and Sean Jolton didn't speak directly, they were constantly gesturing behind the scenes...

In the end, a bold decision was made!

As the auctioneer began the countdown, William Armiten breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand: "Two hundred and fifty billion soles!"