The Villain Saint is my secondary account

“Actually, we could give it a try…” Just then, the man in the priest's robes sitting on the far left of the team said weakly, “We could try adding ten gold coins…”

"What's the use, bro? Does number six need ten gold coins?"

"Maybe... After all, this jar isn't of much use to anyone else..."

"Alright, then Iphie, why don't you try holding up the sign?"

The short girl then stood on tiptoe, grabbed a saltpeter pen, wrote "price increase" on the sign, and hurriedly held it up.

"Position number 42, 2010 gold coins!"

"Pfft." "Hahaha, someone actually used the minimum bid increment!" "Are they kidding me? Do they really think that VIP room number six would be short of ten gold coins..."

A burst of snickers came from the surrounding area, which made the girl leading the team even more annoyed. "What's so funny! Can't we even try?!"

"Box number six, 2200 gold coins!"

"Tsk, I told you it was useless!" Xiaowei deflated like a punctured balloon, sitting back down in the nearly empty chair. "One price increase from someone else and it's all our savings gone!"

"There's nothing I can do..." the young man sighed, "After this is over... I'll see if I can talk to them..."

"How do we negotiate? He doesn't look like someone who's short of money." Xiao Wei looked distressed, then paused for a moment, as if realizing something, "Hey, you're not thinking of trading a map with him, are you?!"

"This is the only way..." The young man sighed again, his eyebrows, which were always drawn in a V-shape, like a persistent dark cloud over his face. "If we could switch back, we could..."

"No! Absolutely not!" Xiao Wei grabbed the man's collar and yanked him violently, her voice low but filled with barely suppressed anger. "What are you thinking! That's the only reward we got after risking our lives to complete the Nightmare Mission!!"

"But what about Jinli if we don't change her..." The young man was being shaken while his clothes were being grabbed, but his voice remained as flat and weak as ever, "Aren't we just going to leave her alone..."

"That won't do!!" Xiao Wei gritted her teeth.

The man whose collar was being grabbed stopped talking and just silently looked at his sister.

"We...we'll go and take it back!" Xiaowei hesitated for a moment before finally saying fiercely.

"Huh?" Yifei, who hadn't spoken for a while, was taken aback. "Isn't this a bit inappropriate, Sister Xiaowei? After all, someone else paid for it."

"What does it matter? They're our partners anyway!" Xiao Wei released the young man's collar. "At worst... at worst, we'll just give them the money after we rob them!"

"What kind of forced sale is this..." the young man said weakly, "Everyone in the private room has connections... We can't possibly beat them..."

"Don't boost their morale and diminish our own!" Xiao Wei couldn't help but grab the man's collar again after hearing this. "If we can't beat them, we can always run away and find another way. Besides, we're caught off guard and have a tactical advantage. How will we know if we don't try?"

"I actually preferred a peaceful transaction..." the man sighed helplessly, "Fine, whatever you say... I hope I won't die here because of this..."

"Dude, can you please stop being so pessimistic all the time?"

……

Ella, naturally oblivious to this scene in the small theater in the regular seating area, was observing the auction item that appeared in the fourth act: a horn that was said to be able to communicate with sea monsters.

It's quite interesting, I bought it.

The fifth item was an ebony staff that appeared to be of high quality, but seemed to be afflicted by an unknown curse.

Ye Xiao happened to be short of a high-level staff, so he bought one.

The sixth item was a large iron cage covered with a black cloth.

……What's this?

Everyone was puzzled by what they saw on the stage, but then the host suddenly pulled off the black cloth, revealing a little boy fast asleep in the cage.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Buy

ha?

Ella squinted. She realized that the little boy was the same boy Ye Xiao had seen in the corridor of the Loyalty ship last night, the one who had been taken away by that strange couple.

"Hey, what are you doing?! Even if it's at the border, it's still within the territory of the Loren Empire. How dare you disregard the law and openly traffic people?!"

Before the host could even speak, a harsh shout came from the audience.

Ella looked over curiously and saw a girl who looked like a captain standing in front of a table at seat number forty-two. Next to her sat a young man who was covering his forehead and sighing, and a short girl wearing a long black robe.

Player squad?

Ella raised an eyebrow; the three of them were not difficult to distinguish due to their distinctive appearances.

These days, it's not uncommon for players to appear all over the world.

"Um, ma'am, please don't get agitated. Although it does look very similar to a human, the thing in the cage is not human..."

The host wiped the sweat from his brow and explained, "This is actually a very rare monster, from the vast depths of the Magala Sea, and is known as a 'merman'."

"Uh... Oh, is that so..." Xiao Wei, who had been furious just moments before, looked embarrassed as she looked around and saw mocking gazes all around her.

"Sigh..." The girl's brother covered his face and sighed again.

"But... after all, it's a humanoid creature, it's not good to sell it, I guess..." Xiao Wei's voice trailed off, and finally, blushing, she said "sorry" in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz before sitting back down.

"It's alright, ma'am, hahaha, I know it does seem easy to misunderstand."

The host smoothed things over, saying that it was actually the first time he had encountered such an item at auction.

Auctioning monsters does happen, but this monster looked so much like a human that it gave him an indescribable sense of guilt.

There are slave traders in this world, but at least in Loren, human trafficking is strictly prohibited, and the Mansa Islands are not above the law.

On the other hand, merfolk are indeed extremely rare monsters, to the point that most people here have only heard of them in legends.

As for Ella, based on her experience in her previous life, she had indeed heard of the existence of merfolk, but this was the first time in both her lives that she had actually seen one with her own eyes.

"Box number three, 30,000 gold coins!"

While everyone was still in a daze, the first wave of bids had already begun.

The starting price of 50,000 signaled that the truly bloody and fierce scene of this auction was just beginning.

"Box number five, 40,000 gold coins!"

"Box number three, 45,000 gold coins!..."

The price skyrocketed amidst continuous shouts. Ella stroked her chin, observing the boy in the iron cage on the stage, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

The outrageous prices clamoring from all sides convinced her that this was no human being, since ordinary people simply couldn't sell it for that much money.

But what is the true significance of "mermaids," monsters that exist almost exclusively in legends?

Is it worth spending so much money just because it's rare?

As for Ella, she was just there to pick up some useful things and didn't understand the ins and outs, so it seemed really unnecessary for her to spend a lot of money to buy this merman.

But she noticed that, apart from her, the other customers in the private rooms all seemed to take this "mermaid" extremely seriously.

It always feels like there's something fishy about it.

So... should we take the picture or not?

"Box number two, 100,000 gold coins!!!"

The auctioneer's voice trembled. Having hosted this auction for so long, this was the first time he had called out such an exorbitant price.

The last item to fetch over 100,000 gold coins at auction was a straw hat supposedly from a pirate king ten years ago.

As someone who facilitated this deal, the host would receive a commission, which explains why he could hardly contain his excitement.

Even if you only get a 1% commission, a thousand gold coins is enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for a lifetime.

"Second VIP room, 100,000 gold coins per session!"

"Ten thousand gold coins twice!"

"One hundred thousand gold coins..."

"Box number one, 150,000 gold coins!!!" The host's loud shout almost broke his voice.

That's outrageous! It's as if he's witnessing himself become rich overnight.

The customers in the ordinary seats below the stage were all feeling their mouths dry. 150,000 gold coins was a level of wealth that ordinary people could not even imagine.

However, all of this was just to buy a... rare monster.

"Damn it!"

Meanwhile, Prince Aslan slammed his hand on the table in Box 2, and the ghostly Box 6 stopped causing trouble. But where did this god come from in Box 1?

This merman was the only reason he was willing to condescend to visit this godforsaken island, yet now that he had staked half of his available gold coins, he still couldn't beat him.

Of course, this is only the liquid assets that this prince can use. In reality, the total value of assets that a prince of one of the three great human empires can enjoy is naturally far more than this price.

But those were actually more like Emperor Aslan's assets. For this prince, who was somewhat marginalized in the royal family, 150,000 was a significant loss.

"150,000 gold coins twice, 150,000 gold coins three times..."

"Box number two, 170,000 gold coins!!!"

Finally, Prince Aslan made up his mind to continue following up.

The merfolk were too important to him; they were related to whether he could return to Aslan and be promoted to the crown prince appointed by the emperor.

Unlike the competitive selection process for the throne in the Loren Empire, the throne of Aslan is directly appointed by the emperor.

Now, Emperor Aslan has contracted a strange illness that has defied the help of the Holy Temple, the Medical Association, and the Mage Association.

Therefore, the prince believed that if he could find the Fountain of Youth buried deep in the Magala Sea and use its water to cure the emperor's illness, he could defeat his brother in the emperor's heart, ascend to the position of crown prince, and become the next emperor of Aslan.

But the legendary Fountain of Youth was extremely difficult to find. After being marginalized by his brothers, he hadn't heard a single word about it during his three-year sea voyage.

Until this time, I heard that a merman would be auctioned off at the cave auction house in the Mansa Islands.

The Merfolk are legendary creatures who have guarded the Fountain of Youth for generations. Most people have only heard the legends of these creatures and cannot even be sure of their actual existence.

But now, this legendary monster has appeared before his very eyes. Merfolk, the Fountain of Youth, the throne of Aslan… these once elusive and intangible goals are now within reach. How can he let them slip through his fingers!

"Box Number One, 200,000 gold coins!"

"Second VIP room, 220,000 gold coins!"

"Box number one, 250,000 gold coins!!"

The host was getting numb by the end; the smell of gunpowder from the fight between the two private rooms could be smelled throughout the entire venue.

Finally, after the resounding announcement, "Second VIP room, 330,000 gold coins!" came down, the first VIP room fell silent.

"Three hundred and thirty thousand gold coins once, three hundred and thirty thousand gold coins twice..."

Prince Aslan clenched his fists, his eyes were red, and his excitement was barely contained.

He's going to win!!

He finally won!!!

Although the cost will be devastating, as long as we can find the Fountain of Youth, everything else will be alright!

Just then, Ella, in box number six, held her cheek, looked at the merman on the stage, and muttered softly.

"Three hundred and thirty thousand? That doesn't actually seem that expensive."

Ella pondered that Ye Xiao would probably spend about this much money to fight in the palace.

After speaking, she stood the sign up and lightly tapped the bell on the table.

"Box number six, 350,000 gold coins!!!"

This monster seems quite interesting; I might buy it.

"Your mother!!!"

Prince Aslan, his eyes bloodshot, shouted curses from Box Number Two.

What's the meaning of this shitty box number six? He gripped the nitrocellulose pen and carved his bid deeply into the wooden sign, the force almost penetrating the wood.

"Second VIP room, 360,000 gold coins!"

"Box number six, 400,000 gold coins!!"

"Box number two, 400,002 gold coins!!!"

"I'll fight you to the death in Box Six!!" Prince Aslan was already in a bloodthirsty rage, completely ignoring the old man beside him who was already pulling at his shoulder.

"Box number six, box number six..."

The host's voice continued to echo on the stage.

This time he didn't hear the ringtone, but his hand holding the megaphone started trembling like a leaf.