Chapter 122: The Hidden Conspiracy Behind the Scenes

Although the Thunder Sword was good, it didn’t suit the taste of many Warriors, as everyone’s habits were different. So, in comparison, they would rather have a good weapon that could be custom-made. Moreover, the Manager guaranteed that returns were possible if not satisfied. With the reputation of the Stephen Family, words spoken in such a public setting would definitely be honored, so there was no need to worry about losing money. Hence, people focused their attention on the number plate.

As a result, the following competition was particularly fierce. Since everyone wasn’t afraid of losing money, they naturally shouted with all their might. Even Arthas joined in. In the end, in the Manager’s almost collapsing expression, that broken plate was sold for a sky-high price of two hundred and fifty thousand Gold Coins. It directly set the highest auction record in the Griffin Kingdom. Last time, a Sub-divine Artifact was auctioned here for only two hundred and ten thousand Gold Coins! And general Legendary Items were only around one hundred thousand. It could be said that whether it was the Thunder Sword or the number plate, the auction prices far exceeded the Manager’s prior imagination.

Among them, the happiest person was undoubtedly Old Xie. However, facing what others saw as a huge fortune, he just smiled faintly and didn’t care much. After all, in his past life, he was a figure who dominated the world. The money in his hand could definitely pile up into a mountain. Having seen grand scenes, naturally, he wouldn’t take this ‘small money’ seriously.

After the auction ended, everyone left with great interest, and Old Xie was no exception. In a great mood, he took Chris Chen to the best hotel in the Imperial Capital for a big feast. This time, Old Xie really ordered freely, restoring the extravagance of his past life. He ordered whatever was good, without looking at the price. Unlike before, he didn’t have to worry about money at all. As a result, this meal cost over three hundred Gold Coins.

Chris Chen had naturally learned to be sensible. He paid the bill very readily and even generously tipped one Gold Coin. Anyway, his master was so good at making money, what was there to be afraid of? After all, Old Xie had hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins to spend now. This amount of money was something even an ordinary Grand Duke couldn’t scrape together even if he sold everything! It was definitely enough to buy a huge piece of land!

After eating and drinking, Old Xie returned to the Auction House. Besides settling the bill, he also had to write out the list according to their requirements.

In the Manager’s office, the Manager attentively invited Old Xie to sit down and served tea. Then he smiled and said, “Congratulations, Young Master, you’ve made a fortune this time!”

“Just average, only four hundred thousand or so!” Old Xie said nonchalantly.

“Uh…” The Manager almost choked to death hearing that. He thought, even the Stephen Family’s entire business doesn’t earn four hundred thousand a year. And you don’t even care?

“Alright, let’s settle the bill quickly!” Old Xie then said.

“Yes, Young Master, it’s all ready for you. Please keep it safe!” The Manager handed Old Xie a few magic gold notes. With these, cash could be withdrawn at any time from the Royal Bank of the Griffin Kingdom. If it were actual Gold Coins, it would take several carriages to carry them, which was inconvenient.

Old Xie took them and looked, then immediately knew the amount. He furiously shouted, “Why is there only two hundred thousand something? Where is the rest?”

“It’s gone, it’s all here!” the Manager hurriedly said.

“Damn, do you think I can’t count? It sold for four hundred and thirty thousand in total. After your commission, I should get at least three hundred thousand something!” Old Xie shouted angrily, “Where did the other hundred thousand something go?”

“Uh, naturally it was for taxes!” the Manager said with a bitter smile. “Didn’t you know? Generally, 50% of auction proceeds go to the national treasury. But you are a Noble, so you get a 20% discount and only pay 30%, which is one hundred and twenty-six thousand Gold Coins!”

“Damn, this Emperor is even better at robbing than I am?” Old Xie cursed on the spot, extremely depressed. He thought, I work hard outside building a Castle, and a deal only earns a few thousand Gold Coins. This bastard does nothing and takes one hundred and twenty thousand directly from me. If he weren’t my future Father-in-law, I’d go to the palace tonight and kill him.

The Manager naturally knew which words to hear and which not to hear. He directly filtered out Old Xie’s treasonous words and smiled instead, “Young Master, the person who bought the number plate has already told me his requirements. Look, should you listen and then leave a list of materials?”

“Fine!” Old Xie nodded helplessly. “Tell me, who bought it?”

“It is His Royal Highness the Third Prince of our Kingdom!” the Manager suddenly whispered. “He is a Wind Element Magic Swordsman!”

“It’s that kid?” Old Xie was immediately surprised and hurriedly asked, “Two hundred and fifty thousand is a huge sum. Even a big family has to raise that amount. He is just a Prince without his own business. Where did he get so much money?”

“I don’t know that. But His Highness paid very readily, in cash. It seems he was prepared long ago!” the Manager explained.

“Do you think the Emperor gave it?” Old Xie suddenly asked. “After all, only the national treasury can come up with such a large sum at once!”

“Doesn’t look like it!” the Manager shook his head. “Recently, the Kingdom’s finances are difficult. The treasury doesn’t have much money. It’s absolutely impossible to casually take out such a large sum to buy equipment for a Prince. I suspect this matter has something to do with the Augustus Family!”

“Oh, tell me about it!” Old Xie immediately asked with interest.

“Firstly, the biggest competitor of our family’s Auction House is the Augustus Family’s Auction House. We have been suppressed by them in recent years. Now we have Master Thunder as a trump card, and we are about to defeat the Augustus Family’s Auction House. This is undoubtedly what they least want to see. So today, their family’s young master even came to cause trouble!” the Manager continued. “In addition, recently the relationship between our family and the Augustus Family has deteriorated further, to the point where the Clan Heads are quarreling with each other. The other side is likely to retaliate against us. Finally, there is the relationship between the Third Prince and the Augustus Family. His mother is the biological Younger Sister of the Augustus Family’s Clan Head.”

“Has the Augustus Family made any moves to raise money recently?” Old Xie asked.

“Of course. All the big families intending to participate in our auction raised money. The Augustus Family is no exception!” the Manager hurriedly said.

“I see!” Old Xie then sneered. “I understand. Their goal is very simple. Through this transaction, they want to contact Master Thunder and try to poach him from us. If that doesn’t work, they will kill him so the custom weapon can’t be made. Then they can frame us for having no reputation and make the Stephen Family’s reputation plummet!”

“Young Master is brilliant. I’m afraid that is exactly their plan!” the Manager immediately agreed.

“Heh, what a good calculation!” Old Xie said disdainfully. “Hmph, unfortunately, they will never find Master Thunder! Haha!” Saying this, Old Xie couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He thought, ‘I don’t believe you can know that Master Thunder is me. Haha, even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe it!’

After laughing, Old Xie stood up and said, “Alright, I understand! Wind Element Magic Warrior, right? I’ll have Master Thunder list the required materials and send someone to give it to you. You go ask the Third Prince for the materials. Remember, check strictly. If the materials are slightly wrong, don’t accept them. Understood?”

“Yes, Young Master, don’t worry. We are an Auction House; our job is appraisal. We definitely won’t be fooled!” the Manager said with full confidence.

“Then I’m relieved!” After saying this, Old Xie suddenly remembered something and said to the Manager, “Regarding Piritz wanting to see Master Thunder, I thought about it, it’s better to refuse. Piritz is a bit unreliable. I don’t want any extra trouble. Tell him that Master Thunder doesn’t want to see strangers.”

“Yes, Young Master, I know what to say!” the Manager hurriedly nodded.

“Good, in that case, let’s leave it at that!” Old Xie said, then turned and left.

Old Xie left the Auction House and took a carriage straight to the Mage Tower. On the way, he clearly felt that several groups of people were following him closely. Clearly, there was more than one force trying to find Master Thunder through him.

Old Xie couldn’t be bothered with these guys. Even if they knew Master Thunder was in the Mage Tower, so what? Who would dare to go in and rob someone? You know, with the Old Mage stationed there, even a Legendary Expert who went in would only end up defeated, and might even lose their life. So, almost no one would be stupid enough to force their way into the Mage Tower. That would be practically suicide.

After returning, Old Xie took a piece of parchment. While pondering what weapon to make, he recalled what treasures the Imperial Palace and the Augustus Family hid. Then, he listed a long list. Among the hundreds of rare materials listed, only twenty or thirty were actually useful for this item. The rest were all extra expenses Old Xie wanted to keep for himself. Even for the useful materials, Old Xie wrote down five times the amount. He also asked for as many other materials as possible. Anyway, this was a fat pig delivered to his door. If he didn’t slaughter it, he would feel sorry for himself.