Chapter 124: The Auction · Prelude Part 1

By the time Dean returned to his room, it was already a moment before dawn—although it was in the extreme Northland of the Emerald Kingdom, close to the Snowplains Dense Forest, this was, after all, Vauban City in Vauban County, not Tier Town in Tier Territory, so Dean still had some difficulties in hiding a Corpse and ensuring it was not discovered.

Especially considering the need for ‘freshness’ for the experiment, Dean had to gather enough snow and ice.

In fact, it was precisely because of the latter that Dean spent an hour more than planned.

For this, Dean had to sigh at Marquis Vauban’s governance of Vauban City; even in the Lower District, it was difficult to find streets covered in snow.

Of course, roofs were not included in that assessment.

Even in the Capital of Emerald, if it snowed, roofs were hard to clean. Most people would wait until spring to let the snow and ice melt on their own. Only when there was a heavy blizzard that might collapse the roof would people actively clean it; Vauban City was no exception.

Dean took off his cloak again, checked to ensure there was no blood or smell of blood on it, and then carefully put it away.

After all, during his time in Vauban City, he still needed this cloak to conceal his actions.

Next, Dean took off items that did not match the identity of the Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander, such as the Hand Crossbow, throwing knives, and poison bottles, placing them in hidden spots one by one.

Dean put on the Formal Attire of the Central Knight Order, hung the Knight Longsword at his waist, carefully confirmed that he had not missed anything, and then walked out of the room.

“Regiment Commander!”

“Regiment Commander!”

The young men of the Ferrchelen Knight Order and Dean’s deputy greeted Dean.

“Huck, I leave the morning training to you… We have no events before noon. So, after the morning training and breakfast, you still have about three hours of free time. After lunch, we need to enter Marquis Vauban’s Castle as guards for Miss Lily Tier. Therefore, you must all return to the ranks before lunch, understood?”

Ye Qi stood in front of the group of young men, giving a high-speech order as usual.

“Yes, Regiment Commander!”

The young men replied loudly as usual.

Then, Dean gave a look to Huck, who immediately began the morning training—it was no different from the Ferrchelen Knight Order, consisting of the simplest running and combat practice.

However, such ordinariness was extraordinary in Vauban City, or rather, in this residence.

This was because the people from Defendi Territory and Janel Territory were still asleep.

Similarly, the Vauban City Guards responsible for guarding the place looked at these young men training early in the morning with mixed feelings—after all, once comparisons are made, various mindsets emerge.

For example: admiration, or… disdain!

Amidst the chanting during training, those sleeping people were naturally woken up.

Dean clearly felt the admiration of the Vauban City Guards and the disdain of those mercenaries from Defendi Territory.

As for Janel Territory?

It was as if they were Good-for-nothing Baron; these guards were indifferent to these things.

They only needed to be full and hydrated.

As for training?

Doing it once a week seemed sufficient.

Dean naturally did not pay much attention to such Janel Territory Guards, but glanced unobtrusively at those Defendi Territory fellows, smiling coldly in his heart.

He was very eager to see what expressions these fellows would have when they discovered Churde Defendi ‘had disappeared’.

Of course, what he needed to know even more was who the person behind the owner of that house was.

And fortunately, for both the former and the latter, Dean knew he would find out very soon.

After all, today was the day the private auction of Marquis Vauban began.

The auction started around 3 PM after lunch, and ended before dinner; as for the duration, it would last two to three afternoons depending on the number of auction items.

If something happened while being an invited guest and a subordinate of Marquis Vauban, it would absolutely cause a sensation.

Therefore, Dean did not need to inquire at all; he just needed to stay here, and those who went out would bring him enough detailed information.

Of course, Dean was not just standing there watching the training of his young subordinates; his gaze was also on the Skill column of his character panel—

【XP: 109】

It was enough to raise the level of two Basic Skills or one Applied Skill.

Although Dean really wanted to raise the level of 【Dragon Swordsmanship】.

However, looking at the XP value of over 400, which once again exceeded his character level, Dean secretly shrugged, showing his helplessness.

But even excluding 【Dragon Swordsmanship】, Dean still needed to make a choice among the remaining Basic and Applied Skills.

Among the Basic Skills, 【Military Organization Lv3】,【Basic Swordsmanship Lv3】,【Cold Weapon (Sword/Hammer/Spear) Lv3】 were the three points Dean had always focused on.

It was the same for the Applied Skills 【Military Swordsmanship Lv3 (Emerald)】,【Military Swordsmanship Lv3 (Goth)】.

Now, Dean’s XP was only enough to raise two Basic Skills or one Applied Skill.

Considering the upcoming battles, whether against the ‘Brotherhood’ eyeing the auction or that hidden Goth Spy Leader, Dean directly set aside 【Military Organization Lv3】—his young subordinates, although growing quite well, were obviously still far behind when facing ‘Brotherhood’ Assassins. If he did not want too many casualties, Dean could not possibly let these young men enter the field.

As for the Goth Spy Leader?

Concerning some of his own secrets, it was also unsuitable for outsiders to be present.

So, 【Military Organization Lv3】 was temporarily put aside.

Among the remaining skills, the Basic Skills 【Basic Swordsmanship Lv3】,【Cold Weapon (Sword/Hammer/Spear) Lv3】 represented judgment, while the Applied Skills 【Military Swordsmanship Lv3 (Emerald)】,【Military Swordsmanship Lv3 (Goth)】 provided attribute boosts.

And both the passive judgment of the former and the attribute boost of the latter were extremely necessary for Dean.

Therefore, facing this situation, Dean was somewhat hesitant for a moment.

After all, both Basic and Applied Skills would have special options appear when reaching Lv4, further strengthening the skill’s power. Since he could improve some skills first, Dean had to think carefully.

Of course, such thinking was only momentary.

Finally, Dean chose 【Military Swordsmanship Lv3 (Goth)】.

As for the reason for choosing—

First, the attribute boosted by 【Military Swordsmanship Lv3 (Goth)】 was the highest among Basic and Applied Skills.

Second, and most importantly, 【Military Swordsmanship (Goth)】 limited the level of 【Dragon Swordsmanship】. To raise the level of 【Dragon Swordsmanship】, one had to raise the level of 【Military Swordsmanship (Goth)】.

And Dean had longed for the Flame on the blade for a long time.

After all, that was a move that could truly serve as a killing technique.

【Military Swordsmanship (Goth) Lv3→Lv4】

【Military Swordsmanship (Goth) reached Lv4, special options begin to appear…】

【A, When activated, Strength gains an additional 0.15 boost】

【B, Duration +3 seconds】

【C, Cooldown time reduced by 10 minutes】

(Note: Only one item can be chosen)

Looking at the three special options that appeared, Dean unhesitatingly chose A.

After all, his combat style could never engage in long-lasting battles, so B was unnecessary. And regarding C, Dean believed that after his attribute 【Constitution】 continued to grow, it would definitely be much more cost-effective than choosing this option. In fact, as long as he approached the Silver Level, 【Military Swordsmanship】 would essentially become a completely passive skill, with no concept of activation, duration, or cooldown.

So, choosing A, making 【Military Swordsmanship (Goth)】 even stronger, was the wisest choice.

【Military Swordsmanship Lv4 (Goth): Although you studied it before, the subsequent completion is the top priority; Effect: When attacking, it can grant a Strength boost of +0.75; Duration 9.9 (Constitution x3) seconds; Cooldown 67 (100 – Constitution x10) minutes】

(One special choice of +0.15 Strength has been made)

Looking at the notation ‘Strength +0.75 boost’, Dean couldn’t help but let out a long breath—

One special choice caused a qualitative change in a skill.

And there were two more changes at Lv8 and Lv10, which would be enough to make this skill comparable to Knight Talent.

In fact, this change was far superior to ordinary Knight Talent.

And undoubtedly, this once again proved that in his past life, he made the wrong choice, constantly raising levels and believing that attributes could crush everything, but ultimately being crushed by attributes brought by techniques.

Dean sighed softly at this.

Then, his eyes became burning—because Dean wanted to know, under the correct choices, what level he could reach.

“That must be, beyond the ‘broken’ Gold-rank, and even surpassing the Gold-rank…”

Just thinking about the scene above Gold-rank made Dean’s whole heart burn with excitement.

Perhaps, besides revenge, this was one of the few persistent pursuits of Dean.

And just as Dean completed the special option for his first skill, a commotion appeared in the place where the Defendi Territory people lived in the distance—

“Have you seen Regiment Commander Churde Defendi?”

“Have you seen Regiment Commander Churde Defendi?”

…

Such questioning voices rose from low to high, entering Dean’s ears.

In response, Dean sneered slightly.