Chapter 132: Expensive Purchase
Because of the Feather Snake Sail’s acceleration effect, straightforward control, and outstanding stability, its magic power consumption compared to similar alchemy items was far less.
The only flaw was that maintaining it later was quite troublesome, for it needed an alchemy master skilled in tailoring.
Mercenary Commander Tie Bang’s heart thudded, Commander Beng Dai was the same, while the dragonman youngster’s eyes slightly lit up when he heard Zong Ge shout, “I want that!”
Maritime mercenary corps all had their own fleet, and this gold level sail suited them well.
In the private rooms, the five great merchant alliances’ representatives also looked interested.
If a merchant alliance fleet had it, transporting merchandise would be far more guaranteed.
“Ohoho, now that’s a great thing!” Dian Wan yelled.
The pirates all felt a rush of excitement.
With this sail expediating them, they could greatly increase their pursuit success rate.
Among the many elements that affected naval battles, ship speed was always a crucial one.
The sea was flat all around, and quite different to dry land. Land battles paid particular attention to the terrain, while the seas rarely cared about such things.
The auction master cried out, “The starting price is 200 gold, every bid must raise it by 30 gold! Let the auction begin!”
“250 gold.” Hun Tong’s voice transmitted from room one.
His voice was calm, but that stimulated the desires of many buyers.
“Look, Feudal Lord Hun Tong was the first one to bid.”
“He too is undoubtedly interested in the Feather Snake Sail.
The people were thinking this way.
In room 14, Fei She suddenly had a realization, causing him to hum and haw, “It seems, seems things are a bit discouraging.”
“What do you mean?” Zong Ge didn’t understand.
In room 21, Zi Di faintly narrowed her eyes.
“I fear this change is in response to me.”
“The original auction order wasn’t like this.”
“The price Hun Tong stated seems to say: do you want to follow up on me?”
This behavior was a little strong.
Zi Di understood Hun Tong’s methods, and if she was the auction host, she would want better sales too.
Hun Tong had adjusted the item order, a clever move done by using Zi Di and Cang Xu to probe what the auction would be like.
On the one hand he felt out their financial resources.
The gold level Feather Snake Sail would not be easy to win.
On the other hand, he was probing who they were.
If Zi Di and Cang Xu were lone figures, similar to Hong Zhu and Shi Fa, they generally wouldn’t try to buy the Feather Snake Sail. But if there was a power behind them, such as a feudal lord, mercenary corps, they would have a huge demand for the Feather Snake Sail!
Finally, even if Zi Di came out on top and won the Feather Snake Sail, Hun Tong was willing to see it.
Because Zi Di and Cang Xu would spend a lot of money on it, which would decrease their joint impact on the auction at an earlier time.
So, should one follow up?
Yes!
Zi Di hesitated a little, then quoted, “280 gold!”
In room one, Hun Tong faintly raised an eyebrow, his expression subtle.
Just as Zi Di spoke, another bid, “310 gold.”
The bidder was Mercenary Commander Tie Bang.
He planned to find a place for the Feather Snake Sail on the Iron Lump after buying it.
Although they weren’t a perfect match, they were a usable pair. The Feather Snake Sail could thoroughly make up for the Iron Lump’s weakness of slow speed.
No, to be more precise, it turned a shortcoming into a strength.
After all, the Iron Lump was only a bronze level magic ship, while the Feather Snake Sail was gold level.
The Flint Merchant Alliance representative raised the price, “400 gold.”
He raised the price by 90 gold, appearing rich and imposing.
But this price was still below the market price for a gold level treasure.
Consequently, soon after, another followed up, “450 gold.”
The bidder this time was the Secret Medicine Merchant Alliance.
Although these two merchant alliances cooperated to deal with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps and the Wisteria Store, for the sake of winning the Feather Snake Sail, they openly competed with each other.
The relationship between merchant alliances was like that, occasional cooperation, occasional opposition.
The dragonman youngster increased the price, “480 gold.”
As the leader of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, he was also interested in this sail.
He didn’t disguise or conceal his voice, and when some of his competitors heard it, their hearts sank.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had been shining in the limelight recently.
Everyone knew they had ample financial resources!
The beast tide contained great wealth!
The gigantic volume of fish harvested made many envious. Along with the plentiful mission rewards.
Mercenary Commander Beng Dai grinded his teeth, “510 gold.”
He similarly coveted the Feather Snake Sail. Despite knowing he wasn’t as wealthy as the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, he still wanted to make an effort.
One wouldn’t be resigned until they tried.
The Flint Merchant Alliance representative continued to bid, “560 gold.”
Not knowing his disposition or his bidding strategy, the two bids both raised the price substantially.
The Treasure Merchant Alliance representative spoke, “600 gold.”
As one of the five great merchant alliances, the Treasure Merchant Alliance was well known for making and selling alchemy devices.
The Scale Merchant Alliance soon followed up with, “630 gold.”
However, inside their room, that merchant alliance representative was disinterested.
The reason why he had bid was merely to exploit the excitement.
The Secret Medicine Merchant Alliance representative calmly shouted, “670 gold.”
Just as they spoke, the Clam Cloth Merchant Alliance also spoke, “700 gold.”
The five great merchant alliances had astonishing financial resources, and for a moment, they were all competing with each other.
Dian Wan impetuously interjected, “750 gold!”
For the first time, a pirate group had joined the competition.
For a moment, the pressure on many buyers’ hearts increased greatly.
No one knew that the Lightning Pirates’ first mate felt even more pressure than them. He glared at Dian Wan, softly growling, “Captain, we cannot use this sail.”
“You forgot that our flagship has an electrical discharge ability.”
If we discharge the electricity, the electric current will burn the sail.”
“Eh?” Dian Wan rubbed his head, “That makes sense!”
The first mate’s eye twitched, “So, before you bid, why don’t you discuss it with me first, captain? Don’t shout prices so wantonly.”
“In addition, we came here to mainly buy healing potions, don’t you forget that!”
“Oh, I know, I know.” Dian Wan waved his hand frivolously.
Dian Wan’s bid was quickly pushed down by another.
“800 gold.” Said a voice from room 3.
He was one of the Ten Touch Pirates, Qi You’s representative.
As a gold level pirate, the first thing he bid on was the Feather Snake Sail.
Hun Tong laughed in his heart.
Qi You’s response was within his expectations.
When a large pirate group placed their bid, that caused the other buyers to sense an incorporeal pressure.
Especially the merchant alliance representatives.
They even thought: If I purchase this sail, will it provoke the Ten Touch Pirates into robbing me?
The gold level pirate group was like a fierce tiger in the jungle that put the fear of death into the other lifeforms there.
In the wake of rising bids, more and more people gave up.
The most frequent bidder was the Ten Touch Pirates.
The Ten Touch Pirates hadn’t joined the initial bidding, but when they made their move, they pressed hard continuously, revealing their ambitious determination.
Ther bids rose to 920 gold.
The auction master yelled, “Room 3, 920 gold. Going once.”
“Room 3, 920 gold. Going twice.”
“950 gold, no 980 gold!” Zi Di cried out.
For a moment, everyone’s gazes once again focused on room 21.
Many people showed their amazement and admiration.
Soon after, everyone looked back at room 3.
In room 3, the pirate underling gave an inquiring look at Qi You.
During the auction, Qi You had told him the reserve price was 900 gold.
The underling slightly exceeded that as he shouted a bid of 920 gold.
Qi You didn’t react.
But if he bid now, it didn’t exceed their bottom line by 20 gold, but by 110 gold.
The disparity was too great.
The underling didn’t dare to act on his own.
The one in charge was Qi You, and only Qi You could make the decision.
Qi You closed his eyes, reclined back, and didn’t respond.
The underling didn’t dare to make a sound.
It was naturally the attitude of one who renounced the bidding competition.
The Ten Touch Pirates withdrawal disappointed many buyers who wanted to watch a good show.
As for the previous bidders, all of them sank into hesitation.
The pressure Zi Di and Cang Xu exuded on them was incomparable to the one Qi You gave off.
This psychological pressure greatly influenced the bidding war between them.
Now that Qi You went quiet, some of these buyers thought to themselves this, should they follow up?
Upon considering it, all of them, as if by prior agreement, gave up.
Each bid needed to raise the price by at least 30 gold.
Now that it was at 980 gold, adding another 30 gold would bring it up to 1010 gold.
Don’t be fooled by the difference of 30 gold, one was a four figure number, and the other was a three figure number, the latter of which gave them a wholly different feeling.
If there still was a bidding war, it might be possible that one of them would be too excited to act rationally and bid.
The crucial thing was that Qi You exerted formless pressure, and even if someone bid, their heart would be on the tenterhooks.
Finally, room 21’s unexpected interference, along with the uncultivated bidding war ambience, caused the unmotivated competitors to all give up together.
Therefore, in the end, the sail was delivered to the second floor.