CHAPTER 156: BLOCKING ARROW

"How long have you been up, Amelia?"

Carlotta yawned as she asked.

Inside the living room, Amelia sat on the sofa. Before her, streams of starlight and sword aura crisscrossed through the air. Various items everyday or offensive movements would randomly appear around her, hovering without release.

She was practicing her memory magic.

Amelia said, "I just woke up not long ago. Get ready; after breakfast, we should head to the auction."

Carlotta nodded, drew out various cards, finished washing up and dressing, everything done easily.

Then she and Amelia put on their Illusion Masks, altered their appearances, and walked out of their room. They had a meal in the hotel lobby before preparing to depart for the auction hall.

The people who had accompanied them also stayed at this hotel, although there was little interaction between them. Amelia’s orders could be relayed directly through the soldier roster, no need for face-to-face meetings.

Thus, when Carlotta and Amelia stepped out of the hotel, the carriage was already waiting. They boarded it and began a leisurely journey toward the auction hall.

The Jade Auction House was the location of this auction.

By the time Carlotta and Amelia’s carriage arrived at the entrance of the Jade Auction House, numerous carriages were already parked there, one after another.

There were also many people coming and going, well-dressed individuals entering the auction house.

Entry to the auction wasn’t open to just anyone, it required an introduction. Carlotta had learned of this auction through the Swan Merchant Guild, so naturally, she used their referral to gain access.

Yet as she clicked through the gate, Carlotta noticed that many of the people arriving also carried referrals from the Swan Merchant Guild. This made her somewhat surprised.

Is the Swan Merchant Guild heavily recommending different people to attend this auction? What are they planning?

Although not entirely clear, Carlotta still took Amelia’s hand and entered the auction hall.

Inside the hall, rows of seats were arranged. Carlotta hadn’t arrived too late, so she led Amelia to a seat fairly near the front. They then began quietly discussing their plans.

They decided to auction only the Life Source, nothing else, to avoid drawing excessive attention.

After all, Bor City was too close to the Kingdom of Brandon. With the Sky Island incident still a hot topic, it was better to keep a low profile.

As for purchasing the Life Source, that clearly wouldn’t invite much speculation.

When the clock struck eight in the evening, the seats in the auction hall were finally filled.

Then, on the auction stage, a host’s figure appeared.

She was a woman dressed in an elegant black dress, graceful and charming, wearing a formulaic smile.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Jade Auction House. It’s clear that you’re all highly expecting today’s auction items. To quickly ignite the atmosphere, we’ve decided to open with a heavyweight item. The first auction item is a bottle of Life Source!"

Upon hearing the host’s words, the auction hall indeed stirred. Many people wore expressions of surprise, whispering to their acquaintances. No one expected the very first item to be the Life Source.

Carlotta and Amelia were also taken aback.

"Not bad. We can leave sooner once we secure the Life Source."

Carlotta Whispered.

"But as the opening item, the price might be high... How much Fiel do we have left?"

Amelia asked softly.

"Let me calculate..."

Fiel was the currency of the Sun Moon Federation. Carlotta and Amelia didn’t have regular jobs, therefore no steady income. These Fiel coins were mostly spoils of war. Combined, they weren’t a huge amount, but enough to cover the auction of a single Life Source.

Although the Life Source had infinite applications, it was ultimately a one-time consumable. Its price couldn’t be too absurdly high.

"Starting bid: two hundred thousand Fiel."

The host announced the starting price.

Although Fiel had far less purchasing power than Fei, the two hundred thousand starting bid still made Carlotta’s eyebrows twitch.

She remembered that the market auction price for Life Source in the past hovered around two hundred thousand Fiel. Now the starting bid was already that high, what final price were they aiming for?

This starting price surprised not only Carlotta but also the rest of the audience in the hall. They exchanged glances, stunned, momentarily unsure how to bid.

"Two hundred twenty thousand."

Someone made a bid.

But the bidder wasn’t from the main hall, it came from one of the private boxes upstairs.

Who was inside the boxes was a secret. One thing was certain: only those with certain status or identity could enter them.

With the two hundred twenty thousand bids, the main hall fell momentarily silent. No other boxes make a sound.

Seeing this, Carlotta had no choice but to bid, "I bid two hundred fifty thousand."

This price was somewhat higher than the past market value of Life Source, but she didn’t mind. As long as they secured the Life Source and showed it to Stellar Workshop as a blueprint, the workshop could produce Life Sourcely afterward. So the price wasn’t an issue.

The auction hall stirred.

Many eyes looked toward Carlotta, surprised and somewhat curious. Who was this blonde girl, and why was she so generous?

In truth, raising the bid by thirty thousand at once was also a display of intimidation from Carlotta, meant to scare others into backing down.

"Several gazes are coming from those private boxes."

Amelia murmured.

"It’s fine. No one knows our true identities."

Carlotta wasn’t particularly worried.

Being a mid-tier Listener wasn’t a low rank. This wasn’t Sky Island, where Resonators roamed everywhere.

In fact, on the Northern Continent, Resonators were already rare, holding notable status in their respective countries, definitely not commoners.

"Two hundred sixty thousand."

A voice came again from the private box, still from the same one as before.

Even after raising the bid, the voice from the box spoke again: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are representatives of the Farrel Kingdom’s military. We greatly need these strategic resources. We hope you’ll refrain from further bidding."

It was a middle-aged man’s voice. Although his words addressed everyone, everyone knew, he was speaking directly to Carlotta.

The military of the Farrel Kingdom?

The moment this identity was revealed, the expressions of many present changed. Those who originally harboured desires for the Life Source and were ready to act immediately suppressed their intentions.

Clashing with the military of the Farrel Kingdom, even in Bor City, a border town, was something not everyone dared to do.

No one suspected the people inside the private box were impersonating the Farrel Kingdom’s military. Those who could enter the private boxes were all well-known figures. Who would dare to fake such an identity? That would be nothing short of suicide.

Carlotta frowned slightly.

Using status to pressure others during an auction?

What was an auction supposed to be? Ownership decided by wealth, only money mattered, nothing else.

That was what an auction meant. If status could override bids, then what was the point of auctioning at all? They might as well just hand the item to whoever held the highest rank.

Carlotta had never feared nobility or power. She spoke up directly,"I bid Three hundred thousand."

The hall instantly fell silent. People toward Carlotta in astonishment, clearly surprised that someone would still dare to bid after the private box had revealed their identity.

This person wasn’t afraid of provoking the Farrel Kingdom’s military?

The hostess was also taken aback. When the private box spoke, she’d assumed the auction was over. Though she felt slight resentment toward their use of status to dominate, she could do nothing about it.

But now, a satisfied smile appeared on the hostess’s face, "This lady bids Three hundred thousand fiel! Three hundred thousand fiel for one bottle of Life Source. Is there anyone else willing to bid?"

Inside the private box, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Many eyes gazed toward the private box, eager to see how the person claiming to be from the Farrel Kingdom’s military would react. Yet, the box remained silent.

Were they giving up?

...

Inside the private box.

A young officer angrily said: "We’ve already revealed our identity, yet this woman still dares to compete with us! Clearly, she doesn’t take us seriously. We— "

"Enough."

Though the private box held many people, the central figure was a middle-aged man seated on the sofa.

His expression was solemn, imposing authority without anger. At the slightest sound from him, those around fell silent.

"There are too many people here. Don’t cause a scene, or people will think our military abuses its power. Let’s go. Without the Life Source, there’s no point staying for the rest."

Though others were discontent, they still followed the middle-aged man away.

...

"Three hundred thousand, once."

"Three hundred thousand, twice."

"Three hundred thousand, three times. Any other bids?"

"Sold!"

With the hostess’s declaration, the ownership of the Life Source was settled, at Three hundred thousand fiel, Hundred thousand more than the usual market price.

Fortunately, Carlotta’s money came from spoils of war, not hard-earned wages, so she didn’t mind the cost.

Under countless gazes, she and Amelia stood and headed to the auction house’s backroom to collect her purchase and pay.

The process went smoothly. The Life Source, a bottle of green alchemical potion, came into Carlotta’s possession.

After examining the Life Source briefly, Carlotta and Amelia left the auction house and boarded their already-prepared carriage.

The carriage curtains were tightly drawn. Then, Carlotta took out the palm-sized Stellar Workshop and placed the Life Source at its entrance, allowing the Workshop to absorb it.

In an instant, a new page appeared on the glowing screen embedded in the Workshop’s wall, listing various alchemical ingredients required to craft the Life Source.

Carlotta glanced over them and, upon confirming none were particularly rare, smiled in satisfaction: "They’re all common materials. Looks like we’re in luck."

Amelia said: "The Life Tree Organization has quite a reputation. Their research in alchemical potions is unparalleled across the Northern Continent. To create such effective potions using common materials is truly impressive... If we get the chance, we should collect other proprietary alchemical formulas from the Life Tree Organization as well."

Carlotta nodded in agreement.

She immediately contributed some of the materials she already possessed to the Stellar Workshop, instructing it to begin production.

The Workshop’s automated alchemy capability was astonishing. Even more impressive was that, regardless of what it produced, it seemed to finish in the blink of an eye, never requiring long waits.

In an instant, bottle after bottle of Life Source began emerging from the Stellar Workshop.

Carlotta first made twenty bottles, ten stored in her own storage card, ten in Amelia’s Ten-Heart Pearl, enough as emergency supplies.

Amelia sighed, "Though I’ve seen the Stellar Workshop’s wonders before, to see these alchemical potions appear so quickly is still astounding. Carlotta, put it away. This is the most precious thing you possess."

Carlotta nodded and stored the Workshop.

Then she earnestly defended, "The Stellar Workshop is indeed great, but it isn’t the most precious thing to me. At best, it ranks second."

Amelia asked, surprised, "What could possibly be more precious than the Stellar Workshop?"

Carlotta smiled: "It’s you, of course. You’re the most precious one."

Amelia hadn’t expected Carlotta’s twist to land here. Her face flushed red instantly, "Don’t suddenly say such embarrassing things."

"But it’s the truth."

Carlotta teased with a grin.

The carriage swiftly moved away, soon leaving Bor City behind as it headed further south.

Outside Bor City lay a stretch of forest. Near the city, travelers could still be seen, but as the road extended outward, the surroundings grew increasingly desolate.

Yet, at that moment...

"Whoosh!"

A thick arrow suddenly shot from the front, moving at astonishing speed, rapidly closing in on the carriage.

Other carriages, carrying Carlotta and Amelia’s subordinates, traveled around them.

Seeing the arrow approach, one of the early tier Listener leapt up, swung his longsword, and with a loud thud, knocked the arrow down.

No incident occurred.

But all the carriages came to a halt.

Carlotta and Amelia pulled open the carriage curtain and looked ahead. A group of people stood blocking the road, each wearing standardized armor characteristic of the Farrel Kingdom’s military.

At the front stood a young officer, currently holding a bow, the very one who had fired the arrow.

However, the young officer hadn’t expected his arrow to be blocked so easily. A look of surprise crossed his face.