Chapter 282 Auction
On this unusual afternoon, the usually bustling Singar seemed a little quiet.
More than half of the merchants on the street have disappeared, even the big opium dens that never closed have disappeared, and the addicts who collapsed on the street can't even find a source of supply.
The various criminals that were seen everywhere in the past have disappeared, and the chaotic city of Singar has become a safe and secure place overnight.
This is mainly because almost all the major forces in the city work together on this day to maintain the "stability" of the city.
Tahir sent his troops to patrol the city, slaves of the Knights of Dusk were patrolling back and forth, and Ramon's men in black were guarding the streets.
These guys from different forces and beliefs became quite harmonious this afternoon.
Because Ramon's auction is currently being held in the huge hotel in the center of Singal.
The auction venue this time is located on the second underground floor. It is a semicircular venue with a circular stage in the middle with aisles on both sides. The bidding seats are fan-shaped and half surround the stage, and the seats are divided into two layers, inner and outer.
The inner layer is closer to the stage, but it is all ordinary seats and can be considered the lobby.
The outer layer is actually composed of private rooms, which are slightly higher than the seats in the hall.
There is a curtain in the private room with numbers on it, so you can't see the people inside. Only the people in the room can lift the curtain and peek into the room.
Ramon's auction obviously takes customer privacy very seriously.
Ramon's men were all dressed in black, standing in a circle outside the box, separating the hall from the box. They should be waiters for the customers in the box - Ramon did not allow anyone to bring an entourage, so he naturally had to provide an entourage for the distinguished guests.
These private rooms are naturally provided to some special people who are not convenient to show up in public. The followers provided by Ramon not only have to serve tea and water and run errands, but also have to be responsible for helping the customers in the boxes to raise their hands and bid.
In fact, this auction was not just about selecting a husband for Luha, Ramon also prepared some extra auction items to liven up the atmosphere.
For example, some equipment with extremely exquisite workmanship, as well as some rare antiques and works of art.
These are actually things that go with the engagement ceremony - gorgeous ceremonial armor and beautiful works of art can not only demonstrate financial strength, but also show the bidder's sincerity in the selection of a son-in-law.
"…Deal! Congratulations to the distinguished guest in Box 6 for winning this set of Noldor Rune Artworks at a price of 96,000 dinars. This is a genuine item with magic runes. I must say you made a good deal!"
Ramon slammed the gavel in his hand on the stage, and the volume gradually increased: "Next... Gentlemen! The last lot of this auction is about to be auctioned - this is what you have been waiting for... the rule of Ashkoman and the marriage of the beloved daughter of the honorable Caliph Bahaman, Luha! ”
A girl in a golden ceremonial dress brought a silver tray with a dagger and a brass seal on it.
The girl walked around the stage with the plate and finally placed it on the sloped stand in front of Ramon.
You can vaguely see a scorpion engraved on the blade of the dagger.
The people in the audience were breathing noticeably heavier, especially the Singalians and D'Shar.
"Perhaps many friends have already noticed...these two items..."
Ramon pointed at the seal and said, "This is the seal of Lord Ashkoman. It is the authority of the ruler of Ashkoman!"
After saying that, he pointed at the ancient dagger and said, "This dagger is as important as the seal! It represents the recognition of the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood! In other words... the person who successfully bids will be regarded as the legitimate ruler of Ashcoman by the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood - I think you all should understand what this means..."
The people in the audience made a buzzing sound, and it was obvious that they were all whispering to each other.
Most people knew that the last item of this auction was Ashcomb's right to rule, but few people would have thought that, along with the right to rule, the recognition of the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood would also be auctioned off!
The Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood, as the name suggests, is a killer organization.
D'Shar is a country that believes in revenge, and almost all D'Shar people are willing to turn their hatred into blood - if you can take action, try not to talk nonsense, after all, most D'Shar people are not very good at verbal disputes.
If there is an insult or hatred involved, it is usually dealt with through a private fight. Both parties can appoint any agent as their representative and solve the problem with a knife, without any grudges whether it is life or death.
Therefore, sometimes the quarrel between two naughty children often turns into a fight between the parents of both sides...
In fact, even more regrettable situations often occur - two children have a conflict, and then both families find a swordsman in the family to "wash away the shame". If one side suffers a loss and is more irritable, then this situation may escalate again into endless revenge, and eventually become a life-and-death battle between the two families.
The story of revenge is not a big deal in Desha - every family has experienced it or is experiencing it.
But don't think that these Desha people will engage in chivalrous duels. They have never advocated fair duels. They only advocate revenge.
Most of the time, the private fights among the D'Shar people would be conducted through ambushes and surprise attacks...
For the Desha people, no matter how the enemy died, as long as the enemy's blood was shed, it was enough to cleanse their "honor".
But this hands-on approach to retaliation isn’t the only option.
Sometimes the enemy family is too powerful to be defeated, or it is possible that the enemy is protected by a great noble. Regardless of the reason, those who are wealthy enough or desperate for revenge will usually turn to the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood to help them solve their problems.
These assassins marked with Scorpio patterns are unparalleled in their skills in assassination. Once you become their target, you will face endless daggers, flying knives and poisons. They will not stop until they have accomplished their goal. As long as they accept the mission, they will do it.
Occasionally there are people who cannot be killed, but they will still continue to send people to assassinate them year after year and will never give up - this is the most terrifying thing about them.
Most members of the Scorpio Brotherhood are orphans, though a small number have renounced all loyalty to their former families and sworn allegiance to the Brotherhood - most of these are people who have previously hired Scorpio members for revenge at their own expense.
And once you join, you can never leave, otherwise... Any killer organization will deal with betrayers in the same way, and the only difference of the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood is that they never fail, or it will never end.
Such an assassin group is certainly quite terrifying. The price of their services is quite high, and there are many ways to bid.
You can give children as tribute to the Brotherhood to be raised, you can offer political deals, large sums of dinars, or even your own life.
At the same time, this is also a very trustworthy assassin group - as long as they accept the mission, they will definitely execute it, even if the target is their Grand Master...
The most ironic thing is that the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood, an assassin group that only cares about money and not people, is actually a legal knightly order recognized by the Valide Charter.
Yes, this killer group is actually a legal "Knight Order"!
Because the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood was originally founded by the Duke of D'Shar, Baltar el-Akarab, in the name of the Family Guard Knights. It was indeed a legitimate knightly order in the beginning, and the Scorpio was actually Baltar's family emblem.
That was in the 198th year of the Pendor calendar. The continent of Pendor was facing the invasion of General Osa of the Bacchus Empire, and the Principality of Desha was divided into two factions over whether to be independent.
During those years, Baltar used his "Family Guard Knights" to assassinate many opponents, and the Principality of D'Shar also broke away from the Kingdom of Pendor and the Kingdom of Sarleon and declared independence a few years later.
The capital of D'Shar at that time was Ashkorman.
But Desha did not believe in hereditary succession at that time. After Baltar's death, his family split into several parts - several sons divided the family.
Baltar's "Family Guard Knights" became an independent organization, transformed into the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood, and took root in Ashcomb for a long time.
Perhaps due to the Scorpio Assassins' notoriety, the Valides Charter did not define them as an illegal group - the great nobles naturally valued life more, and no one wanted to have a feud with the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood. After all, no one wanted to be in fear every day against the killer who might appear in the dark at any time.
The dagger engraved with the Scorpio emblem that Ramon was pointing at at this moment represented the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood's recognition of this auction.
Whoever obtains this dagger can be protected by the Scorpio Assassin - but this does not guarantee the safety of the bidder's life, but guarantees that revenge can be successful...
In other words, if the person who took the dagger photo was killed by someone else, the Scorpio Assassin would definitely avenge him.
At the same time, anyone who dares to use force against Ashcomb will face the threat of the Scorpio Assassin.
Although Scorpio would not take the initiative to intervene in the disputes between kingdoms, their base was in Ashcoman after all, so Leon was unwilling to provoke them even with a large army.
This dagger is obviously the biggest guarantee for this auction.
"Everyone, with the approval of the Scorpio Assassin Brotherhood, you should understand that the seal of Lord Ashcoman is completely reliable, and I believe that no fool would dare to seize it by force after the auction ends..."
Ramon smiled and raised his voice again: "Then, I declare Ashcoman's right to rule, Miss Luha's marriage, and the recognition of the Scorpio Assassin - the starting price is 800,000 dinars, and the single bid is not less than 50,000 dinars! Bidding with land, troops or slaves is allowed... The auction starts now!"
"coax……"
There was a commotion from the audience, but no one in the hall made a bid yet.
It wasn’t because the reserve price was too high, but because Ramon’s last words once again surprised everyone.
Allowing land, troops, and slaves to be used as payment...
Ramon himself was the most successful ransom broker on the entire continent, and he was certainly good at assessing the prices of people and land. Such rules would balance the financial resources of everyone present—merchants had an advantage in denarii, but lords with large amounts of land could bid to the end even if they didn’t have much cash.
"Eight hundred thousand!"
A woman's voice came, it was Alina's voice.
Outside the box, a man in black, one of Ramon's men, held up a sign with the number '2'.
"Number two bid eight hundred thousand...eight hundred thousand for the first time!"
Ramon was on the stage explaining the bidders' numbers to others.
"Nine hundred thousand!"
"One million!"
"Number One bids one million..."
"One million and fifty thousand! I want to assess the value of my land..."
A young voice came from box number six, and a man in black turned and entered the box - they were all professionals under Ramon, able to directly evaluate assets such as land.
"One million and one hundred thousand!"
…
"One million and one hundred thousand for the first time... one million and one hundred thousand for the second time..."
"One million and two hundred thousand!"
The price was slowly rising, and no one impulsively shouted out any illogically high price. Most people only raised the price in increments of fifty or one hundred thousand - the unit was ten thousand after all, and fifty thousand dinars was already a huge fortune that most lords could hardly afford.
"Ha... How much is Singal worth?"
During the bidding process, a discordant voice suddenly emerged.
The voice came from box number five. Ramon's men raised the sign with number 5, but they held it horizontally - this only marked the location of the speaker and did not count as a bid.
"Dear guest in Box 5, please bid with your own property... Your voice is neither that of Bahadur Khan nor that of His Excellency Tahir. I'm afraid Sinjar does not belong to you..."
Ramon said jokingly that there are always various situations at auctions, and sometimes it’s just a joke, so he didn’t take it too seriously.
"I ask again, how much is Singal worth?"
The person in box number five was still asking calmly, and the place fell silent at this time.
Obviously, most people realized that someone was going to cause trouble.
"Singal won't sell... Shut your mouth! If you make such a joke again, I'll kill you!"
The speaker was a rough voice, coming from Box 3 - it was the voice of Tahir, Lord of Singal.
"Ha... I'm not kidding! How about this, Ramon? I'll pay you two million dinars in Singal. Is that okay?"
The people in box number five still didn't shut up.
"Then you should probably ask Lord Tahir for his opinion first... I don't mind, but I have to advise you that Lord Tahir has always had a bad temper..."
Ramon shrugged. He knew who was in box number five, but the man's situation was special and Ramon felt it was difficult to deal with.
"Ramon! Shut up! Get him out of here!"
Tahir's temper was indeed not very good, and he was very dissatisfied with Ramon's provocation.
"I'm sorry, Lord Tahir, I think this matter should be handled by you. I'm not the Lord of Singal."
Ramon shook his head and decided to wait for Tahir to sort it out himself...
Anyway, this was a provocation to Tahir, and Ramon had no intention of playing peacemaker.
"Then have your men obey my command... I'm going to kill this bastard!"
Tahir pulled aside the curtain, came out of box number three, and went straight to box number five.
But just as he reached the door of box number five, an arm stretched out from inside through the curtain and grabbed Tahir.
Then a knife was placed against Tahir's throat: "Tahir, now can you tell me how much Sinjar is worth?..."
"Ikram! It's you!...You're going to regret it!"
