Free Web NovelThe moment the red curtain was pulled aside to reveal the chained mermaid inside, Vieya clearly sensed the breathing in the auction hall grow heavier. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
But—
many of the guests present were dissatisfied that the final centerpiece item was merely a mermaid.
“A mermaid monster starting at ten million? Is your auction house so poor you can’t even pay wages anymore?”
Yes, this mermaid was beautiful. Ocean-blue long hair, pale blue scales that shimmered with light, elegant and well-proportioned curves, and those beautiful yet slightly hollow eyes—all of it combined to seize the attention of every guest the instant she appeared.
But spending ten million gold coins to buy a decorative vase?
The guests present only found it absurd. Being able to come here meant none of them lacked women.
Spending a few million to buy one would be fine, but a starting price of ten million was terrifying enough to make them hesitate, leaving them only to click their tongues and satisfy their eyes.
“The quality of this finale item is indeed high, but we’re not fools. A ten-million starting price—hehe, honestly, that’s just too...” a man wearing a red oni mask said disdainfully.
“I bid eleven million.” A guest called out excitedly.
Vieya lifted her eyes and glanced at the bidder. Seeing that he was merely a somewhat overweight fourth-tier human, she withdrew her gaze, folded her arms, and continued waiting.
Unlike her outward calm and detachment, her inner thoughts were in turmoil.
The one in the cage was no ordinary mermaid or some other insignificant monster, but a Demon King—a true Demon King!
“Tsk! Twelve million!” the red oni mask man clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“Thirteen point five million.” The fat man continued raising the bid.
“Fourteen million.” A third party joined the bidding!
Gradually, more people willing to throw around large sums appeared, and the auction hall, which had been a little quiet, slowly grew lively again.
Seizing the momentum, the host loudly promoted the rarity of humanoid monsters, enthusiastically praising how those that were alive, tamable, intelligent, beautiful, and capable of serving as combat power were treasures seen only once in a thousand years.
“Guest Number 46 bids eighteen million!” the female host proclaimed passionately. “Monsters like this have extremely long lifespans! Tremendous strength! Her magic energy level reaches the eighth tier! If you take one home and tame her properly, it’s entirely possible for her to help sustain a family’s legacy!”
“Twenty million! No one fight me for it!”
“You bastards—are you really going this far for a broken mermaid?!” the red oni mask man shouted hoarsely. “I bid twenty million and one hundred thousand!”
“Twenty-one million!”
The scene became chaotic once more. Bids of tens of millions were shouted out, and the atmosphere grew increasingly heated.
The host maintained her smile. This mermaid slave was the grand finale—her internal magic energy level alone started at the eighth tier.
Eighth tier. A top-tier combat power that even their boss found tempting. Unfortunately, this mermaid would rather die than submit and was extremely difficult to tame, and there also seemed to be some ominous curse on her body.
Not only was her innate eighth-tier strength completely unusable, but anyone who stayed too close to her would fall into a strange state—becoming unwilling to do anything, wanting only to eat, drink, and sleep.
If their boss hadn’t somehow acquired a special set of ancient-script anti-magic shackles, it would have been difficult to even put this mermaid into a cage and push her out to be sold.
Inside the auction hall.
Vieya appeared to be chatting idly with Aislin, but her attention was entirely fixed on the Demon King in the cage.
Many years ago, they had briefly crossed paths on the sea’s surface. The mermaid Demon King had left an exceptionally deep impression on her—not only because of her overwhelming combat ability in ocean territory, but also that affinity almost like a monster girl’s.
If Vieya hadn’t kept the Holy Sword almost constantly at hand back then, she would never have noticed anything amiss.
If Flaviel could evade all perception and accompany Vieya for more than ten years under the guise of a human mage thanks to racial talent and all sorts of powerful methods combined—
then the mermaid Demon King had deceived Vieya’s hawk-like eyes back then relying solely on her innocent appearance and peaceful sense of closeness.
“So what exactly did you go through during those years you disappeared, to end up like this?”
Vieya thought absentmindedly.
Her junior sister probably asked her to bid on this mermaid because she knew her true identity... tch, this just got troublesome.
“After the auction ends, shall I take you all out for dinner before we head back to the Elven Royal Court together?” Aislin asked casually. But when she noticed the white-haired little girl staring blankly into space, she reached out and flicked her forehead.
Thump!
“......”
Vieya came back to herself, turned her head, and asked with a dark, quiet gaze, “Is there something else?”
“Are we eating together later?” Aislin asked.
“If you’re paying, I’ll go.” Vieya paused, then added, “And it depends on whether Yuelong and the others have time. There are some things I want to ask her in person.”
“No problem.” With the task successfully completed, Aislin agreed easily.
“Save me......”
“?”
Vieya suddenly froze and tilted her head slightly. “Aislin, did you just hear a cry for help?”
“A cry for help?”
Aislin twitched the ears hidden beneath her hat and shook her head. “No. Did you hear some strange sound?”
“......”
Vieya silently shook her head, shifting her gaze back to the mermaid on the central stage. Her emerald-green eyes were clear and tranquil, as if waiting for something.
“Save me... my kin......”
The mermaid’s vacant blue eyes suddenly regained a hint of light. From afar, through the countless boiling voices, she looked toward the slime girl’s position.
Their eyes met.
A pleasant yet hoarse voice echoed in Vieya’s mind. “Please, save me. My kin. I don’t want to fall into their hands.”
Vieya did not answer. Instead, she looked with interest at the mermaid Demon King in the cage.
The number of bids in the auction gradually decreased. The price had already reached a terrifying fifty million gold coins, and there were very few people who could produce that much at once.
Seeing that the one she pleaded with remained unresponsive for so long, the light in the mermaid’s eyes faded again.
She could sense that same-origin resonance within the other’s soul—the resonance belonging to a Demon King... A newly born Demon King? To be able to hide among humans like this—impressive.
She wanted to ask which seat the other belonged to, but her exhausted body and soul could no longer support another covert transmission.
“Isabella, how did you end up in such a state?” Vieya rested her chin on one hand from the high guest seats. “One of the Seven Demon Kings reduced to a prisoner. How pitiful.”
“......”
The mermaid was startled.
“What? Do you need my help?”
“You... which Demon King are you?” Isabella forced out the question with the last bit of strength in her body.
“That’s none of your concern. In short, I can buy you, but what can you give me in return? After all, the seven Demon Kings aren’t allies—we’re competitors. One mountain cannot hold two tigers. I have no obligation to help you.”
Isabella took a breath. “What do you want?”
“I want everything you have.”
Vieya smiled faintly, resting her face in her hand, speaking plainly.
“To me, the greatest joy in life is putting my enemies at my side to serve me.”
Isabella: ......
“Well? Decide and blink. I can get you out. Look at those humans—now that you’ve lost your authority, if you fall into their hands, your end will surely be miserable.”
Isabella, “You... who exactly are you?”
Vieya, “Don’t ask so much. Submission or dignity?”
Choosing submission meant acknowledging this white-haired little girl as her master. Choosing dignity meant being bought by those humans later and trampled until not a shred of dignity remained.
Isabella breathed, her choice already made.
“Master... please save me.”
“Little Vieya, your smile just now was really creepy,” Aislin said, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms.
“Was it?” Vieya rubbed her cheeks and smiled. “Aislin, I want to buy the monster in that cage.”
As she spoke, she raised the bidding paddle in her hand.
“One hundred million gold coins.”
The entire auction hall fell silent.
The people who had been fighting fiercely just moments ago stared in disbelief at the white-haired little girl holding up the paddle.
“No one else bidding?” Vieya asked the crowd, speaking in place ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) of the host.
“I bid one hundred million and one hundred thousand!” a chubby guest raised his paddle, though his hand was trembling.
A smile curved Vieya’s lips. She stood up from her seat and said lightly,
“Two hundred million.”
The words drifted down softly, yet pressed on everyone’s hearts like a massive mountain.
The crowd stood dumbfounded. Even Aislin was stunned by the speed of the price increase. Only after the host finished the ten-second countdown and struck the gavel did they snap back to their senses.
Dazed.
Later, whenever those who attended this auction spoke of it again, their words were always tinged with confusion and awe.
They couldn’t understand why the master of the Holy Sword, who suppressed all demons, would throw away gold coins enough to buy a medium-sized city just to save this dying Demon King. But what they could not deny was that among the sparks capable of calming the chaotic age, the largest one was held firmly in the Holy Sword’s master’s hand.
At this moment, in the silent auction hall, Vieya left the guest seats and walked step by step toward the stage.
Under the gazes of countless guests, in the brief moment the host was stunned, she arrived before the cage and split the iron restraints with a single sword strike.
Isabella collapsed to the ground, utterly bewildered. Why... why would this Demon King wield the Holy Sword? Why wasn’t she being repelled? And why was she saving me?
Vieya sheathed her sword, completely unafraid of exposing her identity. She looked at the host beside her, whose forehead was dripping with cold sweat, and smiled.
“Alright, she’s mine now... Also, please bring me the key used to unlock the Chains of Heaven on her body.”
