The Young Master in the Shadows

Chapter 405: The Ashflint Auction (2)

“Mother, everything is ready! The barrier will be deployed as a part of the protection formation!” Theodore, who arrived at the secret base, said as soon as he entered Ann’s office. “All we need to do now is to await the Zero hour!” he added, taking a look at Mike who was busy helping his grandmother to review some files.

“Good!” she said, taking out a pipe from her storage ring and then lighting it. “Anything wrong?” she asked, noticing his troubled look.

“I think Supreme Elder Frank and Supreme Elder Cassius noticed something… They sent most of his weak descendants out of the island on various missions early yesterday. Could it be that they know you survived?” he asked nervously.

“Unlikely… If they knew, they would do the opposite!” Ann who didn’t seem fazed said. “We are not the only players here, you know…”

“What do you mean? Another coup?” Theodore asked.

“Yup, Cassius and his band of fools had been planning this for a while now, I think they believe this is their chance…” she said. “That fool still thinks that I don’t know he married his daughter to the Von Zwei’s kid…”

“Oh…And Frank?”

“I don’t know yet… But that fox had a hidden army for years. He must be also thinking of doing something,”

“What? You let them make their own army just like that?” Mike asked.

“There is nothing against that in the rules…” Ann shrugged. “And most heirs have their own teams…” she said.

“Ah… I don’t…” Mike said. His big sister did though… And she was not secretive about it at all!

“That's because you are still young… In time, you will discover you will need one!” she said.

“So… Should we let them fight it out?” Theodore asked.

“No, it would damage the family too much… Even if we let it happen, It will be a one-sided battle, most of the elders will stand on the patriarch’s side or just watch the fun. Even Frank would probably keep out of it this time… Marcos did release that kid from prison for him after all… What was his name again?”

“TITUS!” Theodore said hatefully. Titus killed his son Nick and he couldn’t really take revenge because he had no real strong evidence except for the movie that was too circumstantial. And in the end, Titus didn't order that guy to kill Nick, he wanted him to target Victor which was almost impossible to prove.

And even if he managed to convict him somehow, the family rules didn't consider an inner heir killing an illegitimate capital crime... At most, Titus would suffer a little punishment.

“Yes… That’s the one… I remember he holds a grudge against Victor, be sure to send someone to look over his family!” Ann said dismissively.

“I already did the moment I heard Titus was out…” Theodore said. “Is there any news about Victor?” he asked.

“His Life Jade is fine, so he should be too!” Ann said. “And that kid is more resourceful than you can think…” she added.

“I know…” Theodore sighed. “Do we know what exactly happened down there?” he asked.

“The talisman he used should have been something very strong… It managed to close the dungeon’s gate but not before sucking Victor and Bruno in…,” Ann said. “According to the protectors, the gate will open again sooner or later, but it will be somewhere else… ‘Unconquered Dungeons always respawn!’ That’s how they said it. We can only pray for his safety at the moment!” she added.

“I know…” Theodore sighed again. Victor was lately becoming his favorite son.

“How is the test in your house?” she asked.

“It is perfect… I brought Rex along as a smoke screen,” he said. “Mike and Alice should join them after the purge…”

“Perfect, no one should know that the guardian heirs are destined to be the family’s new power!” she said with an evil smile. “Let those idiots think that this is just some side project of yours…”

“Yes, I am also hoping that whoever was manipulating Rex would make a move!” Theodore nodded.

“True…” Ann sighed. The family was more infiltrated than she thought. “Thanks to the info in the ancestor’s diary, now we will be able to tell those who have a problem in their practice! And from that, we might be able to get some spies!”

“Yes… I hope Mother gives this credit to Victor when he returns…” Theodore said, squeezing his fist.

“You don’t need to worry about that, I know what he wants most…” she said looking at Mike. Victor wanted shade, and she planned to give him just that. “You can go now…” she said, puffing some pink-colored twirly smoke from her mouth as she ordered Theodore to leave. He didn’t.

“Mother… Can I ask you a question?...” Theodore asked.

“...” she sighed as if she knew what was coming. “Ask…” she said.

“Who is my real father?” Theodore finally asked, making Mike who was busy look up to look at his father and then at his grandmother who seemed to be expecting this question.

“I don’t know…” she answered truthfully.

“WHAT?” both Theodore and Mike asked at the same time, not expecting her to answer in a way a prostitute would do when her child asked about his father. “With how many men… Ouch…” Theodore screamed in pain as she threw her pipe at him, hitting his head.

“Idiot! I didn’t mean that I don’t know who… What I meant was that I don’t know much about him!” she said as she grabbed the pipe Theodore brought back to her like a puppy. “I met him while exploring a ruin, the Deep Swamp in the south of the continent. I was injured back then and he saved my life. The moment we laid eyes on each other, we just couldn't resist the attraction we had. At first, both of us were very reserved as we began to travel together, but one day while being cornered by a swarm of giant mosquitos, being at the brink of death, we began to kiss…”

“Mother… Please spare me the details…” Theodore interrupted her.

“Anyway… In the end, we survived after throwing ourselves in a river and then spending an eventful night at a cave, our bodies tangling under the campfire’s light…”

“MOTHER!”

“You are no fun…” Ann who was messing with Theodore on purpose sighed. “Anyway… I only spent one week with him before we had to separate when he saved my life from a swarm of giant ants, telling me to keep running as he stood in their way…” she sighed.

“Oh… Then… Is he dead?” Theodore asked.

“He is alive…” Ann said, taking an ominous-looking black colored bell from her storage ring. “This simple artifact is connected to him, the moment it becomes gold, it would mean he is dead…” she said, glancing at the bell and then putting it back. “All I know about him is that his name is Octavius, and he seemed to be a prince of some other world… “

“Another world? Mother… Perhaps…Were you scammed…”

“Shut up!” she scolded. “It is true… He was not a human,”

“WHAT?” both Mike and his father asked at the same time.

“When he activates his powers, he gets two long horns and his eyes turn black… He told me he was a Dragonkin, and according to him, the Deep Swamp Ruin we were in connected his world to ours…” she said casually. “When I returned to the family back then, I discovered that I was pregnant with you and the rest is as you already figured out…”

“Mother… I don’t have horns…” Theodore said, touching his forehead. Mike did the same.

“Of course you don’t… I was wondering about that too…” she sighed. “In the past, I had no idea what this meant, but after reading the diary, I think it has something to do with bloodlines. You need to fully awaken your bloodline to get those… But I am not sure of the method.” she added. The family’s bloodline had always been a mystery, and while they knew it came from dragons and that it gave them superior skills, until recently they didn’t have a full framework to understand how it worked.

“Grandma… I… I awakened my bloodline…” Mike suddenly said.

“You did what?” both Ann and Theodore asked at the same time.

“It happened in the last dungeon I cleared… Inside there was this strange scorpion monster that stung me, I almost died of poisoning.” he sighed. “Back Then I hid myself in a cave and took some antidote pills then slept… The next thing I knew was that the dungeon was cleared and I was out. It took me a few days to notice it in the system Log, but there was an entry ‘BLOODLINE AWAKENED’ in it.”

“Why didn’t you report that?” Theodore added. “Was it that dungeon in the desert?”

“Yes…Father… You are the one who always tells us to keep our strengths a secret…” Mike said, making Theodore look away. “And I did consult Alice, and she seemed to have awakened hers too…” he added in a low voice.

“WHAT!” both of them asked again.

“She told me it happened in the sect… They have a tool to awaken bloodlines… Ah… And she also told me to keep this a secret…” he said nervously.

“Oh… Then don’t speak about it!” Ann scolded with a smile. “Extreme danger and experiencing death, sometimes causes awakening!” she nodded, remembering the diary.

“How does awakening feel?” Theodore asked.

“Ahh… I don’t know… I got some new skills and my physical strength has increased tremendously… so did my libido…” he said with a slightly blushed face.

“What is the bloodline name?” Ann asked. “It should be in the Skills tab…”

“An Elder dragon…”

“Oh… This is the Von Weise bloodline, not that guy’s…” she sighed, seemingly disappointed. “According to the diary, the higher the bloodline is the stronger it is to awaken it. Some bloodlines also have stingy requirements... And Awakening has degrees… Your bloodline might not have fully awakened as according to the diary you should be able to get flight ability!” she pondered.

“Oh…” Mike frowned and nodded. Alice said the same.

“You think that guy’s bloodline is stronger than that of our Ancestor?” Theodore asked.

“Call him father!” she scolded. “And yes, The protectors confirmed it by feeling it in your body when you were born, higher bloodlines had ways to overpower and subdue lower ones… I still remember how my blood boiled and how my entire existence wanted to prostrate in front of him when he looked at me with his dark eyes while flexing his muscles!” she said as she reminisced with a blushed face.

“Agh…” Mike was disgusted, his father on the other hand had different thoughts. He froze as he remembered how he felt when Lara looked at him a few days ago… It was the same feeling Ann described!

Maybe he should test her strength a bit more and see what she can do.

…

WAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The auction hall got noisy again as the two masked occupiers of balcony 4 got another girl. Were they sponsoring a new brothel or something, needing all those pretty girls? How many clients would the girls need to sleep to recoup their cost? Can they be clients too? Do they accept female clients? Would they be able to afford it? How much would an hour cost? How about 10 minutes?

The audience, who totally got the wrong idea, had many questions, but sadly no answers.

“Finally, we present Number 71…” the auctioneer said. The dominatrix cracked her whip and a very pretty girl dressed in a red revealing ‘dress’ entered while shaking, her face down, hidden by her long golden hair. Her hands covered her private parts that the ‘dress’ she wore made sure to not cover. On her bare arms and legs, many signs of abuse could be spotted, despite being well hidden with makeup.

“Face up, bitch!” The dominatrix slapped the girl’s butt, making her look up at the audience and reveal her exquisite beauty. Biting her lip, she unwillingly walked with bare feet toward the center of the stage.

“About 95% of your beauty…” Yulian said as his drool seeped out of his mouth. He felt sorry for the girl, yet for some reason she seemed to invite a primal instinct inside of him, making him want to see her suffer more!

Lily ignored him. Her bastard brother had just reinvented the scale Victor had been using lately! She was not against it as the scale never really went above 100… And if it ever did, she would just release her bloodline and set a new limit!

As for the girl… She was the one she was looking for, one of the four demonesses of the world, Alicia the Jinx. A girl that required legions after legions to defeat.

Although she was not sure, Lily firmly believed that Alicia, like Nova, was a dark scion.

The problem with this one was that after awakening she would get the class Jinx Avatar and this class would allow her to cast the bad luck the world cursed her with onto others, creating a nightmare of an enemy.

In the other timeline, she was purchased by Titus just before he was uncovered by Victor, and this caused the girl to end up in the hands of the family.

After that, Lily was not sure what happened, as all her knowledge came from rumors and speculations, but she seemed to have ended up as a plaything for one of the elders, probably Titus's father or uncle. She stayed there in misery right until the day of reckoning when she became a player, learned how to use her skills, and planned her escape!

About three months later, using a chance when the Von Weise family was holding a ceremony, she seemed to have gone into action. Although no files remained explaining what happened, the results were known.

That elder who abused her and his entire lineage was killed. 50% of the family was decimated after the main Volcano exploded. She used the chaos to escape.

All of the family agents who tried to capture her after that were severely injured or dead, most due to falling off stairs or biting their own tongues by accident while telling her to stop.

Two of the family protectors who went to stop her seem to have also suffered some cursed luck and ended up injured. Sadly, no files went into any specifics.

After her escape, the family was probably unable to pursue her due to the state of the world at that time. And they, themselves, had to face their own tribulation a few weeks after that.

The next time she appeared it was with Caspian as one of his demonesses.

Now this girl was going to be hers!

“This one is our finest piece, Although she has changed hands 3 times already, it is still in high demand, searching for the owner who could really make her shine!” The auctioneer said, ”The one and only, Princess Alicia from the brown mountain kingdom! After she tried to kill her father the king, she was stripped of all of her royal rights and is now a prime example of royal disgrace!” the old lady said. “We will start with $15,000,000!” The price was cheap for a princess, but she was already considered used goods at this point.

“$20,000,000,” Lily bid directly. As expected, no one followed, not even Titus who ‘discovered’ Liam’s plot. During the auction, she proved that she had enough money to get what she wanted, and the three guys who were bidding against her half an hour ago suddenly disappeared one by one as their balconies lay silent.

“20,000,000 of the owner off balcony four… “ the old lady sighed. “3…2….”

“23,000,000!” one guy said. He was on the adjacent balcony.

“24,000,000…” Yulian replied. His sister was no longer with him.

“25,000……arg……”

“What?” the auctioneer asked.

There was no reply.

“25,500,000!” Yulian bid again. Sighing inwardly at his sister's actions. The girl was really scary.

“Ah…. 25,500,000 for balcony 4…. Anyone else?” she asked. “Then 3… 2… 1… lot 71 goes to balcony 4!” the auctioneer announced just as Lily reappeared on the balcony behind the curtain, cleaning the blood of her trusty particularly shaped dagger. Yulian didn’t even want to ask what she did with it.

“Now we thank you for attending, the won goods can be obtained in the inner office. The next auction in three months will offer………" The old auctioneer began a long farewell speech as the attendees slowly began to stand up one by one.

“Should we leave now?” Yulian asked, then was interrupted by a maid knocking on the door and then entering.

“Did you prepare the goods?” Lily asked.

“Yes… As young master Liam instructed, they are already in the truck in the underground parking lot!” the maid said.

“Perfect…” Lily smiled. “You can leave… I will follow in a second,” she told the maid who bowed and then left.

“What?” Yulian asked.

“Guard the door… Stay by it at all times...” she told him.

“Oh…” Yulian nodded then quickly ran toward the door as his sister closed her eyes and then opened them again. Her irises seemed to have turned golden and were shining with a strange light.

She began to look around the room, frowning, she took out a ring and put it on the balcony’s coffee table…She moved it around then removed it and placed it on the ground, right under the couch… she nodded as she slowly took out her trusty metal bat then struck with all her power ariming at the couch… The bat seemed to have hit something in midair right in front of the couch.

Yulian frowned, watching Lily step back, then close her eyes as the bat in her hand slowly turned into ashes.

She opened her eyes which were back to normal 1 minute later. No, they were not normal. She was bleeding from them and from her ears and nose.

“SISTER!” Yulian wanted to run to her and help.

“STOP! Don’t step on the rug…” she said in a weak voice. She slowly managed to move to his side with difficulty, then grabbed onto his shoulder for support as she took a healing pill.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in a worried voice.

“Just over-drafting my new skills…” she sighed. “Let’s go… It is time to fool some idiots!” she said in a tired voice. There was only a 60% chance, but hopefully, it would work.

…

The dining room prepared for the illegitimate heirs was huge. It had 10 rows of tall tables where all the half-brothers and sisters sat down for their dinner. Their bodies were wrapped with bandages and their eyes were listless after a long tiresome day of tests after tests!

It was like the legitimate heirs were competing with each other on who would torture them more… These legitimate heirs were even here, sitting above everyone else on an elevated ‘High table’.

They were Iris, Lara, Rex, and Max, who, unlike his skinny brother, had a large build and slanted eyes. Between all of his brothers, he was the most similar in looks to Theodore, and that seemed to be intentional as he made sure to keep his hair tightly combed and grew a light beard like that of his father.

“Did father say when he will return?” Max asked as he put a piece of the mutton in his mouth.

“Yes, Master had just sent a note, due to complications in the family, he will be here in a week!” George, who was standing to the side as a butler should, answered calmly.

“Good… “ Max nodded. “Is there news about my brothers?” he asked. He heard from his butler that there was an incident in the mines and several elite heirs went missing. This was all the information he could get because of his rank.

“Not yet…” George said.

“I see…” Max swallowed. “What about Luke? Will he also get to create a team out of those guys?”

“Yes, Master Theodore is planning to bring him too, but he needs the patriarch’s permission to end his punishment first!” George explained. Luke and John will get a chance here too!

“Oh… Mother had been worried sick about him…” Max signed.

“Yes… True…” Rex nodded.

“Max….” someone suddenly said, it was Iris. She met Max for the first time this morning and she didn’t like him one bit.

“Oh… Sister Iris, what can I help you with?” he asked with a smile.

“Why did you go so rough earlier… Didn’t you read your father's letter, our mission was to just test their characters and grill them to enhance their physical strength! You went too far!” she said angrily. It seemed like she had been holding this for some time.

As soon as Max entered the mansion in the morning, he began to arrogantly torture his halfbrothers and sisters in the name of training and testing them. He forced a few poor guys to strip, carry weights, and run under the sun in the afternoon and at sunset he forced a few sisters to jump in the pool naked after filling it with ice, leaving them there for an entire hour while sitting above and sipping drinks. “Most of the ones you tested are in the infirmary… Even with healing pills, they will need three days to recover!”

“Sister… Without tough tests, how can they call themselves a Von Weise?” Max said. “You might not understand this growing up outside with the commoners and such…” Max said, casually humiliating her. “Here we value rank above all else, and we need to grill obedience into their bones! ” he chuckled. “And as long as I am following the rules, I can do whatever I want…”

“I know the rules perfectly well… “ she spat. She couldn’t wait for Alice or Victor to come here and kick his ass. As Elite heirs they had the capacity to do that, following ‘The family rules’.

Not only was Max very arrogant, having eyes way above his head, but he also seemed to like to humiliate others who were beneath him. “Sister Lara has been helping me learn those…” she said, asking for some help and making Lara who had her mouth stuffed look up and then nod.

“Oh…” Max frowned looking at Lara. “Sister Lara, I heard that you tested some of our illegitimate brothers yesterday…” he said. “I heard you fought with them in one-to-one matches and managed to defeat all of them,” he added, inspecting her with a smile that Iris didn’t like at all.

“...” Lara swallowed then wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Yes, esteemed brother… They were very weak…”

“Oh, yes, those bums are not even fit to work as cannon fodders…” he sighed. “I heard Rex no longer taught you… Is the Esteemed Father teaching you directly nowadays?” he asked curiously, glancing at Rex who seemed a little nervous.

“YES!” Lara nodded with a smile as the little maid behind her whipped her mouth and then casually shot Max a disgusted look making him feel like an insignificant insect…. Wait… No… She was smiling. It must have been his imagination.

“Did he teach you some new martial art?” Max asked, making both Rex and Iris turn and look at Lara, they were curious about this too.

Most of the Von Weise legitimate heirs are way stronger than older average humans. They were on par with world-class athletes, even before their awakening due to their bloodline and family secret arts.

Still, this had limits… Lara had displayed some strength that went beyond the family's standards for someone her age and build.

“Ah….” Lara hesitated. “Father told me not to say…” she said, biting her little lip as she looked down. She seemed to really want to answer her Esteemed Brother’s question but didn’t dare to.

“I see… It’s ok,” Max said. He seemed to have confirmed his guess from her reaction. “Then how about a little spar with Rex to see how proficient in the family arts you had become?” he asked, nodding to Rex who as her former teacher, would be able to tell a few things.

“Ahh…” Lara hesitated. She began looking at Rex and then at Max again.

Iris did hear that Rex seemed to have thought Lara wrong before and was punished by their father. So, like others, she presumed this was the reason for her hesitation.

“It will only be a friendly match… And we will let our illegitimate brothers and sisters see our family’s art in its full glory!” Max said.

“Ah…But… Ok then…” Lara accepted nervously after a little pause.

Max didn’t notice it, but Iris, who was sitting to the right of Lara, did. George seemed to have secretly made a sign with his fist and nodded, making Lara accept.