Chapter 1098: Auction
In the information left behind by the High Elves, it was said that the reason that the High Elves did not delve into the Endless Ocean was because they were too noble. There were also some of their adventure stories included, but Lin Li believed that the High Elves did not pocket the rich resources of the Endless Ocean precisely because they did not dare to be involved in war with the Sea Clan.
Although historical accounts might not be entirely credible, they at least proved that even if the power of the Sea Clan was not superior to the High Elves’, they would definitely be feared by the latter. However, the people of the later generations were puzzled about the fact that the Sea Clan had gradually vanished before the end of the Dark Age. No one knew what happened to them. It was unknown if they had encountered a disaster that had driven them into extinction, or they simply didn’t want to step onto the mainland again.
Lin Li’s knowledge of the Sea Clan was limited to the historical information, which could even be considered fabricated. Hence, when he heard that the peculiar-looking people were the legendary Sea Clan that dominated the Endless Ocean, his interest was immediately aroused. Besides, he had a vague conjecture that Geresco had created such a world and brought him there because of something related to the Sea Clan.
“Guest, if this is your first time here, I can recommend a few places for you to go. There are two attractions here, one is Red Rose where the pretty chicks are at. There aren’t only humans, but also catwomen and vixens. There are even sirens of the Endless Ocean.” At the mention of women, a lewd smile appeared on the bartender’s face, and he rattled on and on about those desirable women as if he had already hugged them in his arms a long time ago.
After saying his piece, the bartender realized that Lin Li wasn’t too interested. Hence, he changed his tone, and said, “The other place is the Brian Auction House, which is the largest auction house here. As long as you have enough money, you can buy all sorts of novelties. In fact, you can even buy a few sirens without issue. Besides, you came at the right time, there happens to be an auction today. I promise you’ll find your trip worthwhile.”
However, Lin Li did not show much interest in what the bartender said. After chatting with the bartender for a few more minutes, he knew that he could not find out any more valuable information from the bartender. Hence, he left behind a few gold coins and the glass of untouched ale before standing up to leave the rowdy tavern.
After watching Lin Li leave the tavern, the bartender looked away and stared at the untouched glass of ale, as well as the few gold coins on the counter top. He quickly put away the gold coins, and then turned around to take out one of them. Scrutinizing it continuously, he couldn’t help but have some bewilderment in his gaze.
The gold coins that Lin Li paid with were minted by the Felan Kingdom, and were used in the Breezy Plains. The portrait of the first king of the Felan Kingdom was carved on one face of the coin. Thousands of years ago, the bartender would have never seen it, but gold would never change. Besides, the purity of the gold coins of the Felan Kingdom was probably much higher than that of coins from thousands of years ago.
It was not that the metallurgy of the Dark Age was terrible, but rather that the High Elves couldn’t be bothered to produce gold coins. Anyway, Anril belonged to them entirely; hence, they wouldn’t have to use things like gold coins that didn’t hold any value. Besides, the gold coins that were used by the various races at the bottom were made crudely. Sometimes, even broken pieces of gold were used for trade too.
The beautifully minted gold coins that Lin Li left behind were not just gold coins in the eyes of the bartender, but also a symbol of wealth. In the opinion of the bartender, Lin Li was obviously from a wealthy family. Otherwise, who would have bothered with something like gold coins that were meant to be given to others?
At the thought of this, a look of greed flashed in the eyes of the bartender as he thought that Lin Li was a good target to rip off!
The bartender was certain that he definitely had not seen such a gold coin before throughout the years of serving countless customers and receiving all sorts of gold coins. Hence, he was sure that Lin Li definitely commanded no authority on sea, since Lin Li claimed that his family had never done business at sea before, and they had, in fact, never even been to sea.
“Henry, come cover me for a moment, I have something to report to the boss.” The bartender carefully put away the gold coins, waved his hand, and beckoned his colleague to tend to the bar for him for a while. He then turned around and walked quickly towards the back of the tavern.
Outside the tavern, Lin Li walked slowly and leisurely down the street, listening to the confusing conversations of the people, which he could barely understand. At the same time, he was thinking about everything that he had heard and seen. Despite having followed The Star to Cage Island, he still had no idea what exactly Geresco’s agenda was. The only suspicious thing here was the Sea Clan that he had never seen before.
However, there was too little information about the Sea Clan, and Lin Li couldn’t think of any clues for now. He didn’t know how he could link the Sea Clan to Geresco, either. Of course, with his current strength, he would probably be able to get a lot of information if he nabbed a few members of the Sea Clan and interrogated them. However, it wasn’t that easy to manipulate the Sea Clan, which was as powerful as the High Elves. He didn’t want to be at odds with such a powerful force before even getting any explanation.
Besides, Lin Li still hadn’t figured out what kind of world he was in now. Was it an independent world like the Alanna created by the Immortal King, or did Geresco transport him to the world thousands of years ago?
Logically speaking, with Lin Li’s current strength, he should be able to tell the difference between the Domain World and the real world. Moreover, when he had just arrived in this world, he sent his mental strength into the space, and tried to understand the composition of the Laws of the world. However, the result was completely unexpected as the world seemed similar to Anril. That was precisely the reason that Lin Li wondered if he had been sent several thousand years back in time by Geresco.
If that was the case, Lin Li would not dare to act rashly. If he were to provoke an enemy that he was too weak to fight, he might be able to leave this world with the Alchemy Array on The Star, but that would also mean that he would not be able to find any more clues about this world. Even if the outcome wasn’t that bad, the situation would be numerous times tougher.
Besides, the most important thing was that Lin Li didn’t know what his problem was and what he should look for. In that case, how could he find answers? He couldn’t possibly ask a random person if he knew Geresco. He wondered what Geresco was trying to get out of transporting him there.
Of course, Lin Li wouldn’t really go about exploring everywhere rashly like a headless fly. At the very least, he felt that he could go and find out more about this world and Cage Island, thinking that the answer he wanted might surface soon.
After walking around Cage Island, Lin Li had gained some understanding of the island. In this world, the island was not used to seal the dragon corpse, but was a place of trade and interaction between the Sea Clan and the various races on land. Simply put, it was a sea city.
In this place, the Sea Clan peddled the specialty goods of the Endless Ocean, and engaged in trade with the races of the mainland in exchange for things that were unavailable in the Endless Ocean. The lucky ones would return to the mainland and sell those goods for a huge fortune. Hence, there were merchants from all over Anril in that place, as well as various lurking pirates keeping a lookout.
If Lin Li could find those pirates, he might be able to understand the situation here sooner! Since he did not intend to tackle the Sea Clan immediately, the pirates were undoubtedly a great choice. Apart from the Sea Clan, the pirates who lived on the sea were probably the only ones that had a good understanding of the Endless Ocean.
Lin Li was feeling a little regretful now. If he had known earlier, he would have left a few pirates alive. Unfortunately, he wasn’t too certain what kind of world this was at that moment. Besides, he had also been eager to test the arms of The Star on the pirates. In the end, the pirates and their ships turned into ashes after being blasted by a few cannons. Obviously there wouldn’t be any left alive.
Now, it would be a tall order for Lin Li to find a few pirates. Although he knew that there were definitely many of them who were keeping an eye on the sea, they wouldn’t make their identities known, after all, especially since they couldn’t cause too much of a ruckus lest it affected this place.
However, Lin Li believed that this problem should soon be solved. He had a reason for giving those few gold coins away just now—he knew that the bartenders here did not just sell alcohol.
In such a chaotic place which seemed peaceful on the surface, there were definitely all sorts of people and many complicated and hidden forces. Besides, a bartender would encounter countless people every day. Selling information and news that they had heard from the customers they served had become one of their sources of income, or rather their main income.
Previously, Lin Li did not buy the information on the Sea Clan directly from the bartender because he knew very well that a stranger might not be able to buy real information even with a large sum of money. The reason was that the bartender might not dare to sell information on the Sea Clan.
Hence, Lin Li tried to sound the bartender out by asking about the Sea Clan, and then flaunted his wealth. That might lead to two outcomes. The bartender might either report it to the Sea Clan or sell the information to the pirates. Unless the bartender was an ethical man, Lin Li’s gold coins were definitely spent on something worthwhile.
Of course, Lin Li did not intend to stay idle while waiting for the bartender to take the bait. After all, relying on the bartender alone might not allow him to get what he really wanted. He still had to make more preparations. Hence, Lin Li went to the most prosperous place in the center of Cage Island, where the largest building, Brian Auction House, that the bartender had previously mentioned was located.
However, Lin Li did not intend to buy anything there. Instead, he hoped to find some clues. After all, apart from merchants from all over the world, those who would go to the auction house were probably the important figures of the various forces. Hence, that would give Lin Li a rough idea of the forces of this place, and he might even be able to find some useful clues.
Just like the bartender had said before, Brian Auction House was holding a large auction today which various people were attending. People of all walks of life entered the auction house successfully. Lin Li walked to the door and asked about the conditions to participate in the auction. Actually, the rules were simple: he just had to pay some gold coins to be permitted entry.
Lin Li paid 10 gold coins for a seat in the auction hall and entered. With his abilities, there was nothing wrong with asking to be allocated a private room, but he wasn’t there to buy anything from the auction. Although he wouldn’t be disturbed in the private room, the hall was clearly more suitable for the purpose of his trip.
At this juncture, the auction had not started officially yet, and the people in the hall were talking to each other about something. Lin Li sat down in his seat. Although he was looking at the auction stage in front of him, he was continuously listening to the conversations of the people around him. The content of their conversation was not too important, as it was mostly about their frivolous lives and the items that they wanted to get during the auction.
However, to Lin Li, it was the best opportunity to get to know this place. Even a simple exchange of greetings between them would give Lin Li a little more information about this place.
After just a few minutes of sitting there and listening to their conversations, Lin Li learned the names of a dozen powers on this tiny island, and even the relationships between several of them. However, he did not find out much about what he really wanted to know regarding the Sea Clan. Clearly, the Sea Clan was an existence that they feared and respected. In fact, no one even dared to talk about them behind their backs.
Soon, the auction finally began. The host of the auction was a human elder who seemed to be in his sixties or maybe 70 years old. He was emitting Legendary-level magical waves. During the Dark Age, Legendary-level humans were extremely rare. One reason was that it was difficult for humans to learn magic, and another reason was the strict control and regulations of the High Elves. It was Lin Li’s first time seeing a Legendary-level host of the auction. Clearly, the Brian Auction House was extremely powerful and authoritative.