Chapter 155: Loot! 1

Kent had asked Daphne that question with complete confidence.

After spending the past few months together, he had come to understand her quite well.

She was innocent, adorable, and remarkably straightforward about whom she loved and hated.

Of course, there was an enormous difference between the lifespans of humans and dark elves.

But Kent was determined to make himself live longer.

And when he thought about it carefully, he had every reason to believe he could.

How many people on the entire continent could become a sixth-rank mage at only sixteen years old?

And that wasn’t even taking into account the fact that he cultivated both magic and battle aura, or his extraordinary talent in alchemy.

The more Kent thought about it, the more something suddenly occurred to him.

He had never really stopped to consider just how exceptional he had become.

A sixteen-year-old mage didn’t even need to reach the sixth rank to be called a genius.

Reaching the second rank at that age would already be enough for people to praise someone as extraordinarily gifted.

Kent had thought long and hard before asking Daphne whether she would return to the surface with him.

He was certain she would understand the meaning hidden behind those words.

So when she answered no, Kent was caught completely off guard.

“Then... then...”

For one terrible moment, Kent felt as though there was no longer any point in continuing with his life.

The experience inside the Domain had already left him bitterly disappointed.

When he had been trapped within it, none of the people outside had acted to save him.

And now, even Daphne—the girl who had shared danger and hardship with him—had given him this answer.

Kent suddenly felt weightless.

His vision blurred.

The world seemed to spin around him.

For a moment, he almost wanted to simply collapse where he stood.

Through his hazy vision, he could still make out Daphne’s figure.

Kent opened his mouth.

He desperately tried to force out a few casual words, something that would make it sound as though he didn’t care.

But in the end, only two broken syllables escaped him.

Daphne, however, hadn’t noticed anything strange about him at all.

Her little face had turned bright red, and she kept her head lowered as she continued in a tiny voice.

“I’d only cause trouble for you if I followed you...”

“And we’re from different races.”

She hesitated before continuing.

“Even though you’re an Honorary Elder, Her Majesty the Empress would still have to personally agree before I could leave with you.”

“And besides...”

Kent’s spirits soared instantly.

So that was what she meant!

As far as Kent was concerned, if Daphne herself was willing, everything else could be dealt with.

Obtaining the Dark Elf Empress’s permission might be somewhat difficult, but Kent understood one fundamental truth—

everything had a price.

Everything could ultimately be measured in terms of interests and benefits.

And for the ruler of an entire race, weighing benefits against costs was not merely natural—it was necessary.

Besides, the dark elves themselves still had need of him.

That meant gaining the Empress’s approval probably wouldn’t be impossible.

The real question was what Kent could offer that would be valuable enough to tempt the entire dark elf race.

He already had a few ideas.

But all of that would have to wait until he became powerful enough.

Daphne also needed to reach adulthood before Kent could formally raise the matter.

For now, there was something far more important he needed to do.

He had to make the title of Honorary Elder carry more weight.

And alchemy was one of the best ways to accomplish that.

Kent carefully considered his options.

Eventually, he realized that his best choice was still to return to Mu’an City.

No single race dominated Mu’an City.

Humans, dark elves, dwarves, gnomes, and members of other races all lived there together.

That kind of environment would be extremely useful for developing his alchemy.

More importantly, Kent wouldn’t have to worry as much about any one race secretly using its influence against him.

And he had once played a major role in saving Mu’an City.

Taken together, those advantages made it the obvious choice.

“Daphne, come on!”

Kent’s mood had completely recovered.

“Let’s go take a look around. I want to see what sort of good things Salt City has hidden away.”

Once Kent made a decision, he rarely wasted time.

But before carrying out his future plans, he needed capital.

And Salt City happened to have two enormous auction houses.

With the entire city already in chaos, wouldn’t it be terribly unfair to himself if he didn’t take the opportunity to acquire a few useful things?

Kent grabbed Daphne’s hand.

The two climbed onto the Dragon Turtle, which immediately raced toward Salt City’s inner city.

Kent had figured something else out as well.

If others couldn’t be relied upon, then from now on he simply wouldn’t rely on them.

He would depend on himself.

As for releasing the Dragon Turtle?

Kent wasn’t nearly that foolish.

The creature wanted freedom?

Fine.

Then Kent simply had to make sure he stayed alive.

As long as Kent continued living, the Dragon Turtle would remain bound to him.

If the Dragon Turtle had known what was going through Kent’s mind at that moment, it might have deeply regretted its earlier hesitation.

The moment Kent entered the inner city, he realized that the streets were nearly deserted.

Squads of dark elf warriors were patrolling everywhere, and from the looks of things, the entire inner city had already fallen under dark elf control.

These were no ordinary soldiers, either.

Every one of them belonged to the Grand Elder’s personal guard. Their equipment was excellent, their strength formidable, and they moved in pairs. With warriors of that caliber watching every street, no one dared come outside.

From time to time, Kent saw entire squads wreathed in battle aura storming one mansion after another.

Apparently, the dark elf Grand Elder had already uncovered enough evidence to begin settling accounts.

Kent, however, had no interest in any of that.

He had already stopped a human adventurer and forced him to reveal the location of the First Auction House’s warehouse.

Once he knew where it was, Kent headed straight there.

After all, the truly valuable goods of an auction house were usually stored in its warehouse.

Only when Kent and the others arrived did he finally understand just how enormous the First Auction House truly was.

Its entrance resembled the gate of a colossal fortress.

The surrounding walls were forged entirely from black iron, giving the entire structure an oppressive, almost indestructible appearance.

Even Kent, who had seen modern skyscrapers in his previous life, couldn’t help being stunned by the sheer scale of the place.

Still, astonishment was astonishment.

Kent had no intention of standing around admiring the architecture.

“What’s going on here?”

From a distance, Kent spotted several dozen members of the Grand Elder’s guard gathered outside the main entrance and immediately shouted toward them.

To anyone who didn’t know better, he sounded as though he had come to offer assistance.

In reality, Kent was simply worried someone might get to the valuables before he did.

At the sound of his voice, the dark elves quickly opened a path for him.

Only then did Kent see what the problem was.

The enormous gate had been barred from the inside.

Even the dark elf warriors appeared to have no way of forcing open a door forged from refined iron.

Several sword marks had already been carved into its surface, each one several centimeters deep.

That alone told Kent exactly what had happened.

Still, he didn’t immediately order the gate destroyed.

Instead, he asked,

“What are all of you doing here? Where’s the Grand Elder?”

“Reporting to Elder!”

A dark elf who appeared to be the squad captain immediately stepped forward.

“The Grand Elder has gone to the City Lord’s estate. We were ordered to capture the people in charge of this auction house.”

His expression turned serious.

“We also suspect that some of our clansmen may still be imprisoned inside.”

Kent froze briefly when he heard himself addressed as Elder.

Then he remembered that he was, after all, an Honorary Elder of the dark elf race.

A smile appeared on his face.

“I’ll deal with the gate.”

He waved casually toward the building.

“You lot just focus on arresting people. Leave the searching to me.”

“Yes, Elder!”

The surrounding dark elves answered in unison.

Smiles appeared on several of their faces.

With an elder personally helping them, their task had just become considerably easier.

“Your turn.”

Kent lightly kicked the Dragon Turtle’s back with his heel.

At the same time, he couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

Authority really was a wonderful thing.

Looking at the dark elf warriors around him, all of whom had already taken up battle positions, Kent smiled faintly.

BOOM!

A deafening impact shook the entire entrance.

The Dragon Turtle hadn’t even moved.

Instead, an enormous stone spike—thick enough that several men together could barely have wrapped their arms around it—erupted from the ground and slammed directly into the iron gate.

The gate exploded inward with a thunderous crash.

The entire slab of metal was hurled deep into the building.

The dark elf warriors needed no further orders.

They charged inside immediately.

By the time Kent followed them in, the fighting was already over.

The entrance hall was enormous and almost completely empty.

Two dark elves stood guard over several stunned human captives.

Farther away, the shattered iron gate was embedded directly into the wall.

Blood was slowly seeping out from behind it.

Apparently, someone had been standing in the wrong place when the gate came flying in and had been crushed into paste.

Kent couldn’t be bothered with that.

He walked straight toward a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious robes.

The man’s clothing was far more extravagant than anyone else’s, so Kent assumed he had to be some sort of manager or senior official.

Unfortunately, the man appeared to have been frightened senseless.

His eyes were unfocused, and he didn’t react even when Kent stopped in front of him.

Kent raised one hand.

A sphere of water instantly formed above his palm.

Splash!

The Waterball Spell burst over the man’s head, soaking him from head to toe.

Kent stared at him coldly.

“Talk.”

“Where does your auction house keep its most valuable goods?”