Mercenary Wars

Chapter 127 Negative Price Auction

“We will rescue you, but it won’t be easy. We’ll need to prepare and wait.” Gaucano thought for a moment. “Tell us about the situation here first.”

Nikon: "As you can see, there are many slaves in the mines, mostly Dibutons, then Rosens, and of course, quite a few heretics and other ethnic groups..."

He told everyone he knew the truth.

Gaugano and Hilgon exchanged glances, then Gaugano said cautiously, "Our strength is limited, and we are considering mobilizing slaves to fight against the Grey Dwarves. Are you willing to fight alongside those Mosaic and Tiflin?"

“Of course I would. For me, the most important thing is to get back to Dubto as soon as possible!” Nicon said without hesitation. “And as the one named after Saint Nicon, I have always demanded of myself His tolerance and love—all the pagans in the world are just lost souls.”

Hilgon then asked, "Can you tell us why you want to return to Dubto as soon as possible?"

Nikon hesitated.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it; I’m just a little curious,” Hilgon said upon seeing this.

Nikon sighed: "There's nothing wrong with telling you. The reason I want to go back as soon as possible is to tell the church the news—Cyril XIV's biggest rival was actually murdered."

Gaucano couldn't help but ask, "Was it Cyril XIV who killed him?"

Nikon hesitated for a moment: "There is no clear evidence yet, but all indications suggest that he knew about it beforehand and may be an accomplice."

Hilgon: "Cyril XIV is already the Patriarch. You tell the church this news. What do you think will happen to you?"

Nikon: "I will die in the truth, and Saint Nikon revealed my destiny to me when I received the blessing of 'thought detection'."

Thought detection is a blessing!

Gaugano and Hilgon were both taken aback.

Mind Detection is only a second-circle spell, but Bless Mind Detection is one of the most powerful blessings.

The reason is simple: magical thought detection is roughly equivalent to lie detection, while blessed thought detection is "thought detection" in the literal sense, which can read other people's thoughts and even memories, making it extremely powerful.

Nikon continued, “In fact, I have already encountered a lot of trouble and danger because of this, otherwise I would not have become a slave of the gray dwarves... But death is the inevitable fate of everyone, and as the prosecutor of Yemen, dying for the truth is the funeral I look forward to.”

Gaugano and Hilgon remained silent for a moment.

Nikon then asked, "What are your specific plans? Perhaps I can offer some assistance."

Gaucano: "You should know that the grey dwarves are divided into red-bearded and white-bearded. The white-bearded grey dwarves believe in Durag and are a group of staunch slave owners. The red-bearded grey dwarves are the named ones of fire and abhor slavery. The two sides have serious differences and even conflicts over this."

Nikon: "You want to unite with the Redbeard Grey Dwarves?"

"Yes."

Nikon thought for a moment: "That is indeed possible. I once used mind control on a drunken gray dwarf and learned that the relationship between Redbeard and Whitebeard is very tense, and the conflict between them has become even more intense due to the appearance of a Molten Hound."

Gaucano: "However, we are not entirely certain. Your mind detection might be of help, allowing us to know the Grey Dwarves' thoughts more accurately."

Nikon: "I can read other people's thoughts and memories, but unless the other party is of a very low level, they must not resist... If you want my help, you can only bring me an unconscious or drunk gray dwarf."

Gaucano remained noncommittal.

After talking for a while, Gaucano and Hilgon turned back and returned to the group of mercenaries.

"How is it?" the other mercenaries asked eagerly.

The two explained the situation in general terms.

The mercenaries murmured amongst themselves, "Are we going to cooperate with the heretics?"

For most Faralo people, cooperating with infidels is unimaginable.

Fortunately, none of these people were particularly devout, and some, like Gaucano, were complete false believers.

Therefore, regardless of their viewpoints, they all consider issues from a pragmatic perspective, unlike fanatics who always start from immutable beliefs.

In short, they have flexible religious bottom lines.

"Most of the human slaves here are disciples of Jesus. Our plan cannot succeed without cooperating with them!"

“Moreover, the other party is the one named after Nikon, the Nikon of the Covenant of Nikon. If we have to cooperate with the disciples of Jehovah, he is undoubtedly the best partner.” “Yes, with such a high-ranking clergyman as him, the other disciples of Jehovah should not be too resistant to cooperating with us.”

Gaucano interjected, "He doesn't yet know our Mossian identity; he subconsciously assumes we, like most people here, are disciples of Jesus. I think we can remain silent about this and let this misunderstanding persist so that cooperation can proceed."

"Great idea!" People with flexible religious boundaries readily agreed.

"So, what's the plan next?"

Gaucano: "I think Nikon's thought detection could be of great help, so I'm considering rescuing him."

"The gray dwarves should notice if one slave is missing, right?"

Ryan asked, "Is it possible to rescue him by faking his death?"

Hilgon shook his head: "No, the grey dwarves will feed the corpses of slaves to their wolfhounds."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "The only feasible solution is to find someone to replace him."

"Who are you looking for?"

A moment of silence fell.

Nobody wants to be a slave.

Gaucano: "Regardless of who replaces him, what is everyone's opinion on this plan? Raise your right hand if you agree, and your left hand if you disagree."

Most people agreed.

"Is there anyone willing to volunteer to replace Nikon?"

No one was willing.

Seeing the air grow increasingly awkward in the silence, Gao Jiano coughed twice: "How about this, we decide this spot through an auction."

"An auction?" The crowd was a little confused.

“Of course, this isn’t a regular auction, but a negative-price auction,” Gaugano explained. “The successful bidder will receive money as compensation for being a slave. The cost will be shared by the others.”

He then gave a few more analogies, and everyone immediately understood and agreed to the plan.

“The starting bid is negative two hundred gold coins, with each bid increasing by five gold coins,” Gao Jiano said. “I bid negative two hundred gold coins.”

Being a slave for a while is terrible, but if you can earn two hundred gold coins, things are different. Even for Gaugano, two hundred gold coins is not a small amount.

Others weren't as wealthy as him; for most people, a few dozen gold coins would be attractive enough.

Thus, involution quickly began.

“I’ll offer a negative 100 gold coins. If I can earn 100 gold coins, being a slave for a few days isn’t out of the question.”

"Fifty gold coins! Give me fifty gold coins, and I'll be willing to take Nikon's place as a slave!"

"Twenty gold coins negative! I'll become a slave for just twenty gold coins!"

"Fifteen gold coins negative!"

"You're willing to be a slave for fifteen gold coins? How much do you actually owe?"

When the amount reached negative fifteen gold coins, the competitors seemed to disappear for a moment.

After all, while fifteen gold coins is a lot, these mercenaries, whose average level is close to level four, are by no means poor. They wouldn't endure the hardships, risks, and shame of being slaves for such a small amount of money.

But the team wasn't all mercenaries.

Then competitors soon emerged.

I'll offer negative ten gold coins!

(End of this chapter)