Stone of Thunder Secured

"Knight Corun, are you joking with me?"

In the room, the attendant's expression instantly turned cold, his eyes taking on a hostile edge.

"Well, the Stone of Thunder isn't worth eight thousand gold coins. Three thousand, three thousand gold coins at most."

Corin Emerson spoke, still looking somewhat guilty.

But midway through, he seemed to regain some confidence and spoke more forcefully.

The moment his words fell—

Whoosh!

An old man appeared in the room.

A terrifying aura suddenly erupted.

Thud!

Corin Emerson's face turned pale. Even the Great Knight beside him changed expression, instinctively trying to move, only to find himself unable to move at all.

"Knight Corun, the Habs Merchant Guild is not a place where you can make trouble. Forget you—even if your father, Count Emerson, came in person, he would not be qualified to cause trouble in the Habs Merchant Guild."

"Since Knight Corun cannot afford the gold coins, please leave. Your deposit has been confiscated. Furthermore, as compensation for disrupting this auction, you must pay three thousand gold coins. If you have any objections, you may have Count Emerson come here."

The old man spoke calmly.

"No, no objections!"

Corin Emerson felt cold sweat constantly seeping out.

He spoke with a stammer.

"Knight Corun, if there is a next time, the Habs Merchant Guild will no longer welcome you!"

The old man spoke once more, and then his voice vanished.

Only after the old man disappeared did Corin Emerson collapse onto the floor, large beads of sweat pouring from his forehead, his face deathly pale.

The Great Knight beside him had both hands trembling.

A moment later.

Corin Emerson slowly climbed to his feet, shot a furious look toward Thor's room in the distance, and quickly left the auction.

A moment later.

In Thor's room.

There was a knock on the door.

The attendant arrived with several knights.

Looking at the Stone of Thunder, Thor could not help but pause in surprise.

"Honored Knight Thor, we are deeply sorry. Something unpleasant occurred. May I ask whether you still require this Stone of Thunder? You need only pay three thousand gold coins."

The attendant spoke with a smile.

"Of course I do!"

"Ryan!"

Thor cast a thoughtful glance toward the distant room, then smiled and gestured to Ryan beside him.

Ryan quickly stepped forward and paid three thousand gold coins.

"We are deeply sorry. This is the Habs Merchant Guild's platinum card. In the future, you will enjoy a twenty percent discount at our Habs Merchant Guild."

The attendant nodded with a smile, then handed a brand-new platinum card to Thor.

"Very well."

Thor nodded with a smile.

The attendant soon departed.

"Kid, you didn't know this would happen, did you?"

Neil Morton asked strangely.

Thor smiled and shook his head without explaining.

Honestly, this had indeed caught him somewhat by surprise.

But he could more or less guess what had happened.

Eight thousand gold coins were not something just anyone could produce. Clearly, that idiot from the Emerson Family most likely could not afford it. Under those circumstances, the Habs Merchant Guild had simply sent it over.

But while he had gotten the item back—

This matter was far from over.

Trying to steal his things?

What a joke.

He held grudges.

His eyes flickered as thoughts intertwined in his mind.

Meanwhile, the auction continued.

But Thor no longer had much interest in the remaining items.

Even when the final three lots turned out to be three bottles of Intermediate Life Potion—

Selling for two thousand seven hundred gold coins, three thousand one hundred gold coins, and finally three thousand eight hundred gold coins—

He did not care much. Intermediate Life Potions were indeed extraordinarily effective. A single bottle was enough to create a Great Knight-level powerhouse, and there was even a certain chance of allowing a peak Great Knight to break through to Earth Knight. But that had little to do with him right now.

His knightly cultivation was only at the Apprentice Knight level. Even Ryan was still far from becoming an Earth Knight.

As for Steve, although he had broken through to Great Knight, the gap was still not small.

Of course, more importantly, he had no money left.

His ten thousand gold coins had gradually dwindled after several months of expenses.

Especially after spending three hundred gold coins to buy slaves and three thousand gold coins on the Stone of Thunder, the five thousand gold coins he had originally had left had now become little more than one thousand.

He still needed to purchase supplies before returning to his territory.

There were not many gold coins remaining.

With this amount of money, buying an Intermediate Life Potion was simply wishful thinking.

Forget Intermediate Life Potions—even Low-Grade Life Potions were beyond his means now.

"Let's go. It's time to head back!"

Thor spoke, rose to his feet, and left the room.

Ryan and Neil Morton followed beside him.

The three soon departed.

After Thor left, the others also began leaving the auction house one after another.

Inside a luxurious residence.

Corin Emerson's expression was extremely ugly.

"My lord, we have confirmed the situation. The Stone of Thunder was indeed handed over by the Habs Merchant Guild to Thor Dressrosa."

A knight spoke respectfully.

Hearing his subordinate's report, Corin Emerson's expression grew even uglier.

"Good, very good!"

"I need to know where that bastard's territory is."

Corin Emerson's cold voice rang out. He was extremely furious. As a descendant of the Emerson Family, and one greatly favored by his mother's family, when had he ever suffered such a loss?

"Yes!"

The figure swiftly acknowledged the order, and a knight soon left.

Matters such as territories were not exactly secrets.

Corin's side soon obtained the relevant information.

"Maine River Valley. It really isn't far."

"Thor Dressrosa!"

Corin Emerson muttered, a cold gleam appearing in his eyes.

On the other side.

Thor also received information from Ryan.

"Fallen Leaf Territory, one hundred and thirty miles away!"

"Two Great Knights, twenty Formal Knights, and one hundred Apprentice Knights."

Listening to the information Ryan provided, Thor could not help raising his brows.

That idiot's strength was actually not weak.

Not only did he have two Great Knights, he also had twenty Formal Knights and one hundred Apprentice Knights.

Clearly, that idiot had most likely received the Emerson Family's favor.

And not just ordinary favor.

Otherwise, they would not have assigned him a Great Knight. The Emerson Family might have been somewhat stronger than the Dreyrosa Family, but only somewhat. They were not overwhelmingly stronger like the Assad Family.

They only had three Earth Knights, and the family's history spanned merely four or five hundred years.

A Great Knight was extremely important as well.

Being able to provide one—and two at that—was no ordinary degree of support.

But beyond that strength, what concerned Thor most was the location of the other party's territory.

The boundaries of that territory were only a little over a hundred miles from Eagle Ridge's boundaries, at most a two-day journey away.

At this moment, looking at Fallen Leaf Territory's location on the map, a cold gleam appeared in his eyes as well.

I'll check the typos tomorrow. My younger sister is getting married!