A Price Hike

In the end, the Crimson Tear sold for nine thousand Gold Galons. Clearly, the pirates had kept their heads, while the merchants had landed themselves a huge bargain.

A diamond like that could be resold for twice the price with barely any effort.

And if it were cut and made into exquisite jewelry, the profit could be several times over—or even dozens of times over!

Only profits like these could draw merchants to ignore the dangers along the way and flock here one after another.

Bill and Wilson stared wide-eyed as one rare treasure after another went under the hammer, nearly every item fetching at least five thousand Gold Galons.

Of course, some odd and bizarre things had no practical use at all, and in the end suffered the ill fortune of going unsold.

"Next, please welcome our thirteenth lot: a fragment of a Treasure Map..."

The auctioneer's voice was full of enticing fervor. "As everyone knows, pirate groups like to hide their wealth somewhere on a deserted island, leaving it to be recovered at a later date... Though the Treasure Map being auctioned today is only a fragment, according to the seller, it came from the Solo Pirate Group! Our auction house can vouch for that!"

"The Solo Pirate Group? You mean the pirate band that once ruled the Solomon Strait?"

Formosa, the Great Merchant from Sese, rose to his feet, visibly excited.

"My God... The leader of the Solo Pirate Group was known as the man closest to an evil god. His power terrified all the great maritime powers of the time, and he almost became the Pirate King!"

A gasp went up from the Trident Pirate Group as well.

"Ahem... Though our auction house guarantees that this Treasure Map really did come from the Solo Pirate Group,