Boss Jin practically rushed right up to Zhang Fan, shouting in alarm, "Overlord, is something wrong with your translator? You just said one hundred {Emperor} warships!"
Zhang Fan looked at Boss Jin in puzzlement. "Yes, one hundred. Is that wrong? Does your auction have a bidding limit?"
"Uh... no, it doesn't..."
Princess Domina laughed heartily. "I used to think we Krami People were the biggest spenders at auctions. Now that I've met you, Overlord, I finally realize there's a race in this universe even more generous than us... Hahaha!"
Boss Jin whispered to Zhang Fan, "Overlord, one {Emperor} can match three {Dragon Eagle} warships in combat. Even if you bid just ten, your offer would still be worth three times King Didis's."
Zhang Fan said in surprise, "You never told me that..."
Boss Jin immediately slapped himself, then pointed to a huge wraparound screen above the auction floor displaying the exchange ratios for warships. The {Emperor} ranked in the top three. Princess Domina's Krami Energy Pearls held second place at a ratio of 1:1.2, while Madoc's {Shadow} warships ranked first, exchanging for {Emperor} warships at 1:2.
"No wonder I get to sit in the VIP room. Our Insect Race's {Emperor} warships are pretty valuable."
Boss Jin was filled with regret. He had sold the War God Spear for just twenty {Emperor} warships. If he had asked for two hundred back then, Duolaner probably would have agreed.
Boss Jin hurriedly asked, "Overlord, would you like to change your bid? It's a bit of a hassle, but as a VIP, you have that privilege."
"Oh, then let's not bother."
Domina and Madoc clapped at the same time. Princess Domina smiled. "How generous, Overlord! With a powerful friend like you, we'll be able to do whatever we please in the Eastern Universe. Isn't that right, Lord Madoc?"
"Uh... well... of course. When I'm not around, do as you please. Do as you please."
Domina rolled her eyes at him. "You miser. You really won't take even the slightest loss."
The Gomita Galaxy ultimately went to the Insect Race for one hundred {Emperor} warships. King Didis bristled with fury, but there was nothing he could do. Judging by their comparative strength, the other party's warships had three times the combat power of his own. It seemed life in the Eastern Universe would only get harder from now on.
The host also took a moment to steady himself. After drinking an energy drink and taking two deep breaths, he finally regained his composure.
"Everyone, the Insect Race's Overlord just gave us a little surprise. Our next auction item comes from the master smith Qikeduo, known as the 'Hellsmith'..."
The host deliberately kept everyone in suspense, refusing to continue for ages... The audience's hearts rose into their throats...
His timing was perfect. Just as the audience's suspense was about to turn into anger, he continued, "Master Qikeduo's final masterpiece... {Dawnlight}."
A beam of white light tore through the starry sky. Illuminated by that light, an enormous Arcane-Energy Sniper Rifle truly looked like the dawn piercing the darkness.
With a dramatic rise and fall in his voice, the host introduced it. "This {Dawnlight} was the last weapon Master Qikeduo personally forged before his death. Please take a look... Such exquisite craftsmanship, elegant without extravagance, simple without being simplistic. Its power is extraordinary as well. It can easily destroy a C-Class Warship from fifty light-years away."
Zhang Fan asked curiously, "What exactly is a C-Class Warship? What class does my {Emperor} belong to?"
Boss Jin hurriedly explained, "Warships vary throughout the universe, so we established the SS-to-F Class system to standardize them. Their ratings are determined by both size and combat power. The {Emperor} is an A-Class Warship, while Lord Madoc's {Shadow} is S-Class. At present, only the four Great Emperors of the universe possess SS-Class Warships."
Zhang Fan nodded. It seemed he was still a long way from having the strength to break free of the Western Realm Great Emperor.
"With east, south, west, and north, plus the Vitter Universe, shouldn't there be five Great Emperors?"
Princess Domina explained on Boss Jin's behalf, "The Vitter Universe belongs to another plane. Although trade delegations have frequent contact with it, that universe is extremely complicated. Apparently, no one has managed to rule Vitter yet."
Madoc smiled beside them. "I wonder if you'd be interested in trying, Overlord?"
"Haha, you flatter me, Lord Madoc. I'm still far from that. When you rule the Vitter Universe, just leave me a patch of land to farm."
The host had finished introducing {Dawnlight}, but even after a long wait, no one made a bid. Everyone seemed to turn their gaze toward the VIP booth in unison.
Boss Jin appeared to be speaking with someone. A moment later, he hurriedly asked, "Everyone, I've just received a message. The committee would like to ask whether any of you are interested in {Dawnlight}."
Seeing the disdain on both their faces, Zhang Fan immediately said, "Looks like neither of you wants it. Didn't they say it was a masterpiece?"
Princess Domina smiled. "We Krami People are more interested in living creatures. What's the use of a weapon like that when we can't control it?"
Madoc smiled. "It's not interesting. We on Mokla rely primarily on strength. Ranged weapons don't work well for us."
"Oh... then one hundred {Emperor} warships!"
All three cried out at once, "What?"
Boss Jin no longer knew what to do with his hands or feet. Princess Domina stared at Zhang Fan in disbelief.
Madoc was even more astonished. Zhang Fan's earlier bid of one hundred {Emperor} warships for the Gomita Galaxy could have been explained by his ignorance of their value, but now he understood it. Though this weapon was quite valuable, even ten {Emperor} warships would have been an exorbitant price.
He could not understand just how many {Emperor} warships this Insect Race Overlord possessed. Setting quality aside and considering numbers alone, if he had so many high-grade warships, wouldn't his low-grade warships number in the hundreds of millions or billions?
Little did they know that Zhang Fan now had two {Titans}. If he devoted their full capacity to hatching {Emperor} warships, producing at least a thousand would be no problem. It would simply take a little longer.
After a brief silence, Boss Jin said, "Overlord, would this arrangement suit you? For the remaining auction items, we'll show them to you first. If anything catches your eye, you can name your price, and we won't put it through the auction."
"What? You're not letting me bid anymore?"
"No, it's mainly because if most of our customers can't buy anything, they won't attend the next auction. Please show some restraint, Overlord... some restraint..."
Zhang Fan nodded. "Looks like I misunderstood. Hahaha, no problem, no problem. How about I pick a few things I like and set the starting bid at one hundred warships? If no one else wants them, I'll take them for one hundred. How's that?"
"Yes, yes. You're very understanding, Overlord."
After leaving the VIP room, Boss Jin wanted nothing more than to slap himself a few times. That had been the legendary War God Spear of the Vitter Universe... He really had misjudged things.
With Zhang Fan casually making overwhelming bids of a hundred {Emperor} warships at a time, he swept up all the good items at the auction. However, he left alone anything Madoc or Domina showed even a slight interest in bidding on, which earned him a measure of goodwill from both.
As soon as the auction ended, Princess Domina said to Zhang Fan, "Overlord, I've already given Shusha the star chart showing my enemies. When do you plan to set out?"
"Oh, fairly soon. Five thousand {Emperor} warships are already being hatched. It should take about three months. The body you requested will be ready by then too, Princess. Why don't you come take a look first?"
Princess Domina immediately agreed. "All right... I'll come see the Insect Race's military strength for myself. Perhaps I can buy a few other things as well."
Noya suddenly reminded him, "Overlord, we still haven't wiped out those monkeys."
"What monkeys?"
"The monkeys aboard those diamond-shaped ships."
Zhang Fan asked in confusion, "Hasn't Livina dealt with them yet?"
Noya said helplessly, "Their planet has been destroyed, but those monkeys flee too quickly. Now they're playing hide-and-seek with us in Insect Race space."
Domina laughed heartily. "Don't worry, Overlord. I'll help you take care of that little problem. See you in Insect Race space in three months."
Before you continue