Chapter 23 – The Beast Within (1/2)
Chapter 23 – The Beast Within
Calron felt immense awe while gazing upon this magnificent creature.
It was truly a beauty to behold.
The beast was like a large white cat with rippling muscles. Its fur glowed with a beauty that was difficult to describe in words, and Calron was certain that the fur would be extremely soft to the touch as well.
It had thin, aqua-blue stripes swirling around its paws and its eyes shone with the same hue. There was a gentle aura emanating from the beast that made Calron feel as if the beast was a peaceful creature in the wild.
To see such a beast caged and crudely presented in front of an audience, Calron felt only sorrow and bitterness. There was nothing Calron could do to relieve it of its suffering, as he had neither the money nor the power.
Just then, a wailing Fatty appeared next to Calron with footmarks all over his robe and face. The footprints varied in their size and shape, so much so that one could tell Fatty had been brutally kicked by a large amount of the crowd!
“Big brother, how could you do this to me? You know how sensitive my body is, and look at my face now! One of the old women stepped on me mercilessly as she thought I was stealing her purse. Big brother!”
Fatty continuously complained to him, while Calron paid no attention to his ranting.
“This is a rare first rank beast with a water element! Furthermore, it’s still young, so it can be tamed much more easily! Starting bid is at ten gold squares, so start placing your bids now!”
The crowd erupted into a chaos of shouts. It had to be understood that a single gold square was enough for a small family to survive for months, and this beast’s starting bid was ten times that amount!
Moreover, this auction was happening outside in the market with no rules or authority to manage it, so the scene was completely chaotic with everyone shouting their bids. The man auctioning the beast seemed to be a bit overwhelmed as he tried to hear some of the bids, but then someone from a different location would shout even louder than the previous voice!
Suddenly,
“SILENCE! How dare you maggots cause a commotion in the market?”
A group of guards came marching, while their captain furiously roared at the crowd. The guards had the city Lord’s emblem on their chests, as they walked arrogantly towards the man on stage. Their emblem was a black bear’s head growling to the side.
“Hand over this beast right now! It is illegal to auction any property publicly without the city Lord’s approval!”
The captain stated loftily.
Hearing those words, the owner of the magical beast visibly crumpled. He had lost many brothers while obtaining this beast, and if the guards were to just take it away, then how will he take care of his dead brothers’ families?
“Sir, please forgive this lowly person! I will give you all the money I have, but please don’t take away the beast. My brothers fought against its mother and lost their lives trying to obtain that beast!”
The man knelt on the ground and begged the guards. If he had the money, then he would have directly gone to an auction house as opposed to selling the beast on the street. If he had paid the commission cost to the auction house, then he wouldn’t have much money remaining in the end. That was the reason he decided to take a chance and sell it publicly instead, but how could he have expected that the plan in return, would make him lose everything?
Seeing the man kneeling on the ground, the captain of the guards just raised his foot and stepped on the man’s neck.
“You think I have time to waste on you? Just hand it over, or else I will personally chop off both your hands for breaking the law.”
The captain coldly stated.
In truth, this was not a serious matter as there were many vendors who didn’t have permits, but the captain wanted that rare magical beast as a pet. Although it was only a first rank beast, it was still worth decent money, or it could be used to bribe an officer for a promotion. The beast was pleasing to the eye, so any officer’s child would definitely fancy it.
Faced with that threat, the man bitterly cried, as there was nothing he could do. The crowd of surrounding people had been watching the scene from the start, and yet not one person objected or intervened.
Calron felt his heart violently surge with anger as he saw the man kneeling in front of these pretentious guards. He was almost about to jump on the stage when he saw the captain step on the heartbroken man, but then he suddenly felt a steely grip on his arm.