The Strongest Demon Lord in the Modern World - Chapter 63

As the projector screen appeared behind the auctioneer on the wall, all eyes were immediately fixated on it.

Soon, the venue turned silent once again as a video then started playing.

Clear light blue sky appeared first on the screen. The sound of waves surging back and forth, reminiscent of an ocean beach. The camera raised its lenses, looking ahead where a beautiful tropical-looking emerald green island stood tall surrounded by nothing but the vast and boundless sea.

From a first impression, the island itself seemed quiet, tranquil, and most importantly; large. As the camera flew higher and gazed down the beautiful landscape was revealed to everyone watching.

Spanning several dozen miles at the very least, the island had a bit of everything. Rolling ranges of hills surrounded by verdant lush green forest. The sonata of chirps could be heard through the audio, and an illustrious colorful clearing with a small pond also came into view eventually.

A single building reached proudly towards the skies, sitting atop the tallest hill somewhere at the northern half of this paradisiacal landscape. A castle coming straight from the middle ages stood magnificently at the hilltop with a smooth pathway leading the wary traveler towards all parts of the island: A single paved road reaching from the caste through the forest, all the way to the southern shore where a small private dock waited for the approaching sailors.

Another path led to a large circular stone-made structure, that funnily reminded Aiden of those stupid monkeys of Dinah’s tribe from the prehistoric ages. From the processed memories, Aziel recalled a historical landmark that looked somewhat similar, the Stonehenge of Britain.

The last path reached the eastern hillside, vanishing somewhere in its peaks eventually.

The camera eventually flew up high once again, the screen soon faded back to dark, the video have ended.

For a while, the utter, and heavy, pin-drop silence was all but palpable in the large hall. The crowd like one single unit looked with a mixture of awe and shock at the cottage-white painted wall.

The last ‘item’ in the auction was an entire island?! What is going on?!

Even Aziel was slightly interested in it. From the video, it wasn’t clear but from what he could guess, the [Aether] had to be quite rich and abundant there. Also, whilst he was by no means an expert on the matter, the layout of the island seemed deliberate, he could see the makings of a powerful array in the works, probably to gather and concentrate the energy all around the land.

The more Aziel thought about it, the more he felt that the island would be perfect for his plans. A base, hidden from the world, protected by endless vast sea… A land, rich and abundant with [Aether] prime location for cultivation…

The lights at the auction site were re-lit again, followed by the auctioneer’s voice who spoke with a shallow smile.

“We have all seen the video. The last item for tonight’s venue is rather special, we have a very slice of the majestic paradise for sale. Heaven’s Trove Island is located deep within the Pacific Ocean. For thousands of miles each direction your only neighbor would be the boundless ocean waters and nothing else!”

“This private island was once originally owned by the European Financial Conglomerate. Unfortunately for them, as the Great Recession struck the world back in 2007 and 2008, the Financial Consortium had no choice but to sell this private island willingly giving up more than 3 years of development in the process.”

“As for how this island ended up being listed in tonight’s auction… let’s just say, our leader’s hands reach far and wide.” The auctioneer flashed an impish smile, before fixing her posture and adding.

“I believe that each and every guest participating in this Purple Cloud Auction is one of the richest and most powerful people, not just in our city, or even in the country but all across the world! I am sure that everyone is interested in this beautiful treasure, this hidden paradise! Thus without further ado, the auction for this private island will begin now!”

“The starting price for this slice of heaven will start from 500 million and each bid increase is to be no less than 10 million. Now… the auction officially begins!”

With the ending of the auctioneer’s voice, the following hundreds of people under the stage who were participating in the auction were talking in a whisper.

Hundreds of whispers could be heard coming from under the stage following the ending of the auctioneer’s speech. The participants were in heavy discussions amongst their partners trying to decide the best approach for this no-doubt once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Even though the island was something nobody would have wanted to miss out on, a starting bid of 500 million was by no means a small amount. Even for them, the rich and wealthy, this was not a small amount of money, they had to be careful.

Aziel couldn’t help but frown as he heard the auctioneer’s revealing the starting price for Heaven’s Trove Island. That was just too much. Even if he were to take away all of the wealth and even savings from that pair of husband and wife, as well as all the money Lydia had, he would still come short, even for the starting bid!

Should could only grit his teeth and clench his teeth in anger and watch as this prim

Still, how could he sit still and watch helplessly as such a prime location, absolutely perfect for his plans to be wasted in the hands of some filthy mortal?

“I will get it. No matter what…” He smirked sinisterly gazing down at the stage.

Noticing his scary expression, Lydia shivered for a moment, though not from fright but from the surge of lust that suddenly coursed through her entire being. Her cheeks turned red as she suddenly felt a rising heat coming from her loins, she heaved a couple of exasperated sighs before shifting her attention back to the venue below.

Looking at the venue, Aziel’s mind was racing at lightning-fast speeds. His eyes scanned over the audience as he scrutinized and analyzed each and every detail he could, storing all the information his incredibly sharp, supernatural eyes could find.

At the same time, he sent out invisible pulses of [Aether] breaching into the hidden VIP compartments hanging above, analyzing the vital signatures of all present.

Surprisingly, besides the old man, who seemed to be at the Middle Stages of the Mortal Realm. Though from the unrefined raw power the old man radiated it felt that he too, just like the old Marshal grandpa from the park, was a Martial Master at most.

Besides him, two other booth residents sent similar vibes, albeit somewhat weaker, around the peak at the Foundation Establishment substages of the Mortal Realm. Still, unlike the old man, they felt more youthful, one being somewhere around forty of fifty at most, whilst the third would be much younger, around his early thirties or at most, late twenties.

Also, from the energy signature, the third guest most likely was a woman, making her strength all the more surprising, considering the fact that from Aziel’s processed memories, he recognized these humans to be mostly a patriarchal-based civilization, where they often pushed the other sex, to attending household chores at the most.

Even though this trend had seemed to gradually change in these modern times, Aziel was fairly certain that in the shadows of it all, this hidden world of Martial artists playing ‘cultivators’ wouldn’t be as advanced.

The silent murmurs and hushed discussion were finally brought to an end, when a plump middle-aged man suddenly raised his floppy arms and proclaimed the first bid, thus starting one of the fiercest bid wars in the Purple Cloud Auction House’s almost century-old history.

“510 million.”

“520 million!”

“530 million!”

This was the last round of the event, and only a few number of people were involved in this auction compared to the previous ones. However few bidders in numbers they were, but the price was in constant increase. And one of the most spirited and jubilant in bidding was the fat middle-aged man who wore the gold chain. 7 or 8 minutes later, the price had climbed up to 1.48 billion.

“1.5 billion!”

A bead of sweat permeated on the fat middle-aged man’s forehead as he called for the bid.

“2 BILLION!”

Suddenly the lights of a VIP box lit up, its speakers resounding a thundering, robotic voice, akin to a lightning bolt across the thundering sky.

The fat middle-aged man suddenly turned his head as he stared at the old man with eyes full of anger. He heavily breathed a few times before he shouted again with the emotions audible in his tone of voice.

“2.1 billion!”

“Reaching to this price, there only the fat middle-aged man and the VIP box still in the race. After about half a minute of silence, the lights below the box lit up once again, as the man’s robotic voice resounded once again.

“2.2 billion!”

“2.3 billion!”

The fat middle-aged man’s voice turned a bit hoarse, but he still insisted on bidding. However, his anger was soon replaced with pure happiness as following his retort, there was no response coming from the box even after a full minute of silence.

The fat middle-aged man wiped the sweat from his forehead and secretly felt relieved inside. It was actually his limit, if the price increased again, he would have to renounce it.

Seeing as the violent war was calming, the corner of the auctioneer’s mouth curled as she smiled with sparkling eyes and spoke.

“The price for Heaven’s Trove Island has risen to 2.3 billion! This is indeed a terrifying amount of money, but I do still think that some people have yet to bid. After all, this is a few tens of square miles of uninhabited island with completed construction and development. If this private island were to be used accordingly, it definitely would be a paradise on Earth, the one and only kingdom for its owner.”

“Being the master of one’s own kingdom means that there are no legal and public laws binding you! Being the master of Heaven’s Trove Island means you are its king, its sole sovereign! If the future owner wills it, he can very well apply to the international laws and establish his or her very own new country!”

“This island is the dreamland, a paradise. Now, I would like to ask once more, is there no one who wants to increase the bid?”

Deathly stillness and silence filled the entire auction venue following her words.

The eyes were swaying wildly, everyone was keeping a watch on each other. The auctioneer’s words did instigate them and ignite their emotions and desires completely. But still, they couldn’t get so much liquidity, for their enterprises they would be seriously hit by the impact and would severely influence their companies and fracture them!

Despite their hearts palpitating with the desires, they were helpless, they couldn’t just go and squander away their company’s wealth, even if they were the owners of their respective businesses, they couldn’t be irresponsible.

A trace of a disappointed expression was revealed on the young auctioneer’s elegant face. Despite the 2.3 billion prices already exceeding her expectations, she still hoped to sell the island at a higher price. In contrast, the fat middle-aged man was in the opposite mood as a wide smile emerged on his face; a proud expression could be seen on his complexion.

However, suddenly the lights under VIP BOX number 2 lit up and the shocking voice came in through the speakers, giving a cold shower of the harsh reality to the fat businessman.

“2.5 billion!”