310: Chapter 11, A Sensual Auction_1 310: Chapter 11, A Sensual Auction_1 The auction was drawing near, and Hudson prepared five hundred elite troops for departure early.
Although officially they were on a mission to buy war horses, in reality, it was a trading expedition.
For these types of big deals, everyone is afraid of being taken advantage of, so selecting a third-party territory is often the best choice.
Hudson was dealing in the “Blood Moon Horn,” a transaction that was bound to be conducted in shadows.
He wasn’t afraid of the mysterious organisation playing tricks.
Even if there were plots against him, he could always unseal the curse placed on the “Blood Moon Horn”.
The sheer resentment it held would be enough to attract officials from the Governor’s Mansion.
Merely uttering about accidentally discovering an enemy plot could lead to conflicts between the Kingdom and the Clergy.
Who would be more credible: a person of unknown origins who suspects he belongs to the Clergy, or a powerhouse noble from the Kingdom?
The answer is self-evident.
The worst-case scenario would be Hudson losing all his benefits and having to mooch off the Kingdom’s rewards.
But what the mysterious organisation would have to give up in return is—life.
As the capital of the Southeastern Province, Bera City was not a place you could come and go as you pleased.
Not only were there “Strongman” present, but the Crimson Knights’ Brigade was permanently stationed there.
The title of one of the Kingdom’s top 10 Knights was substantial.
Last time they suppressed the Skeleton Society rebellion, the Crimson Knights Brigade caused significant damage.
As far as Hudson knew, those who appeared last time were just a part of the brigade.
The “Knight Corps” and the “Cavalry Corps” only differ by one word, but the actual implications were worlds apart.
The former represents glory, one isn’t deemed worthy of such a title without dazzling achievements; the latter is simply a structural unit.
Multiple Cavalry Corps could exist within a Knight Corps, with the most famous being the Clergy’s Judgement Knight Corps.
Not only were there ground-based Cavalry units, airborne Cavalry units too were present, they only lacked ones who could swim underwater.
While the Crimson Knights’ Brigade didn’t possess a formal Air Force, in the Southeastern Province, it was indisputably king.
Hudson felt very secure conducting the trade in such a heavily defended place.
If the mysterious organization sent a formidable character, he would retreat into the army camp.
To ensure nothing unexpected occurred, Hudson brought not only his elite troops but also invited local nobles to accompany them to the auction.
A troop of thousands of people grandiosely set off from Layton County.
The well-informed knew they were going to the auction; the uninformed might mistake them for going to war.
With such a large force, ambushes were out of the question.
The only option was a blitz attack.
Hudson didn’t believe the mysterious organisation had the capacity to mobilise thousands of elite troops to ambush them within the Alpha Kingdom.
Without an army at their disposal, trying to ambush this troop with just a few experts would be fruitless unless they planned to cast several forbidden spells.
One look at the front line proved just how fierce the war was, neither side used forbidden spells.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t use forbidden spells, the problem was their cost to benefit ratio was too low.
Without five or six Mages of the same discipline, or a team of mages, it would be impossible to cast.
Once cast, the Mages would be nearly depleted and would need a period of recuperation before they could act again.
The range of forbidden spells depended on the caster’s strength.
Theoretically, it could be infinitely large, but in practice, most forbidden spells have a limited range with expanded magic leading to reduced power.
The historical records of forbidden spells destroying cities were for entertainment purposes only; they held no reference value.
Publicly, the Human Race currently has no one in the Sanctuary, even the Pope under the buff of the Divine Artifact could only be considered as pseudo-Sanctuary.
Although one could borrow external force to explode with the power of a Sanctuary Powerhouse, it comes at the cost of life.
Shelter VII clearly valued his life, he had never personally acted since his inauguration.
The situation among the Different Races was similar, the Elf Queen, known as the strongest on the Continent, was merely suspected of being in the Sanctuary.
Behind the scenes, even if there were powerhouses of this level, there would be an extremely limited number.
Even Sanctuary Powerhouses couldn’t destroy a city in an instant.
The legendary figures, who could shake the earth and heavens, were obviously artistically exaggerated and unrepresentative.
The grand troop’s advance made the spies tasked with surveillance feel anxious.
With so many nobles mobilising together, even a distant observation required caution.
Close distance scouting seemed like a death wish.
Even the most difficult tasks had to be completed.
If they couldn’t get close, then they would make estimates.
For such a reconnaissance mission, a slight error was acceptable.
…
“Sir, the target has appeared.
It is estimated that they will reach Bera City tomorrow afternoon.
However, the target is very alert and moving with a large force.
According to the information checked, there are at least one thousand five hundred people.
And these are all elite troops, among them shadows of knights can be seen.
The target has widespread connections and nobles continue to join the troop along the way.
The exact number is always changing.
If we want to ambush and kill, unless several of the grown-ups take action themselves, there is no chance of winning.”
Shadow Kill’s voice was deep.
Continuous training had caused him to lose the emotions of a regular person, appearing more like a cold machine.
However, rational indifference like Shadow Kill displayed didn’t necessarily imply that his subordinates would disregard their personal gains and losses, and thus ambiguous intelligence appeared.
The target has a minimum of fifteen hundred men, and this number could increase indefinitely, making the situation awkward.
Seeing this, Kevin waved his hand and calmly said: “Alright, don’t think about these uncertain things.
Our current task is to bring back the Blood Moon Horn.
Everything else is secondary.
There is no need to take risks for little profit, as it might inconvenience the mission.”