Chapter 255: Sold! Both sides understood that this first auction would set the tone for the much more valuable luxury smoothie that would follow, making their bidding behavior crucial for psychological warfare as much as actual acquisition. "Fifteen hundred golden coins," called Elena from the light elf delegation, establishing their immediate interest while testing the dark elves’ commitment to competitive bidding. "Sixteen hundred," responded Kael without hesitation, demonstrating their faction’s determination to contest every item regardless of cost. The competitive bidding escalated rapidly as both factions recognised that allowing their enemies to claim even the first item would establish psychological dominance for the more valuable auction to follow. "Seventeen hundred," Elena called out immediately. "Eighteen hundred," a dark elf grandmaster countered smoothly, his tone suggesting that such amounts barely registered as significant expenditures. "Two thousand," Elena responded with growing intensity, her green eyes beginning to narrow as the price climbed beyond comfortable ranges. "Twenty-one hundred," Kael interjected with obvious satisfaction, his voice carrying just enough smugness to irritate the light elf. The bidding continued its relentless upward trajectory as pride and necessity drove both factions to exceed their initial budget projections. "Twenty-five hundred," "Twenty-six hundred," came the immediate dark elf response. Elena’s jaw tightened visibly; it was obvious that the dark elves simply wanted to fight them for the sake of fighting; they didn’t truly want the item. Her fingers drummed. She knew that the other item was their priority and that they needed to keep a good portion of golden coins for it. She knew the luxury smoothie represented their true priority, and maintaining substantial reserves for that auction was crucial for their kingdom’s interests. Every coin wasted here would weaken their position in the competition that actually mattered. These shadow-corrupted bastards are playing games with our resources, Elena cursed inwardly, the only thing stopping her from diving in and attacking them was the shopkeeper’s rules of no fighting.. They’re forcing us to exhaust our funds on preliminary items just to spite us. Meanwhile, Noah watched the escalating numbers with a straight face, but inwardly he was singing with joy at the profits climbing before his eyes. Twenty-six hundred golden coins for a single candy, Noah thought with genuine amazement. That’s over a quarter million dollars every day from a single item alone. Luckily, he was able to maintain his composure. The bidding had already exceeded his projections for the candy, and they hadn’t even settled down yet; both bidders were clearly still fighting for it. At this rate, the luxury smoothie is going to get me at least 10,000 golden coins, Noah calculated with growing anticipation. He exchanged a subtle glance with Lola, recognising the same excitement in her ruby eyes as she witnessed their auction perform magically. Long grudges really are the gift that keeps on giving, Noah observed with satisfaction as he watched decades of accumulated hatred transform into pure golden profit. The sight of Elena’s obvious frustration and Kael’s smug satisfaction only added to his appreciation. "Three thousand," Elena declared with a strained tone. Anyone present could tell that Elena was on the verge of giving up on the item. The words emerged through gritted teeth, revealing the internal struggle she was currently feeling. Kael’s response was somewhat expected, just like Noah had thought. The dark elf no longer participated in the continued bidding. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed with genuine amusement, the sound carrying malicious satisfaction that echoed across the neutral zone. "Hah! You can take it. We dark elves have no use for such beauty items. You can have it for that vain queen of yours who only cares about seducing as many of you as possible!" Kael announced with theatrical dismissal, his violet eyes gleaming with pleasure at the sight of her struggle. The insult landed like a sword strike, targeting not just Queen Seraphina’s personal honour but implying moral corruption that went to the core of light elf cultural values. The other dark elves erupted in laughter at their representative’s cutting mockery, their voices filled with vicious amusement that came from landing perfect psychological strikes against their enemies. The reaction from the light elf delegation was explosive but expected. "HOW DARE YOU!" Elena roared, her restraint shattering completely as decades of accumulated hatred boiled over. "You corrupted filth! Take back those words, or I will sever your head," another light elf grandmaster shouted, his face flushing with rage. "Our queen’s honour is beyond your pathetic comprehension!" a third added, his voice shaking with fury. The entire light elf contingent flared with brilliance, their magical auras surging skyward in a cascade of raw light. The air itself seemed to burn as five grandmaster-level practitioners gathered their strength, each one brimming with enough destructive force to shatter battalions. They stood as guardians of their radiant queen, prepared to obliterate the intruders who had dared to trespass upon sacred ground. Across from them, the dark elves answered in kind. Shadow thickened around their bodies like liquid tar, writhing and snapping as if alive, eager to consume the light elves. Their stances, blades and spells ready, their intent radiating in waves of suffocating darkness. The neutral zone trembled under their combined fury. The earth itself seemed to groan, and invisible pressure crushed down on the space between them, as though ten mountains pressed against one another with no room to yield. The tension teetered on a knife’s edge. One misstep, one errant gesture, and devastation would follow, reshaping the land into a permanent scar. Noah understood exactly what that meant. Once these ten unleashed their wrath, the archmages stationed along the borders would no longer stay idle. They would descend into the fray, dragging armies and nations with them. This was no longer a standoff. It was the opening note of a war that, once begun, would never end until one of the two kingdoms fell. He sighed, already grateful he had thought of such issues beforehand. Lola lingered close, her presence steady and unshakable.