"Wow, that Hexium is so cool, what a baller!"
The bidding had been painfully slow, crawling forward inch by inch for nearly five full minutes, the price climbing in small, cautious incrents that made even seasoned players restless. Although the steadily rising number already felt outrageous to most people watching, it still had not broken the thirty-five million gold coins mark.
That was when the arrogant Hexium finally lost his patience.
’If you have the money, bid. If you do not, get out of the way.’
With a single decisive move, he forcefully raised the auction price straight to forty million gold coins.
The mont the number flipped, the price officially crossed the forty million threshold. A collective gasp rippled through the Arena, and Hexium’s na was burned into everyone’s mory in an instant. In their minds, Hexium beca synonymous with wealth and authority, a walking embodint of money and power.
"Hexium’s Violet Thunder Guild is solid," soone muttered. "If he gets this token, that guild is going to explode in growth."
The murmurs spread quickly as players began speculating, their excitent mixing with unease.
There were two ways to bid in the auction, anonymously or publicly. Until now, most bidders had chosen anonymity, testing the waters with careful, minimal increases. Hexium, however, despised that timid approach. The mont he made his move, his na appeared boldly beneath the blazing red forty million gold coins on the bidding screen.
It was a public declaration of war.
In that instant, Hexium’s na echoed throughout the Arena, drawing admiration, envy, and shock in equal asure. His Violet Thunder Guild gained massive publicity on the spot, far more than he had originally expected.
"43,000,000 gold coins, InfernoRider001."
"45,000,000 gold coins, SoulfireBlade."
"48,000,000 gold coins, ThreeleafAxe69."
Seeing the storm Hexium had stirred, the leaders of the major Guilds frowned deeply, regret flashing across their faces. Their earlier hesitation had given him the initiative, and now the cost of inaction was clear.
As if a dam had finally burst, the major Guilds abandoned all restraint. Massive bids began pouring in one after another, each jump exceeding a million gold coins, driving the price higher with brutal efficiency.
The real competition had begun.
"50,000,000 gold coins, Hexium."
"55,000,000 gold coins, Demonic Dragon."
"Whoa..."
The bidding pace transford completely. What had once felt like a slow crawl turned into a violent surge, numbers flashing so fast that most players could barely keep up. The price smashed past fifty million gold coins, leaving the spectators in stunned disbelief.
Hidden behind the auction block, Marcus allowed himself a small, satisfied smile. Just as he and Old Vine had predicted, the price of the Guild Creation Token had already exceeded fifty million gold coins, and it showed no signs of slowing.
Then a thought struck him.
’Wait a second.’
Fifty million gold coins already? Just four hours earlier, Marcus had checked the Wealth Leaderboard, and the top three players had only been sitting at around fifty-five million each. That ant soone had injected a massive amount of money into the system in an incredibly short ti.
He quickly pulled up the Wealth Leaderboard.
1. InfernoRider001 – 68,420,000 Gold
2. Hexium – 67,560,000 Gold
3. Demonic Dragon – 67,120,000 Gold
4. Blaze Phoenix – 66,720,000 Gold
5. SoulfireBlade – 65,410,000 Gold
6. CryptoWarlord – 64,010,000 Gold
7. ThreeleafAxe69 – 63,780,000 Gold
8. HandsoDevil – 62,740,000 Gold
9. Slayer#Apex – 61,110,000 Gold
10. GoldDiggerIRL – 59,420,000 Gold
Marcus froze.
The Wealth Leaderboard had completely transford. The major Guilds had clearly poured enormous amounts of real-world dollars into the ga during the last four hours. The player ranked first, InfernoRider001, was already closing in on seventy million gold coins.
No wonder the auction price was skyrocketing.
Based on the current reserves displayed on the board, the Guild Creation Token was almost guaranteed to sell for over sixty million gold coins, possibly much more.
’What the hell... it is changing again.’
Just as Marcus was about to close the interface, the leaderboard flickered and refreshed. The rankings shifted violently, numbers jumping so fast it felt unreal.
1. Blaze Phoenix – 78,820,000 Gold
2. Demonic Dragon – 77,460,000 Gold
3. Hexium – 76,720,000 Gold
4. HandsoDevil – 76,520,000 Gold
5. InfernoRider001 – 76,410,000 Gold
6. SoulfireBlade – 74,010,000 Gold
7. ThreeleafAxe69 – 72,780,000 Gold
8. Slayer#Apex – 71,810,000 Gold
9. CryptoWarlord – 64,010,000 Gold
10. GoldDiggerIRL – 59,420,000 Gold
Every single player on the leaderboard had increased their gold by more than ten million in an instant.
Marcus was left completely speechless.
The speed of the influx was terrifying. The rich truly operated on a different level, their thinking and execution utterly detached from what ordinary players could comprehend. It was intimidating, and strangely impressive.
The major Guilds were playing a calculated, ruthless ga for the Guild Creation Token, relying on strategy rather than brute force alone. Before the auction began, they had deliberately hidden their true financial strength by distributing newly converted gold among subordinates, preventing rivals from accurately judging their reserves.
Converting dollars into gold coins through the system required at least twenty minutes. Transferring gold between players, however, took less than thirty seconds.
That difference allowed them to strike without warning.
At the critical mont, they consolidated their funds, launching sudden financial offensives to overwhelm their competitors. All of it was done for a single goal, to secure the first, and currently the only, Guild Creation Token in Dominion, and establish the very first Guild in the ga.
Marcus’s gaze lingered on the two unfamiliar nas that had suddenly climbed to the top of the Wealth Leaderboard, Blaze Phoenix and HandsoDevil. Two players who had never made waves before were now standing shoulder to shoulder with the major Guilds, and that alone told him they were not here to play gas.
Old Vine had briefly pointed out HandsoDevil earlier. He was a well-dressed young man with slicked-back hair, seated beside the two beautiful won from the Rose rcenary Group. At the mont, he was animatedly waving his hands, talking without pause, clearly trying to show off in front of them. Unfortunately for him, the won did not spare him even a single glance, let alone respond. Despite that, HandsoDevil showed no sign of embarrassnt, continuing his performance with shaless enthusiasm.
His personality fit his arrogant userna perfectly. HandsoDevil was a loud, self-absorbed playboy, a rich heir who loved attention and had a reputation for harassing attractive female players whenever he could. He had made plenty of enemies over ti, but his wealth and influence protected him. With layers of subordinates willing to fight for him, most players simply chose to avoid provoking trouble.
As for Blaze Phoenix, Marcus had never heard that na before today. To suddenly appear and surge to the very top of the Wealth Leaderboard like this was beyond shocking.
"Who is Blaze Phoenix?"
"Which Guild is he with?"
"He’s number one right now, does anyone know him?"
"Never heard of him."
"No clue."
"Is that even a guy?"
The chatter spread quickly, filled with confusion and speculation. Blaze Phoenix was a complete mystery. Marcus scanned the VIP Section, searching for any figure that might stand out, but he found nothing that connected to the na.
"70,000,000 gold coins, Blaze Phoenix."
"71,000,000 gold coins, HandsoDevil."
The two dark horses finally entered the battlefield.
It was clear now that they had not poured tens of millions of gold coins into the ga just to inflate their rankings. They were here for one thing only, the Guild Creation Token.
Blaze Phoenix pushed the price straight to seventy million gold coins, a number so high it briefly left Marcus dizzy. HandsoDevil, naturally unwilling to fall behind, imdiately raised the bid again. His voice was loud and deliberate, clearly ant to flaunt his wealth, especially in front of the two won from the Rose rcenary Group, as if sheer money might finally earn him their attention.
"75,000,000 gold coins, Blaze Phoenix."
The price leapt again.
Blaze Phoenix showed no hesitation, raising the bid in massive jumps and leaving no room for slow reactions. His intent was unmistakable. He was determined to crush any resistance and take the Guild Creation Token outright.
The leaders of the major Guilds watched in silence, their expressions darkening. Whoever Blaze Phoenix was, he was spending money like it had no weight at all. Most of them had estimated the auction would end around seventy million gold coins, and their preparations were built around that assumption.
"Hurry," one of them barked urgently. "Convert another twenty million gold coins into the ga, right now."
Hexium felt a sharp pang of regret. He had only converted 75,720,000 gold coins, believing that would be more than enough. Now, it was obvious the Guild Creation Token might break eighty million, perhaps even higher. He imdiately ordered ShadowWhisper to begin converting more funds, praying the bidding would slow long enough for him to catch up.
Money itself ant nothing to Hexium. Even if the price reached one hundred million gold coins, he could afford it. What he had misjudged was the number of others who were just as wealthy, just as prepared, and just as ruthless.
"75,100,000 gold coins, Hexium."
He deliberately raised the price by a tiny amount.
’No more huge jumps,’ he silently urged, ’just slow down, give ti.’
"75,100,000 gold coins," Old Vine announced loudly. "Is there any further bid?"
For the first ti in a long while, the Arena fell into a brief, tense silence.
Behind the podium, Old Vine was barely able to contain his excitent. This number was far beyond even his boldest expectations. Stonehaven was about to reap an enormous profit.
"Is there any further bid?" he repeated.
"75,100,000 gold coins," Old Vine called out. "Going once!"
The pause created by Hexium’s cautious bid finally allowed him to regain control of the auction, sothing that had been impossible during the earlier storm of rapid-fire increases.
"75,100,000 gold coins," he continued, his voice ringing clearly through the Arena. "Going twice!"
One more call.
One more breath.
The fate of the Guild Creation Token hung in the balance.
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