But there was a little problem.
He only needed one of them alive.
According to the two, there were several wealthy individuals in the auction as well as three high priests and a single cardinal sent by the Holy Church to facilitate the transaction.
"Not a high cardinal?" Gabriel raised a brow. He had expected the Church to send a high cardinal, at least for such a stealthy operation.
In the church hierarchy, the priest was just above the normal worshippers. They were powerful, yes, but not to an extraordinary degree.
Above the priest, there was the cardinal, followed by the high cardinal, grand cardinal, and then the Twelve Apostles.
The Twelve Apostles were mysterious existences with so many tales about them. In Gabriel’s past life, he had learned that the weakest of the Twelve Apostles was already at hero rank.
And twelve of them could easily bring down a kingdom in a couple of minutes.
And then there was the Holy Pope.
He was a man rarely seen, not even by the grand cardinals.
That man was said to be walking destruction.
But here comes the dilemma.
Now that he had this information, he only needed one of them to act as a personal guard.
It was at that moment that the side of his lips slowly curled up into a cruel smirk.
When they saw that smirk on his face, their expressions immediately went pale.
"So this is what will happen," Gabriel said. "I’ll give you both a chance to redeem yourselves and become my personal henchman."
"W-what do you mean by that?" the warrior stuttered, his body regaining movement as the paralysis wore off.
Although Anna didn’t say anything, one could tell there were lots of questions in her eyes.
"The last person standing will lead me to the auction chambers. Afterward, I’ll make that person my subordinate. As long as they stick by me, the rewards will be unfathomable."
’Last person standing... this sick bastard.’ The warrior’s eyes widened in shock.
’He wants us to kill each other?’
Several seconds passed, but neither of them made a move.
"Dammit, I want to live! I’ve got kids and a family at home!" the warrior shouted as he rushed towards his sword.
However, before he could reach it, a pair of thick chains wrapped tightly around his legs.
Anna dragged him back with all her strength. He tried to pull forward with his superior strength, but it was futile.
Wrapping the chains around her fist to create a makeshift gauntlet, she delivered a violent punch to the back of his neck.
BANG! Crack!
The sound of bones cracking echoed as his head twisted awkwardly. He collapsed and died instantly.
"I hope you’ll keep your word." Anna asked while breathing heavily.
"Of course." Gabriel spoke confidently. Although he was ruthless and would do anything to achieve his goal, he was still a man with morals at the end of the day.
He would keep his word, of course... but there would be conditions.
Afterward, he calmly approached the warrior’s corpse.
[Do you wish to Extract Level 40 Warrior?]
Gabriel had a total of 230 EP, so he didn’t hesitate.
[Ding! You have extracted Silver Rank Speed Boots.]
When Anna saw her former teammate’s corpse dissolve at a frightening pace right before her eyes, her expression widened in shock.
’What did he do to him?’ her mind raced, her gaze settling on the item in his hands.
After placing the warrior’s greatsword into his inventory, he turned towards her. "Lead the way."
"Yes... sure!" She nodded, a trace of nervousness in her voice.
The duo encountered more enemies shortly after.
When the demons saw that Anna was leading the intruder, they were shocked and hesitated to attack.
That hesitation cost them their lives as they were all slaughtered before putting up a decent fight.
"Are we close?" Gabriel asked. They were moving with urgency, so he didn’t bother checking the corpses.
"We’re close."
The two went down a flight of stairs that seemed to stretch forever before arriving at a metal door.
"Behind these doors is where the auction is taking place," she said.
He listened and, hearing the bidding prices from the other side, it was easy to tell she was telling the truth and not misleading him.
Suddenly, a serious expression appeared on her face as she said, "One more thing you have to know."
Gabriel raised a brow. "What’s that?"
"This organization is much bigger than you think." She lowered her voice.
"Neon is just a small fry in the grand scheme of things. Not many know the name of our organization, but we’re called the Chain of Veylor, an underground syndicate that deals in humans, beastkin, and even rare magical races."
"If you attempt to free the children, you’ll automatically be added to their hit list."
"Yeah, I’ve heard of them before." Gabriel nodded. In fact, the leader of the organization was one of the final bosses of the game.
He remembered the complaints from players in his past life about a strange organization trying to capture them.
At first, it had been funny, and he laughed it off—until Gabriel encountered one himself.
"Alright, open the door." He commanded.
---
On the other side of the room, the auction was proceeding quite well.
Seated around a wide, luxurious hall were dozens of masked individuals. Some whispered among themselves, while others casually raised numbered plates as the auctioneer’s voice echoed through the hall.
The main attraction was about to begin.
Inside an iron cage at the center of the stage, elven children were huddled together, trembling in fear. Some had already given up, their eyes lifeless. Others sobbed quietly.
"Next, we have a batch of fresh elven children!" the auctioneer announced enthusiastically. "Highly valued for their mana compatibility and physical endurance! Bidding starts at $50,000!"
A noble quickly raised his plate. "60,000!"
"65,000!"
"80,000!"
The bidding rapidly escalated. To these people, the children were nothing but items.
In the midst of this, seated comfortably in the VIP section, was Neon. A faint grin lingered on his lips as he sipped his wine.
’Perfect. Soon the Holy Church’s representative will finalize the transaction. Once they take the children away, I’ll receive a large cut,’ he thought to himself.
He glanced at the heavily armed men stationed around the hall and the corridors. "Let’s see who dares to interrupt my auction now."
Just as he relished the thought, a loud metallic creak reverberated through the hall.
Creeeak—
The auction hall’s massive door swung open.
All eyes turned in that direction.
***
AN: Still battling the fever, sorry for the one Chapters in recent days