Devta Bhakt System : Rise of The Protector
Chapter 12: Blood, Blades, and Bidders — The Auction War Begins
The hall wasn't breathing anymore.
Gold had lost its value.
Because now… only blood could decide the winner.
Suraj noticed that the moment the box appeared on stage, the energy waves emanating from the VIP rooms sharpened. The crowd below were now mere spectators; the real hunters were finally peering out from their cages.
Saira's tone turned grave and heavy. "Our second and rarest item of the night... something the mere thought of which makes cultivators tremble — The Meridian-Balancing Seed."
The entire hall turned to stone. The next moment, a storm of whispers erupted.
" What ? A Meridian-Balancing Seed ? Even here ? "
"They say this seed can heal wounds that the greatest medicines cannot touch ! "
The color drained from Karan's face. "Brother Suraj... this is it. The very thing the Poison Master, Lavanya, was searching for."
The image of Lavanya's cold visage flashed before Suraj's eyes—her paling skin, the agony in her lips, and the System's scan: '80% Toxic Internal Injuries.'
"Yes," Suraj said softly. "And that is why the scent of blood in the air has just intensified."
Saira began her explanation, "This seed resuscitates your damaged meridians for a period of time. It is not a complete cure, but... it is enough to drag one back from the threshold of death."
"The bidding starts at forty thousand gold coins ! "
"Fifty thousand ! "
"Sixty thousand ! "
The bids were climbing rapidly, but then a voice rang out that seemed to suck the very warmth out of the hall.
"Seventy thousand gold coins."
The voice came from VIP Room Number 4. Cold, steady, and lethal. It was Lavanya's voice.
A shiver ran down Karan's spine. "She's here... and she would slit anyone's throat to get that seed."
Saira bowed respectfully toward that room. "Seventy thousand... from the VIP suite ! "
Silence blanketed the hall.
Not a single ordinary merchant had the courage to challenge a Poison Master's bid. They knew that if they tried to cross Lavanya, they wouldn't just lose the seed—they'd lose their lives before they even reached home.
"Seventy thousand... going once..." Saira raised the gavel.
"Brother Suraj, are you going to let her take it?" Karan asked nervously.
Suraj said nothing. His finger hovered over the special button in the VIP room that transmitted his voice directly to the auctioneer's ear.
"Seventy thousand... going twice..."
Suddenly, a new voice boomed throughout the hall. It wasn't cold like Lavanya's; instead, it held a strange authority and an air of mystery.
"Wait."
Saira's gavel froze in mid-air. Her eyes sparkled. "A bid from VIP Room Number 9?"
Suraj leaned into the microphone and spoke with absolute tranquility. "No bid. I am merely... watching."
The entire hall fell into a stunned silence. People looked at one another in confusion. 'I am merely watching'? Such a response in the middle of an auction? Was it an insult or some grand maneuver?
The toxic energy radiating from Lavanya's room suddenly turned violent. She felt as though someone was mocking her very existence.
But Saira... Saira smiled. It wasn't her professional smile. It was the smile of a cunning player recognizing another. She understood that the person in Room 9 wasn't just looking at the seed, but at the 'outcome' of this entire auction.
"Interesting," Saira remarked. "The bid stands at seventy thousand."
Suraj released the button and leaned back into his chair.
Karan was dumbfounded. "Brother! You didn't bid, but you just challenged her. Lavanya's eyes will be on us now."
That 'Clever Fox' smile returned to Suraj's lips. "That is exactly what I want, Karan. Some things are not bought with gold; they are bought with 'Debt.' Lavanya will get the seed, but with it, she will receive a riddle whose answer only I possess."
Outside, Saira struck the gavel— "Sold! For seventy thousand, to VIP Room Number 4 ! "
The auction moved on, but the atmosphere of the hall had shifted.
Lavanya had the seed, but Suraj now had Lavanya's 'attention.'
Suraj looked at his closed fist. He whispered to himself, "The game has finally begun, Queen of Poison."
Inside the VIP chamber, the air was perfectly still.
But this stillness was by no means 'peace.'
It was that same ominous and heavy stagnation found in a dense forest just moments before a catastrophic storm —where the birds forget to chirp and even the rustling of leaves grinds to a halt.
With a calculated flick of his fingers, Suraj adjusted the viewing parameters of the crystal wall.
Now, even if the people sitting in the hall tried to peer into the VIP chamber, they would only see blurred silhouettes and a ghostly sense of presence.
"This is enough," Suraj thought. He knew that if Saira Darwan or any other spy glanced this way again, they could only guess, not confirm. And mystery was Suraj's greatest weapon.
On the grand stage below, Saira Darwan gracefully folded her silken hands. Her face had returned to that professional, business-like smile—neither warm nor cold. It was precise and measured.
"Seventy thousand gold coins," her melodic voice echoed through every corner of the hall, "Going once... going twice... and for the third and final time ! "
The silence in the hall was so profound that even a needle drop would have sounded like a thunderclap.
Many held their breath intentionally. They knew that raising a voice against a bid from a Poison Master like 'Lavanya' at this moment would be a public declaration of their own downfall.
" SOLD ! "
As soon as Saira's delicate palm struck the table, a heavy thud resonated. The 'Meridian - Balancing Seed ' now belonged to VIP Room Number 4. Strangely, not a single clap followed this massive victory. This victory didn't belong to celebration; it belonged to terror.
In the shadows of the VIP room, Lavanya slowly stood up.
She didn't spare a single glance toward the stage. She merely flexed her fingers slightly, as if feeling the faint return of life within her meridians.
Her spine was still as straight as a sword, but it lacked that previous lethal rigidity. The poison was still in her body, but she now had ' time.'
Suraj observed this entire scene with his discerning gaze and admitted to himself for the first time — "This deal was necessary. Lavanya remaining alive could open many locked doors for me."
Saira took a deep breath and moved the game forward without wasting a second.
"Now," a new spark appeared in her voice, " we proceed to today's next mysterious item."
The echo of heavy footsteps was heard from behind the stage.
This time, three maidservants emerged. The one in the middle held a heavy metallic vessel with both hands. It was a cauldron.
At first glance, it appeared to be made of ordinary black metal, but as the magical stage lights hit it—the eyes of many experienced cultivators in the hall narrowed.
The cauldron possessed a deep, restrained blue hue. The carvings on its edges were so intricate they seemed impossible for human hands to achieve.
Dragons were etched onto it, but they weren't in combat; they were calm, as if they had tamed the blazing fire within the vessel.
Saira deliberately offered no explanation. She was a shrewd auctioneer; she knew that real jewelers recognize their gems.
"Is this... is this a 2-Star Alchemist Cauldron ? " a man stood up from the crowd, his voice trembling.
Saira's smile deepened. "Indeed. Just one word— 'Exquisite'."
A sensational rustle spread through the hall. This item wasn't for warriors. It was for the 'Hakims' and 'Alchemists' who breathe life into warriors' veins by crafting medicines before they ever step onto the battlefield.
Owning such a cauldron in the Pill Market meant having power within one's grasp.
Karan's back straightened.
"Brother, as I said, the titans of the Pill Market will now crawl out of their burrows."
Saira began to speak, "This cauldron is crafted for high-purity medicinal pills. For a 1-Star Alchemist, it is a dream; for a 2-Star Alchemist... it is a necessity."
" The starting bid—twenty thousand gold coins ! "
" Twenty-one thousand ! "
" Twenty-five thousand ! "
Bids began to pour in from the crowd below, but the VIP chambers remained silent.
Suraj understood that the true predators were only measuring the temperature of their prey.
"Thirty thousand ! " — the voice was heavy and seasoned. VIP Room Number 2, 'Bangru'.
"Thirty-five thousand ! " — a mocking laugh came from another VIP room. 'Sundaram'.
The Doctor's Hall and the Beast Hall — two powers that rarely engaged in direct warfare —were now face - to - face for this cauldron.
"Fifty thousand!"
"Sixty thousand!"
The people below were now completely out of the game. This fight was beyond them.
Saira's eyes were gleaming; this was the moment where an auctioneer rakes in the most profit.
Suddenly, a new voice rang out. Steady, elderly, and cold.
"Sixty-five thousand."
Surprisingly, this voice didn't come from a VIP room but from the midst of the general crowd. Suraj's gaze instantly shifted to the man.
Simple clothes, a perfectly straight spine, and that familiar scent of medicinal herbs in his hands.
"An Alchemist..." Karan said, letting out a long breath.
Saira looked directly at the old man for the first time. " Your name, sir ? "
The elder replied in a calm tone that served as a lesson for the entire hall — " Medicine isn't made by a name, Saira. It's made by the work.
Seventy thousand gold coins."
Before this simplicity and authority, the bids from the VIP giants fell silent. Saira struck the gavel without delay.
" Sold ! For seventy thousand ! "
The deal was clean. No theatrics, just business. Saira took a brief moment of rest, and then her voice became truly serious for the first time.
"And now... today's final official item."
The crowd in the hall became like stone.
The maidservants retreated, and a long, thin, black case was placed on the stage.
It was sealed with magical wax. As soon as Saira broke the seal and lifted the lid — the mood of the air changed.
There was no explosion of energy, but the hair on every warrior's body stood on end.
It was a sense of 'danger.'
"The Sun-Moon Swords," Saira announced.
The entire hall forgot to breathe in unison. These swords were intended for the combat training of teenagers aged 12 to 13, but their design was lethal.
"The Sun Sword — aggressive, it teaches the strike. The Moon Sword — teaches restraint and defense. These swords do not just give you power; they give you 'Combat Wisdom.'
The more blood they soak up, the sharper their edges become." Saira's gaze lingered on the VIP rooms.
"The starting bid — one hundred thousand gold coins!"
As soon as the assistants revealed the two swords at the center of the auction stage, the temperature of the entire hall shifted abruptly. These were no ordinary pieces of metal;
they were relics drenched in history and blood.
The Sun Sword and the Moon Sword.
A faint red aura emanated from the Sun Sword, dulling even the bright stage lights.
The sun emblem engraved on its hilt looked as if it might burst into flames at any moment. It felt as though a primal, fierce consciousness was slowly stirring within the blade.
Standing in stark contrast was the Moon Sword. Its glow was serene, like moonlight reflecting off a frozen lake.
The crescent moon on its silver-hued hilt was calm and steady, yet its edge possessed that lethal sharpness capable of severing a neck without a sound.
The two were polar opposites — one breathed fire, the other an icy silence. Yet, they were bound by a single thread: 'Violence.' The violence of the Sun was explosive and fierce, while the violence of the Moon was slow and deep-cutting.
Saira Darwan observed the greed washing over the faces of the crowd and spoke in a voice both sweet and grave, "The Sun-Moon Swords are not mere weapons; they are companions.
These blades quench their thirst by sharpening their edges with the blood of their enemies. Once a warrior accepts them, they become a part of their very soul."
Her gaze lingered once more on the row of VIP rooms.
"They can also be used for the combat training of children aged twelve to thirteen... provided their mindset is as hard as stone. Because these swords are merciless. They are killers."