[Beastify Nation - Throne Hall.]
"Are you sure about this?!" Nioh asked, his voice low and tight with concern as he stood several meters from the throne.
A soldier, his face pale with a mix of fear and shame, yelled, "Yes! A battleship is missing!!" He took a step forward, his hands balled into fists. "I made a mistake! Commander!! I shouldn't have left my post!!"
Nioh turned to meet the gazes of Blood Eye and Nicolas, then exhaled slowly, the sound a sharp hiss of frustration.
"Have you located the Battleship?" he asked, his tone now directed at the group of soldiers.
The man who had reported the loss lowered his gaze, his shoulders slumping. "Well…" he stammered.
"We tried, but the tracker was shut down the moment the battleship left the planet! Commander! The last location we got was north!!"
"North?! North where?!" Nicolas roared, his patience clearly gone.
"Fourth Commander!! I have no idea!!" the man yelled back, his voice cracking.
Amongst the ten soldiers in the hall, one whispered to the man beside him, "Why are the four commanders so worked up? We have more with us."
WHOOSH!!!
A flash of movement was all anyone saw. In the next instant, a hand was wrapped around the whispering soldier's neck, lifting him clear off the ground.
"First... First commander?!" he choked out, his eyes wide with horror as he faced Star.
"We have more?!" Star's voice was a dangerous whisper.
"So because we have more battleships, some unknown prick will enter our nation and take one under our noses?!" Her eyes were cold, like chips of ice.
"If you weren't someone with worth, I would have killed you right now!" She dropped him to the ground without a care and moved her gaze to the soldier who had reported the incident.
"Come with me!"
"Wait! Wait! What are you doing?!" Blood Eye asked, a flicker of shock in her eyes as she turned to Nioh.
"Are you going to let her do this?!"
"If the King gets news of this, he will be furious," Nioh sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"This person entered our nation and took a battleship… We must—"
"—You don't have to do anything…" Star cut him off, her back already turned as she headed for the exit.
"I will take some ships and head to the coordinates." Her voice was decisive. "There must be clues."
The ten soldiers, recognizing the command in her voice, scrambled to follow her out.
Nicolas and Blood Eye turned back to Nioh, who let out a deep sigh.
"So troublesome…" he muttered.
"He said the last coordinate is close to the planet, I don't know what she will find in space."
"Shouldn't we keep an eye on her?" Nicolas asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
"We should be keeping an eye on the task given to us…" Nioh said, turning to the two of them.
"The King hasn't called, which means he hasn't noticed it…" He looked toward the throne hall's entrance. "The battleship is still standing."
RING!!!
"….....?!"
The sudden sound made Nioh turn to his companions in shock. He quickly activated his Cosmic Brain publicly.
"…..?!"
Nicolas and Blood Eye frowned, their eyes widening in surprise as Sunny's face appeared on the holographic screen floating before Nioh.
____
[The Supreme Auction.]
"The starting bid is 50 Billion! The added money must not be less than 10 Billion!" Brittney announced with a bright, welcoming smile.
"Whoa! A whole 50 Billion?" a voice from the crowd murmured.
"50 Billion? Just the starting bid! Isn't this crazy?" another person chimed in.
"Crazy?! We are talking of a planet here. I think the money is too little."
"Yes, you have a point, countless lives can live in there… 50 Billion is too small."
"Do you guys think the Supreme Auction are hiding something?"
"....."
A wave of murmuring swept through the hall. Fifty billion was indeed a surprisingly low starting price for a planet, and the kings and queens present all exchanged deep, puzzled frowns.
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Brittney quickly jumped in to explain.
"I know everyone is wondering why the starting bid is low." She smiled again.
"As I said, we already explored 90% of this planet! The only issue is, we don't know anything about the other 10%."
She turned to the large screen behind her, controlling the drone with a tablet in her hand.
"We set a barricade at the last location we explored," she said.
Everyone watched the drone feed on the screen as it came to a stop. Before them was a massive, unmoving storm. It just sat there, a still and ominous presence covering the entire landscape below it.
"You see… This storm is eerie... Really. I am also lost."
Brittney turned the drone around, and everyone, including Sunny, frowned.
The other side of the planet was a breathtaking paradise—clear blue skies, massive, healthy trees, and countless animals. The side with the storm, however, was its complete opposite, the storm itself making it even more ominous.
"This is the main reason we called such a low starting bid… We don't know what resides under that storm or if it will affect the other side, maybe expand in the coming years…" She sighed dramatically.
"The planet is filled with food, and resources. Anyone who buys it will gain everything… You will also have the chance to transport all resources to your nation…" She turned to Sunny with a knowing look.
"Or maybe explore the last part and find out yourself... It's all up to you! Oh! Drones, Warships, Battleships, Mercenaries or even Starships can't enter this location; they'll instantly get destroyed."
"100 Trillion!!"
".....?!!"
Brittney and everyone in the hall whipped their heads around, staring in shock at the familiar voice. It was Falkor.
"What the?! This is the highest the Dragon nation have ever bid," someone muttered in disbelief.
"It seems King Falkor really needs this planet," another added.
"Oh… Oh… King Falkor, aren't you jumping too high!" Austin asked, then yelled, "150 Trillion!!"
"You men, always yelling," Hazel said, shaking her head. But before she could place her bid, another voice cut through the stunned silence.
"900 Trillion!"
"....?!!!"
"...!!!"
The entire hall fell into a profound silence. The quiet was so deep they could have heard a pin drop. Everyone turned to Ellen with a dumbfounded look; even Jinx and Josephine were flabbergasted.
"A kid? Do you think that's a small amount? Kids these days… So arrogant, even at this age she is already—"
The guy sitting beside the woman quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, his face a ghostly white.
'Shit!! I should have brought her along yesterday!' the guy thought, his mind racing with panic.
"Let me go!"
The lady pushed the guy's hand away, her face a mask of cold fury.
"Are you mad?! How dare you cover my mouth?! And before so many people!" she yelled.
"Why would I be quiet! She is just a spoiled brat who doesn't know the value of money! Can't I say something!"
'Fuck!!! Doesn't this fool know where Ellen is sitting?! That is a princess!!!'
The thought echoed in everyone's heads, a shared wave of terror.
'Oh my god!'
Even the guy was horrified, sweating buckets as he realized the gravity of the situation.
"Huh? Why are you trembling?" The lady asked with a frown, her eyes moving around the hall and seeing that everyone was shaking in fear.
"Oh no," Josephine muttered under her breath, a look of horror on her face.