How did it feel to be back to square one after closing and opening your eyes?
Zong Jiu felt terrible.
The nausea and discomfort from the aftereffects of the indefinite madness were still there. When he stepped barefoot into the cage, he only felt that the lights in front of him and the countless gazes below were intertwined with each other. They were full of sticky malice, which made him feel even more nauseous.
Zong Jiu would rather enjoy the gaze of the No. 1 that wanted to tear him apart and eat him than accept the undisguised malice of these animals.
This would arouse his desire to destroy.
The sub-system was right. Since entering this Instance Dungeon, he had been subtly influenced by the malice that filled this Instance Dungeon. He could only suppress his desire to destroy by constantly suppressing it.
The background of this Instance Dungeon and the NPCs all revealed a morbid madness.
Not only were they crazy, but they also had the tendency to infect normal people and drag all outsiders down with them.
The young man stood in the middle of the cage, his hands bound by iron chains. His white hair slid down his back, and his expression was cold and distant.
Perhaps it was this coldness that made the animals below even more excited and had the desire to conquer.
Such a beautiful kitten, no matter its figure or face, it was the best of the best. Who wouldn't want to bring it home?
The nobles below whispered to each other.
"Looks like the No. 1 beauty of the Duke's family will have to give up her position."
"That's right. If you ask me, the No. 1 beauty in front of this kitten is like a star in front of the sun. She's not even fit to carry the kitten's shoes."
"That's right. But the Crown Prince has been angry that he didn't get the No. 1 beauty last time. It looks like he's going to get back at her this time."
"That's hard to say. Don't forget, the Duke is still …"
The noblewoman who spoke covered her mouth and nose with a fan and lowered her voice. "If you insist on doing it, the Crown Prince still won't get any benefits. He'll probably have to give it up."
Now that the royal family was in decline, the King could even be considered a puppet supported by the Duke. Almost 70% of the power in the entire kingdom was in the hands of the Duke and his family. Looking at the recent rumors, a prince had already gained the favor of the Duke. It was likely that there would be a major upheaval in the kingdom soon.
The nobles could see clearly who was the real ruler and who was just a fledgling who could die at any time.
Even the king didn't have much power, let alone the crown prince.
The current Crown Prince just had to be someone who didn't know his place. Ambition was written all over his face, and he was trying to gather power. Sooner or later, he would be dealt with.
"But it's hard to say. The Crown Prince came to the auction today, but the Duke hasn't shown up yet."
Another Brown Bear nobleman adjusted his scarf. "If the Duke hadn't come, I'm afraid the Crown Prince would've gotten his hands on the kitten."
That was true.
Logically speaking, the big shots of the entire upper-class society would not be absent from such an annual auction.
But this time, all the other big shots were present, except for the one with the highest authority.
Everyone looked up at the central private room, but it was still pitch black.
As everyone knew, only a duke could enjoy a long-term and only private box in the circus. The box just happened to be situated high above all the spectator seats. It was like a moon surrounded by stars and looked down upon all living beings, and it was sufficient to display its status.
Brown Bear picked up the pipe on the side and narrowed his eyes.
There was an iron chain connected to its seat, and the iron chain was tied to a steel collar around a human's neck.
Seeing him raise his hand, the naked human hurriedly crawled over and lit a fire for it in a fawning manner.
Brown Bear patted the human's butt as if he was rewarding him, leaving a deep bloody mark.
The latter didn't dare to cry out in pain. Instead, he lay on the ground and raised himself higher so that the other nobles could see the human flower arrangement and tattoos behind him.
"Unfortunately, such a beauty is the carnival sacrifice chosen by the Church."
The nobles shook their heads regretfully. "It's a pity that you only have the right to use it for three days. Even if you buy it and don't get out of bed for three days, it's still a loss. "
Even if it was only the right to use it for three days, it was definitely not something they could dream of.
In short, in this auction, under the power, the items being auctioned were secondary.
Everyone knew that the Crown Prince would definitely try his best to bid for the right to use this kitten in order to fight for it.
Sure enough, just after the host announced the start of the auction, a voice came from the venue.
"50,000 gold coins."
Sure enough.
The other nobles revealed looks of tacit understanding.
"Fifty thousand gold coins going once! If there is no higher bid within three times, this kitten will be taken away by His Highness the Crown Prince! "
The host didn't look surprised. The other party had already contacted the circus in private and was just going through the process.
No animals below the stage spoke.
Since the Crown Prince had made a move, they wouldn't overstep their authority. It had always been a noble tradition to leave some face for the royal family.
Besides, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Even if the royal family was declining, it was still relative to the Duke.
In this animal society with a strict system of rights, it was easy for the royal family to execute a few nobles who spoke nonsense.
Instead, it was the Crown Prince who stood up.
The crown prince was a pitch-black wolf. He wore a double-breasted fur coat and an expensive hat made from human hair. His green eyes flashed with a murderous light that was determined to win. He didn't hide it as he looked at the white-haired youth on the auction stage. He was arrogant and proud.
Zong Jiu didn't look at him.
After suppressing the inexplicable irritation in his heart, he looked back instead.
There was only one cage on the auction stage. Tokumon was nowhere to be seen.
Because they both received the crazy punishment of temporary amnesia, Zong Jiu wasn't sure if the Yin-Yang Master was caught and brought back to the auction house like him.
Now the two of them were separated again. Since Zhuge An chose to borrow Tokumon's luck, it meant that the other party's luck wasn't bad. Even if Tokumon was caught, Zong Jiu being auctioned would undoubtedly buy him some time. In addition, the Yin-Yang Master also brought a B-grade item. If he was lucky, Tokumon might be able to escape backstage again.
On the other hand, Zong Jiu was in a difficult situation.
He was now in the venue, under the watchful eyes of everyone. Even if he was lucky, it would be difficult for him to escape with only the ten-sided dice.
"50,000 gold coins going twice!"
The little cat's indifference made the Crown Prince feel a bit unhappy.
He picked up a cat stick from the hands of a kneeling human servant and reached it into the cage through the gap, trying to scratch the cat's beautiful jawline a few times.
Zong Jiu sneered. He twisted the chain in his hand and snapped the cat stick in half like a magic trick.
This was no different from slapping the Crown Prince's face.
The nobles behind him were watching a good show, which made him even angrier.
"Very good, strong enough, I like it."
The Crown Prince didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled and signaled for his servant to bring up the whip.
The other animals looked at its actions and were surprised.
The Crown Prince actually wanted to train this beautiful cat on the spot during the auction!
Training pets was something that almost all animals would do to their human pets. It wasn't just limited to nobles.
Some nobles even liked fierce animals. They would purposely buy good breeds that weren't raised in underground farms from a young age from private organizations.
Humans raised by private organizations inherited their parents' bloodlines and strengths, so their appearance wouldn't be bad. They were spoiled from a young age, and their temperaments were deliberately raised to be arrogant and lawless. The more they were like this, the more interesting it would be to train them when they reached adulthood.
As the buyer who had basically decided on the cat, the Crown Prince certainly had the right to do so, not to mention his royal status.
At least, no one present dared to stop him.
There were many whips that were presented. They were of different sizes and thicknesses. Some were thin, while others were full of steel barbs.
"If you kneel down and lick my feet now, I can consider letting you go."
The Crown Prince's wolf claws swept across the thickest whip. His tone was threatening.
Zong Jiu pretended that he didn't hear him. The disgust in his light pink eyes deepened, and a shadow was forming.
He was already prepared to use the friendship cards from the clown and the Mad Hatter to cause a huge ruckus in this disgusting auction.
"Good, very good."
The Crown Prince angrily picked up the thickest whip and signaled for the host to open the door of the cage.
"You see, this auction is for the right to use the cat. Your Highness, please be careful not to kill it. Otherwise, we won't be able to answer to the Church …"
The host opened the door of the cage for him while nodding and bowing, afraid of angering the Crown Prince.
"Get out!"
The Crown Prince was in a fit of anger. Why would he care about a servant's words? The whip in his hand cracked loudly. Instead, it landed on the host's body. With one whip, the host was whipped off the auction stage.
The host rolled a few times on the carpet and hit the edge of a stone pillar. His head was bleeding, and he immediately fell unconscious.
Seeing this scene, none of the nobles present made a sound.
Since the Crown Prince had the mood to discipline his pet in front of everyone, no one thought it was a big deal. After all, it wasn't the first time that the nobles had messed around. They had played all kinds of tricks. Disciplining in front of everyone was the lightest punishment.
Even if they couldn't get this beautiful kitten, they could still feast their eyes on it being whipped in front of everyone.
At this critical moment, a shout suddenly came from the door. "Stop!"
The next second, the heavy door of the auction hall was pushed open with a bang.
A group of knights wearing steel helmets and armor entered through the door. Every step they took caused the ground to tremble slightly.
They had sharp swords on their bodies, and the one at the front was holding a black iron spear. The cloak on their back was embroidered with a cold shield shaped family emblem. They were like a team of nocturnal death gods, coming to take the lives of any invaders at any time.
"It's the Duke's army!"
"What's going on? Why did His Highness suddenly use his private army?"
At this time, all the nobles who were sitting there to watch the show couldn't sit still. One by one, they stood up, their beautiful faces pale.
It was needless to say what it meant to have military power in this age of productivity that was close to the Middle Ages.
The moment the army appeared, the nobles thought that His Highness the Duke was finally going to make a move and directly usurp the throne. They were scared out of their wits.
In the end, no one thought that the leader of the knights would just walk forward with a spear.
Even if he was facing the Crown Prince now, the knight's horse face hidden under the helmet showed no fear.
"His Highness the Duke has specified that he wants this human. Your Highness, please part with him."
The knight's tone was calm, as if he was describing a very normal matter.
This was a statement, not a question in a questioning tone.
After saying this, he waved his hand and signaled the knights behind him to take the Zong Jiu away.
"No, what right do you —" The Crown Prince's face twisted, turning green and white. He was extremely embarrassed.
It was also at this moment that the noisy venue suddenly quieted down.
Because the nobles saw the carriage that had silently stopped at the door.
The carriage had a cold color and was very inconspicuous. If it wasn't for the shield shaped family emblem on the tapestry hanging at the door, no one would pay attention to it at night.
Although the person in the carriage didn't show any signs of wanting to get off, its appearance was enough to explain a lot.
Seeing this scene, all the nobles sucked in a breath of cold air, their faces full of shock.
His Highness the Duke actually came in person!
This time, even the arrogant Crown Prince was like a mouse that had its tail stepped on. He immediately became listless.
The Duke's army directly surrounded the auction venue. In this situation, who dared to not know what was going on?
Thus, in this cold and solemn atmosphere, the chains on the Zong Jiu's hands were cut off by the knight's sword, making a crisp sound.
However, it only cut off the chains. The shackles at the end were still on the magician's hands and feet.
These uninvited knights didn't seem to have any intention of helping him. Instead, they silently stood on both sides and cleared a path.
The animals looked at the white-haired cat that was escorted by the knights all the way to the carriage. They didn't even dare to breathe loudly, exchanging shocked looks with each other.
Who would have thought that His Highness the Duke had mobilized his army, and when everyone thought that this was a political coup, they were told that His Highness was only going to snatch a cat?
Zong Jiu's face was cold and expressionless. In fact, he had already urged the sub-system to prepare the items and was ready to escape at any time.
However, the moment he was about to break through the blockade of the army, countless invisible steel wires suddenly flashed in the air. An irresistible force came from his back and pushed him straight to the carriage door.
From the thick curtain, a cold and familiar hand reached out and grabbed the magician's waist, pulling him onto its lap.