Chapter 219: I don't have the guts to imitate others and rob
"But..." the old witch stammered, trying to raise the price, "We lost at least two people for this batch of goods..."
"What's that got to do with me?" Pierre immediately darkened his face. "People like you still care about that? If you're not satisfied, turn left and leave. I'm not short on children here."
Hearing this, the old witch gritted her teeth. "Alright, five hundred it is."
Pierre sneered. "That's more like it!"
"Wait a moment," Aaron interrupted their transaction. "I'm not very satisfied."
"You don't get a say here," the old witch said viciously. "You don't actually think I'm taking you home, do you? How naive, child.
But you should thank me. I brought you here, so at least you have a chance to live. You should know that Knockturn Alleyalso has shops that specialize in human organs. The fresher, the more valuable.
Your eyes and skin alone are worth three hundred Galleons. Add your blood, organs, and bones, and selling you for a thousand Galleons wouldn't be a problem."
"Oh, come on! If it were that easy to earn money, you wouldn't have brought me here," Aaron picked his ear. "But I do have to thank you for helping me get rid of that guy.
I haven't been to Knockturn Alley many times. I was going to try my luck, but you just happened to appear in front of me and quickly led the way."
The old witch stared at him blankly, a strange fear creeping into her heart.
This didn't seem like a harmless child at all; it was clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing!
"Who exactly are you?"
"That's not important. What's important is your fate from now on," Aaron's lips curved into a smile, then he looked at Pierre, who was watching with interest. "If I may be so bold, how much is this old hag worth?"
"You..."
The old witch's eyes were bloodshot, and she trembled as she pointed at Aaron, wishing she could strangle him on the spot.
She had been in this business for decades, and this was the first time she had encountered something so outrageous—the merchandise she was about to sell actually dared to sell her, the trafficker.
"What do you mean, 'you'?" Aaron said righteously. "There's no rule that says I can't sell you, is there?
Boss, this batch of goods is a bit low quality, just give whatever you think is fair."
Pierre burst out laughing, his laughter attracting dozens of Dark Wizards nearby.
Their gazes were cold, their faces filled with curiosity and amusement.
"Interesting, truly fascinating," Pierre praised Aaron without reservation. "Someone like you, as long as you don't die, will definitely become a prominent figure in the future."
"Thank you for the compliment. Many people think so."
Pierre shook his head. "Mochila is already seventy years old this year, full of old injuries and illnesses, and her abilities are mediocre. No one would even want her as a slave, so she's not worth much. Ten Galleons at most."
"Pierre!" the old witch roared furiously. "Are you trying to break the rules?"
"Of course not. Everyone knows my reputation, otherwise this auction house wouldn't have existed for so long.
The current situation is that both of you could be sellers, so it's hard for me to act!" Pierre sneered. "You didn't even subdue the person, and you have the nerve to come to me."
Mochila couldn't help but curse under her breath, glaring fiercely at Aaron. She should have knocked this brat out before bringing him here.
"What's your name?" Pierre asked.
"Severus," Aaron said without batting an eyelid. "Severus Snape."
"Severus, I'll give you two choices.
One is to accept your fate obediently. If you're lucky, you might live out the rest of your life peacefully..."
"I choose the second one," Aaron said immediately.
"The second is to fight Mochila. Whoever wins decides the other person's fate."
Mochila showed a cold smile. "With pleasure."
Aaron also shrugged. "I don't seem to have a choice."
The Wizards in the auction house were all excited, and very consciously cleared an open space for them.
Pierre immediately cleared his table, spread a red blanket over it, and made a simple gambling table. "Everyone, if you want to place bets, do it quickly. You won't have a chance later."
"I bet on Mochila, ten Galleons," an old Wizard with a gloomy face slapped a handful of gold coins on the table.
This seemed to set a good precedent. A group of Wizards eagerly placed their Galleons, Sickles, and even Knuts from their pockets onto the gambling table.
Most of them bet on Mochila to win. Only seven or eight Sickles and a few Knuts were placed on Aaron, with no Galleons at all. This was despite his high odds, hoping to try their luck.
To the Wizards present, this bet was a foregone conclusion. Although Mochila was old and her abilities weren't great, dealing with a child was still no problem.
"What a lack of vision," Aaron pouted.
"That's normal, Severus," Pierre said. "You have to make me proud! If you lose, you won't just lose the rest of your life, you'll also make me lose money."
Aaron rolled his eyes and calmly walked to the gambling table, pulling out a money pouch from his pocket. "I only brought one hundred and twenty Galleons, and I'm betting it all on myself.
Ten to one odds! If I win, I'll get ten times the profit. This kind of bargain doesn't come around all the time."
Mochila gritted her back teeth, making a 'clack' sound, the anger in her eyes almost materializing.
She regretted it. Before bringing Aaron here, besides knocking him out, she should have searched him. Over a hundred Galleons just disappeared like that.
Pierre was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands. "This is truly interesting. But if I were you, I wouldn't bet so much. There aren't many good people here."
Aaron glanced thoughtfully at the surrounding Wizards, whose eyes were shining with undisguised greed. "I assume I'm safe in the auction house, right?"
"Not necessarily," Pierre poured a bucket of cold water on him. "You're just a child, after all."
"Understood," Aaron didn't show fear. Instead, he smiled somewhat happily.
He drew his wand and walked opposite the old witch Mochila. "He who sells people is always sold in return. Although you're not even a fraction of my worth, a mosquito, however small, is still meat, isn't it?"
"Die!"
Mochila waved her wand, and a pale green light shot towards Aaron.
Seeing this, Aaron's eyes flashed with disdain.
He had originally thought this old witch was at least a Magus, and it would take some time to deal with her, but now it seemed she was only an Apprentice Magus, and her combat experience was exceptionally poor.
But thinking about it, if she had any real power, she wouldn't be in such a sorry state.
Aaron cast a Shield Charm on himself and calmly walked into the attack.
Bang!
The green light ball and the transparent barrier collided, canceling each other out.
"This... impossible," Mochila said in disbelief. In her imagination, she should have ended the battle with one move, or at least severely injured the child. There should have been no situation of equal strength.
The other Wizards also looked at Aaron in astonishment. Pierre's pupils widened slightly. 'Severus Snape's' talent was higher than he had imagined.
"Old witch, seeing is believing!" Aaron said meaningfully, then lightly tapped his chest with his wand, and his entire body became transparent.
"Disillusionment Charm."
Mochila's face was grim, and she cautiously scanned her surroundings.
But the next moment, a white light shot from behind her, and she was sent flying several meters before landing on the ground.
Aaron dispelled his invisibility and quickly walked up to her, experimenting with a spell he had learned recently.
"Crucio."
"Ah!"
A piercing scream echoed through the auction house, making the dozens of Dark Wizards present's scalps tingle.
They naturally understood the Unforgivable Curses, but they hadn't expected a child to be able to cast such a spell. More importantly, he performed it with remarkable naturalness, without any discomfort.
A ruthless character, this was definitely a ruthless character.
Many people put away their petty thoughts. They had originally intended to be the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind, but now it seemed being the oriole wasn't so easy!
"You dare to sell me, you damn blind fool!" Aaron kicked her twice viciously. Every time his wand waved, Mochila slammed into the ground.
Aaron only stopped casting when clear bloodstains could be seen on the ground.
"Severus, you damn bastard!" Mochila gritted her teeth, red blood oozing from her yellowed teeth.
"Still not convinced," Aaron sneered, waving his wand to flick her wand away, then aimed it at her body and cast another Crucio.
"Ah!"
Soon, the old witch's eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
"What a pity, I thought she could last a bit longer!" Aaron shook his head regretfully, then used Transfiguration to make a rope and tied her up like a tamale, even thoughtfully tying a dead knot.
His skilled and professional technique made the onlookers question reality. Was this really a child?
"You won," Pierre said, then took ten Galleons from his pocket. "This is her value."
"And there's more!"
Pierre sighed. First, he paid off the two Wizards who had bet on Aaron to win, then he took a money pouch from a drawer and put all the gambling money from the table into it. "With these, it should be enough."
"Kid, hand over the money," a one-eyed Wizard stepped forward, greedily eyeing the cloth bag in Aaron's hand.
"Alas! There are always those who value money over life!" Aaron sighed. "It's not that I'm looking down on you, but are you sure you can beat me?"
"Not sure, but..."
Before he finished speaking, several more Wizards stood up. The other fence-sitters, seeing this, also joined in, and for a moment, the Dark Wizards were united as never before.
"Heh heh!" Aaron said calmly. "No one is getting my money."
"There are more of us," the one-eyed Wizard laughed wildly. "Are you going to fight so many of us?"
"No, I'm not that stupid," Aaron decisively placed the cloth bag on the table. "However... I swear on the honor of the Snape family, whoever makes the first move, I will fight him to the death.
I can give up the money, but even if I die, I'll drag the first one with me to meet Merlin.
Do you want to try?"
The one-eyed Wizard's mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but swallow.
The others also exchanged glances, no longer so aggressive.
They weren't sure if 'Severus' would follow through, but it was undeniable that in a one-on-one fight, he certainly had the ability to kill eight hundred enemies while losing a thousand of his own.
They were numerous, that was true, but they also knew each other particularly well. Everyone wanted the money, but no one wanted to be the first. They weren't worried about 'Severus''s targeted revenge; how much could a teenager threaten them? But the others weren't pushovers either. If someone accidentally got half their life knocked out, they would probably be devoured by the other Dark Wizards until not even a speck remained.
Furthermore, even if some idiot did go first, how much would the remaining dozens of people get if they managed to grab the cloth bag?
They weren't stupid. This wasn't robbing Gringotts; this amount of money wasn't worth the risk.
"Tch!" Aaron swept his gaze around with contempt. "If you don't even have this much guts, don't try to be a robber."