The gigantic carcass of the Rock Shark lay still in the center of the forest, towering almost like a small mountain, its signature horn already cut off, with blood gushing out of the wound like a stream, converging into a red lake, and emitting bursts of foul odor. Blood-sucking flies buzzed around annoyingly, these omnipresent insects with their shiny green bodies and swollen bellies, some as large as scarabs.

Reed swept his tail, driving away these pesky bugs. Fang Hong stood by his side, curiously watching the merchant's guardians painstakingly clean the horn from the bloody fat, while those around occasionally let out a low murmur of astonishment—

"How long?" someone kept asking.

"At least over two meters."

Another wave of gasps. Everyone craned their necks to see, after all, it related directly to their personal interests. A two-meter-long Rock Shark's Horn would be worth at least a hundred thousand Lycels in Elpaxin, though that would be the auction price; here, it certainly wouldn't fetch as much, but seventy or eighty Colin Coins were definitely in the cards (one Colin Unicorn Badge Coin is approximately equal to nine hundred seventy Lycels).

The guardians used a strangely shaped, forward-bending small knife to process the prey, and under the lead guardian's direction, they carefully separated the worthless fat, tossing it aside, piling up like a mountain.

Soon, another section of horn was revealed beneath the unicorn.

Even the lead guardian paused for a moment, uncertain. He could roughly estimate the length; such a long Rock Shark's Horn was almost certain to surpass the Rock Shark King from three years ago in Elpaxin.

He motioned for someone to notify the people of the merchant group. His action caused a stir among the crowd; ordinary Rock Shark's Horns didn't warrant such formality, and people vaguely sensed that they might have hit the jackpot.

It wasn't long before the merchant group sent over a person in charge, a middle-aged man who looked quite serious. The middle-aged man glanced at the Rock Shark's Horn and covertly signaled to his lead guardian below his robe:

"How long?"

"At least two and a half meters," the lead guardian shook his head.

The middle-aged man's complexion changed as well. The Rock Shark King's horn from three years back in Elpaxin was only two point three meters long; this was already the highest record in the Cloud Sea area for the past decade. Although the process of killing this Rock Shark today had been so convoluted that people had guessed it might be a big one, they hadn't expected it to be this big.

Once the news was out, it caused a sensation. Tianlan excitedly grabbed Fang Hong's hand and exclaimed, "My God, did you hear that, Brother Ade, that's a two and a half meter long Rock Shark's Horn! We've made a fortune!"

Fang Hong's heart also surged with excitement. A Rock Shark's Horn over two point two meters was no longer considered an ordinary commodity; they often became collections of kings, nobles, or cherished by Alchemy Masters. Especially when Tianlan told them that the Rock Shark King's horn from three years ago in Elpaxin was eventually sold for three hundred thousand Lycels.

"So wouldn't this one be priced even higher? I think it could sell for at least five hundred thousand, now the Papalarians' food supplies will be piled up like a mountain," the Papalarian Crossbowman said, eyes gleaming with excitement.

Fang Hong shook his head, "It's not that simple, Parker. Three hundred thousand Lycels is the auction selling price; the actual price has to be a lot lower."

"Then can't we just auction it ourselves?"

"You would need everyone else's agreement for that; there are at least a hundred people here. Compared to your unreliable suggestion, they would prefer tangible benefits, like shiny gold coins, clinking gemstone pouches—rather than going with you to Elpaxin for some far-fetched venture. The wasted time would be enough for them to embark on their next adventure," Tianlan pointed towards the adventurers.

"The costs for manpower and venue for the auction are borne by the merchants, and it also requires connections and sufficient credit guarantees, all these are hidden expenses," Fang Hong explained as well.

Hearing this, the Papalarian resignedly pinched his nose in acceptance.

In the end, the merchants indeed offered a buying price of three hundred thirty thousand Lycels. The crowd was quite satisfied; this price had already exceeded the transaction record from three years ago, plus the Ether Crystals inside the Rock Shark's body, the merchants paid a total of three hundred sixty Colin Unicorn Coins, amounting to roughly three hundred fifty thousand in total.

Of this sum, Fang Hong took the lion's share, a hundred and eighty coins, nearly half. Atira insisted that everyone take twenty coins each, then pushed the rest, a full sixty shimmering Unicorn Badge Coins toward Fang Hong, amounting to nearly sixty thousand Lycels when converted.

Even though Fang Hong was no longer desperately poor, such a large sum of money almost dazzled him. He couldn't help but ask, "How much money do we still have?"

At this, Atira looked at him with a zestful gaze and after a moment's thought replied, "Aside from this sum, roughly fifty thousand more, not counting the 'travel expenses' Mr. Mazak gave us."

That was another fifty thousand. Fang Hong inwardly marveled at how Alchemists seemed to burn through money like running water; he had won well over fifty thousand Lycels just in the craftsman's challenge, and this sum presumably included the savings balance of Atira and the others, at least ten to twenty thousand.

The major expenses must have been the Alchemy Ingredients purchased at Traveler's Rest, and now the Walker left there and the broken Clockwork Fairy, barely a tenth of which remained intact.

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