You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 165

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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165

 

“The weather is absolutely perfect.”

 

The gentle Mediterranean breeze brushed past me.

 

Air that was neither humid nor sticky.

 

Sunlight poured down from a cloudless sky.

 

At the harbor, ships were coming and going with the sound of foghorns.

 

And as you moved along the pier, there was one building that caught your eye without needing to be pointed out.

 

A large ‘ASIN’ logo prominently displayed on the front.

 

It was Ashin Guild’s Mediterranean Branch.

 

The building’s appearance was quite unique.

 

Rather than a guild branch, it looked more like a logistics company.

 

Beyond the open main gate, various types of trucks were constantly coming and going.

 

In the spacious courtyard that appeared after crossing the fence, forklifts and workers were repeatedly loading and carrying logistics.

 

There was one more distinctive feature that set it apart from ordinary logistics companies:

 

waterways connected from the harbor and canals outside the building extended all the way into the logistics warehouse.

 

Over those waterways, yogurt carts with an appearance familiar to Koreans were traveling back and forth.

 

Multi-purpose Cart mk. 2.

 

It was an amphibious cart born from requesting modifications from the original creator.

 

While it was unfortunate that cities were sinking as sea levels rose,

 

since waterways had formed anyway, wouldn’t it be better to use them as delivery routes?

 

There’s no traffic congestion on the sea, so deliveries could be even faster.

 

“It looks quite interesting.”

 

That was Park Ju-yong’s impression after seeing the Multi-purpose Cart mk. 2.

 

“Still, riding it all day would get boring.”

 

“For something you said started in a place without infrastructure, this is quite substantial.”

 

Park Ju-yong and I walked slowly while looking around the Mediterranean Branch building.

 

“We came in with the intention of taking over all the infrastructure ourselves.”

 

Under Jin-woo and Yamyeong’s leadership, Ashin had already completed building the logistics infrastructure for rocket delivery.

 

No matter how hard other companies tried to break into this market, they couldn’t catch up to Ashin.

 

Universal Carts and Golden Fragrance items could only be used by Ashin.

 

Now Ashin had become irreplaceable.

 

Just as we were having this conversation and entered the building, my Sixth Sense reacted.

 

‘So that’s why no one came out to greet us.’

 

I quickly stepped back one pace.

 

A sharp spear swept past in front of me.

 

It was a perfect attack aimed at my blind spot.

 

But there was no reason to let myself get hit when I could see it coming.

 

I spun my body half a turn and reached for the spear.

 

At the end of my gaze that followed along the spear shaft, I saw a familiar kid.

 

It was Park Si-on.

 

It seemed he had gotten quite good with the Meteor Spear I’d taught him in just over a month.

 

“So this is how they greet people at the Mediterranean Branch.”

 

“Vice Guild—”

 

Before Park Si-on could open his mouth with an embarrassed expression, my waist bent like a bow.

 

If you receive a greeting, it’s only natural to return one, isn’t it?

 

Mediterranean style, of course.

 

The hand gripping the spear was drawn back like a bowstring being pulled.

 

Park Si-on was hanging from the spear tip.

 

Then I threw the spear just like that.

 

Thwack—!

 

The spear that flew with the sound of air being torn could only stop after completely smashing through one wall of the building.

 

Of course, Park Si-on was slammed into the floor along with the spear until the very end.

 

‘I thought I was controlling my strength, but the wall got pierced through.’

 

“Haha. I’ll bill headquarters for this.”

 

As if he had been waiting for this exact moment, Father Matteo walked out from behind with a laugh.

 

I shrugged my shoulders.

 

I could rebuild a wall like that with my own salary.

 

Meanwhile, Park Si-on, who had gotten up from the pit first, walked over and stood in front of me as if nothing had happened.

 

“It seems you’ve mastered the Hundred Flowers Meteor Spear.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And you seem to have gotten used to using Sacred Power like Internal Energy too.”

 

Park Si-on nodded at my words.

 

“You worked hard.”

 

I paused for a beat before continuing.

 

It was a moment of conscience hesitating because the feedback I should give to this kid called a saint of the Orthodox Sect was Demonic Sect style.

 

“In a situation like just now, you should let go of the spear.”

 

Park Si-on focused even more intently on my words.

 

“Among the Meteor Spear forms, there are also Throwing Spear techniques.”

 

And if there were throwing techniques, naturally there were also techniques to retrieve them.

 

“If you can retrieve your weapon even after letting it go, there’s no reason to accept unnecessary losses, is there?”

 

Especially when there’s no benefit gained from holding onto the spear until the end.

 

In the Orthodox martial world, not losing your weapon would be considered a virtue.

 

But by my standards, it’s foolish.

 

Beliefs and martial qualifications be damned—how inefficient can you get?

 

If not losing your sword brings benefits, I’d actively support it, but if it’s just stubbornness, you’d have nothing to say even if your neck gets cut by the enemy’s blade.

 

That’s why the Hundred Flowers Meteor Spear I modified contained quite a variety of tricks.

 

Like just now—letting go of the spear to induce the enemy’s carelessness while simultaneously striking their opening with a retrieval technique.

 

Those Orthodox Sect bastards would point fingers and call it cowardly.

 

But you can only point fingers if your heart isn’t pierced first.

 

Besides, those finger-pointing bastards are strangers.

 

Complete strangers gaslighting and spouting nonsense…

 

It’s not like they’ll take responsibility if you die.

 

Park Si-on, who had been thinking deeply, nodded his head.

 

As expected of a smart kid, he understood what I meant—

 

“Thank you for your teachings, Lord.”

 

‘No wonder his greeting wasn’t Mediterranean style but Demonic Sect style.’

 

Yamyeong must have filled his head with nonsense again.

 

I didn’t respond and followed Branch Manager Matteo’s guidance to the office.

 

***

 

“I’ll begin the Mediterranean Branch report.”

 

Branch Manager Matteo stepped forward in front of the monitors.

 

I quickly skipped through the content I had already received in writing.

 

A first month free promotion strategy—making people feel inconvenience without rocket delivery.

 

It was an already well-known method.

 

For just over ten thousand won a month, you could receive deliveries within half a day.

 

While Koreans wouldn’t feel much impact, for Mediterranean people who took at least a week to receive a single package, this was revolutionary.

 

However, what Branch Manager Matteo focused on was the response after that obvious part.

 

Naturally, there would be backlash when a foreign corporation tried to replace a country’s logistics system.

 

So Ashin’s countermeasure was cooperation with locals.

 

The problem was foreign capital taking everything in the first place.

 

Ashin had entered into partnership contracts with local small business owners from the very beginning.

 

The initial response was lukewarm, but could they stay still when neighboring stores’ orders were skyrocketing?

 

But the interference didn’t end there.

 

Now it was the European Association that stepped forward.

 

They must not have liked that the guild was doing business instead of conquering dungeons.

 

An audit came immediately.

 

Of course, I expected this too.

 

That’s why I dispatched veteran guild members.

 

The locals included small business owners, but also regional guilds.

 

Honestly, Ashin’s Porter System doesn’t fall behind even when compared to the United States, the homeland of Hunters.

 

But that wasn’t the end of it.

 

Who was Kim Jin-woo’s Grandfather?

 

Hanuri Foods, which is writing the myth of the Korean Wave with Spicy Stir-fried Noodles.

 

They signed contracts with local guilds to purchase By-products that were being discarded.

 

Hanuri could purchase raw materials for New Products at cheap prices,

 

and local guilds gained additional income, so wasn’t it perfect mutual benefit?

 

Guilds that initially resisted the European Association’s influence began signing contracts one by one.

 

The packaging of mutual benefit and cooperation sounded nice, but the reality was sales.

 

When competing guilds were surging ahead with additional revenue, staying still would mean closing the guild.

 

In an instant, only the European Association was left alone.

 

And this was the timing for us to bow our heads.

 

That gesture of reluctantly making peace.

 

Thus, Ashin Mediterranean Branch overcame all this territorial behavior in just one month.

 

But the essence of all this was the recovery of Park Si-on Faction.

 

Vatican’s former Korean Branch manager, Holy Guild leader Father Matteo.

 

And Candidate for Sainthood Park Si-on.

 

The holy connections of these two people were still intact.

 

Father Matteo secured a contract for direct delivery to Vatican even before the branch Building was completed.

 

And that became the catalyst for recovering the faction that had been scattered.

 

Park Si-on once again gained support from the Holy Knights.

 

On the surface, it was signing a Dungeon subjugation partnership with Ashin Guild.

 

And he brought another candidate, Lucas Valenti, to join the same side.

 

Valenti’s power was a Merchant alliance built mainly on Mediterranean logistics and luxury goods business.

 

Since they had to go together anyway, wouldn’t it be better to combine forces with existing logistics?

 

Valenti, who was already displeased with the saint’s actions, decided to invest in Park Si-on.

 

Originally, Valenti had attached himself to the saint because of threats.

 

The threat that if he didn’t join, they would shake up the luxury goods import-export lines coming from China.

 

If China was touched, it would be hard to compete in luxury goods,

 

and if the saint’s side aimed to damage brand image, the fight itself wouldn’t work, so he was half giving up on the situation.

 

Ashin Mediterranean Branch that appeared in such a situation was his lifeline.

 

Although the luxury goods business was practically taken away, Ashin’s logistics system was generating enough profit to offset that.

 

Park Si-on’s faction came to build power that was larger and more stable than before.

 

‘Even after doing this much, there’s no reaction from the saint’s side.’

 

Even after bringing a Candidate for Sainthood to join, there was no movement from the saint’s side.

 

They were certainly moving underwater, but it wasn’t visible.

 

That made it even more ominous.

 

Indeed, at times like this, it was necessary to clearly mark the power’s emphasis.

 

And everyone here knew what that emphasis was.

 

Vatican’s second-in-command, next to the Pope.

 

“How did it go with the Holy Knights Director?”

 

We found his location and already received a report that contact was made.

 

Now if only he would join, it would be enough to reveal ourselves above water.

 

But the answer that came back was unexpected.

 

“He… says no.”

 

“Right, naturally… what?”

 

“We were rejected without even seeing his face.”

 

“…”

 

What does that even mean?

 

I heard it, but I couldn’t understand it.

 

My one and only beloved Disciple had been ruined but returned alive…

 

In the end, pure curiosity spilled out of my mouth without any filter.

 

“Then… why don’t you want to?”

 

***

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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