"These territories don't belong to anyone. You can't put a price over something that you don't own."
"I'd rather fight you again than pay for resources that have yet to have an owner."
Lady Edna and Elder Doyle immediately complained, but they didn't dare to unleash their aura.
Instead, the slender cultivator from the Empire and the rank 5 cultivator in front of Thaddeus didn't speak.
Lady Edna and Elder Doyle had both been defeated by Elder Austin in the past, so their reactions were somewhat understandable.
However, the other two rank 5 existences didn't have any emotion affecting their judgment and could evaluate the situation clearly.
The priority of the four forces was to obtain the new lifeform, and all of them knew that the Hive was the only nation that could have some claims there.
It was merely a geographical matter.
The Hive was closer, so it would have obtained that land if the nations had divided the continent according to the current domain.
Yet, there was a chance to exploit the lack of set borders, and the three big nations couldn't just miss it.
'We can't obtain the flower, but we can make something out of it due to the proximity to our domain. We can just set a training area nearby and indirectly disrupt the equilibrium of this spot. We can safely affect this land even if we don't control it.'
Noah couldn't help but approve Elder Austin's actions when he summarized the situation in his mind.
The Hive could just build something near there and influence that terrain while remaining inside its domain.
That would be entirely in its rights, and the other nations couldn't even contest it since the central territories didn't have an owner.
'We are far away, but a couple of rank 5 elders could do the trick if they put some effort. This is a lucky event that we can't exploit in its fullest due to our weakness.'
Some annoyance appeared inside Noah when he thought that, but he quickly suppressed it.
The matter would be easily solved if the Empire was in the Hive's place, and even the Royals or the Council would find some excuses to keep that terrain.
However, the Hive was weak and could be bullied if the three big nations were set on working together.
Another flower bloomed and withered during the long silence that had dawned on the group.
More heroic cultivators from each faction could be seen arriving in the distance.
It was clear that the sky was about to become crowded.
Nevertheless, no one answered to Elder Austin's offer.
'They want to see the stable specimen before deciding how far they are willing to go.'
Noah quickly understood what was in the minds of the other entities and shot a glance toward the elder next to him.
The duo from the Hive exchanged a few mental messages before agreeing on their next move.
"Well, no one seems to like these flowers."
Noah exclaimed at some point, and Elder Austin didn't fail to follow his act.
"Indeed! Hear my words of wisdom, Prince. These plants are definitely a threat! I mean, black flowers? They surely are something bad."
Noah repeatedly nodded at his words as he wielded one of his sabers and prepared himself to slash toward the ground.
Panic appeared on the faces of the heroic cultivators, except for the Empire's envoy, who kept his calm.
"Wait! You have no right to affect the flora!"
"The Council agrees with the Elbas family. This is a clear threat!"
Noah stopped the descent of his weapon and heaved a helpless sigh at Lady Edna and Elder Doyle's words.
"Elder, they are right. I guess we can only return and watch the Patriarch's demonstration for the time being. We should be close enough to see how this situation unfolds too."
Elder Austin showed a broad smile when Noah spoke and warmly patted his shoulder as he turned to leave.
Noah followed him and ignored the angry gazes that Thaddeus was shooting at him.
It was at that point that the rank 5 cultivator of the Empire spoke.
"Elders, are you really set on destroy this marvelous discovery?"
The duo from the Hive turned at his words, and Elder Austin gave him a serious answer.
"The Hive doesn't need it, but it won't simply ignore this matter. We are demons, and we'd rather destroy it than gaining nothing from something that should belong to us."
Noah's expression became cold when Elder Austin signaled the end of the act with his answer.
The core of the matter was to set an agreement before the lifeform found a balance.
Otherwise, the three forces would get an idea of its actual value.
Instead, forcing their hands now would give birth to an auction and prevent everyone from doing something reckless.
Noah replied to Thaddeus' stare with one of his own at that point.
The latter was a rank 4 cultivator in the solid stage, but Noah clearly remembered him being at the peak of the liquid stage when he interrupted his battle.
'He isn't a useless noble then.'
Noah thought as he moved his gaze toward the rank 5 cultivator in front of him.
That Royal was moving his gaze between Noah and Elder Austin, but Noah could sense that he suppressed some emotions whenever it went on him.
Noah's mind played the images of the battle near Vondhur when a heroic cultivator descended from the sky to stop him from seizing the resources contained in Samuel's ring.
Noah's mental energy wasn't able to sense him back then, but he knew from their conversation that he was Thaddeus' father!
Cecil was only a rank 4 cultivator when Noah escaped from the Utra nation, but he had managed to reach the fifth rank in those years.
Of course, he was weaker than Lady Edna, but that feat already spoke for his talent.
Lady Edna, Elder Doyle, and the man from the Empire began to send a few mental messages back to their organizations after a few seconds of silence.
Meanwhile, the figures in the distance reached their respective groups.
They were mostly rank 4 cultivators, and Noah could even recognize Faith among the group from the Papral nation.
She was still in the gaseous stage, but her cultivation had improved since she was nearing the peak of that stage.
Faith shot a curious glance at Noah when she noticed him, but she quickly suppressed her eagerness to talk with him.
The situation was too troublesome to question Noah about how his relationship with June had evolved in the months spent underground.
Then, the man from the Empire gave voice to a question directed toward Elder Austin.
"What is the Hive proposing?"
The elder had already decided how to handle the situation and didn't hesitate to announce it.
"Auction with three contenders."