The Empire quickly agreed to the Hive's proposal, and the other two nations felt forced to join the auction at that point.
There was nothing that they could do once two of the four forces had found an agreement, they could just go along with their decision.
That wasn't the worst outcome in their mind.
Bullying the Hive was just an act to eliminate one contender, but they couldn't do anything if it decided to destroy that magical plant.
Contending that resource between themselves wasn't ideal either, but it was better than losing it because they pushed the matter too far.
Elder Austin had to settle a few details through his inscribed notebook, but the other elders of the Hive quickly came up with a few guidelines.
Black flowers kept on blooming and withering as the sky above that spot became crowded.
Most heroic cultivators were curious about the new magical plant, but some of them were even interested in the outcome of the auction.
Every victory was a show of power when the nations at the peak of the Mortal Lands were involved.
Even the simple act of grouping up for such an event could be linked to the same reasons.
Those forces were simply showing the might of their heroic assets and how quickly they could gather a large number of them.
The group from the Hive paled in comparison to the other three since only seven rank 4 cultivators arrived in the area.
Instead, the other three groups could already count more than twenty rank 4 cultivators each and that without considering the existences in the fifth rank that had reinforced the envoys.
However, that sight didn't discourage Elder Austin nor Noah.
They had always known that the Hive was weaker, which was the precise reason why they weren't attempting to keep the magical plants for themselves.
Then, Elder Justin's arrival and words eased the tension that was accumulating on their side.
"It took us a while to tune the oath since Thirty-seven kept on complaining."
Noah rolled his eyes when the automaton was mentioned, but Elder Austin directly took his arrival to announce the beginning of the auction.
"The Hive is willing to accept payments of any kind. It would be up to Elder Justin to decide which of you has the lead. Of course, we will provide the rank 5 oath needed to collaborate."
Elder Justin stepped forward and revealed a white tablet filled with inscriptions to the other groups.
Anyone could read the requirements and terms of the oath since they only had to use their mental energy to inspect it.
Generally speaking, every major organization had to have similar inscribed items in-store, or they wouldn't be able to collaborate with other forces.
Yet, creating something that could subjugate rank 6 entities wasn't easy.
Only the power of the god of the Empire could ensure that those powerhouses wouldn't be able to break the oath on their own.
The Hive though didn't have such backing, and it could only limit itself to use Chasing Demon as a warranty over rank 5 cultivators.
Nevertheless, an oath on that level was more than enough for that situation since rank 6 existences weren't involved and didn't have any intention to do so.
The rank 5 cultivators stepped forward almost immediately when they read that the winner of the auction would obtain the monopoly over the magical plant.
'Ruthless.'
Noah commented in his mind when he read the contents of the oath.
The Hive was ready to lose any claim over that resource forever, only to force the three enemy faction to fight over them!
"I, Sharp Trunk, swear."
"I, Elder Doyle, swear."
"I, Lady Edna, swear."
"I, Elder Justin, swear."
The four rank 5 existences from the four nations swore as they touched the white tablet, and their names appeared on its surface after that.
The pact was sealed, the Hive had already ensured its safety at that point.
Yet, Elder Justin suddenly set a starting price.
"I'd say bids can start from one million Credits."
No one was surprised by that number.
After all, the deal saw a monopoly over a rank 5 resource.
The price quickly rose though, and it took only a few exchanges to make it reach fifty million Credits.
"The Elbas family is leading."
Elder Justin announced after Lady Edna's offer.
The Royals were used to invest a lot in unknown materials and similar, and they would never let go of a species born after the battle of rank 6 existences.
A short moment of silence followed that offer, but the auction was quickly rekindled when a flower at the peak of the middle tier grew right under them.
"Fifty million Credits and three spells up to the fifth rank. The Empire will include one of the darkness element."
Sharp Trunk said, and the offers of the other envoys began to include additional resources too.
Elder Doyle began to add techniques and spells too, but Lady Edna started to use the studies of the academy as a currency.
Elder Justin shot a helpless glance toward Noah before announcing once again that the Elbas family was in the lead.
What the Hive needed the most at the moment were the recent discoveries of the inscriptions' fields, and the three envoys didn't miss that detail.
Elder Justin had chosen inscription methods over techniques and spells, so they had to push their bids on that aspect.
Even Elder Austin took a glance at Noah, but the latter simply shook his head.
He knew how useful Thirty-seven was, and it was pointless to compare the value of a single heroic cultivator to the future of the Hive as a whole.
He was the youngest heroic cultivator in history and probably that with the highest potential, but he still couldn't match the possibility of having experts in various inscriptions' fields.
Also, he had seen the power that the abilities that carried his individuality were capable of unleashing.
Creating was better than obtaining something already existing, especially in his case.
He would rather gain inspiration from a wide variety of techniques than beg the Hive to prioritize him.
That approach was more in line with his individuality, and it would allow him to improve in both his inscription methods.
It might even lead him to fuse them one day!
Sacrificing the future of the Hive for something that he didn't strictly need wasn't worth it.
The three envoys began to add inscription methods to their offers, but the Elbas family always managed to keep the lead even if most of the methods mentioned weren't up to date.
The flower withered during those offers, and Elder Justin was about to end the auction when another purple stem grew and gave birth to a black flower in the upper tier.
Elder Austin could only smile when he saw that the three nations gave voice to another series of offers.
The bids had already reached a point where the Hive could ignore the loss of a rank 5 material.